The Department of Justice today announced that General Electric (GE) will pay a civil penalty of $1.5 billion under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) to resolve claims involving subprime residential mortgage loans originated by WMC Mortgage (WMC), a GE subsidiary. WMC, GE, and their affiliates allegedly misrepresented the quality […]
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Foreigners Dump a Record $205BN in U.S. Stocks in Past Year…
Led by selling from Belgium (whose Euroclear is often seen as a proxy for China), down $10.1 BN…foreign central banks dumped Treasuries for the 5th consecutive month (-$157bn), and 10th of last 11 months…although much of this was offset by buying from private accounts…
Despite 66% of Americans Getting a Cut, Only 20% Believe Their Taxes Were Lowered…
Donald Trump’s tax cut, passed in 2017, benefited nearly 66% of all Americans in the form of lower taxes. But now, as today’s deadline to file taxes for the past year rolls around, a new survey shows just 20% of taxpayers believe that their taxes have actually gone down, according to Bloomberg . The tax […]
Trump Issues New Permit for Keystone XL Oil Pipeline…
Yes! This news put a big grin on my face this morning. Oil & Gas is neither dead nor dying, and the Oil & Gas industry is not going away any time soon. The global economy runs on hydrocarbons. Ignoring that fact (like AOC) and jumping up and down and holding your breath until you […]
British Drug Maker Indivior Indicted on Fraud and Conspiracy Charges in the U.S….
Share prices for the British drugmaker Indivior plunged today on the London Stock Exchange. The drop came on news that the U.S. Justice Department indicted the company on fraud and conspiracy charges. Indivior makes the drug Suboxone, widely used to treat people suffering from opioid addiction. Federal prosecutors now claim the company falsely marketed Suboxone […]
Taxes Down 25 Percent This Year…
Biweekly paychecks have increased by $50 per check. Taxes are down 24.9 percent on average following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, according to a report released today by H&R Block based on their clients’ tax returns. The report states: “overall tax liability is down 24.9 percent on average.” Tax refunds are also […]
Jobless Claims Fall Below 200K, Lowest Since October 4, 1969…
Initial jobless claims fell another 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 for the week ending April 6, the lowest level since October 4, 1969. During that week, weekly jobless claims came in at 193,000. The 4-week moving average fell by 7,000 to 207,000, the lowest level for the average since December 6, 1969 when it […]
Pelosi Seeks Up to $2T Infrastructure Deal with Trump…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will seek a deal with President Trump to pass legislation that includes at least $1 trillion, but up to $2 trillion, for the nation’s infrastructure projects. “I think we can work together,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday at an annual planning retreat with her caucus in suburban Washington, D.C. “I’m […]
Minimum Wage Hikes Trigger ‘Payroll Tsunami,’ as Small Businesses Cut Back…
Small business owners across the country are beginning to feel the pinch as more states move toward a $15 minimum wage. While proposals to raise pay are intended to help workers, several mom-and-pop coffee shops as well as restaurants are responding by cutting hours, eliminating jobs or closing down entirely because they can’t keep up […]
Last Year the U.S. Government Gave $1 Billion in Benefits to Dead People…
Since 2004, twenty large federal agencies admit paying out an astonishing $1.2 trillion in improper payments. That amounts to more than one-quarter of President Trump’s proposed $4.7 trillion budget for 2020. Last year, these improper payments totaled $140 billion – that’s about $12 billion per month. But what exactly is an improper payment? Federal law […]
Bill Clinton Honoree Thrown in Jail Over “Biggest Clean Energy Scam in American History”…
One of three scam artists behind a $54 million ponzi scheme was sentenced to prison for her role in the biggest ‘green energy’ scams in US history, according to NBC New York. 35-year-old Amanda Knorr of Hellertown, Pennsylvania received just 30 months in federal prison for a ponzi scheme involving her 2005 startup, Mantria, in […]
Congress Is About to Ban the Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing. Thank TurboTax…
Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the […]
March Jobs Report – 196,000 Jobs Gained, Unemployment Rate Remains 3.8%, Wage Growth 3.2%…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the March employment report earlier today showing strong job growth of 196,000 with the unemployment rate remaining 3.8%. Also, in March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to $27.70, following a 10-cent gain in February. Over the past 12 months, […]
Related
U.S Weekly Jobless Claims Drop to the Lowest Level Since 1969…
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a more than 49-year low last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength despite slowing economic growth. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 202,000 for the week ended March 30, the lowest level since early December 1969, the […]
Drugmakers Jazz, Alexion, Lundbeck to Pay $123M to Resolve U.S. Charity Kickback Probe…
Three drugmakers will pay $122.6 million to resolve claims they used charities that help cover Medicare patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs as a way to pay kickbacks aimed at encouraging use of their medications, including some expensive ones. The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday said Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc, Lundbeck and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc were the latest […]
‘A Historic Day’ – Former Malaysian PM Appears in Court as 1MDB Corruption Trial Begins…
After his lawyers succeeded in delaying the start of the trial by two months, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak appeared in a Kuala Lumpur courtroom on Wednesday for the first time, marking the beginning of a historic trial where the former leader of a political party that dominated Malaysian politics for 60 years could […]
OPINION: This Is the Real Reason Why the U.S. Economy Isn’t in Recession Danger Now by Ed Yardeni & Melissa Tagg…
The yield curve is first and foremost predicting the outlook for Fed policy rather than the next recession. My research has confirmed this conclusion, as does a recent Fed study. In my recent book, Predicting the Markets, I wrote: “The Yield Curve Model is based on investors’ expectations of how the Fed will respond to […]
Retail Apocalypse? JCPenney, Payless, LifeWay Announce 3,000+ Combined Store Closures…
More than 41,000 people have lost their jobs in the retail industry so far this year — a 92 percent spike in layoffs since the same time last year, according to a new report. And the layoffs continue to mount, with JCPenney announcing this week it would be closing 18 stores in addition to three […]
Rope Tightens: U.S. Orders Foreign Firms to Further Cut Down on Oil Trades with Venezuela…
The United States has instructed oil trading houses and refiners around the world to further cut dealings with Venezuela or face sanctions themselves, even if the trades are not prohibited by published U.S. sanctions, three sources familiar with the matter said Reuters Agencies. The move comes as Washington’s efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro in […]
Federal Judge in Alaska Holds Up Offshore Drilling Plans for the Rest of the Country…
A federal judge Friday vacated President Donald Trump’s order to revoke a ban on oil and gas exploration in federal waters in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Former President Barack Obama unilaterally enacted the bans near the end of his second term. Obama used powers under a 1953 law over offshore drilling to block oil […]