tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20791953041174694522024-02-19T01:50:12.694-08:00Going To The TapeHCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-2633883796402580722013-02-11T05:10:00.005-08:002013-02-11T05:10:53.816-08:00Argentina's Financial Collapse - Past Is PrologueThe following rather stunning documentary provides a critical insight into what Europe (and Argentina once again) could well be progressing towards. There is a reason we highlight the 'scariest chart in Europe' as that of youth unemployment and with the central banks printing money at ever increasing paces and the next round of global competitive devaluation beginning, the debt slaves will suffer ever more. In 2001, Argentina collapsed; after many years of apathy in the country, the insurrection exploded. As TopDocumentary notes, the spontaneous revolt of 'faceless' people meant saucepans were being banged in every neighborhood.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-10/argentinas-financial-collapse-past-prologue">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-10/argentinas-financial-collapse-past-prologue</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-71752018719168881552012-10-19T02:51:00.000-07:002012-10-19T02:51:12.853-07:00Guest Post: Should Central Banks Cancel Government Debt?Readers may recall that Ron Paul once surprised everyone with a seemingly very elegant proposal to bring the debt ceiling wrangle to a close. If you're all so worried about the federal deficit and the debt ceiling, so Paul asked, then why doesn't the treasury simply cancel the treasury bonds held by the Fed? After all, the Fed is a government organization as well, so it could well be argued that the government literally owes the money to itself. He even introduced a bill which if adopted, would have led to the cancellation of $1.6 trillion in federal debt held by the Fed.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-18/guest-post-should-central-banks-cancel-government-debt">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-18/guest-post-should-central-banks-cancel-government-debt</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-39690159939590695502012-10-15T05:03:00.001-07:002012-10-15T05:03:18.734-07:00Money is a "social convention"A few weeks ago we noted Bundesbank president and ECB governing council member Jens Weidmann's analogy between the Faustian bargain offered by a money-printing Mephistopheles in Goethe's classic prose and today's ubiquitous oh-so-tempting short-term solution to everyone's pain. His full speech (below), while a little dramatic, should indeed strike fear into many with its clarity. The financial power of a central bank is unlimited in principle; it does not have to acquire beforehand the money it lends or uses for payments. Many believe Goethe was portraying the modern economy with its creation of paper money as a continuation of alchemy by other means. While traditional alchemists attempted to turn lead into gold, in the modern economy, paper was made into money. Indeed, the fact that central banks can create money out of thin air, so to speak, is something that many observers are likely to find surprising and strange, perhaps mystical and dreamlike, too – or even nightmarish. Of course, Weidmann concludes, it is important that central bankers, who are in charge of a public good – in this case, stable money – bolster public confidence by explaining their policies. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-14/ecbs-weidmann-gold-money-social-convention">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-14/ecbs-weidmann-gold-money-social-convention</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-34801419997168482462012-09-24T13:17:00.000-07:002012-09-24T13:17:16.931-07:00Guest Post: QE For the People - What Else Could We Buy With $29 Trillion?<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-09-24/guest-post-qe-people-what-else-could-we-buy-29-trillion">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-09-24/guest-post-qe-people-what-else-could-we-buy-29-trillion</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-18763940049647830472012-09-24T05:16:00.001-07:002012-09-24T05:16:08.562-07:00Forget Euro and Pound - What About Local Currencies?<br />
German Chancellor Angela Merkel maybe be trying her utmost to keep
Greece in the euro, but a high school teacher from Bavaria may have
found a better solution and is pitching the idea to Greek politicians.<br /><br />Economics
teacher, Christian Gelleri, started a local currency in 2003 with his
students in the small town of Prien am Chiemsee, around 50 miles south
of Munich. The currency has performed so well that on Wednesday he was
