Economy

Number Of French Jobless Rise To New Record

by

– Number Of French Jobless Rise To New Record (ZeroHedge, July 25, 2014):

With “recoveries” like these who needs staged, false flag conflicts and wars covering over 10% of the globe? Well, socialist France for one which moments ago announced that total jobless rose from 3.389 million to 3.398 million, a new record high. Surprisingly, while the year-over-year unemployment change for people under 25 declined by 3.1%, it was workers 25-49 which saw a material 3.3% increase in joblessness, but it was workers aged 50 and older that saw a veritable surge in unemployment, rising by 11.5% from a year ago. Surely, just like in the US, this is due to young people retiring in droves.

Reuters reports:

Read moreNumber Of French Jobless Rise To New Record

CEO Of Russia’s 2nd Largest Gold Producer Is ‘Horrified’ At Market Manipulation

by

– CEO Of Russia’s 2nd Largest Gold Producer Is “Horrified” At Market Manipulation (ZeroHedge, July 24, 2014):

The ongoing transition of gold price manipulation from conspiracy theory to conspiracy fact just escalated as Bloomberg reports, Peter Hambro, chairman of Russia’s 2nd largest gold producer Petropavlovsk Plc, said he was “horrified” by the manipulation of the London fix given its importance to the industry. One wonders just how many of these individuals, involved in the manipulation, Hambro is dinner-party friends with?

As Bloomberg reports,

“When I read the reports on what people had been doing to it, I was horrified,”Hambro said in an interview today. “It is something that is really important to people in the industry. It’s something that we use in a big way as we deliver our gold, that’s how we price.”

Read moreCEO Of Russia’s 2nd Largest Gold Producer Is ‘Horrified’ At Market Manipulation

Where China Goes To Outsource Its Own Soaring Labor Costs

by

– Where China Goes To Outsource Its Own Soaring Labor Costs (ZeroHedge, July 24, 2014):

30 years ago, the great outsourcing wave took millions of US low-skilled jobs and planted them right in the heart of China, which was about to undergo the fastest industrialization-commercialization-financialization experiment in history. $26 trillion in bank assets later, the world’s biggest housing bubble, and a teetering financial system that every day depends on Beijing making the correct central-planning decision (of kicking the can one more day, of course) or else the biggest financial collapse in history will take place, all lubricated by years of inflation in everything and most certainly wages, and suddenly outsourcing jobs in China is not all that attractive.  In fact, it has gotten so bad that China itself is now forced to outsource its own labor to cheaper offshore markets. Such as this one.

Read moreWhere China Goes To Outsource Its Own Soaring Labor Costs

World of Resistance Report: IMF, World Bank, Giant Consultants Admit The Storm Is Coming

by

THE IMF WAS HERE

– World of Resistance Report: IMF, World Bank, Giant Consultants Admit The Storm Is Coming (OCCUPY, July 18, 2014):

Following Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the World of Resistance Report, in this fifth installment I examine the warnings of social unrest and revolution emanating from the world’s major international financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank, as well as the world’s major consulting firms that provide strategic and investment advice to corporations, banks and investors around the world.

These two groups – financial institutions and the consultants that advise them – play key roles in the spread of institutionalized corporate and financial power, and as such, warnings from these groups about the threat posed by “social unrest” carry particular weight as they are geared toward a particular audience: the global oligarchy itself.

Read moreWorld of Resistance Report: IMF, World Bank, Giant Consultants Admit The Storm Is Coming

Germany Looking To Join The BRICS

by

Merkel-and-Putin

– Germany looking to join the BRICS (Hang The Bankers, July 24, 2014):

Financial analyst Jim Willie sensationally claims that Germany is preparing to ditch the unipolar system backed by NATO and the U.S. in favour of joining the BRICS nations, and that this is why the NSA was caught spying on Angela Merkel and other German leaders.

