Mainstream News

Mexico Bill Loosens Restrictions On Foreigners Buying Residential Property

"The longstanding restrictions on foreigners buying property along Mexico's coast and borders were loosened on Tuesday after Congress' lower house voted on a proposal that drew stiff criticism from some quarters. For decades, foreigners have had to use real-estate trusts or Mexican front companies to buy beachfront properties, because Article 27 of the constitution prohibits non-Mexicans from directly owning land within 31 miles (50 kilometers) of the coast and 62 miles (100 kilometers) of the nation's borders. The trusts and front companies have provided a lucrative income for banks, lawyers and notaries who are required to operate them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexico Bill Loosens Restrictions On Foreigners Buying Residential Property

Bulgarian Spring: Self-Immolations Highlight a Desperate Electorate

"Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets nationwide, with up to 30,000 demonstrating in Varna, a large city and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast. Old boys' networks left over from the communist era have divided the country among themselves. They dominate the parliament and government agencies, they secure the best contracts for themselves, they threaten the press and they are in league with organized crime. Bulgaria is the poorest country in the European Union, with a stagnating economy. Up to half a million Bulgarians have already emigrated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBulgarian Spring: Self-Immolations Highlight a Desperate Electorate

German Euro-Skeptic Party Gaining Ground

"The anti-euro party 'Alternative for Germany' (AfD) was officially founded just a few weeks ago, but it has clearly struck a nerve: It already numbers 10,476 members, SPIEGEL has learned -- some 2,800 of which have switched allegiance from Germany's established parties. As elections loom later this year, Alternative for Germany is making waves with an agenda that includes dissolving the euro currency zone and returning powers from Brussels to EU member-states. Although a survey released on Tuesday showed the party's support is currently barely nudging 4 percent, its rapidly swelling ranks could end up significantly altering the country's political landscape." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman Euro-Skeptic Party Gaining Ground

Nevada bill would levy 8% tax on brothels, Burning Man festival

"The tax man may soon be visiting a few Nevada brothels. A bill to be introduced in the Nevada legislature on Wednesday will propose an 8% flat tax for live entertainment at business ventures in the state ranging from brothels to the annual Burning Man festival. Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D-North Las Vegas) says the bill would target events and businesses that have either been deemed exempt from state sales taxes or have simply been overlooked. Those operations include brothels, which Nevada lawmakers have been hesitant to tax out of fear that doing so would further legitimize the stigmatized, but legal trade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNevada bill would levy 8% tax on brothels, Burning Man festival

Building superintendent mistakes tomato plants for pot, and so did cops he called

"Experts don’t know how the cops could have confused the two. Cops eventually got hip to the difference and closed the investigation, leaving the tomatoes alone. The unidentified owner of the tomato stash won’t have to deal with the cops but he will have to deal with his super, who said he’d lock the door to the roof. 'No one’s supposed to be there anyway,' Delarosa said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBuilding superintendent mistakes tomato plants for pot, and so did cops he called

Billionaire investors take aim at Fed’s policies at Sohn event

"Wealthy money managers bashed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's easy money policies at a closely watched annual investment conference and charitable event on Wednesday. The Sohn Investment Conference, which raises money for pediatric cancer research, gets big name hedge fund managers to share their 'best ideas' with other wealthy investors. This year's conference was sprinkled with criticisms of the Fed's $85 billion in monthly purchases of Treasuries and mortgage securities in an attempt to stoke the economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBillionaire investors take aim at Fed’s policies at Sohn event

Argentina: Dollar price at 10.45 Pesos over two times the ‘official’ price

"The blue dollar jumped past the key psychological barrier of 10 Pesos on Tuesday in thin t rade, reflecting persistent demand for greenbacks amid tough currency controls. Meanwhile, the official rate remained unchanged at exchange offices in Buenos Aires at Pesos 5.16 (buying price) and Pesos 5.22 (selling price), with the gap between the two markets over 100%. In a context of high inflation, negative interest rates or other options to defend the value of the Argentine currency, Argentines are increasingly taking refuge in the US dollar. To this must be added an overall feeling of distrust and uncertainty which can have a greater impact that what stats can present." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina: Dollar price at 10.45 Pesos over two times the ‘official’ price

The New Truth About the Cop Shot in Watertown: Friendly-Fire in a Getaway

"The way the nation met 33-year-old MBTA Transit Police officer Richard Donohue was — like much of the conflicting information from that night of mayhem in Watertown, Massachusetts — violent, fast, and scary: He was exchanging fire with the Tsarnaev brothers, the story went, and he took a gun shot to his right thigh from the Boston bombing suspects — an injury that would see Donohue lose all of his own blood, sever three blood vessels, send him into cardiac arrest, and almost die. Now comes a more complete picture, with more eyewitnesses telling a new story, that Donohue was probably shot by a fellow police officer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe New Truth About the Cop Shot in Watertown: Friendly-Fire in a Getaway

Tallest Skyscraper Yet Going Up In Midland, Texas

"In 1927, when T.S. Hogan announced plans for a 12-story office building called the Petroleum Tower, many here were incredulous. A skyscraper? On the plains of West Texas? But city leaders embraced the building and the status it conferred on the city as the heart of the new Permian Basin oil field, historians say. At least until 1929, when the price of a barrel of crude dropped to 15 cents and the just-opened building sat empty. Eighty-six years later, the Petroleum Tower still stands—and history may be starting to repeat itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTallest Skyscraper Yet Going Up In Midland, Texas

Spain refuses to extradite Swiss bank data ‘thief’

"A Spanish court refused on Wednesday to extradite a former HSBC bank employee to Switzerland where he is wanted for allegedly stealing data that exposed thousands of suspected tax dodgers. Hervé Falciani, a 40-year-old French-Italian, was arrested in Barcelona in July 2012 after he arrived by boat from France. Switzerland asked for Falciani to be extradited to face charges of violating Swiss banking secrecy laws and revealing industrial secrets. Spanish prosecutors had opposed Falciani's extradition on the grounds that he was helping authorities investigate tax fraud and because banking secrecy was abolished in Spain in 1977." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpain refuses to extradite Swiss bank data ‘thief’