@21:30, 4/13/15

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1

Business Day

Working, but Needing Public Assistance Anyway

By PATRICIA COHEN | Apr 12th 2015

A University of California study finds that taxpayer money is effectively subsidizing employers who pay at or around the minimum wage.

Minimum Wage; Labor and Jobs; Fast Food Industry; Food Stamps; Medicaid 

Low wages are a trap.

2

Business Day

JPMorgan and Wells Fargo Earnings; March Retail Sales

By THE NEW YORK TIMES | Apr 12th 2015

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo on Tuesday will be the first major banks to report first-quarter earnings; the Commerce Department will release the closely watched retail data that day, as well.

Company Reports; United States Economy; Shopping and Retail; Consumer Price Index 

We won't get the corrected numbers for three months.

3

Business Day

Wall Street Banks’ Mutual Funds Can Lag on Returns

By NATHANIEL POPPER | Apr 12th 2015

Most funds run by the four largest Wall Street banks in the business have underperformed their basic benchmarks over the last 10 years, according to a Morningstar analysis.

Banking and Financial Institutions; Mutual Funds; Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates) 

The banks only care about the next report.

Exchange traded funds almost always do ok.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange-traded_fund

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_fund

4

World

Pattern of Safety Lapses Where Group Worked to Battle Ebola Outbreak

By SHERI FINK | Apr 12th 2015

Safety deficiencies at a treatment center staffed by Partners in Health, a charity that pledged to fight Ebola last fall, led to the closure of the center after two clinicians were diagnosed with Ebola.

Ebola Virus; Protective Clothing; Epidemics; Humanitarian Aid 

The casualty rate, though unacceptable, is low.

Partners in Health Care is a volunteer effort aiding incompetent governments dealing with a world class incident.  I will not fault them for supply and maintenance failures not under their control. 

5

N.Y. / Region

For Jurors at Patz Trial, Answer to a Simple Question May Decide Suspect’s Fate

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. | Apr 12th 2015

Both sides are likely to marshal arguments designed to sway the jury on a simple question: Did the defendant, Pedro Hernandez, tell the truth when he confessed to strangling the boy?

Confessions; Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides 

Truth is subjective.

Hernandez believes he did the murder.

6

World

Brazilian Protests Return as Scandals Intensify

By SIMON ROMERO | Apr 12th 2015

For the second time in a month, thousands of protesters marched in cities across Brazil calling for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

Demonstrations, Protests and Riots; Economic Conditions and Trends 

Mob rule is rarely just.

7

U.S.

Emails Reveal Discord Over Blackwater Charges

By MATT APUZZO | Apr 12th 2015

The disagreement foreshadowed an argument that will play out in court on Monday, when four former security contractors are scheduled to be sentenced over a deadly shooting in Iraq in 2007.

Iraq War (2003-11); Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides; Mercenaries and Private Military Contractors; Sentences (Criminal) 

They are convicted of murder.  The sentences should be appropriate.

8

World

Sinai Group Kills Officers in Bombings

By KAREEM FAHIM and MERNA THOMAS | Apr 12th 2015

Egyptian militants with ties to the Islamic State group killed at least 12 people in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Sunday.

Terrorism 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinai_Peninsula

Relief map of Sinai Peninsula.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood

"The attacks were the latest in a series of sophisticated assaults by the militants, carried out across towns that have become the focal point of an insurgency against the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. An Egyptian extremist group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, appeared to claim responsibility for the attacks on Twitter."

9

Business Day

Formal Charges May Be Next in Europe’s Google Antitrust Inquiry

By JAMES KANTER and CONOR DOUGHERTY | Apr 12th 2015

Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s antitrust regulator, is expected to change course with her predecessor and file charges that could hasten a settlement.

Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues; Search Engines 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_%28business%29

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-competitive_practices

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader

Google is an advertising  company.

Internet services are loss leaders.

