The Sunday 'Report;' 02/05/2012

What The National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
[STRATFOR] Annual Forecast 2012
Staff Report,
STRATFOR.com
January 20, 2012
    There are periods when the international system undergoes radical shifts in a short time. The last such period was 1989-1991. During that time, the Soviet empire collapsed. The Japanese economic miracle ended. The Maastricht Treaty creating contemporary Europe was signed. Tiananmen Square defined China as a market economy dominated by an unchallenged Communist Party, and so on. Fundamental components of the international system shifted radically, changing the rules for the next 20 years.
    We are in a similar cycle, one that began in 2008 and is still playing out. In this period, the European Union has stopped functioning as it did five years ago and has yet to see its new form defined. China has moved into a difficult social and economic phase, with the global recession severely affecting its export-oriented economy and its products increasingly uncompetitive due to inflation. The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has created opportunities for an Iranian assertion of power that could change the balance of power in the region. The simultaneous shifts in Europe, China and the Middle East open the door to a new international framework replacing the one created in 1989-1991.
    Our forecast for 2012 is framed by the idea that we are in the midst of what we might call a generational shift in the way the world works. The processes are still under way, and we will therefore have to consider the future of Europe, China and the Middle East in some detail before drawing a conclusion. The 2012 forecast is unique in that it is not a forecast for one year in a succession of years, all basically framed by the same realities. Rather, it is a year in which the individual forecasts point to a new generational reality and a redefinition of how the world works.  2012 may not be [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/forecast/annual-forecast-2012?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120125&utm_term=engage&utm_content=link6&elq=2950de95f05044989f7971ae1b599454

3 Ways Facebook Plans to Exploit Users
By Jeff Macke
Breakout
February 2, 2012
    In a move hitting the front page of nearly every newspaper in the world, social networking giant Facebook took the first steps toward an initial public offering (IPO) yesterday by filing what's called an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  But folks desperate to buy shares still have to wait at least another three months until before see the company debut on a stock exchange under ticker symbol (FB).  So why all the fuss? Because despite all we think we know about a company that counts a membership equal to more than 10% of the earth's population, Facebook's filing was the first chance for outsiders to see the different ways FB profits from users. A careful read of the S-1 reveals Facebook's plans to make even more money from members using the free service to connect with old friends.  Earlier today my co-host Matt Nesto and I discussed 3 ways Facebook plans to exploit you the user, in order to justify their plans to increase revenues, profit, and valuation. The list may disturb you.
1. Facebook is going to "sell" users for $120 each
According to their filing, Facebook had 850 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) at the end of 2011. From that user base the company generated roughly [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/3-ways-facebook-ipo-exploit-users-172215377.html
 
Big tax mines that could blow up your return
Missing these tax changes could bring some IRS attention, hefty fines
By Andrea Coombes,
MarketWatch.com
January 25, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Most people don’t have tax returns as complex as Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich or Barack Obama, but even if you aren’t reporting a Cayman Island account or many millions in S-corp. profits or book sales, there are brand-new pitfalls to watch for as you go to do your 2011 return.
Congress’s relative gridlock last year means there aren’t a slew of complex tax changes to deal with when you file this year — but there are some doozies that may trip up taxpayers.
For instance, thanks to a law passed in 2008, investors now face new rules and a new form for reporting cost basis for stocks sold in 2011. And now that brokers are reporting your cost basis to the IRS, too, it’s all the more crucial that you get it right.  Also, taxpayers with financial assets overseas need to make sure they’re on the right side of new rules, and a new form, for reporting those assets. The penalty for failing to file the new Form 8938 starts at a flat $10,000 and rises [....]
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/big-tax-mines-that-could-blow-up-your-return-2012-01-25?siteid=nwhpf

Considering a U.S.-Iranian Deal
by George Friedman
STRATFOR.com
January 24, 2012
Last week, I wrote on the strategic challenge Iran faces in its bid to shape a sphere of influence stretching from western Afghanistan to Beirut on the eastern Mediterranean coast. I also pointed out the limited options available to the United States and other Western powers to counter Iran.  One was increased efforts to block Iranian influence in Syria. The other was to consider a strategy of negotiation with Iran. In the past few days, we have seen hints of both.
Rebel Gains in Syria
The city of Zabadani in southwestern Syria reportedly has fallen into the hands of anti-regime forces. Though the city does not have much tactical value for the rebels, and the regime could well retake it, the event could have real significance. Up to this point, apart from media attention, the resistance to the regime of President Bashar al Assad has not proven particularly effective. It was certainly not able to take and hold territory, which is critical for any insurgency to have significance.  Now that the rebels have taken [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/considering-us-iranian-deal?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120124&utm_term=gweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=33869ed162fa4e9c8c3fda5fc1e61e23

Eric Holder's False Testimony Warrants Impeachment
by Editorial Staff,
Investors Business Daily
January 30, 2012
Scandal: For incompetence alone, Attorney General Eric Holder should resign in the wake of the illegal "Fast and Furious" gunrunning scandal. But fresh news that he knew of it and is covering it up warrants impeachment.
    In the latest Friday night document dump — news released as to minimize its scandalous impact on the White House — congressional investigators learned that Attorney General Holder knew all along that a gun his Justice Department intentionally let fall into the hands of Mexico's cartels was used to murder U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry on Dec. 15, 2010.
    Holder must have known right away because his Deputy Chief of Staff Monty Wilkinson received an email from then-Arizona U.S. Attorney General Dennis Burke telling him just that: "The guns found in the desert near the murder(ed) BP officer connect back to the investigation we were going to talk about — they were AK-47s purchased at a Phoenix gun store."  According to the Daily Caller, the emails also showed that Wilkinson then "alerted" Holder about the killing of the U.S. agent.  Since then, Wilkinson has taken the Fifth in congressional testimony and told investigators, "I don't recall," while the Justice Department on Monday [....]
http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=599462&p=1&ibdbot=1

