Federal Reserve Said to Probe Banks Over Forex Fixing … The Federal Reserve is investigating whether traders at the world's biggest banks rigged benchmark currency rates, raising the risk that firms will be penalized for lax controls as regulators look for wrongdoing. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The Fed is on the case of these evildoers.Free-Market Analysis: Another ridiculou...Read More

A Bullish Case For Janet Yellen, Our Confused New Fed Chairman … As is well known now, Janet Yellen was confirmed last Monday as Fed Chairman. On its face, this should concern those who desire economic growth … But Janet Yellen is a walking, talking economic fallacy in the mold of her soon-to-be predecessor in Ben Bernanke, and left to her own devices she could doubtless do a lot of da...Read More

India women's group seeks limit on gold given at weddings … The women's commission of India's Kerala state is seeking to limit the amount of gold given at weddings to no more than 80 grams to reduce the burden on families and help ease India's trade deficit. Most Indians see gifts of gold, mostly jewellery, from the bride's family to the groom as auspicious for a marriage...Read More

What's behind the sudden outburst of populism in the Democratic Party? Partly the weak economic recovery. Most economic indicators have turned positive – economic growth is up, unemployment down, the housing market is in recovery. But ordinary Americans are not feeling it. In last month's CNN poll, two thirds of Americans said the nation's economy was poor. More than half expect...Read More

UK homeowners caught in EU's tangle of green targets … European laws to boost renewable energy have failed and may be rewritten … European Union legislation influences or determines almost all aspects of energy production and use. Increasingly over the past five years, it has been widely criticised for setting clashing targets and competing objectives that have undermined living st...Read More

On January 6, Janet Yellen will likely be confirmed as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve System. Her to-do list will be full of things like the interest rate, the bank bailouts, the unemployment rate, and in general, running the economy. Climate change would be an unexpected addition to that list, but the Fed Chair is in an important and rarely recognized position to take action on the climate...Read More

Christie 'Outraged' By 'Unacceptable' Email Exchanges Over GWB Lane Closures … Fort Lee Mayor: 'That Is Saddest Political Commentary That You Could Possibly Have … New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie responded Wednesday afternoon to email exchanges made public earlier in the day linking a top aide to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal that has been under i...Read More

Janet Yellen confirmed as Federal Reserve chairman … Janet Yellen was confirmed to lead the Federal Reserve on Jan. 6, 2014, making her the first female chair in the Fed's history … The Senate confirmed Janet L. Yellen on Monday as the next leader of the Federal Reserve, placing her in charge of ensuring that the nation's economy makes a full recovery. Her nomination passed the...Read More

JP Morgan Pays $2 Billion to Avoid Prosecution for Its Involvement In Madoff Ponzi Scheme … Bernie Madoff has said all along that JP Morgan knew about – and knowingly profited from – his Ponzi schemes. So JP Morgan has agreed to pay the government $2 billion to avoid investigation and prosecution. While this may sound like a lot of money, it is spare sofa change for a big bank li...Read More

Rebooting the agreement tops the agenda at the meeting of the leaders of the three countries scheduled to take place in Mexico this February. "There's a joint willingness among all three countries to relaunch the idea of North America, not just in terms of manufacturing, but in innovation and design," says Sergio Alcocer, under-secretary for North America in Mexico's foreign mini...Read More

Speed Screening for Troops proves that TSA protocol is just Security Theater … The Transportation Security Administration has recently expanded what it calls "expedited security screening", more commonly known as TSA Pre-Check, to military service members at more than 100 airports across the United States. These so-called expedited screenings will allow military personnel to keep t...Read More

Greed must have limits or we risk ending up like the Russians, trusting no one … Mutual trust in a society is easy to destroy but very difficult to build … Russia underwent the Revolution, with its overturning of society's ranks and distinctions and the destruction of fortunes, civil war and subsequent state terrorism, and more recently, the breakdown of the Soviet Union. – U...Read More

Wall Street watchdog puts spotlight on firms hiring risky brokers …Wall Street brokerages that hire stockbrokers who have a track record of misconduct should expect to show examiners how they will curb future wrongdoing, the industry's watchdog said on Thursday in an overview of issues it will review in 2014. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said it will review the pro...Read More

Political insurgency, Europe's Tea Parties – Insurgent parties are likely to do better in 2014 than at any time since the second world war … Since 2010 or so, the Tea Party, a Republican insurgency, has turned American politics upside down. – The EconomistDominant Social Theme: These are parties to be watched and contained.Free-Market Analysis: Ten years ago, when we wrote ab...Read More

IMF paper warns of 'savings tax' and mass write-offs as West's debt hits 200-year high … Debt burdens in developed nations have become extreme by any historical measure and will require a wave of haircuts, warns IMF paper. The paper said policy elites in the West are still clinging to the illusion that rich countries can chip away at their debts with a blend of austerity cuts and...Read More

The economy is growing. The free market isn't. That's worrying … It's not just the year that's changed. The New Year economic outlook seems very different, too. We've gone from gloom in 2013 to boom in 2014. No longer are pundits writing pieces predicting our imminent economic demise. Instead it is all about rising house prices, stronger sales and growth. An extraordinary...Read More

Edward Snowden, the insufferable whistleblower … Time has not deflated Edward Snowden's messianic sense of self-importance. Nor has living in an actual police state given the National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower any greater appreciation of the actual freedoms that Americans enjoy. Insufferable is the first adjective evoked by Snowden's recent interview with Barton Gellman in...Read More

Revolting voters … Democracy is under threat, warns Philip Coggan. Time to reform it … A huge year for democracy lies ahead: in 2014 voters will go to the polls in some of the biggest countries of the developing world, including India, Indonesia and Brazil, as well as in the United States (for mid-terms) and across the 28 countries of the European Union (to elect the European Parliamen...Read More

Global warming scientists forced to admit defeat… because of too much ice: Stranded Antarctic ship's crew will be rescued by helicopter … Chris Turney, a climate scientist and leader of the expedition, was going to document 'environmental changes' at the pole … In an interview he said he expected melting ice to play a part in expedition … MV Akademik Schokalskiy...Read More

Gold price collapse is the worst for 30 years … The precious metal has been one of the worst-performing assets in 2013, bringing an end to a decade-long rally. Gold has fallen almost 28pc over the last 12 months … Gold will finish the year as one of the worst-performing asset classes, bringing to an end a decade-long rally in the precious metal. Gold has suffered its sharpest fall in 3...Read More