Wait, Why Is J.P. Morgan Chase Mining Gold In Afghanistan?

September 14th, 2012 by John Surico

In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Billey Act. Heralded as the masterpiece of the New Economy, the law stripped away New Deal provisions enumerated in the Glass-Steagall Act and allowed commercial banks to invade the investment sector. Alas, we had the newly created Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and the rest of Wall Street in the American household; years later, this would come to shotgun-spray Lady Liberty back in the face.

However, neither the Gramm-Leach-Bailey nor the Glass-Steagall Acts said anything about banks entering the energy sector; hence why we have gas prices fumbling on the back of a bunch of speculating stock traders. But now, a new chapter has been written in the history of financial energy prop-ups: in their recent cover story on Afghanistan’s trillion-dollar raw material market, the New York Times briefly mentioned that ”an investment consortium arranged by JP Morgan Chase is mining gold.” Think the 1849 Gold Rush in Tora Bora’s backyard, led by the same guys that brought you derivatives. Read more…


Still Shaky In Afghanistan: New Taliban Attacks On Kabul

April 18th, 2012 by Ava Kiai

On Sunday, the Taliban launched an 18-hour-long attack on the Afghan capital of Kabul and several surrounding eastern provinces. The raid of suicide bombers and gunmen left thirty-nine insurgents, eleven security officers and five civilians dead. Scores more were wounded, and meanwhile residents of Kabul and its surrounding neighborhoods are trying to recover from the sudden shock.

The low number of civilian casualties is a small relief amidst a whole lot of confusion and failure on the part of NATO and Afghan security forces. President Hamid Karzai noted the intelligence failure, but commended the handling of the attacks. Read more…