The European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to 0.05% from 0.15% in a strong response to combat deflation. The move comes as the EU is struggling to boost its stagnating economy, which Draghi. “Growth recovery was losing momentum,” ECB President Mario Draghi said at the news conference after the announcement was made to cut rates further. [...]

A federal judge on Thursday said oil giant BP acted with gross negligence ahead of the catastrophic 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, paving the way for the corporation to pay perhaps billions of dollars in fines. “BP’s conduct was reckless,” United States District Judge Carl Barbier wrote in a decision handed down early Thursday from a federal courthouse in Louisiana. [...]

The cost of getting rid of US citizenship has quadrupled to $2350, up from $450. The changes will come into effect on September 6th and the State Department says it is necessary to cover the real cost of processing an application to lose citizenship. The price hike marks a sharp u turn from 2010 when the State Department decided on the $450 fee “in order to lessen the impact on those who need [...]

The International Monetary Fund has given a green light for Ukraine to receive the second tranche of financial assistance totalling $1.39 billion, meaning more austerity measures for the already struggling economy. “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Ukraine’s performance under an economic program supported by a Stand-By Arrangem [...]

The British government will press other European nations at a meeting in Brussels on Saturday to block Russia from using the SWIFT banking network, Bloomberg reported, in what could be a dramatic expansion of sanctions. The British government will press other European nations at a meeting in Brussels on Saturday to block Russia from using the SWIFT banking network, Bloomberg reported, in what c [...]

Whether buying bread, filling a pharmacy prescription, getting a haircut or going to the doctor, some residents of Montreuil, France, are rejecting the euro in favor of "La Peche", a local community currency. In France, local currencies are growing in popularity as trust in state institutions erodes. An elaborate coupon system lets locals pay for services and goods with special local banknotes, [...]

America's second largest lender has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with US federal authorities for selling toxic mortgages misleading investors, the Justice Department said Thursday. “This historic resolution - the largest such settlement on record - goes far beyond ‘the cost of doing business,’” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement posted on the US Justice Department w [...]

Forget Visa and MasterCard. After the two American credit system payment companies froze accounts without notice in March, Russia has been looking for an alternative in China UnionPay. China UnionPay plans to have 2 million cards in Russia in the next three years. [...]

While the West is continuing to try and punish Russia via economic sanctions, the response of the Russian Central Bank has been to diversify away from the euro and dollar – and to buy up more gold. As the geopolitical situation in Ukraine deteriorates, Russia is moving to protect itself from currency risks associated with the euro and the greenback. [...]

Washington has refused to allow the UN International Court of Justice (IJC) to hear Argentina's claims that US court decisions on the country's debt have violated Argentina's sovereignty. “We do not view the ICJ as an appropriate venue for addressing Argentina’s debt issues, and we continue to urge Argentina to engage with its creditors to resolve remaining issues with bondholders,” the U [...]

Russia's import ban on agricultural goods from countries that sanctioned Moscow over the Ukraine crisis may have a negative impact on European producers, farmers say. However, the EU's ambassador to Moscow insists the bloc's position will not change. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Wednesday a decree imposing a one-year ban on agricultural produce, foods, and raw materials from countrie [...]

The US dollar, the dominant global currency since 1944, may lose some of its luster due to the American-led sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine. The greenback has been fading in favor since the global financial crisis in 2008. The US-led sanctions against Russia may have backfired on the US because it threatens to “hasten a move away from the dollar that’s been stirring sin [...]

Peter Schiff says two catalysts this week could send gold prices higher. Despite the constant drumbeat of geopolitical turmoil, gold, which investors often buy in times of uncertainty, has fallen 6 percent from its March highs. But even with the sell-off, bullion's biggest gold bug isn't throwing in the towel anytime soon. [...]

A six-day tour by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Latin America ended with a long anticipated creation of the BRICS bank and the signing of energy agreements, as Russia looks to build alliances to counter Western influence. The Latin America tour started with the visit to Cuba, where Putin signed a new agreement on oil exploration in Caribbean waters which contain most of the estimated 124 mil [...]

America’s public debt will rise to 106 percent of GDP in the next 25 years, a level seen just once in US history - just after World War II, the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned. US debt has skyrocketed to over $17 trillion, and is now about 74 percent of total gross domestic product, the CBO said on Tuesday. [...]

There is neither real criticism from German politicians, nor any visible efforts to return German gold held in the US, so it seems that US controls Germany, economic analyst Michael Mross told RT. In one of its recent reports Bloomberg claimed that Germany decided not to repatriate its gold reserves from the US, instead the Bundesbank issued an official statement that underscores it’s "trust" in [...]

Shanghai is considered to be the frontrunner between Russia, China, India and South Africa to become home to the new BRICS bank, media reports. The bank is an attempt by emerging economies to challenge the US-based global lending institutions. Four of the BRICS countries – China, Russia, India and South Africa [...]

Americans avoiding US taxes and stashing cash abroad are in trouble from July 1, when a new law forces institutions hiding money to report on their clients. The law will make business with Americans harder, but the US hopes it will raise billions. The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, comes into force on July 1 and requires foreign banks to hand over data on clients to the US Intern [...]

Total US debt soars to nearly $60 trn, foreshadows new recession! The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis released the current data for the total debt in the United States Economy on June 5, 2014 — All Sectors; Credit Market Instruments; Liability, Level (TCMDO). While people, companies, and governments blamed bad weather for a dismal showing in economic activity, it appears they had little troubl [...]

The European Central Bank lowered its deposit rate to -0.10% as the continent battles deflation after many failed monetary policy attempts. The European Central Bank cut its main refinancing rate to 0.15 percent from 0.25 percent, and the deposit rate from zero to -.10 percent, the first time the ECB has seen a negative rate and the first time a major central bank has crossed the zero threshold. [...]

The "€œPower of Siberia"€ is much more than a 30 year Sino-Russian gas/pipeline deal. Paying for the process accelerates the vogue to reduce dollar pricing. That, not the energy supply, will become the most acute threat to US economic hegemony. [...]

Moscow and Beijing have rejected the imposition of sanctions as political tools and condemned attempts at "encouraging and financing"€ regime changes in other countries in a joint statement released during President Putin'€™s official visit to China. [...]