The special interests that dominate politics dominates to produce a form of economic warfare. The more some can manipulate the political machinery, the more they can feather their own nests. They even use similar propaganda techniques.

In February, a number of Irish citizens were surprised to find out that selling Kerrygold butter — a line of butter produced in Ireland — is a criminal offense in Wisconsin. Irish Central reports: 

Now that the Fed has tinkered the Fed Funds target range to the upside on a handful of occasions over the last year, they are slowly turning more focus to the Fed’s balance sheet. Before the financial crises, the balance sheet stood below $1 trillion. Now, just 8 years later, it sits above $4.5 trillion. That’s a lot of purchased assets and interest rate manipulations. Since they are claiming to have saved the global economy, it is time to prove it by unwinding all these positions.

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved a bill submitted by Thomas Massie (R-KY) to allow Congress to audit the Federal Reserve. The bill was originally introduced by Ron Paul in 2009 and was passed in the House twice (2012 and 2014), but failed to pass in the Senate.

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved a bill submitted by Thomas Massie (R-KY) to allow Congress to audit the Federal Reserve. The bill was originally introduced by Ron Paul in 2009 and was passed in the House twice (2012 and 2014), but failed to pass in the Senate.

Is common sense beginning to creep into US policy in the Middle East? Last week Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the longer-term status of Syrian President Assad would be “decided by the Syrian people.” The media reported this as a radical shift in US foreign policy, but isn’t this just stating what should be obvious? What gives any country the right to determine who rules someone else?

It seems that 2006 was a long time ago — the year when Rafael Correa was not yet president of Ecuador. Nevertheless, there was an Ecuador before him: a troubled country that had seven presidents in only 10 years. With elections just around the corner, what economic model will mostly benefit Ecuadorians?

Correa is the favorite politician of those that defend the ideals of 21st Century socialism. Unlike Hugo Chavez or Daniel Ortega, most say Rafael Correa is a true statesman who implemented a successful development model in Ecuador. But is this really so?

The European Central Bank (ECB) pushed its deposit rate to minus 0.4 percent in April 2016: Since then, euro area banks must pay 0.4 percent per annum on their excess reserves held at ECB accounts. This, in turn, has far-reaching consequences. To start with, banks seek to evade this “penalty rate,” especially by buying government bonds.