It Will Take The Fed Seven Years To Deliver 300 Tons Of German Gold
It’s Probably Nothing
… in what is the biggest news of the week, and possibly the year, the Bundesbank has broken away from its “all is well” posturing exhibited as recently as three months ago, and in a dramatic reversal of its diplomatic position, has demanded repatriation of some of its NY Fed and all of its Paris-domiciled gold.
h/t Adrian
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
Americans bought enough guns in last two months to outfit the entire Chinese and Indian armies.
Now Is The Time At SDA When We Juxtapose!
CNN, October 2012 – On Tuesday, [American Airlines] said another flight had experienced loose seats, bringing the total to three flights on two planes in a week.[…] Robert Gless, deputy director of the Air Transport Division of the Transport Workers Union of America, dismissed the notion that the problems with loose seats were linked to labor issues as “without any basis in fact.”
Reuters, January 2013 – Boeing Co (BA) made a revised offer to the union representing its 23,000 engineering employees on Friday. The improved offer came on the same day the U.S. government ordered a review of the firm’s 787 Dreamliner following a string of mechanical and electrical problems.
h/t Melinda Romanoff
“Ever heard of SB3341?”
…Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall obtain a proof of ownership, create a record of the sale, and verify the identity of the seller. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall not pay for the precious metal in cash and shall record the method of payment.
Requires the purchaser to keep a record of the sale for one year or, if the purchase amount is over $500, for 5 years.
It’s Probably Nothing
It’s Probably Nothing
“The sunspot numbers for December were not only startlingly low, they actually plunged to levels not seen since May 2011, at a time when the Sun is supposed to be approaching sunspot maximum and the number of sunspots is supposed to be increasing.”
Let Me Fix That Headline For You
The Obama Effect
As Gore was to warming, Obama is to success:
“These companies are choosing to invest in the one country with the most productive workers, the best universities, and the most creative and innovative entrepreneurs in the world, and that is the United States of America,” he said. He went on to recognize the company’s founder, Bruce Cochrane. Cochrane also sat with Michelle Obama during the president’s State of the Union address and participated in a conversation with the president and business leaders about how to create American jobs.
It’s Probably Nothing
The benchmark index, maintained by the London-based Baltic Exchange to track the daily freight market prices for dry bulk transport, fell 8.2 percent to 826 following a near 4 percent decline Tuesday. The index has fallen more than 48 percent so far this year.
h/t Adrian
It’s Probably Nothing
It’s Probably Nothing
Why Is Hartford Buying Back $5 Billion of Annuity Contracts They Worked So Hard to Sell?
Retirees who thought buying an annuity was the last investment decision they’d ever have to make are having to go back to the calculators one more time.
The Hartford is the latest annuity carrier to offer the customers it fought hard to capture incentives to take their money and go home.
It’s Probably Nothing
It’s Probably Nothing
U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.
Half of the nation’s 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.
It’s Probably Nothing
The federal agency that insures pensions for more than 40 million Americans last year ran the widest deficit in its 38-year history.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. says its deficit grew to $34 billion for the budget year that ended Sept. 30. That compares with a $26 billion shortfall in the previous year.
It’s Probably Nothing
The photograph above shows a rebel with an apparently complete (tube, gripstock and battery) SA-16. Another photo shows another rebel with an apparently complete SA-24, one of the most advanced heat-seekers in the world. This might be the only time an SA-24 MANPADS has been photographed outside of state control.
It’s Probably Nothing
The Federal Housing Administration, faced with continuing losses from the housing bubble, will issue a financial analysis next week setting the stage for what could be its first draw from the U.S. Treasury in its 78-year history, according to three people briefed on the report.
It’s Probably Nothing
The magnitude of Greece’s fiscal challenge was painted in sharp relief on Wednesday as Athens unveiled new budget projections exceeding the worst-case scenarios envisioned by international lenders when they agreed a €174bn rescue eight months ago.
Update – New link here.
Horse Soldiers
Monument honors U.S. ‘horse soldiers’ who invaded Afghanistan
The U.S. special operations teams that led the American invasion in Afghanistan a decade ago did something that no American military had done since the last century: ride horses into combat.
“It was like out of the Old Testament,” says Lt. Col. Max Bowers, retired Green Beret, who commanded the three horseback teams.
“You expected Cecil B. DeMille to be filming and Charlton Heston to walk out.”
Bowers spoke while sitting in the rural Kentucky studio of sculptor Douwe Blumberg, along with three of his former “horse soldiers.”
They, along with 30 fellow commandos on horseback, are the inspiration for a new monument that Blumberg is creating, dedicated to the entire U.S. special operations community.
Story is from 2011, but still a great read.
It’s Probably Nothing
China’s military spending has been rapidly spiraling upward, and the growing amounts are unnerving Beijing’s Asian neighbors and policy planners in the Pentagon, who are openly wary about the country’s long-term intentions.
h/t peterj