Mainstream News

Fed Could End Up Paying Banks $77 Billion Annually on Excess Reserves

"The Federal Reserve could pay more than $77 billion a year in interest on the excess cash reserves it holds for commercial banks if rates follow the highest path forecast by Fed policy makers. The central bank already has paid more than $13 billion since 2008 when Congress authorized interest on reserve balances as part of financial-rescue legislation. The Fed earns interest income on its bond holdings and, after covering its operating expenses, returns the profit to the U.S. Treasury. Last year, the Fed remitted $88.4 billion. As the interest payments on reserves rise, this profit could shrink or disappear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Could End Up Paying Banks $77 Billion Annually on Excess Reserves

Echoes of the bubble in agents’ descriptions of real estate markets

"Astonishingly low mortgage rates, which the Federal Reserve has driven down in the hopes of stimulating borrowing and goosing the economy, have given qualified purchasers more buying power. A 1 percent decline in mortgage rates increases buying power by about 10 percent. Even though agents might worry about overvalued homes, that's not stopping buyers from bidding up prices, a phenomenon happening in markets with tight inventories across the U.S. Maxwell Rabin, an agent at TTR Sotheby's International Realty, said the Washington, D.C. market is experiencing 'very, very high demand and almost historically low supply.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEchoes of the bubble in agents’ descriptions of real estate markets

Iron Age burial site points to long-lost glories of Gaul

"During this time, the Celts expanded from their core territory in central Europe to as far afield as northern Scotland and the Atlantic coast of Spain. They clashed with the emerging Roman empire, whose writers recorded the invaders as pale-skinned savages, dressed in breeches with bleached hair, who cut off their enemies’ heads, preserving those of high rank in cedar oil. The barbarian image, though, has been dispelled by historical research in recent decades. It has laid bare a complex civilisation that had a mastery of metal and a trading system which spanned Europe and generated great wealth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIron Age burial site points to long-lost glories of Gaul

Maryland ‘rain tax’ to be enforced through satellite surveillance?

"The tax, officially known as a 'storm water management fee,' will be enforced in nine of the state's counties. Former 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino bashes the tax in a Wednesday afternoon press release. The law 'requires individuals, businesses, and even charitable organizations and houses of worship to pay a tax based on the amount of rain that falls on their property and the 'impervious surfaces' on their land,' he says. The tax, mandated by the EPA and enforced locally, will be calculated 'through satellite surveillance of your property,' the statement claims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMaryland ‘rain tax’ to be enforced through satellite surveillance?

JFK passenger detained by TSA after talking about ‘bomb’ sandwich

"Airport officials detained a traveler who mentioned an explosive device at JFK — only to discover he was actually talking about food referred to as The Bomb, TSA sources said. Jason Michael Cruz, 29, was on an escalator in Terminal 7 Thursday when a TSA officer overheard him tell a friend he 'had the wrong kind of bomb' just after 1 p.m. Officials ushered Cruz and his friend, Matthew Okumoto, to a holding area, where they learned the pair was talking about a sandwich called The Bomb, airport officials said. TSA officers held the pair until airport cops arrived, causing Cruz to miss his Los Angeles-bound flight." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJFK passenger detained by TSA after talking about ‘bomb’ sandwich

EMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves

"First they purloin the savings and bank deposits in Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, including the working funds of the University of Cyprus, and thousands of small firms hanging on by their fingertips. Then they seize three quarters of the country’s gold reserves, making it ever harder for Cyprus to extricate itself from EMU at a later date. The people of Cyprus first learned about this from a Reuters leak of the working documents for the Eurogroup meeting on Friday. This seemed to catch the central bank by surprise. Officials said they knew nothing about it. So who in fact made this decision?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves

Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires

"Many Bitcoin tycoons are devoting themselves to expanding the currency’s reach. Yifu Guo was a digital media student at New York University when he began mining some of the first coins, occasionally cashing in a few to help pay his rent. After he recognized Bitcoin’s potential, he quit school and founded a company called Avalon, which sells hardware built solely for the purpose of mining Bitcoins. Tony Gallippi is CEO of BitPay, a payment processor he co-founded in 2011 that enables online merchants to accept Bitcoins. He says he includes Bitcoins in his investment portfolio along with stocks, bonds, and real estate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMeet the Bitcoin Millionaires

Dad Finds 4th-Grader’s Crayon-Written Paper: ‘I’ll Give Up Constitutional Rights To Be Safer’

"The words are written in crayon, in the haphazard bumpiness of a child’s scrawl. 'I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights in order to be safer or more secure.' They’re the words that Florida father Aaron Harvey was stunned to find his fourth-grade son had written, after a lesson in school about the Constitution. Harvey’s son attends Cedar Hills Elementary in Jacksonville, Fla. Back in January, a local attorney came in to teach the students about the Bill of Rights. But after the attorney left, fourth-grade teacher Cheryl Sabb dictated the sentence to part of the class and had them copy it down, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDad Finds 4th-Grader’s Crayon-Written Paper: ‘I’ll Give Up Constitutional Rights To Be Safer’

Missouri Highway Patrol gave concealed carry permits data to feds

"Missouri's database of concealed weapon permits was twice given to federal authorities investigating Social Security disability fraud in a move that has enraged lawmakers already angry over potential abuses in a new driver's licensing system. Missouri State Highway Patrol Col. Ron Replogle was questioned for nearly an hour this morning by the Senate Appropriations Committee after he revealed to Chairman Kurt Schaefer yesterday that his agency had turned over the data. The delivery of the information to federal authorities has become a huge issue for lawmakers since they began raising questions about new driver's licensing procedures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMissouri Highway Patrol gave concealed carry permits data to feds

Homeland Security agents indicted for falsifying records in corruption investigation

"Two Department of Homeland Security employees have been indicted in a scheme to falsify investigative documents to disguise a lack of progress on cases in their South Texas office. The Justice Department announced Wednesday that 49-year-old Eugenio Pedraza was indicted Tuesday on charges of falsifying records, obstructing justice and conspiracy. Pedraza is a former head of DHS's Office of the Inspector General in McAllen. Agent Marco Rodriguez also was charged. The IG's office investigates wrongdoing in the DHS, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security agents indicted for falsifying records in corruption investigation