Free Republic

When Congress designed temporary work visa programs, the idea was to bring in foreigners with specialized, hard-to-find skills who would help American companies grow, creating jobs to expand the economy. Now, though, some companies are bringing in workers on those visas to help move jobs out of the country.For four weeks this spring, a young woman from India on a temporary visa sat elbow to elbow with an American accountant in a snug cubicle at the headquarters of Toys “R” Us here. The Indian woman, an employee of a giant outsourcing company in India hired by Toys “R” Us, studied...

FLANDREAU, S.D. — The Santee Sioux tribe has already proven its business acumen, running a successful casino, a 120-room hotel and a 240-head buffalo ranch on the plains of South Dakota. But those enterprises have not been immune to competition and the lingering effects of the Great Recession, so the small tribe of 400 is undertaking a new venture — opening the nation's first marijuana resort on its reservation. The experiment could offer a new money-making model for tribes nationwide seeking economic opportunities beyond casinos. Santee Sioux leaders plan to grow their own pot and sell it in a smoking...

Current Views & News

Carl Icahn Says Market "Way Overpriced", Warns "God Knows Where This Is Going"

Are you aware that there is an international effort to increase taxes, including those paid by Americans? On Oct. 5, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will release its “final package of measures for a co-ordinated international approach to reform the tax system under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project.” In plain English,..[snip] It has also been well known that as government spending on pensions and other “entitlements” grows, it has a negative effect on hours worked and economic growth. A new paper published by the European Central Bank also shows a strong negative...

The official U.S. unemployment rate is 5.1% -- the lowest in seven years -- but Donald Trump calls that a "joke." On Monday, he claimed he'd seen numbers that show America's real unemployment rate is as high as 42%. How does he arrive at such a wild figure? Trump appears to be looking at the number of American adults not working. Period. Out of about 251 million American adults, roughly 102 million -- or 40.6% -- aren't working. But, of course, there are a lot of reasons people don't work. They could be disabled, in college, at home raising kids...

With countless settlements documenting the rigging of every single asset class, it was only a matter of time before the regulators - some 10 years behind the curve as usual - finally cracked down on gold manipulation as well, even though as we have shown in the past, central banks in general and the Fed in particular are among the biggest gold manipulators. That said, we are confident by now nobody will be surprised that there was manipulation going on in the gold casino. In fact, ever since Germany's Bafin launched a probe into Deutsche Bank for gold and silver...

Elena HolodnySeptember 28, 2015The US economy grew at a 3.9% pace in the second quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis noted that the rise in the GDP was led by consumer spending on healthcare, food services, and accommodation. But notably, the good news about US consumers comes at a time when the rest of the global economy isn't doing so great. Those concerned about the US economy are inevitably wondering which has the bigger incremental effect on growth: the healthy US economy or the ailing international economy? In a recent note to clients, RBC Capital Markets chief US economist Tom...

From Bloomberg: U.S. Census Bureau data out Wednesday underscore just how lousy the recovery has been if you aren’t rich. Looking at eight groups of household income selected by Census, only those whose incomes are already high to begin with have seen improvement since 2006, the last full year of expansion before the recession. Households at the 95th and 90th percentiles had larger earnings through 2014, the latest year for which data are available.

You would think that the simultaneous crashing of all of the largest stock markets around the world would be very big news. But so far, mainstream media in the United States are treating it like it isn't really a big deal.Over the last 60 days, we have witnessed the most significant global stock market decline since fall 2008, and yet most people still seem to think that this is just a temporary "bump in the road" and that the bull market will soon resume. Hopefully they are right.When the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 777 points on Sept. 29, 2008,...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — Bearishness has reached an extreme not seen at least since the top of the Internet bubble in early 2000.Yet this is a bullish omen, according to the inverse logic of contrarian analysis: Extreme levels of bearishness indicate that there is a very robust “wall of worry” for the market to climb.These at least are the conclusions that emerge upon analyzing the average recommended equity exposure among a subset of Nasdaq-oriented market timers (as measured by the Hulbert Nasdaq Newsletter Sentiment Index, or HNNSI). Since the Nasdaq responds especially quickly to changes in investor mood,...

