Is Central Banking Scientific?

"The portrayal of central banking in these sorts of articles is sterile and scientific. You wouldn't know, for instance, that the men who created the plan for the Federal Reserve dressed up in costumes so they wouldn't be found out when traveling down to Jekyll Island for the confab that led to the final proposal. And you certainly wouldn't know of the relationships between them and others in Europe that were backing this sort of plan. The idea that the framers of the Federal Reserve Act would be shocked at the way it turned out is specious. It didn't take but a decade and those empowered by the Act were conspiring with the British to devalue the dollar and prop up the pound." Continue reading

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Israel Names Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International the New Central Bank Chief

"Jacob Frenkel, 70, also serves as Chairman and CEO of the Group of Thirty (G-30). He is also a member of the Trilateral Commission, a member of the board of the Council for the United States and Italy, a member of the Investment Advisory Council of the Prime Minister of Turkey, and a member of the International Advisory Council of the China Development Bank. Between 1973 and 1987 he was on the faculty of the University of Chicago where he held the position of the David Rockefeller Professor of International Economics. Frenkel served from 2004 to 2009 as vice chairman of US bailed out American International Group (AIG)." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIsrael Names Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International the New Central Bank Chief

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications, shares with NSA

"Britain's spy agency GCHQ has secretly gained access to the network of cables which carry the world's phone calls and internet traffic and has started to process vast streams of sensitive personal information which it is sharing with its American partner, the National Security Agency (NSA). The sheer scale of the agency's ambition is reflected in the titles of its two principal components: Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation, aimed at scooping up as much online and telephone traffic as possible. This is all being carried out without any form of public acknowledgement or debate." Continue reading

Continue ReadingGCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications, shares with NSA

Now India Joins The Western Snoops

"India has launched a wide-ranging surveillance program that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said. The expanded surveillance in the world's most populousdemocracy, which the government says will help safeguard national security, has alarmed privacy advocates at a time when allegations of massive U.S. digital snooping beyond American shores has set off a global furor." Continue reading

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FATCA Reciprocity Will Now Target Delaware?

"Leaders of the G8 major economies have agreed new measures to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders. They include requiring that shell companies – often used to exploit tax loopholes and invest money anonymously – identify their effective owners. Governments also agreed to give each other automatic access to information on their residents’ tax affairs." Continue reading

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Canada’s Harper gives up on Russia assisting Syrian rebels, labels G8 summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

"At least one official at the G-8, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, suggested that Russia shouldn’t even be at the table with other world leaders. He blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin and all but dismissed Russia from meaningful involvement in this week’s talks. The G-8 includes the U.S., Canada, Russia. Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. The group is holding its annual meeting this week at a resort in Northern Ireland, with the Syrian civil war expected to dominate the agenda. The recent U.S. decision to arm Syrian rebel forces has been met with approval from Great Britain, France and other nations." Continue reading

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G8 to clamp down on tax avoidance

"On Thursday, a U.K. parliamentary committee said that Google Inc. has aggressively avoided paying corporate taxes in Britain, and criticized the U.K. tax authority for failing to challenge the Internet giant about its tax arrangement. Late last month, U.S. lawmakers blasted Apple for failing to pay U.S. taxes on billions of dollars in overseas income. Google said that it complies with all U.K. tax rules, and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook told senators that his company pays all the taxes it owes. The problem for companies like Apple is the U.S.’s tax system. Cook made it plain that the 35% corporate rate is too high to bring some profits back from overseas." Continue reading

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This One Group of Bankers Can Help You Predict the Markets

"Fifty-eight of the world’s largest central banks are members of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a group that meets every two months behind closed doors in Basel, Switzerland. At their bi-monthly dinner meetings, the central bankers supposedly discuss monetary policy, the global markets and international money flows. But we don’t really know, because the meetings are private — no transcripts, no minutes and no journalists allowed. Even staff members are barred from the room. What is certain is that any major policy decisions made by any of the world’s large central banks are cleared through the BIS first. Its latest warning is a doozy." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThis One Group of Bankers Can Help You Predict the Markets

How The USA Captures Whistleblowers And Other Political Enemies

"Snowden’s case would likely fall under the political crime statute of the U.S.-Hong Kong extradition treaty. Any extradition request would be difficult, complicated, and probably ultimately unsuccessful. However, if Snowden succeeds in fighting extradition from Hong Kong, the United States can revoke his passport. It’s also possible that because of the likely difficulty of extradition, U.S. authorities will simply revoke Snowden’s passport and demand his return, and bypass the extradition option entirely. Notice of the revocation, meaning that the suspect would then be illegally in the country, would be sent to Hong Kong authorities who could then deport Snowden." Continue reading

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The Real Story of the Cyprus Debt Crisis

"The country is increasingly reverting to a cash-economy with a consequent dive in tax revenues. The three Lufthansa consultants in charge of the Cyprus Airways restructuring are set to receive €1.3m. The remaining staff will suffer a 25% salary cut. In an act that beggars belief, the Cypriot Parliament has levied a 30% tax on the interest earned from bank deposits. In another measure which defies logic, a property tax was insisted on by the Troika of international lenders. The government aims to extract maximum tax revenue by inflating property prices by the annual rate of consumer price inflation since 1980. Currently, property prices are at an all-time low." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe Real Story of the Cyprus Debt Crisis