Corruption

• Europe shares set for worst week of 2015 (Reuters)
• Jobs Report Not Likely to Trigger June Rate Hike (Hilsenrath)
• U.S. jobs market seen firming despite lackluster growth (Reuters)
• Gross Says Bond Rout Scary as Hell Even Without Bear Market (BBG)
• Apple Is the New Pimco, and Tim Cook Is the New King of Bonds (BBG), which ZH said in 2013
• In 'year of Apple Pay', many top retailers remain skeptical (Reuters)
• OPEC Nations Signal Few Prospects for Oil-Production Change (BBG)
• China regulator says amending rules on margin trading, short selling  (Reuters)

In fact, the most despicable forms of tyranny are often the most subtle; the kinds of tyranny in which the oppressed are deluded into thinking that because they have “choices”, that necessarily makes them “free”.

How can you measure happiness? The mental or emotional state, the smiley well-being feeling that is so individual and yet we measure happiness, we study it, we analyze it, we even celebrate it on March 20th every year, but what is it?

Paper Propaganda

With The FBI now reportedly investigating the award of The Soccer World Cup to Qatar and Russia, it appears, as Mises' Lew Rockwell exclaimed, "FIFA has got to change its name, it’s going to have to take out the “I” and put in an “A” for American." This sudden act of imperialism by The US, putting itself in charge of world soccer, as Paul Craig Roberts notes, it "is another Washington-British scam against Russia," adding "law is a weapon that Washington uses to achieve its agenda." What happens next? As we predicted a week ago - following some dramatic procedural changes, Russia loses the hosting of the 2018 World Cup.

There's Always Been Some Corruption in the U.S. ... But Never Like THIS

According to Bloomberg, six Nigerian central bankers were charged with fraud in an 8 billion naira ($40.2 million with an m, not a b, not a tr) currency "scam." No chat rooms here, just a plain old "mega scam involving the theft and recirculation of defaced and mutilated currencies,” the Abuja-based Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said in a statement dated Sunday on its website.  In addition to the central bankers, among those charged are also sixteen commercial bankers who conspired with Central Bank of Nigeria regional executives.

Following overnight news that yet another former FIFX executive, this time Jerome Valcker, former top deputy to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, may be involved in the latest money laundering and corruption scandal, one involving a $10 million transfer of funds, which has been presented as an alleged payment of bribes over South Africa's bid to host the 2010 World Cup, moments ago the FIFA president announced he would hold an imprompty press conference. Will Blatter finally announced his resignation? Find out now.

The reason why "investing" in the economy in the form of government spending always, without fail, leads to adverse results and negative returns, is because unlike the private sector, there are neither checks and balances, nor punishment if one fails at their job. Case in point, the much maligned Transportation Security Administration, aka the TSA, best known for groping women and infants at airport checkpoints is about to be even more maligned because according to an exclusive report from ABC, TSA screeners failed ailed to detect mock explosives and weapons in 95% of tests carried out by undercover agents.

At some point in the middle of the last century, economics of money shifted to economics of psychology. Abenomics is the perfect example of this faith-based policy. The Japanese economy, to any clear mind, took a huge turn for the worst under Abenomics yet its practitioners are still, somehow, given the final word on judging its performance, meaning that the mainstream still, somehow, subscribes to the religion.

Corruption Is Destroying Basic Science

• Senate lets NSA spy program lapse, at least for now (Reuters)
• Draghi Deflation Relief Means Little With Greek Threat Unsolved (BBG)
• Tepid factory data add to Asian gloom (FT)
• Citigroup Likely to Close Banamex USA (WSJ)
• Frugality of High Earners in U.S. Shows Long Shadow of Recession (BBG)
• Greece’s Tsipras Warns Bell May Toll for Europe (BBG)
• Carnegie Mellon Reels After Uber Lures Away Researchers (WSJ)
• Romário leads drive for Brazilian probe into Fifa (FT)
• Faster than China? India's road, rail drive could lay doubts to rest (Reuters)

Following today's "successful" vote confirming Sepp Blatter's 5th term running the farce called FIFA, and amid soccer's governing body being investigated by US and Swiss authorities over claims of corruption, we thought a summary of just where the money comes from and (apart from the $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to 14 executives) where it goes for the Swiss-based entity...