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Courtesy of the recently declassified Fed discount window documents, we now know that the biggest beneficiaries of the Fed's generosity during the peak of the credit crisis were foreign banks, among which Belgium's Dexia was the most troubled , and thus most lent to, bank. Having been thus exposed, many speculated that going forward the US central bank would primarily focus its "rescue" efforts on US banks , not US-based (or local branches) of foreign (read European) banks: after all that's what the ECB is for, while the Fed's role is to stimulate US employment and to keep US inflation modest. And furthermore, should the ECB need to bail out its banks, it could simply do what the Fed does, and monetize debt, thus boosting its assets, while concurrently expanding its excess reserves thus generating fungible capital which would go to European banks. Wrong.
Exclusive: The Fed's $600 Billion Stealth Bailout Of Foreign Banks Continues At The Expense Of The Domestic Economy, Or Explaining Where All The QE2 Money Went | zero hedge
The National Security Agency Releases Over 50,000 Pages of Declassified Documents
The National Security Agency (NSA) announces today that it has declassified and released to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) over 50,000 pages of historic records. These records cover a time-frame from before World War I through the 1960s. This release of documents is the first in a series of releases planned over the next two years as part of NSA/CSS's commitment to meeting the requirements outlined in the President's 21 January 2009 Memorandum on Openness and Transparency in Government (Executive Order 13526). Highlights of this release include:
In Yemen, celebrations and confusion after Saleh leaves - CSMonitor.com
Celebratory fireworks were launched from Change Square as news broke of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ’s departure to Saudi Arabia for what the Yemeni government called “medical treatment” resulting from minor injuries it says he sustained during an attack on his presidential compound Friday. Government officials insist Mr. Saleh will return and resume power after being treated, but Vice President Abd al-Rabo Mansur al-Hadi has been named acting president in Saleh’s absence. The celebrations – most intense among the thousands of protesters who've been living for months in tents just outside Sanaa University and in other camps around the country – were interrupted at around 9 p.m., however, by the familiar sound of shelling.heard as artillery pounded the al-Habasa district of Sanaa where loyalist military forces and anti-government tribesmen have been battling for almost two straight weeks.
Peru's presidential election: Second time’s the charm | The Economist
IN MARCH Mario Vargas Llosa, Peru’s Nobel Prize-winning novelist, compared a hypothetical presidential run-off between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori to a choice between “AIDS and terminal cancer”. Last month it was indeed Mr Humala, a populist nationalist, and Ms Fujimori, the daughter of an authoritarian former president, who advanced to the second round. A dismayed Mr Vargas Llosa reluctantly backed Mr Humala. By the narrowest of margins, his countrymen appear to have done the same in yesterday’s election. With 84% of ballots counted, Mr Humala is winning by 50.7% to 49.2%, and holds the lead in 17 of the country’s 26 regions. A 48-year-old retired military officer, Mr Humala swears he is not the same candidate who ran in 2006 with the support of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s leftist president.Barack Obama and the Republicans: A beatable president | The Economist
NEXT week a collection of largely unknown Republicans will hold the first proper TV debate of the 2012 presidential campaign. Whoever eventually wins their party’s nomination then has to take on Barack Obama, the giant of American politics. The president has a huge war-chest, his own party firmly behind him and a rare capacity to inspire. Yet he is vulnerable.
Seven Problems a Recovery Won't Fix - Umair Haque - Harvard Business Review
The Big Grinning Kahunas that run the world don't agree on much these days, except one thing: the urgent, vital need for "recovery." On both sides of an increasingly fractious political divide, there's a common belief underlying the debates: what we really need is more stimulus, spending, cutting, slashing, or [insert big idea here], and the economy will "recover" — hey, presto!! — and pop roaring back into life.
Itâs Time to Bury the âTAXES BAD!!!â Lie Forever
Lately, some of my left brethren have been shopping the President’s assertion that taxes right now are lower than they were under Saint Ronnie . While this assertion is true, it’s nothing to be proud of. We still don’t seem to get the lessons the last 100 years have offered us about slashing tax rates for the super rich. And the lessons remain the same, old economy or new one. (1.) Essential Government services are gutted.
By Simon Johnson Just a few years ago, eurozone countries were at the forefront of those saying that the International Monetary Fund had lost its relevance and should be downsized. The organization was regarded by the French authorities as so marginal that President Nicolas Sarkozy was happy to put forward the name of a potential rival, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to become managing director in fall 2007. Today the French government is working overtime to make sure that a Sarkozy loyalist and the leader of his economic team – Finance Minister Christine Lagarde – becomes the next managing director. Why do they and other eurozone countries now care so much about who runs the IMF?
Why Are the French So Determined To Run The IMF – And What Will It Cost You? « The Baseline Scenario
The death of Ilyas Kashmiri: Droning on | The Economist
AMERICA’S persistent, and increasing, use of drone attacks against suspected terrorists in remote parts of Pakistan remains immensely unpopular in that country. More so than the raid by American special forces, which killed Osama bin Laden last month in Abbottabad, the drone strikes incite fury: Pakistanis see their national sovereignty violated repeatedly and unlucky civilians killed in the process. Pakistan’s government, though acquiescing in the use of drones—reportedly even letting America launch some of them from its own soil—in public rejects them. American diplomats in Pakistan, at least on the record, are supposed to deny that such a programme exists. Yet it is clear why the Americans use them: they work.
Political Irony › Don’t Need to Speculate Any More
It should be of little surprise that the banks lied to us back when oil prices spiked in the summer of 2008, hitting $147 a barrel. The banks, the Bush administration, the media, etc. blamed it on their old friends supply and demand — mainly demand from China and from Americans who wanted to drive ever bigger and more gas hungry SUVs. Even liberals fell for this, with cries of “peak oil”. But the reality was much simpler. Investors — mainly speculators — drove up the price of commodities, including oil, looking for a relatively safe haven for their volumes of cash (since real estate was already tanking).The Young Conservative’s Hip Hop Guide to Muslims (Satire) This music video is social commentary through satire on the gross, yet common misconceptions perpetuated about Muslim people. It’s good music, good video, funny, and educational.
The Young Con
Griper Blade: The Bush Tax Cuts Failed. Period
It's a chart that's been making the rounds for a while now. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities graphed out the main drivers of current and projected deficits and came up with the following: TARP, bailouts, the stimulus? Ain't crap. And the economic downturn didn't really make much of a dent. The big driver of current and future deficits are the Bush era tax cuts.Daily Kos: The Return of the "Nobody Could Have Predicted" President
Even in its last throes, the Bush White House insisted the disasters which unfolded on its watch were unforeseeable. Just days before leaving office , Vice President Dick Cheney tried to deflect blame for the calamity on Wall Street and the deepening recession by declaring, "nobody anywhere was smart enough to figure that out" and "I don't know that anybody did." Then, Cheney magically converted failure into a virtue and ignorance into a shield in explaining away the Bush presidency:You have to imagine that freshman Republican Congressman Sean Duffy was hoping a gaffe this bad would stay hidden. One month later, however, thanks to the DCCC and local media , Duffy's lucky streak has come to an end. GOP House freshman Sean Duffy of Ashland found himself explaining his congressional salary and benefits to a struggling local builder at a town hall meeting in Polk County last month, saying, “I struggle to meet my bills right now.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee highlighted the exchange in a press release Tuesday, accusing Duffy of complaining about a salary ($174,000) that is far higher than what the average Wisconsinite earns.