Free Republic

The Fed said the “fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong” but that the coronavirus “poses evolving risks to economic activity.” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will be holding a press conference at 11 a.m.

Mitt Romney for the first time characterized his comments during a fundraiser that were surreptitiously filmed and caught the candidate essentially writing off 47 percent of Americans as "completely wrong." "Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you're gonna say something that doesn't come out right," Romney said in an interview Wednesday night with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "In this case I said something that's just completely wrong."

(Reuters) - A federal jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Texas financier Allen Stanford, who has been accused of running a more than $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

ATHENS (Dow Jones)--Talks between Greece and its private sector creditors over a debt writedown plan appeared to stall Saturday as the banks' top negotiator left Athens amid signs of fresh disagreements over how much Greece would pay its bondholders in the future. Officials close to the talks said they may not conclude before a meeting Monday of euro-zone finance ministers where a second bailout which will keep Greece from defaulting is supposed to be discussed. Without a deal on the write-down of the debt held in private hands, the loan can't be released. Institute of International Finance chief Charles Dallara,...

Dogs are man's best friend. Except, you know, when they're shooting a gun at you. And strangely enough, that's what really happened to a hapless dog owner in Brigham City, Utah. The man in question--a 46-year-old hunting enthusiast who is not named in local news reports on the incident--got a behind-full of birdshot courtesy of his loyal canine companion when he was out duck hunting over the weekend.

Forces loyal to Swaziland’s King Mswati III on Tuesday used water cannons and fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at pro-democracy demonstrators to break up a protest against sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.... Protesters have demanded the abdication of King Mswati lll, whose 14 wives and lavish lifestyle have drawn criticism in a country where an estimated 60 percent of its 1.2 million people live on less than $2 per day. The 43-year-old king has several palaces and a fleet of luxury cars, and his wives are accused of taking frequent shopping trips to Europe. Swaziland has the world’s...

WASHINGTON – The nation's financial regulatory system must be overhauled to strengthen oversight of banks, mutual funds and large financial institutions whose collapse would put the entire economy in peril, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. "We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components," Bernanke said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. In his most extensive remarks on the subject, Bernanke built upon previous suggestions to bolster mutual funds and a program that insures bank deposits — and repeated his call for...

...Obama was set on Thursday to name seasoned regulator Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission...

Sorry for the vanity, everyone. Could you please keep my church's mission team in prayer as we travel to Swaziland for the next two weeks? We are traveling through London, coming and going. Africa itself presents several challenges to our team. Please keep us in prayer. The names of those going are included in the link as the "source" of this posting. Thank you and God Bless all of you!

New York — NASD today announced that its Board of Governors overwhelmingly approved by-law amendments that would implement governance changes to enable the recently announced consolidation of the member regulation units of NASD and NYSE Regulation into a new, independent self-regulatory organization (SRO). The by-law amendments will be voted on by the full membership of NASD before taking effect. "The vote today by the NASD Board recognizes the importance to the securities industry and investors of creating this single SRO," said Richard Brueckner, NASD's Presiding Governor and CEO of Pershing, LLC. "The greatly increased efficiency and cost savings brought about...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's two main private regulatory arms said on Tuesday they have agreed to merge in a widely anticipated move aimed at reducing industry costs and streamlining oversight functions. Industry self-regulatory units run by the NASD and NYSE Group Inc. (NYX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which operates the New York Stock Exchange, will combine self-regulatory operations into a single watchdog overseeing all securities firms doing business with the public in the United States. The new organization is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2007, and will consist of the current 2,400-person NASD organization and...

With apologies to Doug From Upland -- (Sung to the tune of "The Beverley Hillbillies" theme)Let me tell 'ya a little story'bout a Freeper named BobCould'nt buy a housethough he had a good jobthen one day he asked his wife"Do we have to stay here for the rest of our lives?""No" she said"Let's go""LA sucks"Well the next thing you know'Ol Bob is on the netScoutin' out a placethat would be a good betHis company said "If some one else quits, than to our Dallas office, you can then split."Texas that is,Bush VotersSwimming PoolsNO MOVIE STARS!

OK FRiends, I confess my confusion. For the last two nights I have watched the Rat Ritual on CSPAN. In between alternately catnapping and throwing stuff at my TV, I keep hearing the rodents squeaking out the phrase "speaking truth to power". Is this a code phrase? What does it mean? When have any of these people spoke "truth" in any context? How much more power does a Billionaire Senator need before some one gets to speak "truth" to him? Or is this just another example of lib gibberish (forgive the redundancy) like "The politics of meaning" or "That depends...

A Shot in the Dark by F. Robert Falkenberg With the recent events in Maryland and Virginia, I have seen through the media of what happens to a large herd of sheep that suddenly discovers a wolf devouring them. Perhaps I am channeling Jeane Dixon, or I am simply twisted and able to think about how I would play this (were I an Allah-loving, murdering bastard [pardon the redundancy]), but here is my vision for the next few months… Tuesday, 10/28/02: Chief Moose, at his morning press conference, expresses gratitude with two weeks going by without another new victim of...

The 2001 Darwin Awards It's that time again . . . . . They are finally out again. You all know about the Darwin Awards - It's an annual honor given to the person who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way. Last year's winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out of it. And the nominees are:Click on the link to get the full article...A good compilation.Here is a cut ...

SEC's Pitt: Need For Reform Of Accounting Profession NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Citing "too many accounting failures," Harvey Pitt, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Thursday announced SEC's plans to set up a new regulatory body to oversee the accounting industry. "There is a need for reform of the regulation of our accounting profession," Pitt said during a press conference, adding that "we cannot afford a system like the present one that facilitates failure rather than success." Apart from setting up a new private-sector panel that would have full regulatory power to investigate wrongdoing by accountants, the chairman said he ...

For the first time since the October, 1962 Cuban missile crisis, two nuclear-armed powers, India and Pakistan, are in a direct military confrontation that could lead to a massive conventional war - and even to full-scale nuclear conflict. The armed forces of both old foes are on high alert and deploying to forward positions. India and Pakistan said last week their nuclear-armed missiles were ready to strike. When `War at the Top of the World,' my book on Afghanistan and the Kashmir conflict first came out in 1999 (2000 in the USA, UK, and India), people asked, `who cares about ...

On Tuesday, September 11, a small band of brave and fanatical men murdered more than 6,000 Americans. I see two moods developing in the wake of those attacks. Among the people of America, I see patriotism, a spirit of self-help, a willingness to stand up and carry on. Among some of our leaders, unfortunately, I see a different reaction. The FAA has issued a vast new set of burdensome regulations that will do little to improve airline safety, but that will continue to intrude into the constitutional liberties of law-abiding Americans and that may well cripple the airline industry while ...

Marine Corps General Reinwald was interviewed on the radio the other day and you have to read his reply to the lady who interviewed him concerning guns and children. This is one of the best comeback lines of all time. It is a portion of a National Public Radio (NPR) interview between a female broadcaster and US Marine Corps General Reinwald who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation. FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base? GENERAL REINWALD: We're going to teach ...

Freepers, and especially you of the Libertarian flavor: Tommorrow, I am reporting for Jury Duty in downtown LA in response to a summons from the county of Los Angeles. The actual notice contained some items in it that I found interesting:A threat of punishment should I fail to respond. Quoting: "WILL RESULT IN AN ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE HEARING BEFORE A JUDICIAL OFFICER". It goes on to say that I could then be fined up to $1,500.00.A notice that I should inform my employer of this summons, along with the assurance that my employer is PROHIBITED by Section 230(a) of ...