Saudi Arabia’s stock market lost $1.1 billion in foreign investments last week

The Saudi Arabian economy took a decisive hit last week as foreign investors sold off a reported $1.1 billion in Saudi-owned stocks last week. According to Reuters, this is the single largest sell-off since the country began allowing foreigners to purchase Saudi stock in 2015. Experts agree that the dumping of the Gulf state’s stocks […]

Trump Administration, citing subsidy to China, withdraws from Universal Postal Union

According to Reuters, the Trump Administration began the yearlong process of withdrawing from the Universal Postal Union on Wednesday, arguing that the organization costs the United States millions each year with its subsidies to foreign shippers. Established in 1874 with the Treaty of Berne, the Universal Postal Union is now an agency of the United […]

US budget deficit swells to largest level in six years

The Associated Press (AP) reports the federal budget deficit swelled to $779 billion in FY 2018, the largest level since 2012 and 17 percent higher than FY 2017.  Additionally, the Treasury Department forecasts the deficit will increase again in FY 2019, to over $1 trillion—the first time since 2012 the federal deficit would top the […]

Fed wisely continues rate hikes amid criticism from President Trump

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the September 25-26 quarterly meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).  The summary showed that officials anticipate the meeting’s (quarter percent) rate hike to the central bank’s benchmark federal funds rate target to be followed by another increase at the end of the year, and […]

Did the 2013 budget cuts kill 133 troops over 5 years?

This week, a U.S. Air National Guardsman and a Ukrainian pilot were killed when an Su-27UB Flanker-C fighter crashed in Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi region during Exercise Clear Sky. The accident was one of a series of crashes largely caused by aging US air cargo. A feature article by Air Force Times writer Steve Losey, and Tara […]

Saudi retaliation to potential US sanctions could further sink tech stocks

Early this week, in an interview with 60 Minutes, President Donald Trump remained noncommittal about whether he would impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia as punishment for the alleged killing of Saudi-born Washington Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  The President cited concerns over the economic impact of cancelling arms sales to the Kingdom, and other measures, saying, […]

Cryptocurrency owners beware: Cryptocrime is real and hard to prosecute

As the popularity of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin grows, so do the number of users who are falling victim to cyber crimes and losing their investments. According to a report from Reuters, these crimes are not only hard to prove, but its oftentimes not clear which agency has the jurisdiction to investigate in […]

Department of Treasury employee arrested for leaking documents to Buzzfeed reporter

Natalie May Edwards, a US Department of Treasury employee assigned to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), was arrested by federal law enforcement on Wednesday. According to a press release from US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman’s office, Edwards is being charged with “one count of unauthorized disclosures of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and one count […]