invited to travel to the Greek region of Macedonia to show local
politicians how it could keep <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/49029311">them from leaving the euro</a>.<br /><br />"We
see complementary local currencies as an answer to balance differences
between regions within a currency zone," he told CNBC.com. "We have very
big differences in the euro zone when you compare a region like Munich
with Thessaloniki [in Greece]."<br /><br />His idea doesn't stop at <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/48893471">Greece</a> and he believes it could prevent the euro zone break up in the long run.<br /><br />The
idea is called "express money" that would be issued by governments. It
would have fast circulation with a 2 percent levy for hoarding notes
with a 10 percent charge for conversion into euros. A supporting
document co-written by Gelleri reminds readers that doubling monetary
velocity, doubles gross national product.<br /><br />He recommends a complementary currency on a national level in Greece and even if they did <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/49060078">break from the euro</a>, he believes that local currencies could be used alongside the drachma to strengthen poorer areas.<br /><br />And Gelleri has plenty of experience, the currency he created - the Chiemgauer - will celebrate its 10-year jubilee next year.<br /><br />"With
a turnover of 6 million euros last year and a growth rate of 20 percent
we see a continuous and very positive development," he said.<br /><br />The
amount of local currencies across Europe has now reached 104, all of
which are listed on complementarycurrency.org. This week Bristol, a city
in southwest England, launched the latest of these - the Bristol Pound.<br />
The project is backed by the Bristol Pound Community Interest Company
who initially set the exchange rate which is simply one-to-one with the
pound sterling.<br /><br />A secure printing firm creates the notes, seven
main outlets then issues them and 350 independently owned businesses in
the region will be accepting them in the coming weeks. They hope 1000
businesses will sign up to the scheme by the end of the first year.<br /><br />A
business consultant who lives in the area, Ross Parker, isn't so keen
on the idea saying it won't change people's spending habits or the
amount of money they have.<br />
"The Bristol Pound is linked to the U.K. pound, and neither the
Bristol Pound, nor other local currencies would survive without such a
link," he told CNBC.com. "There is no reason why people would trust
their local council to stand behind any currency if they can't trust
their central bank."<br /><br />Dr Gill Seyfang, an academic from the
University of East Anglia in the U.K., who lectures on sustainable
consumption, has a more positive outlook for the Bristol Pound.<br /><br />She
sees it as being more professionally-organized, more useful and better
marketed than previous attempts. There's a clear reason why these local
currencies are appearing according to Seyfang.<br /><br />"As people find
that more of their needs are simply not met by national (and
international) currencies, then naturally people look to new, innovative
financial solutions," she told CNBC.com.<br /><br />"These initiatives always spring up in times of economic <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/43842704">recession</a>," she said, citing the "stamp scrip" that begun in the American state of Iowa during the 1930s Great Depression.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/forget-euro-pound-turning-local-102733250.html">http://finance.yahoo.com/news/forget-euro-pound-turning-local-102733250.html</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-74021000335516367682012-09-20T13:53:00.001-07:002012-09-20T13:53:31.723-07:00$62.7 Trillion In Net Worth: Here Is The Latest US Household Balance Sheet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/Q2%20households_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/Q2%20households_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Moments ago, the Fed released its <a href="http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/z1.pdf">latest Z.1</a>, aka the Flow of Funds, which is the primary source of information of that one component of modern finance which all modern e<i>con</i>omists
continue resolutely to ignore because it blows all their anachronistic
theories on monetary theory out of the water: shadow banking data. But
more on that later. for now, here is the graphic summary of that most
important of conventional data points updated every quarter: the US
household balance sheet, and specifically the net worth of the US
