Free Republic

Gun-related violent crime continues to drop in Virginia as the sales of firearms continue to soar, a pattern that one local criminologist finds interesting “given the current rhetoric about strengthening gun laws.” Major gun crime collectively dropped for a fourth consecutive year statewide, while firearms sales climbed to a new record in 2012 with 490,119 guns purchased in 444,844 transactions — a 16 percent rise over 2011, according to federally licensed gun dealer sales estimates obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The proliferation of guns occurred as the total number of major reported crimes committed with all types of firearms in...

It wasn't long ago that Apple fans were slapping each other on the back and crowing about how, one day, Apple would be known as "the iPad company." The theory was that iPads were such a mega-hit new product category that iPad sales would continue to grow at astronomical rates until, eventually, they might even eclipse sales of the iPhone. You don't hear that theory much anymore. Why not? Because, despite the launch of a cheaper iPad last year--the iPad Mini--the growth of Apple's iPad sales has screeched to a halt. Because, despite the launch of a cheaper iPad last...

NEW YORK - Barraged with a surge in demand for its firearms, Smith & Wesson is vowing to continue to ramp up manufacturing. Smith & Wesson (SWHC) reported that its gun sales jumped by 42% for the 2013 fiscal year, which ended on April 30 with record sales of $587.5 million. The company reported net income of $78.7 million more than quadrupling it´s prior-year results. Going forward, the gun maker expects to keep breaking sales records. Sales have surged for guns and ammunition ever since the presidential campaign of 2012.

As expected (based on Loan Performance’s HPI index yesterday), the S&P Case-Shiller 20 metro index showed average home prices increased 11.6% and 12.1% for the 10- and 20-City Composites in the 12 months ending in April 2013. From March to April, the 10- and 20-City Composites rose 2.6% and 2.5%. Case-Shiller is in white, Loan Performance is in yellow. cs062513 Again, like Loan Performance, all 20 cities and both Composites showed positive year-over-year returns for at least the fourth consecutive month. Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit and Minneapolis posted their highest annual gains since the start of their respective indices. On a...

In advance of having to collect online state sales tax, Amazon said Tuesday that it will sever ties with its Minnesota-based affiliate websites that receive a fee for referring shoppers to the retail giant's online store. The move comes less than a month after Gov. Mark Dayton signed a law requiring certain online businesses with a physical presence or affiliates in Minnesota to charge sales tax on items it sells to the state's residents. The law takes effect July 1. "While we oppose this unconstitutional state legislation, we strongly support the federal Marketplace Fairness Act now pending before Congress," Amazon...

With all the latest political controversy and looming legislation over gun ownership and Second Amendment rights, it is no wonder many Americans are making the important decision to invest in a gun. In fact, there have been 72,005,482 background checks for gun purchases since President Barack Obama took office in 2008, according to FBI data. The Daily Caller decided to send this reporter to gun stores in the D.C.-Metro area to document purchasing a handgun from a female’s perspective, recording what recommendations I received and why, as well as how I was treated. My proposal was simple: I am a...

As I was browsing the pages of Google News to stay up-to-date with the latest in entertainment, politics, science, and other trending stories, I was surprised to see numerous headlines about Sarah Palin. Now, this post isn’t meant to be political at all, but it still impresses me that even after 4 years without holding or running for office, Palin is still able to make headlines – even just because of a single tweet or Facebook post. From “death panels” to “blood libel” to her latest tweets on the IRS, I can’t think of any other politician who could make...

It's too soon to tell, but Samsung might have finally beaten Apple to become the United State's top smartphone maker, at least for now. A new report by the investment research firm Canaccord Genuity shows that Samsung beat Apple in US sales in May. In particular, Canaccord found the Galaxy S 4, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III sold more units combined than Apple's iPhone. It's important to be aware of the methodology Canaccord used to develop their findings. The study surveyed only the retail stores of carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. Apple Stores were not surveyed....

Looks Like The 'Smart Money' Is Already Exiting The Housing Trade Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge May 30, 2013, 12:06 PM Last September, one of the original institutional investors in the housing-to-rent strategy, multi-billion hedge fund Och-Ziff called it quits on the landlord business. The reason: "the New York-based hedge fund is looking to sell now because the returns it is generating from rental income are less than expected and it is looking to take advantage of a recent rebound in home prices in northern California." As a reminder, the REO-to-Rental subsidized investment program, which led to an epic surge in...

The Senate recently approved legislation that would allow states to require out-of-state businesses to collect and remit sales tax. The argument in favor of this legislation is "fairness" to brick and mortar retailers, who must collect sales tax in the states in which they are physically present. Advocates of the Marketplace Fairness Act like to conjure the image of shadowy Internet businesses competing unfairly with the little Mom-and-Pop store on the street corner. The truth is, however, that these Internet businesses are far more likely to compete with entities such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, all of which have their...