How Romney Would Rank Among The Richest U.S. Presidents
by William P. Barrett,
Forbes Staff,
forbes.com
January 24, 2012
There’s no question Obama is part of the 1%. His income is way above $350,000, which is generally considered the cut-off.
Mitt Romney
Today’s release of Mitt Romney’ tax return information for 2010 and 2011 makes clear that if he becomes President of the United States, he would be among the richest individuals to hold that office.  But not the richest.
Romney reported adjusted gross income for 2010 of nearly $22 million. Of that, $8 million was interest and dividends. In this current economic environment of low interest rates and minimal dividends, an $8 million haul alone implies assets in the range of $200 million to $250 million. That’s in line with previous estimates and his own candidate’s financial disclosure statement, which lists broad ranges.
George Washington
For our money, George Washington wins hands down. In the largely tax-free environment that characterized colonial America, the Father of His Country was considered one of its richest residents, a product of his shrewd business sense, a marriage to a wealthy widow and several inheritances. He benefited from an older brother’s marriage into a powerful family, while early work as a surveyor helped give him a keen understanding of land.  His Mount Vernon plantation grew to 6,500 acres, and he had other acreage in Virginia and what became West Virginia. Washington ran farms, started businesses and owned lots of slaves. Indeed, in their 1996 book, The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates–A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present, Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther ranked Washington 59th, ahead of later-day moguls like J. Paul Getty, Microsoft cofounder Paul G. Allen and Ronald Perelman. The authors’ ranking methodology used estimated net worth as a percent of the gross national product at the time.  Romney’s millions don’t even earn [....]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2012/01/24/how-romney-would-rank-among-the-richest-u-s-presidents/

[Related Content:] The Net Worth Of The American Presidents: Washington To Obama Infographic: Is Higher Education the Next Big Bubble?
Staff Report,
247wallst.com[Originally Published:]  May 17, 2010
    George Washington,the nation’s first President, was also one of the wealthiest men to hold the office. His Virginia plantation, “Mount Vernon,” consisted of five separate farms on 8,000 acres of prime farmland. Washington made significantly more than subsequent presidents: his salary was two percent of the total U.S. budget in 1789.
    Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was not one of America’s wealthiest - any opportunity to make money after his term of office was cut short. He was born in a log cabin and served as an attorney for 17 years before his presidency. He owned a single-family home in Springfield, Illinois.
    Editor’s Note: This article was first published on May 17, 2010. The net worth of any of the Presidents on this list who are no longer living cannot change, except as measured by inflation. The fortune of the presidents who remain living have changed somewhat, but it would be nearly impossible to measure the full effect of that over the last nine months. The value of Bill Clinton’s real estate may have risen. Jimmy Carter’s publishing royalties may have improved. None of these events is likely to have a substantial effect on the rankings.
    The Net Worth of America’s Presidents is a study that can be updated from time-time-time, but the figures relative to the passage of a few years will almost certainly never be more than modest.  24/7 Wall St. has examined the finances of all forty-three presidents. This article provides net worth figures for each in 2010 dollars. Because a number of presidents, particularly in the early 19th Century, made and lost huge fortunes in a matter of a few years, the number for each man is based on his net worth at its peak.  In the case of each president we have taken into account hard assets like land, estimated lifetime savings based on work history, inheritance, homes, and money paid for services, which include things as diverse as their salary as Collector of Customs at the Port of New York to membership on Fortune 500 boards. Royalties on books have also been taken into account, along with ownership of companies and yields from family estates.
    The net worth of the presidents varies widely. George Washington was worth over half a billion in today’s dollars. Several presidents went bankrupt.  The fortunes of American presidents are tied to the economy in the eras in which they lived. For the first 75 years after Washington’s election, presidents generally made money on land, crops, and commodity speculation. A president who owned hundreds or thousands of acres could lose most or all of his property after a few years of poor crop yields. Wealthy Americans occasionally lost all of their money through land speculation—leveraging the value of one piece of land to buy additional property. Since there was no reliable national banking system and almost no liquidity in the value of private companies, land was the asset likely to provide the greatest yield, if the property yielded enough to support the costs of operating the farm or plantation.
Because there was no central banking system and no commodities regulatory framework, markets were subject to panics.
    The panic of 1819 was caused by the deep indebtedness of the federal government and a rapid drop in the price of cotton. The immature banking system was forced to foreclose on many farms. The value of the properties foreclosed upon was often low because land without a landowner meant land without a crop yield.  The panic of 1837 caused a depression that lasted six years. It was triggered by a weak wheat crop, a drop in cotton prices, and a leverage bubble in the value of land created by speculation. These factors caused the US economy to go through a multi-year period of deflation.  The sharp fluctuations in the fortunes of the first 14 presidents were a result of the economic times.
    Beginning with Millard Fillmore in 1850, the financial history of the presidency entered a new era. Most presidents were lawyers who [....]
http://247wallst.com/2010/05/17/the-net-worth-of-the-american-presidents-washington-to-obama/


Infographic:  Is Higher Education the Next Big Bubble?  Part One
by EW News Desk Team
economywatch.com
January 26. 2012
    Getting into a good university is not an easy feat. Securing a job upon graduation, in the current economic climate, is not easy too. However, the biggest challenge for most university graduates is paying off their education loan. It may sound preposterous that some have called higher education the next big bubble. Hardly surprising: The sum of student debt stands higher than credit card debt across the United States.
    In 2011, Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, venture capitalist and part of Facebook board of directors, warned that higher education was a bubble waiting to burst.  According to Thiel, the imminent higher education bubble bears striking similarities with the precedent technology and housing bubbles. Comparing universities to commercial markets, higher education is a major investment with poor payouts (job crisis) and market failure, leading some to question how much they have overvalued higher education in America.  The higher education bubble may [....]
http://www.economywatch.com/in-the-news/infographic-is-higher-education-the-next-big-bubble.26-01.html

[Related Content:] Infographic: Is Higher Education the Next Big Bubble? Part Two
by: EW News Desk Team
economywatch.com
January 27, 2012
    Almost two-thirds of all undergraduates in America take out education loans, and the total size of student debt is expected to cross the $1 trillion mark this year. With the weak job market out there, how are students expected to pay off their loans? Is the next big bubble really about to burst?
Yesterday, we compared the similarities between the imminent higher education bubble and the 2005 housing bubble in the United States. The similarities cannot be denied, and the biggest difference between the two bubbles is that the higher education bubble is growing at a much faster pace.
Today, students in America graduate with an average debt of $24,000. According to some statistics, 10.8 percent of students from public schools default [....]
http://www.economywatch.com/in-the-news/infographic-is-higher-education-the-next-big-bubble-part-two.27-01.html

