skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Chinese Solar Maker Plunges, Losing Nearly $19
Billion in 24 Minutes - (www.bloomberg.com) The
decline of Hanergy Thin Film Solar Group Ltd. was as spectacular and
inexplicable as its ascent. Just 24 minutes of Hong Kong trading erased $18.6
billion of market value and wiped out almost four months of gains that made it
more valuable than Sony Corp. of Japan. Those increases came as analysts and
investors questioned why, exactly, this stock was increasing in the first
place. The maker of solar equipment controlled by Li Hejun suspended trading
after the stock plummeted 47 percent in the morning. Discussion of what
triggered the move emerged after trading halted. Hong Kong’s Securities and
Futures Commission has been probing market manipulation in Hanergy’s shares for
several weeks, Reuters reported late Wednesday citing an unidentified person.
Ernest Kong, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission,
declined to comment to Bloomberg.
The
unemployed are dropping out like flies - 40 percent of unemployed have
quit looking for jobs - (www.cnbc.com) At a time when 8.5 million Americans still
don't have jobs, some 40 percent have given up even looking. The revelation,
contained in a new survey Wednesday showing how much work needs to be done yet
in the U.S. labor market, comes as the labor force participation rate remains
mired near 37-year lows. A tight jobs market, the skills gap between what
employers want and what prospective employees have to offer, and a benefits
program that, while curtailed from its recession level, still remains obliging
have combined to keep workers on the sidelines, according to a Harris poll of
1,553 working-age Americans conducted for Express Employment Professionals. On
the bright side, the number is actually better than 2014, the survey's
inaugural year, when 47 percent of the jobless said they had given up. "This
survey shows that some of the troubling trends we observed last year are
continuing," Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals and a
former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said in a
statement. "While the economy is indeed getting better for some, for
others who have been unemployed long term, they are increasingly being left
behind."
Facing
$1B deficit, Arizona cracks down on welfare - (www.cnbc.com) Facing a $1 billion budget deficit, Arizona's Republican-led Legislature has reduced the
lifetime limit for welfare recipients to the shortest window in the nation. Low-income
families on welfare will now have their benefits cut off after just 12 months. As
a result, the Arizona Department of Economic Security will drop at least 1,600
families—including more than 2,700 children—from the state's federally funded
welfare program on July 1, 2016. The cuts of at least $4 million reflect a
prevailing mood among the lawmakers in control in Arizona that welfare,
Medicaid and other public assistance programs are crutches that keep the poor
from getting back on their feet and achieving their potential. "I tell my
kids all the time that the decisions we make have rewards or consequences, and
if I don't ever let them face those consequences, they can't get back on the
path to rewards," Republican Sen. Kelli Ward, R-Lake Havasu City, said
during debate on the budget. "As a society, we are encouraging people at
times to make poor decisions and then we reward them."
The Gloves Come Off: Moody's Warns Of Greek
"Deposit Freeze" As Schauble "Won't Rule Out Default" - (www.zerohedge.com) And then, perhaps just the confirm that both gloves are off, moments ago the WSJ reportedthat German FinMin,
Wolfgang Schauble, said he couldn’t rule out a Greek default, a stance
that will add pressure on Athens as negotiations over much-needed financing
enter their final stretch. Asked whether he would repeat an assurance he gave in
late 2012 that Greece wouldn't default, Wolfgang Schäuble told The Wall Street
Journal and French daily Les Echos that “I would have to think very hard
before repeating this in the current situation.” “The sovereign, democratic
decision of the Greek people has left us in a very different situation,” he
said, referring to the January election that delivered a radical-left
government bent on reversing five years of creditor-mandated austerity and
painful economic overhauls.
Six Banks Pay $5.8 Billion, Five Plead Guilty
to Market Rigging - (www.bloomberg.com) Six of the world’s biggest banks will pay $5.8
billion and five of them agreed to plead guilty to charges tied to a
currency-rigging probe as they seek to wind down almost half a decade of
enforcement actions. Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc and Royal
Bank of Scotland Plc agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of conspiring to
manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros, according to settlements
announced by the Justice Department in Washington Wednesday. The main banking
unit of UBS Group AG agreed to plead guilty to a wire-fraud charge related to
interest-rate manipulation. The Swiss bank, the first to cooperate with
antitrust investigators, was granted immunity in the currency probe. The four
banks that agreed to plead guilty to currency charges are among the world’s
biggest foreign-exchange traders. They were accused of colluding to influence
benchmark rates by aligning positions and pushing transactions through at the
same time. Traders who described themselves as members of “The Cartel” used
online chat rooms to discuss their positions before the rates were set and
suppress competition in the market, the Justice Department said.
