As I traveled back from the EU this weekend, a story in the Financial Times about the unrealized losses that the Fed has generated on its vast portfolio of U.S. Treasury and Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) caught my eye. These losses, contrary
Illinois has one of the worst pension messes in the nation as the cost of government employee benefits is sending state, county, and local governments into bankruptcy crises all across the state. No place has more trouble than Chicago, prompting
Len McCluskey, head of the Unite union, has said that Ed Miliband’s reforms of party funding will give his union more power over the party. Under the plans, which were approved today, union members will no longer be automatically affiliated
The Financial Times reports that more than 40-plus senior journalists have just been laid off at CNN and its sister network, HLN. Most of the layoffs occurred in November, were concentrated in Washington, Atlanta, and New York, and, according to
The Russian government has banned David Satter, an American journalist, from Russia. He is the first American journalist banned since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. His expulsion was confirmed on Monday by Radio Free Europe’s president, who said no reason
There are a lot of end of year lists circulating this week. This BBC list of 100 interesting facts which appeared in news stories in 2013 may be the most interesting one. Some are science facts, others arcane bits of
As America was entering World War I, Joe Young and Sam Lewis wrote a song that became a huge hit at the time: “How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree).” Something similar happened in
In today’s Financial Times of London, former Speaker Newt Gingrich analyzes the current epic battle in Washington and concludes that history is against the “whiners, complainers, and the hysteria mongers.” There has been a great deal of hyperbole and hysteria
The cover of New York magazine, for the issue dated September 29, 2008, depicted a trader on the NYSE, his right hand covering his face, which has been thrown back in despair. The lead article was entitled “The Great Shakeout: Goodbye Masters
The media world was taken by surprise when Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million last week. What the billionaire entrepreneur behind Amazon.com has planned for the 135-year-old newspaper is anyone’s guess, but one Silicon Valley financier says radical changes are imminent. Michael Moritz,
Should JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon be the next Fed Chairman? Federal bankrRegulators just published the latest “draft” bank capital guidelines for US depository institutions, aka “Basel III.” You don’t need to know the details; just know that consumers
The day’s top stories in social media and technology for 5/17: Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Financial Times, social media and soldiers, social media may come back to haunt HS athletes, CA school system blames social media for potential suicides spike,
(AFP) – US Internet giant Google is preparing changes to its dominant search system to satisfy EU anti-trust authorities, the Financial Times said on Saturday. In a five-year accord with Brussels, Google has promised to make users “clearly aware” when
From the island of Cyprus came Pygmalion and Aphrodite, symbols of love and beauty. That was long ago. Now we have an agreement by its President to concede to a request from Brussels that might have equally far-reaching consequences, but of a less
ADDED: Financial Times communication manager Ryann Gastwirth emailed some clarifications to this story. His full email is below: The cuts and restructuring outlined by John Fallon are Pearson-wide and not specific to the FT. Also, the second sentence refers to
(AP) – Kenya’s top two presidential candidates held their final rallies before large and raucous crowds Saturday, a day of political attacks and denials following published comments attributed to the prime minister that election violence could be worse than in
America may yet “frack” its way to prosperity. According to Dow Chemical, in the past two years, manufacturers have poured $90 billion in U.S. investments into natural gas, sparking what the Financial Times calls a “shale revolution” that “appears to
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Television viewership is suffering a steep decline so far this season. Or is it? The raw ratings tell a dramatic story, according to the Financial Times. TV executives rush to point out that more people today watch shows on alternative
The Financial Times reports that online behemoth Google has offered a pre-emptive deal to settle anticipated European Union claims of unlawful behavior damaging to competition in the online search and services market: “Google has made a bid to avoid an antitrust war with
Online giant Facebook is raising fresh privacy worries over its ad tracking methods following news that the social networking company is now working with Datalogix, a firm capable of monitoring whether individuals shown online ads ultimately purchase advertised products. The Financial
The Group of 20 top economies will meet shortly to try and coordinate a response to soaring food prices, driven by drought and rising demand, the Financial Times reported Monday. Over the weekend, US President Barack Obama called on Congress
XINJIANG, China, Aug. 2 (UPI) — The Chinese Communist party has stepped up efforts to prevent Muslims in Xinjiang from fasting and visiting mosques during Ramadan. A statement from officials in the Zonglang Township in Xinjiang’s Kashgar district said “the
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said if the Supreme Court struck down Obamcare on Thursday, such a decision would, according to a Financial Times account, send the country “backwards” and Americans did not want to “re-fight” healthcare. At a campaign
WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) —Banks will “lose their battle” to weaken new Wall Street rules, a U.S. senator said, as JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s head said its trading loss could top $3 billion. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. — a proponent
When Congress passed the “edujobs” stimulus in the summer of 2010, the nation’s teacher union leaders must have made champagne toasts to celebrate their clever way of preserving union jobs while so many public schools were facing budget problems. Union leaders figured
