Jet-skiing
ex-NYPD 'pension scammer' turns self in - (www.nypost.com) The
bird-flipping, jet-skiing ex-NYPD cop charged in the multi-million dollar
pension fraud scam meekly surrendered Thursday morning in Manhattan Supreme
Court. Glenn Lieberman, 48, had a scarf covering his face and declined comment
as he silently walked into the courthouse with his lawyers about 8:30 a.m. for
his arraignment on larceny charges. The former Brooklyn anti-gang cop allegedly
scammed $175,758 in undeserved Social Security Disability payments after
claiming he suffered from “depression and panic attacks” while working at
Ground Zero after 9/11 – though a former colleague said he never worked at the
hallowed site. And investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus
Vance’s office discovered a social media photo of a grinning Lieberman zooming
along on a yellow jet ski while shooting a double middle finger salute at the
camera.
Fed had no idea if the taper would terrify
markets - (www.washingtonpost.com) Three
weeks ago, the Federal Reserve announced it would begin slowing its
bond-buying, beginning the long process of tapering its program of quantitative
easing. Now we know more about how the internal debate over the taper caper
played out, after the release of minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s
meeting. Here are five points that stand out from the document. They weren't
really sure how the taper would work: The minutes confirm what Chairman Ben
Bernanke said in his press conference: The decision to taper wasn't a close
call. "Most members" of the FOMC agreed that December was the right
time to start, according to the documents. But that doesn't mean they were
confident it would go off without a hitch. The minutes show they have varying
degrees of confidence in their economic forecasts. Some also worried that
markets would panic again once the Fed actually scaled back the program, as
they did in June when Bernanke first signaled that tapering of bond purchases
was imminent.
NYPD,
FDNY members cashed in on bogus 9/11 woes as part of massive $400M Social
Security fraud: prosecutor - (www.nydailynews.com) Dozens
of former cops and firefighters claiming 9/11 trauma were among the 106
indicted for gaming the Social Security disability system to take early
retirement and leech off the taxpayers, authorities said. They spat on the
memory of the real victims of 9/11. Dozens of former city cops and firefighters
used the 2001 terror attacks as an excuse to fund carefree lifestyles on the
taxpayer’s dime, authorities said Tuesday. The former NYPD and FDNY members —
who claimed to have suffered stress-related woes from the World Trade Center
attacks — were among 106 people indicted for a
longstanding Social Security disability scam, officials said. A former Brooklyn cop, Glenn Lieberman, 44,
became the unwitting poster boy for the sprawling ripoff ring, which includes
71 other retired city cops, eight former firefighters and five ex-correction
employees.
Spain
Youth Unemployment Rises To Record 57.7%, Surpasses Greece - (www.zerohedge.com) There
has been much speculation recently about some immaculately conceived Spanish
economic recovery. And while it has certainly sent the local Ibex stock market
soaring, we fail to see any indication of such a recovery, at least in official
economic data. The latest example being, of course, today's European
unemployment for November, which at the Euroarea level remained flat at 12.1%,
which also is the all time record high following a prior revision. However,
what is more troubling is that according to the official European statistics
keeper, Spanish unemployment in November was 26.7%: tied for the all time high
seen in October and hardly an indicator of some imminent economic
renaissance.''
Selloff
Accelerates in Emerging Markets - (www.online.wsj.com) Investors
are bailing out of emerging markets from Turkey and Brazil to Thailand and
Indonesia, extending a selloff that began last year, amid concerns about
faltering economies and political unrest. Indonesia's currency on Tuesday hit
its lowest level against the dollar since the financial crisis in Asia trading.
Meanwhile, the Turkish lira plumbed record lows against the greenback this
week. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index, a gauge of stocks in 21 developing
markets, slipped 3.1% in the first four trading days of 2014, building on a 5%
loss in 2013. This compares with double-digit-percentage rallies in stock
markets in the U.S., Japan and Europe last year. The bruising start to the year
underscores the shift in investor sentiment. In past years, money managers of
all stripes, hungry for yields and willing to take some risks, scrambled to
boost exposure to emerging markets, coveted for fast growth and burgeoning
consumer spending.
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