Mali Besieged by Fighters Fleeing Libya
by Scott Stewart
STRATFOR.com
February 2, 2012
    Mali has experienced perhaps the most significant external repercussions from the downfall of the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Stratfor has discussed the impact of the conflict in Libya on the wider region since international intervention began in March 2011. Instability in Libya due to that country's deep internal fault lines meant that re-establishing a government would prove difficult. As we pointed out, that instability could spread to neighboring countries as weapons and combatants flow outward from Libya.
Reports now indicate that thousands of armed Tuareg tribesmen who previously served in Gadhafi's military have returned home to Mali. The influx of this large number of well-armed and well-trained fighters, led by a former Libyan army colonel, has re-energized the long-simmering Tuareg insurgency against the Malian government. These Tuareg insurgents have formed a new group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). In mid-January, they began a military campaign to free three northern regions of Mali from Bamako's control.  The government of Mali has claimed [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/mali-besieged-fighters-fleeing-libya?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120202&utm_term=sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=df556daa8f64406988ab4c39e6cc562a

Media Act As Though Only Republicans Misbehave
by Editorial Staff,
Investors Business Daily
January 30, 2012
Journalism: What's the difference between Republican and Democratic political operatives who end up on the wrong side of the law? In the "unbiased" press, only the Republicans' party ID and connections merit attention.
    In a blog post on Publius' Forum this week, Warner Todd Huston noted the glaring difference in how the media treated the recent arrests of Zachary Edwards and Tim Russell.  Edwards, an Iowa Democrat, was charged last week with trying to commit identity theft against Matt Schultz, Iowa's Republican secretary of state, in order to pin unethical or illegal activity on him.  Russell, a Wisconsin Republican, was accused of stealing money intended for relatives of veterans killed in action.
    Both are terrible deeds, to be sure. But as Huston notes, only Russell's party affiliation and connections got played up by news reports. Russell, you see, was an aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, much-hated by liberals.  The New York Times made this connection clear in its headline, as did Reuters and just about every other story about the arrest.  But when it came to the Edwards arrest in Iowa, press accounts went out of their way to avoid even mentioning that he was a Democrat. The AP dispatch, for example, [....]
http://news.investors.com/Article/599441/201201301844/media-bias-exposed-in-recent-scandal-coverage-WEBHED-Media-Act-As-Though-Only-Republicans-Misbehave.htm

Meet Sheryl Sandberg: Facebook's Highest-Paid Employee
by Claudine Zap
Work and Money,
shine.yahoo.com
February 2, 2012
    Mark Zuckerberg may be the face of Facebook. But Sheryl Sandberg can take much of the credit for the company's success. As chief operating officer -- and the self-described "grownup" in the room -- she was also the highest-paid employee at the social networking site. Her salary and stock awards last year: a cool $30.87 million, putting her on pace to be one of the wealthiest self-made women in the world once the company goes public.
    Sandberg, who's second in command at Facebook, is often not just the grownup in the room, but also the only woman, which she finds mind-boggling. As she told an audience at TED in Washington, D.C., "One hundred and ninety heads of state; nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13% are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top, C-level jobs, board seats, tops out at 15-16%. The numbers have not moved since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction."  Sandberg, however, is moving in a trajectory that [....]
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/meet-sheryl-sandberg-facebooks-highest-paid-employee-203400199.html

Polarization and Sustained Violence in Mexico's Cartel War
Staff Report,
STRATFOR.com
January 24, 2012
Editor's Note: In this annual report on Mexico's drug cartels, we assess the most significant developments of 2011 and provide updated profiles of the country's powerful criminal cartels as well as a forecast for 2012. The report is a product of the coverage we maintain through our Mexico Security Memo, quarterly updates and other analyses we produce throughout the year.
    As we noted in last year's annual cartel report, Mexico in 2010 bore witness to some 15,273 deaths in connection with the drug trade. The death toll for 2010 surpassed that of any previous year, and in doing so became the deadliest year ever in the country's fight against the cartels. But in the bloody chronology that is Mexico's cartel war, 2010's time at the top may have been short-lived. Despite the Mexican government's efforts to curb cartel-related violence, the death toll for 2011 may have exceeded what had been an unprecedented number.  According to the Mexican government, [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/polarization-and-sustained-violence-mexicos-cartel-war?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120125&utm_term=engage&utm_content=link4&elq=2950de95f05044989f7971ae1b599454

[NY] State Assembly considering raising minimum wage
by Andrew Poole
The [Hornell, N.Y.] Evening Tribune
January 31, 2012
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I- Corning) hasn’t seen a copy of a proposed bill that would increase New York’s minimum wage, but he already has concerns about such an action.  Citing census data stating that almost half of United States citizens have fallen into poverty, Assembly Democrats announced Monday their intention to present legislation that would raise New York’s hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50, according to Associated Press reports.  The increase would also be tied to the rate of inflation, meaning in future years as inflation rises the minimum wage would also increase accordingly.  Palmesano said state minimum wage is tied to the federal wage, and that it would be better continue the same system and allow the market to determine what businesses pay.  The state needs to be careful about increasing minimum wage because it could further hinder growth in a time when businesses are struggling financially due to the economy, added the assemblyman.
“Based on what I’m hearing, I’d have concerns supporting the legislation as is,” he said.
Businesses are already paying steep unemployment rate costs, said Palmesano. If minimum wage rises, other costs, including worker’s compensation, would increase.  The assemblyman was concerned [....]
http://www.eveningtribune.com/news/x132488470/State-Assembly-considering-raising-minimum-wage?utm=c

The Best-Selling Cars of All Time
Staff Report,
247wallst.com
January 26, 2012    The most successful car in history may be the Ford Model T. While other models may have sold more vehicles, Ford managed to sell nearly 17 million cars from 1908 to 1927 — a period when car ownership was rare compared to today. The Model T was so successful that nearly every other best-selling car adopted its formula. The Model T was inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to operate, reliable and built by a large company that had hundreds of dealerships and trained mechanics. The other vehicles on this list, from the VW Passat to the Toyota Corolla, share all of these characteristics. The best-selling cars through history have appealed to a broad buyer base because they are within the reach of the masses.  The best-selling vehicles have several other notable features in common. For one, the majority were introduced just before or around the same time that gas prices began to rise rapidly in the early 1970s, primarily because of [....]
http://247wallst.com/2012/01/26/the-best-selling-cars-of-all-time/

