Mainstream News

Vancouver to see first Bitcoin ATMs installed

"According to The Canadian Press, Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs is one of the first to pre-order five US$20,000 RoboCoin Bitcoin ATMs. The ATMs work by asking the user for a Bitcoin wallet identifier, usually in the form of a QR barcode. Money is then deposited into the machine, and after deducting a nominal transaction fee, the wallet is credited in Bitcoin. Bitcoiniacs' brick-and-mortar shop already deals with cash to Bitcoin transfers, but so far requires appointments to be booked to conduct such transactions. RoboCoin is competing directly with New Hampshire entrepreneurs Zach Harvey and Matt Whitlock, who are already accepting pre-orders for their own $5,000 Bitcoin ATM." Continue reading →

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Morgan Stanley execs mocked value of securities before sale to Taiwan bank

"Financial services giant Morgan Stanley may be facing charges it perpetrated a massive fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities, but no one can accuse the firm of lacking a sense of humor about it. Last month, e-mails surfaced in a 2010 New York civil fraud case showing that the firm’s executives sold the instruments to a Taiwanese bank for hundreds of millions of dollars knowing the impending collapse of the US housing market made the securities a hazardous investment – and they laughed about it." Continue reading →

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S&P calls US lawsuit retaliation for stripping AAA rating

"Standard & Poor's on Tuesday blasted a $5 billion fraud lawsuit by the U.S. government as retaliation for its 2011 decision to strip the country of its AAA credit rating. The McGraw Hill Financial unit was the only major credit rating agency to take away the United States' top rating and the only one sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly misleading banks and credit unions about the credibility of its ratings before the 2008 financial crisis. In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., S&P said the lawsuit attempts to punish it for exercising its First Amendment free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution but also seeks 'excessive fines' in violation of the Eighth Amendment." Continue reading →

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If You Want To Know Why Things Are Falling Apart, Look at Total Debt

"It's easy to confuse trends and cycles. The Keynesian Cargo Cultists believe that we're in a cyclical downturn that can be 'cured' with more debt-based spending, i.e. worshiping their false god of aggregate demand. They cannot comprehend that we're not in a business-cycle recession, we are in a long-term trend where additional debt undermines the system as the positive returns on that debt turn negative." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf You Want To Know Why Things Are Falling Apart, Look at Total Debt

‘A tide of squatters’ spreads in Spain in wake of foreclosures

"If the organization known as Okupatutambien, or 'Become a Squatter Too' has its way, the country will see a mass expropriation of abandoned or repossessed property to resolve the housing crisis. According to a 117-page “Squatters’ Guide” published on the Internet by the group, there are 3 million empty homes in Spain, or about 100 for each of the 30,000 homeless. The guide advises would-be squatters on how to stake out, enter and remain inside properties, leaving the rightful owner and authorities powerless to evict them. It also offers free counseling from an office in downtown Madrid on how to siphon water and electricity from municipal supplies and how to deal with law-enforcement officers." Continue reading →

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Most people expect to be worse off than parents – except U.S., Chinese

"A 'squeezed generation' of middle-aged Europeans are convinced they are going to be poorer in retirement than their parents, according to a global survey that found the Chinese the most confident about their future and the French, Germans and Spanish the most pessimistic. Americans are the most sure they will enjoy their retirement, the British are among the most likely to worry about being lonely, while individuals in Eastern European countries are uniformly morose about their future. In the survey, 43% of Japanese said they associate retirement with 'insecurity' compared to just 13% in China and the US, and 15% in the UK." Continue reading →

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Feds sending free mobile phones to dead people: congressman

"Dead people don’t need cell phones. That’s the message Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas wants to send Congress, after he says a controversial government-backed program that helps provide phones to low-income Americans ended up sending mobiles to the dead relatives of his constituents. Griffin has introduced a bill that targets the phone hand-out program, which has ballooned into a fiscal headache for the government." Continue reading →

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Philadelphia applies retroactive lap dance tax at gentlemen’s clubs

"After failing to institute hikes on soda and cigarettes, Philadelphia officials have reportedly slipped a lap dance tax under the radar. Attorney George Bochetto, who represents Club Risque and Cheerleaders, said the move is 'financial desperation' and part of an effort by the city to tax the same thing twice. According to appeal petitions, Cheerleaders owes $486,482 and Club Risque owes $320,538. The city audited the lap dance encounters then 'issued an assessment going back five years,' Bochetto said, plus interest and penalties. 'It’s over the top,' he told the newspaper. 'Unbelievable.'" Continue reading →

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IRS Rule Leads Restaurants to Rethink Automatic Tips

"An updated tax rule is causing restaurants to rethink the practice of adding automatic tips to the tabs of large parties. Starting in January, the Internal Revenue Service will begin classifying those automatic gratuities as service charges—which it treats as regular wages, subject to payroll tax withholding—instead of tips, which restaurants leave up to the employees to report as income. The change would mean more paperwork and added costs for the restaurants—and a potential financial hit for waiters and waitresses who live on their tips but don't always report them fully." Continue reading →

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Snapple Guy’s Overnight Success Took Decades

"A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Mr. Marsh was the child of Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father was a cobbler. Mr. Marsh and his brother-in-law Hyman Golden originally ran a Brooklyn-based window-washing and office-maintenance business. In 1972, they teamed up with Arnold Greenberg, who operated a health-food store in Manhattan's East Village, to create Unadulterated Food Products Inc. The company made juices and sold eggs and produce. After renaming the company after one of their early products, carbonated apple juice, the founders became known collectively as the 'Snapple Guys.' They built up the brand one cooler at a time in New York City's pizzerias and bodegas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnapple Guy’s Overnight Success Took Decades