Buried Alive
- Prominent Sell SignalsSimon Maierhofer, On Tuesday September 14, 2010 'A
pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty.' - Winston Churchill
’Does that mean that an optimist is always right? No. In fact, unfounded
optimism is one of the biggest investment traps and most effective bear market
tricks. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned that: 'The
message conveyed by the composite bullishness is unmistakably bearish. Most
bulls have no clue why they are bullish except for the fact that they feel the
need to play the momentum game. Sounds like 2000 and 2007 all over again.' When
it comes to investing, emotions tend to get in the way of making money. It
takes an opportunistic, yet realistic approach to profit in this market. Parallels Between 2000, 2007, and Today
From a purely analytical point of view, the April ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter examined the 2000 and 2007 market tops and compared them with the
2010 price action, at a time when optimism was soaring sky-high. The parallels
between the 2000, 2007 and forming 2010 tops were striking, that's why the
newsletter concluded that: 'A comparison between the 2000 and 2007 double tops
to the current constellations shows that the market may roll over at any time.'
Similar to the January/April 2000 and July/October 2007 double tops, the April
2010 highs were preceded by a lower January top. But the parallels didn't stop
there. Major Tops Followed by Decoy Rallies
Following the initial 2007 decline, the April, May 2008 rally rekindled new
hope and pushed the major indexes a la Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP:
^GSPC), and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) briefly above their 200-day moving average
(MA). Following the initial April 2010 decline, the July/August rally also
pushed the S&P briefly above the 200-day MA. Both, in 2008 and 2010,
the indexes were rebuffed by the 200-day MA. The failure to stay above the
200-day MA in May 2008 was followed by a 53.75% decline in the S&P 500.
Former performance leaders like the Financial Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLF - News) and KBW Bank ETF (NYSEArca: KBE - News) tumbled 79%, the Technology
Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLK - News) dropped 49%. Even conservative
sectors such as utilities (NYSEArca: XLU - News) and healthcare (NYSEArca: XLV - News) dropped another 35 - 45%. Like a
free diver who comes up for air, the market tends to rally to keep investors
engaged before the next leg down. The chart below - which plots bullish
advisor sentiment against the price of the S&P 500 from June 2007 - September
2010, illustrates the market's cruel habit of spreading hope just before the
hammer drops. [chart] It Happened Before
Since we are talking about prior market tops, we can't help but mention the
mother of all sucker rallies, which occurred in 1929/1930. Following the
initial 1929 meltdown, the 1930 rally recouped 50% of the previously lost
points. Ironically, the 1930 rally ended on April 16. The 2010 counter trend
rally ran its course on April 26. In addition to a near identical termination
date, the two rallies rekindled the same kind of bullish sentiment. Below are a
few headlines and statement from April 1930. Keep in mind that the Dow went on
to decline more than 80% thereafter. 'For the immediate future, the outlook is
bright' - Irving Fisher, Ph. D. in Economics 'I see nothing in the present
situation that is either menacing or warrants pessimism.' - Andrew W. Mellon,
U. S. Secretary of the Treasury 'The depression is over' - Herbert Hoover,
President If you escaped the market in time, you might be able to read the
following April 2010 headlines with a fair shot of humor and realize the irony:
'As job worries ease, will anything stop the stock market?' – CNBC 'Dow 11,000
is only the beginning' - Wall Street Journal 'Check the real estate: It is time
to delve in' - Wall Street Journal It Happened Recently
It's easy to dismiss any parallels to the Great Depression simply because it
happened 80 years ago. However, an 80% drop is nothing unusual and has been
seen recently. The Nasdaq (Nasdaq: QQQQ - News) peaked in 2000 and tumbled 78.4%
within less than two years. Much evidence suggests that the Nasdaq's woes are
not yet over with more losses and lower lows on the horizon. Oil prices tumbled
77% after topping at $147.3 a barrel in 2008. Both, the Nasdaq and oil prices
topped at a time when higher prices were a foregone conclusion. With regards to
oil, the expectation for higher fuel prices moved all major car manufacturers
to advertise and build low MPG cars. As soon as their commercials hit TVs,
radios, and newspapers across the country, oil and fuel prices started to drop
like a rock. Some still dismiss those declines as sector bubbles, not broad market
declines. It Happened to an Entire Country
The Nikkei is Japan's version of the S&P 500 and covers hundreds of stocks.
In 1989, the Nikkei topped at 38,946. Since then, it has dropped over 80% to
below 8,000 (see chart below, published in the April 2010 ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter). [chart] Throughout this 20-year decline, the Nikkei had eleven
rallies of 20% or more and four that were 50% or more. In total, the Nikkei
rallied well over 250,000 rally points, yet it remains 76% below its 1989 peak.
The decline of Japan's stock market (NYSEArca: EWJ - News) and economy happened amidst a
global bull market. Imagine what can happen to the U.S. stock market during a
global recession spurred by European (NYSEArca: FEZ - News) debt woes and global stock market
(NYSEArca: EFA - News) weakness. It's human nature to
rationalize and invent reasons why something can't happen. It's the stock
market's nature to prove investors wrong. Based on parallels that aren't
farfetched by any means, a follow through of the post 2007 U.S. equity meltdown
is more than just a possibility. Fundamentals, Technicals, Valuations, and History in Agreement
Investing is about putting the odds in your favor. There is no such thing as a
100% certain profit opportunity. However, there are high probability profit
opportunities where the odds of having a winning trade are high and the
potential reward is much higher than the potential risk. Such high probability
profit opportunities occur when as many indicators as possible point in the
same direction. Right now, there is a near unanimous consent between
fundamental and technical indicators, along with valuations and historic
patterns. The latest ETF
Profit Strategy Newsletter includes a detailed analysis of various
market forecasting tools, along with a short, mid, and long-term outlook for
the U.S. stock market and a target range for the ultimate market bottom. Even
though the economic outlook is dim, realistic investors can feel optimistic
about the opportunities in the months and years ahead.
Is the Stock
Market Safe? [
This time the consensus is correct, in a ‘fish in a barrel’ kind of way!]‘In a word, no. That’s the general
consensus found in a survey of individual investors done by AP and CNBC this
week. As if dealing with two major bear markets since the turn of the century
wasn’t enough, all the talk about high frequency trading and the May 6th
"Flash Crash" seems to have pushed individual investors over the edge
in terms of their comfort level with the stock market. In fact, according to an
AP/CNBC poll, 55% of those surveyed believe the stock market is fair only to
some investors. The bottom line of this particular survey is that investors are
now wary about the idea of using the stock market as a way to invest for
retirement. Instead, the survey found that the vast majority of individual
investors continue to pump unprecedented amounts of money into what many
believe is the most overvalued asset class on the planet – government bonds.
One result of the 10-plus year secular bear market in stocks is the gradual
erosion of the public’s interest and confidence in stocks as an investment. Of
course this HAS happened before. Anyone recall the 1982 cover of Time magazine
with the title “The Death of Equities?” Although the cyclical bull market that
began in March 2009 remains intact, the public has been pulling money out of
the market on a monthly basis. Since January 2008, the Investment Company
Institute reports that a total of $244 billion has been withdrawn from US
equity funds. Yet at the same time, a total of more than $589 billion has
poured into US bond mutual funds, which is an unparalleled amount. It appears
that the "Flash Crash" may have been the straw that broke the camel’s
back. For example, in the 11 weeks prior to May 6th the public pumped a strong
$26.6 billion into equity mutual funds. This is hardly surprising since during
that time the market was rising steadily and had gained more than 70% in the
past 12 months. However, in the 16 weeks since the "Flash Crash,"
investors have been running scared. In fact, Investment Company Institute
reports that the public has pulled money out of US equity funds each and every
week since, with cumulative withdrawals now totaling $55.9 billion. Thus, it
would appear that the market’s recent volatility has caused the investing
public to lose confidence in the market. The AP/CNBC poll found that 61% of
those surveyed felt the volatility has made them less confident about buying
and selling stocks. There is also a widespread perception is that the market is
rigged or unfair to the little guy. Nearly 90% of the survey respondents whose
portfolios are less than $50,000 said the market is unfair to small investors.
In addition, the public doesn’t seem to have much faith in the administration to
fix the situation in the market. The poll found that just 8% expressed strong
confidence in federal regulators while 50% expressed little-to-no confidence in
those tasked with overseeing the markets. Does this mean it is time to give up
on the stock market as an investment vehicle? We would respond with a
resounding “no!” The trick is to understand that the game has changed. After an
18-year bull market, the tide has turned. As such, investors actually have to
do something besides putting money into any old mutual fund and closing their
eyes. Disclosure: No positions’ [Economists Herald New Great
Depression The world is currently
experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a
prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting
ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , andmy position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.Krugman: It's All Downhill From
Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him
Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the
last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see
the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result
from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed
for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:
I’ve had a couple of conversations
lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that
close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two
comforting delusions still out there.
Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road
to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps
saying this.
But it’s not at all true. GDP is
growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private
employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask
how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the
current track, the answer is forever.
Delusion #2 is the belief that the
stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds
unspent. I tried to deal with this last year.
The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds
are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in
the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all
downhill from here.
If you can ignore the schizophrenic market
for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private
sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The
government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely
papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step
aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t
again be exposed for what it really is.
Harry
Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012). ]
Handcuffs For Wall Street, Not
Happy Talk Zach Carter | The fraud allegations that have emerged over the past year are not
restricted to a few bad apples at shady companies — they involve some of the
largest players in global finance.
Yen hits 15-year high vs dollar Reuters | The dollar hit a 15-year low against the yen on
Tuesday, testing Japanese authorities’ resolve to stem the yen’s climb after
Prime Minister Naoto Kan won a party leadership vote.
Six in 10 Canadians live pay to
pay Globe and Mail |
Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian workers say they would be in financial trouble
if their paycheque was delayed by just a week.
IMF fears ‘social explosion’ from
world jobs crisis Telegraph | America
and Europe face the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s and risk “an explosion of
social unrest” unless they tread carefully, the International Monetary Fund has
warned.
‘The Great American Stickup’: It
Was The Economy, Stupid It
is not conspiratorial but rather accurate to suggest that blame can be assigned
to those who consciously developed and implemented a policy of radical
financial deregulation that led to a global recession.
Three Powerful Trends Will Push
Gold Prices To $1600 UniCredit has upgraded their target price for
gold from $1,250 to $1,600 by the end of 2012. The reason for the upgrade is
based on three powerful trends: the fear over “money printing” at the Fed (QE),
the idea that the Euro sovereign debt crisis represents a condemnation of fiat
money and increasing demand for gold from China.
The Real Story Behind Bill Gates
And “Death Panels” Bill
Gates’ advocacy for “death panels” has caused controversy amongst conservative
commentators, but the real outrage behind the story has been completely
overlooked – the fact that Gates is a hardcore eugenicist and has called for
lowering the global population through vaccines which his foundation funds to
the tune of billions.
Ex-CIA Agents Confirm Torture at
Polish Black Site Former CIA
agents have confirmed rumors that the agency tortured terror suspects at a
detention center in Poland. One agent allegedly held a drill to a prisoner’s
head while he was naked and hooded.
Blair’s Journey: US medal for
‘war criminal’? Former
British Prime Minister Tony Blair will receive a prestigious American medal for
human rights work. But in his ten years as premier, Blair went from huge
popularity to being called a U.S. poodle. His policies in Iraq and Afghanistan
earned him accusations of having blood on his hands. And as Laura Emmett
reports, many are outraged at his latest award.
Big Sis To Get Expanded Role In
Policing Internet Two cybersecurity bills that would hand President
Obama the power to shut down parts of the Internet in the event of a national
emergency have now been merged into a single unified piece of legislation that
Democrats will try to pass before the end of the year, with the Department of
Homeland Security being given a larger role in policing the world wide web.
Peace Activist Cindy Sheehan: “I
am A 9/11 Truther” Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist who lost her
son to the ongoing war in Iraq, delivered an impassioned and emotional speech
during which she specifically addressed concerns over the 9/11 attacks and
stated that she believes they were orchestrated by elements of the U.S.
government for political gain.
Gold and Silver Explode as
Banksters Abandon Market Manipulation Gold has surged to a new high
as the prospect of inflation reared its ugly head in the United Kingdom on bad
news from a report indicating a weaker-than-expected eurozone industrial
production. Germany and France, despite sovereign debt fears, have been able to
manage anemic growth but today’s data signals a slow down.
