Mainstream News

An assault on living standards set to run and run

"Sir Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, warned this week that the next generation may have to live under the shadow of today's economic correction 'for a long time to come'. The Governor is still as reluctant as ever to concede the central bank's own culpability in the crisis. In his own speech, Sir Mervyn makes a clear distinction between what he calls 'good' money printing of the type the Bank of England is already practising through quantitative easing, and 'bad' money printing of the 'helicopter' variety." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn assault on living standards set to run and run

Firings Highest Since 2010 as Ford to Dow Face Slump

"Ford Motor Co. (F) and Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) joined a growing number of companies firing thousands of workers as sluggish U.S. growth and Europe’s deepening recession lead to a persisting slump in sales. North American companies have announced plans to eliminate more than 62,600 positions at home and abroad since Sept. 1, the biggest two-month drop since the start of 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The reductions coincide with a majority of U.S. companies missing analysts’ third-quarter revenue estimates and a focus on jobs in the final weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirings Highest Since 2010 as Ford to Dow Face Slump

Get Ready: Everything Is Going to Cost More Next Year

"Consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets next year to pay for costlier health care, more expensive grocery bills and higher taxes, an extra drag on the country's already slow-moving economy. The additional outlays look set to test the resilience of consumers, whose spending accounts for around two-thirds of the U.S. economy. The strength of consumer spending has surprised some economists, given unemployment near 8 percent and anemic wage growth. Consumer spending has cushioned the blow to the United States from slower foreign demand for its goods." Continue reading →

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Soros Ex-Wife Lists Apartment for $50 Million

"Susan Weber Soros, the former wife of the billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros, has listed her elegantly appointed 10-room apartment at the Majestic, the soaring dual-towered Art Deco co-op at 115 Central Park West, for $50 million. It is being offered fully furnished — Ms. Soros is downsizing and making a clean break — and the price includes a separate one-bedroom one-bath unit for staff. Ms. Soros bought the apartment for $25 million in an under-the-radar transaction in 2006, a year after her two-decade marriage to Mr. Soros ended in divorce." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSoros Ex-Wife Lists Apartment for $50 Million

Spanish unemployment tops 25 percent

"Spain announced Friday that its unemployment rate broke the 25-percent barrier for the first time as austerity cuts squeezed the recession-struck economy. Tens of thousands of jobs were destroyed in the third quarter, even as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government raised taxes, cut spending and pondered whether to snatch a eurozone rescue line. Among workers aged 16-24 the jobless rate towered at 52.34 percent in the third quarter, only slightly down from 53.27 percent in the previous quarter, the institute said. After more than a year of recession, the soaring jobless figures and biting cuts have prompted growing street protests." Continue reading →

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Turkish gold trade booms to Iran, via Dubai

"The sums involved are enormous. Official Turkish trade data suggests nearly $2 billion worth of gold was sent to Dubai on behalf of Iranian buyers in August. The shipments help Tehran manage its finances in the face of Western financial sanctions. The sanctions, imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program, have largely frozen it out of the global banking system, making it hard for it to conduct international money transfers. By using physical gold, Iran can continue to move its wealth across borders. Turkish trade data confirms the gold is being transported to Dubai by air." Continue reading →

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Arizona to vote on taking control of Grand Canyon

"Arizonans will vote next month on a ballot proposal to give the state control over the Grand Canyon – the latest move in the so-called 'sagebrush revolt' in which western states are trying to reclaim federal land. The issue was put on the ballot after the proposal passed the Republican-controlled legislature. It would amend the state constitution to give Arizona sovereignty and jurisdiction over not just the Grand Canyon but all the 'air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources' within its boundaries." Continue reading →

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Chicago cop: No memory of bartender beating, 110 phone calls

"Abbate says he doesn't remember much about the February 2007 night he was caught on videotape beating up bartender Obrycka. In the civil trial against the fired Chicago cop, Abbate testified that was 'on a mission to get totally inebriated' because he was upset his dog had just been diagnosed with cancer. Obrycka accuses Abbate and the Chicago Police Department of trying to cover up and downplay the beating. Obrycka's attorney Terry Ekl says the alleged cover-up was evident by the more than 110 phone calls Abbate made within 24 hours after the beating. Abbate said the calls were nothing more than 'drunk dialing.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago cop: No memory of bartender beating, 110 phone calls

‘Liberty Dollar’ Creator Awaits His Fate Behind Bars

"His name is Bernard von NotHaus, and he is a professed 'monetary architect' and a maker of custom coins found guilty last spring of counterfeiting charges for minting and distributing a form of private money called the Liberty Dollar. Described by some as 'the Rosa Parks of the constitutional currency movement,' Mr. von NotHaus managed over the last decade to get more than 60 million real dollars’ worth of his precious metal-backed currency into circulation across the country — so much, and with such deep penetration, that the prosecutor overseeing his case accused him of 'domestic terrorism' for using them to undermine the government." Continue reading →

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Pre-election Bin Laden raid film will feature extra Obama footage

"A film about the killing of Osama bin Laden which will air two nights before the US presidential election has been re-edited to feature more footage of Barack Obama, prompting accusations Hollywood is trying to swing the vote. Harvey Weinstein, a studio head and prominent Democrat who has contributed to the president’s campaign, tweaked the film, Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden, to broaden Obama’s role." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPre-election Bin Laden raid film will feature extra Obama footage