By Liam Halligan, Economic Agenda 7:40PM BST 29 Oct 2011 As someone who works in financial services, I follow the markets – in the West, across Asia and the entire world – closer than most. Since the Bear Stearns collapse in March 2008, through the demise of Lehman Brothers and its ghastly aftermath, much of [...]

By Andrew Gilligan, in Damascus 8:43PM BST 29 Oct 2011 In his first interview with a Western journalist since Syria‘s seven-month uprising began, President Assad told The Sunday Telegraph that intervention against his regime could cause “another Afghanistan”. Western countries “are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely,” he said. “But Syria is different in [...]

Oct 29, 2011 Iran on Saturday dismissed a renewed US offer of dialogue by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,saying the “contradictions” of pursuing talks at the same time as threats undermined the proposal. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi made the comment at a joint media conference in Tehran with the visiting leader of the autonomous [...]

The immigration crackdown has created labor shortages. Oct 29, 2011 WSJ A labor problem is stalking parts of the U.S. economy, and we don’t mean the awful 9.1% unemployment rate. It’s a labor shortage, and a major cause is the crackdown on illegal immigration. Even with high joblessness overall, shortages exist at both the high- [...]

‘ObamaCare’ has become the great unmentionable. Oct 29, 2011 WSJ Good policies are sometimes unpopular, and everybody knows that bad ones are too often very popular, which helps explain the habits of modern Washington. So it’s more than a little gratifying when the political class’s worst choices earn the public scorn they deserve, as seems [...]

Three years later, will Obama’s victory site become an Obamaville? Oct 28, 2011 WSJ By JAMES TARANTO New York’s Zuccotti Park, site of the so-called Occupy Wall Street protest, is getting most of the attention, but Obamavilles have sprung up all over the country. As The Wall Street Journal notes in an editorial today, “in [...]

President Obama’s western campaign swing this week demonstrated the enduring influence of the politics of Reagan. Oct 28, 2011 WSJ By JAMES FREEMAN Barack Obama may have dreamed of being the liberal Ronald Reagan, a transformative president who could build a consensus for larger government just as Reagan did for smaller government. And after enacting [...]

Oct 29, 2011 Bill O’Reilly According to a new poll by The Hill newspaper, 69 percent of Americans now believe the USA is in “decline.” In addition, a whopping 83 percent indicate they are worried about America’s future. Very sobering. So what’s going on? If you study history, you know that America was built on [...]

Oct 29, 2011 Katie Hicks The White House is about to get served. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will vote next week on whether or not to deliver a subpoena to the Obama administration regarding sensitive documents pertaining to Solyndra.   GOP Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Cliff Stearns of Florida said the [...]

Oct 29, 2011 Katie Pavlich Attorney General Eric Holder is feeling the heat, not only from reporters inquiring about his role in Operation Fast and Furious, but from Congress. At this point, eight members have called for his resignation.  -Rep. Joe Walsh -Rep. Raul Labrador -Rep. Vicky Hartzler -Rep. John Mica -Rep. Paul Gosar -Rep. [...]