Secret Federal Reserve System data released December 1 reveals that the banking cartel (the Fed and its member banks) bailed itself out to the tune of more than $10 trillion in “emergency” funds, with trillions more going to line the pockets of big European and foreign banks.

After losing billions during the economic crisis, bloated benefits of state and local government-employee pension plans across America have been thrust into the spotlight as officials consider the tough reforms necessary to ensure their funds’ continued existence.  

The Federal Reserve lost an appeal March 19 in a bid to keep hidden the details of its estimated $2 trillion in bailouts to bankers around the world, prompting celebration among anti-Fed campaigners and promises of a continued fight from the banking cartel.

The real number of unemployed in the United States is far more than the federal government’s official count and the recovery could be long and tenuous, a Federal Reserve official told the Chattanooga, Tennessee, Area Chamber of Commerce last week in a speech that received some media attention.

Last week, the Obama administration revealed the 48 recipients of $2.4 billion in federal grant money supposedly designed to stimulate domestic production of batteries and other "green" car components while saving or creating jobs. But critics are already blasting the handouts, calling them politically biased, useless, and even unconstitutional.

With plunging advertising revenue across the industry, McGraw-Hill is reportedly putting BusinessWeek up for sale. The company said only that it is exploring “strategic options” for the magazine so far, but according to sources cited in Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, investment bank Evercore Partners Inc., has been hired to facilitate the sale.

As the Internal Revenue Service continues its hunt for tax dodgers, Swiss banks are refusing to open accounts for Americans and closing the ones that already exist. The tax collectors aim to recover an estimated $50 billion in unpaid taxes by pressuring Americans to voluntarily declare offshore accounts by September 23 — or face possible criminal prosecution and fines. 

Economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of U.S. government finances in disarray and out-of-control entitlement spending in a report published earlier this month, predicting a bleak future of significantly higher taxes for Americans even with less government spending.

The high-profile international-business editor of the U.K. Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, shocked and pleased readers with an apology for his past support of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, its chairman, and its policies.  

Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke told Congress this week that despite not having any imminent plans to further “support” the economy, the central bank was “considering all options” to fight unemployment and could “step into new areas” because the alleged recovery remains “unusually uncertain.”