Brazil's Massive Corruption Scandal Is Rocking
Its Once-Superstar Economy - (www.bloomberg.com) Some
Brazilians worry that the biggest corruption scandal in their nation's history
will end in what is known in their country as a pizza party, meaning the
accused will find a way to get away with it. While their fate remains
to be seen, both the economy and society have been rattled. Here
are some overlooked ways in which Operation Carwash — the probe into
bribery and corruption that began with state-run oil company Petrobras
only to extend its tentacles much farther — is affecting what was
once a developing-world darling.
CONGRESS
TELLS COURT THAT CONGRESS CAN’T BE INVESTIGATED FOR INSIDER TRADING - (www.firstlook.org) In
a little-noticed brief filed last summer, lawyers for the House
of Representatives claimed that an SEC investigation of congressional
insider trading should be blocked on principle, because lawmakers and
their staff are constitutionally protected from such inquiries given the nature
of their work. The legal team led by Kerry W. Kircher, who was appointed House
General Counsel by Speaker John Boehner in 2011, claimed that
the insider trading probe violated the separation of powers between the
legislative and executive branch. In 2012, members of Congress patted
themselves on the back for passing the STOCK Act, a bill meant to curb
insider trading for lawmakers and their staff. “We all know that Washington
is broken and today members of both parties took a big step forward to fix it,” said Rep.
Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, upon passage of the law.
Greece wants Europe's bailout fund to pay
maturing bonds - (www.reuters.com) Greece has proposed to its international lenders
that Europe's bailout fund pay back maturing Greek government bonds held by the
European Central Bank as a way to overcome a funding crunch, Finance Minister
Yanis Varoufakis said on Monday. Athens could then pay the European Stability
Mechanism (ESM), at a later date, Varoufakis told the annual assembly of the
Greek Industrial Federation. "We are proposing, in the last period, what
many specialists are proposing internationally: for the ESM to intermediate, to
pay the ECB and then the Greek state can repay the ESM over the long term after
an agreement with our lenders," he said. Greece needs to strike a
deal with its creditors by the end of the month to stay afloat, the government
said on Monday.
China’s
record capital outflows spark financial stability fears - (www.ft.com) Capital
is flowing out of China at a record pace, sparking fears over
financial stability and complicating efforts by the central bank to support a
slowing economy with lower interest rates. China ran a balance of payments
deficit of $80bn in the first three months of the year, the largest
quarterly net outflow on record, according to official data. The outflows are
all the more striking because China’s trade surplus remained strong over the period.
As falling commodity prices slashed the country’s import bill, it recorded a
$79bn current-account surplus — the largest in nearly five years. But this was
overwhelmed by outflows on the capital and financial accounts worth a record
$159bn. The lure of China's surging
stock market also
failed to counter the outflow trend.
Here
Are the Winners and Losers of Puerto Rico's Debt Crisis - (www.bloomberg.com) Puerto Rico and its agencies have amassed $72 billion of debt as the junk-rated island's economy has
shrunk every year but one since 2006. Investors bought the securities, which
are tax-exempt in all U.S. states, for their relatively higher yields.
There are fewer residents to help repay the obligations: The island's
population has declined 7 percent in the past decade as residents moved to
the U.S. mainland. That combination of rising debt, sluggish economy, and
falling population has pushed yields on Puerto Rico debt above those of Greece.
The securities have been trading at distressed levels for nearly two years as
investors doubted the commonwealth's ability to repay its debt on time and in
full. Puerto Rico warned in its latest quarterly filing that it may place a
moratorium on debt payments in fiscal year 2016 if the government can't
cut spending or raise enough revenue.
JPMorgan Checks Fine Print as Kaisa Default
Alerts S&P on China - (www.bloomberg.com) Investors
are scrutinizing Chinese developers’ books after Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd.’s
default, as rating companies highlight accounting red flags. A doubling of
Kaisa’s debt only came to light after a potential buyer reviewed its accounts
and customers sought refunds on deposits for buying properties without presale
clearance. Advance payments, bookkeeping for joint ventures and perpetual bonds
are among areas needing attention to assess risks, Standard & Poor’s and
Moody’s Investors Service said. “Investors are taking a closer look at the
small print because they have begun to think Kaisa may not be the only one,”
said Ben Sy, head of fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities for Asia at
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private banking division. “The accounting issues
surrounding Chinese developers have always been there, but the Kaisa default
has increased worries about the contingent and unreported debt.”