Finance groups: Long transition
to ease new bank rules (Washington Post) [ Basel’s all the rage … Riiiiight! Bonkers for Basel, the
thing in rally vogue this day …but,
not Basil as in Basil Rathbone of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes film fame who’d
make short shrift of this fraudulent wall street contagion that has swept over
Europe in a manner to rightfully earn the moniker ‘eventual black Friday
plague’ … and then there’s the ‘higher oil price’ part of the suckers’ rally. We
can certainly expect Rosanne Rosanna Danna formerly of SNL fame, as night
follows the day, to chime in with a reminder as her mama always used to say,
‘it’s always something’ … but unfortunately, that somethin’ is not reality.YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]:
‘Broad-based buying on the back of Basel III boosted stocks to their fourth
straight gain, or seventh advance in eight sessions. Still, participation
remained unimpressive ... ‘AP Business Highlights
‘… Banks get years to
adjust to new global rulesBASEL,
Switzerland (AP) -- Bankers and analysts said new global rules could mean less
money available to lend to businesses and consumers, but praised a decision to
leave plenty of time -- until 2019 -- before the financial stability
requirements come into full force ...’ ]Critics caution, however, that
the requirements adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision fall short
of what's needed to prevent another financial crisis.
Cuba to cut 500,000 workers,
reform salaries (Washington Post) [ Boy, when Castro said communism
wasn’t working for them anymore, he wasn’t kidding! No gloating for defacto
bankrupt, pervasively corrupt america which is a far cry from capitalism and
but a whisper from collapse itself.]
Banks miss TARP payments
(Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! … Bank Failure Friday
Continues at Seeking Alpha ‘…Bank Failure Friday
continues with the total number of failures for 2010 now up to 119 on the way
to 150 to 200, as the third quarter total ended September 10th at 33. During
“The Great Credit Crunch” the FDIC only closed 25 banks during all of 2008. In
2009 the FDIC picked up the pace with 140 bank failures with a peak of 50 in
the third quarter of 2009. So far in 2010 the FDIC closed 41 banks in the first
quarter, another 45 in the second quarter, and so far 33 for the third quarter.
With 119 bank failures so far in 2010 the total for “The Great Credit Crunch”
is up to 284 continuing its path to my predicted 500 to 800 by the end of 2012
into 2013 … (see rest of article infra)]
Economy's fallout(Washington Post) The
fallout of a troubled economy [ I’m sorry to say that … you ain’t seen nothing
yet … much worse to come! ]From foreclosure to food shortages, the
recession set in motion by the financial crisis of 2008 is having a broad and
deeply-felt global impact.
A subtler tack to fight Afghan
corruption?(Washington Post)[ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting
right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in
fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated
heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc..Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation
america, the leader of nations … in crime:
Handcuffs
For Wall Street, Not Happy Talk Zach Carter | The fraud
allegations that have emerged over the past year are not restricted to a few
bad apples at shady companies — they involve some of the largest players in
global finance.
Why
New Bank Capital Rules Could Make Things Worse CNBC |
Early reports suggest the required levels of capital will be much lower than
feared, and the kinds of assets that can be used to meet the requirements more
expansive than earlier proposals suggested.
Economic
Docs Find Remedy Amid Bubble Rubble Even the most casual observer of the
events of the last five years — the housing bubble, the bust and the
digging-out process — would be struck by the similarities between the policies
that got us into this mess and the prescriptions for getting us out.
World
Panel Backs Rules to Avert Banking Crises Top central bankers and bank
regulators agreed Sunday on far-reaching new rules for the global banking
industry that are designed to avert future financial disasters, but could also
dampen bank profits and strain weaker institutions.
Tim
Geithner Warns: The US Is At Risk Of A 1930s Repeat If the government
become paralyzed — as is arguably the case already, and is clearly a serious
risk should the GOP take over — the US risks a 1930s-like scenario. At least
according to Tim Geithner.
Bank Failure Friday Continues at Seeking
Alpha ‘…Bank Failure Friday continues with the total number of
failures for 2010 now up to 119 on the way to 150 to 200, as the third quarter
total ended September 10th at 33. During “The Great Credit Crunch” the FDIC
only closed 25 banks during all of 2008. In 2009 the FDIC picked up the pace
with 140 bank failures with a peak of 50 in the third quarter of 2009. So far
in 2010 the FDIC closed 41 banks in the first quarter, another 45 in the second
quarter, and so far 33 for the third quarter. With 119 bank failures so far in
2010 the total for “The Great Credit Crunch” is up to 284 continuing its path
to my predicted 500 to 800 by the end of 2012 into 2013.
The
failed bank was publicly-traded Horizon Bank (HZNB.OB), which had huge
overexposures to C&D and CRE loans with risk ratios of 358% and 1769%
versus the ignored regulatory guidelines of 100% and 300% of risk-based
capital. The commitment pipeline of commercial real estate loans was 99% funded
as “extend and pretend” caused this failure. The consolidator bank has been
used before by the FDIC; Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) which has a HOLD rating according to
ValuEngine.
Here
are some statistics from the FDIC for the Second Quarter 2010: There were 45
bank failures in the second quarter, and we ended the quarter with the number
of FDIC-insured financial institutions declining to 7,893, of which 1306 are
publicly-traded.
·
1172 of all community banks (14.8%) are overexposed to Construction &
Development Loans.
·
1432 or 18.1% are overexposed to Nonfarm / Nonresidential real estate loans.
·
2504 or 31.7% are thus overexposed to Commercial Real Estate loans.
·
1317 or 16.7% have a real estate loan pipeline that’s 100% funded.
·
2622 or 33.2% have a pipeline that’s between 80% and 100% funded.
·
3939 of 49.9% of all banks have a pipeline that’s 80% or more funded. So
half the community banks in America remain overleveraged to Commercial Real
Estate and the possible losses remain about $1.5 trillion.
Publicly-Traded
Banks:
·
293 of the 1306 publicly-traded banks are overexposed to C&D loans
·
394 are overexposed to Nonfarm / Nonresidential real estate loans.
·
687 or 52.6% of the publicly-traded banks are thus overexposed to Commercial
Real Estate loans. We publish this list as the ValuEngine List of Problem
Banks.
·
234 publicly-traded banks have a real estate loan portfolio that’s 100% funded.
·
463 have a real estate loan portfolio between 80% and 100% funded.
·
697 thus have significant real estate loan pipeline stress.
Problem
Banks at the end of the Second Quarter versus the First Quarter:
·Given
the waves of bank failures the total assets among the 686 Publicly-Traded
Problem Banks declined to $135.9 billion from $164.7 billion in the first
quarter. C&D loans declined to $12.7 billion from $16.4 billion with a CRE
loan pipeline steady at 78.1% versus 78.0%.
·Assets
among the 91 Deadbeat Banks, (those in arrears on making TARP dividend
payments), totals $99.9 billion with C&D loans at $10.9 billion and a CRE
pipeline of 80.9%.
·Assets
among failed publicly-traded banks increased to $122.5 billion from $116.7
billion in the first quarter. C&D loans increased to $22.3 billion from
$21.5 billion. The CRE loan pipeline increased a tick to 90.4% from 90.3%.
Assets among banks with a CRE pipeline
of 80% or more funded increased to $3.84 trillion including $121.3 billion in
C&D loans. The average pipeline for 3939 banks is 92.0%. Among this list
are four big banks that will likely see waves of write-offs in upcoming
quarters.
·JP
Morgan Chase (JPM)
with $1.72 trillion in assets has a pipeline of 80%.
·SunTrust
Banks (STI) has $160.5 billion in assets with an 83%
pipeline.
·BB&T
Corp (BBT) has $149.2 billion in assets with an 84%
pipeline.
·Fifth
Third Bank (FITB) has
100.0 billion in assets with an 84% pipeline.
Why
New Bank Capital Rules Could Make Things Worse CNBC | Early reports suggest the required levels of
capital will be much lower than feared, and the kinds of assets that can be
used to meet the requirements more expansive than earlier proposals suggested.
DEFINITION:Note:
Crime statistics are often
better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime(I believe, and facts support, crime in america
to be substantially under-reported and under-prosecuted owing to pervasive
corruption, arbitrary enforcement of the law, etc.) than actual prevalence.
SOURCE: The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and
the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2002) (United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention)
The
New Terrorist Threat To America: Drunk British Teenagers Brandishing Insults Steve
Watson | College student banned from US for life for name calling
email to White House. I’m sure he’s crying both night and day … you know, from
prospective loss of that new global roach motel (once you go in, you never come
out); viz., the disunited states of america; and wow, talk about thin skin; who
can’t think of far worse to call wobama; and then, there’s the real terror
threat.
Dick
Gregory Announces Hunger Strike for 9/11 Truth Dick Gregory
| I am announcing today that I will be consuming only liquids beginning Sunday
until my eightieth birthday in 2012 and until the real truth of what truly
happened on that day emerges and is publicly known.
9/11
– State of Emergency: An Era of Madness and Despair The Excavator | All the
freedoms of the American people that are being stripped by the U.S. government
under national emergency are rationalized because of the terrorist attacks on
September 11.
Doomsday
warnings of US apocalypse gain ground Economists peddling dire warnings
that the world’s number one economy is on the brink of collapse, amid high
rates of unemployment and a spiraling public deficit, are flourishing here.
Greek
Default: Why It’s Only A Matter Of Time Is Greek default only a matter of
time? According to the Council on Foreign Relations that’s the story the bond
market is currently telling us.
Google ‘damages users’
brains’ Google damages the brains of its users by offering too much
assistance in solving problems, an author has claimed.
Feds
Spent $800,000 of Economic Stimulus on African Genital-Washing Program The
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009
on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to
wash their genitals after having sex.
British
troops in Afghanistan face heroin smuggling probe British military police
are investigating claims that the country’s servicemen may have, with the
americans, trafficked heroin out of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London
said Sunday.
Korans
vandalized in New York, Washington on 9/11 anniversary Two religious
leaders at a recently-founded offshoot of the Baptist church burned Korans in a
Tennessee back yard on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, reports the NBC
affiliate in Nashville.
When Will the Bad Dream
End? Anthony Gregory | It has
been nine whole years since 9/11, and it is starting to look like the
“post-9/11″ insanity has become a permanent feature of the American
landscape.
The Silence of September
11 Infowars.com | Silence
has followed ever since the attack and continues until this day, as Peter Dale
Scott explains.
DHS: Another
Attack Could Be On The Way “We can’t guarantee there won’t be another
successful terrorist attack,” Napolitano will tell first responders and
emergency workers.
We
have failed, admits UN, as fresh wave of Congo rapes emerges The United
Nations has been urged to go back to basics in protecting civilians in Eastern
Congo after admitting that 500 rapes in the space of a single month amounted to
a serious failure in its mission.
“We’re
dead men walking”: The toxic legacy of 9/11 More than 10,000 Ground Zero
workers – known as “first responders” – are suffering from serious and even
fatal illnesses after inhaling the toxic dust cloud caused by the crumbling
towers.
Firefighter
battles cancer he got from 9/11 toxins Nine years after the attacks of
9/11, many heroes from that day are still fighting for their lives. One of them
is a firefighter, who is struggling to stay alive for his family.
Compensation
for 9/11 First Responders to Be Revisited in Congress With the nine-year
commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
approaching on Saturday, thousands of victims, many of whom risked their lives
to save others, are speaking out and saying that the government has abandoned
them in their time of need.
9/11 responders demand
justice Last month RT filmed this emotional footage of 9/11 first
responders pouring their hearts out at a speech just blocks away from where the
twin towers fell. The rally was in response to Congress defeating a federal
bill that would have provided billions of dollars in health care for those
sickened by toxins released by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers
Sept. 11, 2001.
America’s Torture Doctrine
John Galt | We
idolize torturers in our favorite TV programs, and are happy to see our enemies
(real and imagined) vicariously taken apart in order to protect our beacon of
freedom.
The Anniversary of 9/11 Washington’s Blog | If even the 9/11 Commissioners
don’t buy the official story, why do you?
When Will the Bad Dream
End? Anthony
Gregory | It has been nine
whole years since 9/11, and it is starting to look like the “post-9/11″
insanity has become a permanent feature of the American landscape.
We
have failed, admits UN, as fresh wave of Congo rapes emerges The United
Nations has been urged to go back to basics in protecting civilians in Eastern
Congo after admitting that 500 rapes in the space of a single month amounted to
a serious failure in its mission.
“We’re
dead men walking”: The toxic legacy of 9/11 More than 10,000 Ground Zero
workers – known as “first responders” – are suffering from serious and even
fatal illnesses after inhaling the toxic dust cloud caused by the crumbling
towers.
Firefighter
battles cancer he got from 9/11 toxins Nine years after the attacks of
9/11, many heroes from that day are still fighting for their lives. One of them
is a firefighter, who is struggling to stay alive for his family.
The Anniversary of 9/11 Washington’s Blog | If even the 9/11 Commissioners
don’t buy the official story, why do you?