consumer, which in Q2 declined from a 4 year high of $63 trillion to
$62.7 trillion, on a $900 billion drop in financial assets, offset by a
$400 billion hike in real estate assets. Most importantly, and the
reason why to the CTRL-P operator the only thing that matters is the
stock market, of a total of $76.1 trillion in assets, only $24.2
trillion are tangible: i.e., real estate and durable goods. The
remainder, $51.9 trillion or 68.2% of total, is Financial assets. It is
this number that is the sole target of Bernanke's "monetary policy" and
which must be inflated at any and all cost.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/627-trillion-net-worth-here-latest-us-household-balance-sheet">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/627-trillion-net-worth-here-latest-us-household-balance-sheet</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-80352288512254777362012-09-13T15:39:00.001-07:002012-09-13T15:39:22.233-07:00Steve Keen: New Zealand Seminar: Schumpeter, Minsky & Endogenous MoneySteve Keen: This is probably the most detailed seminar I have given on my views on monetary macroeconomics. I begin with the data that, back in December 2005, led me to expect that a huge economic crisis was imminent: the ratio of private debt to GDP. Then I explain why this ratio matters, in contrast to the arguments that Neoclassical economists put that only the distribution of debt matters. This takes me through the empirical data, the theories of Schumpeter and Minsky, and the mathematics needed to prove that “aggregate demand equals income plus the change in debt” is correct, and that this does not involve double-counting. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2012/09/12/new-zealand-seminar-schumpeter-minsky-endogenous-money/">http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2012/09/12/new-zealand-seminar-schumpeter-minsky-endogenous-money/</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-51421836484964092862012-09-13T13:34:00.001-07:002012-09-13T13:34:50.164-07:00 Bernanke Advocates Blowing Asset Bubbles As The Antidote To Depression<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/CTRL%20p_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/CTRL%20p_0.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote>
<div class="quote_start">
</div>
<div class="quote_end">
</div>
<strong>QUESTION</strong>: My question is -- I want to go back to
the transmission mechanism, because speaking to people on the sidelines
of the Jackson Hole conference, that seemed to be the concern about the
remarks that you made, is that they could clearly see the effect on
rates and they could see the effect on the stock market, but they
couldn't see how that had helped the economy.<br />
<br />
<strong>So I think there's a fear that over time this has been a
policy that's helping Wall Street, but not doing that much for Main
Street</strong>. So could you describe in some detail, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>how does it really different -- differ from trickle-down economics</strong></span>, <strong>where you just pump money into the banks and hope that they lend?</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>BERNANKE</strong>: Well, we are -- this is a Main Street
policy, because what we're about here is trying to get jobs going. We're
trying to create more employment. We're trying to meet our maximum
employment mandate, so that's the objective. Our tools involve -- I
mean, the tools we have involve affecting financial asset prices, and
that's -- those are the tools of monetary policy.<br />
<br />
There are a number of different channels -- mortgage rates, I mentioned other interest rates, corporate bond rates, <strong>but also the prices of various assets</strong>,
like, for example, the prices of homes. To the extent that home prices
begin to rise, consumers will feel wealthier, they'll feel more -- more
disposed to spend. If house prices are rising, people may be more
willing to buy homes because they think that they'll, you know, make a
better return on that purchase. So house prices is one vehicle.<br />
<br />
<strong>Stock prices </strong>-- many people own stocks directly or indirectly. <strong>The issue here is whether or not improving asset prices generally will make people more willing to spend.</strong><br />
<br />
One of the main concerns that firms have is there's not enough demand. <strong>There
are not enough people coming and demanding their products. And if
people feel that their financial situation is better because their
401(k) looks better or for whatever reason -- their house is worth more
-- they're more willing to go out and spend, and that's going to provide
the demand that firms need in order to be willing to hire and to