The Invention of the Internet
[videos, speeches, photo galleries]
history.com
date unknown
    Unlike technologies such as the light bulb or the telephone, the Internet has no single “inventor.” Instead, it has evolved over time. The Internet got its start in the United States more than 50 years ago as a government weapon in the Cold War. For years, scientists and researchers used it to communicate and share data with one another. Today, we use the Internet for almost everything, and for many people it would be impossible to imagine life without it.
http://www.history.com/topics/invention-of-the-internet

Thousands of federal workers owe back taxes
by Ken Thomas,
Associated Press
finance.yahoo.com
January 27, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has preached that all Americans should pay their fair share in taxes, but a government report finds that tens of thousands of federal employees — from staffers in Congress to federal agencies and even Obama's executive office — collectively owe the government billions in back taxes.  Data from the Internal Revenue Service found that more than 279,000 federal employees and retirees owed $3.4 billion in back income taxes as of Sept. 30, 2010.  The data showed that 467 employees of the House of Representatives, or about 4.2 percent of the workforce, owed more than $8.5 million. In the Senate, 217 employees, or about 3 percent of the workforce, owed $2.13 million.  Obama's staff was not immune, either, with 36 people in Obama's executive office of nearly 1,800 workers — about 2 percent — owing the government $833,970 in back taxes.
    Obama used part of his State of the Union address Tuesday night to promote economic fairness, arguing for changes in the tax code that would create a minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent on anyone making more than $1 million. The finances of one of his chief Republican rivals, Mitt Romney, has been scrutinized because he, like many millionaires, pays a lower rate because most of his income came from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate.  The IRS report attracted the attention of Republicans, who said it undercut the president's argument on taxes. "If Obama wants people to pay their 'fair share,' perhaps he should start with his own staff," [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/thousands-federal-workers-owe-back-taxes-231332510.html

Venezuela Prepares as Chavez's Health Deteriorates
Staff Report,
STRATFOR.com
January 25, 2012
    According to a report published by Spanish newspaper ABC on Monday and Tuesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may only have 9-12 months to live as a result of his decision to prioritize presidential duties over personal health. Chavez's prostate cancer was reportedly discovered in January of 2011, at which point his prognosis was five years. Since that initial diagnosis, Chavez has repeatedly postponed treatments or skipped them altogether in the interests of concealing his illness and protecting his political position.  The leaked report, which ABC says was given to the paper by "intelligence services" (much like a November leak to The Wall Street Journal), is dated Jan. 12 and reviews a medical examination Chavez underwent Dec. 30. According to the report, the South American president needs to undergo a painful, debilitating treatment that, while preventing him from working for more than a month, could extend his lifespan. If he defers the treatment, he will likely to die within the year. According to ABC, when presented with a similar conundrum in November, Chavez chose to stay in Caracas rather than travel to Russia for treatment -- out of fear that the political situation in Venezuela was not secure. We have no way to be completely certain that the report accurately represents Chavez's medical condition, but the tenor of the report matches a series of accounts given to Stratfor and other open sources.
    Competition within the Chavista inner circle dominated 2011, as each of Chavez's closest associates sought to take best advantage of the turmoil that ensued when Chavez's bout of illness became public in June. The upcoming October elections have added urgency to this struggle. There is no clear successor to Chavez among the Chavista elite. However, Chavez in recent weeks appointed Diosdado Cabello as first vice president of the Venezuelan United Socialist Party and later named him President of the National Assembly. Clearly, a single faction has taken the lead. Cabello represents the pragmatic, militaristic wing of the Chavista elite. However, although powerful, Cabello is not particularly popular, and he is not likely to be a suitable replacement for Chavez in October.
    The most believable political alternative to Chavez may actually come from the Venezuelan opposition. After years of disunity and infighting, the opposition is presenting its most credible challenge to Chavez since he came to office in 1999. Miranda Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski appears most likely to secure the backing of the opposition parties in the Feb. 12 primaries. Capriles has positioned himself as a man of the people, claiming he is the natural heir to Chavismo, but with a pro-business twist.  The most important thing [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/venezuela-prepares-chavezs-health-deteriorates?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120125&utm_term=engage&utm_content=link8&elq=2950de95f05044989f7971ae1b599454

Update on Global Food Commodities
Staff Report,
STRATFOR.com
January 19, 2012
Summary
Corn, soybeans, rice and wheat are the most important food staples consumed in the world. We monitor these commodities because market fluctuations can lead to domestic unrest in import-reliant countries. Below is an assessment of these vital commodities.
Analysis
Most countries have domestic agricultural industries. However, the majority of these countries do not produce more than what their populations can consume. Only a handful of countries are able to export significant quantities of key food staples to countries that cannot meet their consumption needs or experience temporary setbacks in their agricultural sectors.
    Output from exporting countries is an important geopolitical issue. Increased demand for global food supplies can cause localized shortages and price spikes. Food shortages and price increases, in turn, can lead to political turmoil and social unrest in countries whose populations depend on these imports for survival.  The most important staple crops consumed by populations around the world are corn, rice and wheat. Soybeans have also become an important alternative source of protein, particularly in Asian diets. Corn and soybean exports are largely dominated by states in the Western Hemisphere, while global wheat supplies are primarily grown by states in the Northern Hemisphere. Asian states account for the majority of all globally traded rice, but China, the world's largest producer of rice, consumes almost all of the rice it produces.  The following breaks down the current status of each of the four major staple crops. Production forecasts are drawn primarily [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/update-global-food-commodities?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120125&utm_term=engage&utm_content=link2&elq=2950de95f05044989f7971ae1b599454

CFPB Wields New Powers with Director
by Diane Katz,
Research Report

heritage.org
January 30, 2012
    Within hours of Richard Cordray assuming the role of director[1] at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), agency officials began exercising their newly expanded powers. Their immediate target is all manner of “nonbank”[2] financial services used by millions of households. While proponents contend that the new regulations will benefit consumers, the structure of the bureau—its unparalleled power magnified by an absence of accountability—bodes ill for most Americans.
New Director Prompts New Powers
The CFPB became operational on July 21, 2011, but was limited by statute to enforcing existing rules over banks and credit unions (with more than $10 billion in assets) until a director was nominated and confirmed. With Cordray in place on January 4, the bureau immediately launched its supervision of “nonbank” mortgage originators, brokers, and servicers, as well as payday lenders and private education loans, as permitted by statute following confirmation of a director.  The bureau is also now authorized to supervise “larger participants” in other nonbank services. The CFPB has identified six such services for regulation, including debt collection; consumer reporting; prepaid cards; debt relief services; consumer credit; and money transmitting, check cashing, and related activities. The designation of “larger participants” must be finalized by July 21, 2012.  Reflecting the overly broad nature of its powers, the agency may also supervise any nonbank that it deems as posing a “risk” to consumers or engaging in “unfair, deceptive, or abusive” practices. While unfair and deceptive have been defined in other regulatory contexts, the addition of the term abusive, which has not previously been defined in law, grants CFPB officials inordinate discretion.
Regulatory Excess Harms Consumers
There are some bad actors in the nonbank sector (as in all endeavors, including government). But at least 40 million adults benefit from alternative financial services, citing convenience, cost, or ease of qualification for doing so.[3] Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no “void” of conventional banking in neighborhoods where alternative service providers locate, according to a survey by the Urban Institute.[4]  To the extent that the bureau’s regulatory crackdown constrains [....]
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/01/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-concerns-with-its-broad-powers