Execs
with criminal records slip through FHA crackdown (Washington Post) Center for Public
Integrity[ Oh come on! Wake up! What’s
the difference? A criminal record merely implies in pervasively corrupt,
meaningfully lawless, defacto bankrupt america today that they had not the
connections of the biggest criminals in america today; you know, not ‘high
enough up on the food chain’ like the frauds on wall street, etc., who have
access, means, and money for bribes in one form or another to america’s
substantial detriment. I mean, arguendo, who would you feel more comfortable /
trusting doing business with; Martha Stewart or one of those wall street,
military industrial complex ceo’s, etc.. ]A crackdown on reckless
mortgage lenders has failed to root out several executives with criminal
records whose firms continue to do business with the agency in violation of
federal law.
Obama
defends Democrats' economic initiatives (Washington Post) [ What
initiatives? Hands off fraudulent wall street by no prosecutions, fines, jail,
disgorgement which would have gone a long way to cleansing / righting the
economic / financial system? Rallying congress (see infra – new FASB rule
change to mark to anything valuation of worthless assets and the 157 Rule change that allowed banks to park all their
losses in a bucket called other comprehensive income (OCI). OCI appears on the
balance sheet, but not on the income statement and thus does not affect
earnings ) toward greater obfuscation of continuing economic dilemma /
debacle? Fake data as in the most recent batch of estimated unemployment
claims? Increased war spending in Afghanistan despite defacto bankruptcy of the
nation? ] Obama said he would use the fall campaign season to remind voters of
the sinking economy he inherited when he took office and what measures he has
since put in place.
Defense
cuts could slow D.C. economy for years(Washington
Post) [ Well, giving credence to the 9/11 Truthers and a reason why the attacks
were allowed to go forward and even in part why those mossad agents on the
banks of the Hudson in Weehawken, n.j. were cheering as the twin towers were in
flames, war, both legal and illegal when they’re greedy enough which is almost
always, and war profiteering specifically, is very big business; but alas, more
destructive, both home and abroad, than constructive in both real and economic
terms; and then of course, the geopolitical toll which will linger far longer
than the ephemeral short-term gains for the unscrupulous few. ( I had a
full-professor who was also a CPA for my Cost Accounting Course as required for
my MBA in Finance, evening program, NYU GBA. He referenced his own military
experience in pointing out the folly of much of the military budgetary /
spending process in terms of his duties which included each day firing off
munitions (small mortars, ‘rockets’, etc.) at nothing whatsoever at all, if
only to make sure at the end of the month (longer periods) more munitions / spending
would have to be budgeted and purchased and so on. They’ve certainly come a
long way in the ‘budgetary / spending’ process by creating wars to maintain
same. This can never be justified; and, after all, the nation’s defacto
bankrupt. ). What isn’t corrupt / fraudulent in washington d.c., or in America
generally, for that matter?] After
surging during post-9/11 era, the industry now braces for a major contraction
and layoffs that could produce a significant drag on region.
Unemployment
Claims Not as Bullish as They Seem (Why?Kudrna:‘The Labor Department reported Thursday
morning that new claims for unemployment dropped a seasonally adjusted 27,000
to 451,000. Unexpected bullish news, right? The markets immediately gapped-up
on this information as the bulls found good reason to buy. Unexpected positive
news is almost always met with a bullish move north as it’s rarely priced in.
However, a useful tidbit of information about that shockingly large drop came
out after the gap-up. Bloomberg reported that nine states didn't file claims
data to the Labor Department in Washington because of the Labor Day holiday
earlier this week. California and Virginia estimated their figures and the U.S.
government estimated the other seven. Coincidence in the large drop or not? We
will see when the next revision comes out but usually those revisions fail to
make headlines as we are already focusing on future claims. This has been a
great cover-up method for a long time…’
How Government
Reporting Will Intensify the InevitableSimon Maierhofer, On Friday September 10, 2010,
12:41 pm EDT‘Natural
carbonation keeps a champagne bottle under constant pressure. The more you
shake the bottle, the higher the pressure gets and the further the cork will
eventually fly. Figuratively speaking, the government has been shaking the
bottle. Watch out when the cork pops. On August 10, the Associated Press
reported that the Federal Reserve has found a new trick to jumpstart the
economy. Below is the full quote that shows why we probably can't expect
unbiased assessments coming out of Washington, or the Fed's corner: 'The
Federal Reserve policymakers are pondering ways to jumpstart the economic
recovery. The trick: making sure whatever they do or say doesn't rattle Wall
Street.' Some of the recent government statistics have been 'interesting' no
doubt, and we know the administration has spent trillions in an attempt to lift
the economy, but would it go as far as actually fudging statistics? We'll
examine potential cases for 'data spiking' in a moment, but for now we'll take
a look at one of the most popular government statistics, which is misleading to
say the least. GDP - Like a Flag in the Wind
GDP reports are prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and are a
science all in itself. GDP reports are often revised. The 'advance' estimate is
published at the end of the first month following the close of a quarter. In
addition to the 'advance' estimate, there are first and second revisions called
the 'preliminary' and 'final' estimates. The 'final' estimate is reviewed
annually, usually in July. Once every several years, the BEA reviews all data
back to 1929. On July 30, the BEA lowered Q2 2010 growth from an estimated 2.7%
to 2.4%. The real GDP for all three previous years was revised as well. It was
lowered by 0.2% for 2007, it was lowered by 0.6% for 2008 and it was lowered by
0.4% for 2009 (see chart below)[chart]. In percentage terms, the real GDP for
2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to 2.3%. The 2008 decrease was lowered
from 1.9% to 2.8%, and 2009 growth was revised up from a 0.1% to a 0.2%
increase. In essence, the BEA proved that the recession was (or is) much deeper
and the alleged recovery much weaker than previously reported. Imagine if you
would have based your 2007 and 2008 investment decisions on GDP reports. But
wait, there is more. On August 27, the BEA lowered the Q2 2010 GDP growth from
2.4% to 1.6%. The financial media, however, applauded the reduction since
the final 1.6 number was still higher than the 1.4% economists expected. Stocks
rallied over 2% that day. Unemployment Numbers - Not Deserving of Your Trust
Unemployment in August increased from 9.5% to 9.6%, but that's
ok. Why? According to the financial media, the increase of unemployment was due
to an increase in labor force. An estimated 6.6 million students will be
graduating and joining the labor force this year. An increasing labor force is
a reality, not an excuse to rationalize higher unemployment numbers. The real
unemployment rate (U-6) reported by the BLS (but neglected by the financial
media) jumped from 16.5% to 16.7%. Nevertheless, stocks rallied nearly 3% when
unemployment figures were released on September 3rd. According to the BLS, the
manufacturing sector lost 27,000 jobs in August. This, however, contradicts the
positive August ISM manufacturing report, which rose from 55.5% to 56.3%.
Here is the analysis from the Institute for Supply Management: 'A PMI in excess
of 42 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the
overall economy. Therefore, the PMI indicates growth for the 16th consecutive
month in the overall economy, as well as expansion in the manufacturing sector
for the 13th consecutive month.' If you ask the unemployed, it doesn't feel
like the manufacturing sector is improving. Changing Rules to Accommodate Growth
Amidst the biggest financial meltdown since the Great Depression, the
administration had to act quickly. The sheer amount of toxic assets overwhelmed
the banking (NYSEArca: KBE - News)
and financial sectors (NYSEArca: XLF - News),
which led to the fall of Lehman Brothers and credit contraction around the
globe (NYSEArca: EFA - News).
It was impossible to eliminate trillions of bad loans or revive the ailing real
estate market (NYSEArca: IYR - News).
It was impossible to prop up faltering sectors like consumer discretionary
(NYSEArca: XLY - News)
and technology (NYSEArca: XLK - News).
In short, it was impossible to change reality. It was, however, possible to
change the prevailing perception and hide the root problems. In fact, it wasn't
just possible; it proved to be fairly easy. The government simply urged the
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to change some rules. On April 2,
2009, the FASB changed Rule 157. The ripple effect caused by massive real
estate losses suffered by the 'too big to fail' banks (NYSEArca: IYF
- News),
as well as regional banks (NYSEArca: KRE
- News),
threatened the integrity of the entire system. The 157 Rule change allowed
banks to park all their losses in a bucket called other comprehensive income
(OCI). OCI appears on the balance sheet, but not on the income statement and
thus does not affect earnings. In late 2009 and early 2010, banks exceeded
their earnings expectations - at least on paper - which created the perception
that the economy was recovering. As it turns out, the timing for the Rule 157
change was perfect and coincided with the biggest stock market rally in recent
history. A 50%+ run in the Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), and
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) intensified the perception that the economy was on the
mend. Before the accounting rule change and other government efforts, the ETF
Profit Strategy Newsletter predicted the biggest rally since the October 2007
all-time highs. Via the March 2nd Trend Change Alert, the newsletter advised to
close out previously recommended short positions (some gained 100% and more)
and buy long and leveraged ETFs, many of which gained 50%, 100% or more. Back to the Future
All was well until April 2010. Prior to the April highs, Mr. Bernanke, Mr.
Geithner, and the President were campaigning for their fair share of credit for
rescuing and reviving the country. Rather than examining and disclosing some of
the government's questionable methods, the media jumped on the bandwagon and
tickled the alleged 'saviors' egos. By doing so, the pressure in the champagne
bottle was increased. More investors bought stocks under the mistaken view the
economy had improved. This increased the pool of stock owners and the pipeline
of sellers. As per the most recent GDP numbers, investors found out that the
state of the economy is worse than previously thought. Furthermore, the
government has lost credibility and some of its associated ability to inflate
stock market confidence. Watch out, once the cork blows! Investors
leaving the market could send prices falling as fast as champagne gushing out
of a bottle. In fact, this exodus probably started already. On April 16,
the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted that: 'The cork seems to have popped.
Reality is setting in. The pieces are in place for a major decline.' Following
the April highs, the ensuing decline erased eight months worth of gains in a
mere 22 trading days. An initial wave of somewhat critical media reports
quickly faded as the stock market stabilized. Sideways trading tends to calm
the nerves and get investors re-engaged before the hammer drops again. What's
the moral of the story? Faulty
government data and trend-following media reports tend to distort the real
picture and postpone and intensify the inevitable. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter
combines the analysis of various indicators with common sense and
out-of-the-box thinking to formulate a short, mid, and long-term forecast.’
Successful
Economic Policies? For Whom? Last week, in the wake of another uptick in
the official unemployment rate, the administration continued to claim that
their economic policies were working, just not fast enough.
U.S.
drops in competitiveness ( Washington Post )[ Fourth place for pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america?
I don’t think so; not in their wildest dreams, and there’s a lot of that in america
these days, but little else. Reality says america’s place should be in the
twenties at best.
Obama rating hits new low Overall, 41% of voters say they at least
somewhat approve of the president’s performance. Fifty-eight percent (58%)
disapprove.
The Anniversary of 9/11 Washington’s Blog | If even the 9/11 Commissioners
don’t buy the official story, why do you?
U.S.
drops in competitiveness ( Washington Post )[ Fourth place for pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america?
I don’t think so; not in their wildest dreams, and there’s a lot of that in
america these days, but little else. Reality says america’s place should be in
the twenties at best. Previous: U.S.
drops in competitiveness(Washington Post) [ Singapore, Sweden, … ? Don’t make me laugh!From defacto bankrupt, meaningfully lawless
america’s perspective, this fallen ranking was a gift and one must be asking,
what were they smoking (or whose money were they taking?) and is the rest of
the world really that bad off? ]Large
deficits and a weakened financial system make the U.S. less competitive in the
global economy, according to World Economic Forum's new ranking.Sweden
Is A Better Place To Do Business Than The U.S. – [Well, that part is true, but
…].‘…Sweden, by contrast, has
“the world’s most transparent and efficient public institutions, with very low
levels of corruption and undue influence.” Which loosely translated from
wonk-speak sounds like, “You’re better off dealing with honest socialists than
crony capitalists.”’ [ True enough, but I still don’t buy it (the rankings),
especially america’s fourth place (as opposed to lower) ranking.]
Capitol
Hill workers rack up back taxes (
Washington Post ) [ When you consider the pervasive corruption in their ranks
and the redundancy / non-productive nature of government jobs, the case becomes
irrefutably stronger for the abolition of same; particularly the lifetime
appointees along with their plush accouterments, courts, etc.. Then there’s
tiny tim geithner’s tax red flag, scofflaw hypocrit that he is. ] Capitol Hill
employees owed $9.3 million in overdue taxes at the end of last year, a sliver
of the $1 billion owed by federal workers nationwide but one with potential
political ramifications for members of Congress.
Yeah! The lack of
prosecutions and teeth therein has led to continued and bolder frauds and a
complicit u.s. government! Stocks
extend gains after drop in jobless claims [ Washington Post ]I was very disappointed to see this headline
without disclaimor. Very disheartening.