In an interview with USA Watchdog’s Greg Hunter, Willie, a statistical analyst who holds a PhD in statistics, asserted that the real reason behind the recent NSA surveillance scandal targeting Germany was centered around the United States’ fear that Europe’s financial powerhouse is looking to escape from an inevitable dollar collapse.

Read moreGermany Looking To Join The BRICS

Typewriter Manufacturers See Boom In Sales

by

– Typewriter manufacturers see boom in sales (The Local, July 21, 2014):

German typewriter manufacturers are enjoying a boom in sales following the NSA spying scandal. A German defence manufacturer switched to typewriters last year, while last week a leading politician called for the government to use the old technology.

The head of the parliamentary inquiry into spying by the US National Security Service (NSA) in Germany made headlines last week when he said his committee was considering using typewriters. But he is not alone.

With a turnover of €5 million, the German typewriter market is growing.

Read moreTypewriter Manufacturers See Boom In Sales

The “Gates” Are Closing: SEC Votes Through Money Market Reform

by

gate closed

–  The “Gates” Are Closing: SEC Votes Through Money Market Reform (ZeroHedge, July 23, 2014):

It was nearly five years ago when Zero Hedge first wrote: “This Is The Government: Your Legal Right To Redeem Your Money Market Account Has Been Denied” in which we predicted as part of the ongoing herding of investors away from every other asset class and into stocks, regulation will be implemented to enforce that “money market fund managers will have the option to ‘suspend redemptions to allow for the orderly liquidation of fund assets” or in other words implement redemption “gates.” The logic: spook participants in the $2.6 trillion money market industry with the prospect of being gated (i.e., having no access to ones funds) and force them to reallocate funds elsewhere.

Moments ago the gates arrived, when following a close 3-2 vote (with republican commissioner Piwowar and democrat Stein dissenting), the SEC adopted new rules designed to curb the risk of investor runs on money market funds, capping the end of a years-long heated debate between regulators and the industry dating to the financial crisis according to Reuters.

Among the changes, funds will have to switch to a floating share price instead of the current $1/share (hence the term breaking the buck). But the key part: “The SEC’s rule will require prime money market funds to move from a stable $1 per share net asset value, to a floating NAV. It also will let fund boards lower redemption “gates” and fees in times of market stress.”

Read moreThe “Gates” Are Closing: SEC Votes Through Money Market Reform

The Rot Within, Part II: Inflation Is Not “Growth”

by

– The Rot Within, Part II: Inflation Is Not “Growth” (OfTwoMinds, July 22, 2014):

Just as the Federal Reserve cannot directly force you to stick the needle of monetary heroin (debt) into your arm, it also can’t force employers to pay employees more.

The official policy of the Central Bank (Federal Reserve)/government is: inflation is necessary for “growth,” i.e. economic expansion. The unstated reason for this official support of inflation is that it’s easier for borrowers to service their debts as their income inflates.

…

Two-Thirds Of Chinese Consumers No Longer Trust Western Fast-Food As ‘Meat Scandal’ Spreads Across Asia

by

MCD

– Two-Thirds Of Chinese Consumers No Longer Trust Western Fast-Food As “Meat Scandal” Spreads Across Asia (ZeroHedge, July 23, 2014):

As if the Chinese meat scandal was not a big enough concern for Western fast-food firms, The WSJ reports that the crisis is spreading across Asia as Yum Brands and McDonalds sever links with US-owned Shanghai Husi Food Company, which is accused of selling expired beef and chicken, pulling supplies of chicken from restaurants in Japan. Perhaps even more worrisome for American fast-food companies who have expanded aggressively and over-hyped the growth opportunities in China, a second Sina survey started yesterday, featuring 25,000 respondents, found 77% believed the restaurant brands affected had been aware of Husi’s faulty practices, while 69% said they would no longer dine at the restaurants run by the Western companies.

As WSJ reports,

More companies are cutting ties to a U.S.-owned Chinese food supplier over worries that they may have served expired meat to their customers, as they moved to shore up their reputations in a market known for food-safety problems.

