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Global bank Citi is starting a new commercial firearms policy within the U.S. "to do our part as a company to prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands," the company said today. The new policy requires its new retail sector clients and partners to follow several practices: not sell guns to someone who didn't pass a background check; not sell bump stocks and high-capacity magazines; and not sell guns to people under 21 years old. Ed Skyler, Citi's head of global public affairs, said Citi has a few relationships with companies that manufacture guns, and for those relationships, "We...

Mrs. F.’ was 84 years old the first time she ever went to prison. Her crime? Petty shoplifting. She stole rice, strawberries, and cold medicine. She served her time. Got released. Then shoplifted again so that she’d go back to prison. She’s now 89 years old serving out another 2 ½ year sentence, not too far away from where I am right now, at a women’s prison about 60 miles outside of Tokyo. Did you know? You can receive all our actionable articles straight to your email inbox... Click here to signup for our Notes from the Field newsletter. She’s...

The Bank of England plans to offer a proposed sharia-compliant liquidity tool to a wider range of financial institutions beyond Islamic banks to boost demand, a senior official said on Monday. London has long sought to position itself as a global hub for Islamic finance, aiming to attract business from core centres in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The central bank has been working on a fund-based deposit model that would help Islamic lenders meet regulatory requirements for liquid asset buffers. But the tool will also be available to institutions whose articles of association incorporate sharia compliance, Arshadur Rahman,...

Awards season is in full swing in California, and the Golden State just took home a booby prize of its own. California ranks dead last among U.S. states in quality of life, according to a study by U.S. News, ranking behind New Jersey (49th) and Indiana (48th). The ignominious honor reflects California's low marks in the sub-categories of environmental quality and social engagement. The latter category measures voting participation and community bonds. Californians scored poorly in part because they're simply insufferable, U.S. News suggested. "In addition to a healthy environment, a person's quality of life is largely a result of...

What if the finance industry — credit card companies like Visa, Mastercard and American Express; credit card processors like First Data; and banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo — were to effectively set new rules for the sales of guns in America? Collectively, they have more leverage over the gun industry than any lawmaker. And it wouldn’t be hard for them to take a stand. PayPal, Square, Stripe and Apple Pay announced years ago that they would not allow their services to be used for the sale of firearms.

NEW DELHI: A turf battle for national highways has erupted with the department of economic affairs (DEA) seeking to take control of the funding for the highway construction programme. After unsuccessfully pushing for corporatisation of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the DEA has proposed changes in the Central Road Fund (CRF) Act to take control of the allotment of fuel cess for infrastructure projects and to decide the priority of expenditure. So far, the road transport and highways ministry is entitled to get the largest share of the CRF, estimated at 41%. The proposal to use 2.5% of...

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn spoke to CNBC via telephone this morning and had some very ominous warnings after what he has seen in the last few days. Reflecting on the market’s moves recently, Icahn shocked the anchors by saying: “This is something we’ve never seen before… I don’t remember ever seeing a market with this kind of volatility over two weeks.“ “The market has become a much more dangerous place [due to index funds and ETFs]… it’s like 2008 where everyone was buying mortgages and CDS.” Concluding that: “Passive investing is the bubble right now.” “There is going to be...

For those who are interested in the BitCoin phenomenon, it has been dropping considerably tonight. It has been as low as 8314, but is now rebounding in the mid 8400 range. I have provided a link to the ticker.

In its latest reminder that China is a (for now) happy holder of some $1.2 trillion in US Treasurys, Chinese credit rating agency Dagong downgraded US sovereign ratings from A- to BBB+ overnight, citing “deficiencies in US political ecology” and tax cuts that “directly reduce the federal government’s sources of debt repayment” weakening the base of the government’s debt repayment. Oh, and just to make sure the message is heard loud and clear, the ratings, which are now level with those of Peru, Colombia and Turkmenistan on the Beijing-based agency’s scale of creditworthiness, have also been put on a negative...

"When prosperity comes, do not use all of it." -- Confucius Is China about to do the United States a big favor, however unwittingly? According to Bloomberg, China is considering whether to slow, or even stop, purchases of U.S. Treasuries. At $3.14 trillion, China holds the world's largest foreign exchange reserves. It is also the largest underwriter of U.S. debt. Financial experts and political observers have long worried that becoming financially dependent on an unfriendly and rival nation is not good for the U.S. in the long term. In the short term, however, should Beijing choose to pull back its...

