Free Republic

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold headed on Friday for its biggest weekly gain in a month as equities regained strength after fresh European efforts to resolve the debt crisis eased worries about a global recession, while purchases from jewelers offered additional support. But trading was slow ahead of the release of U.S. non-farm payrolls data for September, which could show the world's largest economy was only growing slowly, and not falling into recession. Gold gained 1 percent to reach an intraday high of $1,665.99 an ounce and stood at $1,659.10 by 0648 GMT, up $9.75. Bullion hit record around $1,920 in...

As you've surely noticed, the Occupy Wall Street Protestors have taken things to another level in the past couple of days. Hundreds have been arrested. They have the power of unions behind them now, which has drawn thousands to protest with them and gotten the attention of big media outlets. And there are two separate movements growing within the protestors. The youth behind the original movement are organized into factions or committees, including legal, medical, and finance, and they are pulling away from association with the union protest movement now. The people behind the original movement recognize that their strength...

A Quinnipiac University Poll released this morning shows that 77 percent of Americans believes the nation is in a recession right now — and 44 percent of Americans believe the economy will only get worse, compared to just 11 percent who believe it will get better. Making matters worse, both of those numbers are near the all-time highs hit in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis.

Jeff Waech is waiting with hundreds of others at a recent jobs fair designed to connect applicants with employers. The line snakes outside the building, around the corner and down the sidewalk at the Dane County Jobs Center on Madison's north side. Those looking for work represent all sexes, races and ages. Some are dressed in suits or skirts; others in jeans or sweats. Included are a former sales manager at a large Madison publishing company and a past city mayoral assistant. What they share is the need for a decent-sized paycheck.Waech explains that he's been out of work for...

On Friday evening, the populist Occupy Wall Street movement that echoes many of the same grievances that brought tens of thousands of protesters to Wisconsin’s Capitol earlier this year will take root in Madison. Characteristically of such grass-roots uprisings, details as to the form Occupy Madison will take are not clear -- but according to its Facebook page, the event begins at 6 p.m. Friday at Reynolds Park, located off East Dayton Street near Lake Mendota. Actions are scheduled to run through Jan. 31.Many say it was only a matter of time before the movement made its way here. Occupy...

(Utilities across the country need more money for grid updates and pollution controls, and are passing the huge bill on to consumers. Laura Colarusso on why electricity bills are rising.) Already weary of high gas prices and 9.1 percent unemployment, many Americans are about to get another kick in the wallet thanks to large increases in their electricity bills.From Alaska to Georgia and Wyoming to Florida, utilities are seeking permission to pass on hundreds of millions of dollars in new charges to customers to help upgrade aging infrastructure and build new or retrofitted power plants that comply with tougher environmental...

The Internet, with all its benefits, has destroyed the American economy. It’s a little theory of mine. Here is how I came to that conclusion… The Lost Decade+ Since 2000, right about the same time the internet started playing a strong role in a global economy, the S&P 500 index has actually declined 20%. That means, if you “invested” all of your money in the S&P 500 12 years ago and pulled it out today, you’d have 20% less than what you started with, excluding any dividends and inflation. Correlation doesn’t always mean causation. But, isn’t it peculiar that we’d...

(The news that BofA customers will soon shoulder a monthly charge for debit purchases sparks outrage — and threats to abandon the bank altogether.) Bank of America, proclaiming that its bottom line is hurt by new legislation that limits how much money banks can charge retailers for the privilege of letting customers pay with debit cards, announced that it will make up for those losses by charging customers a $5 monthly fee. The fee takes effect in 2012 and affects any customer who makes debit purchases. ATM and credit card transactions will remain free. Predictably, the bank's customers are not...

Is the world's cocoa supply in danger? That's what a new study from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) suggests, singling out a familiar culprit: Global warming. The findings [see PDF] reveal that annual temperature increases will hamper the crop-production efforts in West Africa, which currently supplies half of the world's chocolate — at least if preventive measures aren't taken. Here's what you should know: How hot are we talking? The study, which consulted 19 climate-change models, indicates that a mere two degrees Celcius increase by 2050 will render areas like Ghana and the Ivory Coast too hot to...

Madison, WI - Already crowded with big-name candidates, the GOP primary for U.S. Senate may not yet be settled - a Madison native with deep pockets says he's also mulling a run. A candidacy by investor Eric Hovde could possibly follow in the footsteps of the state's two current millionaire U.S. senators, outgoing Democrat Herb Kohl and Republican Ron Johnson. But Hovde could face challenges in repeating that success. Hovde, who recently moved back to Madison after two decades in Washington, D.C., said he wants to see changes with President Barack Obama's economic policies and with the way politicians of...