DEA
to Traveler: Thanks, I’ll Take That Cash - (www.abqjournal.com) Maybe he should have taken traveler’s checks. But
it’s too late for that now. All the money – $16,000 in cash – that Joseph
Rivers said he had saved and relatives had given him to launch his dream in
Hollywood is gone, seized during his trip out West not by thieves but by Drug
Enforcement Administration agents during a stop at the Amtrak train station in
Albuquerque. An incident some might argue is still theft, just with the
government’s blessing. Rivers, 22, wasn’t detained and has not been charged
with any crime since his money was taken last month. That doesn’t matter. Under
a federal law enforcement tool called civil asset forfeiture, he need never be
arrested or convicted of a crime for the government to take away his cash, cars
or property – and keep it. Agencies like the DEA can confiscate money or
property if they have a hunch, a suspicion, a notion that maybe, possibly,
perhaps the items are connected with narcotics. Or something else illegal.
Greek Bonds Tumble on Speculation Cash to Last
Only a Few Weeks - (www.bloomberg.com) Greek
bonds plunged, pushing 10-year yields up to the highest since April, as
speculation grew that the nation’s financial system may be just weeks away from
running out of cash. The time remaining for Greece to strike a deal with its
creditors is “very limited,” European Union Economic Commissioner Pierre
Moscovici told reporters in Berlin Monday. The Greek government meanwhile
repeated its pre-conditions for any deal to be reached, saying it won’t yield
ground on its “red lines.” Europe’s most-indebted state is struggling to
resolve talks with its international creditors over the terms attached to its
240 billion-euro ($274 billion) bailout. Concern over the country’s future in
the euro area has triggered a liquidity squeeze, pulling the economy into a
double-dip recession. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he’s not considering
leaving the currency bloc and is focused on getting the aid he needs to avoid a
default.
China Steel Price Slumps to 12-Year Low as
Seasonal Peak Passes - (www.bloomberg.com) Chinese
prices of steel used mostly to build homes and offices fell to a 12-year low as
peak construction season begins to ebb in the world’s biggest consumer. The
average spot price of steel reinforcement bar, or rebar, dropped for a 10th day
to 2,458 yuan ($396) a metric ton, the lowest level since January 2003, according
to data from Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. Spot rebar is 11
percent lower this year after four straight annual drops as a prolonged slump
in China’s property sector has hurt steel demand. Prices have fallen after
reaching a two-month high in March ahead of the usual peak-demand period from
April to June. New home prices slid
in 69 of the 70 cities tracked by the government in April from a year earlier,
National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. “For downstream industries like
construction, we’re already at the peak of the season or already passed it,”
said Ginger Ding, an analyst at Metal Bulletin Research in Shanghai.
Flash
Crash Scapegoat Nav Sarao Complained More Than 100 Times to Regulators About The
Real Market Manipulators - (www.zerohedge.com) Several
weeks ago, when the CFTC and DOJ's laughable attempt to scapegoat the May 2010
flash crash on the actions of a live-in-his-parents-basement UK trader, we
explained "Why Sarao Is The Flash Crash Patsy: He Threatened To Expose The "Mass Manipulation Of High
Frequency Nerds."
It now turns out that he not only threatened to expose the real market
manipulators, but he acctually did it. More than 100 times. Navinder Singh
Sarao, the trader arrested last month on U.S. charges he manipulated futures
prices and contributed to the May 2010 “flash crash,” leveled claims of similar
misconduct against other traders before his arrest. Mr. Sarao complained to the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he traded futures contracts, more than 100
times over the past several years about traders he believed were engaging in
manipulative conduct, people familiar with the matter said. His last complaint
came just weeks before he was arrested on Justice Department charges, one
of the people said.
