Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Greece: Cash Business Transactions Over €1500 Will Be Outlawed in 2011
February 15th, 2010Via: Reuters: “From 1. Jan. 2011, every transaction above 1,500 euros between natural persons and businesses, or between businesses, will not be considered legal if it is done in cash. Transactions will have to be done through debit or credit cards”
Spanish Intelligence Probing Debt “Attacks”
February 15th, 2010Via: Reuters: Spain’s intelligence services are investigating the role of investors and media in debt market turbulence over the last few weeks, El Pais reported on Sunday. Citing unnamed sources, El Pais said the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) was looking into “speculative attacks” on Spain following the Greek debt crisis. “The (CNI’s) Economic Intelligence division…is […]
Societe Generale: Breakup of the Euro Region?
February 15th, 2010I doubt it. The Plan is for fewer currencies, not more. Ordo ab chao. Via: Business Week: The Greek budget crisis is a symptom of imbalances that will lead to the breakup of the euro region, according to Societe Generale SA strategist Albert Edwards, and Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein said monetary union “isn’t working” […]
The New Generation Leaving Ireland
February 15th, 2010Via: Business Week: When Simon Phelan started a civil engineering degree at Dublin’s Trinity College four years ago, he figured his biggest problem upon graduation would be deciding which job to choose. Ireland’s economy was growing at 5.4%, unemployment was a mere 4.4%, and construction was booming. Today, with graduation fast approaching, only two of […]
Caring for Pets Left Behind by the Rapture (Not The Onion)
February 15th, 2010Via: Business Week: Many people in the U.S.—perhaps 20 million to 40 million—believe there will be a Second Coming in their lifetimes, followed by the Rapture . In this event, they say, the righteous will be spirited away to a better place while the godless remain on Earth. But what will become of all the […]
$100 Billion a Year is Escaping U.S. Sales and Income Taxes in Locales Like Aruba and St. Kitts
February 15th, 2010My personal tax minimization strategy involves not making much money in the first place. Via: Business Week: Greg Hennessy designs software in New York, where his $2 million-a-year company, SWAT, is based. His customer credit-card payments go to a bank in Panama, where his business is incorporated. As a result, he pays taxes at Panama’s […]
Flashback 2002: Bush Given Plans for Worldwide War Against Al-Qaida Two Days Before 9/11
February 14th, 2010Via: MSNBC: President Bush was expected to sign detailed plans for a worldwide war against al-Qaida two days before Sept. 11 but did not have the chance before the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, U.S. and foreign sources told NBC News. The document, a formal National Security Presidential Directive, amounted to a “game […]
No Way Out: 60% of Student-Loan Debt in Default or Deferment
February 14th, 2010Par for the course in bubble land. Via: Wall Street Journal: When Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old family practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, finished medical school in 2003, her student-loan debt amounted to roughly $250,000. Since then, it has ballooned to $555,000. It is the result of her deferring loan payments while she completed her residency, default […]
Obama Signs Law Raising Public Debt Limit from $12.4 Trillion to $14.3 Trillion
February 14th, 2010Via: ABC News: Behind closed doors and with no cameras present, President Obama signed into law Friday afternoon the bill raising the public debt limit from $12.394 trillion to $14.294 trillion. The current national debt is $12.3 trillion. Check out the National Debt Clock, which tells you your share of that — roughly $40,000 per […]
BAE to Settle Bribery Cases for More Than $400 Million
February 13th, 2010This is right out of Yes, Minister – The Moral Dimension. Here’s an audio clip from that episode. Note that the name of the “fictional” company is BES, British Electronic Systems *wink*: Via: Wall Street Journal: Britain’s BAE Systems PLC reached settlements totaling almost $500 million with the U.S. Justice Department and the U.K. Serious […]
