Free Republic

A presenter on Russian state television has issued an apparent threat to "traitors" living in Britain. Kirill Kleymenov warned of the dangers of spying on Russia and advised those who betrayed their country: "Don't choose Britain as a place to live." The comments, made on Channel One's Vremya news programme on Wednesday evening, came amid speculation over who was behind the attempted murder of a double agent on British soil. "I don't wish death on anyone, but, purely for educational purposes, I have a warning for anyone who dreams of such a career," he reportedly said. "The profession of a...

growing number of Americans are using 'buy now, pay later' services to purchase basic goods such as groceries, raising concerns about consumers taking on more debt. Installment-pay services such as Klarna and Afterpay offer interest-free short-term loans to cover purchases, but the fines for late payments can be steep, and critics fear their ease of use could lure shoppers into dangerous debt. In 2021, $45.9 billion in pay-later transactions were made online, a sharp increase from $15.3 billion the year before, according to a GlobalData analysis reported by the New York Times. Food accounted for about 6 percent of the...

One of China’s largest developers said the country’s property market has tumbled into a severe depression, using some of the strongest language yet to describe the yearlong downturn and the financial pain it has caused. Country Garden Holdings Co., 2007 -6.43%▼ which for years ranked as China’s top real-estate developer by contracted sales, on Tuesday reported a 96% drop in first-half profit after selling a third fewer homes than it did a year ago. The Guangdong-based company said the market has struggled with weakening expectations, sluggish demand and declines in property prices. “All these exert mounting pressure on all participants...

When John Purnell’s 10-year-old son was diagnosed as autistic, he knew exactly how to respond. “I’ve always been fascinated by research, by detail, by finding out everything there is to find out about something,” he says. “So I did a really deep dive.” As he pored over academic papers and delved into medical science – including how many autistic people have a propensity and appetite for copious research – an unexpected realisation crept into his mind. “I was reading about the traits of an autistic person, the difficulties they often have in social situations, the need for order and planning:...

Jada Riley thought she had beaten homelessness. The 26-year-old New Orleans resident was finally making a steady income cleaning houses during the pandemic to afford a $700-a-month, one-bedroom apartment. But she lost nearly all her clients after Hurricane Ida hit last year. Then she was fired from a grocery store job in February after taking time off to help a relative. Two months behind on rent, she made the difficult decision last month to leave her apartment rather than risk an eviction judgment on her record. Now, she's living in her car with her 6-year-old son, sometimes spending nights at...

ord Motor Co. is cutting about 3,000 white-collar jobs as it attempts to lower costs and shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles. Leaders of the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker made the announcement Monday in a companywide email obtained by CBS News, saying that 2,000 full-time salaried workers would be let go along with another 1,000 contract workers. The cuts represent about 6% of the 31,000 full-time salaried work force in the U.S. and Canada. Ford's 56,000 union factory workers are not affected. Some workers also will lose jobs in India. Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley said in...

Every industry is being impacted by inflated costs, but retailers seem to be getting it the worst. Retail Dive recently reported that according to recent report findings by Alignable, a referral network for small business owners, the industry is poised to lose more than half of their companies. Per the findings, nearly half of small business owners, including 59% of retailers, shared they’re at risk of shutting down before winter, a jump from 12% from the 35% that said the same a year ago. It looks even more troubling for minority-owned businesses (52% could be shuttered by fall) and women-owned...

link only

General conditions index drops 42 points to negative 31.3 — the second largest decline on record The numbers: The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, plummeted 42.4 points to negative 31.3 in August, the regional Fed bank said Monday. This is the second largest monthly decline on record and among the lowest levels in the survey’s history, the regional Fed bank said. Economists had expected a reading of 5.0, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Any reading below zero indicates deteriorating conditions. Key details: The index for...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon estimated last week the probability that the US would head into a recession, according to a Yahoo Finance report published Saturday. Dimon reportedly said on a client call Tuesday that the economy was "strong" but "storm clouds" were on the horizon, including federal monetary policies, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and rising oil prices. The categorization is an apparent downgrade from Dimon's previous comments in June when he warned of an "economic hurricane."

