Bitcoin Tops $1,000 as Virtual Money Gains Popularity

The price of Bitcoin surpassed $1,000 on the Mt. Gox online exchange, fueled by speculators snapping up the virtual currency as it gains wider acceptance.

Bitcoins, which exist as software and aren’t regulated by any country or banking authority, surged to a record $1,073 today, up more than 80-fold from a year earlier.

The currency has rallied on growing interest from investors in China and the U.S., while merchants are starting to accept Bitcoins for everything from Gummi bears to tuition fees.

The virtual currency gained credibility this month after law enforcement and securities agencies said in U.S. Senate hearings that Bitcoin could be a legitimate means of exchange.

The rally had gathered steam last month after regulators shut down the Silk Road Hidden Website, where people could obtain guns, drugs and other illicit goods using Bitcoins. That generated optimism the digital money would become more widely used for legal purposes.

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A decade of slow growth?

By Fareed Zakaria From: Cnn.com:

Every year at Davos, people like me try to get a sense of the mood of the place, take the temperature of people in this frosty mountain resort.

Obviously, I will give you a highly impressionistic and personal picture, but it’s one I find useful since Davos does bring together leaders in government, business, media – even the NGO community – from all corners of the world. It is genuinely global in a way that few conferences are...

FULL STORY

Bloomberg: The Fiscal Cliff Will Drive the U.S. Into Recession

House Speaker John Boehner says he was "flabbergasted" when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner pitched the White House plan to save the nation from the "fiscal cliff." FULL STORY

6 Ways The Fiscal Cliff Could Affect You

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke used the term "fiscal cliff," it quickly became the newest Washington buzzphrase.

As the deadline to avert the cliff nears, it has overtaken the European debt crisis as the most talked-about story in the financial media.

The fiscal cliff refers to the enactment of a number of laws that would, if not changed before Jan. 1, 2013.

The U.S. Recovery Has Been Spectacular*

We need a real recovery. That's what Mitt Romney said during the campaign, and he was right. Five years since the start of the Great Recession, unemployment is still far too high. It's not for a lack of optimism among policymakers. As Evan Soltas pointed out, the Federal Reserve keeps predicting that prosperity is just around the corner, only to find it's not. Catchup growth is the new Godot. FULL STORY *Compared to almost every other rich country and almost every other financial crisis.

Fiscal cliff would drive the U.S. economy back into recession.

Fiscal cliff would drive the U.S. economy back into recession before end of 2013, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office said. Congressional Budget Office released a report showing that the most harmful consequences of the fiscal cliff, a fully armed and operational fiscal cliff would cost us 3.4 million jobs. Obama Fiscal Cliff Deal Risks Brush With Recession

Killer Charles Manson: “Obama Slave of Wall Street..”

President Barack Obama is "a slave of Wall Street," the diminutive cult leader said by telephone..

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com

What Happens If Steve Jobs Leaves?

Yesterday, it was announced that Apple does indeed have a succession plan, but it won't be made public, for fear that the company could see executives being..

Source: www.benzinga.com

Zynga Valuation Rises to Over $7 Billion

Social-gaming company Zynga Inc. is holding discussions with potential investors about raising around $250 million in new funding in a deal that could value the three-year-old start-up..

Source: www.online.wsj.com

No Quarter on Sales for Teen Retail .

What investors don't know can't hurt them. At least that is the pitch from retailers that have scrapped monthly sales reports...

Source: www.wsj.com

Wall Street ends higher with resources stocks

Stocks closed higher on Friday, extending their rally amid gains in the resources sector after data in China showed a pick-up in manufacturing activity...

Asian stocks rise as China manufacturing jumps

Asian stock markets rose Friday as stronger growth in China's manufacturing suggested the world's No. 2 economy isn't slowing as sharply as feared.

Economy 101: Who benefits from new banking rules?

At the core of an international agreement to head off future financial meltdowns is a requirement that banks keep more....

Millions of documents slow Madoff employee case

Lawyers for three alleged cohorts of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff say the case is mired in a mountain of potential evidence. The paper trail...