statism

Michigan governor appoints technocrat to run Detroit

"Michigan Governor Rick Snyder tapped a restructuring expert who helped successfully steer Chrysler through a government-backed bankruptcy to lead a state takeover of Detroit. The move by a white, Republican governor to take control of a predominantly black and Democratic city has drawn intense criticism and charges of racism. The choice of Kevyn Orr, an African American and Democrat who grew up in Michigan, should help stem some of that criticism. Emergency managers have the power to eliminate entire departments, change labor contracts, sell city assets and rewrite laws without any public review or input." Continue reading →

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Kwame Kilpatrick guilty: For destitute Detroit, downfall of ex-mayor complete

"Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was found guilty Monday under federal corruption charges of scheming to enrich himself and his close confidants during his tenure in public office. The verdict, which was announced after 15 days of jury deliberations, concludes a saga that has gripped the destitute city for over two years and represents the staggering downfall of Mr. Kilpatrick. The tales of personal excess resulting from systemic graft arrives one day before the city tries to make a last-ditch attempt to fight the takeover of its troubled finances by an emergency financial manager." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKwame Kilpatrick guilty: For destitute Detroit, downfall of ex-mayor complete

U.S. complains about ‘excessive’ business class travel by UN staff

"The United States is taking aim at 'excessive' business class air travel by UN staff as it presses a campaign to restrain the global body’s multi-billion dollar budget. The United Nations spent at least $769 million of its general budget of more than $5 billion in 2010-11 on moving officials and staff around the world, according to UN figures. The peacekeeping department, which has its own budget, spent another $200 million. Some $54 million of the $74 million of air tickets bought at the main headquarters in New York and Geneva were business class. Diplomats say the figure is probably much higher as no clear figures have been given." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. complains about ‘excessive’ business class travel by UN staff

Soviet-era bonds: Paper chase [2000]

"Should kidnap victims pay their debts? That, roughly, is the question facing Estonia, which issued £700,000 ($3.4m) and $4m in 40-year bonds in 1927, but was then annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. Most investors swallowed their losses. But not William Hardison, a Florida-based businessman, who holds around $90,000-worth of the septuagenarian paper. Estonia's booming, debt-free economy is one of the most successful in the ex-communist world. But the situation with Estonia's kidnapper is rather different. Russia took on the Soviet Union's assets and liabilities in 1991, and has since bargained hard to get out of paying the latter." Continue reading →

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The Head of the Cyprus Central Bank is Named Panicos (Panic Us).

"Now the government must open the banks’ doors with no bailout from the EuroGroup, the officially unnamed group of eurozone finance ministers. Cypriots will be able to pull euro currency out of the banks. That will force the Cypriot banks to sell assets. Their value will fall. They will not be able to cover these losses for long — a few weeks. Maybe less. Would you keep your money in a banking system that needs a bailout? Wait a minute. You already do. So do I. Cyprus was the first system to get to the edge of the abyss." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Head of the Cyprus Central Bank is Named Panicos (Panic Us).

Is Illinois a bigger default risk than Iraq?

"In a well-publicized move, Illinois decided earlier this week to forgo a $500 million bond offering after the interest rate it had to pay wary investors to buy the bonds rose too high. Illinois must already pay 1.4 percentage points more than states with a AAA rating to attract investors to its debt, thanks to a recent downgrade of the state's financial status by Standard & Poor's, which noted among other things the state's failure to fix its poorly funded pension system. How wary are investors of the state's debt?" Continue reading →

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Illinois Lies

"Illinois, which has the worst-funded state pension system in the United States, agreed on Monday to settle federal civil securities fraud charges alleging it repeatedly misled municipal bond investors about the underfunding of its pensions, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlement of charges that Illinois failed from 2005 to early 2009 to fully tell investors the risks of buying $2.2 billion worth of its municipal bonds is the latest blow to the state's reputation as fiscally troubled and crippled by a pension shortfall of $98.6 billion." Continue reading →

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US regulator: Bitcoin exchanges must comply with money-laundering laws

"The federal agency charged with enforcing the nation's laws against money laundering has issued new guidelines suggesting that several parties in the Bitcoin economy qualify as Money Services Businesses under US law. Money Services Businesses (MSBs) must register with the federal government, collect information about their customers, and take steps to combat money laundering by their customers. The new guidelines do not mention Bitcoin by name, but there's little doubt which 'de-centralized virtual currency' the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) had in mind when it drafted the new guidelines." Continue reading →

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Cyprus and the reality of banking: Deposit haircuts are both inevitable and the right thing to do

"My sympathies for Cypriot depositors is somewhat limited. If you are a depositor in a Cypriot bank, whether of deposits of more or less than €100,000, who did you think was guaranteeing your deposit? The Blue Fairy? Did you really think that in such a small place with such a bizarrely bloated banking system – one that for years and, by now, very publicly had been investing in Greek government bonds! – your government had the resources to protect all depositors? The bailout of Cyprus’ two largest banks will cost the equivalent of 60% of GDP! And after what happened in Greece, did you really think that the Germans were willing to cover the whole bill?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus and the reality of banking: Deposit haircuts are both inevitable and the right thing to do

Bradley Manning and Freedom of the Press

"Reading from a prepared statement, Manning said he was not pressured by WikiLeaks to release the information and that he wanted to give the documents to The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Reuters, but they did not want what he had to offer. He also said the leaked information had 'upset' or 'disturbed' him, but did not contain anything he thought would harm the United States if it became public. Regarding the Collateral Murder video, Manning said the 'most alarming part to me was the seemingly delightful blood-lust' and that those in the video 'seemed to not value human life by referring to them as ‘dead bastards.’'" Continue reading →

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