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Costly Iraq war left U.S. no stronger in Middle East

“The US-led invasion of Iraq overthrew a dictator, but 10 years on the war is seen to have destabilized the Middle East, exposed the limits of military power and left America no stronger than before. With US forces having withdrawn after the deaths of almost 4,500 American troops and an estimated $1 trillion outlay, there is little soul-searching in Washington today about a war that has faded from public consciousness. And 10 years after the ‘shock and awe’ that launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, removing Saddam Hussein from power, most analysts and diplomats agree the Iraq war did nothing to improve the US position in the Middle East.” Continue reading →

Costly Iraq war left U.S. no stronger in Middle East

U.S. denies alleged plot against Venezuelan government

“The United States on Monday emphatically denied it was involved in any plot against Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles ahead of the April 14 presidential vote. ‘Let me say it here extremely clearly… the United States categorically rejects allegations of any US government involvement in any plots to destabilize the Venezuelan government or to harm anyone in Venezuela,’ State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Capriles, whom the late president Hugo Chavez defeated in October elections, is running in the upcoming election against Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s handpicked successor.” Continue reading →

U.S. denies alleged plot against Venezuelan government

Economists warn Cyprus will face a recession ‘for decades’ after EU deposit tax

“The controversial tax is seen hitting Russian pockets hard, with experts estimating that Russian deposits in Cypriot banks amount to at least 15.4 billion euros of the estimated 67 billion euros of deposits held by Cyprus banks. Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised the proposed tax, describing it, according to a Kremlin spokesman, as ‘unfair, unprofessional and dangerous’. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was equally forthright. ‘We should say this directly: this simply looks like the confiscation of other people’s money,’ Russian news agencies quoted him as saying. ‘I do not know who the author of this idea is, but this is what it looks like.'” Continue reading →

Chinese solar panel company defaults on $541 million worth of bonds

“One of the world’s top two solar cell and panel producers, targeted last year by US trade sanctions, Suntech said it had already entered an agreement with 60 percent of the bond holders to hold off legal claims while a debt restructuring can be negotiated. The European Union began an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar panels in September last year, followed by an anti-subsidy probe in November. The United States last October confirmed hefty anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese solar cell makers, adding to trade tensions between the two economic powers.” Continue reading →

Junk Bonds Soar in Price as Investors Seek Higher Rates

“Junk bonds are high-risk bonds. They are rated CCC — barely above default status. They pay higher interest rates because there is risk of default. You may not get your money back. The rush to buy junk bonds indicates desperation on the part of investors to get something like a decent return on their money. But to get less than 6%, an investor must put his money at risk — high risk. Investors are saying that they trust Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve. They are saying that the FED can create $1 trillion in fiat money from now on, and prices will not rise — long-term rates will not rise — the economy will recover.” Continue reading →

Stossel: No Regulation? No Problem

“Private companies found they could ‘crowd-source’ enforcement against fraud and low-quality products, in much the same way that Wikipedia discovered an encyclopedia could be created without a central organizer. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tells me that method ‘works far better than the top-down system that it replaced.’ We almost always assume that top-down government regulation is necessary, even though history says otherwise.” Continue reading →