France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday urged Germany to plow more investments into major European projects and allow wages to rise, as part of Berlin’s contribution to boosting growth in Europe. “France has taken on its European responsibilities, in reducing its public spending and reforming its economy. We expect Germany to join the movement, by adopting more offensive wage policies and investing more,” he told Die Zeit weekly at a time when Chancellor Angela Merkel is battling to form a new coalition government. Le Maire’s call comes at a sensitive time for Merkel, as public spending is a...

Most folks here support President Trump and what he is trying to do for the nation, what impact he is having on the nation. We hear good news, and we instinctively know it's good news.  At the same time I think we fail to focus on the magnitude of change at times. This is one of those times.  This good news cannot be overlooked.  Lets look at some numbers.  They are very impressive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed above 25,000 points today, at 25,075.13.  LINK  It's a first.  In the 120 years of the DJIA, this is the highest...

We are a nation of 325 million people. We have a bit of control over the behavior of our 535 elected representatives in Congress, the president and the vice president. But there are seven unelected people who have life-and-death control over our economy and hence our lives -- the seven governors of the Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board controls our money supply. Its governors are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate and serve 14-year staggered terms. They have the power to cripple an economy, as they did during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Their...

Modern finance has many complex moving parts, and this complexity masks its inner simplicity.Let’s break down the core dynamics of the current financial system.The Core Dynamic of the “Recovery” and Asset Bubbles: Credit Credit is the foundation of the current financial system, for credit enables consumers to bring consumption forward, that is, buy more stuff today than they could buy with the cash they have on hand, in exchange for promising to pay principal and interest with their future income.Credit also enables speculators to buy more assets than they otherwise could were they limited to cash on hand.Buying goods,...

Shariah law is like a mysterious “other” for most Westerners, who may know of its intolerance of other religions and its criminal codes that call for stoning adulterers and the cutting off of limbs for petty thieves. But few know there is a portion of Shariah that includes a thriving area of finance — deals for real estate and business transactions taking place all over the world with Arab money. President Donald Trump’s pick to head the FBI, Christopher Wray, surely knows something about this segment of Shariah. Wray is a litigation partner at King & Spalding, which is one...

My buddy was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. He knew that he would inherit a fortune once his sickly father died. Tom wanted two things: • to learn how to invest his inheritance and, • to find a wife to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. “I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but in just a few years, my father will die, and I’ll...

Market doomsayer Marc "Dr. Doom" Faber has launched a racially charged diatribe in his latest newsletter, alleging that the U.S. is great primarily because it is ruled by white people. The eccentric Gloom, Boom & Doom report author, who often speaks on CNBC and other financial media, generally forecasting some type of market downturn, focused his latest comments on the racial conflicts happening around the country. (A CNBC spokesperson said it will not book him in the future.) "And thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look...

It’s a specter that should stalk the nightmares of Republican leaders: a Senate chamber, packed on Christmas Eve, as lawmakers gather to decide the fate of a tax package that will shape the GOP’s political fortunes. The bill remains one vote shy, and then Sen. John McCain walks in, pauses before the desk, and delivers his second thumbs-down dagger of the year. For that reason, the Arizona Republican, who is fighting a public battle with brain cancer, will be among his party’s most closely watched as the year winds down and the tax debate gears up. Yet over his decades...

When Hurricane Maria knocked out power in Puerto Rico, residents there realized they were going to need physical cash — and a lot of it. Bloomberg reported yesterday that the Fed was forced to fly a planeload of cash to the Island to help avert disaster: William Dudley, the New York Fed president, put the word out within minutes, and ultimately a jet loaded with an undisclosed amount of cash landed on the stricken island...[Business executive in Puerto Rico] described corporate clients’ urgent requests for hundreds of thousands in cash to meet payrolls, and the challenge of finding enough armored cars to satisfy endless demand at...

Note from financial advisor Kip Herriage: “With this report, I make no claim to specific knowledge of any wrongdoing or improprieties. Instead, this report includes trading patterns, news releases and/or public record SEC filings.” We will examine the share price movements of two gun manufacturers (American Outdoor Brands and Sturm Ruger) and the share price movement of MGM (which owns Mandalay Bay). We will also examine additional financial events surrounding MGM, including what can only be referred to as massive levels of insider selling in the shares of MGM, by the CEO/Chairman and MGM officers/directors. As you’ll see, more than...