10

Business Day

Blackstone’s Deal With G.E. Highlights Its Real Estate Holdings

By LANDON THOMAS Jr. | Apr 12th 2015

The transaction shows how the power on Wall Street has shifted since the financial crisis from risk-averse investment banks to asset managers.

Real Estate (Commercial); Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Private Equity 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banking_system

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/a-victory-against-the-shadows/

http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rortybomb/how-end-ge-capital-also-kills-core-conservative-talking-point-about-dodd-frank

11

Opinion

Stereotyping the Deaf

Apr 12th 2015

Letters to the International New York Times.

Deafness; Defense and Military Forces

Galudette  professors are experts in sign language.
Islam is at war with itself and the world as symbolized by Israel and the U.S.

12

Sports

England Cricketers Look to End Off-Field Soap Operas

By HUW RICHARDS | Apr 12th 2015

Jonathan Trott’s return to test cricket from a stress-related illness makes him a winner, but his England teammates also may need help.

Cricket (Game)

I do not know the game.

Adults are by definition responsible for their choices.

Sooner is better.  As soon as you can is best.

13

U.S.

When My Daughter Called Me, Sick, From College, I Got on a Plane

By EILENE ZIMMERMAN | Apr 12th 2015

I know what you’re going to say. Our parents didn’t fly out to save us when we got sick at college.

Colleges and Universities; Parenting; Teenagers and Adolescence

Enjoy.

14

Opinion

Yemen’s President: The Houthis Must Be Stopped

By ABDU RABBU MANSOUR HADI | Apr 12th 2015

My country is besieged by pro-Iranian militias. It is in no nation's interest to let them win.

International Relations

Islam provides no civil legitimacy.

The Saudis control the Hajj
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj

15

U.S.

2 Alabama College Students Charged in Sexual Assault on Florida Beach

By ASHLEY SOUTHALL | Apr 12th 2015

The students were accused of attacking a woman on a beach filled with spring-break revelers who apparently did nothing to stop it, the authorities said.

Sex Crimes; Police

The photographer may be guilty of pornography.
I am not certain what the suspects can be charged with if no complaint was filed and the police were not called to the event.

16

U.S.

A Long Drought on a Long River

Apr 12th 2015

Drought around the nearly 2,000 mile long Rio Grande has dried reservoirs and forced the region to find new water sources.

Water; Drought

All the people quoted in the accompanying article  assume wet times will again be the rule. 
It will rain again.
On average every year will be drier than the year before.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/us/mighty-rio-grande-now-a-trickle-under-siege.html

17

Business Day

Treasury Auctions Set for the Week of April 13

Apr 12th 2015

The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week.

Municipal Bonds; Credit and Debt; Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions

"At the close of the New York cash market on Friday, the rate on the outstanding three-month bill was 0.02 percent. The rate on the six-month issue was 0.10 percent, and the rate on the four-week issue was 0.02 percent."

Free money as in Free Beer.

Rates will not go up if Yellen remains sane.

18

Business Day

Rodale Broadens Its Organic Vision in Rebranded Magazine

By SYDNEY EMBER | Apr 12th 2015

James Oseland, a former longtime editor at Saveur, is introducing Organic Life, a rebranding of Organic Gardening, for Rodale, which is making several moves to stay relevant in the shifting media landscape.

Magazines; Gardens and Gardening; Sustainable Living; Food

There is a market for the product.

19

Opinion

A Father-Daughter War

By ALAN RIDING | Apr 12th 2015

Jean-Marie Le Pen is striking back. Could this bury Marine Le Pen's dream of one day reaching France's presidential palace?

Politics and Government; Anti-Semitism

I cannot defend the National Front of France.

20

U.S.

Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid

By AMY CHOZICK | Apr 12th 2015

The announcement ends two years of speculation and immediately establishes Mrs. Clinton as the likely Democratic nominee.

Presidential Election of 2016; United States Politics and Government; Presidential Election of 2008 

I will vote for her in the general election if I can.
I will have to see her competition in the primaries.

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