invest.</strong><br />
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/punchline-his-own-words-bernanke-advocates-blowing-asset-bubbles-antidote-depression">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/punchline-his-own-words-bernanke-advocates-blowing-asset-bubbles-antidote-depression</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-7031316756277380832012-09-11T11:37:00.002-07:002012-09-11T11:37:57.031-07:00Jailed UBS Employee Gets $104 Million From IRS For Exposing Swiss Bank Account HoldersJust in case there wasn't enough excitement and fury directed at Swiss
bank account holders, which continue to dominate the presidential
election "debate" above such mundane topics as the economy, or, say,
reality, here comes the IRS, which as we noted yesterday collected $192
billion less than the government spent in the month of August alone, and
have awarded <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Birkenfeld">Bradely Birkenfeld</a>,
a former UBS employee who in 2008 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
defraud the United States and was sentenced in 2009 to 40 months in
prison, but received preferential whistleblower status after a prior
arrangement to expose numerous Americans with Swiss bank accounts, <em>has just been awarded $104 million</em>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/jailed-ubs-employee-gets-104-million-irs-exposing-swiss-bank-account-holders">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/jailed-ubs-employee-gets-104-million-irs-exposing-swiss-bank-account-holders</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-88437649616677925522012-09-11T04:02:00.002-07:002012-09-11T04:02:34.546-07:002050 Years Of Global GDP History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/US%20GDP%202050_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/US%20GDP%202050_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The chart shows 2050 years of relative global GDP, during which
there was a surprisingly flat distribution of the major economic
powers: China, India, and the "West", at least until the mid-1800s, when
the "Western" Golden Age began primarily courtesy of the industrial
revolution, followed by the arrival of the Fed and virtually endless
leverage (i.e., borrowing from the future until such time as no more
debt capacity remains at either the public or private sectors), only to
end in the late 1900s when the marginal balance of power shifted back to
Asia, which became the next nexus of debt accumulation (see our earlier
post on <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/next-great-recoupling">The Great Recoupling </a>for some additional perspectives).<br />
<br />
And while the chart, from Deutsche Bank and PWC, attempts to predict
the next 40 years of relative GDP distribution by eventually regressing
back to the the long-term trendline, we feel that this is quite an
optimistic assumption for a world in which virtually every "developed"
country is insolvent, begs for China to ease whenever western inflation
sends gas prices soaring making reelection of the incumbent impossible,
and is reliant on the indefinite continuation of the USD's reserve
status to preserve the last traces of western superiority (not to
mention cheap funding of $-trillion deficits as far as the eye can see).<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2050-years-global-gdp-history">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2050-years-global-gdp-history</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-42953856066491917372012-09-04T06:17:00.002-07:002012-09-04T06:17:23.262-07:00803 Years Of Global Inflation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08-2/Inflation%20800%20years_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08-2/Inflation%20800%20years_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Spot the point in this 803 year timeline of world inflation, when the Fed was created.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/chart-day-803-years-global-inflation">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/chart-day-803-years-global-inflation</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-86444334859350524912012-08-31T04:36:00.002-07:002012-08-31T04:36:30.295-07:00As Bank Profits Plunged In 2011, Banker Bonuses... RoseIt will come as no surprise to many but everyone's favorite enemy <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%231">#1</a>, the US banker, decided to give himself a well-earned pay-rise in 2011 - according to data from Moody's Analytics (<a href="http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/blogs/greg-david-on-ny/2012/08/scoop-wall-st-pay-rose-in-2011/">via Crain's</a>).
