Mainstream News

Court: Iceland doesn’t need to repay UK and Dutch depositors

"Iceland was entitled to refuse to pay immediate deposit guarantees to savers with failed online bank Icesave in Britain and the Netherlands, a European court said Monday. The ruling is the latest twist in a bitter dispute which has clouded negotiations on Iceland’s ambitions to become a member of the European Union. Deals to use tax-payer money to refund the Icesave debt have been twice rejected in referendums so the assets of failed parent Landsbanki are the only way Iceland can settle the row." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCourt: Iceland doesn’t need to repay UK and Dutch depositors

The bacterium that lays tiny nuggets of gold

"Among the more peculiar organisms that inhabit our Earth exists a bacterium that turns water-soluble gold into microscopic nuggets of solid gold, scientists said Sunday. Chemists have often pondered why the germ Delftia acidovorans is frequently found on the surface of tiny gold nuggets. Its presence led scientists to speculate it may be creating the particles from soluble gold — ions of gold that are dissolved in water. But the puzzle was how D. acidovorans did this trick, as soluble gold is toxic. The answer lies in a molecule excreted by the microbe that both shields the organism and transforms the poisonous ions into particles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe bacterium that lays tiny nuggets of gold

Italy’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

"Former premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Sunday to refund the money Italians have had to fork out for an unpopular property tax if his coalition wins this month’s elections. Speaking at a rally in Milan, Berlusconi vowed to scrap the levy and refund the taxes paid on primary residences in 2012 'as compensation for an erroneous decision by the state' — to the tune of some four billion euros ($5.5 billion). 'One should never touch the primary residence, which is the pillar on which families build,' he said, asserting that the reintroduction of the tax had caused property values to plummet 'by five to 20 percent', and had led to a drop in home sales and construction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

Italy risks political crisis as MPS bank scandal turns ‘explosive’

"Monte dei Paschi (MPS), the world’s oldest bank dating back to 1472, is under investigation for covering up losses on derivatives and paying over the odds for its €9bn (£7.8bn) purchase of Banca AntonVeneta in 2007. Italy’s press alleges that the inquiry has unearthed a network of bribes and kickbacks, a claim denied by the bank. The lender has lost €6.4bn since early 2011 and the damage is mounting. What makes the case so delicate are the bank’s close ties to the Italian political Left. MPS is 35pc-owned by a foundation that answers to the PD-controlled Tuscan province of Siena and was run by ex-Communist Giuseppe Mussari until his abrupt exit this month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly risks political crisis as MPS bank scandal turns ‘explosive’

What Is Middle Class in Manhattan?

"Manhattan is not like most places. Its 1.6 million residents hide in a forest of tall buildings, and even the city's elite take the subway. Middle-class neighborhoods do not really exist in Manhattan — probably the only place in the United States where a $5.5 million condo with a teak closet and mother-of-pearl wall tile shares a block with a public housing project. In a city like New York, where everything is superlative, who exactly is middle class? What kind of salary are we talking about? Where does a middle-class person live? And could the relentless rise in real estate prices push the middle class to extinction?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Is Middle Class in Manhattan?

Shiller: Housing Market May Have Further to Drop

"'The housing market has been declining for something like six years now, it could go on, that’s my worry,' Shiller said in Davos, Switzerland. 'The short-term indicators are up now, it definitely looks better, but we saw that in 2009.' 'It’s a good housing market in the sense that mortgage rates are very low and prices have come down to normal levels, so yes, it’s a good time to buy if nothing bad happens,' Shiller said. 'But it’s also a very bad housing market in that most of the mortgages are being supported by the government, and we have the Fed and this buying program. It’s a very abnormal market. There’s a lot of uncertainty going forward.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShiller: Housing Market May Have Further to Drop

Squatting in style: 23-year-old occupies empty $2.5 million Boca home

"The 23-year-old has moved into an empty $2.5 million mansion in a posh Boca Raton neighborhood, using an obscure Florida real estate law to stake his claim on the foreclosed waterside property. The police can't move him. No one saw him breaking into the 5-bedroom house, so it's a civil matter. And representatives for the real owner, Bank of America, said they are aware of the situation and are following a legal process. Sunrise real estate lawyer Gary Singer said Barbosa is invoking a state law called 'adverse possession,' which allows someone to move into a property and claim the title — if they can stay there seven years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSquatting in style: 23-year-old occupies empty $2.5 million Boca home

California Man Pays Off $13,000 Property Tax Bill in Coins, Dollar Bills

"A California man who failed to pay his property taxes for over five years has finally come up with the money — but he made local tax office workers count nearly $15,000 worth of change and dollar bills. Larry Gasper of Redding, Calif. brought in a wheelbarrow and two buckets worth of coins and cash to the Shasta County Tax Collector’s Office on Wednesday afternoon. Gasper rolled and collected the coins and bills until he had enough to clear his debt. If Gasper had not paid the bill, his property would have been auctioned off next month. He said he lost his tree business a couple of years ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Man Pays Off $13,000 Property Tax Bill in Coins, Dollar Bills

Russia Says World Is Nearing Currency War as Europe Joins

"The alert from the country that chairs the Group of 20 came as Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker complained of a 'dangerously high' euro. The push for weaker currencies is being driven by a need to find new sources of economic growth as monetary and fiscal policies run out of room. The risk is as each country tries to boost exports, it hurts the competitiveness of other economies and provokes retaliation. The skirmish may lead to a clash of G-20 finance ministers and central banks when they meet next month in Moscow, three months after reiterating their 2009 pledge to 'refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia Says World Is Nearing Currency War as Europe Joins

Pacific Group to Convert 1/3 of Hedge-Fund Assets to Gold

"The Pacific Group Ltd., founded by a former PaineWebber Inc. trader, is converting one-third of its hedge-fund assets into physical gold, betting that prices will go up as governments print more money to pay off debt. The Hong Kong-based asset manager plans to take delivery of $35 million worth of gold bars that can be traded on the London Bullion Market Association and other international markets, William Kaye, its founder and chief investment officer, said in a telephone interview on Jan. 18. It has secured vault space at Hong Kong International Airport to store the gold, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPacific Group to Convert 1/3 of Hedge-Fund Assets to Gold