Mainstream News

Spanish Pension Raids Spell Bad News for Bond Sales

"Spain’s Treasury may find one of its best customers less eager to buy its bonds as budget woes lead Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to raid a government piggy-bank for a second year. Created in 2000 to guarantee pension payments in times of hardship, the 59.3 billion-euro ($78 billion) Fondo de Reserva was tapped for the first time in December for 7 billion euros to fund Christmas bonuses and a monthly increase for retirees. Further withdrawals will have taken an additional 4.5 billion euros by the end of this month, helping to pay for pensioners’ summer bonuses and tax refunds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpanish Pension Raids Spell Bad News for Bond Sales

How Putin Uses Money Laundering Charges to Control His Opponents

"The crux of Putin's ability to punish dissenters revolves around Russia's financial intelligence unit, Rosfinmonitoring. Putin created Rosfinmonitoring--under the direct control of the president and placed it in the charge of a fiercely loyal subordinate, Viktor Zubkov (also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the natural gas and oil giant Gazprom). Rosfinmonitoring, and the laws criminalizing money laundering (Russian Federal Law No. 115-FZ ), were established on the recommendation of the U.S. and European powers, who sought to institutionalize a global anti-money laundering regime in the 1990's and early 2000's." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Putin Uses Money Laundering Charges to Control His Opponents

Republican battles for Medicaid funding turn to God and morality

"Most Republicans oppose Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a costly, ineffective and unnecessary expansion of government. But some Republican governors, like Arizona's Jan Brewer and Michigan's Rick Snyder, have broken ranks to embrace the law's Medicaid expansion as a practical way to help the poor while infusing their state budgets with billions of dollars in federal funding to pay for it. Ohio's John Kasich has gone further. His message of morality goes straight to the Republican Party's allegiance to traditional American values including charity, and should resonate with religious conservatives within its influential Tea Party faction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRepublican battles for Medicaid funding turn to God and morality

Federal report: E-Verify errors could wrongly exclude Americans from jobs

"Reports published by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reveal that the so-called E-Verify programme, which allows employers to check whether new workers are properly documented, is so inaccurate that if replicated across the country it could wrongfully exclude more than 200,000 people from the workforce. With more than one in 10 employers using E-Verify to weed out applicants before making a job offer, the potential for abuse is greatly increased. It is possible for applicants to be turned away from a post without ever finding out that they have been wrongly flagged as unauthorised on the database." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal report: E-Verify errors could wrongly exclude Americans from jobs

NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly defends stop-and-frisk in appeal to public

"With his law enforcement legacy hanging in the balance, New York City’s police chief has turned to the media to defend his most controversial initiatives. Kelly has come under intense criticism for the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices – which disproportionately impact communities of color – and surveillance of Muslims both in and out of the department’s geographic jurisdiction, resulting in multiple lawsuits. With Bloomberg’s tenure coming to an end, Kelly’s future is uncertain. President Barack Obama said Kelly would be 'very well qualified' to head the Department of Homeland Security. Others have disagreed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD commissioner Ray Kelly defends stop-and-frisk in appeal to public

US tech firms say they are losing business over NSA surveillance

"Revelations about the US government’s vast data collection programs have already started hurting American technology firms, according to an industry survey released this week. The Cloud Security Alliance said 10 percent of its non-US members have cancelled a contract with a US-based cloud provider, and 56 percent said they were less likely to use an American company. In the survey, 36 percent of US firms polled said the revelations would make it more difficult for their company to do business outside the United States, while 64 percent said it would not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS tech firms say they are losing business over NSA surveillance

Funny Money Or New Economy? Alternative Currency Raises Tax, Other Challenges

"Philadelphia isn’t the only community experimenting with this idea. Other areas, like the Berkshire area of Massachusetts, have a similar currency (theirs is called BerkShares, not to be confused with Buffett’s Berkshire). The exchange of Equal Dollars is a $2.5 million operation, according to RHD. BerkShares claims that it circulated over one million BerkShares circulated in the first nine months of operation and over 2.7 million to date (roughly pegged at $.95 U.S. per BerkShare). Ithaca HOURS, touted as the oldest local currency in the country, currently has over $100,000 in circulation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFunny Money Or New Economy? Alternative Currency Raises Tax, Other Challenges

Prices Fuel Outrage in Brazil; ’46 New Tax Rules Per Day’

"Brazil’s street protests grew out of a popular campaign against bus fare increases. Renting an apartment in coveted areas of Rio has become more expensive than in Oslo, the capital of oil-rich Norway. Soaring prices for basic foods like tomatoes prompted parodies of President Dilma Rousseff and her economic advisers. Inflation stands at about 6.4 percent, with many in the middle class complaining that they are bearing the brunt of price increases. Companies grapple with 88 federal, state and municipal taxes, a number of which are charged directly to consumers. The Brazilian authorities issue an estimated 46 new tax rules every day." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrices Fuel Outrage in Brazil; ’46 New Tax Rules Per Day’

EU plan to cut credit and debit card fees is confirmed

"Plans to cut transaction fees on debit and credit cards in the European Union have been published - but there is disagreement over the potential impact. The European Commission estimates that the EU payment market is worth 130bn euros (£112bn) but is 'fragmented and expensive'. It wants to cap 'interchange fees' to a maximum of 0.3% of a transaction. The fees involved are paid by shops and businesses to banks, every time a consumer uses his or her card. But banks argue that consumers will instead end up paying higher charges to use debit and credit cards." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU plan to cut credit and debit card fees is confirmed

China launches longest-ever manned space mission

"China Tuesday began its longest manned space mission with the launch of the Shenzhou-10 rocket, state television showed, as the country steps up an ambitious exploration programme symbolising its growing power. The crew are due to spend 15 days in orbit. Beijing sees the multi-billion-dollar space programme as a marker of its rising global stature and mounting technical expertise, as well as the ruling Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation. China's programme is highly ambitious and includes plans to land a man on the moon and build a station orbiting earth by 2020." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina launches longest-ever manned space mission