[ It’s really quite amazing, and you won’t get this from the ‘money
honeys’ or other mainstream drivel (actually I got this from the CBS news
reporter, 1070am radio, but NOT their business report), the so-called better
than expected jobs report (albeit bad at 451,000 continuing claims) was
actually based upon federal government estimates for those reports that were
not submitted owing to the holiday … and we all know how conservative the u.s.
government is in making estimates, especially in election cycles when
desperation abounds … riiiiight! (Drudgereport: GOV'T MAKES IT UP: JOBS
NUMBERS 'ESTIMATED' FOR WEEK... 'BETTER THAN EXPECTED'...) Then there’s the ‘need more capital’ news from among the
strongest players in the European sector, viz., Germany’s Deutsch Bank, which
can only mean, particularly in light of their adoption of the fraudulent wall
street american mark to anything valuation of worthless paper, still out there
in the many (hundreds?) of trillions. (see infra, ‘…ECB chief economist Jurgen
Stark tells German MPs that the banking system is insolvent. This led to
complete shock because the newspaper headlines from July suggested the
opposite. The German policy establishment is under the illusion that its
banking system is sound because it passed what turned out to be fraudulent
stress test…’) Now, if the German banking system’s insolvent, is there a term
for double, triple, quadrupal, etc., insolvent for what the american banking
system must be? One doesn’t need clairvoyance to know that only bodes ill.Stocks Cling to Skinny Gains, Can't Shake Banking
Concerns ]
The Eerie Implications of Market
Volume and Mutual Fund Flows ‘… Here's a more compelling question: If
two-thirds or more of daily volume is a function of high-frequency trading,
what are the implications for index prices over the long haul? A year has
passed since I posted some charts illustrating the incredible ratio of S&P
500 volume devoted to five financial stocks. Today's game is no doubt different
from last September. It may be about making money, but it probably has little
to do with investing — which may explain a lot about current volume metrics and
mutual fund flows. I'll update these volume charts periodically in the months
ahead.’
Report From Europe: Fall in U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims
Cheers StocksThe Mole …
Today is Rosh Hashanah, the jewish New Year, in which it is believed the names
of the righteous are recorded in the book of life, those in the middle ground
are given ten days to repent and become good, while the wicked are deleted from
the book of life. In essence, it is make or break time for the year. One
wonders if we might be entering a similar phase for Ireland with landmark
decisions over the fate of Anglo Irish Bank taken (with the cost of the funeral
to be know in early October) and the funding cliff for Irish banks to refund
some €25bn of maturing debt this month pending (though I feel fears over their
capacity to roll this debt is way overblown)…Today’s Market Moving Stories
Figures showed that the July US trade deficit
declined more than expected today and reached -$42.8bn. Thus, June’s spurt
to $-49.8bn seems to have been a blip in the data. In July, total exports
gained M/M 1.8 percent while imports decreased 2.1 percent. As for growth,
foreign trade is still set to be a slight drag on GDP in 2010Q3. After
all, imports started into Q3 on a very elevated level (and significantly
above the 2010Q2 average). However, the drag will be much less than Q2’s
-3.4pp.
While US initial jobless claims fell 27k to 451k
last week. Claims moved sideways since the start of the year (the average
since Jan is 466k), indicating that the improvement on the labour market
did make scant headway. All in all, after a long spell of weak data,
today’s releases offer some respite.
In a combative speech, Obama conceded his
policies have “fed the perception that Washington is still ignoring the
middle class,” was billed as a major economic address to unveil a new
round of proposals to kick-start a flagging economic recovery. The
president did introduce three new policy proposals the White House has
been rolling out for nearly a week: $50 billion in additional
infrastructure spending, a permanent and expanded research and
experimentation tax credit and a measure allowing businesses to write 100
percent of their investment costs off their taxes through 2011. But Mr.
Obama’s speech was far more about politics than economics.
ECB chief economist Jurgen Stark tells German
MPs that the banking system is insolvent. This led to complete shock
because the newspaper headlines from July suggested the opposite. The
German policy establishment is under the illusion that its banking system
is sound because it passed what turned out to be fraudulent stress test.
Jurgen Stark is reported to have told a group of Christian Democrat MPs in
Berlin that the German banking sector as a whole is undercapitalised. More
controversially, he advised them to privatise the saving banks – the
ultimate taboo because the savings banks are consider sacrosanct. FT
Deutschland reported that Stark also relayed the assessment of US bankers
that the German system could not conceivably survive the introduction of
the tougher capital rules of Basel III.
Japan has no choice but to intervene in currency
markets to prevent the yen’s strength from decimating the nation’s
industry, Barclays Capital said. The yen reached 83.35 versus the dollar
yesterday, the highest since May 1995, threatening Japan’s export-led
recovery. Industry and jobs won’t likely return from abroad even if the
currency weakens eventually, and that prospect may force policy makers to
intervene “in the immediate future,” said Tetsufumi Yamakawa, co-head of
Japan research at Barclays. “If the yen’s strength lasts at current
levels, factories, investment and jobs will all move overseas,” Yamakawa
said at a forum in Tokyo yesterday.
Australian job growth exceeded forecasts in
August, sending the unemployment rate down to 5.1% and driving the
nation’s currency higher on speculation the central bank will resume
raising interest rates. Employers added 30,900 workers in August,
exceeding the median forecast for 25,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of 25
economists, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The jobless rate
matched the lowest level since January 2009.,,
Worth a read: Michael Lewis has a field
day: Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds (Vanity Fair)
Tiny
tim geithner Says China Needs to Let Market Drive Up Yuan Bloomberg
| U.S. Treasury Secretary Tiny tim geithner said China must let the yuan rise
more quickly to show trading partners that it’s following through on its
promises [ Riiiiight! … Everyone’s just clamoring for american advice on the
global meltdown precipitated by ‘american advice and consent’.]
Bad Math - Why The Bullish Case Doesn't Add UpSimon Maierhofer, On Wednesday September 8, 2010, 3:19 pm
EDT 1+1=22+2=4
The simplicity and accuracy of those calculations is undeniable. How about this
equation? Fundamental Weakness + Technical Sell Signals + Overpriced Stocks =
Lower Stock Prices. This calculation also seems to be simple and accurate.
Let's look at some equations that don't make sense. 1+1=3 or Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices
2+2=5 or Weaker than Expected Economy = Rising Stock
Prices
3+3=7 or Positive Analyst Estimates = Higher Stock Prices
4+4=9 or Technical Sell Signals = Higher Stock Prices
5+5=11 or Overvalued Stocks = Higher Prices
UN
Blueprint: Dismantle Middle Class, Build World Government A UN blueprint
for putting the organization back at the forefront of global governance
alarmingly reveals the agenda to re-brand global warming as “overpopulation” as
a means of dismantling the middle classes while using “global redistribution of
wealth” and increased immigration to reinvigorate the pursuit of a one world
government.
US soldier ‘kept
Afghan body parts’ At least two of the five US soldiers charged in the
deaths of three Afghan civilians had kept body parts taken from Afghan corpses
and threatened subordinates, according to new documents released by the US
army.
Random
Pat-Downs Turn PATCO Into Police State “We can conduct any kind of search
we want,” said McClintock. “We could ask TSA to bring wands or X-ray machines
like they have in airports, though we don’t think that’s appropriate for PATCO
riders at this time.”
Gerald
Celente Calls Out General Petraeus On Koran Warning Hypocrisy “You hear
someone like General Petraeus saying burning the Koran could be dangerous to
American troops – hey General Petraeus – how about invading Arab countries and
occupying them and killing innocent people? You think that could be dangerous
to American troops? Oh no no, our foreign policy has nothing to do with this –
they don’t like Americans because we go to Disneyland and shop at Walmart.”
Barack Obama: Puppet
on a String Jurriaan Maessen | The United States is unfolding
an agenda that has been pushed for by international banks in conjunction with
the CIA.
600
Lockheed execs take buyout(Washington Post)[ Talk about
having your fingers on the economic / fiscal pulse of the nation. This should
be a new leading economic indicator which, unlike many of the others, is less
prone to manipulation. All hail, the ‘golden goose’ is dead!Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: U.S. Government Bond
Defaults Inevitable … This is a global depression. This is a
secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated
bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically
manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that
the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical
wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior
crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until
justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted,
jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] The move reflects a shift underway as defense
contractors scramble to prepare for Pentagon budget cuts.
Reform's
unexpected fallout (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That reform thing …
everything but prosecution of the perps who are back to their churn and earn
ways as some of their worthless paper moving ways have been legislatively
sanctioned / adopted in the form of mark to anything valuation of worthless
assets / paper which debacle is waiting to rear that ugly head! ] Nation's
battle for regulatory reform wasn't supposed to have this kind of collateral
damage. But the new law is threatening the existence of a day-care center,
which has operated for 24 years in the District.
U.S.
drops in competitiveness(Washington
Post) [ Singapore, Sweden, … ? Don’t make me laugh!From defacto bankrupt, meaningfully lawless america’s
perspective, this fallen ranking was a gift and one must be asking, what were
they smoking (or whose money were they taking?) and is the rest of the world
really that bad off? ]Large deficits
and a weakened financial system make the U.S. less competitive in the global
economy, according to World Economic Forum's new ranking.Sweden
Is A Better Place To Do Business Than The U.S. – [Well, that part is true, but
…].‘…Sweden, by contrast, has
“the world’s most transparent and efficient public institutions, with very low
levels of corruption and undue influence.” Which loosely translated from
wonk-speak sounds like, “You’re better off dealing with honest socialists than
crony capitalists.”’ [ True enough, but I still don’t buy it (the rankings),
especially america’s fourth place (as opposed to lower) ranking.]
Afghans
question U.S.-style capitalism(Washington Post) [ As indeed they
should inasmuch as the same is neither capitalism nor american style in the
traditional sense referenced here. Defacto bankrupt, in decline, and
pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless america is a nation unworthy of
emulation! ] Kabul Bank became the pride of Afghanistan's
financial system by offering the conveniences and thrills of 21st-century
capitalism. But the scene outside the bank's headquarters Wednesday was far
from that modern ideal.
Fed
sees widespread slowdown of growth (Washington Post) [ Stocks rally anyway
… the ‘miracle of computerized programmed trading’ even if the math and fundamentals
don’t add up …
Bad Math - Why The Bullish Case Doesn't Add UpSimon Maierhofer, On Wednesday September 8, 2010, 3:19 pm
EDT 1+1=22+2=4
The simplicity and accuracy of those calculations is undeniable. How about this
equation? Fundamental Weakness + Technical Sell Signals + Overpriced Stocks =
Lower Stock Prices. This calculation also seems to be simple and accurate.
Let's look at some equations that don't make sense. 1+1=3 or Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices
Earnings season is over. Most companies beat earnings but issued
cautious forecasts. This is particularly true of the tech (NYSEArca: XLK
- News)
and financial sectors (NYSEArca: XLF - News).
By large, profits are still driven by cost-cutting, not organic growth. Retail
sales, which make up about one third of the economy, continued to fall after
the second quarter ended. Additionally, the expectation that taxes will go up
might have moved some companies to pull some of next year's income into this
year. This can't be good for Q3 and Q4 profits. As we've seen in January and
April of 2010, positive earnings reports are not bullish for stocks, especially
if future guidance is weak. 2+2=5 or Weaker than Expected Economy = Rising Stock Prices
On July 30, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) lowered the Q2 Gross Domestic
Product (GD) growth from an estimated 2.7% to 2.4%. On August 27, the Q2 GDP
was lowered further to a jaw-dropping 1.6%. But it didn't stop there. The real
GDP for all three previous years was revised as well. It was lowered by 0.2%
for 2007, it was lowered by 0.6% for 2008, and it was lowered by 0.4% for 2009.
In percentage terms, the real GDP for 2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to
2.3%. The 2008 decrease was lowered from 1.9% to 2.8% and 2009 growth was
revised up from a 0.1% to a 0.2% increase. In essence, the BEA proved that the
recession was (or is) much deeper than perceived and the alleged recovery much
weaker than previously reported. This comes as no surprise, as the key sector
of the financial debacle - real estate (NYSEArca: IYR
- News)
- remains in a funk. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of vacant
properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale, and vacation homes,
reached 18.9 million. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to lose money. Has
anyone ever wondered how banks (NYSEArca: KBE
- News)
can make money on the same kind of loans that pushed Fannie and Freddie to the
brink of ruin? Since bad real estate loans triggered the post 2007 economic
meltdown, how can the economy recover without real estate leading the way? 3+3=7 or Positive Analyst Estimates = Higher Stock Prices
A recent Associated Press article observed that 'analysts only seem to hit the
mark with their estimates in the strongest economic times (2003 - 2006).' Why?
