JPMorgan Caught in Swirl of Regulatory WoesGovernment investigators have found that JPMorgan Chase devised “manipulative schemes” that transformed “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers,” and that one of its most senior executives gave “false and misleading statements” under oath.
Lenders Chip Away at Foreclosure InventoriesCompleted foreclosures rose in March, but the big drop in the number of distressed properties entering the pipeline remains encouraging, analysts say. In March, 55,000 foreclosures were completed, a 6 percent increase from February, according to a newly released report from CoreLogic. But, overall, foreclosures have fallen more than 16 percent year-over-year.
Expectation and Market Realities in Real Estate 2013This report presents an analysis of the current economy for commercial real estate investors, covering the major property sector markets
Schwab Sues BofA and Other Banks Over Alleged Libor ManipulationCharles Schwab Corp. (Bank of America Corp. ( SCHW), whose antitrust claims against banks over manipulation of the London interbank offered rate were tossed from federal court in New York, sued BAC) and other financial institutions for fraud in state court in San Francisco.
Homeland Security under investigation for massive ammo buys – RT USAThe Department of Homeland Security is under investigation for purchasing large stockpiles of ammunition, days before legislation was introduced that would restrict the amount a government agency can legally buy. The Government Accountability Office is now conducting the investigation into the alleged DHS purchases, which is “just getting underway,” GAO spokesman Chuck Young told US News & World Report.
Ten Responses to the Technological Unemployment Problem | THE DECLINE OF SCARCITYOn the internet and in the media there has been growing discussion of technological unemployment. People are increasingly concerned that automation will displace more and more workers-that in fact there might be no turning back at this point. We may be reaching the end of work as we know it.
New film looks at ‘War on Whistleblowers’“There’s a schizophrenia within the administration,” said Tom Devine, legal director of the nonprofit Government Accountability Project. “It’s been Obama versus Obama on whistleblower policy. Until recently, there was a virtual free-speech advocacy for whistleblower job rights that’s unprecedented, more than any other president in history.
Combat school must disclose traineesA federal judge in Oakland says the government must release the names of Latin American military leaders it has trained at the installation formerly known as the School of the Americas, where protesters say the United States has nurtured some of the hemisphere’s worst human rights abusers.
As cyberthreats mount, hacker’s conviction underscores criticism of government overreachWith that, the Justice Department began a case that has come to symbolize what some lawyers and civil libertarians see as overreach in the government’s campaign against cybercrime. The hacker, Andrew Auernheimer, was convicted and sentenced last month to more than three years in prison for obtaining about 120,000 e-mail addresses of iPad users from AT&T’s Web site – including New York Mayor Michael R.
Robert Shiller: Home Prices Will Remain Relatively Stagnant For Next 10 YearsMore good news on the housing market. This morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index posted its biggest annual increase since 2006-just before the housing market crash. Home prices in all 20 metro areas included in the index rose for the second month running. Phoenix led, with a 23% annual increase followed by San Francisco (18.9%), […]
Ron Paul slams Boston police. Has he gone too far?Former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has slammed US law enforcement for responding to the Boston Marathon bombing with “police state tactics.” In a post on the website of libertarian activist Lew Rockwell, Mr. Paul said Monday that the governmental reaction to the tragic explosions was worse than the attack itself.
FBI Report Implicates Saudi Government in 9/11But “We Can’t Afford to Irritate the Saudis” By Actually Looking Into Who Backed 9/11 … “Especially with Oil Prices Going Up Now” Contrary to the official narrative, 9/11 was state-sponsored terror. The only question is which state sponsored it.
Buddha Had It Right: Relax The Mind And Productivity Will Follow“The great enigma for psychologists and philosophers is the mind.” –Bhante Wimala Several decades ago, the term ‘mindfulness’ used to imply Eastern mysticism related to the spiritual journey of a person, originated by Gautama Buddha. Buddhists believe that being ‘well, happy, and peaceful’ comes from practicing ‘mindful’ living.
Americans troubled more by governmental abuse than terrorism – RT USANew polling numbers suggest that United States citizens are on average more afraid of their own government then the threat of another terrorist attack. Even after a pair of bombings in Boston two weeks ago injured hundreds, more Americans say they are unwilling to sacrifice constitutional liberties for security than those who are.
The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever | Politics News | Rolling StoneIllustration by Victor Juhasz Conspiracy theorists of the world, believers in the hidden hands of the Rothschilds and the Masons and the Illuminati, we skeptics owe you an apology. You were right. The players may be a little different, but your basic premise is correct: The world is a rigged game.
Blackstone Buys Atlanta Homes in Largest Rental TradeBlackstone Group LP (BX) bought 1,400 properties in Atlanta, some eligible for federal low-income housing subsidies, in the biggest bulk purchase for the fledgling homes-for-lease industry. The private-equity firm, which has spent more than $4 billion on 24,000 rental properties in the last year making it the largest buyer in the U.S., purchased the residences from Building and Land Technology, said Marcus Ridgway, chief operating officer of Invitation Homes, Blackstone’s single- family rental division.
Economies Of Scale As A ServiceDon’t look now, but something remarkable is happening. Instagram had twelve employees when it was purchased for $700 million; all of its actual computing power was outsourced to Amazon Web Services. Mighty ARM has only 2300 employees, but there are more than 35 billion ARM-based chips out there.