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Gold at a huge premium as Indian imports dry up; survival of small jewellers at stake

"India's gold imports in June are estimated to have fallen drastically to 35-40 tonne, less than a quarter of what the purchases in May were because of state restrictions, triggering a sharp rise in premiums in the local market and raising a question mark on the survival of small jewellers. The acquisition cost of the yellow metal has shot up as bullion dealers are now charging a premium of up to Rs 350 per 10 grams over and above the metal's international price, up from only Rs 40 two weeks ago. The premium, along with the increase in landed price of gold because of the rupee's depreciation, has denied Indian buyers the benefit of the fall in international prices last month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold at a huge premium as Indian imports dry up; survival of small jewellers at stake

Gold smuggling rampant in India

"Gold smuggling has gone up several notches in India. According to customs officials, after banks stopped selling gold coins and following the hike in import duty, there has been a spurt in demand for the metal prompting people to smuggle. Officials pointed out that smugglers and buyers of smuggled gold tend to save on import duty as well as other taxes like value added tax and income tax. Given the severe curbs on gold buying and selling, other sources are trying to pitch in and take advantage of the situation, by selling gold through illegal means, they added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold smuggling rampant in India

Ascension of Central Banker Carney Continues to Instruct Us

"We've been chronicling the arrival of the 'most powerful' central banker of his era, the new head of the Bank of England, Mark Carney. The grand chambers in which they meet, the relentless coverage of even the most insignificant remark, the fawning photo-ops ... all contribute to an air of inevitability and 'business as usual' when it comes to the modern monetary process. What have we learned of late? That Carney took the 'tube' to work on his first day on the job and that he was an hour early. And now we learn that one of Mark Carney's very first acts is to figure out how to place an additional woman's likeness on a British bank note." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAscension of Central Banker Carney Continues to Instruct Us

Historical Opportunity for 21st Century Economics

"Who are people turning to nowadays for business advice? Celebrity economists. Big-name experts on the economy like Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, Michael Porter, Robert Reich and Muhammad Yunus feature prominently in a new ranking of influential business thinkers compiled for The Wall Street Journal. The findings – based on Google hits, media mentions and academic citations – show just how much the business-guru landscape has changed since 2008, when a previous ranking was conducted using similar methodology. Author and consultant Gary Hamel ranked No. 1 at the time, a spot now occupied by Krugman." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHistorical Opportunity for 21st Century Economics

The Flashpoints of Revolution Here at Home

"During the Great Recession, 60% of the job losses occurred in the middle-income ranks. Yet, 60% of the jobs that have returned have come in the low-income ranks. Worse, the labor participation rate of America’s youth – those aged 16 to 24 – is at its lowest level since, at least, the 1970s. Obama’s America, thus, is breeding economic desperation as middle-income families struggle to reclaim a lifestyle they once knew and as easily agitated youth with little to lose find that America has too few jobs for them. That is a flashpoint. So, too, is the systemic and expanding welfare mentality that has infected our government and too many of our people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Flashpoints of Revolution Here at Home

Activists converge on Rahm Emanuel’s home for Fourth of July protest

"As of Thursday afternoon, over 400 people had indicated on a Facebook event page that they would be attending the 'Block Party to Fight Austerity at Rahm’s House.' 'Let’s gather at Chase Park (Ashland and Leland) at noon, then march over to Rahm Emanuel’s house for a street dance party to celebrate citywide resistance to budget cuts and other austerity measures that hurt poor and working people in order to make the super-rich even richer,' the organizers wrote. 'At a time when working people are already struggling to make ends meet, Mayor Emanuel is eliminating thousands of jobs across the city every year,' organizer Greg Goodman explained to the station." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingActivists converge on Rahm Emanuel’s home for Fourth of July protest

More Texas women sue police over ‘unconstitutional’ roadside body cavity search

"The Houston Chronicle reported that the suit names Trooper Nathaniel Turner, who claimed he smelled marijuana in the car and called a female trooper even though a 'search and seizure was highly unreasonable.' The suit also names the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, responding officer Brazoria County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Kindred and the Brazoria County sheriff. In dashcam footage, Hamilton can be heard saying 'Do you know how violated I feel?' to Trooper Jennie Bui as she was searched. Randle said that the she only had one glove that was used to search both of them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Texas women sue police over ‘unconstitutional’ roadside body cavity search

Gambia to punish those who spread ‘false news’ with 15 years in prison and $100,000 fine

"Gambia’s information minister Nana Grey-Johnson, said the law had been put forward to prevent people, at home and abroad, from engaging in 'treacherous' campaigns against Gambians. 'They do this by inciting the people to engage in unpatriotic behavior, spreading false news and engaging in criminal defamation against Government officials.' Grey-Johnson added that, if unchecked, such statements were a recipe for chaos and instability in any country. Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh has ruled the tiny slither of a country surrounded by Senegal since he seized power in a 1994 military coup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGambia to punish those who spread ‘false news’ with 15 years in prison and $100,000 fine

The Next American Revolution

"The next American Revolution will not be an event, it will be a process. Springtime for the Savior State/cartel-capitalism partnership will be brief, and by 2018-19 all the systemic flaws and disruptive trends will reassert themselves with renewed vigor. The entire current model of governance, social order and the economy will be revolutionized not by overthrow but by the process of irrelevance. The new system will be better, more humane, more flexible, more transparent, with more opportunity, for it will be everything the current corrupt, sclerotic, parasitic and exploitive system is not." Continue reading →

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America celebrates 4th of July under ‘unprecedented’ security

"People across the United States gathered on Thursday for parades, picnics and fireworks at Independence Day celebrations, held under unprecedented security following the Boston Marathon bombings. Spectators waving U.S. flags and wearing red, white and blue headed for public gatherings in Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta and other cities under the close watch of police armed with hand-held chemical detectors, radiation scanners and camera surveillance, precautions sparked by the deadly April 15 bombings. A U.S. national security official said on Wednesday that U.S. intelligence agencies were unaware of any attack threat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica celebrates 4th of July under ‘unprecedented’ security