Banknote printer De La Rue to cut jobs in shift to electronic payments

"Banknote and passport printer De La Rue is to cut about 300 jobs and halve its number of production lines to four as it battles a global decline in demand for cash. The company, which produces notes for the Bank of England, has set out a restructuring plan that will see almost 10pc of its workforce go as it consolidates its banknote printing operations at three centres. The introduction of plastic notes is causing a revolution in the industry, as printers struggle to deal with he challenges of printing on new materials. The banknote printing industry is facing the challenges of global overcapacity, with many of the printers state-backed." Continue reading

Continue ReadingBanknote printer De La Rue to cut jobs in shift to electronic payments

The disappearing allure of the safe deposit box [2014]

"The safe deposit box, once a staple of any bank branch, has itself become an antique. Banks are reporting that safe deposit box use is on the decline, with occupancy rates dropping quickly as customers buy home safes, digitize and store documents electronically, and, in this era of conspicuous consumption, prefer to display their valuables rather than stash them away for special occasions. Jerry Pluard, the owner of Safe Deposit Box Insurance Coverage LLC, an Illinois company that insures the contents of the boxes, estimates that nearly half — 45 percent — of safe deposit boxes in the country are empty today." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe disappearing allure of the safe deposit box [2014]

The Secret Fed Paper That Advocated a “Carry Tax” on All Physical Cash

"Many commentators have noted that mainstream economists are calling to do away with cash entirely. It would be easy to scoff at these proposals as completely insane if the Fed hadn’t published a paper back in 1999 suggesting the implementation of a 'carry tax' or taxing actual physical cash using an expiration date if depositors aren’t willing to spend the money. The author of this lunacy is a visiting scholar with the ECB, the Fed, the IMF, and the Swiss National Bank. The fact that two of those groups have already imposed negative interest rates (ECB and SNB) should give warning that these sorts of ideas are actually taken very seriously by Central Banks." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe Secret Fed Paper That Advocated a “Carry Tax” on All Physical Cash

Bill Bonner: The First Shot in the War on Cash?

"Cash in hand is different. It is physical. Paper. You can do what you want with it. And you don’t pay a negative interest rate. Which is why the feds want to ban cash… They say it will make it easier for them to stimulate the economy. As long as you can hold physical cash, you have an easy way to escape negative interest rates: You just take the money out of the bank and put it in your home safe. But if physical cash is illegal, you have no choice. You have to keep 'your money' on deposit at the bank… and take whatever negative rate the bank imposes on you. Of course, the idea that taking away your money will stimulate economic growth is ridiculous." Continue reading

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: The First Shot in the War on Cash?

The Surveillance State Operates Behind Veil of Ignorance

The federal government spies on you. A lot. And it operates behind a veil of ignorance. Despite revelations by Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers, many Americans still apparently believe warrantless surveillance only happens to “bad guys,” and they have nothing to worry about because of the “I have nothing to hide” myth. Americans simply don’t…

Continue ReadingThe Surveillance State Operates Behind Veil of Ignorance

Will Alabama Effectively Nullify Roe v Wade in Practice?

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Dec. 3, 2015) – A bill prefiled in the Alabama Senate would essentially nullify the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, along with subsequent cases, and make most abortions in the state illegal. Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) recently prefiled Senate Bill 9 (SB9). The legislation would make it illegal for a doctor…

Continue ReadingWill Alabama Effectively Nullify Roe v Wade in Practice?

Virginia Bill Takes Unique First Step Toward Protecting the Second Amendment

RICHMOND, Va. (Dec. 2, 2015) – A bill prefiled in the Virginia House of Delegates takes an interesting first step toward protecting the right to keep and bear arms from federal infringement by defining it in statute as an individual right unconnected with the militia. Delegates Mark L. Cole and (R) Charles D. Poindexter (R)…

Continue ReadingVirginia Bill Takes Unique First Step Toward Protecting the Second Amendment

Want to play the market? Count the Fed leak weeks

"U.S. central bankers not only regularly leak secret information about monetary policy, but the leaks are so predictably timed that a savvy investor without access to the leaked information could make money just by buying stocks in certain weeks. The weeks that have excess stock-market returns are generally the same in which there are closed Fed Board meetings, and increased volatility in short-term interest-rate futures contracts suggests that it is information on monetary policy from those meetings that is driving the pattern." Continue reading

Continue ReadingWant to play the market? Count the Fed leak weeks

Drone Pilots Expose Civilian Murder, U.S. Freezes Their Financial Accounts

"The U.S. Government failed to deter them through threats of criminal prosecution, and clumsy attempts to intimidate their families. Now four former Air Force drone operators-turned-whistleblowers have had their credit cards and bank accounts frozen, according to human rights attorney Jesselyn Radack. Michael Haas, Brandon Bryant, Cian Westmoreland and Stephen Lewis, who served as drone operators in the US Air Force, have gone public with detailed accounts of the widespread corruption and institutionalized indifference to civilian casualties that characterize the program." Continue reading

Continue ReadingDrone Pilots Expose Civilian Murder, U.S. Freezes Their Financial Accounts

Today We Celebrate the Power of “No!”

Today we celebrate the power of, “No!” On this date 60 years ago, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. Her act of defiance – a simple No! – set a brush fire that ultimately consumed Jim Crow. When the white only seats in the front of the Cleveland Avenue bus…

Continue ReadingToday We Celebrate the Power of “No!”