Germany's Role in Europe and the European Debt Crisis
by George Friedman,
STRATFOR.com
January 31, 2012
    The German government proposed last week that a European commissioner be appointed to supplant the Greek government. While phrasing the German proposal this way might seem extreme, it is not unreasonable. Under the German proposal, this commissioner would hold power over the Greek national budget and taxation. Since the European Central Bank already controls the Greek currency, the euro, this would effectively transfer control of the Greek government to the European Union, since whoever controls a country's government expenditures, tax rates and monetary policy effectively controls that country. The German proposal therefore would suspend Greek sovereignty and the democratic process as the price of financial aid to Greece.
    Though the European Commission rejected the proposal, the concept is far from dead, as it flows directly from the logic of the situation. The Greeks are in the midst of a financial crisis that has made Greece unable to repay money Athens borrowed. Their options are to default on the debt or to negotiate a settlement with their creditors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union are managing these negotiations.  Any settlement will have three parts. The first is an agreement by creditors to forego repayment on part of the debt. The second is financial help from the IMF and the European Union to help pay back the remaining debt. The third is an agreement by the Greek government to curtail government spending and increase taxes so that it can avoid future sovereign debt crises and repay at least part of the debt.
Bankruptcy and the Nation State
The Germans don't trust the Greeks to keep any bargain, which is not unreasonable given that the Greeks haven't been willing to enforce past agreements. Given this lack of trust, Germany [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/germanys-role-europe-and-european-debt-crisis?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120131&utm_term=gweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=e3a07cc3ff994dae9a31ae9235fcebee

7 Unexpected Uses for Your Microwave

by Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor,
EatingWell Magazine
shine.yahoo.com
January 31, 2012
    Chances are you have a microwave sitting somewhere in your kitchen. They've gotten smaller over the years, but even the most svelte version takes up precious real estate. It's time to put that baby to work.
1. Cook fish - Cook a steak in the microwave and you'll end up with shoe leather. Fish, on the other hand, can be cooked perfectly in the microwave. Simply wrap your fish in microwave-safe plastic with a little seasoning (salt and pepper and some lemon, perhaps) and [....]
http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/7-unexpected-uses-microwave-164800328.html

Tiny Swiss town builds the world's first solar-powered ski lift
by: Adventure Journal
grindtv.com
February 2, 2012    Even though as the crow flies, the postage-stamp town of Tenna, Switzerland, isn't far from historic resorts like St. Moritz and Davos, Tenna is a one-horse town, one-shop, one-school, and one t-bar town. And that t-bar, the only ski lift in the whole valley, was on its last legs. But rather than let it die, locals raised enough money to update it and then went a step further: They built the world's first solar-powered ski lift.  It's more than solar-powered, in fact -- it's a smart investment. The Tenna lift generates 90,000 kilowatt hours a year, or three times the juice needed to run the lift, and the extra power goes back into the grid, which makes money for the town, which can pay residents back.  So what happens to the 82 solar "wings" when it dumps? Not a problem, because they rotate to follow the path of the sun in the sky and can be tilted to perpendicular during a storm, so there's no load and the snow slides right off.  At $1.5 million, the project [....]
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/32612/tiny+swiss+town+builds+the+worlds+first+solar-powered+ski+lift/
Until Next Sunday....

The Sunday 'Report;' 12/18/2011

What The National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
Nigel Farage: Escape Euro Prison!
by Mike Shedlock
Townhall.com
December 12, 2011
When it comes to humor from politicians (in a good sense), Nigel Farage is right at the top of the list.
His opening line had me laughing out loud.
Farage is 100% correct. If the UK is being push aside (and it is), Cameron should embrace being shoved aside and let Merkozy fend for themselves.
Partial Transcript
RT: Britain has no to tighter controls leaving Euro countries to sort themselves out and the UK is being pushed further aside.
Farage: Well let's hope so ... Cameron said can we have some small concessions. Sarkozy told him to take a running jump. On the face of it I should be cheering David Cameron and say isn't it marvelous, the British prime minister has finally stood up and said something. ... But we are still [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2011/12/12/nigel_farage_escape_euro_prison/page/full/

Newt is Right

by Michael Reagan
Townhall.com
Dec 07, 2011
    Tom Brokaw has written a book about the Greatest Generation, a generation that grew up with fathers in the home who saw it as their duty to instill in their sons a work ethic. The Greatest Generation went on to win World War II. Newt Gingrich is right when he warns that the newest generation does not understand or appreciate the value of good, hard work.  Tragically, 40 million children will go to bed tonight without a father in the home to teach them the economic facts of life. One wonders how exactly these children will ever learn any kind of work ethic. While in some cases there is a fine mother like mine who can instill it in them, more often than not it's simply not possible.
    When I was 10 years old I wanted an expensive, new 10-speed Schwinn bike. I asked my mother -- the late Hollywood actress Jane Wyman, who could easily afford it -- if she would simply buy the bike for me.  She said she would loan me the money if I signed a note acknowledging the debt. I said, "Mom, I am only 10 years old. What can I possibly do to make enough money to pay you back?" She told me I could earn money by selling newspapers.  I signed the note, and every Sunday until I fully paid for that bike I sold papers in front of Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. Later I asked Mom why she made me work for that bike when the other kids' parents simply gave them their bikes.
    I'll never forget what she told me. She said,
"I build men, not boys, and if you don't learn to work for what you want now, you will end up as a 40-year-old boy.  I want a man."
I pray that that's what she got in her only son. At least that's what I try to be.  On that issue alone, Mom would have voted [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelreagan/2011/12/07/newt_is_right/page/full/