Debt-Choked Puerto Rico at Fiscal Brink as Bond
Buyers Pull Back - (www.bloomberg.com) The
sobering news arrived in San Juan via telephone from Washington. It was April
28, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew called to tell Puerto Rico
officials they must confront one of the island’s gravest financial crises
without a bailout. Saddled with $72 billion in debt, the commonwealth -- a U.S.
territory since the Spanish-American War -- needs a “credible” plan, Lew said. The
Caribbean island is hurtling toward the fiscal brink. After years of borrowing
to paper over deficits, and with $630 million due
to investors on July 1, Puerto Rico may confront the unthinkable: a default.
The prospect has set Wall Street on edge as bond yields surpass those of
Argentina and Greece; about half of municipal mutual funds hold commonwealth
debt. Puerto Ricans across the political spectrum are alarmed at the scale of
the crisis, Rafael “Tatito” Hernandez, chair of the House Treasury Committee,
said during a May 6 interview at the Capitol. Every mayor on the island will
face angry constituents, he added, especially those whose work weeks may be cut
to four days.
Facing Low Returns and Balky Investors, More
Hedge Funds Close Doors - (www.nytimes.com) For
decades, nearly everything that the billionaire Julian
Robertson touched
turned to gold. Mr. Robertson, founder of the hedge fund Tiger Management,
seeded a network of hugely successful “Tiger Cubs” — companies that in turn
seeded more talent. It became the closest thing the hedge fund industry had to
a dynasty. Since the start of this year, however, the managers of three firms
spun out of that gilded empire have called it quits after volatile performances
and sometimes steep losses. They will return money to investors and focus on
managing their own wealth. TigerShark, Tiger Consumer and JAT Capital
Management are just three examples among a recent wave of hedge funds that have
closed their doors to investors in the face of choppy markets. They are a
reminder that the hedge fund industry is not all spectacular returns. In past
years, titans like George Soros and Stanley F. Druckenmiller have also taken
down their shingles, choosing to manage their own enormous wealth without the
worry of pesky investors.
[Bloomberg] Bond-Market Crash Has Wall
Street Banks Divided on What’s Next - (www.bloomberg.com) Maybe,
just maybe, this whole bond rout is ending. The global selloff that’s set
investors on edge finally slowed last week, and some analysts are saying the
worst is over. Treasuries look fairly valued given the outlook for inflation
and interest rates, according to Bank of America Corp. -- although with plenty
of caveats. In Germany, options traders convinced a bund-market crash was all
but inevitable less than two weeks ago have scaled back most of those bets. Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. warns that government debt is still expensive, but a growing
number of investors are finding value after the four-week exodus sent yields
soaring. Prudential Financial Inc.’s Robert Tipp is buying because tepid U.S.
growth will keep the Federal Reserve on hold, while Europe remains too weak to
sustain higher yields. And don’t forget about central banks in Europe and
Japan, which are buying billions of dollars in bonds each month.
Peak
Of Bakken Oil Production Signals Collapse Of U.S. Economy? - (www.srsroccoreport.com) The U.S. is in serious trouble. The great
U.S. Bakken oil field supposedly responsible for making the United States
energy independent, is now showing signs of peaking. Not only has oil
production from the Bakken declined significantly, so has the Eagle Ford.
If these two shale oil fields have indeed peaked, the collapse of the U.S.
economy will certainly follow. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency
(EIA) May 2015 Drilling Productivity Report, shale oil production from these
two fields is forecasted to decline 78,000 barrels per day (bd) in June.
If we go by data from the EIA Drilling Productivity Reports, the Bakken peaked
in March at 1.328 million barrels per day (mbd) and the Eagle Ford at 1.733 mbd.
If we look at these two charts (especially the Eagle Ford), we can clearly see
the current peak and decline is more severe than any small down trends in the
past. Furthermore, this just may be the beginning of a much steeper
decline to come later in the year.
Screeching
U-turns on bonds and greenbacks - (www.ft.com) Screeching
U-turns are under way in hedge funds and economic forecasting departments
across Europe and the US. The biggest bet in the world has gone into reverse,
and a lot of money has gone with it. The plummeting value of
bonds,
and so soaring yields, has seen drastic moves in German Bunds in the past
month, while the belief in a strong dollar has been battered as the euro leapt.
To answer the question of where things go next, investors must decide what
happened. There are two broad explanations: fundamentals or excessive
positioning. There is no doubt that the economic outlook changed. At the start
of the year (almost) everyone was convinced that the US was growing rapidly,
and the eurozone stagnating. No one predicted Europe would beat the US in the
first quarter. At the same time, panic
over deflation subsided as oil rebounded. Investors piled back into
inflation-linked bonds as they began to sniff price pressures, leading to rapid
rises in market-implied estimates of future inflation.
