Mainstream News

Tools of Modern Gunmaking: Plastic and a 3-D Printer

"Inexpensive 3-D printers have grown in popularity in part because they are easy to use. It is not even necessary to know how to create the design files that instruct the device to print bit after bit of plastic to build the object, as there are files for tens of thousands of objects available on the Internet, created by other users and freely shared. A lower receiver is the only part of an AR-15 that, when bought, requires the filing of federal paperwork. But it is legal to make an AR-15 for personal use as long as there is no intent to sell them. And if the lower receiver is homemade, no paperwork is required." Continue reading →

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Honduras police seize $50,000 gold-plated AK-47 rifle

"The authorities in Honduras have seized a gold-plated, jewel-encrusted AK-47 assault rifle, complete with two silver magazines. The gun, estimated to be worth more than $50,000 (£30,000), is believed to belong to drug traffickers. Following a tip-off, police also found a number of weapons, along with other military equipment and passports." Continue reading →

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Gold nugget weighing 5.5 kg discovered in Australia

"A prospector who found a gold nugget weighing 5.5kg (12lb) in the Australian town of Ballarat is said to be 'very happy'. The find, which is 22cm long (8.7in), was handed to gold shop owner Cordell Kent to sell to the highest bidder. He estimates the gold is worth more than 280,000 Australian dollars ($290,000; £180,000). The man has decided to stay anonymous, but that has not stopped local residents from speculating on his identity." Continue reading →

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81 gold coins found during pub work

"Builders carrying out stabilisation work on an old pub building have unearthed one of the most significant finds of gold coins ever recorded in Ireland. Eighty-one coins, mostly guineas and half guineas dating back to the 17th century, were dug up from clay underneath floorboards in a fire-damaged premises on Main Street, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary." Continue reading →

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Financial Times: Other Countries Should Follow Germany’s Gold Repatriation Lead

"The Bundesbank's move is important: not for what it says about Germany's faith in French or American vaults; nor for the cost of shifting 674 tonnes of gold; but because it is a major victory for transparency in the gold market. Central banks are notoriously secretive about their gold-trading activities. Most report, on a monthly basis, their gold reserves to the International Monetary Fund. But these data fall a long way short of full transparency. They tell us nothing about derivative positions in the gold market -- for example, gold loans, agreements for future sales, or options transactions." Continue reading →

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Tripling in Chinese Debt to $1.7 Trillion Drags on Economy

"Chinese companies are spending more than ever to service debt after their borrowing almost tripled over five years, prompting strategists to warn of rising default risk and a threat to economic growth. Total short- and long-term borrowing by 3,895 publicly traded non-financial companies rose to almost $1.7 trillion in their latest filings, from $604 billion at the end of 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Financing costs, including interest, on all forms of debt climbed to the highest level as a percentage of gross domestic product last year, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTripling in Chinese Debt to $1.7 Trillion Drags on Economy

China tells U.S. to slow money printing presses

"A senior Chinese official said on Friday that the United States should cut back on printing money to stimulate its economy if the world is to have confidence in the dollar. Asked whether he was worried about the dollar, the chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation, Jin Liqun, told the World Economic Forum in Davos: 'I am a little bit worried.' China is the biggest purchaser of U.S. Treasury bonds, using its enormous foreign currency reserves primarily to buy U.S. securities as a long-term investment." Continue reading →

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Treasury Gets a Citibanker

"There was a time when you had to be successful on Wall Street to become secretary of the Treasury. Now along comes presidential nominee Jack Lew, whose only business credential is a stint at the most troubled too-big-to-fail bank. During the darkest days of the financial crisis Mr. Lew served as the chief operating officer of Citigroup's Alternative Investments unit (CAI). CAI no longer exists. At the end of Mr. Lew's first quarter on the job, the unit reported a $358 million loss. Things got much worse after that but Citi stopped breaking out CAI results in its earnings releases. The unit was eventually shuttered and many of its assets were sold." Continue reading →

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At Bank of England, Carney to put growth at top of list

"The new Governor of the Bank of England has signalled that he will put growth at the heart of his approach to the job and is willing to see higher inflation for longer in order to support the economy. Using the US as an example, Mr Carney said economies needed to be allowed to reach an 'escape velocity' in which they were out of danger of slipping back into recession. That would suggest keeping interest rates lower for longer while considering further quantitative easing, indirect provision of monetary stimulus via the financial system." Continue reading →

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Japan welfare payments to be slashed ¥74 billion to root out the comfortably poor

"Welfare benefits will be slashed by ¥74 billion over a three-year period starting from fiscal 2013, after a government panel found that some people are making more on the dole than the average low-income person who is not spends on living costs, it was learned Sunday. The decision to lower standard benefit payments by 6.5 percent was made by welfare minister Norihisa Tamura and Finance Minister Taro Aso. The reduction will hit in August." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan welfare payments to be slashed ¥74 billion to root out the comfortably poor