There’s been a lot of talk on Facebook and Twitter today about Glenn Beck hosting The Future of Freedom Foundation’s Jacob Hornberger, Students for Liberty’s Zak Slayback and yours truly, on his The Blaze television show yesterday. Here’s a clip, if you missed it: First, a few thoughts on Beck in general. I have been [...]
"Japan's prime minister is likely to nominate an advocate of aggressive monetary easing - Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda - as the next central bank governor to step up his fight to finally rid the country of deflation. The yen fell on the nomination news to a 33-month low and the yield on five-year government bonds hit a record low as markets moved to factor in bolder monetary policy. Kuroda has long criticized the BOJ as too slow to expand stimulus, and is expected to push for more radical efforts to achieve a 2 percent inflation target set in January." Continue reading →
"The tax would be owed no matter where the trade took place, as long as a European security or European institution was involved. If a French bank bought shares in an American company on the New York Stock Exchange, the tax would be owed. To get out of the tax, a financial institution would have to do more than simply move its headquarters out of the 11 countries that now plan to impose the tax. It would also have to forgo serving clients in any of those countries and trading in securities or derivatives from any of the countries. Officials are confident that no major institution will be willing to forsake such large markets as France, Germany, Italy and Spain." Continue reading →
"I’ve just left the Liberty Forum in New Hampshire as the proud owner of three types of nonpaper, nongovernmental monies. They operate in competition with the government’s dollar. Yes, these include Bitcoin, the mind-blowing digital currency that has techno-geeks, edgy global traders, and even the World Bank buzzing about its potential to finally separate money from the state. Why are people working on alternative forms of money? It’s all about escaping a 100-year-old trend. Depression, war, and deliberate debasement have left us with a dollar that is a mere shadow of its former self." Continue reading →
"Zach Harvey has an ambitious plan to accelerate adoption of the Internet's favorite alternative currency: installing in thousands of bars, restaurants, and grocery stores ATMs that will let you buy Bitcoins anonymously. It's the opposite of a traditional automated teller that dispenses currency. Instead, these Bitcoin ATMs will accept dollar bills -- using the same validation mechanism as vending machines -- and instantly convert the amount to Bitcoins and deposit the result in your account." Continue reading →
"A bipartisan group of 53 Democrat and Republican lawmakers have re-introduced a bill – the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 – in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax for state and local governments, even though they lack a physical presence in the state. State and local governments are said to view the taxes they cannot collect on most online sales as lost revenue. It is estimated that the 'loophole' costs state and local governments an estimated USD23bn in lost tax revenue each year, with California alone facing around USD1.9bn in uncollected sales taxes." Continue reading →
Landowner Julia Trigg Crawford and her attorney Wendi Hammond announced that they have filed their appeal against TransCanada with the 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana. The brief disputes TransCanada’s attempt at taking Crawford’s property on the basis that TransCanada has yet to prove the company is a common carrier, but is instead a private foreign company utilizing its pipeline for private gain. “Our appellate brief is now in front of the Sixth Circuit Court … Continue reading →
"Experts are predicting that up to 15% of US shopping malls are forecast to close over the next five years as online shopping continues to surge. The United States has over 1300 regional malls (over 450,000 square feet) and that could mean that up to 195 of them will shut down. 'I think 200 are going out of business,' said Gerry Mason, executive managing director at property group Savills. 'We’re 15-20 per cent overbuilt. There are just too many stores.'" Continue reading →
"I purchased this Roku digital internet receiver yesterday after cancelling my satellite service and highly recommend it as an alternative to the monopolized government affiliated cable/satellite companies, especially for its news content. At no charge, I’m able to receive multiple international news channels (audio and video), including RT, that are streamed onto my television with a near perfect picture. In addition to the free internet channels, there are several channels you do have to pay for, but unlike cable/satellite, you GET what you pay for when adding channels with this product." Continue reading →
"Google unveiled a touchscreen notebook computer on Thursday designed for high-end users, throwing down the gauntlet to Apple and its MacBooks. Google said its Chromebook Pixel computers blending tablet and laptop technology, boasting heavyweight Intel chips and screens tailored for rich graphics, were released in the United States and Britain, starting at $1,299. Google is hoping enthusiasts will forego price comparisons with competitors such as MacBooks or laptops built on Windows 8 software and focus instead on the Pixel's touchscreen feature and the massive terabyte of Google Drive online data storage included." Continue reading →