Greece
facing 'financial strangulation,' PM Tsipras says - (www.ap.org) Greece's
prime minister warned Monday that the cash-strapped country is in a state of
"financial strangulation" amid worries that Athens may only have a
couple of weeks before going bankrupt. Alexis Tsipras said Greece has tabled
detailed proposals for a "viable" deal with creditors that will allow
disbursement of a 7.2 billion euro ($8 billion) cash injection — the final
payment due from the country's 240 billion-euro bailout program. For almost
four months, Greece has been haggling with its creditors from the 19-country
eurozone and International Monetary Fund over what economic reforms it must
make to secure the money. Greece has relied on bailout funds for the last five
years after its public finances spiraled out of control and it was locked out
of international bond markets. Over the past few weeks, it has survived —
paying debts as well as day-to-day commitments on things like wages and
pensions — by scraping together cash from reserve accounts. However, it admits
it is running out of options as further debt repayments come due next month. If
no deal is agreed, the Greek government may be faced with a choice of what to
pay, imposing capital controls and even leaving the euro. "Although we are
in a situation of financial strangulation, we have honored all our external
obligations," Tsipras said. "The lack of liquidity is neither the
choice nor the responsibility of the Greek government. It is a tough
negotiating tactic of our partners, and I do not know whether everybody in
Europe feels proud of it." Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis said
that to honor its debt obligations this summer, Greece needs more financial
assistance. As a result, Sakellaridis expects a deal with creditors "by
the end of May."
Russia accuses West of trying to destabilize
Macedonia - (www.reuters.com) Russia accused "Western organizers" on
Saturday of trying to foment a "color revolution" in the troubled
former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, where political tensions are building
ahead of an opposition rally on Sunday. "Color revolution" is a term
often used to describe popular uprisings in the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine,
where Moscow also accuses the West of deliberately meddling in local politics
to further its interests. In a statement on the Macedonian crisis, Russia's
foreign ministry cited Serbian media reports about the arrest of a citizen of
Montenegro accused of helping what Moscow called "Albanian
extremists" operating in Macedonia.
Woman
living in tent on her property receives eviction notice - (www.wect.com) Is
it possible to be evicted from your own property? For Ingrid Larsen the answer
is yes. She's been living in a tent on her property in Southport for the past
four months. Larsen's 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home was destroyed ten years ago when more than 10,000 gallons of raw
sewage flooded into her home. The Brunswick County Sanitation District has
since agreed to settle with Larsen out of court, paying her $119,000. Larsen
loves her property and wishes to rebuild, but in order to do so she has to
agree to tie back into the same sewer line that destroyed her first home. Larsen
refuses to take the risk, even though the Sanitation District said they have
identified the initial issue. Brunswick County Code Enforcement handed Larsen
her final eviction notice Tuesday. "I am prepared to deal with whatever
comes," Larsen said. "If I have to go to court or even if I have to
go to jail because this is my land, this is my home."
America's Premier Rail Superhighway is Slowly
Falling Apart - (www.ap.org) The trains that link global centers of
learning, finance and power on the East Coast lumber through tunnels dug just
after the Civil War, and cross century-old bridges that sometimes jam when they
swing open to let tugboats pass. Hundreds of miles of overhead wires that
deliver power to locomotives were hung during the Great Depression. The rails
of the Northeast Corridor are decaying, increasingly strained - and moving more
people than ever around the nation's most densely populated region. The
railroad's importance became all the more apparent after Amtrak Train 188
derailed Tuesday as it sped around a curve in Philadelphia, killing eight
passengers and injuring more than 200.
So,
You're Being Investigated For Mortgage Fraud? - (www.mfi-miami.com) As
MFI-Miami ventures into the area of defending amateur real estate investors and
homeowners from bogus charges of bank fraud, mortgage fraud and short-sale
fraud, clients tell us they didn’t know they were committing a crime. In most
cases, mortgage fraud suspects are usually right. The fraud is in the
imagination of the prosecutor or U.S. Attorney with political ambitions looking
to get their name splashed all over the media and in most cases prosecutors
tend to target amateur real estate investors and homeowners they know can’t
afford high end lawyers like Gerry Spence in order to get a quick conviction
and fine from the individual. Federal and state prosecutors tend to prefer
going after these types of individuals because its a numbers game. Prosecutors
can convict or extract fines out of 10 homeowners or amateur investors faster
and more cheaply than it would cost going after one deep pocketed Wall Street
executive like Angelo Mozilo, who ran the now defunct Countrywide Financial.