'The problem is that analysts get most of their information from the companies
they cover. Corporate managers have every incentive to stay positive for as
long as they can.' Is that true; as true as 1+1=2? On April 26, the day the
S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) topped at 1,219, the Dow (DJI: ^DJI) at 11,258, the Nasdaq
(Nasdaq: ^IXIC) at 2,535, Bloomberg reported the following: 'U.S. stocks
cheapest since 1990 on analyst estimates.' Contrary to analyst estimates, the
ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated that 'the potential exists that Monday's
high marked a significant top.' Since April, the broad market dropped as much as
17%. In March 2009, with the Dow below 7000 and the S&P below 700, analysts
lowered their earnings forecasts from $113 in April 2008 to $40. On March 2nd,
the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter sent out a Trend Change Alert and
recommended to buy long and leveraged long ETFs such as the Direxion Daily
Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSEArca: FAS
- News)
and Ultra S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca: SSO
- News).
If
you care to know, until recently, analysts estimated that earnings for the
S&P 500 will exceed their 2006 all-time high, in 2011. Based on that
assumption, stocks are cheap. How about that for flawed math? 4+4=9 or Technical Sell Signals = Higher Stock Prices
The 200-day moving average (MA) is one of the best-known technical indicators,
as it provides delineation between technically healthy and sick stocks. On May
20, the S&P closed below the 200-day MA for the first time since late 2007.
Every attempt to rally and stay above it has since failed miserably. On July 2,
the 50-day MA for the S&P dropped below its 200-day MA for the first time
since late 2007. The same holds true for mid caps (NYSEArca: MDY
- News),
small caps (NYSEArca: IWM - News)
and nearly all individual sector indexes. For good reason, this is called a
Death Cross. Over the past ten years, the death cross has been accurate 75% of
the time, with a 19.72% average return on six winning trades and 6.95% average
return on two losing trades. [chart] In addition to the Death Cross, there are
two head and shoulders patterns, one in the making for over 10 years, and the
other has the breadth suggestive of a major meltdown (see September ETF Profit
Strategy Newsletter). 5+5=11 or Overvalued Stocks = Higher Prices
As explained above, based on overly optimistic earnings estimates, analysts
believe that stocks are cheap. Rather than basing a future outlook on
estimates, it makes sense to use facts as a foundation for any outlook. Why add
an extra variable to what's already an unpredictable market? Ask Yale Professor
Robert Shiller, who's done extensive research on the subject of valuations, and
he'll tell you stocks are historically overvalued based on the current P/E
ratio. Compare today's P/E ratio with the P/E ratio seen at major market
bottoms, and you'll see that stocks are overvalued by more than 50%. Another
gauge that doesn't lie is dividend yields. A company's dividends are a direct
reflection of cash flow and financial health. The current yield is 2.65% for
the Dow and 2.05% for the S&P. Dividends are close to their all-time
low set in 1999 (we know what happened then). This means that companies are
cash strapped and overvalued. Looking at a long-term chart of dividend yields
plotted against stock prices shows clearly that markets don't bottom until
dividends skyrocket. Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature moves
above 32 degrees, the economy won't thaw and show signs of life unless P/E ratios
drop to, and dividend yields rise to, levels seen at major market bottoms. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter
includes a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics, along with short-term
target ranges for stocks and the ultimate market bottom. Based on simple math
and common sense, the July lows are certainly in danger. But it doesn't stop
there.
Report From Europe: Panic Amongst the PIIGS (Seeking Alpha – The Mole) [ Sounds
far from hunky-doryto me and as the
wall street frauds would have you believe and used as a rallying point this
day. Total b*** s***! ] ‘U.S. stocks fell for the first time in five days
Tuesday, ending the longest streak of gains for the S&P 500 Index since
July, on concern the European debt crisis may worsen and hamper global growth.
Bank of America (BAC) and
Citigroup (C) fell at least 2% as European banks slid on
concern stress tests understated potential losses from sovereign debt.
Meanwhile ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) slumped more than 1.2% as crude oil fell
the most in a week. But Oracle (ORCL) rallied 5.9%
after naming Mark Hurd, former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) as president. Today, despite some token
buying by the ECB and a decent Portuguese bond auction, the bond vigilantes
have again been out doing their worst pushing the Irish / German 10 year spread
out to levels not seem since 1988 when the debt GDP ratio was 118% . Indeed
yesterday saw the worst single daily performance by Irish Government
bonds ever in terms of spread widening. Greece is also back in the
crosshairs in response to a downward revision to Q2 Greek GDP to -1.8% from
-1.5% originally, and on news the National Bank of Greece plans to raise Eur2.8
bln of capital. The latter may be especially alarming in the current
environment, but really reflects a desire for extra security and also a cash
hoard to potentially spend on weaker rivals. ATEbank stands prominently in this
respect. (picture) Today’s Market Moving Stories
The stand-out mover in FX today was GBP, which rallied sharply, largely it
would seem on news that Vodafone (VOD) has sold
its stake in China Mobile and intends to use 70% of the proceeds (£4.2bn) to
fund share buybacks. The macros community had started to build GBP shorts in
recent days and this M&A flow prompted a flurry of short-covering, assisted
as well by better than feared Halifax house price data. Irish Banking
According to the Irish Times this morning, the bank’s chairman has stated that
a statement on Anglo should be expected today. Who will make it or what the
nature of the announcement will be is not evident, but keep eyes peeled around
4pm. Recent media reports have indicated strongly that an orderly wind down of
the bank over 10-15yrs is the new preferred option. But what the markets are
really looking for is an update on the total FINAL bottom line kitchen sink
cost of the bailout and whether its closer to Eur 25bn or S&P’s recent
& much criticized Eur 35bn figure. UPDATE – SEE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS POST.
.. Japan
Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he is prepared to take “bold”
action on currencies, including intervention in foreign-exchange markets, after
the yen reached a 15-year high against the dollar. “We will take bold action if
necessary and naturally that can include intervention,” Noda told lawmakers in
parliament today. “We have to use every option available as a strong yen is
likely to have a severe impact on companies.” The yen rose to 83.52 per dollar
yesterday, the highest level since June 1995, as concerns about weakening
growth in the U.S. and Europe bolstered the currency’s appeal as a refuge. UK Outlook
A U.K. index of hiring for permanent jobs in August showed the slowest growth
pace in 10 months, KPMG LLP and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation
said. The gauge of full-time job placements dropped to 56.3 from 60.2 in July,
the groups said in an e-mailed report today in London. That’s the slowest pace
since October. Readings above 50 indicate an increase in hiring. The U.K. is
bracing itself for a period of austerity as Prime Minister David Cameron
pledges to reduce the country’s record budget deficit. U.K. shop price
inflation accelerated in August as the price of food rose at the quickest
annual pace in over a year, a survey showed Tuesday. Total shop price inflation
was 1.7% on the year in August and 0.1% on the month, compared with a 1.5%
annual rate and 0.1% monthly decline in prices in July, the monthly survey by
the British Retail Consortium showed. That was due to a more-than-one
percentage point rise in the cost of food. Food prices were 3.8% higher in
August than a year earlier, while food prices rose 0.2% from July. And July’s
UK industrial production figures suggest that the manufacturing sector
continues to enjoy steady, if unspectacular, growth. The 0.3% rise in
manufacturing output was the third such gain in a row and pushed the yoy rate
of output growth up to a new cycle high of 4.9%. Overall industrial production
saw a similar monthly gain. For now, then, the output data are defying the
rather gloomier tone of some of the recent industrial surveys, such as last
week’s CIPS report on manufacturing. But it is worth remembering that the
surveys normally lead the hard data by a few months, so it would be no surprise
if output growth were to start to weaken over the next few months. And even if
output posts similar increases in August and September, industry won’t make as
strong a contribution to GDP growth in Q3 as it did in Q2. Overall, UK industry
is still doing pretty well, but it may not last too much longer. (picture)
Company / Equity News
UK homebuilder Berkeley Group has issued an
interim management statement this morning covering the period from 1st May
2010 to 31st August 2010. The group pointed out that demand for properties
over the period has been resilient, particularly in London which has a
shortage of supply and specific demand from international purchasers.
Outside of London, which is more reliant on the UK domestic economy, a
lack of credit availability and weak consumer confidence is weighing on
transactions currently.
Barratt Developments also reported full year
results this morning. The group reported a full-year loss of £118.4m
compared to a loss of £468.6m. Market expectations were for a loss of
£125m. Revenue declined by 11% to 2.04bn with the group selling 11,377
homes during the period, compared with 13,277 last year. The group’s
operating margin increased to 5.9% from 1.8% a year earlier. The group
expects a ‘modest’ increase in average selling price this year, however
the group noted that the outlook for new housing ‘remains challenging’.
For clients looking for exposure to a UK home builder, Persimmon is my
preferred play.
Securities firms (investment banks) around the
world will cut as many as 80,000 jobs in the next 18 months as revenue
growth begins to slow, said Meredith Whitney, the former Oppenheimer &
Co. analyst who now runs her own firm. The reductions, about 10 percent of
current levels, will come after 2010 compensation payments. “The key
product drivers of Wall Street’s revenues and profits over the past decade
have been in a structural decline over the past three years,” Whitney said
in the report. “2010 marks the first year in many in which Wall
Street-centric firms will go through structural changes.”
Vodafone’s $6.6 billion sale of its stake in
China Mobile Ltd. is the biggest divestment since Chief Executive Officer
Vittorio Colao took charge in 2008. Investors want to know what’s next.
Vodafone sold its 3.2 percent stake in China’s largest mobile phone
company today. About 70 percent of the proceeds will be returned to
shareholders through a stock repurchase and the rest will be used to pay
down debt, Newbury, England-based Vodafone said in a statement yesterday.
Nokia Oyj, the world’s biggest maker of mobile
phones, has a lot riding on its annual showcase event next week as it
tries to claw back lost ground to Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone and devices based on
Google’s (GOOG) Android software. The Finnish
company is likely to focus attention at Nokia World in London on its
high-end Symbian smartphone line, including the touch screen N8, its
latest effort to take on Android and iPhone handsets.
Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt said the company plans
to extend its Web television service from U.S. viewers to global consumers
in 2011. Google has an agreement with Sony Corp. (SNE) to launch Web TV in the U.S. this
fall, while Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK), the world’s largest television
manufacturer, said today it may make sets run by Google’s software to
compete with Sony and Apple Inc. in the market for TVs that access movies,
shows and games online.
The life of Germany’s nuclear power plants will
be extended by up to 15 years under a deal agreed between energy companies
and the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany’s energy giants
will pay [euro]15 billion to fund research into renewable energy and
Berlin will, in return, set aside a 2000 agreement forced by the Schroder
government to wind down all nuclear energy plants by 2025.
According to the FT, Ryanair (RYAAY) may return to the market for a
purchase of up to 300 airplanes, the Financial Times said late Tuesday,
citing an interview with chief executive Michael O’ Leary. O’Leary told
the FT his company also plans on writing to aviation authorities asking to
use a single pilot for short-haul flights, the report on the FT website
said.
Evidence emerged yesterday that the strained
relations of late between Tullow (TUWOY.PK)
and the Ugandan Government over the issue of tax arising from the Heritage
Oil transaction eased somewhat based on comments attributed to the Energy
Minister. Questioned on the Government stance regarding the recently
rescinded Kingfisher licence in Block 3A and Tullow’s ability to redress
the situation, the Energy Minister appeared to soften the Government
position indicating a favorable response should Tullow apply.
Dana Petroleum (DNPXF.PK) offered a strong defence this
morning against the unsolicited offer of £18 per share from the Korean
National Oil Company (KNOC) and also announced the widely anticipated
acquisition of Petro-Canada’s UK assets for a cash consideration of £240m
($372m).
And finallyUPDATE – Text of announcement
on Anglo Irish
The Minister for Finance today briefed his Government colleagues on the
strategic options for the future of Anglo Irish Bank. The Minister conveyed to
the Government the views of the Board of Anglo Irish Bank, the Central Bank,
the National Treasury Management Agency, the Department of Finance, the EU
Commission and his own assessment of the position.The Government decided that
Anglo Irish Bank will be split into a Funding Bank and an Asset Recovery Bank.
