Why is the United States constantly at war? If we look at the last half century or so, there is hardly a time when we haven’t been engaged in some major conflict with a purportedly global threat to our very existence. The first such threat was Germany (on two occasions), and its Japanese fascist ally, two regimes whose appeal was nationally-limited and whose inherent instability would have defeated them in any case. The second such “threat” was the Soviet Union, and what Louis Bromfield derided ... (more)
It is so funny watching liberals coming up with all sorts of weird solutions to America’s economic woes. Every one of the solutions involves more of the same things that have caused the woes, but liberals just won’t let themselves see that. In their minds, the possibility that America’s economic woes are a direct consequence of the welfare state (and warfare state) just doesn’t occur to them. In their minds, the welfare state is a permanent feature of American life and represents all that is go... (more)
This week's wild actions on Wall Street should serve as a stark reminder that few investors have any clue as to what is really going on beneath the surface of America's troubled economy. But this week did bring startling clarity on at least one front. In its August policy statement the Federal Reserve took the highly unusual step of putting a specific time frame for the continuation of its near zero interest rate policy.
Peter Schiff -- CEO of Euro Pacific Capital
Paul Griffiths -- Global Head of Fixed Income Aberdeen Asset Management
Gillian Tett -- US managing editor at the Financial Times
[Paul Griffiths]
We are very concerned. Frankly we are on a knife-edge. A little too hot or a little too cold and we coul... (more)
Tim Strobel has been driving a tractor for 20 years, so he's a bit puzzled that federal officials are kicking around an idea that could ultimately force him - and anyone else operating farm machinery - to get a commercial driver's license.
Yes, the same kind of license that interstate truckers must have to operate their rigs.
... (more)
Main Street Bank lends most of its money to small businesses and is earning decent profits. But the Kingwood, Texas, bank is about to get out of the banking business.
In an extreme example of the frustration felt by many bankers as regulators toughen their oversight of the nation's financial institutions, Main Street's chairman, Thomas Depping, is expected to announce Wednesday that the 27-year-old bank will surrender its banking charter and sell its four branches to a nearby bank... (more)
Italian automaker Pagani was to begin selling its $1 million, 700 horsepower Huayra supercar in the U.S. later this year but federal safety regulators have said "Not so fast."
Pagani had applied for an exemption from federal auto safety rules requiring child-safe "advanced" airbags, arguing that complying with the rule would have caused "substantial economic hardship," according to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Unelected bureaucrats preventing the sale of fully safety tested cars between consenting adults, just one more example of the wonders of government "regulation." - Chris
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The official bailout of the financial system may be over, but the government is apparently far from finished propping up big banks, as evidenced by the news that Bank of America(BAC) has struck a deal to dump a bunch of near-worthless home loans on U.S. taxpayers.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal Bank of America has sold the rights to process and collect payments on 400,000 home loans to Fannie Mae(FNMA.OB), the government-controlled mortga... (more)
The trigger that apparently caused the market meltdown was the ever-so-slight suggestion from Standard & Poor's that the US government’s fiscal health might not be all that it is cracked up to be.
This was not a case of the little boy noting the emperor has no clothes. It is more like the little boy suggested that the emperor's clothes, while beautiful, might have been more carefully tailored to suit the imperial dignity. Hysteria followed, and the entire Obama cult c... (more)
Perry Vieth baled hay on a neighbor's farm in Wisconsin for two summers during high school in 1972 and 1973. The grueling labor left him with no doubt about getting a college degree so that he'd never have to work as hard again for a paycheck. Thirty-eight years later, and after a career as a securities lawyer and fixed-income trader, Vieth is back on the farm.
Except, now, he owns it. As co-founder of Ceres Partners LLC, a Granger, Indiana-based investment firm, Vieth overse... (more)
BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The Federal Reserve has turned into the ultimate pusher, and quantitative easing is the drug that investors want badly. The question now is whether any good would come of allowing the central bank to continue to enable the markets.
Witness Tuesday's dramatic sell-off following the latest statement on interest rates, which was followed by a dramatic surge into the closing bell and an equally dramatic plunge at the open Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Avera... (more)
SEOUL—A South Korean securities firm employee apparently committed suicide Wednesday by jumping off an apartment block after stock market falls caused big losses to his customers, police said.
Police said the 48-year-old man surnamed Seo was found dead near his apartment in the southeastern city of Daegu after sending his friends and family mobile text messages complaining about the market plunge.
The messages said prices of the stocks owned by his clients nosedived... (more)
Billionaire investor Jim Rogers blames the Federal Reserve for U.S. economic woes. In an exclusive Newsmax.TV video, Rogers contends that the United States is still in recession, that more downgrades are coming, that Bernanke and Geithner should step aside, and that commodities — not stocks — are the best investments in today's economic climate.
The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass has released a statement in support of the economic stimulus activities undertaken this week in London. “Over the past three nights,” said guild spokesman JM Keynes, “The brave young people of London have taken it upon themselves to guarantee the economic health of our city for years to come.” Keynes went on to explain that the Glaziers expect a 10,000% increase in demand for new glass windows over the coming weeks, which will employ hundr... (more)
Goldman demanded it, Goldman ordered it, Goldman got it.
Fed Returns to Monetary Easing
BOTTOM LINE: Despite three dissents--the largest number since 1992--the committee adopted an even easier policy stance than expected: first, the committee now anticipates that rates will stay on hold "at least through mid-2013." Second, the committee effectively signaled an easing bias saying that it is prepared to employ additional easing steps as appro... (more)
The dollar tumbled the most in at least 40 years against the Swiss franc after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep its key interest rate at a record low at least through mid-2013 to revive the flagging economic recovery. [...]
“With the Fed saying they have tools available that they are willing to use and giving a more definitive time frame, that is overall going to be a dollar negative,” said John Doyle, a strategist in Washington at the currency-trading firm Tempus Consulting I... (more)
Standard & Poor’s lowered the AAA ratings of thousands of municipal bonds tied to the federal government, including housing securities and debt backed by leases, following its Aug. 5 downgrade of the U.S.
The rating company assigned AA+ scores to securities in the $2.9 trillion municipal bond market including school- construction bonds in Irving, Texas; debt backed by a federal lease in Miami; and a bond series for multifamily housing in Oceanside, California. Olayinka Fadahunsi, ... (more)
