Should people be able to bet on your death? How about your financial failure?
In the United States Senate, Wall Street won one when the Senate voted down a proposal to bar the so-called naked buying of credit-default swaps.
If that were the law, you could not use swaps to bet a company would fail.
The exception would be if you already had a stake in the company succeeding, such as owning a bond issued by the company.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a 31-country group often seen as an exclusive club of rich countries,
voted unanimously in early May to admit Israel, which was formally finalized on May 27.
Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians, and its war in Gaza in late 2008, had drawn strong criticisms from a number of European members,
Two of the most reliable news sources in the Middle East, Haaretz and Al Jazeera, are both reporting this morning that Israeli forces have attacked a Turkish aid flotilla headed for Gaza. At least 10 activists have been killed and scores wounded, although reports are currently varying on the exact number.
No one can say Economy Watch readers aren’t interested, because as soon as we posted a previous item about Venture Capitalists / Private Equity / “Carried Interest”,
we got a number of emails suggesting emendations, but mostly additions that, in their view,
Like many South Koreans, Choi Byung-wook said he felt outrage over the North Korean attack that sank the warship Cheonan and killed 46 sailors.
But he also said that he did not expect the hostilities to get any worse and that his nation must continue to engage the North.
“Inside, we are furious,” said Mr. Choi, 46, a government employee who shopped on a recent afternoon at a mall in this city just a few miles from the South’s heavily fortified border with North Korea.
Venture capitalists are fighting a bill, introduced in the House of Representatives recently, that would sharply increase the taxes they pay.
The bill, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, would, among other things,
increase taxes paid by investment fund managers on carried interest, which is how venture capitalists make most of their money.
Critics of capitalism can now be seen everywhere in Germany, from the Left Party to the center-right Christian Democratic Union, or CDU.
The ones who could be seen as radicals today, in fact, are those who still defend the present system — and autonomists are eagerly fanning the flames of the conflict.
The left-wing scene addresses issues “that are also of concern among the peace-loving population,” in the words of an Interior Ministry analysis.
When NBC announced that it planned to cancel the original “Law & Order,” many people lamented the effect on New York theater actors, for whom a spot on the show has long been a résumé staple.
But another New York-based production, “The Good Wife,” is already filling the void for moonlighting stage performers seeking TV credits.
Cabinet ministers from Canada’s Conservative government fanned out across the world recently to lobby against proposals for a global tax to cover the cost of bank bailouts.
Since 2008, the Conservative government in Canada has championed tight regulation, a position it had not previously embraced.
As a result, Canada’s banks were largely unaffected by the banking crisis of 2008,
and the Canadian government argues that any tax would unfairly penalize them.
It’s kind of hard to believe, but apparently the Republican wing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform doesn’t too much like what the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] is – or isn’t – doing.
It’s hard to believe because RPBs seem to like ANY Federal agency – oh say, the Minerals Management Service –
that ISN’T doing a very good job overseeing whatever private sector activity they’re supposed to be watching.
