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Sam Knight - page 44

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

A Sign of the Times: Yellen Fields Question on Terror-Mass Shooting Economic Effect

Recent high profile terrorist attacks abroad and mass shootings at home haven’t noticeably altered Americans’ normal economic behavior, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday. “I would not say that I see a significant effect at this point,” she remarked, when asked by Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) about an economic chilling effect of gruesome massacres. The central bank head added, however, that developments in the world have more boradly informed tentative consumer habits since 2008, “in the aftermath of the financial crisis.” “[W]hile I… Keep Reading

Pentagon Spent $150 Million on Afghanistan “Villas,” Security for Lavish Compounds

The Pentagon spent $150 million in Afghanistan renting “villas” and private security contractors for Department of Defense employees there—officials from a now-defunct economic development arm called the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said “it is unclear what benefit the US received” from the outlays, and that the expenditures appear to have been made without a prior cost-benefit analysis. SIGAR John Sopko said that TFBSO could have saved taxpayers “tens of millions of dollars” if… Keep Reading

C.F.P.B. Hamstringing, Gas Tax Trickery Mar Congressional Transportation Deal

A bipartisan agreement on a five-year $300 billion transportation funding bill would allow banks to frivolously petition the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for rural status. The chance to be granted the distinction, which triggers exemptions from Dodd-Frank mortgage standards, would mostly serve to permit lobbyists “to coordinate application drives to inundate the agency with paperwork,” The Huffington Post reported Tuesday night. Unlike many federal agencies, the CFPB is funded through the Federal Reserve System, and Congressional Republicans have thus tried to limit its resources by… Keep Reading

“This Shameful Period” – Senate Votes to Help Living Victims of State Eugenics Regimes

The Senate on Monday voted to bolster compensation received by victims of 20th century eugenics programs. The body approved by unanimous consent a bill that would exclude from federal welfare deductions state governments’ payments to those harmed by their erstwhile authoritarian gene pool management regimes. The legislation has not yet been taken up by the House of Representatives. In a statement issued Tuesday praising the vote, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) noted that Virginia “forcibly sterilize[d] nearly 7,500 Virginians between 1924 and 1979”—an act that the legislator apologized… Keep Reading

Post-2008 Wall Street Leniency Mirrored In For-Profit College Settlement

Three liberal senators this week sharply criticized the Obama administration, saying it slapped on the wrist the Education Management Corporation, (EDMC) a for-profit college firm that had been the subject of a Justice Department whistleblower lawsuit. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, asking they explain the terms of the settlement announced last month. The legislators listed a number of concerns similar to those conveyed by progressives in the aftermath of… Keep Reading

Pentagon Denies Guardian Report, Peshmerga Claims on U.S. Firefights Against ISIL

The US military denied a report published Monday that alleged US special forces joined Iraqi Kurdish militants in firefights and regular on-the-ground combat in the war against the Islamic State (ISIL). Based on the testimony of twelve Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and officers, The Guardian had said that American special forces were in combat in various parts of Iraqi Kurdistan, between April and September. “No US or coalition SOF [special operations forces] were engaged in any of these events you listed,” The Pentagon claimed in response.… Keep Reading

In Final Bailout Rule, Fed Adopts Warren, Vitter Recommendation

The Federal Reserve on Monday finalized a rule aimed at stopping it from choosing which troubled financial firms it rescues in a time of crisis. Fed chair Janet Yellen said the regulations will help prevent the type of massive, individually-assembled central bank bailouts that Dodd-Frank financial reform sought to ban. “Together, these limitations are designed to ensure that emergency credit programs and facilities are established only to fulfill the central bank’s role as lender of last resort to the financial system and not as a… Keep Reading

Hey, Big Spender: Consumer Confidence Keeps Discontent Index Sliding in August

The District Sentinel Discontent Index dropped by almost half of a point in August, falling for the fourth consecutive month to another post-2008 low. The measure was down to 102.52 from 102.05 in July. Downward movement by the Consumer Discontent component mostly drove the decline. Housing Discontent rose slightly by 0.47 points to 43.47, as the percentage of seriously delinquent FHA-backed mortgages increased to 6.2 after an unusual decline, from 6.42 to 6.0, in July. Labor Discontent, which was down by 0.11 points to 26.84, would… Keep Reading

Paris-Inspired Cruz Attempts, Fails to Ram Citizenship-Stripping Bill Through Senate

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ignored the pleas of his Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues and attempted, in the wake of the Islamic State (ISIL) Paris massacre, to rush through the chamber citizenship-stripping legislation. The Republican presidential candidate attempted on Thursday morning to advance the Expatriate Terrorists Act on the Senate floor by unanimous consent. He was stopped by Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) The judiciary committee had held a hearing earlier in the morning to advance the legislation through normal procedure, but that motion was “heldover”–a… Keep Reading

Congress Could Tighten Travel Restrictions In Wake of Paris Attacks

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters Wednesday morning that the Senate will know more in the afternoon, after a classified briefing, about how it wants to proceed in the wake of the Nov. 13 Islamic State (ISIL) attacks in Paris. Corker said beyond concerns over refugee admissions, the Senate might want to take a look at the visa waiver program, noting “some of the people who conducted this heinous activity in Paris were French citizens.” “Do we have systems in place to ensure that people… Keep Reading

Rapidly Growing Wall Street Managers to Face Even More Rule Proposals, SEC Chair Says

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission promised on Wednesday to ratchet up oversight of the asset management firms—a sector of the financial services industry that has become increasingly important since the 2008 worldwide banking collapse and its aftermath. Mary Jo White told lawmakers that the SEC is set to soon propose rules that would limit derivatives trading by financial managers. She also said the commission will imminently suggest one rule seeking to submit asset managers to stress tests, and another that would force them… Keep Reading

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