Monthly Archives: May 2014

Yellen tells graduates: Show grit like Ben Bernanke

"Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday delivered what you’d expect from a commencement speech: graduates, she said, should 'tend the fires of curiosity,' listen to others, and show grit in the face of failure. Yellen reminded New York University students in Yankee Stadium that even Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio failed most of the time they stepped to the plate, according to a text of her remarks. And what example did Yellen find for such an inspirational beacon of bravery? Why, her predecessor, Ben Bernanke." Continue reading →

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Why Are Bond Yields Falling as Stocks Rally?

"One of the most striking features of 2014 has been falling Treasury yields in the wake of the Fed’s tapering of QE. The standard theory goes that, as the Fed withdraws support for longer-dated bonds, bond prices will drop (as demand falls) and yields (which move inversely to prices) will rise. So much for standard theory… In addition to the divergence between large caps and small caps (which we wrote about here and here), the divergence between falling bond yields and rising large-cap stock prices is another sign that the rally in the S&P 500 and the Dow may not be as strong as some believe." Continue reading →

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Silver Fixing Company to Stop Running London Benchmark

"The company that runs the London silver fixing, a benchmark dating back more than a century, will stop running the process after Deutsche Bank AG said two weeks ago that it was dropping out of the price-setting ritual. The London Silver Market Fixing Ltd. will stop administering the fixing on Aug. 14, it said today in a statement. Regulators have been stepping up their scrutiny of how gold and silver prices are set in the wake of the London interbank offered rate-manipulation scandal. The FCA is visiting member banks involved in the gold fixing as part of its review of gold benchmarks. Deutsche Bank has said it is leaving fixings as it scales back its commodities business." Continue reading →

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Gold Smuggling in India Spikes 446% in Last 12 Months

"As per the report, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had filed 40 gold smuggling cases in the last year whereas it has increased to 148 cases in the past 12 months. The aggregate value of the seized illegal gold from 464 people in 2013-14 is estimated at Rs 245 crore. Most of the gold smugglers are arrested from the nation’s international airports. The customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport said that they have nabbed 353 kg of gold worth at Rs 90 crore in this current financial year whereas it was 20-25 kg of gold in the last year. India had witnessed a dangerous increase of CAD to $88.2 billion which is about 4.7% of the country’s GDP in the year 2012-2013." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Smuggling in India Spikes 446% in Last 12 Months

New Law: Minn. Governor signs bill to ban warrantless cellphone tracking

ST. PAUL, Min., – May 22, 2014. A bipartisan bill which bans Minnesota law enforcement from obtaining cellphone location tracking information without a warrant was signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton last Friday. SF2466 was introduced by Sen. Brandon Petersen (R-Andover) and cosponsored by two democrat and two republican senators. It passed the House…

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Surprisingly, FDA gets the commerce clause right?

A May 16th Food and Drug Administration news release reported that U.S. Marshals had seized more than $11,185,000 worth of unapproved drugs. They did this at the request of the FDA because the medications are unapproved and misbranded drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA complaint for forfeiture in paragraph 3…

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California Fourth Amendment Protection Act: “This Could Be Huge!”

A Los Angeles TV news reporter said a California bill to prohibit state cooperation with unconstitutional and illegal spying “could be huge.” Known as the 4th Amendment Protection Act, SB828 passed the California Senate 29-0. “It’s a bill that basically tells the federal government, ‘If you are going to spy on American cell phones without…

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The Supreme Court is not the sole authority on constitutionality

If you think a handful of unelected, unaccountable politically-connected lawyers are the only ones who can determine what’s constitutional and what’s not, you prefer the Iranian system of government to the Constitutional government of the Founders.

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Illinois House passes bill to ban warrantless cellphone tracking, 111-0

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 21, 2014 – An Illinois bill which would ban law enforcement from obtaining cellphone location tracking information without a warrant passed the state House on Monday. The vote was 111-0. It had previously passed the Senate by a 52-0 vote, but since the House made technical amendments to the bill it goes…

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