Monthly Archives: February 2013

New Zealand signals readiness to join currency wars

"New Zealand’s central bank governor was ready to intervene in foreign exchange markets, he said yesterday, the latest in a string of countries from South Korea to Brazil warning their currencies were too strong even as Group of 20 (G20) nations pledged to refrain from competitive devaluation. Policymakers in South Korea and the Philippines are weighing curbs to capital inflows while Norway’s central bank said it was ready to cut interest rates to counter the krone’s strength. 'There seems to be a sense that the gloves are off in terms of central bank action in currency markets,' said Mitul Kotecha, global head of foreign exchange strategy at Credit Agricole." Continue reading →

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Norway Ready to Use Rate Cuts to Weaken Krone, Central Bank Says

"Policy makers around the world are discussing how to respond to a re-emergence of so-called currency wars as finance ministers from the Group of 20 gather in Moscow. Norway’s central bank governor has shown before he’s willing to deploy rates to cap excessive krone gains, cutting the benchmark by 0.75 percentage point in two moves starting in December 2011. Olsen and his colleagues are torn between protecting exporters through lower rates that stem krone gains, and a policy that addresses an overheated property market." Continue reading →

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U.S. Banks Bigger Than GDP as Accounting Rift Masks Risk

"Applying stricter accounting standards for derivatives and off-balance-sheet assets would make the banks twice as big as they say they are -- or about the size of the U.S. economy -- according to data compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. accounting rules allow banks to record a smaller portion of their derivatives than European peers and keep most mortgage-linked bonds off their books. That can underestimate the risks firms face and affect how much capital they need. Using international standards for derivatives and consolidating mortgage securitizations, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup would become the world’s three largest banks and Wells Fargo the sixth-biggest." Continue reading →

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Federal Reserve confirms its computers were hacked

"The Federal Reserve acknowledged Wednesday its computer systems were accessed by hackers but said the incident did not affect the central bank’s 'critical operations.' The acknowledgement came days after the hacker group known as Anonymous claimed it had posted personal information of some 4,000 bankers, purportedly obtained from the Fed. The group argues it is taking actions responding to the suicide last month of Aaron Swartz, an Internet freedom advocate who was being prosecuted for illegally downloading millions of academic journal articles he had allegedly planned to distribute for free." Continue reading →

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White House vows to aggressively combat trade secrets theft in new cybersecurity strategy document

"The US government vowed to aggressively combat a rise in the foreign theft of trade secrets amid mounting concerns over recent hacking attacks allegedly emanating from China. 'We will continue to act vigorously to combat the theft of US trade secrets that could be used by foreign companies or foreign governments to gain an unfair economic edge,' the strategy document says. Such 'theft threatens American businesses, undermines national security, and places the security of the US economy in jeopardy,' it said, putting 'American jobs at risk.'" Continue reading →

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Prescription Drug Overdoses Killed 23,000 Americans in 2010; Cannabis – 0

"Drug overdose deaths rose for the eleventh straight year in America, fueled by legal prescriptions for OxyContin and Valium. Medical cannabis, meanwhile, continued its 10,000 year-long streak of not killing anyone by overdose. There is no physical way to overdose on smoked or ingested cannabis, making it one of the safest, most non-toxic painkillers, sleeping aids, and stress relievers on the planet. It’s also a Schedule One narcotic that the U.S. government says has no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Drugs that the U.S. government considers safer caused about 60 percent of the 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2010." Continue reading →

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Columbine Gunshot Survivor To Obama On Gun Control: ‘WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?’

"'It was during this time that I personally witnessed two fellow students murder twelve of my classmates and one teacher,' he writes. 'The assault weapons ban did not deter these two murderers, nor did the other thirty-something laws that they broke.' Of particular note in the letter is the survivor’s insistence that Obama’s proposed regulations impede the rights of Americans and endanger them by capping magazine sizes and restricting the types of guns that are available to law-abiding citizens. 'Why would you prefer criminals to have the ability to out-gun law-abiding citizens?,' he asks the president in the text. 'Whose side are you on?'" Continue reading →

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India plans $70 million mission to Mars in 2013

"India said on Thursday it will send a $70 million space mission to Mars this year to study the red planet’s atmosphere. The unmanned Mars orbiter mission, to be launched in October by the Indian Space Research Organisation, will undertake a 300-day journey to the planet to collect data about its climate and geology. India says the Mars mission will mark a significant step in its space programme, which has already placed a probe on the moon and envisages its first manned mission in 2016." Continue reading →

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Obama’s Washington Monument Syndrome

"The game is this: Whenever a politician is 'threatened' with a minor slowdown in spending, the first thing to do is to eliminate police, firefighters, ambulance services, school buses, etc. -- everything that inflicts the maximum discomfort on the victims of the government monopoly (a.k.a., taxpayers). The booboisie then wake up from their American Idol stupor for a moment to raise a fuss. But it may not work for the Obammunists, for their biggest threat so far is to furlough 'civilian defense employees.' Unlike ambulance or school bus drivers, these bureaucrats provide no useful service to anyone. They will be the only ones complaining." Continue reading →

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