The Taliban Poisons 150 Afghan Schoolgirls for Getting an Education

(Reuters) – About 150 Afghan schoolgirls were poisoned on Tuesday after drinking contaminated water at a high school in the country’s north, officials said, blaming it on conservative radicals opposed to female education.

Since the 2001 toppling of the Taliban, which banned education for women and girls, females have returned to schools, especially in Kabul.

But periodic attacks still occur against girls, teachers and their school buildings, usually in the more conservative south and east of the country, from where the Taliban insurgency draws most support.

“We are 100 percent sure that the water they drunk inside their classes was poisoned. This is either the work of those who are against girls’ education or irresponsible armed individuals,” said Jan Mohammad Nabizada, a spokesman for education department in northern Takhar province.

Read the rest here.

Reprinted entirely from the Daily Caller, because it is so damn funny.

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Jim Treacher

Hey, if we’re going to talk about how presidential candidates treated dogs decades ago, let’s talk about how presidential candidates treated dogs decades ago.

Can you name the author of this quote?

“With Lolo, I learned how to eat small green chill peppers raw with dinner (plenty of rice), and, away from the dinner table, I was introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher), and roasted grasshopper (crunchy). Like many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths. He explained that a man took on the powers of whatever he ate: One day soon, he promised, he would bring home a piece of tiger meat for us to share.”

Yep, that’s Barack Obama, writing about his childhood with his stepfather Lolo Soetoro in Indonesia, from Chapter Two of his bestseller Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

“So what? It was a long time ago,” you say. “He was a lot younger. Customs are different there. He was just doing what his stepfather told him. And hey, you can’t even prove that the dogs were ever left on top of a car, you racist.”

Hey, whatever you have to tell yourself, libs. Say what you want about Romney, but at least he only put a dog on the roof of his car, not the roof of his mouth. And whenever you bring up the one, we’re going to bring up the other.

It’s no fun when we push back, is it? That’s why it’s so much fun.

Update: I know the Secret Service has a lot to deal with right now, but are they protecting Bo? From Obama, I mean.

Dow Theory watchers must not be liking the recent negative divergence between Dow Jones Industrial Average and Dow Jones Transportion Average.

Wines fermented with weed were a novelty in the early 1980s, but now quite a few California winemakers are producing cannabis cuvées on the sly—with cabernet the variety of choice.

via Middle Class Political Economist

Mike Kimel at Angry Bear has several nice posts on the “Laffer Curve” that underlies much of conservative economic orthodoxy in this country. As you may know, Art Laffer famously claimed that at tax rates of 0 and 100%, you would get zero tax revenue, and that in between, there is an inverted U shaped curve, where taxes collected first increase as the tax rate goes up, then decrease as tax rates go higher still, back down to zero tax collected when the tax rate is 100%.

The Kimel post linked above was prompted by an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, Alan Viard, telling the New York Times that all economists know that when the top tax rate is 35%, cutting rates further will reduce tax revenue.

“The Reagan tax cuts, on the whole, reduced revenue,” he explains. “The Bush tax cuts clearly reduced revenue. There is no dispute among economists about that.”

Except, as Kimel points out, lots of conservative economists dispute this, including one who co-authored a paper with Viard! For his trouble, Kimel became the subject of a post at the AEI blog by James Pethokoukis, which started by completely misidentifying him and going downhill from there. For Kimel’s enjoyable takedown of this post, see here.

All this led me back to an earlier post of Kimel’s, where he makes an empirical estimate of the Laffer Curve, using U.S. data all the way back to 1929, the first year for which official U.S. data exists. I’ll spare you the technical details (see Kimel’s post), but here’s the bottom line: Laffer got it exactly backward, with tax revenue initially falling as tax rates increase, then rising after a further increase in rates. Here is Kimel’s estimate of the “true” Laffer curve:

Read the rest here.

Ben Duronio | Apr. 16, 2012, 3:31 PM

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is out with its latest Asset Allocation and Strategy Weekly report to its clients.

Adam Parker, Morgan’s top U.S. equity strategist, might be the most bearish name on Wall Strategist. Parker is calling for the S&P 500 to fall to 1,167 by year end.

So, it’s no surprise that the firm’s list of reasons to be bullish/bearish on stocks tilts bearish.

But they do have some positive things to say about stocks.

Read the rest here.

via bclund

The number one question I get asked by readers of my blog is “how can I become a better trader?”  My answer is usually “find a mentor.”  What I am going to show you in this post is how to find that person using StockTwits (and how that process in itself can make you a better trader).

Josh Barro

Below is a chart of total government spending (federal, state and local) as a share of GDP, going all the way back to 1929, the first year for which Bureau of Economic Analysis Data are available. This chart shows that government spending in 2010 was as high as it’s ever been as a share of the economy, 36.2 percent, slightly outstripping the previous high water mark of 35.3 percent reached in 1945, during World War II.