What is sustainable development? The United Nations defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”... What are the Sustainable Development Goals to be adopted today? [snip] But what are the goals exactly? End poverty in all forms; end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture; ensure inclusive and equitable quality education; achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy...

There’s an old chestnut about how a frog in water that is very slowly heated will not jump out. Instead it will remain in the water and be boiled alive. This is most likely untrue as frogs are not as stupid as people, but the metaphor is often used to describe how cultures can evolve in terrible directions. Anyone over the age of 40 understands this because they can think back to their childhood, seeing how things have changed, for good and ill. A better example of this is the immigration crisis in Europe. Over the last few decades, European...

If Western countries want to disprove the dire forecasts of Karl Marx, we must think creatively about how to make the middle class more prosperous and secure Go back, for a moment, nearly 30 years. In March 1987, Margaret Thatcher visited Mikhail Gorbachev, the reforming leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in Moscow. Sitting in the Kremlin, the two argued for hours. At one point, Mr. Gorbachev accused Mrs. Thatcher of leading the party of the “haves” and of fooling the people about who really controlled the levers of power. The Iron Lady had an answer: “I...

Earlier today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the third and final estimate of GDP growth for the 2nd quarter, and on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, real GDP grew by 3.9% in the past quarter. From the BEA release: The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the “second” estimate issued last month. In the second estimate, the increase in real GDP was 3.7 percent. With the third estimate for the second quarter, the general picture of economic growth remains the same; personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and nonresidential fixed investment increased...

China has narrowly escaped major financial crises for over two decades. But the good times may soon be over — and not because of the recent stock market crash. The roller coaster of Chinese stock prices this summer has triggered debates about whether China now faces a serious economic crisis. The Telegraph compared China’s equity bubbles to the situation that led to the 1929 Great Depression. The New York Times and Fortune, on the other hand, have argued that equity bubbles are merely false alarms, and fears about China are overblown. In the short term, the latter argument is more...

1. “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” Financial concept: Diversify. No one path leads to investment success. 2. “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” Financial concept: Expect volatility. Market gyrations are nothing new; don’t let them freak you out. 3. ”I knew the record would stand until it was broken.” Financial concept: Ignore hyperbolic headlines. Things are never as good or as bad as today’s headlines suggest. 4. “We made too many wrong mistakes.” Financial concept: Stop doing what hasn’t worked. Investing is about homework and discipline, not hot tips and hunches. 5. “It’s...

For those watching Janet Yellen's speech this evening, the fact that she seemed to struggle towards the end of her speech was a surprise. Now we know why... **FED'S YELLEN GETTING MEDICAL ATTENTION AFTER SPEECH -REUTERS It is hardly surprising given that she now carries the weight of the world's economic and market strength on her shoulders. As MarketWatch's Greg Robb noted, Yellen faltered at end of her speech. Last page was agonizing. I don't think she felt well but she seemed better when she left the stage. Bloomberg reports, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is resuming her planned schedule...

The most important driver of stock prices is earnings. "Earnings hold the key," Barclays' Ian Scott writes. "The key to the outlook for global equities is earnings, with global valuations in line with historical averages, a supportive monetary policy backdrop, and very bearish sentiment, a major hit to [earnings per share] is the main risk for the market," Scott argued in a new note to clients. In the US, corporate earnings growth has been slowing for months. "It's amazing how forgiving the general commentary has been on profits and even the broad economy," Deutsche Bank's David Bianco said in an...

Trump promises his plan will be 'great' for middle income residents, businesses WASHINGTON (CNN) - Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Wednesday he will unveil his tax plan next week, which will call for middle class tax cuts and hikes for hedge fund managers. "(It) will be very long on policy and will be a great plan, with a major reduction in taxes for the middle class," Trump said at a town hall meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, at the University of South Carolina. Trump promised that his plan would be "great" for middle income residents and businesses, but not so...