It’s official: as of midnight Saturday, the US government has shut down following a failure in the Senate to strike a funding deal. Government funding was due to run out after Dec. 8 but was twice extended, most recently through Jan. 19, at which point the US encountered what’s officially called a “spending gap,” which Read More…
Business
Swamp Lives On: Crooked Banks And Captured Regulators
If officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are bothered by allegations of incompetence and capture by Wall Street’s bankers, it is hard to tell. The Commission recently hired Brett Redfearn to serve as Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. Redfearn left a 13-year stint at JP Morgan to assume a key Read More…
China Downgrades US Credit Rating From A- To BBB+, Warns US Insolvency Would “Detonate Next Crisis”
In its latest reminder that China is a (for now) happy holder of some $1.2 trillion in US Treasuries, Chinese credit rating agency Dagong downgraded US sovereign ratings from A- to BBB+ overnight, citing “deficiencies in US political ecology” and tax cuts that “directly reduce the federal government’s sources of debt repayment” weakening the base Read More…
Cryptos Surge As South Korea Backs Away From Trading Ban
After what has seemed like a non-stop barrage of bad news for crypto bulls from South Korea, we noted some cracks in the foundation of the anti-cryptocurrency push as the ministry of finance refused to support the ministry of justice’s exchange shutdown bill. Tonight we get further clarification that the end of South Korean crypto trading Read More…
Big Pharma’s Sphere Of Influence: Three Ways The Drug Industry Continues To Reign
If you’ve ever sat through the commercials for an on-air television show, you’ve likely seen advertising for prescription drugs. The ads often tell the story of a person who suffered while enjoying a common American pastime only to be miraculously cured by whatever drug is being marketed. You then hear the voiceover rush through an Read More…
South Korea Readies Ban On Cryptocurrency Trading As Police & Tax Agency Raid Exchanges
South Korea’s justice minister has announced legislation is in the works to ban cryptocurrency trading after police and tax authorities reportedly raided the country’s biggest exchanges in a tax evasion probe. “There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and the justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges,” Park Sang-ki told Read More…