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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the final pieces were in place for the 2015 launch of an economic union with Belarus and Kazakhstan that Moscow hopes can also be joined by Ukraine. Putin said following talks with Kazakh

As we have pounded the table for the past 2 years, the one most fundamental component of a self-sustaining, "escape velocity" US recovery has been the persistent absence of corporate spending and capital expenditures, as a result of a corporate

It's the day after Christmas, and many markets around the globe (especially in Europe and parts of Asia) are closed. While North American markets are open for trading, volume is light, as many market participants are on vacation. Naturally, things

The UK will be in a position to overtake Germany as Europe's largest economy, according to the think tank the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR). The CEBR predicts that Germany will lose its current top spot in Europe by 2030. It cites

Less than two weeks after Federal Judge Richard Leon ruled that the NSA's "indiscriminate and arbitrary" invasion of privacy is "likely" unconstitutional, giving a trace of hope that America may rise above its Orwellian Banana republic status, here

With food prices soaring, and alcohol demand on the rise, it seems the American public is turning to the only thing left... porn. Every 30 minutes a porn video is made, 30,000 people are 'consuming' pornography every second, and the industry earns

More than a million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits after an emergency federal programme expired on Saturday. Lawmakers failed to agree on an extension of the scheme before the US Congress began its winter recess. Former President

Almost a year ago, the French constitutional court ruled against Francois Hollande's triumphal blast into socialist wealth redistribution, with his proposed 75% tax rate on high earners, and so indefinitely delayed the exodus of the bulk of French

At the beginning of this year (2013), I identified eight key dynamics that will play out over the next two to three years (2013-2015): Trend #1: Central Planning intervention in stock and bond markets will continue, despite diminishing returns on

As we have discussed in depth previously (2 years ago here as "muddle through has failed" and most recently here as the IMF discussed a "one-off" wealth tax), a confiscation (akin to Cyprus overnight debacle) is coming and Martin Armstrong believes

What is $55 trillion between friends? Very little according to the CFTC. In perhaps the biggest under the radar news of the day - to be expected with every watercooler occupied by taper experts - the WSJ reports that the Commodity Futures Trading

We've all heard about that terrible death tax , hated by the super rich across America. This is the inheritance tax where Uncle Sam is supposed to get 40% of the estate that is passed onto heirs. The reality is this tax is not paid unless someone has

A week from now, the Federal Reserve System will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. Resulting from secret negotiations between bankers and politicians at Jekyll Island, the Fed's creation established a banking cartel and a board of

While central bank intervention in the foreign exchange markets is nothing new, the last 4 years have seen unprecedented use of direct and indirect (jawboning) manipulation of exchange rates. As Goldman Sachs notes non-cooperative exchange-rate

Every year, David Collum writes a detailed "Year in Review" synopsis full of keen perspective and plenty of wit. This year's is no exception. The 89-page tour-de-force is a must-read this holiday season for perspective on where we have been and where

If one looks at the current paper money system and its negative social and social-political effects, the question must arise: where are the protests by the supporters and protectors of social justice? Why don’t we hear calls to protest from

Summary To gauge the likelihood of a December taper, we should think through the changes that might occur in the first paragraph of the FOMC’s statement, which is always a brief assessment of the state of the economy. While the committee will surely

As we reported yesterday, something odd is happening in the US, which supposedly is deep in a "housing market and economic recovery" - foreclosures on ultraluxury homes, those worth $5 million and over, have soared by 61% in 2013 (even as overall

The quarterly Flow of Funds report by the Fed has been released and the latest household net worth numbers are out. While not nearly quite as dramatic as last quarter's wholesale dataset revision, which saw all of America suddenly worth $3 trillion

Forget the reforms in China, whether the euro EURUSD +0.07% survives, or whether Apple AAPL -0.02% ever gets around to launching that incredibly expensive watch that sends e-mails, plays games, and possibly even tells you what time it is. Right now