The home builder confidence index fell to 49 in August for the eighth straight month. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expected the number to be 54. The numbers: The National Association of Home Builders’ monthly confidence index fell 6 points to 49 in August, the trade group said Monday. The August reading of 49 is the first time since May 2020 that the index fell below a break-even measure of 50. One year ago, the index stood at 75. In January this year, the index was at 83. The decline was the eighth straight month in August. Economists...

General conditions index drops 42 points to negative 31.3 — the second largest decline on record The numbers: The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, plummeted 42.4 points to negative 31.3 in August, the regional Fed bank said Monday. This is the second largest monthly decline on record and among the lowest levels in the survey’s history, the regional Fed bank said. Economists had expected a reading of 5.0, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Any reading below zero indicates deteriorating conditions.

e all know it by now—the pandemic has caused things to get more expensive. Producers are paying more for energy, labor and transportation, and they're passing the cost on to consumers. Rising gas prices are obvious, but at the grocery store, shrinkflation can look like products with suspiciously smaller amounts selling for the same price as before. Or, the products themselves might be changing—the milk, cream and sugar in your favorite ice cream might be replaced with cost-saving bulking agents like corn syrup solids and whey protein. The Consumer Price Index may not even reflect all these shifts: It doesn't...

Major depression in older adults is very common, disabling, and increases the risk of many diseases of aging, including Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, cardiovascular issues and even mortality. Many older adults with depression do not experience full resolution of their depressive symptoms with antidepressant treatment. Improving or achieving full resolution of depression in older adults is a major clinical challenge, and approximately 50% of patients experience persistent depressive symptoms after antidepressant treatment. The persistence of depressive symptoms becomes a source of depleted psychological well-being, increased disability, accelerated cognitive decline, and premature aging in older adults. Therefore, identifying the mechanisms...

Love him or hate him, but stock broker and gold proponent Peter Schiff does make a very compelling observation: consumers are paying for huge government via the inflation tax, and the only way to slow down runaway consumer prices is to aggressively hike rates and strongly cut back on fiscal spending. Schiff took to his blog to express grievances with the state of the US economy, and the detrimental impact of soaring inflation on Americans’ incomes. “I think we’re not in recession, which was something that I had been predicting. So, inflation got stronger as the economy got weaker. And...

The reality of inflation and the specter of a recession appear to be weighing heavily on middle-class households. Among those whose income falls in the $30,000-to-$100,000 range, 75% say their earnings are falling behind the cost of living, and 77% think the U.S. will be in a recession by the end of 2022, according to a recent survey from Primerica. There’s also been a general uptick in financial worries in the last six months, with 39% of those surveyed expecting to be worse off financially in a year, up from 32% in March and 28% in December 2021. In December...

Alignable's July Rent Report is being released right now, based on a poll that concluded this morning, conducted among 3,553 small business owners . It shows that rent struggles are severe for several small business sectors, including transportation (trucking companies & car services), restaurants , retail shops, and beauty salons. What's the cause according to SMBs? Rent hikes, labor costs/the ongoing labor shortage, the high price of gas, and reduced consumer spending are all combining to create economic instability.

I have had the great privilege of travelling to 40 American cities in just about as many states and to 15 European countries in the last four months, in the waning days of the great COVID panic, and I have learned many things about our great and self-conscious nation. First: I have not travelled anywhere else where the citizens and the government are more neurotically “concerned” about the pandemic. It may have escaped Canadians’ notice, but virtually nowhere else in the developed world is it now required to wear a mask, as is still mandatory in many of Canada’s airports...

From dealers to lenders to tow truck operators, reports have poured in this month about a disturbing trend of rising car and truck repossessions. Lisa Beilfuss Popeo, who covers the economy for Barron's, recently reported that vehicle repossessions have doubled among “prime” borrowers, which includes consumers with good credit scores. "One red flag is the rate of repossession for prime borrowers is starting to rise. It's not just subprime borrowers that are having problems," Popeo told CBS News. The reason for the sharp increase in repossessions is not exactly clear. Some point to a bubble in the car market that...

There is no clear evidence that depression is caused by low serotonin levels, research suggests. The new review, which analysed existing studies, suggests the condition is not likely caused by a chemical imbalance, and calls into question what antidepressants do. Researchers say their findings are important as studies show that as many as 85-90% of the public believes that depression is caused by low serotonin or a chemical imbalance.