What is perhaps a little more surprising is the sheer gall of it given
that the financial industry profits plunged over 70% from $27.6bn in
2010 to a mere $7.7bn in 2011. While the rise in salaries is not large,
and the average man on the street actually saw a bigger rise, the
critical point is that <strong>for two years in a row - from 2009 to
2010, and now from 2010 to 2011 - banking industry profits have dropped
like a stone but the average salary of those oh-so-deserving
'Wall-Street'ers has risen</strong>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bank-profits-plunged-2011-banker-bonuses-rose">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bank-profits-plunged-2011-banker-bonuses-rose</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-29198163293303994692012-08-28T05:40:00.006-07:002012-08-28T05:40:48.426-07:00Spain's Scariest Chart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08-2/Spain%20GS%203_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08-2/Spain%20GS%203_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Up until now, the title of "<em><strong>Spain's scariest chart</strong></em>"
belonged to one depicting its youth (and general) unemployment, both of
which are so off the charts it is not even funny (especially to those
millions of Spaniards who are currently unemployed). As of today we have
a contender for joint ownership of said title - Spain's monthly deposit
outflows, which in July hit the highest amount ever, and where the YTD
deposit outflow is now the highest on record. One look at the chart
below confirms that nobody in Spain got the June 29 Euro summit memo
that "Europe is fixed"...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/chart-day-spain-real-pain-may-be-just-beginning">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/chart-day-spain-real-pain-may-be-just-beginning</a><br />
<br />HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-17472832558446478322012-08-28T05:35:00.001-07:002012-08-28T05:35:29.466-07:00Spain's Economic Collapse Results In Whopping 5% Deposit Outflow In July<blockquote>
<div class="quote_start">
</div>
<div class="quote_end">
</div>
<strong>A rush by consumers and firms to pull their money out of
Spanish banks intensified in July, with private sector deposits falling
almost 5 percent as Spain was sucked into the centre of the euro zone
debt crisis.</strong><br />
<br />
Private-sector deposits at Spanish banks fell to 1.509 trillion euros at end-July from 1.583 trillion in the previous month.<br />
<br />
However, in a more positive sign, Greek banks stopped bleeding
deposits in July after June elections decreased the worst fears of the
country dropping out of the common currency bloc, European Central Bank
data showed on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
Speculation about Greece possibly quitting the euro was intense in
May when anti-bailout parties saw a strong showing in elections, but the
Greek central bank said the process had reversed after the elections.</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/spains-economic-collapse-results-whopping-5-deposit-outflow-july">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/spains-economic-collapse-results-whopping-5-deposit-outflow-july </a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-48980440800435764772012-08-26T12:09:00.002-07:002012-08-26T12:09:37.251-07:00 Tyler Durden's picture For Dexia, Third Bailout Will Be The Charm. They Promise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2012/08-2/20120824_hope_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2012/08-2/20120824_hope_0.png" /></a></div>
<span class="field-content"><em>Bail me out once, shame on you; bail me twice, shame on me;</em><em>
shame on me; come back for a third (and final, we promise!) bailout,
only a Franco-Belgian SNAFU is capable of such Einstein-ian repetition.</em> Dexia, that stress-test-passing bastion of all things entirely wrong with European banking and politics is back at the trough. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/25/us-dexia-capital-idUSBRE87O03O20120825">Reuters</a>
is reporting what we have known all along, that without massive
additional capital injections the bad-bank, crap-bank model simply
cannot work. To wit: <strong>Dexia needs to recap its Luxembourg unit
(BIL) before its apparently 'imminent' sale to a Qatari sovereign wealth
fund (one more billionaire sucker family born every day it seems)</strong>.
The somewhat comical aspect is that the post-October (the second - and
final, we promise - bailout), BIL's 'legacy' bond portfolio was
'transferred' to its parent Dexia at December 2011 prices - creating a
net loss of EUR1.9bn for the subsidiary. This significantly affected the
sub's solvency - making it <strong>unlikely to meet its capital requirements (which it was 'sure' would be 9% Tier 1 by now!)</strong>. But given Dexia's own extensive losses - EUR11.6bn in 2011 and EUR1.2bn in the first six months of 2012 - a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">capital increase for Dexia BIL may force Dexia to seek funds itself</span>. That would mean <em>mo' money, mo' bailout</em>
from the states currently guaranteeing its borrowings - principally
Belgium and France, and to a lesser extent Luxembourg - which now <strong>look set to rise to EUR90bn in aggregate</strong>!</span><br />
<br />
