Free Republic

Friday’s American stock market provided further evidence of instability in the nation’s economy, and even as financiers fear a possible fiscal disaster in September, there has been little coverage among U.S. media. But the state-run media of Russia is warning of what it calls America’s “economic apocalypse.” The Russian news service Sputnik, an agency launched by Russia’s state-owned Rossiya Segodnya in 2014 to “target global audiences with its non-mainstream take on world events,” predicts doom for the American economy next month. In a recent article, Sputnik cites several economists warning of catastrophe. It continues: “Most of the experts agree...

The most common occupation among American men is driving. But the advent of the driverless car could put lots of cab drivers, truck drivers and limo drivers out of work in the not-so-distant future. Automation may also replace the jobs of many retail salespeople, cashiers, office clerks and food and beverage workers, said Derek Thompson, senior editor of The Atlantic, in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that will air Sunday. "You look at the fleet of automated technologies, of software that exists right now, and it's rather frightening to me to think about how many jobs can be replaced...

One day 3D printers will be able to churn out working electronics and fully-functional machines, instead of just plastic parts. And that day is now slightly closer with MIT CSAIL’s MultiFab 3D printer that can use ten different materials to build working devices in a single print run. For 3D printers to fully realize their Star Trek ‘replicator’ potential they can’t just be one part of the manufacturing process, they need to do it all. The holy grail of 3D printing is to one day let anyone recreate any device with a simple button press. We want to be able...

This was written by a Nobel prize winning economist without a trace or sarcasm, irony or humor. It is excerpted, and presented without commentary.From the New York Times:Debt Is Good... the point simply that public debt isn’t as bad as legend has it? Or can government debt actually be a good thing?Believe it or not, many economists argue that the economy needs a sufficient amount of public debt out there to function well. And how much is sufficient? Maybe more than we currently have. That is, there’s a reasonable argument to be made that part of what ails the...

‘Peter and Ellie Yang,” the subjects of Benjamin Carlson’s fascinating new Rolling Stone essay, “Welcome to Maternity Hotel California,” paid $35,000 to have their second child in the United States. In 2012 Chinese state media reported 10,000 “tourist births” by Chinese couples in the United States; other estimates skew as high as 60,000. Following Donald Trump’s call for an end to birthright citizenship, and renewed attention on “anchor babies,” Carlson’s exposé on “birth tourism” seems to confirm that the current interpretation of the 14th Amendment works as a magnet for at least some parents across the globe. But just...

After telling an NBC reporter unambiguously that he supported ending birthright citizenship, Scott Walker on Friday changed his mind, saying his new position is that he has no position, that he is now undecided again. He's saying that this isn't a reversal, merely that he misspoke because he was tired. How do you misspeak support for ending birthright citizenship? Look at this video where he is clearly asked whether he would end it, and Walker says, "Yeah, absolutely." No ambiguity there. This is not a minor, technical issue. This is not a slip of the tongue. Scott Walker was clearly...

Months ago I saw a rumor that some crooked billionaires had worked out a scheme to profit from a stock market crash. At the time I thought it must be just an urban legend. No one could be so stupid as to try to crash the stock market, particularly while the nation is at war. Now I’m not so sure it’s just an urban legend. Ron Paul and other hucksters are advertising that we should follow their advice to avoid the economic debacle they claim is coming. Someone needs to tell these dopes that if they succeed in causing an...

U.S. stocks closed deep in the red on Friday as global growth concerns accelerated selling pressure to push the Dow into correction territory. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at session lows, off 531 points and in correction territory for the first time since 2011 as all blue chips declined. The last time the index closed more than 500 points lower was on Aug. 10, 2011. In the last five years, the index has only had four instances with closing losses of more than 400 points. "For investors the momentum and the drive of the market is now lower (than)...

As historians begin to assess Obama’s record as president, there’s at least one legacy he’ll leave that will indeed be historic—but not in the way he would have hoped. Even as Democrats look favorably ahead to the presidential landscape of 2016, the strength in the Electoral College belies huge losses across much of the country. In fact, no president in modern times has presided over so disastrous a stretch for his party, at almost every level of politics. Legacies are often tough to measure. If you want to see just how tricky they can be, consider the campaign to get...