Read moreTwo-Thirds Of Chinese Consumers No Longer Trust Western Fast-Food As ‘Meat Scandal’ Spreads Across Asia

Frontrunning: July 23

by

Flashback:

– This Is The Government: Your Legal Right To Redeem Your Money Market Account Has Been Denied – THE SEQUEL

– Frontrunning: July 23 (ZeroHedge, July 23, 2014):

  • Here come the gates which we predicted in 2010: SEC Is Set to Approve Money-Fund Rules (WSJ)
  • Dick’s cuts 400 jobs as golf now less popular (MW)
  • Kerry arrives in Israel, pushes for peace (Reuters) (Sure!)
  • Pay Penalty Haunts Recession Grads as U.S. Economy Mends (BBG)
  • Appeals Courts Issue Conflicting Rulings on Health-Law Subsidies (WSJ)
  • Rebel Stronghold Donetsk Holds Breath as Shellfire Mounts (BBG)
  • Business executive wins Georgia Republican runoff in U.S. Senate race (Reuters)
  • Five held in China food scandal probe, including head of Shanghai Husi Food (Reuters)
  • Jobs Hold Sway Over Yellen-Carney as Central Banks Splinter (BBG)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

* Two U.S. appeals courts issued conflicting rulings on subsidies for health coverage purchased on federal insurance exchanges, clouding a major part of Obama’s health law. (http://on.wsj.com/1pb81yo)

* The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Deutsche Bank AG’s U.S. operations suffer from a litany of serious financial reporting problems that the lender has known about for years but not fixed. (http://on.wsj.com/1jUoOXe)

Read moreFrontrunning: July 23

NY Fed Slams Deutsche Bank (And Its €55 Trillion In Derivatives): Accuses It Of ‘Significant Operational Risk’

by

From the article:

“As for Deutsche Bank’s response perhaps the simplest and most effective one would be for the Frankfurt megabank to tell the NY Fed that perhaps its own 150x leverage is just a little more worthy of attention.”

Related info:

– The Size Of The Derivatives Bubble Hanging Over The Global Economy Hits A Record High

– The Elephant In The Room: Deutsche Bank’s $75 TRILLION In Derivatives Is 20 Times Greater Than German GDP

–  NY Fed Slams Deutsche Bank (And Its €55 Trillion In Derivatives): Accuses It Of “Significant Operational Risk” (ZeroHedge, July 22, 2014):

First it was French BNP that was punished with a $9 billion legal fee after France refused to cancel the Mistral warship shipment to Russia (which promptly led to French National Bank head Christian Noyer to warn that the days of the USD as a reserve currency are numbered), and now moments ago, none other than the 150x-levered NY Fed tapped Angela Merkel on the shoulder with a polite reminder to vote “Yes” on the next, “Level-3” round of Russia sanctions when it revealed, via the WSJ, that “Deutsche Bank’s giant U.S. operations suffer from a litany of serious problems, including shoddy financial reporting, inadequate auditing and oversight and weak technology systems.”

What could possibly go wrong? Well… this. Recall that as we have shown for two years in a row, Deutsche has a total derivative exposure that amounts to €55 trillion or just about $75 trillion. That’s a trillion with a T, and is about 100 times greater than the €522 billion in deposits the bank has. It is also 5x greater than the GDP of Europe and more or less the same as the GDP of… the world.

DB Derivs in context_0

More from WSJ:

In a letter to Deutsche Bank executives last December, a senior official with the New York Fed wrote that financial reports produced by some of the bank’s U.S. arms “are of low quality, inaccurate and unreliable. The size and breadth of errors strongly suggest that the firm’s entire U.S. regulatory reporting structure requires wide-ranging remedial action.”

The criticism from the New York Fed represents a sharp rebuke to one of the world’s biggest banks, and it comes at a time when federal regulators say they are increasingly focused on the health of overseas lenders with substantial U.S. operations.