The Pacific Ocean near the equator is gradually cooling, and that could mean another cold and snowy winter in Wisconsin. Forecasters are predicting another La Niña winter, an unusual occurrence since last winter was also a La Niña. While it's always difficult to predict weather, La Niña winters are noted for below average temperatures and above average snowfall. "One thing that you can usually count on in La Niña winters - the chance of it being milder than average is pretty low,' said Jeff Craven, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service office in Sullivan. "Someone looking to...

A few years ago, Ed Puterbaugh read Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and was inspired to learn to make cheese at home. At the time, he never dreamed it would turn him into a master cheese maker. Puterbaugh, a clinical microbiologist, experimented with making cheese for several years, and last October his hobby became Boone Creek Creamery. It took two years for the state to understand his cheese making process and approve his operation on Palumbo Drive. "The state has never created an environment for artisan cheese makers," he said. There are 1,200 dairy farmers in the state and...

Sometimes, it's hard to figure out what group of people is the most discriminated against in society.For my money, it's the bus riders. In Milwaukee and its surrounding area, the people who depend on buses never seem to get much respect. The threat of drastic budget cuts to the Milwaukee County Transit System prompted County Executive Chris Abele to propose using federal funds to keep from cutting some major bus routes that would have meant hardship for thousands of Milwaukee residents without cars. Abele was responding to a recent study that found proposed transit cuts would have placed 13,553 jobs...

Fans of the cult TV show "Firefly," which features characters who battled an authoritarian government, are targeting the University of Wisconsin-Stout after administrators pulled down a professor's poster quoting a rebellious character from the show.UW-Stout received hundreds of emails from "Firefly" fans after the show's star and a nonprofit self-described individual rights group took up theater professor James Miller's cause. "Firefly" - a program that was part space odyssey, part throwback Western - was canceled after part of one season in 2002, but developed a fan base that prompted a movie and strong sales of DVDs of the show. Miller...

Freshman Republican Ron Johnson says his bid for a GOP leadership post in the Senate after less than a year in office is “not a career move” but an effort to help “set the tone” and “frame the debate” on the spending and deficit issues that drove his 2010 campaign. Johnson announced earlier this month he would run for vice chairman of the GOP conference in the Senate, essentially the number five Republican leadership position. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt has also indicated interest in the post, so Johnson could have stiff competition with a veteran GOP lawmaker when the party’s...

If the teachers union is as wonderful as it claims, then it should have no problem attracting members, without the need to force teachers to join. How is this any different from any other professional organization that teachers, as professionals, may choose to join? It's a question I have been pondering since I became a public school teacher in Wisconsin. For years, I have chosen not to be a member of the union. However, this is a choice I didn't exactly have before Gov. Scott Walker's collective-bargaining bill became law. As a compulsory union state, where teachers are required to...

MAGNOLIA, WI — John Adams can’t see the nearly 3,000 cows on the dairy farm two miles from his Wisconsin home, but when the wind blows he can smell them. The stench gives him and his wife headaches. They blame the big farm for contaminating their air and polluting the groundwater well they use for drinking, bathing and watering their garden. They no longer feel safe eating the vegetables they grow. Adams also blames the state, which requires local governments to grant permits to large farms that meet certain limited criteria, even if there are additional environmental concerns. The rural...

Postal workers and supporters were demonstrating outside offices around the nation last night, including several in Wisconsin. The rallies were aimed at raising awareness of the financial problems facing the U.S. Postal Service.Wisconsin Association of Letter Carriers President Scott Van Derven says they hope to challenge the belief that the Postal Service is broke. When just looking at the cost of moving the mail, Van Derven says the agency actually should be making more than enough to keep running. The problem, Van Derven says, is a requirement for the Postal Service to pre-fund retirement health benefits for future employees. He...

A proposed constitutional amendment could make it easier for Wisconsin school districts and local governments to merge, and enjoy greater efficiencies. One thing standing in the way now is the state’s uniformity clause and the fact that different units of government have different tax levy rates. “They’re both on board, but they have a situation where because of the different levels of equalized values...as well as the actual tax rates themselves, the merger itself becomes impossible,” said Milwaukee Democrat, Representative Josh Zepnick, who cited several instances of proposed mergers that foundered on the rocks of differing tax rates. “This constitutional...

Every year the left-leaning Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies gives two awards -- one domestic and one international -- to what are described as "heroes of the progressive movement." This year, representatives from Madison Teachers Inc. will accept the national Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award on behalf of Wisconsin Progressives involved in demonstrations last spring against anti-union legislation proposed by newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker. IPS describes the protests of Wisconsin workers that brought hundreds of thousands of demonstraters to the Capitol Square as "a challenge to an unjust status quo". The Madison teachers' union is cited for its...