Monthly Archives: March 2013

Democratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

"Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon voted against John Brennan’s nomination to be the next director of the CIA, saying he was too cozy with the policies of the Bush administration. Merkley listed warrantless wiretapping, the lack of rights given to those deemed 'enemy combatants,' and the use of drone strikes as his primary concerns. The Democratic senator doubted that Brennan, who has defended warrantless wiretapping, would alleviate his concerns. Brennan has been closely associated with the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries. In a 2012 speech, he insisted the practice was legal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemocratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

Officials: 80 Percent Of Recent NYC High School Graduates Cannot Read

"When they graduated from city high schools, students in a special remedial program at the Borough of Manhattan Community College couldn’t make the grade. They had to re-learn basic skills — reading, writing and math — first before they could begin college courses. They are part of a disturbing statistic. Officials told CBS 2′s Kramer that nearly 80 percent of those who graduate from city high schools arrived at City University’s community college system without having mastered the skills to do college-level work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficials: 80 Percent Of Recent NYC High School Graduates Cannot Read

The Dorm Boom: Higher Education’s Fellow Traveler

"It’s a curious time for a campus construction boom. Alternatives to a traditional college education are growing every day. Amid the change and uncertainty, real estate developers are rushing to build student housing. Major homebuilding companies like Lennar and Toll Brothers that ramped their businesses up in the single-family housing boom have now shifted their focus to another boom: student housing. While Freddie Mac, a large purchaser of student housing loans, is a bit cautious after purchasing $1.7 billion in loans last year, the private sector is ready to build. Bricks-and-mortar higher education is a bubble searching for a pin. Student housing is going along for the ride." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Dorm Boom: Higher Education’s Fellow Traveler

Why Bond Market Bulls Are About to Get Crushed

"We have the lowest interest rates in 250 years – lower than at any time since the founding of the country – created by the Federal Reserve forcing interest rates to zero in the short term. In addition, we have the Fed encouraging banks to help lower rates through buying Treasuries. On top of this, we also have some $350 trillion of swaps derivatives of interest rates – more than half of all the derivatives out there are interest-rate derivatives. Banks use these swaps to transmit lower rates to other debt instruments based on what can they can get from the Fed. This drives all rates down. We've seen 30 years of declining interest rates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Bond Market Bulls Are About to Get Crushed

At BoE, Mark Carney could be handed powers to spur economy

"Last month, the Treasury set up a unit to explore changes to the Bank's remit amid mounting political pressure for action to boost economic growth. Options include giving the Monetary Policy Committee greater time to bring inflation back to the 2pc target, handing the Bank a dual mandate to target both employment and inflation – similar to that of the Federal Reserve in America – or targeting spending in the economy rather than inflation. The Canadian central banker, who replaces Sir Mervyn King in July, has said that 'considerable monetary policy' is required to take up the slack in the British economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAt BoE, Mark Carney could be handed powers to spur economy

Will Grigg: What Holder Really Said

"Like all statements from people who presume to rule others, this brief message from Holder – – who is Nickolai Krylenko to Obama’s Josef Stalin – should be read in terms of the supposed authority claimed thereby. What Holder is saying, in substantive terms, is that the President does have the supposed authority to use a drone to kill an American who is engaged in 'combat,' whether here or abroad. Under the rules of engagement used by the Obama Regime in Pakistan, Yemen, and Afghanistan, any 'military-age' male found within a targeted 'kill zone' is likewise designated a 'combatant,' albeit usually after the fact." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: What Holder Really Said

Banking group warns there’s too much ‘easy money’ in global economy

"An influential group of leading world banks warned Thursday that central banks are pumping out too much easy money and markets risk becoming dangerously addicted to ultra-low interest rates. The Institute of International Finance, which groups 450 banks, said if central banks continue to flood money into the global economy then any future bid to get it under control could itself destabilize the financial system. 'These conditions — quantitative easing, very low interest rates — cannot last forever, but the risk is that financial markets have become addicted to them,' it warned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanking group warns there’s too much ‘easy money’ in global economy

Pepe Escobar: El comandante has left the building

"Compare it with US President Barack Obama - in what sounds like a dormant cut and paste by some White House intern - reaffirming US support for 'the Venezuelan people'. Would that be 'the people' who have been electing and re-electing Chavez non-stop since the late 1990s? Or would that be 'the people' who trade Martinis in Miami demonizing him as an evil communist? El Comandante may have left the building - his body defeated by cancer - but the post-mortem demonization will go on forever. One key reason stands out. Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: El comandante has left the building

Bank of England Says Government Should Split Up RBS, Accept Loss

"Bank of England Governor Mervyn King urged the government to split up Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) and speed up the return of Britain’s biggest publicly owned lender to private ownership following its bailout in 2008. 'We’re four and half years on and there’s no sign of it going back to the private sector,' King told the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards at a hearing in London today. 'That indicates we’ve not been sufficiently decisive in recapitalizing or restructuring it.' RBS has been criticized by lawmakers for failing to boost lending to the economy, even though the taxpayer owns more than 80 percent of the lender." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of England Says Government Should Split Up RBS, Accept Loss

Eric Holder: Some Banks Are So Large That It Is Difficult For Us To Prosecute Them

"While it is widely assumed that the too-big-to-fail banks in the US (and elsewhere) are beyond the criminal justice system - based on simple empirical fact - when the Attorney General of the United States openly admits to the fact that he is "concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them, since, 'it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy,' one has to stare open-mouthed at the state of our union. It appears, just as the proletariat assumed, that too-big-to-fail banks are indeed too-big-to-jail." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Holder: Some Banks Are So Large That It Is Difficult For Us To Prosecute Them