This story was co-published with NPR. Back in 2009, Kevin Evans was one of millions of Americans blindsided by the recession. His 25-year career selling office furniture collapsed.
About 47 percent of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite Index are down at least 20 percent from their peak in the last 12 months while more than 40 percent have fallen that much in the Russell 2000 Index and the Bloomberg IPO Index. That contrasts with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which has closed at new highs 33 times in 2014 and where less than 6 percent of companies are in bear markets, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The divergence shows the appetite for risk is narrowing as the Federal Reserve reins in economic stimulus after a five-year rally that added almost $16 trillion to equity values.
“But,” continues Posner—I didn’t know there were any “buts” when it comes to rape—”some rapists derive extra pleasure from the fact that the woman has not consented. For these rapists, there is no market substitute … and it could be argued therefore that, for them, rape is not a purely coercive transfer and should not be punished if the pleasure to the rapist (as measured by what he would be willing to pay—though not to the victim—for the right to rape) exceeds the victim’s physical and emotional pain.
“I think it’d be naive to say that (ISIS is) not here…We have found Muslim clothing, they have found Quran books that are lying on the side of the trail, so we know that there are Muslims that have come across and are being smuggled into the United States,” Painter told Fox News. Making comments similar to what he told CNN last week, Painter had a direct message for the possible terrorist cells. “If they show their ugly head in our area, we’ll send them to hell,” said Painter.
Islamist police in Saudi Arabia have stormed a Christian prayer meeting and arrested its entire congregation, including women and children, and confiscated their bibles, it has been reported. The raid was the latest incident of a swingeing crackdown on religious minorities in Saudi Arabia by the country’s hard-line Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The 28 Christians were said to be worshipping at the home of an Indian national in the eastern city of Khafji, when the police entered the building and took them into custody.
Americans are getting fatter, and older. These converging trends are putting the USA on the path to an alarming health crisis: Nearly half of adults have either pre-diabetes or diabetes, raising their risk of heart attacks, blindness, amputations and cancer.
If so, Italy’s public debt will spiral to dangerous levels next year, ever further beyond the point of no return for a country without its own sovereign currency and central bank. “This is catastrophic for the finances of the country. We’re heading for a debt ratio of 145pc next year,” said Antonio Guglielmi, global strategist for Mediobanca.
Just when we thought that the Fed is pulling an Obama and has “no strategy” to deal with what not some fringe blog but Deutsche Bank itself proclaimed was the bubble to end, or rather extend, all bubbles, when it said that “the bubble probably needs to continue in order to sustain the current global financial system” they surprise us once again when they report that, drumroll, the Fed has formed a committee led by the former head of the Bank of Israel – best known for using de novo created fiat money to buy AAPL stock as part of “prudent monetary policy” – Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, to monitor financial stability, which according to Bloomberg is “reinforcing the Fed’s efforts to avoid the emergence of asset-price bubbles.” Because contrary to what even five-year-olds know by now, the Fed is supposedly not promoting the emergence of bubbles but is actually “avoiding” them. No, really.
Islamic State fighters appear to be using captured US military issue arms and weapons supplied to moderate rebels in Syria by Saudi Arabia, according to a report published on Monday. The study by the London-based small-arms research organisation Conflict Armament Research documented weapons seized by Kurdish forces from militants in Iraq and Syria over a 10-day period in July. The report said the jihadists disposed of “significant quantities” of US-made small arms including M16 assault rifles and included photos showing the markings “Property of US Govt”.
At first, Hollywood thought the summer’s movies weren’t as good as usual, to explain the 15% drop in sales. Now they are noting that the drop occurred since January as well, and are really worried. They just don’t know what to make of it, because, frankly, the actors and actresses live in a liberal fantasy land in Hollywood.
The old man knew of the $500-a-day fine for people caught wasting water. He heard the plea for conservation from Governor Jerry Brown. But the water police can’t scare a person whose water isn’t running in the first place.
We can all breathe a sigh of relief. The FDA has announced that the flu vaccine for the 2014-2015 flu season is ready. This means you can drive down nearly any city street and see at least one flag or spinner, manically suggesting that you “Get your flu shot here!
If you’re trying to defend a homestead or bug out location with a small group, you need to improve your odds by what are called force multipliers. One of the best ways to fight like a larger group is to prepare your battlespace. My Army buddy Mikey and I were tossing around ideas about tactical advantage in a SHTF scenario and as usual, he had some great points.
“In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill….All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself.
JANET LEE DUPREE, 72, was surprised when she received her first Social Security benefits seven years ago. About one-fifth of her monthly payment was being withheld and she called the federal government to find out why. The woman, who is from Citra, Fla.
The idea that the Obama administration has the budget deficit under control is a complete and total lie. According to the U.S.