Anglo Irish Bank has not expanded its loan book since it was nationalised in
early 2009 and this will remain the case. It is intended that in due course the
Recovery Bank will be sold in whole or in part or that its assets will be run
off over a period of time. The guaranteed position of depositors will be
unchanged by the new arrangements and no action is required of them as a result
of today’s announcement. The depositors will become customers of the Funding
Bank which will be fully capitalized and continue as a regulated bank. In order
to restore the reputation of the Irish Financial System it is essential to
bring finality to the problem of Anglo Irish Bank – our most distressed
institution. The Government’s primary objective in dealing with Anglo Irish
Bank has been to minimise the cost of this distressed bank to the Irish
taxpayer. The Board of Anglo Irish Bank submitted its preferred option to the
Minister and to the European Commission at the end of May for consideration
under State Aid rules. The board’s plan envisaged splitting the bank into an
asset management company and a new good bank. The asset management company
would have managed out over time the bank’s lower quality assets remaining
after the transfers to NAMA. The new good bank would have managed the remaining
share of the loan book, retained the bank’s deposit funding and sought new
lending opportunities to grow the bank. The Minister acknowledges the good
faith and hard work of the board in producing a credible proposal for the
future of the bank. However, the Government has concluded that this plan in its
current form does not now provide the most viable and sustainable solution to
ensure the continued stability of the Irish banking system.
Resolution Proposal
In these circumstances, the Government has decided to opt for a variation of
the board’s restructuring proposal. The Government’s decision does not affect
existing guarantee arrangements. Under the restructuring plan, the Funding Bank
will be a Government-backed/guaranteed specialist deposit bank which will
contain the bank’s deposit book. It will be a stand-alone, regulated bank,
completely separated from Anglo’s loan assets and it will be owned directly by
the Minister for Finance. This bank will not engage in any lending, but will
provide a secure home for Anglo’s depositors and any new customers who wish to
deposit their funds with it. Depositors with the Funding Bank will be
completely insulated from the future performance of the rest of the current
Anglo Irish Bank loan book. The Asset Recovery Bank will also be a licensed
regulated bank. Its dedicated focus will be on the work-out over a period of
time of the assets not being transferred to NAMA in a manner which maximises
the return to the taxpayer.
Costs
The Government believes that it is essential to identify, with as much
certainty as possible, the final cost for the restructuring and resolution of
the bank. This will underpin international financial confidence in Ireland.
Accordingly, the Central Bank will determine the appropriate levels of capital
needed in both institutions. Its decision will be announced by October.
EU Commission
The Department of Finance has conducted intensive discussions with the EU
Commission in recent weeks about the future of Anglo Irish Bank. The Minister
for Finance met Commissioner Almunia last Monday to discuss the issue. A formal
detailed plan is being prepared for submission to the Commission for approval.
The Minister said: “Today’s decision by the Government will provide certainty
about the future of Anglo Irish Bank. Resolution of this, our most distressed
institution, is essential to the promotion of confidence and stability in our
financial system.”
8th September 2010
ENDS
Brian Meenan
Press Office
PH: 6045875
email: [email protected]
‘
Here
Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David
Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this
so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in
his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a
depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:
This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after
a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a
10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.
Deflation Never Had A
Chance What the deflationists fail to acknowledge is that in a purely fiat
monetary system deflation is a choice not an inevitability. To put it in simple
terms, if a government is willing to sacrifice its currency there is absolutely
no way deflation can take hold in a modern monetary system.
There
Are Now Enough Vacant Properties In China To House Over Half Of America On
the assumption that each flat serves as a home to a typical Chinese family of
three (parents and one child), the vacant properties could accommodate 200
million people, which account for more than 15% of the country’s 1.3 billion
population.
Why the Furious Bear Will Come Back- Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday September 7, 2010, 4:34
pm‘The Top Ten List has become
a staple of David Letterman's Late Show. We don't quite have the space to
discuss ten reasons why the bear market isn't over (if we did, we'd probably
put you to sleep), but we'll take a crack at a Top Five List. Without further
ado, here it is:
#1: Forget About Earnings
Using
past earnings numbers to project future performance is like basing your
Roulette bet on the numbers that won previously… [chart]
#2: Budget Deficits
The
2011 U.S. deficit projection for 2011 was raised from $1.2 trillion to $1.4
trillion...
#3: Banks - Nothing but Fluff
…Fundamentally,
however, nothing had changed… 'The house of cards was much bigger and started
to stretch beyond Wall Street…The government postponed the collapse of the
'whole deck' thus far. As of recent, however, some disturbing information has
surfaced. Bank of America admitted to hiding bad assets and Goldman's 82%
profit drop shows that the days of fat trading profits - such as seen in Q3 and
Q4 2009 and Q1 2010 - are over… It doesn't take an economist to know that
taking money from your savings account and transferring it to your checking
account can't be counted as income.
#4 Real Estate
In
late July, the market allegedly rallied because new home sales jumped 24% to
330,000 units in June. We feel the urge to put this number into perspective.
May sales were revised from an original 300,000 units to 267,000 units - this
is an all-time low. Bouncing off from the lowest level on record, new home sales
did indeed increase 24%. Is that reason to celebrate though? Chances are the
330,000 will be revised lower in the future. Regardless, 330,000 homes sold
pales in comparison to the 1.4 million homes sold in 2005.The U.S. Census
Bureau reported that the number of vacant properties, including foreclosures,
residences for sale and vacation homes, reached 18.9 million. It shouldn't be
too long before those bleak fundamentals are reflected in the performance of
real estate ETFs like the iShares DJ US Real Estate ETF (NYSEArca: IYR
- News)
and SPDR DJ REIT ETF (NYSEArca: RWR - News).
..
#5: Consumer Confidence
During
periods of economic expanse the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index
has averaged a reading above 100. Recessions average a reading of 71. The
current confidence reading is at a dismal 50.4. The chart below paints this sad
picture. [chart] Consumer spending is said to make up about three quarters of
the economy. How can the economy recover without participation by the consumer?
It can't. That doesn't mean stocks can't rally temporarily. Such a disconnect
between the economy and Wall Street's dream world tends to be short-lived.
Sentiment Confusion
…
More importantly though, the optimism surrounding the April highs is indicative
of a major market top, a top that implies a decline much deeper than the 20%
we've seen thus far. This conclusion is certainly supported by the
above-mentioned Top Five list and many other indicators…
‘We
are still determined’: U.S. pastor vows to carry out Burn-a-Koran day on Sept
11 despite death threats As Gerald
Celente said on the show today, General Petraeus’ comment that burning the
Koran could upset Muslims is the height of hypocrisy. Did Petraeus ever
consider the notion that bombing and occupying their countries also wouldn’t go
down too well? This whole issue is about manipulating us into a helter-skelter
race war as a distraction from the economic collapse and to rally the country
around another war in the middle east.
NYPD
Top Cop: Planned Quran Burning Is “Dangerous” [ I personally wasn’t going to comment on this and let others draw
their own conclusions; especially, as pointed out by Celente, when america’s
been bombing and killing civilian muslims in droves, based on lies, and even
for drug trade pre-eminence, etc.. After all, it’s not too difficult to dredge
up memories of other historical book-burners, ie., that Austrian house-painter
with a brush mustache, etc.. But really, isn’t this guy jones a neo-con dream
come true? I think he’s just a publicity seeking, mentally unbalanced dummy. He
even looks a bit like john bolton. But, in america, mental unbalance has become
the new normal. ] Police Commissioner Ray Kelly sided with Gen. Petraeus last
night, calling a planned burning of Qurans on the anniversary of Sept. 11,
“unwise” and “un-American” during the 9/11 Museum and Memorial’s fundraising
dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan Tuesday night.
Petraeus: Neocons
favorite general Russia Today | Ten Afghan civilians were killed Thursday in a
NATO air strike on three vehicles carrying civilians, President Hamid Karzai
said in a statement.
Obama
infrastructure proposal may hit election year wall (Washington Post) [ It
has nothing to do with the election at this point, although the motivations for
same are suspect. It’s really a matter of political capital; and wobama has
NONE! Zero! Zed! Nada! He’s totally and unequivocally, DONE! ] What seems
virtually certain is that the proposal for initial spending of $50 billion on
planes, trains and automobiles most likely will wait until next year.
Obama
to unveil more stimulus, tax breaks for business (Washington Post) [ It
really is quite astounding how quickly the tides have changed against wobama.
The amazing thing is that as president he had the easiest act in the world to
follow; viz., dumbya bush. He blew that royally. How? Why? Make no mistake,
wobama is as over as over can be. Even his dem compatriots are saying of this
desperate act … too little, too late. And yet, this truth is seen from their
limited perspective only with regard to the election, when in fact, this is as
true economically as it is long-term for the nation. All he had to do was what
he said he would do; and, that especially applies to the self-destruct,
ill-advised ramped up war spending in Afghanistan. Wobama is undoubtedly the
biggest b*** s*** artist in the history of this nation and really bought his
own failure by not remembering what got him elected in the first instance in terms
of popular vote (the ultimate source of electoral victory a point for
reflection in light of ever more evident quid pro quos, ie., no wall street
prosecutions, ramped up war spending, etc..]
To
consumer advocates, antitrust enforcement lacking (Washington
Post) [ Unfortunately, at least for those who still care, america’s long past
the glory days of the trust-busters. In fact, america’s long past the days of
any meaningful law at all. See infra, RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of
Perjury, which includes how sam alito as u.s. attorney parleyed cover-up and
obstruction of justice et als into fed.ct.appeals and u.s.supreme court
lifetime appointments. The corruption’s incredible but very real. ] The
Justice Department's antitrust division has yet to exercise its signature
power: to bring a case against a corporate titan suspected of abusing its
dominance.
Pearlstein:
The bleak truth about unemployment (Washington Post) [ When I saw this
headline I felt certain that Mr. Pearlstein would be discussing the reality
that the real unemployment rate exceeds 20% with that ‘stopped looking’ fudge
factor removed as merely a convenient subterfuge. But, alas and lamentably, I
was wrong. To be sure, Mr. Pearstein’s topic is important and probably more
optimistic than anyone deserves to be in light of some grim realities that most
dare not mention with the defacto bankrupt nation just barely surviving on that
wonder drug called hopium (see infra, DeCiantis:
‘Students of behavioral finance must have had a field day this past week. In
the wake of a month of dismal economic reports, Wall Street got its risk on
with a few better than expected reports on manufacturing sentiment, home sales,
and employment. Hopium, it appears, is a powerful drug. [ HOPIUM … YEAH! I KIND
OF LIKE THAT METAPHOR WHICH RINGS TRUE! ] ). As for Mr. Pearlstein’s
‘how to make the american economy competitive again.’,I liken this Gordian knot of a problem to
one for which magic mushrooms, along with hopium, are as far as reality will
permit in terms of even imagining such could possibly be the case. You cannot
unring the bell on the irrevocable structural changes wrought by the greediest,
most corrupt, and, though often wrapped in the flag, treasonous, lawless
elements of american society; governmental, quasi-governmental, and private
business (which included the necessary technology transfers). That’s reality! ]
September: In Like a Lion, Out Like
a Lamb DeCiantis: ‘Students of behavioral
finance must have had a field day this past week. In the wake of a month of
dismal economic reports, Wall Street got its risk on with a few better than
expected reports on manufacturing sentiment, home sales, and employment.
Hopium, it appears, is a powerful drug. [ HOPIUM … YEAH! I KIND OF LIKE THAT
METAPHOR WHICH RINGS TRUE! ]
Economists
spent August cautiously lowering their outlook for the second half of the year
as Obama's "recovery summer" failed to bear fruit,
the Federal Reserve failed at both of its twin mandates (stable prices and full
employment), and bullish analysts failed to convince investors that the market
was ready to climb to fresh highs. As a result, stocks ended the worst August
in nine years with rising calls for stimulus and fears of the dreaded double-dip.
Then
came September. In like a lion, surging nearly 3% on the first trading day of
the month on the heels of a better-than-expected survey by the Institute for
Supply Management of the manufacturing industry. Representing (statistically
speaking) nearly 30% of the US economy, the number was expected to fall after a
series of similar Fed surveys from around the country indicated that American
heavy industry -- that engine of growth over the last two quarters -- was
finally loosing steam. Instead, it leapfrogged every estimate on The Street to
post its first advance since May. Granted the rise was modest, but the surprise
factor flipped the all-important risk switch and a reinvigorated camp of bulls
poured back into the market, convinced that their creeping suspicions about a
slip back into recession were all just a bad dream.
[chart]
Outside
of a few trading irregularities, the data itself forced
the bears to take pause and reflect on the substance of the report. The
economics team at Goldman Sachs may have summarized it best:
"Without question, the report was
better than expected...[but] the details of the report actually reinforce the
case for further slowing in this sector. As shown in Exhibit 2, the gap between
the indexes for new orders and inventories, an important lead indicator of
movements in the composite index and in industrial production, almost
disappeared in the August report. As recently as May, this gap was a robust
20.1 index points. The clear—if uneven—downward trend in this indicator
actually strengthens the case for a decline in the composite index in coming
months. The bottom line: US manufacturing output may still be expanding, but
the risk that these goods are winding up on the shelf has increased."