TOP STORIES:
U.S. companies rush to insulate themselves against Venezuela's
currency, economic woes - (www.reuters.com)
A
growing number of U.S. companies say they can't cope with Venezuela's sinking
bolivar currency, prompting some of them to remove their operations in the
South American nation from their consolidated financial reports. In other
cases, they have exited the country altogether through a sale or by simply
shuttering their businesses there. Many of those recently taking such action
are medium-sized or small companies, which means that the tumbling currency and
a deeply troubled Venezuelan economy have
tended to have a disproportionately greater impact on their results than
suffered by bigger entities with business in the country. The restructuring
moves can shield the financial results of parent companies such as batteries
and razors maker Energizer Holdings, automated teller machine and bank vault
provider Diebold Inc and printing and publishing company RR Donnelley &
Sons from Venezuela's economic troubles. But they can also signal that the
Venezuelan business is no longer regarded as worth fighting for, and support
from the American headquarters cannot be counted on.
Dollar Bulls Stunned by What Went Wrong in Drop to 4-Month Low
- (www.bloomberg.com) Dollar
bulls are pondering what’s left of the rally that had pundits talking of dollar
hegemony just months ago. The U.S. currency slid toward the lowest in almost
four months a day after stagnant retail sales became the latest data to
undermine prospects for Federal Reserve interest-rate increases. The greenback
climbed nine straight months through March on speculation the first hike in
almost a decade was looming. The dollar’s decline brought it to the lowest level
in almost three months against the euro. “It’s not surprising that we’ve seen a
healthy retracement,” Robert Sinche, a strategist at Amherst Pierpont
Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said in a phone interview. Sluggish
economic growth isn’t “consistent with early Fed tightening that we think is
probably needed to support the next leg up for the dollar.”
Vermont
House Votes To Remove Philosophical Vaccine Exemption - (www.vpr.net) After
a prolonged debate over legislation that would make it harder for parents to
exempt their children from the state's mandatory immunization law, the Vermont
House voted 85 to 57 Tuesday evening to remove the philosophical exemption to
the law. Jericho Rep. George Till strongly supported the elimination of the
exemption. He argued that parents still had other options if they didn't want
to vaccinate their children, including the religious exemption. "Nothing
in this amendment forces a parent to vaccinate their child,” Till said. “I vote
to protect children and adults in our schools who are especially vulnerable to
these dangerous vaccine preventable diseases."
Greece's Varoufakis says debt swap fills Draghi's 'soul with
fear' - (www.reuters.com) Repayment of what Greece owes
to the European Central Bank should be pushed into the future, but it is not an
option because it fills ECB chief Mario Draghi's "soul with fear",
Greece's finance minister said on Thursday. Yanis Varoufakis said Draghi,
president of the European Central Bank, cannot risk irritating Germany with
such a debt swap because of Berlin's objection to his bond-buying program. Varoufakis
first raised the idea of swapping Greek debt for growth-linked or perpetual
bonds when his leftist government came to power earlier this year, But Athens
has since dropped the proposal after it got a cool reception from euro
zone partners. The outspoken minister, who has been sidelined in talks
with European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders, brought it up
again on Thursday, saying 27 billion euros of bonds owed to the ECB after 6.7
billion euros worth are repaid in July and August should be pushed back.
Exposed: GeorgeStephanopoulos Hid $50K Clinton Foundation Donation From Viewers - (www.breitbart.com) While reporting on, and aggressively defending the Clinton
Foundation from numerous scandals and ethical issues, George Stephanopoulos,
the star and poster boy of ABC News, hid his own conflict of interest from
viewers. According to Politico, Bill Clinton’s former war room soldier and
press secretary, the current anchor of “Good Morning America” and “This Week,”
has donated at least $50,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
This is a bombshell of a black eye for ABC News. Since ABC News hired
Stephanopoulos as its chief anchor and chief political correspondent, many
questioned how a former-Democrat operative could remain neutral in the role of
a news anchor. Even before Hillary Clinton entered the 2016 presidential race, on
numerous occasions Stephanopoulos exposed himself as a Democrat operative working as a news man.