This chart has a lot to teach us about what we can expect from the coming fiscal adjustment.

Read the rest here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2012-66

Washington, D.C., April 16, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an online brokerage and clearing agency specializing in options and futures as well as four officials at the firm and a customer involved in an abusive naked short selling scheme.

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement alleges that Chicago-based optionsXpress failed to satisfy its close-out obligations under Regulation SHO by repeatedly engaging in a series of sham “reset” transactions designed to give the illusion that the firm had purchased securities of like kind and quantity. The firm and customer Jonathan I. Feldman engaged in these sham reset transactions in a number of securities, resulting in continuous failures to deliver. Regulation SHO requires the delivery of equity securities to a registered clearing agency when delivery is due, generally three days after the trade date (T+3). If no delivery is made by that time, the firm must purchase or borrow the securities to close out the failure-to-deliver position by no later than the beginning of regular trading hours on the next day (T+4).

The former chief financial officer at optionsXpress – Thomas E. Stern of Chicago – was named in the SEC’s administrative proceeding along with optionsXpress and Feldman. Three other optionsXpress officials – head of trading and customer service Peter J. Bottini and compliance officers Phillip J. Hoeh and Kevin E. Strine – were named in a separate administrative proceeding and settled the charges against them for their roles in the scheme.

“Feldman and optionsXpress used sham reset transactions to avoid, sometimes for months, compliance with Reg. SHO’s stock delivery requirements,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “In effect, they ‘kited’ shares of stock, thus depriving buyers of the benefit of their bargain – prompt delivery of their shares.”

Daniel M. Hawke, Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit, added, “Reg. SHO compliance continues to be a high enforcement priority. Broker-dealers, their employees, and their customers must ensure that they comply with the close-out requirements of the short sale rules and regulations.”

According to the SEC’s order, the misconduct occurred from at least October 2008 to March 2010. In September 2011, optionsXpress became a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation.

The SEC’s Enforcement Division alleges that the sham reset transactions impacted the market for the issuers. For example, from Jan. 1, 2010 to Jan. 31, 2010, optionsXpress customers including Feldman accounted for an average of 47.9 percent of the daily trading volume in one of the securities. In 2009 alone, the optionsXpress customer accounts engaging in the activity purchased approximately $5.7 billion worth of securities and sold short approximately $4 billion of options. In 2009, Feldman himself purchased at least $2.9 billion of securities and sold short at least $1.7 billion of options through his account at optionsXpress.

According to the SEC’s order, by engaging in the alleged misconduct, optionsXpress violated Rules 204 and 204T of Regulation SHO; Feldman willfully violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 10b-21 thereunder; optionsXpress and Stern caused and willfully aided and abetted Feldman’s violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 10b-21 thereunder; and Stern caused and willfully aided and abetted optionsXpress’s violations of Rules 204 and 204T.

In the separate settled administrative proceeding, Bottini, Hoeh, and Strine consented to a cease-and-desist order finding that they caused optionsXpress’s violations of Rules 204 and 204T of Regulation SHO and ordering them to cease-and-desist from committing or causing violations of Rule 204. They neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s findings.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Deborah Tarasevich, Jill Henderson, and Paul Kim. Market Surveillance Specialist Brian Shute, Market Abuse Unit Trading Specialist Ainsley Fuhr, and Financial Economist Michael P. Barnes provided assistance with the investigation. The litigation will be led by Frederick Block.

Source

via CalculatedRisk, some very interesting graphs and stats related to port traffic and exports.

Exclusive: Threats range from governments trying to control citizens to the rise of Facebook and Apple-style ‘walled gardens’.

Dan Norcini is my friend, one of the more savvy people I know in the markets. He has made his living as an off-exchange trader for many years. The concerns he has about the viability of the markets is genuine, and of great importance.

“I think it is entirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether the laws in place are ones that are doing more harm than good in certain places. I personally, and my administration’s position, is that legalization is not the answer,” Obama said at the Summit of the Americas.

Posted by Daniel J. Mitchell

The Laffer Curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between tax rates, tax revenue, and taxable income. It is frequently cited by people who want to explain the common-sense notion that punitive tax rates may not generate much additional revenue if people respond in ways that result in less taxable income.

Unfortunately, some people misinterpret the insights of the Laffer Curve. Politicians, for instance, tend to either pretend it doesn’t exist, or they embrace it with excessive zeal and assume all tax cuts “pay for themselves.”

Read the rest here.

Steven M. Sears

U.S. stock prices seem supported by a “smart-money” put.

Like the Bernanke Put, and the Greenspan Put of yesteryear, the smart-money put can be relied on to prevent stocks from falling too far. A put option offsets declines when associated securities fall, by allowing the owner to sell—”put” in options jargon—them to someone at a preset price.

Unlike the Bernanke and Greenspan puts, the smart-money put is harder to quantify, but it clearly exists, even if it wasn’t minted by a central bank.