The Dec. 11 letter, excerpts of which were reviewed by the Journal, said Deutsche Bank had made “no progress” at fixing previously identified problems. It said examiners found “material errors and poor data integrity” in its U.S. entities’ public filings, which are used by regulators, economists and investors to evaluate its operations.

The shortcomings amount to a “systemic breakdown” and “expose the firm to significant operational risk and misstated regulatory reports,” said the letter from Daniel Muccia, a New York Fed senior vice president responsible for supervising Deutsche Bank.

…

Deutsche Bank’s external auditor, KPMG LLP, also identified “deficiencies” in the way the bank’s U.S. entities were reporting financial data in 2013, according to a Deutsche Bank email reviewed by the Journal.

Oh wait, so those €55 trillion in derivatives are actually completely fabricated? Well if that doesn’t send the S&P 500 limit up nothing will.

DB’s response is the generic one already attempted by that other permacriminal bank, Barclays, which hired a few hundred compliance people after it was revealed that the British firm was manipulating and rigging pretty much every product and market it was involved in.

“We have been working diligently to further strengthen our systems and controls and are committed to being best in class,” a Deutsche Bank spokesman said Tuesday. As part of this, he said, the bank is spending €1 billion globally and appointing 1,300 people, including about 500 compliance, risk and technology employees in the U.S. Mr. Muccia declined to comment.

Sadly for now what this latest Pandora’s box means is that confidence in Europe’s insolvent banks just crashed with a bang once again, not that it would be reflected in the stock’s rigged price of course: rigged most likely by Deutsche Bank among other of course.

The New York Fed’s concerns also pose a challenge for Deutsche Bank’s longtime finance chief, Stefan Krause, who is ultimately responsible for the company’s financial figures and has been spearheading efforts to improve the quality of the bank’s reporting.

The concerns from regulators strike at the heart of an issue plaguing many of the world’s big banks: Some investors lack confidence in the integrity of their numbers. Such fears have been especially prevalent in Europe.

Then again, none of DB’s numbers actually matter: if the banks needs a bailout the Fed will promptly step in, and today’s advisory has one simple end point, which happens to be the same as the recent BNP $9 billion fine – don’t even dare to side with Putin over the US. Because you sure have big bank over there Germany… It would be a pity if the NY Fed i) revealed just how insolvent it truly was and ii) decided not to bail it out subsequently.

* * *

As for Deutsche Bank’s response perhaps the simplest and most effective one would be for the Frankfurt megabank to tell the NY Fed that perhaps its own 150x leverage is just a little more worthy of attention.

 

The Baltic Dry Index Collapses To 18-Month Lows; Worst July Since 1986

by

– The Baltic Dry Index Collapses To 18-Month Lows; Worst July Since 1986 (ZeroHedge, July 22, 2014):

The bulls will ignore it, shrugging that it’s merely over-supply of ships that the resurgent world economy will quickly soak up as it ‘recovers’… However, World GDP growth expectations are collapsing, trade volumes are slowing, and the Baltic Dry Index has continued to slump to its lowest since the start of January 2013 (a holiday period). For some context, this is the lowest July level for the Baltic Dry since 1986… “noise”

There’s this…

20140718_gdp

and then there’s this…

20140722_BDIY2

Which is the worst July level for the global shipping index since 1986…

Read moreThe Baltic Dry Index Collapses To 18-Month Lows; Worst July Since 1986

Argentina: 1 Week Left Until ‘D’efault-Day

by

–  With 1 Week Left Until Argentina’s ‘D’efault-Day, Judge Blasts “Judgments Are Judgments” (ZeroHedge, July 22, 2014):

Day after day, headlines from Argentina implore Judge Griesa to do the “fair, responsible” thing and lift his judgment that holdouts get paid before current bondholders receive their payments… and day after day Argentina’s demands are met with silence or denials. Today, though, with 1 week left until Argentina must put up or shut up, Judge Griesa has come out swinging…

  • *U.S. JUDGE SAYS OF ARGENTINA RULINGS: ‘JUDGMENTS ARE JUDGMENTS‘
  • *ARGENTINA’S ‘INCENDIARY` RHETORIC `UNFORTUNATE,’ JUDGE SAYS
  • *U.S. JUDGE URGES ‘SENSIBLE STEPS’ TO AVOID ARGENTINA DEFAULT

While CDS spreads have surged once again, bonds trade with default probabilities around only 50% which, according to Jefferies “are expensive on underestimating the risk of default.”