More telling, however, was the
dissection by semi-permabear David Rosenberg that helps to put the August
print into context:
In a nutshell, ISM did smash consensus
expectations in August but the composition left much to be desired. The coincident
indicators firmed but the categories that actually lead manufacturing activity
softened across the board.
As we said at the outset, the ISM index
was at complete odds with the regional surveys. Philadelphia, New York,
Milwaukee, Richmond and Kansas City were all down. Dallas and Cincinnati were
up. In the past, when we had a 5-to-2 ratio to the downside, the share of the
time ISM managed to eke out an advance was 4%.
It would be wise to lean against the
market's initial dramatic reaction to this data. The ISM orders/inventories
ratio is a decent leading indicator and it sank to 1.033x from 1.065 in July.
1.278x in Julne and 1.441x in May. The hidden nugget in today's report is that
this ratio has decline to levels not seen since February 2009. And the last
time it fell this fast to this type of level was in the September to December
2007 period (1.03x from 1.30x) when once again, there was tremendous confusion
and intense debate over whether it was a recession/soft patch in the economy
and the bear market/corrective phase in equities.
Suffice it to say that in the past 30
years, with eleven observations, ISM dropped to 47x in the three months after
such a decline in the orders/inventory ratio to such a low level as is the case
today. That is the average, the median, and the mode. The highest ISM reading
three months hence was 51.9, so if past is prescient, today's data was likely a
huge headfake.
[chart] The ISM report also
overshadowed another important data release on construction, but we'll get to
that later. The next feather in the bulls' cap was a pair of data points on
residential real estate -- the sick dog of nearly every major developed economy
in the G8. The first revealed a rise in July pending home sales (5.6%) after a
precipitous drop in May (30%) and a further drop in June (2.6%) as an $8,000 tax credit expired.
Analysts collectively expected a drop of 1%. Needless to say the markets were
pleasantly surprised.
A closer look at the data reveals two
key narratives not captured by the popular media or trading desks. First, it's
important to contextualize the "rise" in pending sales by looking at a
longer time series that tells the same story (this particularl series only goes
back to 2005). The graph below speaks for itself.
Second, the reported data may suffer
from a disease common to many of the economic statistics released every day:
Seasonal Adjustment Disorder (SAD). Given the inherent seasonality of the home
buying cycle (higher during the summer when kids aren't in school, lower in
winter when the weather is less than ideal for moving) economists at the
National Association of Realtors make adjustments
for these factors to make monthly comparisons easier.
However, that can sometimes mask changes in the raw data, as was the case with
the August NAR release. As Rosenberg suggests:
While the increase in pending home
sales is encouraging, we did dig through the data and found that the not
seasonally adjusted numbers (the raw numbers) fell by 7%, with declines across
the country. This makes sense as July is usually a slower month for homebuying activities.
We wonder if there is a chance that the
seasonal adjustment factors could be overstating the monthly increase given
that we have seen such huge volatility in the housing numbers in the recent
year making the seasonal adjustment process more difficult. Recall that
Standard and Poor’s issued a note about the Case-Shiller home price index
saying that “the turmoil in the housing market in the last few years has
generated unusual movements that are easily mistaken for shifts in the normal
seasonal patterns, resulting in larger seasonal adjustments and misleading
results.
Another data point that drew a lot of
bullish attention was Tuesday's housing release on prices. After a few dismal
years, any news that isn't a decrease is more than welcome by just about
everyone, rich and poor, domestic and international. Tuesday's Case-Shiller
print was no exception, as home prices "jumped"...by a mind-numbing 1%...two
months ago in June... on a rolling three-month basis (i.e. April through
June).....still reflecting the last dying gasp of the home buyers' tax credit.
Again, a little context:
Friday's bulls, reinvigorated after a
powerful (and low volume) start to the month, launched their
attack on a new front: employment. Long a forgotten weapon in the bulls'
arsenal, private payrolls climbed by a larger-than-expected 67,000 in
August, beating expectations for a 45,000 gain. At that rate, it would only
take a little under 9 years to rehire the 7,000,000 people who lost their jobs
during the recession but have yet to find new work (assuming no increase in
population). Only 7,000 permanent government jobs were shed during the month,
though economists expect that number to rise as state and local governments
face crippling budget deficits. The other 114,000
new claims represent the last major layoff of temporary census workers, who
rejoin an army of job seekers that have collectively become one of America's
most structural economic challenges.
Obviously plenty of reason for the
markets to celebrate.
Now for the bad news.
On the same day as the ISM
Manufacturing survey was released to considerable fanfare, July's construction
spending was released by the Census Bureau and confirmed a worsening
year-over-year decline of nearly 11%. Month over month, spending was down 1% in
July and suggests another downward revision to third quarter GDP.
More from Goldman:
Construction outlays dropped 1% in July
from a level that was revised down a whopping 2.7%. This dismal construction
report flew below the market's radar, as it normally does since it usually
comes out alongside the ISM manufacturing survey. One might dub construction
outlays the Rodney Dangerfield ("I don't get no respect") of US
economic indicators. Of all the data released this week, it has the most direct
bearing on the real GDP "bean count" next to the monthly consumption
report. Hence, since consumption was only modestly better than expected, a case
can be made that third-quarter growth might actually be lower now than we
thought a week ago despite all the upside surprises.
[chart]
Wednesday also revealed that another
source of bullish sentiment in July may have been a little premature: auto sales. After months of steep retail incentives and easy
year-over-year growth comparisons, cash- and credit-strapped
Americans returned to a more cautious consumption path. As the second largest
leveraged purchase in a typical household, auto sales reflected that shift.
Only Chrysler, the runt of the litter, managed to squeak out an
increase in sales in an otherwise sluggish retail environment.
[chart]
Finally, on Friday the latest ISM Non-Manufacturing
survey was released and was every bit as disappointing as everyone expected the
manufacturing survey to be. The index slowed to 51.5% in August from 54.3% in
July and 55.4% in May, and its components were even less rosy. From Econoday:
A new optimism after today's jobs
report -- not so fast. The ISM non-manufacturing report shows broad and
deeper-than-expected slowing. New orders at 52.4 are down more than four points
in August for the slowest rate of month-to-month growth so far this year.
Employment, which in this report includes government workers, is signaling
contraction, at 48.2 for a nearly three point decline for the worst reading
since January. The composite headline index at 51.5 is down exactly three
points for what is also the worst reading since January. Backlog orders are
basically flat, export orders are down, deliveries are showing less delays, and
general business activity is slower. Imports did rise as did raw material
prices.
[chart]
In response, the market cut its morning
gains in half, only to rally into the close to retest the morning highs. What
makes this week's schizophrenic ISM interpretations so dangerous is that the
upside surprise on Wednesday was based on data that captures roughly a third of
the economy, while Friday's non-manufacturing disappointment approximates
activity in roughly two-thirds of the economy. So of course the markets ended the
week up 3%.
Once again, Goldman's analysts try to
walk a fine line between sell-side optimism and buy-side skepticism:
On the whole, it's been a good week for
US economic data...reports on factory activity, pending home sales, and the
labor market have surprised to the high side. In fact, some of these readings
have benefited from positive judgmental adjustments, as factors not readily
apparent in the headline indicator have also been better than expected.
However, this does not mean that the outlook for US economic activity has
improved, except insofar as the better-than-expected news eases market worries
about a "double dip". At least some - perhaps most - of the
improvement ... reflects what Paul Krugman once called, in a much different
context, "The Age of Diminished Expectations". In the current
setting, we note that several prominent forecasters have marked down forecasts
of economic activity and therefore may also have lowered their sights on the
higher frequency indicators.
Interpretive bias is inevitable when
any new data is released. Optimists will quickly find a silver lining in any
dark cloud, and pessimists will pick apart even the most robust reports of
growth and tease out a bearish narrative. Investors should think twice when
these competing forces fall out of balance -- when markets are as unabashedly
bearish as they were in late 2008, or as unapologetically bullish as the were
during the second half of 2009.
If the first few days of September are
any indication of how the month will unfold, we may be back on the perma-bull
track. When disappointing data is released, investors cheer for more fiscal and
monetary stimulus. When data is surprisingly positive, investors cheer at the
prospect of a sustainable, organic recovery. As we saw in early 2010, this
"heads I win, tails you lose" mentality is particularly vulnerable to
rapid and substantial correction, and a September that entered as a lion may
finish the third quarter as a lamb.
Disclosure: Long safety, short risk (no specific
stocks mentioned)’
Correlation
and the S&P 500[ I really think this author was a bit too
diffident in talking about the computerized churn-and-earn scam which eats away
at the real economy , but the discussion highlights at least this immense
problem area ] ‘The immense correlation between the market, and almost all risk
assets on Earth is not a new subject to FMMF readers. [Jun 30, 2009: Bloomberg - Correlation Among Asset Classes
Highest Ever] I beat this dead horse monthly, mostly out of abject
frustration. [Sep 2, 2010: Why Bother with Individual Stocks in the
Perfectly Correlated Market?] I don't have an issue when the market
is up 2-3% or 90% of stocks move in the same direction, it is all these days
the market is up or down 0.7% when it drives a person nuts.
Friday,
for example, every position I had but one was up. As I type this every position
but one is down.
This
correlation madness started to become an issue in 2007 as we were told that
hedgies control 40%(ish) of each day's trading volume. As I said then, since
mutual and pension funds are relatively staid players, the 'fast money' is the
marginal buyer, and 'hot money' in the form of hedge funds - especially of the
quant variety - are the marginal buyer. The problem now is they seem to be the
only buyer as equity fund withdrawals continue on pace as the retail guy floods
into bond funds.
So
we have a market dominated by computers trading to computers, all using related
algo's - happy, happy, joy joy. Now we hear things such as 60-70% of trades
flow through these players... and since EFTs are the weapon of choice,
computerized trading of EFTs have taken over the market. [Jun 29, 2010: Correlations Among Asset Classes Reach Ever
Higher Extremes as HAL9000 Algos Dominate Life] The SPY ETF is now about 9% of ALL volume as of
last check, and we had a time about 7-8 months ago where Citigroup (C), AIG (AIG),
Fannie (FNMA.OB), and Freddie (FMCC.OB) were 40% of all volume. Pathetic.
Frankly,
it makes the market a frustrating and 'less fun' place. The market used to be a
four-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, comprised of fundamental, technical,
psychological, and 'animal spirits.' Now it's just the dumbed down
two-dimensional Etch a Sketch. Shake it at 4 pm every day, because it has no
memory from day to day. Sure you can adjust (in fact you must adjust) if you
plan to stick around, but when everything is a 1:1 correlation, it simply
reduces the market to 'stoopid' and coming in each day, checking your brain at the
door, and staring at the S&P 500 chart trying to guess where it will be in
3 hours, 3 days, and 3 weeks gets to be boring. [Jul 15, 2010: WSJ - Correlation Soars on S&P 500
Shares]
But
this is the casino market we have built, and I don't see anything
changing anytime soon. The other issue is it makes it so much more difficult to
outperform the market. Surely there are a handful of stock names that still outperform
(or underperform) but with almost everything swaying in the exact same
direction as the market, creating alpha is difficult. Most of the performance
nowadays is not about stocks, but due to calling turns in the greater market -
increasingly hard to position for as you scale in size. Especially when the
majority of the turns are due to binary reactions to economic reports or Fed
announcements - it's simply placing your bets on red and black, not a stock
market.
One
of my big beefs with the mutual fund industry is that many players - especially
in the bigger funds - are closed index funds. They all have super cool names
but almost anything in 'large cap value' or 'large cap growth' were hybrid
closet indexers. They basically flip an Exxon (XOM), Intel (INTC), or a Microsoft (MSFT), with a Walmart (WMT), Verizon (VZ), or a Cisco Systems (CSCO) -- change the order, weighting, and
indeed are able to charge a nice fee for doing nothing other than being the
S&P 500 with a small twist. I cannot tell you how many 401k plans I
reviewed for people, where I went to look at the top 10 holdings of the 12-15
mutual fund choices and 90% of them were identical (just in different order in
weightings!). The statistic of 0.99 correlation amongst the S&P 500 and
many of the largest funds is quite remarkable and points to my 'closet index'
beef, but with the mechanics of our new paradigm market, it has taken it to a
whole new level. It also says a lot of people are wasting their money paying
management fees for what is an S&P 500 ETF clone.
That
said, even with the closet index situation that has been growing for a decade+
you used to be able to try to outperform if you plied your trade in small or
medium caps (or international markets), but the HFT + EFT = GLEE environment we
now live in has made that increasingly moot, since most of those stocks now
move in unison as well. If your stock is not in a major EFT it generally sits
ignored with low volume... if it IS in an ETF than it doesnt matter the company
specifics - as long as the algo's are buying (or selling that ETF) as flavor of
the day, every component in that ETF is a winner (or loser)! Stoopid is as
stoopid does in the market with 1st grade logic.