Rush Limbaugh people are saying it’s not El Rushbo’s fault that ad sales have fallen at his flagship WABC — and he made it clear this weekend if the network’s boss keeps declaring it is, he just may pack up his megadittoes and leave. In New York, that would very likely take him to WOR, which would create the biggest shakeup in city talk radio since WOR scooped up Bob Grant after WABC fired him in 1995. Limbaugh’s contract with WABC expires at the end of the year. Lew Dickey, the CEO of WABC parent company Cumulus, has said Limbaugh’s...

At a 2008 shareholders meeting, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos explained why he opposed requiring businesses like his to collect state and local taxes on their interstate sales. "We're not actually benefiting from any services that those states provide locally," Bezos said, "so it's not fair that we should be obligated to be their tax collection agent." Last year, Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, testified in favor of a bill allowing states to demand sales tax from online merchants, saying Congress should "level the playing field for all sellers." As that switcheroo suggests, there are...

Whether it is due to the recent governmental attempt to enforce assorted gun controlling measures in the aftermath of the Newtown, CT shooting, or, merely driven by the same catalyst that saw a surge in gun sales four years ago, namely the presidential election, one thing is certain: America is weaponizing itself at an unheard of pace, with both Sturm, Ruger shipments and units produced surpassing 500,000 each in one quarter for the first time in history.

During his March 28 comments on "gun violence," President Obama once again claimed that 40% of gun purchases take place without a background check. The claim is meant to apply to new gun sales and is patently false, as Breitbart News demonstrated when Obama first used the 40% figure during a speech on Jan. 16. As Breitbart News explained then, many gun grabbers get the "40%" figure from a 2011 study by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, titled: "Point, Click, Fire: An Investigation Into Illegal Online Gun Sales."

<p>NEW YORK The seemingly unstoppable hit "The Book of Mormon" has broken another record — this time on the other side of the Atlantic.</p> <p>The quirky, profane musical opened Thursday night to some critical bashing, but the next day earned the highest one-day gross in London theater history.</p>

A 45 day moratorium on gun sales has been unanimously approved by the Los Gatos Town Council. The moratorium gives town officials time to come up with a permanent ordinance regulating gun sales. The controversy started when Templar Sports opened in December. Some people had protested they didn't receive enough public notice before the store was issued a business license. The moratorium doesn't affect Templar. Town staff expects to bring a proposed ordinance to the council in four to six months.

February 2013 was the third highest month on record for background checks on Americans' purchasing firearms. According to the FBI NICS database, there were 2,309,393 background checks completed in the month of February. The only two months that saw a higher number of NICS checks were January 2013, with 2,495,440, and December of 2012, with 2,783,765. The total number of background checks completed since November of 1998 (the month the FBI began tracking this information) is 165,279,535. President Barack Obama, dubbed "The greatest gun salesman in history," has presided over 42 percent of these background checks, or a total of...

Among major automakers, Ford Motor Company (+9.33 percent) and General Motors (+7.17 percent) were the leaders, while Toyota Motor Company (+4.34) and Chrysler Group (+4.11 thanks to a +30.33-percent performance by Dodge) managed to stay positive. Nissan North America, however, fared less well, reporting a drop in year-over-year sales of -6.65 percent. Among brands, we see many luxury marques near the top, including Bentley (+42.86 percent), Porsche (+30.53 percent), Audi (+27.77 percent), Mercedes-Benz (+23.05 percent), Cadillac (+20.34 percent) and Land Rover (+19.97 percent). If taken as a sign of a recovering economy, then the wealthier among us appear to be...

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) fell 3 percent on Friday after Bloomberg quoted a mid-level executive's email as saying the world's largest retailer had the worst sales start to any month in seven years in February. Wal-Mart executives blamed the poor sales performance on increased payroll taxes as well as delayed tax returns, Bloomberg said. Higher payroll taxes this year are seen as a potential problem for Wal-Mart and other discount retailers that try to attract lower-income customers who have less disposable income. "In case you haven't seen a sales report these days, February (month-to-date) sales are a total...

The U.S. new car market was up strongly in January. GM and Ford surprised analysts with double digit sales rates. Toyota, up 26.6 percent also surprised. GM is up 16 percent on very strong sales of the Equinox and its Silverado and Sierra pickups. Ford prints a 22 percent increase, powered by the Fusion. Lincoln sales are down 18 percent while customers wait for the MKZ to arrive in quantity at their dealers. Chrysler was up 16 percent, but jaded analysts expected more. Detroit OEMs and analysts expect the SAAR to be in the mid 15 million range