Read moreArgentina: 1 Week Left Until ‘D’efault-Day

The Stealing Of America By The Cops, The Courts, The Corporations And Congress

by

From the article:

“In sum, the American police state is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle, meant to keep the property and the resources of the American people flowing into corrupt government agencies and their corporate partners. For those with any accounting ability, it’s clear that the total sum of the expenses being charged to the American taxpayer’s account by the government add up to only one thing: the loss of our freedoms. It’s time to seriously consider a plan to begin de-funding this beast and keeping our resources where they belong: in our communities, working for us.”

– The Stealing of America by the Cops, the Courts, the Corporations and Congress (The Rutherford Institute, July 21, 2014):

By John W. Whitehead

“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.”
– Author Tom Clancy

Call it what you will—taxes, penalties, fees, fines, regulations, tariffs, tickets, permits, surcharges, tolls, asset forfeitures, foreclosures, etc.—but the only word that truly describes the constant bilking of the American taxpayer by the government and its corporate partners is theft.

We’re operating in a topsy-turvy Sherwood Forest where instead of Robin Hood and his merry band of thieves stealing from the rich to feed the poor, you’ve got the government and its merry band of corporate thieves stealing from the poor to fatten the wallets of the rich. In this way, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. All the while, the American Dream of peace, prosperity, and liberty has turned into a nightmare of endless wars, debilitating debt, and outright tyranny.

What Americans don’t seem to comprehend is that if the government can arbitrarily take away your property, without your having much say about it, you have no true rights. You’re nothing more than a serf or a slave.

Read moreThe Stealing Of America By The Cops, The Courts, The Corporations And Congress

Portugal President Admits Espirito Santo Failure Could Be Systemic As Another HoldCo Goes Bankrupt

by

– Portugal President Admits Espirito Santo Failure Could Be Systemic As Another HoldCo Goes Bankrup (ZeroHedge, July 22, 2014):

As RioForte joins its parent ESI in bankruptcy, in a strangely honest turn of events from a European leader, Portugal’s President Anibal Cavaco Silva warned on Monday that fallout from the financial troubles of the founding family of Banco Espirito Santo (BES) could affect the wider economy. With Portugal’s hope-strewn GDP growth expectations at only 0.9% for 2014, they do not have much room for disappointment before the nation (whose yields remain near record lows) double- or triple-dips back into recession. Silva concluded, “We cannot ignore that there will be some impact on the real economy,” which is odd given every talking-head has explained it is “contained” and “priced-in.”

Rioforte joins ESI in bankjruptcy…

  • *RIOFORTE SAYS IT SEEKS PROTECTION FROM CREDITORS
  • *RIOFORTE SAYS FILING IS LINKED TO DIFFICULTIES AT ESI

Just another default in the chain

Read morePortugal President Admits Espirito Santo Failure Could Be Systemic As Another HoldCo Goes Bankrupt

New World Disorder: Emerging Division Between East And West Threatens To Plunge The Globe Into Chaos

by

“Ordo ab chao.”

Chaos comes first and the Illuminati have planned to create chaos, lots of it.

Prepare for the greatest fiancial collapse in world history.

