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

Generation jobless … "YOUNG people ought not to be idle. It is very bad for them," said Margaret Thatcher in 1984. She was right: there are few worse things that society can do to its young than to leave them in limbo …The International Labour Organisation reports that 75m young people globally are looking for a job. World Bank surveys suggest that 262m young people in emergi...Read More

Global Aging 2013: Rising To The Challenge … Since October 2010, when Standard & Poor's Ratings Services published our last update on the implications of population aging on sovereign credit ratings, the continuing economic and financial difficulties, especially in Europe, have accelerated efforts to improve the sustainability of public finances. The rapid buildup of government debt...Read More

Fisker Spent $660,000 on Each $103,000 Plug-in Car … Fisker Automotive Inc. spent more than six times as much U.S. taxpayer and investor money to produce each luxury plug-in car it sold than the company received from customers, according to a research report. The Anaheim, California-based company made about 2,500 of its $103,000 Karmas before halting production last year, disrupting its plan...Read More

Newsweek/Daily Beast Owner: 'I Wish I Hadn't Bought Newsweek, It Was a Mistake' … The Newsweek/Daily Beast owner, Barry Diller, shared his regrets today on Bloomberg TV: "There are some magazines that have no competition essentially in their field, luxury magazines," the Washington Free Beacon reports Diller said. "Advertisers must advertise in them. But for a news...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

Generation jobless … "YOUNG people ought not to be idle. It is very bad for them," said Margaret Thatcher in 1984. She was right: there are few worse things that society can do to its young than to leave them in limbo …The International Labour Organisation reports that 75m young people globally are looking for a job. World Bank surveys suggest that 262m young people in emergi...Read More

Global Aging 2013: Rising To The Challenge … Since October 2010, when Standard & Poor's Ratings Services published our last update on the implications of population aging on sovereign credit ratings, the continuing economic and financial difficulties, especially in Europe, have accelerated efforts to improve the sustainability of public finances. The rapid buildup of government debt...Read More

Fisker Spent $660,000 on Each $103,000 Plug-in Car … Fisker Automotive Inc. spent more than six times as much U.S. taxpayer and investor money to produce each luxury plug-in car it sold than the company received from customers, according to a research report. The Anaheim, California-based company made about 2,500 of its $103,000 Karmas before halting production last year, disrupting its plan...Read More

Newsweek/Daily Beast Owner: 'I Wish I Hadn't Bought Newsweek, It Was a Mistake' … The Newsweek/Daily Beast owner, Barry Diller, shared his regrets today on Bloomberg TV: "There are some magazines that have no competition essentially in their field, luxury magazines," the Washington Free Beacon reports Diller said. "Advertisers must advertise in them. But for a news...Read More