Illinois Teen Learns About Bank Fees the Hard Way

by SUSANNA KIM (@skimm)
ABCNews.com 
Dec. 13, 2011
    Melinda Ganziano of McCullom Lake, Ill., wanted to introduce her son to the basics of banking, but he ended up with $229 in fees in two weeks with a balance of just $4.85.   Ganziano, a 55-year-old mother of five children, encouraged her fourth child, Daniel, 18, to set up a savings account at a nearby TCF Bank "out of convenience" due to its location.  Ganziano and her son discovered that the bank offered little convenience due to the growing number of bank fees, as first reported by the Chicago Tribune.  After he put money into the savings accont from his job, Daniel Ganziano's balance eventually fell to $4.85 and with such a small amount, he ignored it.
    However, TCF sent him a letter on Oct. 12 informing him that it had charged him a $9.95 monthly maintenance fee six days earlier because the account had a low balance. That led to an overdrawn account by $5.10, which then led to a $28-a-day overdraft fee. The account was 10 cents over the $5 threshold for which the daily fee kicks in. Young Ganziano's account was now overdrawn by $33.10.
Ganziano, who works in the nonprofit sector, and her son went to the bank that weekend to [....]
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/illinois-teens-account-racks-200-bank-fees/story?id=15137775

Oil-Rich America?

by Victor Davis Hanson
Townhall.com
December 8, 2011    There is a revolution going on America. But it is not part of the Tea Party or the loud Occupy Wall Street protests.  Instead, massive new reserves of gas, oil and coal are being discovered almost everywhere in the United States, due to revolutionary methods of exploration and exploitation such as fracking and horizontal drilling. Current prices of over $100 a barrel make even complex efforts at recovery enormously profitable.  There were always known to be additional untapped reserves of oil and gas in the petroleum-rich Gulf of Mexico, off America's shores, and in the American West and Alaska. But even the top energy experts never imagined just how vast was the energy there -- or beneath far more unlikely places like South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. Some studies suggest the United States has now expanded its known potential gas and oil reserves tenfold.
    The strategic and economic repercussions of these new finds are staggering, and remind us how a once energy-independent and thereby confident American economy soared to world dominance in the early 20th century.  America will soon again be able to supply all of its own domestic natural gas needs -- and perhaps for the next 90 years at present rates of consumption. We have recently become a net exporter of refined gas and diesel fuel, and already have cut imported oil from OPEC countries by 1 million barrels per day.  With expanded exploration and conservation, the United States could also eventually supply half its own petroleum needs. If we were to eliminate just 5 million barrels of our current daily 9 million barrels of imported petroleum, the annual savings could reach nearly $200 billion per year. Eventually, the new gas and oil could add another 1.6 million new jobs and add [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2011/12/08/oilrich_america/page/full/

The Top 50 Examples of Liberal Media Bias

by Warner Todd Huston,
The Western Center for Journalism
December 10, 2011
    Let’s face it, liberal media bias has been around since there have been liberals to do the “reporting” of the news. But this fact should surprise no one. After all, the news media has always been filled with bias of one type or another. In fact, there was a time when American customers of the news knew exactly which newspapers sported which point of view. It was taken for granted that one newspaper supported one side and another newspaper a different side.
Liberal Bias is Prevalent in the Mainstream Media    But in the late 1950s and early 1960s that all changed. Suddenly the folks in the news media began to present themselves as unbiased pursuers of “the truth.” Gone was the out-in-front bias and instead the media cloaked itself in a new air of detachment, a new just-the-facts mien.  This new era in media conceit coincided with the advent of a liberal mindset that took on the weight of the world, a new era in which liberals felt that their ideals rose above God, tradition and country.
    Suddenly a journalist’s work was divorced from the trade in local news and became a profession increasingly assuming a national and ideological agenda, one fueled by journalism schools and professors that began to disgorge university trained “journalists” with a left-wing agenda. These people then went forth to replace the grizzled local reporters that were wedded to their local political culture. This new wave of “journalists” did not want to report what was going on in their local news as much as they wanted to “save the world.”  In pursuit of that left-wing national agenda — if not a leftist world agenda — “reporters” began to spin all news stories, from the most mundane stories to the hottest national news, toward a left-wing agenda. These “journalists” slipped in bias in every way they could to push the leftist’s meme.  For decades this left-wing [....]
http://www.westernjournalism.com/top-50-examples-liberal-media-bias/

Public retirement ages come under greater scrutiny

With public workers eligible to retire at 55 or 60, governments look to boost retirement ages
By Don Thompson,
Associated Press
December 12, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- After nearly 40 years in public education, Patrick Godwin spends his retirement days running a horse farm east of Sacramento, Calif., with his daughter.   His departure from the workaday world is likely to be long and relatively free of financial concerns, after he retired last July at age 59 with a pension paying $174,308 a year for the rest of his life.  Such guaranteed pensions for relatively youthful government retirees — paid in similar fashion to millions nationwide — are contributing to nationwide friction with the public sector workers. They have access to attractive defined-benefit pensions and retiree health care coverage that most private sector workers no longer do.
    Experts say eligible retirement ages have fallen over the past two decades for many reasons, including contract agreements between states and government labor unions that lowered retirement ages in lieu of raising pay.  With Americans increasingly likely to live well into their 80s, critics question whether paying lifetime pensions to retirees from age 55 or 60 is financially sustainable. An Associated Press survey earlier this year found the 50 states have a combined $690 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $418 billion in retiree health care obligations.   Three-quarters of U.S. public retirement [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/public-retirement-ages-come-under-170328247.html

Euro Summit – I wonder what Soros thinks, in private
by The Banking Nerd,
thebankers.blogspot.com 