<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/dexia-third-bailout-will-be-charm-they-promise">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/dexia-third-bailout-will-be-charm-they-promise</a> </span><br />
<br />HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-86157177321710261642012-08-23T13:22:00.000-07:002012-08-23T13:22:08.664-07:00The Most Important Chart In The World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2012/08-2/20120823_golddow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2012/08-2/20120823_golddow.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Back in my Bernstein days, I never really took a large amount of presentation materials to most of my meetings. However, there was one chart that I always printed out and brought with me and I called it “The Most Important Chart in the World.” It still is. The chart I am referring to is the ratio of the Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Gold Price. In a nutshell, charting this ratio demonstrates the “real” return on stocks adjusted for inflation or currency debasement. As we all know, the Zimbabwe stock market essentially went up to infinity during their hyperinflation but did anyone get rich from that? Of course not, the shares were denominated in a currency that was on its way to worthlessness. At the moment, with many U.S. stock indices hitting new post-2008 highs there seems to be a general view that stocks as an asset class will do well in an inflationary environment. As a result, whenever there is actually QE or even the mention of the potential resumption of Fed balance sheet expansion there is a rally in equity prices. In fact, I think the entire investor class in the U.S. has been lulled into a sense of sleep and complacency at the moment. There are two things I want to point out to people when they are considering whether to increase exposure to equities broadly or not.<br />
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<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-most-important-chart-theworld">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-most-important-chart-theworld</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-3687522160803061952012-08-23T04:19:00.002-07:002012-08-23T04:19:35.878-07:00Pre-war Germany has blueprint to end debt crisis <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02311/eurozone_2140474b_2311256b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02311/eurozone_2140474b_2311256b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Professor Richard Werner, of the University of Southampton, says he has found
a way to resolve Europe’s financial crisis, and Germany had it all along.
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/citydiary/9478382/Pre-war-Germany-has-blueprint-to-end-debt-crisis.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/citydiary/9478382/Pre-war-Germany-has-blueprint-to-end-debt-crisis.html</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-83581622684641013292012-08-22T13:37:00.002-07:002012-08-22T13:37:19.488-07:00Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker warned banks they could collapse 'before Christmas'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02313/boe_2313780b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02313/boe_2313780b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bank of England officials were so concerned about the potential for a financial crisis late last year they took the extraordinary step of warning the entire banking system could collapse “before Christmas”.<br />
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<span id="goog_376098008"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_376098009"></span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9484419/Bank-of-England-deputy-governor-Paul-Tucker-warned-banks-they-could-collapse-before-Christmas.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9484419/Bank-of-England-deputy-governor-Paul-Tucker-warned-banks-they-could-collapse-before-Christmas.html</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-57948865117259855862012-08-22T04:01:00.001-07:002012-08-22T04:01:13.805-07:00Robert Prechter: “It’s A Very Tricky Situation for Investors”<a href="http://www.elliottwave.com/subscribers/freeupdates/archives/2012/08/13/28-minute-Interview-with-Robert-Prechter-Its-A-Very-Tricky-Situation-for-Investors.aspx">http://www.elliottwave.com/subscribers/freeupdates/archives/2012/08/13/28-minute-Interview-with-Robert-Prechter-Its-A-Very-Tricky-Situation-for-Investors.aspx</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-60904408287747911042012-08-21T05:07:00.000-07:002012-08-21T05:07:01.725-07:00Radio Interview with Steve Keen<a href="http://95bfm.com/assets/sm/206935/3/stevekeen.mp3">http://95bfm.com/assets/sm/206935/3/stevekeen.mp3</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-70065577977752671702012-08-21T02:05:00.001-07:002012-08-21T02:05:04.814-07:00Monopoly: The rules<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.imgur.com/l0D2n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://i.imgur.com/l0D2n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-73908206026473092062012-08-21T02:02:00.002-07:002012-08-21T02:02:27.742-07:00Taxes Vs Debt: Where Does US Funding Come From<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08/Taxes%20vs%20Debt_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/08/Taxes%20vs%20Debt_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A key sticking point in the ongoing presidential debate is what happens to US tax rates, either for just those making over an arbitrary $250,000/year, aka "the rich", or for everyone. To put this debate into perspective, here is a chart that shows how over the past 20 years the US funding needs (demonstrated previously here), have been met in terms of the only two components of US funding - tax revenue and debt issuance.<br />
