for life and liberty

This Graph Shows How Bad the Fed is at Predicting the Future

"Ben Bernanke and the Fed are out with their latest happy talk economic projections. They project the economy will grow by 2.3 to 2.6 percent, in real terms, in the fourth quarter of 2013 relative to the fourth quarter of 2012. That speeds up to 3.0 to 3.5 percent in 2014 and 2.9 to 3.6 percent in 2015. Unemployment also is projected to fall, hitting 5.8 to 6.2 percent in 2015, all while inflation stays below 2 percent. The chart put together by WaPo shows how abysmal the Fed's actual forecasts have been (and this is not counting the Fed missing the housing crash or the overall financial crisis)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThis Graph Shows How Bad the Fed is at Predicting the Future

Belgium opens beer temple in former stock market building

"Beer has always been one of Belgium’s biggest money-spinners but now Brussels is going a step further, announcing plans Thursday to open a temple to the amber nectar in its old stock exchange building. The 'Temple of Belgian Beer' project finds a use for the grand 19th century building near the Belgian capital’s famed Grand Place, which is fronted by corinthian columns and resembles a classical temple. The Brussels Bourse was abandoned by stockbrokers in 1996 after the computerisation of the financial markets and then became a site for temporary exhibitions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelgium opens beer temple in former stock market building

Conference Board Fears Front Running Ahead of Its Economic Data; 250 Millisecond Edge

"The Conference Board will no longer provide its economic reports in advance to news organizations because it suspects the data is being diverted early to computer-driven trading systems, reports AP. The private research group has provided its monthly data to reporters 30 minutes before the information is publicly released. The early access to the data has allowed journalists to prepare news reports ahead of the information's public release at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Starting Tuesday, the Conference Board's data will be released to everyone simultaneously." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConference Board Fears Front Running Ahead of Its Economic Data; 250 Millisecond Edge

Ron Paul’s Choice for Fed Chairman James Grant on Gold & Silver’s Latest Sell-Off

"As gold & silver prices tumble to 2.5-year lows in a wake of panic selling following a disappointing Fed Outlook & statement by Bernanke, as well as less-than-ideal Chinese economic data, Kitco News speaks with James Grant, editor of "Grant's Interest Rate Observer" about the carnage in gold & silver markets. In a previous interview, (then U.S. Congressman) Dr. Ron Paul told Kitco News that he would appoint Grant as Fed chairman; hear what Grant would do differently than Bernanke to help the US economy. Kitco News, June 20, 2013." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul’s Choice for Fed Chairman James Grant on Gold & Silver’s Latest Sell-Off

Federal Auditors, IRS Pan Tax Regulations For Bitcoins

"Federal auditors are recommending that the IRS not issue regulations for taxpayers on filing returns for the money earned through the exchange of virtual currencies. The tax agency has neither the money nor the time to craft compliance rules for the emerging market, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. GAO officials acknowledged the government might be missing out on tax revenue as a result of not publishing Bitcoin-specific rules, but it is unclear how much. 'Given the uncertain extent of noncompliance with virtual currency transactions, formal guidance, such as regulations, may not be warranted,' the auditors concluded." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Auditors, IRS Pan Tax Regulations For Bitcoins

Internet Archive Federal Credit Union Backed by Internet Pioneer Brewster Kahle

"Jordan Modell has experience working with Citibank, American Express and the Bank of New York. Brewster Kahle is an Internet pioneer who helped develop precursors to the World Wide Web and Amazon.com and sold them for millions of dollars that he has used to form a foundation that supports the Internet Archive, an effort to digitally record everything that has been on the Internet since 1996. The pair decided to found a credit union after coming to the conviction that the existing financial services industry has largely stopped working for low-income and middle-class people and that a bank was not the best vehicle to meet the needs of those populations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet Archive Federal Credit Union Backed by Internet Pioneer Brewster Kahle

‘We were told to lie’ – Bank of America employees open up about foreclosure practices

"Employees of Bank of America say they were encouraged to lie to customers and were even rewarded for foreclosing on homes, staffers of the financial giant claim in new court documents. According to testimonies obtained by journalists at ProPublica, supervisors at various Bank of America branches across the United States encouraged employees to regularly deny loan modification applications with no reason. At times, they were told to make up excuses to customers who risked losing their homes. In one of the sworn statements, an ex-bank staffer said he would be directed to deny upwards of 1,500 loan modification applications at a single time with no apparent reason." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘We were told to lie’ – Bank of America employees open up about foreclosure practices

Match.com Founder: Fed Spyware Searching For Bitcoin Wallets

"'I just had a government guy in my office telling me that they have forensic software looking for Bitcoin wallets on your machines,' said Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com and Sociogramics. 'And if they find one, they lock on to you, because statistically, if you were in Liberty Reserve or using a lot of anonymous money, you were probably doing something wrong.' Bitcoins are a virtual currency that can be used to buy and sell a wide variety of products online and in the real world. The currency is transferable anywhere in the world and can be exchanged for real currency at any time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMatch.com Founder: Fed Spyware Searching For Bitcoin Wallets

Bitspend, Bitcoin payment system, ceases trading after bank accounts frozen

"The bitcoin payment system, Bitspend, has been forced to stop operations after its bank accounts were frozen. Bitspend is a service that acted as a bridge between those who held cash in the form of bitcoin, and merchants who did not accept bitcoin payments. According to the firm, its banks (Chase and another unnamed bank) both told it that they regarded businesses which trade in bitcoin as 'too high risk'. The banks allegedly did this without notice. Furthermore, Chase bank has also closed the personal accounts of the firm’s owner. The company stated that it will honour orders as soon as it can, but with the current state of affairs it cannot pay its own bills." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitspend, Bitcoin payment system, ceases trading after bank accounts frozen