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Currency Controls: Argentina Cracks Down on Foreign Travel

by Bianca Fernet •  • Comments Off on Currency Controls: Argentina Cracks Down on Foreign Travel

By Bianca Fernet, Argentina, The Bubble: In 2012, Argentina introduced a 15% tax on credit card purchases made in foreign currency. Which turned into 20%. And now, after promising not to raise it again, the government raised it to 35% and closed the last legal window to acquire dollars at the official rate.

Growing Expectations Of TBTF Bank Creditor Bailouts Tighten Their Tentacles Around Taxpayers

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Growing Expectations Of TBTF Bank Creditor Bailouts Tighten Their Tentacles Around Taxpayers

One of the few rebellious Fed heads, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, fired a salvo when testifying before the House Judiciary Committee. He hit Wall Street risks covered by implicit government guarantees in the size of America’s GDP.

Rising Slag Heaps of Petcoke Stir Up Environmental Concerns

by Oilprice.com •  • Comments Off on Rising Slag Heaps of Petcoke Stir Up Environmental Concerns

By John  Daly, Oilprice.com. A product of the Keystone XL pipeline delay is that crude from the Alberta oil sands is refined in the Midwest, generating slag heaps of petroleum coke, or “petcoke,” whose airborne particles has local residents up in arms.

Strung-out Consumers, Desperate Retailers, Crummy Sales

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Strung-out Consumers, Desperate Retailers, Crummy Sales

Tally: 7 deaths, 90 injuries from shootings, stabbings, tramplings, fights, pepper sprayings…. “Only in America people trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have,” a tweet explained. It’s been tough for retailers too.

Unemployment Crisis Hits Economic Wunderkind Austria

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Unemployment Crisis Hits Economic Wunderkind Austria

In Eurostat’s “harmonized” unemployment rates for EU Member States, Austria is the glory land for job seekers: 4.8% unemployment, in first place, a universe apart from Spain (26.7%) and Greece (27.3%). But this “harmonized” rate is bologna. Austria is facing a growing crisis.

Freedom Or Subjugation? It’s (Not) Your Choice

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Freedom Or Subjugation? It’s (Not) Your Choice

By Don Quijones: While many Spaniards may spit bile and venom at the merest suggestion of Catalonian autonomy, they would do well to ask themselves what happened to their own national sovereignty. How is it, for example, that Spain is taking orders on virtually all economic matters from men in black dispatched from Brussels and Frankfurt?

This Inflation Is Supposed To Be GOOD For Japanese Workers?

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on This Inflation Is Supposed To Be GOOD For Japanese Workers?

Japan’s new economic religion of printing yourself out of trouble works. For the elite. This is a lesson learned from the Fed. But how are workers and consumers faring? And by implication the real economy?

The Rajoy Horror Picture Show Lumbers On

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on The Rajoy Horror Picture Show Lumbers On

By Don Quijones: Two years ago, Mariano Rajoy rode a wave of public anger to victory in Spain’s general election. The man who could never win anything was suddenly gifted the closest any politician can hope to get to absolute power in an ostensibly democratic society. 

How Much Is My Private Data Worth? (Google Just Offered Me Money)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on How Much Is My Private Data Worth? (Google Just Offered Me Money)

The first thing I noticed after I’d removed the glossy brochure from the envelope was the crisp $5 bill. I’m a sucker for free money. After peeling it off the letter, I started reading. It was from Google and involved a lot more money – in return for just about all my private data.

Young Woman in China Buy Maseratis

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Young Woman in China Buy Maseratis

In the US and Europe, 95% of the buyers are male. Average age is 55. What’s different in China?