- US Eyeing Complaints Against Modeling Agencies(Reuters): “The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges the agencies fixed models’ commission rates at 20 percent, twice the 10 percent allowed by state law for employment agencies. The models alleged that the defendants conspired to evade state pricing regulations by calling themselves model management companies. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say price-fixing in the industry stretches back to the 1970s. They contend the agencies used a trade association called the International Model Management Association as a clearinghouse to discuss rates and other competitive terms.”
- Italy Slides Into Recession(BBC): “Italy has officially entered recession, after preliminary figures indicated that its economy shrank in the April to June period. Italy’s economy contracted by 0.1% over the three months, according to the national statistics agency said.”
- Fed Seen Leaving Rates Alone(Reuters): “Federal Reserve officials are expected to leave rates alone when they meet next week because U.S. economic growth has finally begun to strengthen in a sustainable way, according to a published report Friday, citing economists and policymakers.”
- Bank President Who Lauded Hitler Policies Resigns (Chicago Sun Times): “The president of Glenview State Bank, who caused controversy last week after promoting Adolf Hitler as an economic leader, stepped down this week from his post because of the fervor his comments raised among customers and members of Chicago’s Jewish community.” See also Lew Rockwell’s column on the subject: The Violence of Central Planning.
- Consumer Credit Posts Surprise Drop in June(Reuters): “Shoppers kept their plastic in their wallets in June, as the amount of consumer debt unexpectedly declined, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Thursday. The Fed said outstanding consumer credit dipped by $400 million in June, to a $1.761 trillion level. The decline, which came in contrast to Wall Street expectations of a $6.9 billion advance, was led by charge and credit card debt, which slipped $1.3 billion.”
- Rivals Says Halliburton Dominates Iraq Oil Work(NYT): “After the United States Army Corps of Engineers quietly selected Halliburton in the spring to perform early repairs of the Iraqi oil business in the aftermath of the war, other companies and members of Congress protested that the work should have been awarded through competitive bidding.”
- Schwarzenegger an Austrian and an economist (Austin American-Statesman): “On his first day as Candidate Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-born, Republican actor continued to sidestep hard questions... His education includes a bachelor of arts degree in business and international economics from the University of Wisconsin.”
- In Iraq, US has Killed between 6087 and 7798 Civilians, and injured at least 20,000 (Iraqbodycount.net, thanks Antiwar.com)
- Bowling for Columbine (James Ostrowski, LewRockwell.com): “Moore is superb in a sequence that begins with an interview with Lockheed-Martin’s clueless public relations man trying to explain the difference between the slaughter at Columbine High and the slaughter facilitated by the weapons made by Lockheed which has a plant in Littleton, Colorado where Columbine High is located. The PR man says it’s for our defense, so Moore launches into a video collage of the Union’s numerous, aggressive, offensive, foreign interventions, all to the sound of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World: Mossadeq, the Shah, Diem, Vietnam, Allende, our man Osama, Afghanistan (1980), the Contras, our man Saddam (1982), our men the Iranians (1983), Noriega, not our man anymore Saddam (1991), reinstating the dictator of Kuwait, the aspirin factory, the weekly bombing of Iraq, giving our men the Taliban $245 million in 2000-2001.”
Posted by Mises.org News