December 12, 2011    As these Euro meetings were unfolding I, like most people, started to get quite confused about what was what going on, and it was (is) becoming more and more like watching some kind of bizarre alternative theatre. BUT if markets are perfect, essentially governed by simple rules of supply and demand, equilibrium and most importantly PERFECT KNOWLEDGE, then, with all the collective brain power of Europe, why does it seem so hard to find solution, and why do the meetings themselves seem to affect to markets so profoundly (because it shouldn’t really if they are perfect). Then I thought about a book I read a couple of years ago by George Soros. Soros one of the most admired, respected, feared and hated investors of all time, made it from rags to currently 7th richest person in America, by challenging some of the fundamental principles of our market system; that markets are perfect and self regulating. Love or load him, his results do warrant some attention.
    In his book “The new paradigm for financial markets, the Credit Crisis of 2008 and what it means” he is attacking the very idea that markets are perfect. Instead he argues that markets are constituted by two processes, what he calls the cognitive function and the manipulative function and because these two processes constantly react to each other, prolonged periods of disequilibrium, or bubbles, can develop. It is a bit heavy reading but one could perhaps view what he is saying like a game of chess between those trying to understand what is going on, and those trying to affect what is going on. Because each player react to the other players move, those trying to understand will never fully understand, and those trying to manipulate will rarely reach the exact outcome they were aiming for, and almost certainly both players are working on assumptions/expectations that are wrong.  It is actually a very interesting concept. Particularly interesting is a piece he is quoting from a Ron Suskind article, which I will re-quote to you.
In the summer of 2002… I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush…
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."  Soros comments that the Aide, presumably Karl Rove, did not merely recognise that the truth can be manipulated, he promoted manipulation of truth as a superior approach.  More than anything it was the above quote that stayed with me, it is one of the most powerful things I have ever read, and I have thought about it countless times in so many situations since.
    Then what kind of players are Merkozy? How about Cameron? How about the other EU leaders? S&P, IMF and ECB? Are they cognitive or manipulative or both? When I wrote the post "Angela Merkel Kann ich bitte mehr Taschengeld haben?" those were precisely the questions I was struggling with.  So what would George say? Well he has been saying many things, about the risk of defaults, countries leaving the euro, probability for [....]
http://thebankers.blogspot.com/2011/12/euro-summit-i-wonder-what-soros-thinks.html
Host Kicks Atheist Off Show For Calling Jesus & the Nativity ‘An Insult’

by Billy Hallowell,
theblaze.com
December 13, 2011
The atheists over at the Freedom From Religion Foundation aren’t ashamed to let their anti-faith message be heard loud and clear.
The Blaze has spoken with the group and heard, first-hand, just how strong-worded and offensive (to people of faith, at least) its message can be. Last night, the Fox Business Network’s Eric Bolling invited a FFRF representative onto his show to discuss the group’s anti-Christian stance.  During a dialogue with FFRF spokesperson Dan Barker (who is married to FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor), “Follow the Money” host Eric Bolling was so dumbfounded by the group’s anti-Jesus views that he ended up booting the atheist-spokesperson off of the program. Mediaite’s Colby Hall called the moment a “‘War on Christmas’ miracle!”
    At the center of the discussion was a Texas nativity scene that the Madison, Wisconsin-based FFRF has been demanding be torn down immediately. During the dialogue, Barker claimed that America is not a Christian nation and that the nativity should not be present on government property. He went on to say that the nativity represents “an insult to human nature that we are all doomed and damned.”  It was this comment that commenced the uncomfortable exchange between Bolling and Barker. “Sir, I have to take exception to the way you’ve described the nativity scene. It’s not an insult. It’s certainly not an insult to me. I’m a Christian,” Bolling explained. “It is an [....]
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/epic-fox-segment-host-kicks-atheist-off-show-for-calling-jesus-the-nativity-an-insult/

All-American Made House
by Diane Sawyer-Video Report,
ABCNews.com
(plus associated material:  List of American Made building products)
http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_04vzdsr5/uiconf_id/5590821
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Business/Made%20in%20America%20List.pdf

Debunking the myths of Tim Tebow

by Les Carpenter,
Yahoo! Sports
Dec 14, 2011
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – On a winter day in 2010, Tim Tebow sat alone in a hotel meeting room with Ken Herock, a former NFL general manager who tutors players on how to approach important team meetings at the NFL scouting combine. The topic was a perception among NFL teams that Tebow was successful in college only because of the University of Florida’s offensive system, a notion upheld by the failure of Alex Smith to thrive in the NFL after having played for Tebow’s coach, Urban Meyer, when Meyer was at Utah.
    At 7-1 as a starter for the Broncos this season, Tim Tebow is the toast of the NFL world.  “A lot of people are comparing you to Alex Smith because you run the same offense … ” Herock started when Tebow suddenly cut him off.  “Now hold on there, Mr. Herock,” Tebow said. “That’s where the comparisons end. I won the Heisman Trophy. I won a national championship two times.”  He said it not with arrogance, although the words could have been parsed that way, but rather with an assuredness Tebow rarely reveals in his public interviews. It is the kind of thing the Denver Broncos see all the time, the reason many of the team’s assistant coaches have come to love his [....]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=lc-carpenter_tim_tebow_alex_smith_draft_broncos_121411

FBI considered sting against Gingrich

by United Press International, Inc.
(via Personal Liberty Digest)
December 16, 2011
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The FBI considered, then abandoned, a sting against Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich when he was U.S. House speaker, The Washington Post reported.  The operation was quashed in 1997 after the FBI determined there was no evidence that Gingrich knew about telephone conversations involving an arms dealer that indicated a $10 million bribe might lead to Congress lifting the Iraqi arms embargo, the Post reported Thursday.  The arms dealer secretly recorded the conversations with a man who said he was acting on behalf of Gingrich's then-wife, Marianne, people knowledgeable about the investigation said.
    "There are so many falsehoods," Marianne Gingrich said Thursday. "The FBI, they should have been protecting me, not going after me. This is scary stuff."  Her lawyer, Victoria Toensing, said there was no basis "whatsoever" for an investigation.  These were people "making up access to a high-level government person," Toensing told the Post.  Details of the matter became public this week in an article and documents posted online by a journalist who operates a Web site called DC Bureau.  Gingrich's presidential campaign did not immediately comment, the Post said.
    The investigation began after the arms dealer, Sarkis Soghanalian, told federal prosecutors and FBI agents that Marianne Gingrich [....]
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/fbi-considered-sting-against-gingrich/

Time to Stock Up on Toilet Paper, Batteries, and More–CHEAP!

