EUGENE, Ore. (July 6, 2015) – Last week, the Oregon state House gave final approval to a bill that would effectively nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent terminally ill patients from accessing experimental treatments. It is now headed to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk where it can be signed into…
RALEIGH, N.C. (July 6, 2015) – Last week, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a measure into law effectively nullifying in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent terminally ill patients from accessing experimental treatments. Introduced by State Reps. Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke), Mike Hager (R-Rutherford), Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) and Robert T. Reives (D-Chatman) along…
"One pandemic, two great depressions, 11 major wars, and 44 recessions. Four U.S. presidents were assassinated while in office. Hundreds of thousands of businesses went bankrupt; tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs. Did the U.S. government respond to many of these events with countermeasures? Of course. But never once had the U.S. government resorted to such extreme abuses of its money-printing power as it did in 2008-10. Now, all that tradition of leadership and discipline was abandoned — all for the sake of perpetuating America’s addiction to spending, borrowing, and speculative bubbles." Continue reading →
"Of course, not everyone in Greece is hurting. Many people saw this coming and took action. They took all their money out of the banks, put it under the mattress, or maybe stored it in a safe. Maybe they bought gold, or diamonds, or something else. These people aren’t standing in lines at ATMs. They aren’t going to go homeless or hungry. But these people get a pretty bad rap—at least here in the US, where we call them 'doomsday preppers.' Or 'bunker monkeys.' Or 'conspiracy theorists.' Or 'gold bugs.' They take a beating. Jim Rickards tweeted the other day, 'I’ll bet there a lot of Greeks saying, ‘I wish I had bought some gold.’' Truer words have never been spoken." Continue reading →
"Struggling to make payments for pensions and pay down billions of dollars in debt, the Chicago Public Schools last week announced 1,050 layoffs and $200 million in spending cuts to keep the school system afloat. Dozens of financial and legal firms have been paid $18.1 million in fees from CPS borrowing and debt-refinancing deals since 2011, according to records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. CPS still owes billions on borrowing deals dating to the mid-1990s, when then-Mayor Richard M. Daley took formal control of the school system, which then began renovating and building schools using borrowed money." Continue reading →
"In a low-interest rate world, Puerto Rico’s bonds have offered investors juicy yields over the past several years. Puerto Rico’s $3.5 billion in general-obligation bonds issued in 2014 initially had a yield of 8.7%. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes, by contrast, hovered between 2% and 3% last year. But now investors are getting a fast lesson on the risk that comes with those sorts of high yields. More than half of all U.S. municipal-bond funds, or 298 of 565, have invested in Puerto Rico’s debt, according to the most recent fund holdings compiled by Morningstar." Continue reading →
"Greeks awoke Monday to the stark reality of the country's accelerating crisis — shuttered banks and ATMs with little cash — hours after they voted resoundingly to reject more austerity measures in exchange for another bailout. The results — 61% voted 'no,' compared with 39% for 'yes' — left the bankrupt country's future in the European Union and its euro currency uncertain. Greece entered a second week of severe restrictions on financial transactions and faced the prospect of even limited amounts of cash drying out, with no prospect of an immediate infusion. Greece imposed the restrictions to stem a bank run after the vote was called and its bailout program expired." Continue reading →
"Greece became the first developed country to default to the IMF, an organization of 188 nations that tries to keep the world economy stable. Greece will now be cut off from access to IMF resources until the payment is made. The move came hours after the country made a desperate attempt Tuesday to halt its plunge into economic chaos by requesting a new European bailout. Greece asked for a two-year bailout from Europe, its third in six years. Greek banks remained shut Tuesday and limits on cash withdrawals were in place as the country tried to stave off financial collapse before the vote. Daily withdrawals are limited to 60 euros, or about $67." Continue reading →
Video of a phone message from Australia public education system... Source post >>>
As we celebrate Independence Day, we should probably pause and ask ourselves an important question. Independence from what? On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring the 13 American colonies free and independent states. It was an act of secession. And in the eyes of the British and many loyal…