U.S. Postal Service Wins 6 Percent Increase to Cover Loss … The U.S. Postal Service's regulator has approved price increases amounting to 6 percent on most mail, a step the service's board called a "last resort" forced by Congress's failure to pass cost-cutting legislation. A first-class stamp will cost 49 cents, up from 46 cents, starting Jan. 26. Similar changes will...Read More
Swiss Banks Employ Army of Advisers for U.S. Amnesty Plan … Switzerland's 300 banks have enlisted an army of auditors, lawyers and in-house workers as they race to meet a Dec. 31 deadline on whether to seek U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes. Banks in Switzerland, the largest cross-border financial center with $2.2 trillion of assets, are closely examining accounts bef...Read More
Solid Concepts' Printed Metal Gun on Sale … In just short of two months 3D printing firm Solid Concepts has introduced, and will now sell a 3D printed metal gun. While the model M1911 semi-automatic pistol is made from stainless steel and Inconel 625 it's going to cost you a bit more than your standard issue US Army pistol. – Engineering.comDominant Social Theme: Libertarian ti...Read More
Swiss Banks Employ Army of Advisers for U.S. Amnesty Plan … Switzerland's 300 banks have enlisted an army of auditors, lawyers and in-house workers as they race to meet a Dec. 31 deadline on whether to seek U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes. Banks in Switzerland, the largest cross-border financial center with $2.2 trillion of assets, are closely examining accounts bef...Read More
Solid Concepts' Printed Metal Gun on Sale … In just short of two months 3D printing firm Solid Concepts has introduced, and will now sell a 3D printed metal gun. While the model M1911 semi-automatic pistol is made from stainless steel and Inconel 625 it's going to cost you a bit more than your standard issue US Army pistol. – Engineering.comDominant Social Theme: Libertarian ti...Read More
Age shall not weary her… America's central bank has become ever more powerful over the past century … As the holiday season of 1913 drew near … Congress was still fighting over a bill to create the Federal Reserve, and Wilson had threatened to keep it in session over Christmas until the bill was ready for his signature. A century later, the Fed is still overshadowing the fest...Read More
NSA revelations: Fallout can serve our nation … The fallout from the Edward Snowden revelations continues to snowball. With each disclosure, allies, businesses and influential authors call for reform. There is ever growing pressure on the Obama administration to respond and quell these concerns before permanent damage is done … President Barack Obama's meeting with technology leade...Read More
Age shall not weary her… America's central bank has become ever more powerful over the past century … As the holiday season of 1913 drew near … Congress was still fighting over a bill to create the Federal Reserve, and Wilson had threatened to keep it in session over Christmas until the bill was ready for his signature. A century later, the Fed is still overshadowing the fest...Read More
NSA revelations: Fallout can serve our nation … The fallout from the Edward Snowden revelations continues to snowball. With each disclosure, allies, businesses and influential authors call for reform. There is ever growing pressure on the Obama administration to respond and quell these concerns before permanent damage is done … President Barack Obama's meeting with technology leade...Read More
Fed Finds Elixir for Tapering QE as Markets Embrace Rate Outlook … For six months, the Federal Reserve has struggled to engineer a pullback of its bond-buying program without unhinging financial markets. Yesterday, the Fed did it. After the Fed and Chairman Ben S. Bernanke expressed enough confidence in the jobs outlook to taper the pace of asset buying and extended the timeline for zero int...Read More
Merkel Speech: Chancellor Urges Reforms to Preserve Euro … In the first parliamentary speech of her third term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Europe needs to take more action to make its single currency crisis-proof and urged states to undertake binding economic reforms. – Der SpiegelDominant Social Theme: This terrible economic crisis provides us with an opportunity to d...Read More
Fed Finds Elixir for Tapering QE as Markets Embrace Rate Outlook … For six months, the Federal Reserve has struggled to engineer a pullback of its bond-buying program without unhinging financial markets. Yesterday, the Fed did it. After the Fed and Chairman Ben S. Bernanke expressed enough confidence in the jobs outlook to taper the pace of asset buying and extended the timeline for zero int...Read More
Merkel Speech: Chancellor Urges Reforms to Preserve Euro … In the first parliamentary speech of her third term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Europe needs to take more action to make its single currency crisis-proof and urged states to undertake binding economic reforms. – Der SpiegelDominant Social Theme: This terrible economic crisis provides us with an opportunity to d...Read More
Farewell QE, you have been a magnificent success … As the US Federal Reserve starts to drain dollar liquidity from the global system at long last, let us celebrate success. Quantitative easing has worked marvellously well. Monetary policy has been vindicated. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Hurray for central banking. It works!Free-Market Analysis: The promotional propaganda is we...Read More
The first world war… Look back with angst … Thanks to its military, economic and soft power, America is still indispensable, particularly in dealing with threats like climate change and terror, which cross borders. But unless America behaves as a leader and the guarantor of the world order, it will be inviting regional powers to test their strength by bullying neighbouring countries. T...Read More
Farewell QE, you have been a magnificent success … As the US Federal Reserve starts to drain dollar liquidity from the global system at long last, let us celebrate success. Quantitative easing has worked marvellously well. Monetary policy has been vindicated. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Hurray for central banking. It works!Free-Market Analysis: The promotional propaganda is we...Read More
The first world war… Look back with angst … Thanks to its military, economic and soft power, America is still indispensable, particularly in dealing with threats like climate change and terror, which cross borders. But unless America behaves as a leader and the guarantor of the world order, it will be inviting regional powers to test their strength by bullying neighbouring countries. T...Read More
Canadian Mutual Fund Adviser, MPL Communications Inc.133 Richmond St.W., Toronto, ON, M5H 3M8. 1-800-804-8846Among resource issues, oil and gas and energy stocks overall have held up relatively well this year. That may reflect the abundance of high-quality companies you find in this sector, as well as the positive long-term outlook for energy. Energy stocks have been a relatively bright spot...Read More
Should the U.S. force citizens to save? Americans aren't saving enough to retire. This gap poses a problem for everyone, not just people who will face near-poverty when they can't work anymore. Does that merit forcing people to save more? Retirement in America is supposed to be financed by three sources: Social Security, employer pensions, and additional saving … Another, potentially...Read More
What's wrong with Science. And Nature. And Cell. A Nobel prize-winner attacks elite journals … BLUNT criticism is an essential part of science, for it is how bad ideas are winnowed from good ones. So when Randy Schekman, one of the 2013 crop of Nobel prize-winners (for physiology or medicine, in his case), decided to criticise the way scientific journals are run, he did not hold back. Dr...Read More