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“In what could to grow into a class action in US courts, a Chinese woman is suing the Federal Reserve after discovering that the real value of the USD250 she put in an account in 2006 had shrunk by 30%. She claims it was the result of the Fed issuing too much money, and as The South China Morning Post reports, her son Li Zhen, the lawyer, called the lawsuit “litigation for the public good”. Alleging “abuse of monopoly in issuing currency,” the People’s Court of Kunming has yet to rule on the litigants’ demand that the Fed cease-and-desist from its quantitative easing policy. While this may seem frivolous, there are some interesting points being made that bear watching, as Li notes, since “the Fed is private institution which enjoys monopoly over the issuing of currency, US Dollar holders can sue it for printing too much money.”…”

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“Boston official says surveillance footage shows man dropping off bag at blast site

BOSTON (AP) — In what could be a major break in the Boston Marathon case, investigators are on the hunt for a man seen in a department store surveillance video dropping off a bag at the site of the bombings, a local politician said Wednesday.

Separately, a law enforcement official confirmed that authorities have found an image of a potential suspect but don’t know his name.

The development — less than 48 hours after the attack, which left three people dead and more than 170 wounded — marked a possible turning point in a case that has investigators analyzing photos and videos frame by frame for clues to who carried out the twin bombings and why.

City Council President Stephen Murphy, who said he was briefed by Boston police, said investigators saw the image on surveillance footage they got from a department store near the finish line and matched the findings with witness descriptions of someone leaving the scene.

“I know it’s very active and very fluid right now — that they are on the chase,” Murphy said. He added: “They may be on the verge of arresting someone, and that’s good.” …”

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“A massive explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. rocked the small town of West, Texas, late Wednesday night, leaving more than 100 people reported injured and many feared dead.

“It was like a nuclear bomb went off,” said West Mayor Tommy Muska to CNN.

According to Sgt. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police Department, the first call of a fire came in at 7:29 PM local time.  Firefighters and other emergency workers responded to the call and began evacuating the area.

Minutes later, the devastating explosion occured. The first call of the explosion came in at 7:53 PM local time said Swanton.

More than 100 victims have been treated at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco, Texas.  And at least 60 more have been treated at Providence Hospital.

“I will confirm there have been fatalities,” said Swanton who estimated 5 to 15 were thought to be dead.

Swanton also said that between 3 and 5 firefighters were missing.

There were a “tremendous amount of injuries and we do have confirmed fatalities,” said D.L. Wilson, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Safety at a conference late Wednesday night, He was not able to provide specific numbers.

The blast was so massive that it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake, according to the USGS.

Wilson said the aftermath resembled a war zone….”

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“BOSTON—Authorities investigating the Boston Marathon blasts that killed three and injured more than 175 believe the two bombs were assembled from household pressure cookers, a crude but effective explosive that has been thwarted before in U.S. terror plots.

Investigators are exploring whether the bombs were assembled not far from the scene of Monday’s horrific explosions since transporting such improvised devices over any significant distance could trigger a premature detonation, according to a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the matter.

Working with local police, federal agents are canvassing Boston hotels and short-term rentals for clues on where the bombs could have been constructed, the official said.

More than 24 hours after the attacks, no one had claimed responsibility and no suspect had been identified.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel, have been scrutinizing passenger lists from flights that had recently arrived at Boston’s Logan Airport for clues, the official said.

Among the injured, more than 20 were in critical condition, hospitals said. Thirteen people had to have limbs amputated.

The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard of Boston’s Dorchester section, whose mother and sister were seriously injured; 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, a restaurant manager from Medford, Mass.; and a Boston University graduate student whose identity wasn’t released. The Chinese Consulate, however, said a female Chinese citizen had died in the attack…..”

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“President Barack Obama  called the Boston Marathon explosions an “act of terror” Tuesday, addressing members of the press one day after the fatal Boston Marathon explosions that killed 3 people and injured more than 170.

“We still do not know who did this or why,” Obama said Monday. “And people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

Although he avoided using the word “terror,” a White House official later characterized the explosions as an “act of terror.” ….”

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“The chief executives of the three largest stock exchanges are joining forces for the first time to push regulators to rein in the increasing amount of trading that is moving off public exchanges and onto platforms like so-called dark pools.

The leaders of the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and BATS Global Markets, the third largest exchange operator, are planning to meet on Tuesday with officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people briefed on the meeting.

The officials will be pushing regulators to step up their oversight of private trading platforms such as dark pools, which are generally owned by banks and allow investors to trade out of the public eye, the people said. As the amount of trading taking place away from the public exchanges has grown rapidly, regulators have been examining whether dark pools create an uneven playing field for some investors.

The exchanges have been relatively restrained in publicly criticizing off-exchange trading because the banks that run the dark pools are also among the largest customers of the exchanges. Cooperation among the exchanges has also been difficult because of their fierce competition…”

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