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<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/taxes-vs-debt-where-does-us-funding-come-chart-day">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/taxes-vs-debt-where-does-us-funding-come-chart-day</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-22663750160753294802012-08-20T09:38:00.002-07:002012-08-20T09:38:37.566-07:00Iceland Was Right, We Were Wrong: The IMF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/11/12/Iceland_wideweb__470x312,0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/11/12/Iceland_wideweb__470x312,0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For approximately three years, our governments, the banking cabal, and the Corporate Media have assured us that <i>they</i> knew the appropriate approach for fixing the economies that <i>they</i>
had previously crippled with their own mismanagement. We were told that
the key was to stomp on the Little People with "austerity" in order to
continue making full interest payments to the Bond Parasites -- at
any/all costs.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestreet.com/story/11665082/1/iceland-was-right-we-were-wrong-the-imf.html">http://www.thestreet.com/story/11665082/1/iceland-was-right-we-were-wrong-the-imf.html </a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-36481897610510811722012-08-20T02:10:00.000-07:002012-08-20T02:10:06.571-07:00Belize Demands Half Off On Its Debt... Or Else<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2012/08/20120819_belize1_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2012/08/20120819_belize1_0.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="field-content"><strong>"Greece set a precedent for 'Here's what you're going to get, take it or leave it'"</strong> is how the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444233104577595863713192198.html">WSJ summarizes</a> an analyst's 'shocked' thoughts on the growing game of 'call my bluff' being played among beggars being choosers. Belize is <em>surprise surprise</em> running out of money to pay its debts and is<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> insisting that creditors forgive 45% of what they are owed - OR allow it to delay any debt payments for 15 years</span>
(yes, seriously, read that again) - leaving a default on the country's
$543.8mm almost inevitable. Three things stand out to us: 1) the
nation's government <strong>shunned bondholders</strong> by simply
posting a note on its website that it would be 'skipping a payment' as
opposed to telling creditors directly; 2) none other than <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/greek-bonds-monkeyhammered-hedge-funds-slash-hands-catching-falling-knives">'Long GGBs are the slam-dunk trade-of-the-year' Greylock Capital</a> are "mystified" that yet another trade has gone pear-shaped adding that they are <strong>"sure every country could benefit from not paying their debt but this isn't the way to do it!"</strong>;
and 3) this would be one of the worst restructuring terms ever as the
"Greek effect" could inspire other countries to pursue restructurings
on more favorable terms - especially given that: "<strong>Even if you
don't need a restructuring you can force one upon bondholders because
it's so hard to recover money from a sovereign who won't pay</strong>,"</span><br />
<a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/aftermath-greek-blue-light-precedent-belize-demands-half-its-debt-or-else">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/aftermath-greek-blue-light-precedent-belize-demands-half-its-debt-or-else</a>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2079195304117469452.post-85074669929336987072012-08-19T13:27:00.000-07:002012-08-19T13:27:02.771-07:00The Modern Debt Jubilee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/2010/Aug/debt.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/images/2010/Aug/debt.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="field-content"> The modern “debt jubilee” is characterised
as “quantitative easing for the public”. It has been boiled down to a
procedure where the central bank does not create new money by buying
the sovereign debt of the government. Instead, it takes an arbitrary
number, writes a check for that number, and deposits it in the bank
account of every individual in the nation. Debtors must use the
newly-created money to pay down or pay off debt. Those who are not in
debt can use it as a free windfall to spend or “invest” as they see
fit. This, it is said, is the only way left to restart economic
“growth” and finally get the spectre of unending financial crisis out
of the headlines. It is the latest of a long string of “print to cover”
remedies.</span><br />
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/modern-debt-jubilee">http://www.zerohedge.com/news/modern-debt-jubilee</a> </span>HCEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636546494650517877noreply@blogger.com0