East-And-West

– New World Disorder: Emerging Division Between East And West Threatens To Plunge The Globe Into Chaos (Economic Collapse, July 21, 2014):

 In general, over the last several decades the world has experienced an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity.  The opening up of relations with China and the “end of the Cold War” resulted in an extended period of cooperation between east and west that was truly unique in the annals of history.  But now things are shifting.  The civil war in Ukraine and the crash of MH17 have created an enormous amount of tension between the United States and Russia, and many analysts believe that relations between the two superpowers are now even worse than they were during the end of the Cold War era.  In addition, the indictment of five PLA officers for cyber espionage and sharp disagreements over China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea (among other issues) have caused U.S. relations with China to dip to their lowest point since at least 1989.  So could the emerging division between the east and the west ultimately plunge us into a period of global chaos?  And what would that mean for the world economy?

Read moreNew World Disorder: Emerging Division Between East And West Threatens To Plunge The Globe Into Chaos

The Rot Within, Part I: Our Ponzi Economy

by

– The Rot Within, Part I: Our Ponzi Economy (OfTwoMinds, July 21, 2014):

…

Depending on blowing the next bubble to temporarily prop up the economy is the height of foolhardy shortsightedness. Yet that’s our Status Quo, increasingly dependent on inflating bubbles to evince “economic strength” when the Ponzi paint will soon peel off the rotten wood of the real economy.

Venezuela’s Transformation To Socialist Utopia Is Nearly Complete As Its Factories Grind To A Halt

by

– Venezuela’s Transformation To Socialist Utopia Is Nearly Complete As Its Factories Grind To A Halt (ZeroHedge, July 22, 2014):

Venezuela’s transformation to a socialist utopia has been well-documented on these pages. Recall:

In retrospect, one can only hope the same “socialist paradise” fate isn’t headed to the other “fairness doctrine” members such as the US and France, because with socialist utopias like these who needs capitalist hell?

Read moreVenezuela’s Transformation To Socialist Utopia Is Nearly Complete As Its Factories Grind To A Halt

Hillary Clinton Tells EU To Use MH17 Tragedy To Find Alternatives To Gazprom (Dollar Dumping Gas Giant)

by

H/t reader squodgy:

“So glad this bitch has arrived on the scene.

Now we know for sure it is all a set up.”

And here are some pics to show the world whose ‘bitch’ she is:

Hillary-Clinton-AIPAC Hillary-Clinton-AIPAC

Hillary-Clinton-CFR Hillary-Clinton-Kissinger

Hillary Rodham Clinton Satanic Handsign Anton Lavey, Founder of the 'Church of Satan'

– Hillary Tells EU to Use MH17 Tragedy to Find Alternatives to Gazprom (dollar dumping gas giant) (Activist Post, July 20, 2014):

Ah, now the agenda is starting to make a bit more sense. Hillary Clinton doesn’t want a good crisis to go to waste. She told Charlie Rose that her recommendation to the European Union is to take advantage of the shot-down MH17 tragedy to “Immediately accelerate efforts to find alternatives to Gazprom.”

Moscow-based Gazprom is the largest producer of natural gas in the world and one of the globe’s largest companies. A few weeks back on June 26th they announced that they would settle contracts with China using yuan or rubles instead of dollars. This move came about one month after Russia and China announced a record $400B gas deal. That’s a whole lot of dollars that won’t be needed in the international economy.Couple that with the launch of the BRICS development bank, and motive for aggressive posturing towards Russia becomes a bit clearer.

Read moreHillary Clinton Tells EU To Use MH17 Tragedy To Find Alternatives To Gazprom (Dollar Dumping Gas Giant)

Goldman Sachs Managing Director Found Dead In Apparent Kite Surfing Accident

by

– Goldman Managing Director Found Dead In Apparent Kite Surfing Accident (ZeroHedge, July 21, 2014):

Police are still investigating the tragic death of 39-year-old Goldman Sachs Managing Director Nicholas Valtz this weekend. As Bloomberg reports, Valtz, a “novice kiteboarder,” was found dead yesterday by family members who went searching for him after he didn’t return from a kiteboarding outing. While there is no accusation of suicide in this case, it sadly brings the number of young financial services executives deaths to 16 this year.

