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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into SunEdison to see whether or not the company exaggerated its cash on hand in disclosures last year. The news comes as the solar developer is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The solar company has seen its stock collapse since last year as mounting debt problems have raised concerns about the company’s ability to keep the lights on. SunEdison’s share price is off by 96 percent since last July. That has translated to a decline of the company’s market capitalization from $10 billion last summer to just $400 million today. SunEdison...

A new study from the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank with a pragmatic approach to public policy, gives Detroit an A-minus grade for its regulatory structure regarding short-term lodging rentals. The report grades are based on whether a legal framework exists, the level of restrictions, taxation, licensing, and enforcement. Short-term renting is exploding in popularity. People sign up through companies or websites — like Airbnb or HomeAway — to rent out an extra room or a house for a short period. If you live in a city that is going to host the Super Bowl and have extra...

About 500 employees will be laid off beginning Monday, the broadcaster said on Sunday. The cutbacks are a result of budget cuts by Al Jazeera's owner, Qatar, tied to the falling price of oil. The Middle Eastern emirate is highly dependent on oil and gas revenues.

PINSON, Ala. -- At 8 a.m. on a Saturday, the rumble of bulldozers and other earth-moving equipment was already audible in Ardell Turner's modest home in this rural hamlet north of Birmingham. Not far away, they once mined coal. Now state and local leaders are seeking prosperity through one of the nation's largest and priciest road projects. On planners' maps, the Northern Beltline will be a 52-mile, six-lane interstate that will effectively complete a loop around Birmingham, Alabama's largest city. More than a half-century after the Beltline's conception, work on a small segment began last year within a mile of...

Jeffrey Gundlach, the widely followed investor who runs DoubleLine Capital, foresees a “global growth scare” between now and the end of the summer, triggered by a presidential nomination of Donald Trump. “That is where I see the vulnerabilities,” Gundlach said in a telephone interview on Monday. Trump’s protectionist policies could mean negative global growth, Gundlach warned. “As he gets the nomination, the markets and investors are going to worry about it more. You will see a downgrading of global growth based on geopolitical risks. You must factor this into your risk-management.”

GOP Delegate Count, Map | GOP Popular Vote | Dem Delegate Count, Map | Dem Popular Vote | Latest 2016 Polls 1,237 Needed to Win See http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/republican_delegate_count.html

At [the Jan 14, 2016] GOP debate, Senator Marco Rubio accused Ted Cruz of sneaking a value-added tax (VAT) into his tax reform plan. RUBIO: Here is the one thing I’m not going to do. I’m not going to have something that Ted described in his tax plan. It’s called the value-added tax. And it’s a tax you find in many [countries] in Europe. … CRUZ: Well, Marco has been floating this attack for a few weeks now, but the problem is, the business flat tax in my proposal is not a VAT. A VAT is imposed as a sales...

Over the past 28 years there has been a sea change in the media. Not only has the monopoly of the so-called mainstream media been shattered but the phenomenal rise of conservative media has been truly stunning. It began in 1988 with the national syndication of Rush Limbaugh and his distinctive brand of conservative political commentary espoused in an entertaining and captivating way, which opened the flood gates for other conservatives, together with Rush, to dominate the talk radio airwaves. In the 1990’s the internet, through hundreds of websites, gave voice to journalists to report stories either ignored or downplayed...

Since Obuma was elected to POTUS, I have been coming to Free Republic to get news, opinions and a few laughs. Most of the serious posts were bemoaning the out of control government and what could be done about it. "Oh Whoa is Me!". Then along comes a constitutional conservative. For the first time since Ronald Reagan, we have a constitutional candidate running for the GOP nomination. This man was elected by conservatives to go to Washington and stand up to the elites that no longer listen to the American people. He didn't go to Washington and "fall in" with...

<p>The “American Diner” in Liverpool, N.Y., may be the most politically incorrect diner in the Empire State – and possibly the nation.</p> <p>The “American Diner” is a gun-toting, beef-eating, Constitution-loving establishment owned by Michael Tassone.</p> <p>Mr. Tassone is a no-nonsense God & Country fellow who takes pride in Old Glory and his signature “Animal Burger” – made from 24 ounces of “American Love.”</p>

Jonathan GarberMarch 3, 2016South Korean exports are often referred to as the world's economic canary in the coal mine, or leading indicator, because of their exposure to the US (12.3%), China (25.4%), and Japan (5.6%) — the world's three largest economies. Forty-eight percent of South Korea's exports go to those countries if you consider Hong Kong (4.8%) to be part of China, according to the CIA's World Factbook. Recently, Wall Street has been rather gloomy about the prospects for the global economy. The concern has come as South Korean exports have fallen by double-digit percentage points in each of the...

