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Tens of thousands of government workers hired to roll out Obamacare

"State offices that will run insurance exchanges are hiring tens of thousands, either on staff or through outsourcing firms. Federal agencies that are key to implementing the law, such as the Internal Revenue Service, plan to hire thousands more, and private non-profit groups backed by the White House are dispatching thousands of newly hired staffers and volunteers into the field. HHS spent $394 million through last March on contracts to set up state insurance exchanges it will run, according to a GAO report this week. Experts say at least 2.7 million younger, healthier people need to sign up to make the exchanges work financially." Continue reading →

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Bond Market Sell-Off Causes Stress in $2 Trillion ETF industry

"A wave of selling caused many exchange traded funds to tumble below the value of their underlying assets as a bond market sell-off caused stress in the $2 trillion ETF industry. Emerging-markets ETFs were among the worst affected, as investors took fright that the end of Federal Reserve monetary easing would lead to outflows from developing countries. The selling also caused disruptions in the plumbing behind several ETFs. Citigroup stopped accepting orders to redeem underlying assets from ETF issuers, after one trading desk reached its allocated risk limits. State Street said it would stop accepting cash redemption orders for municipal bond products from dealers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBond Market Sell-Off Causes Stress in $2 Trillion ETF industry
Read more about the article Police Taser Gun Rights Advocate at Anti-Gun Violence Rally

Police Taser Gun Rights Advocate at Anti-Gun Violence Rally

"An anti-gun violence rally at the Statehouse plaza on Tuesday turned ugly when gun rights supporters turned out to protest the event and one pro-gun advocate [was] Tasered by Concord Police after resisting their efforts to detain him. Daniel Musso, 52, of Brentwood attempted to interject commentary while John Cantin of Manchester was speaking about his efforts to influence U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, on the background check issue. Police issued an all-units alert to Main Street, with at least eight or nine cruisers at the scene, and a number of state troopers. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is part of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns effort." Continue reading →

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Syrian rebels say they have received anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles

"Syrian rebels have received heavy weapons -- including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles -- from 'brotherly nations that support the Syrian revolution,' a rebel spokesman said Friday. Free Syrian Army political and media coordinator The White House has not publicly specified what steps it would take to support members of Syria's opposition, though sources have told CNN that small arms, ammunition and possibly anti-tank weapons would be part of the assistance package. The White House announcement this month that it was increasing the 'size and scope' of its material support to Syrian rebels came after months of political debate over the U.S. role in the conflict." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyrian rebels say they have received anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles

Businesses in Berlin open arms to digital currency Bitcoin

"Cassandra Wintgens ceremoniously affixed the blue sticker with the thick, yellow 'B' to the pane in the front door of her guesthouse-cum-cafe. 'Bitcoin accepted here,' it read. The establishment Lekkerurlaub Notaufnahme, which translates roughly as 'Yummy Holiday Emergency Admission,' thereby became the seventh business in the Graefe neighbourhood of the multicultural Berlin district of Kreuzberg, to accept the digital currency — whether for an overnight stay or a cup of coffee in the cafe. 'I think it’s exciting,' she remarked. 'We don’t need banks for Bitcoins. They just muck us about anyway and don’t do anything for small-scale businesspeople.'" Continue reading →

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Cyprus Asks Creditors to Help Biggest Bank

"Cyprus has asked its European partners to help ease a cash crunch at the island's biggest lender, saying this spring's bank-rescue deal was struck 'without careful preparation' and was imperiling its ability to meet budget targets. In a letter sent to European leaders, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the success of the island's bailout depended on Bank of Cyprus PCL's survival, and he criticized capital controls put in place as part of the deal, which he said are severely damaging the economy. 'I stress the systemic importance of Bank of Cyprus, not only in terms of the banking system but also for the entire economy,' said the letter." Continue reading →

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Britain’s Co-operative Bank faces nationalisation if junior bondholders reject ‘haircut’

"The Co-operative Bank's rescue recapitalisation needs the support of £1.05bn – or around 80pc – of the holders of £1.3bn of its junior debt or the lender could end up being nationalised. A group of pensioners and other retail investors in the Cooperative Bank are facing massive losses under the rescue. Holders of £370m of permanent interest bearing shares (PIBS) issued by the Co-op and Britannia Building Society before its takeover are expected to have their coupons cancelled, making them effectively worthless. Roughly 7,000 retail investors will be affected and the bank said that, on average, they held less than £1,000 in these bonds." Continue reading →

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Brazil leaders to meet after 1 million protest in streets

"Brazil awoke Friday to city centers still smoldering after a night that shocked the nation: 1 million anti-government protesters took to the streets in scores of cities, with clusters battling police and destroying swaths of storefronts and government buildings. President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency meeting about the protest with top Cabinet members Friday, after a largely silent and much criticized response to some of the biggest demonstrations seen in this 192 million-person country in decades. The majority of protesters have been peaceful, and crowds have taken to chanting 'No violence! No violence!' when small groups have prepared to burn and smash." Continue reading →

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Web’s Reach Binds N.S.A. and Silicon Valley Leaders

"Although Silicon Valley has sold equipment to the N.S.A. and other intelligence agencies for a generation, the interests of the two began to converge in new ways in the last few years as advances in computer storage technology drastically reduced the costs of storing enormous amounts of data. The sums the N.S.A. spends in Silicon Valley are classified, as is the agency’s total budget, which independent analysts say is $8 billion to $10 billion a year. Current and former industry officials say the companies sometimes secretly put together teams of in-house experts to find ways to cooperate more completely with the N.S.A." Continue reading →

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Throwing children in prison turns out to be a really bad idea

"The United States still puts more children and teenagers in juvenile detention than any other developed nations in the world, with about 70,000 detained on any given day in 2010. And as it turns out, this is very likely a bad idea. A new paper by economists Anna Aizer and Joseph J. Doyle, Jr. offers strong evidence that juvenile detention is a really counterproductive strategy for many youths under the age of 19. Not only does throwing a kid in detention often reduce the chance that he or she will graduate high school, but it also raises the chance that the youth will commit more crimes later on in life." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThrowing children in prison turns out to be a really bad idea