20140721_valtz

As Bloomberg reports,

Nicholas Valtz, a managing director in cross-asset sales at Goldman Sachs in New York, was found in Napeague Harbor off the coast of Long Island, according to the East Hampton police. Valtz, 39, was a “novice kiteboarder” and was found floating in the water secured to his kite, police said in a statement released yesterday. Other kite gear was found in a grassy area of the harbor, police said.

Read moreGoldman Sachs Managing Director Found Dead In Apparent Kite Surfing Accident

First Detroit, Now Flint Warns Bankruptcy ‘Train Is Headed For The Cliff’

by

– First Detroit, Now Flint Warns Bankruptcy “Train Is Headed For The Cliff” (ZeroHedge, July 19, 2014):

Flint may be Michigan’s second city to plunge into bankruptcy unless retirees accept cuts in health benefits that threaten to unravel a balanced budget. As Crain’s Detroit reports, Emergency Manager Darnell Earley (Flint’s third emergency leader since it was placed under state control in 2011) warned “If we have no ability to mitigate the cost of retiree health care, that’s going to make it very difficult for the city to remain financially stable over the next few years.” As Eric Scorsone notes, “Flint’s at the forefront, but a lot of cities are on the same train, and that train is headed for the cliff.”

As Crains Detroit reports,

As Detroit draws worldwide attention for its record $18 billion bankruptcy, Flint demonstrates the plight of U.S. cities where unfunded post-retirement costs rival or exceed pension liabilities. In Michigan alone in 2011, municipalities had nearly $13 billion in health-care liabilities for retirees, compared with about $3 billion for pensions. Flint is among 17 cities and school districts under some form of state control.

Read moreFirst Detroit, Now Flint Warns Bankruptcy ‘Train Is Headed For The Cliff’

Bolivia Legalizes Labor Of Kids As Young As 10

by

– Bolivia legalizes labor of kids as young as 10 (RT, July 20, 2014):

A law, legally allowing children to work from as early as the age of ten, has been signed in Bolivia this week, making the Latin American country the first nation to legalize child labor. International organizations say it contravenes UN conventions.

The legislation was approved by the Congress earlier this month, with Bolivia’s Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera signing it into law on Thursday. The signature – which didn’t come from President Evo Morales due to his absence from the country – officially lowers the age that children can legally work from 14 to 10.

Read moreBolivia Legalizes Labor Of Kids As Young As 10

Gold & Silver Prices Under The Weimar Republic’s Inflation

by

In 1920 gold fell, then it soared!

weimar-hyperinflation

– Gold/Silver Prices Under the Weimar Republic’s Inflation (Daily Paul, Dec 21, 2010):

Stole this from another article/blogger.

Quote:

“On a closing note, because I forgot last week, I would like to share with everyone just how the price of silver and gold escalated in German Mark terms, through the Weimar experience:

Hyperinflation: Wiemar, Germany January 1919 to November 1923
[Expressed in German Marks needed to by an oz. of ag. or au.]”

Jan. 1919
Silver 12
Gold 170

May. 1919
Silver 17
Gold 267

Sept. 1919
Silver 31
Gold 499

Jan. 1920
Silver 84
Gold 1,340

May 1920
Silver 60
Gold 966

Sept. 1921
Silver 80
Gold 2,175

Jan. 1922
Silver 249
Gold 3,976

May. 1922
Silver 375
Gold 6,012

Sept. 1922
Silver 1899
Gold 30,381

Read moreGold & Silver Prices Under The Weimar Republic’s Inflation

US Sanctions Hurt Europe More Than America

by

– US sanctions hurt Europe more than America (RT, July 18, 2014):

The Association of European Businesses (AEB), a Moscow-based business lobby, said that new US sanctions against Russia have a more severe effect on European than on American business.

The AEB says it “regrets” the US sanctions, and warns that they will stunt economic growth “not only in Russia”.

“These sanctions are more focused on the partners of European businesses than on the partners of American companies,” the group said in a statement on Thursday.

Read moreUS Sanctions Hurt Europe More Than America