Economics and Investing:

Reader DSV suggested this: Bagfuls of Pocket Change… Handfuls of Heritage – Shanghai Metals Market.

o o o

Japan Goes Full Krugman: Plans Un-Depositable, Non-Cash “Gift-Certificate” Money Drop To Young People – G.G.

o o o

Items from Professor Preponomics:

Professor Preponomics’ Reading Recommendation

Going for Broke: Deficits, Debt and the Entitlement Crisis by Michael D. Tanner

US News

Commentary: The GOP and Social Security (Cato) Excerpt: “…Social Security’s unfunded liabilities approach $26 trillion. That’s not because of waste or administrative glitches; it’s because of shifting demographics.”

Southern Tennessee Medical Center, LLC to Pay $2.48 Million to Settle False Claims Act and Overpayment Allegations (Justice.gov)

21st Century Oncology to Pay $19.75 Million to Settle Alleged False Claims for Unnecessary Laboratory Tests (Justice.gov)

Tennessee Children’s Food Program Under Scrutiny (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) One word comes to mind immediately. Despicable. Excerpt: “…a subsequent investigation by The Tennessean, which found unscrupulous contractors in some cases were pocketing funds intended for hungry children. In one instance, a contractor spent money on lavish bonuses, home improvements and on-demand movies in hotels.”

International News

Central Banks are Already Doing the Unthinkable – You Just Don’t Know It (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “A catch-all term, helicopter drops describe the process by which central banks can create money to transfer to the public or private sector to stimulate economic activity and spending.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Snapchat, Seagate Among Companies Duped in Tax-Fraud Scam (Clark Howard) Excerpt: “A major phishing scheme has tricked several major companies — among them, the messaging service Snapchat and disk-drive maker Seagate Technology — into relinquishing tax documents that exposed their workers’ incomes, addresses and Social Security numbers.”

Watch Out for this New Tax Scam (Market Watch) Excerpt: “The IRS says it has begun receiving reports “in the last few weeks” of phone scams that use a slightly different tactic: They don’t ask for money, and instead request personal financial information, pretending they need to verify it.”

o o o

SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.