Money & Markets – Week of 12.15.13

Six More Countries Sign FATCA Agreements with US
CGMA Magazine | 19 December 2013
The US Treasury Department announced on Thursday that the United States has signed six more bilateral agreements…

The Whole Story About China Being The Biggest Foreign Owner Of US Debt Is On The Verge Of Going Away
Business Insider | 19 December 2013
Since 2008, China has been the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt…

Keeping It Real
The Burning Platform | 17 December 2013
The BLS reported the CPI this morning…

Saab Wins Brazil Jet Deal After NSA Spying Sours Boeing Bid
Reuters | 18 December 2013
Brazil awarded a $4.5 billion contract to Saab AB on Wednesday to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets…

Are City Fiscal Woes Widespread? Are Pensions the Cause?
Center for State and Local Government Excellence | 13 December 2013
This brief explores the extent to which economic factors, poor fiscal management, and/or high pension costs contribute to the challenges cities with financial problems face…

The Country That’s Dismantling Its System of Privilege for the 1% — Can the U.S. Be Next?
Alternet | 17 December 2013
Chileans have rejected Reaganomics, and it’s time we followed their lead…

Putin: Russia to Buy $15 Billion in Ukraine Bonds
USA Today | 17 December 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened his wallet in the battle…

Britain to Join Ranks of Nations Using Plastic Currency
The New York Times | 18 December 2013
The trouble with paper money, aside from the fact that we spend it too easily and governments often print too much of it…

Swiss Banks Urge U.S. Tax Dodgers to Come Clean to Beat Deadline
Politico | 16 December 2013
Swiss banks are quietly warning wealthy U.S. clients with secret accounts to come clean with the tax man in the next two weeks…

Bitcoin Plummets as China’s Largest Exchange Blocks New Deposits
The Guardian | 18 December 2013
Digital cryptocurrency has lost almost 50% of its value overnight after BTC China said it could no longer accept deposits in the Chinese currency…

Forced Savings Bait-and-Switch
The Daily Bell | 18 December 2013
Let’s nudge citizens into saving. The government needs to do it…

Eurozone Ministers Pave Way for Bank Failure Fund
BBC News | 18 December 2013
Ministers from eurozone countries have made progress towards creating a bank fund for dealing with failing banks…

Pakistan Stung by Iran Pipeline Blow
Asia Times | 17 December 2013
Iran has not only canceled a US$500 million loan promised to Pakistan last year to help fund…

Tencent’s Ma Becomes China’s Second-Richest Man on WeChat Mania
Bloomberg | 16 December 2013
Ma Huateng, chairman of Asia’s largest Internet company Tencent (700) Holdings Ltd….

Accidental Tax Break Saves Wealthiest Americans $100 Billion
Bloomberg | 16 December 2013
Sheldon Adelson makes no secret of his disdain for the estate tax…

Ukraine’s $15 Billion Moscow Gambit Winning Over Bond Investors
Bloomberg | 17 December 2013
Ukraine’s return to Moscow for emergency loan talks is earning bondholders’ backing…

Volcker Rule Blame Game Begins
Bloomberg | 16 December 2013
It turns out that a good-sized chunk of Zions Bancorp’s earnings existed only in its executives’ minds…

Companies Turning Again to Stock Buybacks to Reward Shareholders
The Washington Post | 15 December 2013
Battered by months of dis­appointing sales, networking giant Cisco needed a way to give its shareholders a pick-me-up…

700 Years of Government Bond Yields
Zero Hedge | 06 December 2013
With the world almost in total agreement that rates can only go up…

G. Edward Griffin on Globalism, Collectivism and ‘Right Principles’
The Daily Bell | 15 December 2013
Mr. Griffin is a distinguished film producer, author, editor and political lecturer…