Source: Zero Hedge

Authored by Charles Wyplosz, originally posted at VOXeu,

Cyprus: The Next Blunder

The Cyprus bailout package contains a tax on bank deposits. This column argues that the tax is a deeply dangerous policy that creates a new situation, more perilous than ever. It is a radical change that potentially undermines a perfectly reasonable deposit guarantee and the euro itself. Read More

By Mark Thompson

A planned tax on Cyprus bank depositors as part of a European Union bailout is sending people rushing to ATMs to withdraw cash.

The EU has required a one-time tax of 9.9% tax on deposits of more than €100,000 starting Tuesday, as part of a bailout of the tiny nation. On Saturday, the EU unveiled a €10 billion plan to rescue Cyprus’ outsized banking sector and avoid a default. Read More

Michael Snyder
Activist Post

During fiscal year 2012, $359,796,008,919.49 that had been forcibly extracted from American taxpayers was transferred into other hands. Most of it ended up in the pockets of the global elite. So what did the American people get in return for that 359 billion dollars? Nothing at all. No roads were built, no schools were constructed, no teachers were paid and none of it went to national defense. Read More

(Click To Enlarge)

The United States is roughly $17 trillion in debt, but President Barack Obama says there’s no reason to worry. Speaking with ABC News correspondent George Stephanopoulos this week, Pres. Obama downplayed concerns of an impending financial catastrophe, claiming quite to the contrary that the country is on track to turning the economy around. Read More

American taxpayers who have not yet filed for their 2009 tax returns are unlikely to see the money. The IRS has over $917 million in unclaimed refunds that will expire in one month. About 1 million US taxpayers from all 50 states failed to file their returns in 2009, but unless they do so before April 15, they won’t be getting their checks. Read More

The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.

The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks Read More

A startling report prepared by Energy Minister Alexander Novak for President Putin that is circulating in the Kremlin today warns that the United States is preparing to overturn the entire global economic system as it nears becoming the greatest energy producing nation in all of human history. Read More

The next court date in the matter of Larry Delassus versus Wachovia Mortgage-Wells Fargo is scheduled for March 18, but don’t expect the plaintiff to be there. Mr. Delassus literally died in court while fighting back against the banking behemoth.

Delassus, 62, died in a California court room in December after suffering from a major heart attack while his attorney Anthony Trujillo argued on the stand. Read More

By Adam Clark Estes

Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, took the stand in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday and an ambitious expansion of the Pentagon’s Cyber Command. “We’ve seen the attacks on Wall Street over the last six months grow significantly,” Alexander told the senators, explaining that denial of service (DOS) attacks are the most common assault on banks’ websites. Read More

Government dependability is continuing to rise, with a record-breaking number of Americans enrolled to receive food stamps. The latest USDA report shows that 47.8 million Americans, which make up 15 percent of the country, are receiving the benefits.

The US Department of Agriculture has announced that 47.79 million people were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in December Read More

Those who have been following our exclusive series of the Fed’s direct bailout of European banks (here, here, here and here), and, indirectly of Europe Read More

(Reuters)  

The New York Stock Exchange is readying plans to be able to operate without human traders in case another disaster, such as Superstorm Sandy, forces the shutdown of its historic trading floor in downtown Manhattan, The Wall Street Journal reported. Read More

Citing “multiple issues with the products”, the Minnesota Department of Revenue issued a crisp statement today urging tax filers to avoid using Intuit products to prepare or file their state income taxes. The products include TurboTax, Lacerte, Intuit online and ProSeries. Read More

A Berkeley city councilman has suggested that a tax on email may be wise way to help fund the United States Postal Service, according to the blog Berkeleyside.

District 8 Supervisor Gordon Wozniak, who represents an area that includes the Claremont Hotel and the eastern end of the UC Berkeley campus, made the comments Tuesday as city officials moved to halt the sale of a Post Office building on Allston Way due to a decline in business. Read More