Mainstream News

Greece should defy the gunboat creditors

"Nothing whatsoever has been resolved, either in Greece, or in Portugal, or in Cyprus, or in Spain, or in Italy. Nor will there be under the current contractionary policy structure. There is no Deus Ex Machina. These nations will remain trapped in slump and mass unemployment until they take matters into their own hands, form a debtors cartel, confront the head-on gunboat creditors from a position of strength, and dictate the outcome. But first they have to defenestrate out their own cowed elites." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreece should defy the gunboat creditors

If I Bribe City Hall, Can I Reduce My Mortgage?

"Richmond, California, sent the securities and real estate industries into a tizzy this week. The city said it is moving ahead with plans to use its power of eminent domain to seize home mortgages and restructure them for residents who owe more money than their homes are worth. This would be a first in the U.S. Normally when governments do things that upset Wall Street millionaires it’s a sign they’re going down the right path. There are exceptions, of course. Cities usually use eminent domain to seize land and buildings. If they’re going to start seizing home mortgages, why stop there?" Continue reading →

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Top Federal Reserve economist slams ‘incoherent’ European Central Bank

"A paper by the Richmond Fed said the ECB is hamstrung by institutional problems and acts on the mistaken premise that excess debt is the cause of the eurozone crisis when the real cause is the collapse of growth. 'The ECB lacks a coherent strategy for creating the monetary base required to sustain the money creation necessary for a growing economy,' said the paper, written in July by Robert Hetzel, the bank’s senior economist. It called for direct action to buy 'bundles' of small business loans, as well as 'packages of government debt' across EMU states, including German Bunds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop Federal Reserve economist slams ‘incoherent’ European Central Bank

Australian Government to establish bank bailout fund with new levy

"The Federal Government is expected to announce a new levy on banks set to start in 2016 to help fund any future bailouts. The levy will start on January 1, 2016 and will be set at 0.05 per cent on deposits of up to $250,000. It is understood the levy will raise $733 million in its first 18 months. The money raised will go into a new Financial Stability Fund and will be used in the event of a bank collapse. The Financial Stability Fund will appear as revenue in the budget, as the Government grapples with revenue shortfalls ahead of releasing its economic update." Continue reading →

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India July silver imports highest in 5 years

"Silver imports in July 2013 are the second highest in any month in the last five years. On the other hand, gold has seen a steep decline in imports in June (only 8.908 MT) compared to 37.618 MT in May, the second lowest in last five years. Experts say traders are importing more silver because of trade restrictions on gold by the Government of India since June 3. The decrease in silver prices over the last three months is also driving imports. 'Due to restrictions on gold, these figures were expected and traders are waiting for gold prices to fall further before they start buying,' said Kishore Javeri of Javeri and Company." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia July silver imports highest in 5 years

500,000 Indian workers lose jobs as jewellers curb gold imports

"Vijay Gopal, a goldsmith at one of India's leading branded jewellery manufacturing unit in Coimbatore, lost his job last month. 'Since last three decades I was working in this market and never felt the need to learn any other skill. I am clueless on how I will feed my family of six,' said Gopal. Gopal is not alone. The government’s move to tighten the screws on gold imports, and the decision by major jewellers such as Tata Group's Tanishq, TBZ, Geetanjali Jems and others to curb gold sales, have caused some collateral damage: a cloud over the future of industry workers. Mrityunjay Sarangi, secretary, ministry of labour, refused to comment on the issue." Continue reading →

Continue Reading500,000 Indian workers lose jobs as jewellers curb gold imports

South Korea’s $4 Million Teacher

"Tutoring services are growing all over the globe. But nowhere have they achieved the market penetration and sophistication of hagwons in South Korea, where private tutors now outnumber schoolteachers. The bulk of Mr. Kim's earnings come from the 150,000 kids who watch his lectures online each year. For decades, the South Korean government has been trying to tame the country's private-education market. Politicians have imposed curfews and all manner of regulations on hagwons, even going so far as to ban them altogether during the 1980s, when the country was under military rule. Each time the hagwons have come back stronger." Continue reading →

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Protest over Taiwanese military conscript’s death draws 100,000

"More than 100,000 Taiwanese people took to the streets Saturday in protest over the death of a young conscript who was allegedly abused in the military. Protesters rallied at a square near the presidential office in Taipei, mostly dressed in white — a colour symbolising truth in local culture. It was the second mass protest since Corporal Hung Chung-chiu died of heatstroke on July 4 — apparently after being forced to exercise excessively as punishment for taking a smartphone onto his base — just three days before the end of his compulsory year-long military service." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProtest over Taiwanese military conscript’s death draws 100,000

India Pledges Rupee Action as Currency Nears Fresh Low

"On Tuesday, traders were rattled after Subbarao said the central bank would return to a pro-growth monetary stance only once the currency stabilised. Separately, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the government was looking into liberalising foreign direct investment rules, attracting funds from non-resident Indians and clamping down on the import of non-essential items such as electronics. 'There's no rocket science in manufacturing basic electronic hardware ... So we can manufacture electronic hardware goods here,' he told a news conference in New Delhi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia Pledges Rupee Action as Currency Nears Fresh Low

Tennessee newspaper editor is fired after writing an anti-Obama headline

"A Tennessee newspaper editor has been fired after writing a headline critical of President Obama. Drew Johnson's editorial, titled, 'Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough,' was published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press earlier this week when Obama visited the city. The timing of the column gave it a national audience it might not otherwise have had. As a result, it went viral online and Johnson, the editor of the Times Free Press editorial page, has since been let go. 'I just became the first person in the history of newspapers to be fired for writing a paper's most-read article,' he tweeted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTennessee newspaper editor is fired after writing an anti-Obama headline