Abandon sinking US dollar ship? Top UK bankster pushes for new ‘synthetic hegemonic currency’
Acknowledging that the US dollar's days as the world reserve currency are numbered, he gushed that "technology has the potential to disrupt the network externalities that prevent the incumbent global reserve currency from being displaced" – and to ensure that Western central banks are properly positioned to take the helm in whatever system replaces it.Carney declared that a Libra-like currency – with a few tweaks to silence critics – can bring about a new "multipolar international monetary financial system" (IMFS) during a speech at the Fed-sponsored Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday. Also on rt.com WTF is an ETF? Investors searching for safe havens hoard ‘paper gold’ in record numbers "Blithe acceptance of the status … [READ MORE...]
Gerard O’Neill, Boston Globe Investigative Reporter, Dies at 76
“It was a nerve-racking moment,” said Dick Lehr, a Spotlight reporter who worked on the series with Mr. O’Neill. But he and Mr. O’Neill both had sources within the F.B.I. who confirmed that Mr. Bulger was an informant — a fact that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department took 10 years to acknowledge publicly.Image“Black Mass” was the first of two books that Mr. O’Neill and his Globe colleague Dick Lehr wrote about the mobster James (Whitey) Bulger. It was later made into a movie starring Johnny Depp.Mr. O’Neill and Mr. Lehr would go on to write three books together, including two about Mr. Bulger: “Black Mass: The Irish Mob, the FBI, and a Devil’s Deal” (2000), which was made into a 2015 movie starring Johnny Depp as Bulger, and “Whitey: The Life of America’s Most Notorious Mob Boss” … [READ MORE...]
Is Cold Brew Better Than Iced Coffee?
“I’ve seen this statistic a lot,” she said in reference to a oft-quoted claim that cold brew is 70 percent less acidic than regular iced coffee. “But I don’t see any scientific data to support this claim,” directing me to a study that shows “comparable” pH values from cold- and hot-brew samples, “ranging from 4.85 to 5.13.” For comparison’s sake, the stomach’s pH hovers somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5.Does cold-brewed coffee have more caffeine? Wading through the world of cold brew coffee can be a brutal game of trial and error. Thanks to the wide range of brewing methods, the difference in caffeine content among cold brews is considerably harder to predict than the amount of acid. After brewing for 20 hours, 16 ounces of cold brew at Starbucks contains 200 milligrams of caffeine (12 … [READ MORE...]
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One Crazy Day Showed How Political Chaos Threatens the World Economy
The implicit message: If erratic trade policy undermines the economy, the Fed’s tools are likely to have only limited ability to overcome the damage. Interest rate cuts in that situation would be like giving pain relievers to someone with a broken bone — better to have than not, but unable to solve the underlying problem.The speech evidently did not sit well with the White House.President Trump, who has called on the Fed to cut interest rates by a full percentage point, issued a series of tweets … [Read More...]
Trump’s Economic Message: Everything Is Great, but We Need Huge Stimulus Now!
But there is a striking juxtaposition between that strategy and the administration’s words and actions since then.On Monday morning, President Trump tweeted that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by a full percentage point and restart its “quantitative easing” program to stimulate the economy by buying bonds. Those are moves that the Fed, which operates independently from the White House, would undertake only if its leaders saw a major downturn on the horizon.Later Monday, The … [Read More...]
How Politics Constrain the Federal Reserve and Other Economists
“Policymakers around the world pulled the easiest lever, which is the monetary lever,” Mr. Perli said. “The more a central bank eases, the less powerful monetary policy becomes. We are at the point where, if we want to accomplish something — especially in countries like Europe — the ball is in the fiscal policy territory.”But “that’s complicated,” he said, “by budget constraints in some countries and political constraints in other countries.”While consumer spending is holding up in the United … [Read More...]
Central Bankers Want to Keep Economies Growing, but Politicians Hold the Keys
“Policymakers around the world pulled the easiest lever, which is the monetary lever,” Mr. Perli said. “The more a central bank eases, the less powerful monetary policy becomes. We are at the point where, if we want to accomplish something — especially in countries like Europe — the ball is in the fiscal policy territory.”But “that’s complicated,” he said, “by budget constraints in some countries and political constraints in other countries.”While consumer spending is holding up in the United … [Read More...]
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Small Business
Is Cold Brew Better Than Iced Coffee?
“I’ve seen this statistic a lot,” she said in reference to a oft-quoted claim that cold brew is 70 percent less acidic than regular iced coffee. “But I don’t see any scientific data to support this claim,” directing me to a study that shows “comparable” pH values from cold- and hot-brew samples, “ranging from 4.85 to 5.13.” For comparison’s sake, the stomach’s pH hovers somewhere between 1.5 and … [Read More...]
Instagram Therapists Are the New Instagram Poets
Instagram therapists are the new Instagram poets, in a way — only instead of posting free verse in typewriter font, they deal in pithy pronouncements about embracing imperfection, self-care, “growth mindset,” mothering oneself, impostor syndrome and trauma. The digital words of accounts like @thefatsextherapist, @nedratawwab and @the.holistic.psychologist are meant to encapsulate the “aha” moment … [Read More...]
Your Money
Your Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Spiked. Now What?
Mr. Kitces suggests considering the cuts in a certain order. If your policy pays benefits for more than five years, consider shaving that back first, since few people need it that long, he said. If you still want to reduce your premium, your choice could depend on your age. If you’re in your 70s or 80s — or have held the policy for a while and have already seen benefits grow — consider reducing … [Read More...]
Give Your Teenager a Credit Card? Some Financial Experts Say Yes
Parents should consider moving on to a credit card only after the teenager demonstrates responsible management of cash-based accounts, said Paul Golden, spokesman for the National Endowment for Financial Education and the father of two teenagers. “I believe in using a stair-step process,” he said.Here are some questions and answers about credit cards for teenagers:How can I tell if my teenager is … [Read More...]