Tax and Spend

Hungary halts plans for internet tax after protests.

Since the Fed ended its bond-buying program, investors can expect negative return on their bonds. Again I say it will be interesting to see how this affects the bond market.

Government employees made $20 billion in secret purchases in recent months.

"The purchases, known among federal employees as “micropurchases,” are made by some of the thousands of agency employees who are issued taxpayer-funded purchase cards. The purchases, in most cases, remain confidential and are not publicly disclosed by the agencies. A sampling of those purchases, obtained by the I-Team via the Freedom of Information Act, reveals at least one agency used those cards to buy $30,000 in Starbucks Coffee drinks and products in one year without having to disclose or detail the purchases to the public.

A series of other recent purchases, reviewed by internal government auditors, include wasteful and inappropriate purchases by government employees -- including a gym membership and JC Penney clothing -- that were not detected or stopped until after the purchase was completed."

Ridiculous.