Monthly Archives: April 2013

Twitter flash crash: Fake White House bomb report causes stock market panic

"A tweet from The Associated Press Twitter account claiming the White House had been bombed caused investors to suddenly push the Dow down more than 100 points in two minutes Tuesday before it became clear the report was untrue and AP's account had been hacked. Reaction on the stock market was swift, as what had been a mildly positive day on the Dow Jones quickly turned negative, with America's benchmark stock index losing more than 134 points or more than a full per cent of its value in a matter of seconds. Reports suggest more than $20 billion worth of equity positions changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange during the brief trading hiccup." Continue reading →

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Wall Street betting billions on single-family homes in distressed markets

"Drawn by the prospect of double-figure profit margins on rents and the resale of homes whose prices plummeted in the crash, hedge funds, Wall Street investors and other institutions are crowding out individual home buyers. Real estate executives say institutional investors — who in some cases are bidding on hundreds of homes a day — account for as much as 70 percent of sales in some Florida markets. Over the past two years, analysts say, they also have accounted for a majority of purchases in other parts of the country where housing prices are rebounding sharply." Continue reading →

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Goldman Sachs: Cover Your Gold Shorts

"This morning, Goldman Sachs has put out an advisory recommending that clients close out their short positions in gold. Just weeks ago on April 19, GS cut its short- and long-term gold forecasts. At the time, analysts Damien Courvalin and Jeffrey Currie told clients that 'should our expectation for lower gold prices continue to prove correct, the fall in prices could end up being faster and larger than our forecast.' On April 12, gold fell on its worst two-day plunge since futures first started trading in New York. Despite the advice to close out short positions, it appears GS wants to have its foot in both the bullish and bearish camp." Continue reading →

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Detlev Schlichter: Could Bitcoin be the money of the future?

"The crypto-currency Bitcoin is still merely a speck on the global monetary landscape. It is young, experimental, and for all we know, it may ultimately fail to break into the monetary mainstream. However, on a conceptual level I am willing to call it a work of genius and arguably the most exciting development in the field of money for more than 130 years. Let’s say since the start of the Classical Gold Standard in 1879. Does this sound like hyperbole? Well, let me explain." Continue reading →

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Chechnya: “We Will Make You Feel What We Feel”

"When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Chechen demanded independence like the Soviet republics. Instead, Boris Yeltsin’s government invaded Chechnya, killing some 100,000 Chechen civilians through massive carpet bombing and shelling. FSB chief Vladimir Putin was catapulted into power by anti-Chechen hysteria caused by mysterious bombings in 1999. Powerful Russian forces invaded and crushed the life out of Chechen resistance. All moderate Chechen leaders were assassinated, the last in Qatar in 2004, leaving mostly militant Islamists." Continue reading →

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Boston’s Progressives: We Support Our “Voluntary” Police State

"While many of us look in horror at Boston's destruction of what is left of the Bill of Rights, Bostonians themselves are in full congratulatory mode, as those who gave us Political Correctness now redefine the Police State, and proudly so. From the ultra-Progressive Boston Globe to the 'man on the street,' Boston's citizens are telling us that 'shelter-in-place' was not martial law but rather a selfless act of voluntary cooperation with the experts. And How Dare anyone express a different viewpoint! Indeed, this photo of a police officer threatening to shoot someone for looking out the window does seem to signify what our 'civilization' has become." Continue reading →

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Michael Scheuer: U.S. leaders’ fingerprints are on the detonators

"While the Tsarnaev brothers apparently conducted the Marathon bombings in Boston, the detonators of those bombs also have the fingerprints of most Democratic and Republican politicians all over them, and those men and women are in a measure responsible for each and every one of the Boston casualties. Why? Because once again it is blatantly obvious from the evidence the authorities have presented to date that the attackers were motivated by what the U.S. government does in the Muslim world and not because of our freedoms, liberties, and gender equality." Continue reading →

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Would Rand Paul or Rick Santorum’s GOP Be More Successful?

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Rick Santorum says: Rand Paul’s brand doesn’t line up with all of what our party stands for—on national security, social values, the economy and the role of government in society. His message won’t ultimately lead us to be a more successful party.” Oh really? Let’s examine. On National Security: Santorum [...]

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Christian Bishops Kidnapped by US-Allied Syria Insurgents

"Today, Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, were kidnapped by US-allied Islamic insurgents in the village of Kfar Dael as they were 'carrying out humanitarian work'. The two high-ranking Christian bishops were outspoken in warning about the threats to the religious balance in Syria posed by the Islamist extremists who have received the weapons provided by Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US transport support via Croatia. The US-backed rebels regularly violate the sanctuaries of Christian churches in their pursuit of a Syria ruled by Sharia law." Continue reading →

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City Removes “Don’t Tread on Me” Flag From Abandoned Building

"The city of New Rochelle, New York owns an empty building. It has been empty for years. Why does it own an empty building? Why doesn’t it sell it? No one seems to know. No one asks. It used to be owned by the U.S. Army, but the Army wisely abandoned it. A veterans group decided to hoist the famous Gadsden flag: a coiled snake and 'Don’t Tread on Me.' Now the city council has removed the flag. Why? Because it is supposedly a Tea Party symbol. The Tea Party wants tax cuts. It wants wasteful government cut back. This would mean wasteful empty buildings. The symbolism was too much for the city council." Continue reading →

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