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More here: Fund Flow Records Smashed: Equity Funds Get Record $352 Billion Inflow, Bond Funds Lose Record $86 Billion
Links Who is to blame for the crisis in South Sudan? The nascent civil war in South Sudan is a product of kleptocratic governance, systemic corruption, and political posturing that has reignited deep ethnic divisions between the nation’s two largest tribal groups
Rounding out our trio of articles from today, please consider Still unclear exactly how QE eases conditions: Fed’s Dudley . Extensive research into massive asset-purchase programs has not yet clarified whether such policies ease financial conditions primarily as a signal to investors or more directly through private portfolios, an influential U.S.
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Links Terror in Volgograd Eric Draitser of StopImperialism.com appears on RT to discuss the recent terror attacks in Volgograd, Russia. Draitser explains the political and geopolitical context within which the bombings should be examined
PMI rises to 11 – month high, indicating solid improvement in business conditions Output supported by strong increase in new orders Employment growth quickens to nine – month high Input price pressures intensifies Summary Business conditions in the U.S. manufacturing sector improved at the fastest rate since January, according to the final December Markit U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Indexâ„¢ (PMIâ„¢).
Zero Hedge : Pending Home Sales Plunge At Fastest Pace Since April 2011 It took about one second to understand the discrepancy. All but the ZeroHedge headline (not necessarily the articles) ignored the NAR statement (see first link) " The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, inched up 0.2 percent to 101.7 in November from a downwardly revised 101.5 in October, but is 1.6 percent below November 2012 when it was 103.3. " ZeroHedge has a chart that shows just that.
See the original article here: Toxic Smoke Cloud Engulfs Greece; Six Years of Relentless Recession; Horrific Statistics
View post: Thailand: Another Protester Killed as Regime Thugs Do Drive-By at Rally Site
The Guardian comments on today’s NSA Phone Ruling . A legal battle over the scope of US government surveillance took a turn in favour of the National Security Agency on Friday with a court opinion declaring that bulk collection of telephone data does not violate the constitution. Friday’s ruling makes it more likely that the issue will be settled by the US supreme court, although it may be overtaken by the decision of Barack Obama on whether to accept the recommendations of a White House review panel to ban the NSA from directly collecting such data