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Saturday,
Greek officials walked away from debt negotiations and announced a
referendum vote for July, 5th on the proposed debt repayment plan. In the
interim week, Athens imposed strict capital controls. Today, Greece is due to
pay the IMF 1.6 billion euro; however, default here seems likely. The Greek
appear to be divided on accepting the EU's bailout plan: with it will come
a salvaged economy, albeit with increased taxes and cuts to their much-loved
pensions; but without it, Greece could be forced off the euro, and possibly out
of the EU itself. Monday, with news of shuttered Greek banks, markets across
the world opened in the red. Investors in U.S. markets were only slightly
cooled by Greek worry, with the Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 all opening about
.7 percent down. European indices faced losses greater than the U.S., (2-3
percent declines) but overall, no major economic turmoil. In
this time of economic worry, investors are moving away from volatile equity
markets and parking assets in stable U.S., UK, and German bonds, all of which
have seen an increase in price, and inversely proportional drop in
interest rates. [more...]
Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is a piece of
legislation that transfers Constitutional negotiation powers from Congress to
the President who may use this power to negotiate any international trade
agreement with any partner he chooses over the next few years (including Iran
and Cuba) and to negotiate the agreements in any way the President sees
fit. Under TPA, Congress agrees to give
up in advance the ability to change any existing or future trade agreement,
even before Congress has actually read the agreements. Instead, TPA requests the
President consider 150 'negotiating objectives' on which Congress
would like the President to 'make progress.'
The President is not required to actually accomplish any of these
objectives and may ignore those requests at will. In fact, the 2015 TPA bill makes clear that failure to
achieve or make progress on any of the negotiating objectives shall not be
cause for Congress to revoke trade authority from the President. Worst of
all, by giving up its ability to amend or change any related laws and
regulations, the President and the World Trade Organization decide to impose on
the U.S.; Congress is also transferring its law-making powers to world courts. [more...]
I
recently wrote about the Trans Pacific
Partnership (TPP) trade agreement's Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision, in a letter to
the Colorado Statesman, Say 'NO' to ISDS: Vote 'NO' on TPP. ISDS
represents an unprecedented ability for foreign companies to sue U.S. states
and municipalities in global courts, completely bypassing the U.S. justice
system. Now that we've seen the U.S. Supreme Court's willingness to trample
states' rights via their recent decision on gay marriage, the reality of
potential ISDS lawsuits trampling U.S. sovereignty becomes bone-chilling.
Don't let the Obama administration throw Anytown U.S.A. under the bus! Tell
Congress to vote "NO" on the TPP. [more...]
Greece,
the Euro currency and Europe's entire economy may be slipping into chaos and
dragging us down with them. After a fearful weekend that emptied the cash from
almost half their nation's ATM machines, Greeks on Monday morning found their
stock exchange and banks CLOSED and their accounts inaccessible (except for €60
per day ATM withdrawal starting Tuesday). Greece may have just reached the
breaking point to which we are headed in the U.S. – a once-free market nation
where banks are now required to report you to the government for making any
unusual withdrawal; where banks may now refuse to let you withdraw your account
in cash; and where carrying more than a small amount of cash might lead to
government confiscation of your money via asset forfeiture laws. [more...]
The
recession of 2008 greatly impacted economies across the world. In the seven
years following the crash, markets lifted themselves back towards prosperity
with varying degrees of success. One of the fastest recovering globally
significant economies is that of the United States, and while there still
remains years of work, we are faring much better than certain European
counterparts. One of the hardest hit and slowest to recover is Greece, which is
an anchor weighing down the recovery of the euro zone. As a result of the
United States’ success and Europe’s sluggishness, the U.S. dollar is rallying
against the euro, coming within a few cents of parity. [more...]
How
much cash can you now withdraw from your bank and carry in America without risk
of being arrested, or of having your assets seized, merely for possessing money
in this liquid form? The ominous answer is that carrying even one dollar in
cash might give the government a pretext for such actions. Once upon a time,
this question usually mattered only at the border. People were required to
declare if they were carrying more than $10,000 in cash or negotiable
instruments when entering or leaving the United States. Failure to make a
truthful declaration to U.S. Customs can result in the forfeiture of the money
a person is carrying. Today, because of anti-racketeering RICO statutes and the
2001 Patriot Act, your bank is required to notify the federal government if you
deposit or withdraw $10,000 or more in cash. In effect, your bank is required
to spy on your financial life in this way for the government. [more...]
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