Read the rest here.

Charles Rettig

On April 10, 2012 the Internal Revenue Service issued a reminder (IR-2012-45) that taxpayers unable to meet file their 2011 income tax return by the April 17, 2012 deadline, can obtain an automatic six-month tax-filing extension IF REQUESTED ON OR BEFORE APRIL 17, 2012.

The filing date for 2011 tax returns and extensions is April 17 because April 15 falls on a Sunday and Monday, April 16 is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia — a local holiday unfamiliar to many Americans but, by law, District of Columbia holidays are treated like federal holidays when it comes to tax deadlines. As such, the due date for 2011 tax returns and extensions is Tuesday, April 17.

Extensions can be obtained through a paid tax preparer, by using commercially available tax-preparation software, by filing a paper IRS Form 4868 (available at irs.gov) or online thru the “Free File” link on IRS.gov (http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html ). Of the 10.5 million extension forms received by the IRS last year, about 4 million were filed electronically.

Read the rest here.

Four of last week’s five daily trading sessions saw the Dow move by more than a hundred points. The wide fluctuations of the index reminded investors of the unsettling market volatility of last year. In the process, and after a wonderfully strong first quarter, questions multiplied as to whether stocks would again be subject to a mid-year correction.

By looking at the factors behind the recent volatility, including how it played out in different segments of the global markets, you will see that a big part of the answer depends on policymaking here and in Europe — a particularly uncomfortable situation for those who rightly believe that valuations and correlations should reflect underlying fundamentals.

The renewed volatility in stocks was due to conflicting signs of additional central bank liquidity support, both in Europe and the US. By providing time (and hope) for economic and financial fundamentals to heal properly, such support is seen as critical to sustain the recent rally in risk assets.

Yet, in listening to different voices here and across the Atlantic, equity investors come to different conclusions as to whether additional liquidity will indeed be forthcoming.

Read the rest here.

David Carr

ON the last night of February, Arthur Sando was having a drink at the Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge in Los Angeles when a bearded silver-haired man took a seat next to him, ordered a glass of pinot noir and began typing into his BlackBerry.

Mr. Sando quickly realized he was sitting next to Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger and author, and the two began to chat. As with almost any encounter with Mr. Breitbart, the next 90 minutes between the former strangers was punctuated by laughs, some outrageous political assertions and repeated interruptions as Mr. Breitbart checked his smartphone.

“We talked politics, television, college and living in Los Angeles,” Mr. Sando said, adding that Mr. Breitbart had a single glass of wine during the conversation and seemed to be in both good spirits and good health. “He said that conversations like ours were why he liked to go to bars and talk with people who had different political beliefs.”

Mr. Sando paid his tab and left. Not long after, Mr. Breitbart, 43, settled his own bill and apparently headed to the nearby home he shared with his wife, Susie Bean Breitbart, and their four young children. Minutes after exiting the bar, he collapsed in front of a Starbucks like a “sack of potatoes,” one witness said. Paramedics were unable to revive him. Later, his father-in-law, the actor Orson Bean, said that Mr. Breitbart had a history of heart ailments. (A final coroner’s report, with the official cause of death, is expected this month.)

The following morning, Mr. Sando, a marketing executive from Los Angeles whose encounter with Mr. Breitbart was first reported in The Hollywood Reporter, grabbed his iPhone. The first thing he saw was a headline saying Mr. Breitbart had died.

“I thought it was a prank,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “I thought he might have been in the habit of sending fake headlines to people he had encountered with different political opinions.”

It was a common response, particularly among people who knew him well. After a lifetime of pranks, capers and so many people wishing him dead, it would have been just like Mr. Breitbart to stage his own demise.

“I kept thinking, he is going to pull something off here,” said Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, at a memorial held at the Newseum in Washington three weeks later. “He’s going to find out who hates his guts and who loved him, and I kept wanting to hear back, ‘O.K., the gag’s up.’ ”

On the Web, there was a huge outpouring of both invective and grief. Dark, unsubstantiated theories that he was murdered mushroomed immediately, while 24 of his friends used the hashtag #DJBreitbart on Twitter to offer a playlist of his beloved ’80s music. His own Twitter account (which included more than 80 tweets sent on the day before his death) now sits as a frozen memorial.

In the days following the death of Mr. Breitbart, many of his admirers adopted a meme of “I am Breitbart,” and vowed to continue his work. But even though his Web site, run by his business partner and lifelong friend Larry Solov, is fully staffed and unveiled a redesign after his death, there could be no real replacement.

For good or ill (and most would say ill), no one did it like Mr. Breitbart.

Read the rest here.

HOUSTON (CBS Houston) – The evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigations gathered against an alleged Galveston hacker didn’t come from a techno-chase through the expansive Internet. Instead, the FBI used the information embedded in a photograph of his girlfriend’s breasts.