"U.S. Representative Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, talks about U.S. fiscal policy, and the prospects of political compromise on the nation's budget defict. Paul speaks to Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's 'In the Loop.'" Continue reading →
"Denmark said Saturday it would scrap a fat tax it introduced a little over a year ago in a world first, saying the measure was costly and failed to change Danes’ eating habits. 'The fat tax and the extension of the chocolate tax — the so-called sugar tax — has been criticised for increasing prices for consumers, increasing companies’ administrative costs and putting Danish jobs at risk,' the Danish tax ministry said in a statement. 'At the same time it is believed that the fat tax has, to a lesser extent, contributed to Danes travelling across the border to make purchases,' it added." Continue reading →
"US tech giant Apple has dished out 20 million Swiss francs ($21 million, 17 million euros) to compensate Swiss national rail operator SBB for using its famous clock without permission, a Swiss daily reported Saturday. The company agreed in October to pay the lump sum so it could continue using SBB’s Swiss-designed station clock face on its iPads and iPhones, the Tages-Anzeiger daily reported on its website, quoting several unnamed sources." Continue reading →
"The rule change followed legislation made in the wake of the financial crisis that was meant to help the U.S. government close the tax gap and combat tax evasion. But the FATCA rule change is shaping up to be an administrative and diplomatic nightmare for some foreign banks. For expats, it is complicating life overseas, curtailing opportunities in everything from jobs to getting bank accounts -- and, of course, potentially raising their tax burden. Now, with the promise of higher taxes coming next year, many expats are saying enough." Continue reading →
"King and Pierce County prosecutors are dismissing more than 220 misdemeanor marijuana cases in response to Tuesday’s vote to decriminalize small amounts of pot. In King County, 175 cases are being dismissed involving people 21 and older and possession of one ounce or less. I-502 makes one ounce of marijuana legal on Dec. 6, but King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg decided to apply I-502 retroactively. 'Although the effective date of I-502 is not until December 6, there is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month,' Satterberg said in a statement." Continue reading →
"Rights groups challenged President Barack Obama on Thursday to use his second term to close Guantanamo and end drone attacks, warrantless surveillance and extrajudicial killings. Shortly after he took office in January 2009, Obama declared that he would shutter the prison camp for 'war on terror' suspects within a year, saying it served as a recruiting tool for militant and hurt US national security. Rights groups have strongly criticized the president for his Guantanamo failures and for maintaining other stringent security tactics put into practice under his predecessor George W. Bush." Continue reading →
"Joe Klein defends the indiscriminate murder of children on MSNBC. A better example of psychopathic thinking would be hard to find." Continue reading →
"'If Obama wins, it’s going to be more inflation, more money printing, more debt, more spending.' Rogers told CNBC, saying he expected to sell U.S. government debt and buy precious metals, such as gold. 'It’s not going to be good for you me or anybody else. It looks to me like the money printing is going to run amok now, and spending is going to run amok now,' Rogers stated. 'I have to invest based on what’s happening and not what I would like.' Rogers said that he didn’t vote for either Romney or Obama, saying that 'they’re both evil as far as I’m concerned.'" Continue reading →
"The U.S. Treasury quietly warned at the end of a statement issued last Wednesday that it expects the federal government to hit its legal debt limit before the end of this year--which means before the new Congress is seated--and that "extraordinary measures" will be needed before then to keep the government fully funded into the early part of 2013. On Aug. 2, 2011, President Obama signed a deal he had negotiated with congressional leaders to increase the debt limit of the federal government by $2.4 trillion. But, now, after only 15 months, almost all of that additional borrowing authority has been exhausted." Continue reading →
"Amazon said the online shop would be 'a marketplace offering customers more than a thousand wines crafted by wineries around the country.' The online retail giant also provides international wines through external websites. Customers can ship up to six bottles of wine for $9.99. Wine sales are allowed only in states which allow it. That includes California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and the District of Columbia." Continue reading →