by Kellene Bishop,
preparednesspro.com
December 13, 2011
    I have specific price points set for the various items I purchase. When a product reaches a particular price point, I stock up. Well, recently I was made aware that Amazon has a “Subscribe and Save” option on their website for some common items that I always purchase and with free shipping. Even better, usually if there’s a coupon in circulation that I would normally be using in a physical store, Amazon has available on their site that is mine for the using simply by clicking on it at the time of my order.
    My price point on my beloved toilet paper is 25 cents a roll (regular roll). Thanks to the “Subscribe and Save” option which lowers the price of the product by 15%, free shipping, and the $3.00 off coupon I was able to take advantage of, I was able to purchase Charmin Ultra Strong for only 20 cents a roll! Yeah, baby. I’ll purchase this all day long–so long as there is money to purchase it with. And contrary to some totally gross suggestions to plan on doing without toilet paper, I’m always sure to have plenty on hand in order to avoid a sanitation nightmare someday. (Though I’m sure Big Brother will soon list the “possession of more than a month’s worth of toilet paper” as grounds for “enemy combatant” suspicion. *sigh*)  Just a tidbit of info on the “Subscribe and Save” option, you can cancel and renew it at any time. So if my price on the TP goes above my mandatory 25 cents a roll, then when I get my little notice from Amazon that it’s time for my next shipment, I just click to cancel. There’s more than one [....]
http://preparednesspro.com/time-to-stock-up-on-toilet-paper-batteries-and-more-cheap/

The World’s Happiest (And Saddest) Countries

Slideshow Presentation
Forbes.com
These are the 20 most prosperous countries in the world, followed by the 20 least. According to rankings in the 2011 Legatum Prosperity Index.
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45ejmi/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2/
http://www.prosperity.com/rankings.aspx

Why a millionaire wants autoworkers to take a pay cut

by Justin Hyde
Senior Editor of Motoramic
December 16, 2011
    Former auto czar and wealthy Wall Street financier Steven Rattner told a luncheon in Detroit on Thursday that while the $50 billion GM bailout was successful, "we should have asked the UAW to do a bit more. We did not ask any UAW member to take a cut in their pay." He also said that "friends on Wall Street" were concerned by GM's earnings and communications with the market, pushing the stock down to a level that would lose the goverment $14 billion if it sold its shares today.
    Meanwhile, at General Motors' Orion Township, Mich., plant about 45 minutes away from where Rattner spoke, there are three tiers of hourly workers. Roughly 900 workers at the top tier, the most senior UAW workers, make $29 an hour, a rate unchanged since 2008. Another 500 or so UAW workers are paid about $16 an hour — a rate, adjusted for inflation, equal to the famed $5 a day Henry Ford started paying his workers in 1914.  And at the bottom scale are 200-odd workers technically employed by an outside supplier but who work in the plant moving parts to the assembly line, jobs once done by GM workers paid $29 an hour. The contractors' pay: $9 an hour with no health care, a rate which over a year's work would leave them below the poverty level for a family of four.  GM's contract with the UAW that convinced the [....]
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/why-millionaire-wants-autoworkers-pay-cut-160603932.html

The Truth About Wealth
by Robert Frank,
wsj.com
Weekend Investor
December 17, 2011
Who says the rich always get richer?
    Despite heated rhetoric emanating from politicians and pundits, the top 1% is hardly a fixed group that enjoys consistent income gains. To the contrary, the wealthiest have become the most crash-prone group in our economy.  The total income of the top 1%—or those earning more than $343,000 in 2009—fell by more than 30% from 2007, according to the most recent Internal Revenue Service data. By contrast, the average income of the bottom 90% fell less than 3% during the same period.  A November Federal Reserve study, meanwhile, found that a third of the people in the top 1% in 2007, as measured by wealth, were no longer in the top 1% in 2009.
    The good news: Despite the turbulent new economics of wealth, there are safeguards that the rich and future rich can deploy to cushion the shocks and mitigate their risks.  The wealthiest have likely recouped some of their sunken fortunes since 2009, along with financial markets. Yet the latest wave of data points to an indisputable trend—we have entered the age of "High-Beta Wealth."
    On Wall Street, "beta" measures volatility relative to the overall market; a beta of 1.0 signals alignment with the market. Technology and [....]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204336104577096410776256928.html?ru=MKTW&mod=MKTW#articleTabs%3Darticle

US charges ex-Fannie, Freddie CEOs with fraud

6 ex-Fannie, Freddie executives charged with civil fraud over risky subprime mortgages
by Derek Kravitz,
AP Business Writer
December 17, 2011WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two former CEOs at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Friday became the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.  In a lawsuit filed in New York, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil fraud charges against six former executives at the two firms, including former Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd and former Freddie CEO Richard Syron.  The executives were accused of understating the level of high-risk subprime mortgages that Fannie and Freddie held just before the housing bubble burst.
    "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives told the world that their subprime exposure was substantially smaller than it really was," said Robert Khuzami, SEC's enforcement director.  Khuzami noted that huge losses on their subprime loans eventually pushed the two companies to the brink of failure and forced the government to take them over.  The charges brought Friday follow widespread criticism of federal authorities for not holding top executives accountable for the recklessness that triggered the 2008 crisis.
    Before the SEC announced the charges, it reached an agreement not to charge Fannie and Freddie. The companies, which the government took over in 2008, also agreed to cooperate with the SEC in the cases against the former executives.  The Justice Department began investigating the two firms three years ago. In August, Freddie said Justice informed the company that its probe had ended.  Many legal experts say they don't expect the six executives to face criminal charges.  "If the U.S. attorney's office was going to [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-charges-ex-fannie-freddie-155050812.html

Congressmen can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ in mail

by Mark Tapscott
The Washington Examiner
December 16, 2011
    Looks like the PC police have threatened members of the House of Representatives against wishing constituents a "Merry Christmas," if they want to do so in a mailing paid for with tax dollars.  Members who submit official mailings for review by the congressional franking commission that reviews all congressional mail to determine if it can be "franked," or paid for with tax dollars, are being told that no holiday greetings, including "Merry Christmas," can be sent in official mail.  "I called the commission to ask for clarification and was told no 'Merry Christmas.' Also told cannot say 'Happy New Year' but can say 'have a happy new year' – referencing the time period of a new year, but not the holiday," said a Hill staffer who requested anonymity.  Another Hill staffer told The Washington Examiner that "we were given that advice after submitting" a draft mailing.
    Members of Congress send millions of dollars worth of mail to constituents every year but there are official rules that govern what can and cannot be said in those mailings. Members are barred, for example, from saying anything that might be construed as advocating their re-election.  But saying "Merry Christmas" [....]
http://mobile.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/beltway-confidential/2011/12/congressmen-cant-say-merry-christmas-mail/
Until Next Sunday....