U.S. stocks traded about 2 percent lower on Friday, extending a recent rout, as concerns about slowing global growth continued to pressure investor sentiment. ( Tweet This ) The Dow Jones industrial average briefly fell into correction territory, losing more than 470 points as all blue chips declined. In the last five years, the index has only had four instances with closing losses of more than 400 points. "It's an expiration day and it looks like they're to have for sale on the close maybe as much as a billion dollars," said Art Cashin, director of floor trading for UBS....

The U.S. manufacturing sector is once again under pressure as it continues to hover just above contraction level, according to the latest flash Purchasing Managers Index data. Friday, private research firm Markit said its August PMI estimate fell to a level of 52.9, compared to July’s final reading of 53.8. According to consensus reports, economists were expecting to see a reading at 53.9. According to the report, this is the lowest manufacturing reading since October 2013. ““With the headline PMI swiftly losing ground after a modest rebound during July, the latest figure now points to the weakest overall pace of...

China stocks crash 11% in a week By Charles Riley China's beleaguered stock market endured yet another sell off on Friday, shedding 4% to wipe away the remaining gains from a dramatic market rescue launched by Beijing in early July. The benchmark Shanghai Composite closed just north of 3,500 points, a level that many analysts believe Beijing will try to defend at all costs. Even with a late rush of buying, the index closed down more than 11% for the week.

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U.S. stocks closed near session lows on Thursday, off more than 2 percent, as investors weighed continued uncertainty about the timing of a rate hike and concerns about global growth headed by slowing in China. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average both had their worst day since Feb. 3, 2014. "I think the markets are overly pessimistic," said Anthony Valeri, investment strategist at LPL Financial. "I think this sentiment is panicking over news from China, the Fed (and) oil at six-year lows." Weakening in emerging market currencies on the heels of China's yuan devaluation last week added to...

While short of an official endorsement, Sarah Palin was effusive in her praise for GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, claiming the celebrity billionaire is in touch with working class "Joe Six Pack" values. "I am so happy that he is running," she said. Appearing on Fox's On The Record with Greta Van Susteren Tuesday, Palin was asked if she was endorsing the candidate and billionaire business leader: "Here's the deal Greta, he's the best thing to happen to the permanent political class since the beauty of the Tea Party genuine movement rose up and shined light on crony capitalism, and then...

The US stock market closed Thursday with its worst performance in 18 months, driven lower by another slump in Chinese shares and heavy selling by technical traders. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 43 points, or 2.1 percent, to close at 2,035. It was the index’s biggest percentage decline since February 2014. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 358 points, also 2.1 percent, to 16,990. The Nasdaq fell 141 points, or 2.8 percent, to 4,877.

The Black Rock Desert, Nevada, site for this year's Burning Man has been inundated with biting bugs, it emerged this week. Several photos uploaded to Twitter this week showed swarms of bugs, both on the ground and in the air. User @khloestarr shared one such photograph, writing: 'Bugs on the playa this year. Not normal. Shouldn't a dust storm knock them out? Like Burningman [sic] wasn't gross enough.' On Tuesday, a blog post on the page for Voices of Burning Man reported on the insects' presence.

David Scutt, Business Insider AustraliaAugust 20,2015Deflationary pressures across Asia are building, reaching a fresh six-year low in July. There is no better demonstration of this than examining recent movements in producer price inflation. In annualised terms, they’ve fallen for 41 consecutive months in China. South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore have all seen prices fall for more than 30 months. Indonesia, at 4.3%, is one of the few nations to have recorded an compared to a year earlier.#(snip)

Big Stocks Are Last Hope for a Decaying Market The Nasdaq is a “dead man walking,” small-caps are weak, more stocks are falling than rising in the S&P 500. When considering stock performance, most analysts and money managers – and certainly retail investors – focus on the twists and turns of the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Beat the S&P 500 and collect a nice check for your investing acumen. In today’s market this index is even more important, because it is now the last man standing. I say that even though the Nasdaq is officially in a rising...

With West Texas Intermediate crude now below $42 a barrel, the edifice of America’s oil and gas boom is finally crumbling. The number of companies in bankruptcy or restructuring has increased, and the clouds will only grow darker in the months ahead. Declining revenues, evaporating earnings and shrinking values of oil and gas reserves will put the crunch on oil companies’ ability to refinance loans, let alone borrow new cash or sell shares. Last week two companies showed that having a heroic name is no defense. Hercules Offshore, a Gulf of Mexico drilling contractor, announced it had reached a prepackaged...