EU Eco Chief Threatens British Press Over Opposition to EU Energy Directives … The EU's energy commissioner has threatened politicians and journalists who campaign against his eco-policies, accusing them of stirring "anti-EU sentiment" and warning them that their opposition to his EU energy-savings directives will "not be taken lightly." Günther Oettinger, a Germ...Read More
IRS lost emails by official in tea party probe … The Internal Revenue Service said Friday it has lost a trove of emails to and from a central figure in the agency's tea party controversy, sparking outrage from congressional investigators who have been probing the agency for more than a year. The IRS told Congress Friday it cannot locate many of Lois Lerner's emails prior to 2011 beca...Read More
EU Eco Chief Threatens British Press Over Opposition to EU Energy Directives … The EU's energy commissioner has threatened politicians and journalists who campaign against his eco-policies, accusing them of stirring "anti-EU sentiment" and warning them that their opposition to his EU energy-savings directives will "not be taken lightly." Günther Oettinger, a Germ...Read More
The New Nihilism Threatens GOP's Growth …Cantor's defeat signals deep problems for a party being pushed further to the right by the antigovernment wing. Before nonagenarian Rep. Ralph Hall lost his seat in a Republican primary in Texas, no incumbent had been defeated in primaries this year, leading to the dominant press and pundit narrative: The Republican Empire Strikes Back. Oops....Read More
DEA obstructs research into medical marijuana: report … Study says agency should not be in charge of scheduling drugs or giving access to drugs for medical research … The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has maintained marijuana's classification as a harmful drug with no medical benefits despite scientific evidence to the contrary, a new report said, adding that the agency has...Read More
The New Nihilism Threatens GOP's Growth …Cantor's defeat signals deep problems for a party being pushed further to the right by the antigovernment wing. Before nonagenarian Rep. Ralph Hall lost his seat in a Republican primary in Texas, no incumbent had been defeated in primaries this year, leading to the dominant press and pundit narrative: The Republican Empire Strikes Back. Oops....Read More
DEA obstructs research into medical marijuana: report … Study says agency should not be in charge of scheduling drugs or giving access to drugs for medical research … The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has maintained marijuana's classification as a harmful drug with no medical benefits despite scientific evidence to the contrary, a new report said, adding that the agency has...Read More
Japan to keep printing money for years to come, so learn to enjoy it … The Bank of Japan will have to mop up the entire issuance of public debt for years to come, covering the budget deficit with printed money … The Bank of Japan is still showering the economy with money, buying $75bn of bonds each month … There are no one-way bets in global finance, but Japan's stock market...Read More
What Does Cantor's Defeat Mean? Nobody Knows … Every political pundit in the country is, right now, writing about what House majority leader Eric Cantor's defeat in today's Republican primary means. But how sure can we be that we know what it means? Essentially none of the pundits, including me, had any inkling that he was going to lose — let alone lose, as he did, by a lar...Read More
Japan to keep printing money for years to come, so learn to enjoy it … The Bank of Japan will have to mop up the entire issuance of public debt for years to come, covering the budget deficit with printed money … The Bank of Japan is still showering the economy with money, buying $75bn of bonds each month … There are no one-way bets in global finance, but Japan's stock market...Read More
What Does Cantor's Defeat Mean? Nobody Knows … Every political pundit in the country is, right now, writing about what House majority leader Eric Cantor's defeat in today's Republican primary means. But how sure can we be that we know what it means? Essentially none of the pundits, including me, had any inkling that he was going to lose — let alone lose, as he did, by a lar...Read More
The French are right: tear up public debt – most of it is illegitimate anyway … As history has shown, France is capable of the best and the worst, and often in short periods of time. On the day following Marine Le Pen's Front National victory in the European elections, however, France made a decisive contribution to the reinvention of a radical politics for the 21st century. On tha...Read More
Rising markets eating into demand for gold in India … Indian stock markets shine bright, gold's glitter fades in 2013 … Even though gold has gradually lost appeal among global investors since 2013 – amid a compounding consensus view that a decade-long bull run in the yellow metal may be over – a weaker rupee and restrictive import policies have ensured that, in India, t...Read More
The French are right: tear up public debt – most of it is illegitimate anyway … As history has shown, France is capable of the best and the worst, and often in short periods of time. On the day following Marine Le Pen's Front National victory in the European elections, however, France made a decisive contribution to the reinvention of a radical politics for the 21st century. On tha...Read More
Rising markets eating into demand for gold in India … Indian stock markets shine bright, gold's glitter fades in 2013 … Even though gold has gradually lost appeal among global investors since 2013 – amid a compounding consensus view that a decade-long bull run in the yellow metal may be over – a weaker rupee and restrictive import policies have ensured that, in India, t...Read More
The newly elected president of the World Diamond Council, Edward Asscher, put a chill Tuesday on the movement to expand the scope of the Kimberley Process and so cover general human rights abuses, stating the trade body should focus exclusively on diamonds proceeding from conflict zones.Speaking at the Intercessional Meeting of the Kimberley Process In Shanghai, Asscher said he supported increas...Read More
Report: IRS Sent Database Containing Confidential Taxpayer Information to FBI … The Internal Revenue Service may have been caught violating federal tax law: In October 2010, the agency sent a database on 501(c)(4) social-welfare groups containing confidential taxpayer information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to documents obtained by a House panel. The information was tra...Read More
World stock markets up near record high; low yields help Reuters … Global equity markets edged higher on Monday, boosting a gauge of world stock performance to near an all-time high, as low interest rates bolstered sentiment even as U.S. Treasury yields rose. Wall Street's Dow industrials and benchmark S&P 500 closed at all-time peaks, with the latter rising to its seventh record cl...Read More
Report: IRS Sent Database Containing Confidential Taxpayer Information to FBI … The Internal Revenue Service may have been caught violating federal tax law: In October 2010, the agency sent a database on 501(c)(4) social-welfare groups containing confidential taxpayer information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to documents obtained by a House panel. The information was tra...Read More
World stock markets up near record high; low yields help Reuters … Global equity markets edged higher on Monday, boosting a gauge of world stock performance to near an all-time high, as low interest rates bolstered sentiment even as U.S. Treasury yields rose. Wall Street's Dow industrials and benchmark S&P 500 closed at all-time peaks, with the latter rising to its seventh record cl...Read More