France Launches War in Mali in Bid to Secure Resources, Stamp Out National Rights Struggles

France, the former slave power of west Africa, has poured into Mali with a vengeance in a military attack launched on January 11. French warplanes are bombing towns and cities across the vast swath of northern Mali, a territory measuring some one thousand kilometers from south to north and east to west. French soldiers in armoured columns have launched a ground offensive, beginning with towns in the south of the [...]

HOWARD DAVIDOWITZ: Consumers Are In TERRIBLE Shape…And It’s Going To Get Worse!

by Business Insider

Weak data on November retail sales and an earnings miss from Best Buy on Tuesday poured ice-cold water on the whole “strong holiday shopping season” meme.

All the upbeat commentary about Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the like was always specious, according to Howard Davidowitz, CEO of Davidowitz and Associates. Like Barry Ritholtz, Davidowitz says Black Friday data, particularly, can’t be trusted and is annually hyped by the retail industry to encourage consumers to [...]

NEXT: Syria warns against military intervention

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s president said Sunday he was “not worried” about security in his country and warned against any foreign military intervention in a speech designed to portray confidence as the regime comes under blistering international condemnation for its crackdown on dissent.

The remarks by Bashar Assad, who spoke during an interview with state-run television, came just days after the United States and its European [...]

This was at Zero Hedge, and quotes Albert Edwards of Societe General

Everything is being held in mid air by central banks all over the world. It’s a neat magic trick, but the illusion is wearing off. Soon the plates start crashing to the floor.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/albert-edwards-equity-investors-are-vulcan-death-grip-and-are-about-fall-unconscious

“Indeed we know that a central plank of the unhinged policies being pursued by the Fed and other central banks is to use QE to deliberately target higher asset prices. Ben Bernanke in a recent Jackson Hole speech [...]