'The civil war in Iraq has already begun': Politician claims conflict… will be 'worse than Syria' … The Sunni rise again: Uprising in Syria emboldens Iraq's minority community Iraqi army losing hold on north to Sunni and Kurdish rebels as troops desert Iraq's Prime Minister fights off attempt to push him out of office … Iraqi leaders fear that the country...Read More
News … In his new book, The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on = Terrorism, investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson analyzes 10 years of terrorism cases that were prosecuted in the United States after Sept. 11. By assembling a database of the cases and going through court records, he concluded that the FBI, which receives $3 billion per year for counterterrorism, is &q...Read More
Train Wreck Ahead … Most Americans — even those who are legislators — know very little about the details of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, so-called Obamacare. Next year, when it goes into effect, we will learn the hard way. Many people lazily assume that the law will do roughly what it promises: give insurance to the uninsured and lower the cost of health care by lim...Read More
Which Mexico for Obama? … When President Barack Obama meets this week with President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico, he will be visiting a country that was much maligned throughout his first term …Today, it is talked about as a promising economic partner. The partnership will be far stronger if — as now appears likely — Congress passes sensible and humane immigration r...Read More
Wealth Gap Among Races Has Widened Since Recession …Given the dynamics of the housing recovery and the rebound in the stock market, the wealth gap might still be growing, experts said, further dimming the prospects for economic advancement for current and future generations of Americans from minority groups. – New York TimesDominant Social Theme: Government regs need to be rejiggered i...Read More
Chinese Way of Doing Business – In Cash We Trust … Lugging nearly $130,000 in cash into a dealership might sound bizarre, but it's not exactly uncommon in China, where hotel bills, jewelry purchases and even the lecture fees for visiting scholars are routinely settled with thick wads of renminbi, China's currency … For all China's modern trappings — the new supe...Read More
Train Wreck Ahead … Most Americans — even those who are legislators — know very little about the details of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, so-called Obamacare. Next year, when it goes into effect, we will learn the hard way. Many people lazily assume that the law will do roughly what it promises: give insurance to the uninsured and lower the cost of health care by lim...Read More
Which Mexico for Obama? … When President Barack Obama meets this week with President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico, he will be visiting a country that was much maligned throughout his first term …Today, it is talked about as a promising economic partner. The partnership will be far stronger if — as now appears likely — Congress passes sensible and humane immigration r...Read More
Wealth Gap Among Races Has Widened Since Recession …Given the dynamics of the housing recovery and the rebound in the stock market, the wealth gap might still be growing, experts said, further dimming the prospects for economic advancement for current and future generations of Americans from minority groups. – New York TimesDominant Social Theme: Government regs need to be rejiggered i...Read More
Chinese Way of Doing Business – In Cash We Trust … Lugging nearly $130,000 in cash into a dealership might sound bizarre, but it's not exactly uncommon in China, where hotel bills, jewelry purchases and even the lecture fees for visiting scholars are routinely settled with thick wads of renminbi, China's currency … For all China's modern trappings — the new supe...Read More
Possible Fed Successor Has Admirers and Foe … Ms. Yellen is now widely viewed as a logical candidate to succeed the current Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, when his term ends in January 2014. She has worked closely with him in shaping and building support for the Fed's campaign to stimulate the economy and bring down unemployment. – NY TimesDominant Social Theme: A brilliant woman i...Read More
Is the Federal Reserve Insane? … Americans have been whipsawed by devastating cycles of boom and bust over the past three decades. Now some at the Fed want us to go through it again. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The Fed is not insane. It is sensible and proactive.Free-Market Analysis: This is an unusual article to appear in Bloomberg, especially given the headline. But unfortunate...Read More
Billionaires Flee Havens as Trillions Pursued Offshore … Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, Russia's 14th-richest person, and his wife, Elena Rybolovleva, have been brawling for almost five years in at least seven countries over his $9.5 billion fortune … Those wealthy individuals should stop searching for new tax havens to hide their assets, said tax adviser Philip Marcovici. "We...Read More
Consumer confidence rebounds in April … Consumer confidence rebounded in April as Americans felt better about the outlook for the economy and their income prospects, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. – The Conference Board/ReutersDominant Social Theme: If The Conference Board observes it, it must be so.Free-Market Analysis: What the heck is The Conference Board...Read More
Possible Fed Successor Has Admirers and Foe … Ms. Yellen is now widely viewed as a logical candidate to succeed the current Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, when his term ends in January 2014. She has worked closely with him in shaping and building support for the Fed's campaign to stimulate the economy and bring down unemployment. – NY TimesDominant Social Theme: A brilliant woman i...Read More
Is the Federal Reserve Insane? … Americans have been whipsawed by devastating cycles of boom and bust over the past three decades. Now some at the Fed want us to go through it again. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The Fed is not insane. It is sensible and proactive.Free-Market Analysis: This is an unusual article to appear in Bloomberg, especially given the headline. But unfortunate...Read More
Billionaires Flee Havens as Trillions Pursued Offshore … Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, Russia's 14th-richest person, and his wife, Elena Rybolovleva, have been brawling for almost five years in at least seven countries over his $9.5 billion fortune … Those wealthy individuals should stop searching for new tax havens to hide their assets, said tax adviser Philip Marcovici. "We...Read More
Consumer confidence rebounds in April … Consumer confidence rebounded in April as Americans felt better about the outlook for the economy and their income prospects, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. – The Conference Board/ReutersDominant Social Theme: If The Conference Board observes it, it must be so.Free-Market Analysis: What the heck is The Conference Board...Read More
There will be more wealth confiscation, without a doubt' … Savers and investors face further "wealth confiscation" in Europe as the continent struggles to resolve the single currency's problems, a bank chief has said … European politicians will take the "easy option" of taking money from the rich rather than raising taxes and cutting spending to deal with th...Read More
Neil Macdonald: The 'monarchs of money' and the war on savers … Power Shift: First in a series on the rise of the central bankers and the global imposition of cheap credit … Quietly, without much public fuss or discussion, a new ruling class has risen in the richer nations. These men and women are unelected and tend to shun the publicity hogged by the politicians with whom they...Read More