Yearly Archives: 2013

‘Find a safe haven,’ father tells Snowden in Russia

"'Edward, I hope you are watching this. Your family is well. We love you. We hope you are healthy, we hope you are well, I hope to see you soon, but most of all I want you to be safe. I want you to find a safe haven,' Lon Snowden said in an interview broadcast on Rossiya24 channel. In the interview dubbed into Russian, Lon Snowden said he hoped his son would return home one day. But he said that events over the past few weeks suggested that there were no guarantees of a fair trial in the United States, and that he therefore agreed with his son’s decision to remain in Russia." Continue reading →

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Snowden Is No Traitor: 55% to 34%

"In a massive shift in attitudes, voters say 45 – 40 percent of the government’s anti-terrorism efforts go too far in restricting civil liberties, a reversal from a January 14, 2010 survey, when voters said 63 – 25 percent that such activities didn’t go far enough. Almost every party, gender, income, education, age and income group regards Snowden as a whistle-blower rather than a traitor. The lone exception is black voters, with 43 percent calling him a traitor and 42 percent calling him a whistle-blower. There is a gender gap on counter-terrorism efforts as men say 54 – 34 percent they have gone too far and women say 47 – 36 percent they have not gone far enough." Continue reading →

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Glenn Greenwald Tears Into Toobin Over Manning, Snowden

"Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald faced off against CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin over the sentencing of ex-Army private Bradley Manning and his acquittal on the charge of 'aiding the enemy.' Greenwald brought up Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and people who exposed Bush administration scandals, telling Toobin that if he's going to make all these assertions about what whistleblowers shouldn't do, 'you're essentially calling for the end of investigative journalism.'" Continue reading →

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UBS to repay Swiss government bailout loan

"The move draws a line under the Swiss government's rescue of UBS nearly five years ago. At the time the country’s biggest bank faced collapse over more than $50 billion in losses on mortgage securities. The central bank’s fund was set up to bail out UBS at the height of the financial crisis. The government took a nine percent stake in UBS as part of the bailout comprising six billion francs of equity and a loan from the Swiss National Bank (SNB). UBS spun off $38.7 billion of risky assets into the fund. UBS last week announced its quarterly profit would exceed analysts’ expectations, even after paying $885 million to settle a lawsuit in the United States." Continue reading →

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Deutsche Bank to Cut Assets $332 Billion as Profit Slides

"Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), continental Europe’s biggest bank, said it will shrink its balance sheet by 250 billion euros ($332 billion), joining Barclays Plc (BARC) and UBS AG (UBSN) in seeking to comply with stricter capital rules. Deutsche Bank will reduce leverage by changing the way it accounts for derivatives and by winding down a 73 billion-euro portfolio of assets. Co-Chief Executive Officer Anshu Jain has been offloading riskier assets, firing staff and raising capital by selling shares as lingering doubts about the ability of Europe’s banks to withstand another financial crisis prompted regulators and shareholders to demand stronger finances." Continue reading →

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On the Ground in Cyprus with Doug Casey

"Cyprus is perhaps the best most-recent example of the actions that a desperate government can take—and why you need to internationalize your savings, yourself, your income, and your digital presence. As you are no doubt aware, earlier this year on a seemingly ordinary Saturday morning (when most people would least suspect it), the government of Cyprus swiftly closed the banks, imposed capital controls, and announced a confiscation of customer deposits. While these actions came as a surprise to many, it should not have. The actions of a desperate government usually follow a predictable pattern and can happen in any country." Continue reading →

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Large Depositors in Cyprus Lose 47.5% of Their Deposits. Good!

"If the principle of 'depositor beware' were allowed to spread across the world and down to every dollar or euro deposited, the world would then have something resembling a free market in banking. Every banker would know that a bank run on his bank could wipe it out at any time. Bankers would become far more careful with depositors’ money. Banking would become less inflationary. The world would be better off. The bankers in the rest of Europe are terrified that the 'Cyprus solution' will spread to their nations. That would place final authority in the hands of depositors. This thought terrifies bankers." Continue reading →

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6% Treasury yields? May come sooner than you think

"The Federal Reserve will lose control of interest rates as the "great rotation" out of bonds into equities takes off in full force, according to one market watcher, who sees U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hitting 5-6 percent in the next 18-24 months. 'It is our opinion that interest rates have begun their assent, that the Fed will eventually lose control of interest rates. The yield curve will first steepen and then will shift, moving rates significantly higher,' said Mike Crofton, President and CEO, Philadelphia Trust Company told CNBC on Wednesday. Under this scenario, he sees the yield on the 10-year rising to 3.5-4 percent in a 'very short period of time.'" Continue reading →

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Obama’s Auto Industry Bailouts in 2009: Taxpayers Lose, Big Time

"Despite surges in revenue and a catalog of new vehicles produced by the U.S. auto industry, taxpayers are still suffering from the 2009 bailouts, as General Motors (GM) would have to peddle their stock for $95.51 per share for taxpayers to break even, according to a government watchdog report published Wednesday. Even with a 25-percent spike in the price this year, that’s still well over twice what shares are selling for today, with the price currently lingering around $37 per share — meaning there’s little faith that taxpayers will break even on the nearly $50-billion GM bailout." Continue reading →

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The “I Thought Bonds Were Safe” Fallacy…

"Now remember, Bernanke didn’t change rates, he just implied that rates may increase in the future. The market, however, took that rhetoric and ran. Accordingly, the bond market fell. For instance, from its high around May 1st the 30-year treasury market has fallen some 9%. Nine….freaking….percent. That’s a huge move for a seemingly steady and professional market like bonds. It’s also a devastating move to risk-averse bond investors (like my dad.) All said, safety seekers got burned. And you can thank the 'Ber-nank.'" Continue reading →

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