On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare. We will work with Congress to make sure we have a series of reforms ready for implementation that follow free market principles and that will restore economic freedom and certainty to everyone in this country. Congress must act. Our elected representatives in the House and Senate must: 1. Completely repeal Obamacare. 2. Modify existing law that inhibits the sale of health insurance across state lines. 3. Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premium payments from their tax returns under the...

Are the wheels about to come off Trump? Forget the late push to reshape Marco Rubio, with cheery endorsements from the losing Republican presidential candidates - namely, Romney, McCain, and Dole. Good men, nice words, wrong moment. Put aside the capable former Supreme Court litigator, who polls say can beat Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz. What is happening to the Trump story? Stories are appearing with facts hard to ignore, even for Trump supporters. Something in his story is beginning to not ring true. Trump offers three things that appeal - bluntness, political incorrectness, and self-claimed business acumen. The blunt talk...

Just a few hours after LifeNews posted a story about Lands’ End honoring pro-abortion feminist Gloria Steinem and collecting donations for her organization, a flood of criticism from pro-lifers prompted the clothing company to removed all references to Steinem from its website. Earlier this month, Lands’ End published an interview and photo-shoot with Steinem on its website (see images below) and in its spring catalog, highlighting Steinem’s work to pass an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which could expand abortion in the U.S. Steinem is a well-known abortion activist who once said women “need” abortion.

I am looking to make a transition in my career this year, and I am starting the process of setting up my own consulting business in my industry. I've got a reputation and track record that my clients seem to value, and I'm looking to break free of the constraints of my corporate role. I will be working with a lawyer and a CPA once I get a little further down the road here (probably when I am ready to get an EIN#), but in the meantime I'd be interested in getting input from other Freepers who may have followed...

Well then, you must like losing your job to someone in Mexico who will make $3/hour. Union leaders at an air conditioner factory in Indianapolis threatened with losing 1,400 jobs to Mexico said on Tuesday the plants owner expects to pay Mexican workers $3 an hour compared to an average of more than $20 an hour for the U.S. workers. "We have not given up the fight yet," said Chuck Jones, president of the United Steelworkers union local that represents workers at the Carrier Corp plant. "But Carrier has pretty well indicated that the wage differential is too great and...

Unmanageable deadlines and disastrous IT wrecked this top US retailer's attempt at international expansion. The moral of the story: IT drives the enterprise. Business school case studies tend to fall into two categories: epic wins and oh-my-gosh-how-could-they-possibly-have-been-so-stupid epic failures. This article discusses a real-world billion dollar story that falls into the second category. As epic failures go, this one is worthy of the history books. . . EVERYTHING WENT TERRIBLY, TERRIBLY WRONG . . .

Bob BryanFeburary 10,2016The "r-word" — recession — has creeped back into the economic conversation in the US. And though weakness in manufacturing persists and the stock market has been rocky, the argument against a recession in the US is simple: the US consumer is fine. But what if they aren't? According to Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James, there is a worry that a faltering stock market and a slower labor market could damage the psyche of consumers. And without consumer spending rolling — which accounts for around two-thirds of GDP — the economy faces the risk of contraction....

The US dollar has suffered one of the sharpest drops in 20 years as the Federal Reserve signals a retreat from monetary tightening, igniting a powerful rally for commodities and easing a ferocious squeeze on dollar debtors in China and emerging markets. The closely-watched dollar index (DXY) has fallen 3pc this week to 96.44 and given up all its gains since late October. This has instant effects on the world’s inter-connected financial system, today more geared to the US exchange rate and Fed policy than at any time in modern history. David Bloom, from HSBC, said the blistering dollar rally...

On Thursday, February 4, Satya Nadella will celebrate his second anniversary as the CEO of Microsoft. It's been an eventful couple of years. Microsoft has grown its crucial cloud business, released Windows 10 to a much better reception than its loathed predecessor, launched a bunch of great apps for iPhone and Android, and generally made people like it a lot more. But the real victory of Satya Nadella — the truly monumental shift — has been within the company. Under Nadella, Microsoft is pointed in one direction for first time in modern memory.