One
gentleman I've admired for many years is Will Danoff at Fidelity Contrafund. [Sep 9, 2008: Will Danoff in Kiplinger Magazine]
His fund has been huge in size for years on end (I'm talking multiples the size
of the biggest hedge funds - Contrafund is now up to $62 BILLION), yet he has
been able to somehow outperform his peer group (and until the past 5 years the
S&P 500) by a wide margin, mostly by being somewhat contrarian. This
despite holding many positions and not being extremely concentrated - a feat I
find quite remarkable since once you start owning 200-250 positions I don't
know how you can beat the market over time. (Contrafund owns 445 positions as of last quarter!) Danoff is highlighted in
this piece, which is why I mention him - he is no dummy.
Fidelity Investments’ William Danoff, the stock
picker who led the Contrafund to benchmark- beating returns, isn’t looking
very contrarian these days. Danoff’s $62 billion Contrafund,
which seeks to beat the market by picking stocks whose value hasn’t been
fully recognized, has tracked the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index
more closely this year than in any year during its four-decade history.
“Danoff usually finds ways to go against the
grain, but these days there isn’t much that’s contrarian relative to the
macro theme,” Adviser Investments’ Lowell said. “This is a trendless
market and it’s not providing him any room to break away from the S&P
500.”
Investing abroad hasn’t helped stock pickers
like Danoff because correlation has shot up even between regions.
Danoff isn’t alone. Six of the 10
largest U.S. stock funds show correlations of 0.99 this year, meaning they
moved almost completely in sync with the market. Managers are struggling
to stand out and attract new money as fear of another crisis
prompts investors to move in and out of markets without discriminating
between securities, industries or geographies.
Robert Doll, BlackRock Inc.’s chief equity
strategist, said while stocks moved in lockstep before, this is
the longest he has seen correlation persist across markets. “We
were expecting 2010 to be the year when stock selection would add value,
but that hasn’t been the case.”
Doll says even the most high-quality stocks have
been hurt among a larger sell-off in risky assets. “We’ve scratched our
heads many times during this year as the macro picture is driving
everything,” Doll said. “It can be frustrating along the way, but we’re
just focusing on the fundamentals and eventually we’ll get paid for it.”
The correlation between the U.S. equity
benchmark and its individual members was 0.81 in the 50 trading days
through July 7 and has since remained close to that level. That’s almost
twice the historical average of 0.45 over the past 30 years.
The increase in correlation is making it
difficult for actively managed funds to beat their benchmarks and produce
better returns than lower-cost index products. “You can’t pick any mutual
fund, even if has previously been a winner, and expect it to outperform in
this market.”
Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive officer of
Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co., says investors
have a “risk-on/risk-off” attitude that leads to sometimes “violent”
swings, such as the sell-off in markets worldwide on Aug. 11,
after the Federal Reserve indicated that the economic recovery had lost
momentum. “We were particularly struck by the size and correlated
nature of the market moves,” said El-Erian.
Correlation may be linked to the increased
use of exchange-traded funds and index funds in the stock market,
especially those that focus on particular industry groups, said Brian
James, co-director of equity research at Boston-based Loomis Sayles &
Co. Assets in U.S. ETFs have grown to more than $821 billion from
$608 billion at the end of 2007, according to Investment Company
Institute. “It is almost axiomatic that if you have an increased
presence of single-purpose ETFS and futures traders, it moves stocks in
one direction,” said James.
Correlation has been particularly pronounced for
companies with larger market capitalizations, and for the larger funds. James said that 90
to 95 percent of large-capitalization stocks have tended to move in the
same direction this year, up from about 70 percent prior to the
2008 financial crisis.
The largest U.S. stock fund, the $148 billion
Growth Fund of America, has seen correlation increase to 0.99 this year,
from 0.84 in mid-2008. For the $37 billion Dodge & Cox Stock Fund, run
by San Francisco-based Dodge & Cox, the correlation measure was also
0.99 this year, compared with low of 0.81 prior to the height of the
crisis in late 2008.
Disclosure: None’
Obama
seeks $100 billion business tax credit(Washington Post) [
All just monopoly money now! And, of course, pre-election talking points as war
spending ramps up in Afghanistan. Sounds like … uh … uh … plan? Bankruptcy
plan? Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults
Inevitable … ]
Economic
events for this week(Washington Post) [ Well, I’ll stick
with nobel prize winner Krugman (infra) among other similar dire but realistic
forecasters who, beyond the spin and fake market-frothing data (especially so
close to the mid-terms) have a track record of being right when everyone else
was ebulliently wrong, mr. fraudulent-wall-street-glass-half-full-though-empty.
] After a busy week of economic data, this one should be quieter,
offering the Federal Reserve's compilation of anecdotal information on the job
market and new details on trade.
Krugman:
It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love
him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro
picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the
foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn
that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US
economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:
I’ve had a couple of conversations
lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that
close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two
comforting delusions still out there.
Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road
to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps
saying this.
But it’s not at all true. GDP is
growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private
employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask
how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the
current track, the answer is forever.
Delusion #2 is the belief that the
stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds
unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on
total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has
already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are
being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.
If you can ignore the schizophrenic market
for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private
sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The
government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely
papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step
aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t
again be exposed for what it really is.
Government
Bonds: Can the U.S. Maintain Confidence in Its Debt? Cliff Kule Massive,
unsustainable government debt - it's everywhere. Especially in America. At some
point, will the world begin to lose confidence in America's growing debt? Will
interest rates then skyrocket? Will a Greek-style crisis in U.S. government
bonds then ensue? Is there any way out?
America can
claim its debt problems are not as bad as some countries. But that ignores some
important points:
See an
interesting chart on how America's financial condition is worse than
several other countries.
Even the most respected bond manager in the
world, Pimco's Bill Gross, believes there are several countries including
the U.S. whose financial ratios are in dangerous territory - the
"ring of fire".
A loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar and U.S.
debt could bring a "Greek-style" crisis to the whole world.
Consider that the U.S. dollar has been the world's reserve currency since
1944; it has been accumulated by the whole world as a form of trusted and
secure savings. There are trillions of dollars of U.S. government debt
accumulated as reserve savings by banks around the world (see chart below
courtesy of Hugo Salinas Price) and realize that most reserves are held as
U.S. government bonds. A loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar and in the
ability of the U.S. to service its growing debt could trigger an epic
disaster. [chart]
Is there any way for America to maintain the
confidence?
One way would be for America to become fiscally
prudent, simply stop creating money and debt, let the massive deflationary
forces of credit contraction and consumer de-leveraging run their natural
course. This would cleanse the system of toxic debt. It would also clearly and
immediately cause another Great Depression.
Another way would be for America to simply print more
money, create more debt, blindly following Keynesian economics that brought us
into this mess in the first place. Attempt to "inflate away" the debt
without losing the confidence of investors that buy the U.S. government bonds.
This has been tried many times throughout history with disastrous consequences.
The chart below (courtesy of Economic Edge) shows how
increases in debt are recently giving less and less “umph” to economic GDP
growth to the point now of negative GDP growth. Eric Sprott has produced an
excellent study suggesting that 9 cents of "growth" is coming
with every dollar we go deeper into debt. Bud Conrad has produced
calculations that are equally discouraging. This massive debt-driven money
printing would therefore likely lead some form of hyperinflation in a futile
attempt to stimulate economic growth.
This leaves one other option.... a direction that is
hardly ever considered... a policy tool still waiting to be tried!... America
could return to the gold standard... Why? Because the gold standard system
would back the U.S. dollar by real money, and enforce a responsible discipline
of fiscal and monetary policy that Congress and the Federal Reserve cannot
currently do. In turn this would maintain confidence in America's debt.
“The gold
standard has one tremendous virtue: the quantity of the money supply, under the
gold standard, is independent of the policies of governments and political
parties. This is its advantage. It is a form of protection against spendthrift
governments.” Ludwig von
Mises (1881-1973)
Monetary systems on a gold standard system cannot
increase money supply as needed. Under a gold standard system, paper money is
backed by something of real tangible value. The total amount of gold limits the
total amount of paper money that can be created. New money must be backed by
additional gold. Omnis’ Jim Rickards suggests this possible solution:
a “gold backed currency at a non-deflationary price… sound money leads to sound
growth and the creation of real, not illusory, wealth.”
In 1971, President Nixon simply severed the tie
between gold and U.S. dollars. As he closed the gold “window,” Nixon proclaimed
“We are all Keynesians now” (referring to the Keynesian economic school of
thought where gold has no function). Austrian School economists and Cliff Küle
would like to say – We are not all Keynesians.
Did severing the link between the dollar and gold
work to strengthen confidence in the U.S.? Please consider:
Within a generation of that move, the U.S. went
from being the world’s largest creditor nation to the world’s largest
debtor.
Until the greenback is once again made as good as
gold, many millions of people will persist in believing that the barbarous
relic is still a better bet.
Recently speaking about Goldman Sachs’ problems at
the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, former President Bill
Clinton said,
There is a bigger problem here… too much of our
growth was in finance ever since went off the gold standard.
The dollar “tie” to gold might be “re-tied” just as
simply as it was untied. In a certain respect, America never really went off
the gold standard. The tie between gold and U.S. dollar was simply adjusted to
0%. So, simply adjust it back. What tie would be needed today to restore
America back to the gold standard? Let’s do the simple math.
Official
figures for the total amount of gold reserves held by the U.S. Treasury are
8133.5 tonnes of gold. This gold is owned by all Americans and is held in trust
by the government for the people. Given that 1 metric tonne is 32150.746
ounces, that amounts to:
8133.5 tonnes x 32150.746 ounces/tonne =
261498092.591 ounces
If we look at recent Federal
Reserve data, we note that the total U.S. M1 seasonally adjusted money
supply is at $1712.2 Billion of currency. Therefore if we were to take the
total currency and back it by the total amount of gold, this would give:
$1712.2 billion divided by 261498092.591 = US$6547
per ounce
There you have it – if the U.S. were to devalue the
U.S. dollar, setting gold at 6550 U.S. dollars per ounce of gold, the country
could position to go back on the gold standard. Global confidence in the U.S.
dollar and in America's debt would be maintained. It may be as simple as
finding the right price for the government gold holdings to give
"backing" to every dollar in circulation.
$6550/ounce is approximately the current value
necessary to give "gold backing" to the current level of M1 money
supply. If the U.S. wanted to expand the money supply further to stimulate the
economy, it would need to set a new price for its gold holdings which is even
higher than $6550/ounce or somehow get more gold. The U.S. could then be in a
position to expand money supply as necessary to stimulate growth and able to
extend credit to other nations. This is an essential ingredient to restoring
confidence and keeping the title of reserve currency. After all, a reserve
currency should be able to extend credit to nations in need, not be in need of
credit from other nations.
would comfortably support a broader U.S. money supply
on a one-to-one ratio and maintain confidence in the dollar and U.S. sovereign
debt.
Perhaps only then could global confidence in the U.S.
dollar and in U.S. debt be maintained – if not, either a deflationary
depression or a hyperinflationary depression could be in store as confidence
wanes with increasing levels of public debt.
Back to the Future
Nick Barisheff, President and CEO of Bullion
Management Group, emphasizes
that gold is money:
Gold is not and never has been a currency. Gold is
something entirely different and far more valuable. It is money.
Cliff Küle suggests that to maintain confidence in
its debt, America must bring back the gold standard, anchoring the U.S. dollar
back to real money - gold, as Article 1 of the Constitution of the United
States commits it to be.
As
Americans Celebrate Labor Day 2010, U.S. Factories Are Closing In Droves Labor
Day 2010 comes in the midst of a stunning wave of U.S. factory closings that
stretches from coast to coast. Once upon a time America was the greatest
manufacturing machine that the world has ever seen, but now it seems as though
the only jobs available for working class Americans involve phrases such as
“Welcome to Wal-Mart” and “Would you like fries with that?”
Burry,
Predictor of Mortgage Collapse, Bets on Farmland, Gold Michael Burry, the
former hedge-fund manager who predicted the housing market’s plunge, said he is
investing in farmable land, small technology companies and gold as he hunts
original ideas and braces for a weaker dollar.
Unemployment
in U.S. May Rise Toward 10% on `Feeble’ Growth As Bob Chapman outlined on
the show today, once the real figures that the U.S. Labor Department hides are
factored in, real unemployment is over 21 per cent – approaching great
depression levels.
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) ,
andmy position and that of demographer
Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a Depression
by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012).
Exclusive:
Internal FBI Memo: Government Bracing For Violence Over “Burn Koran Day” Infowars.com
has received a leaked copy of an internal FBI memo warning of a possible
terrorist response to “International Burn A Koran Day,” an event scheduled for
the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attack to be held by the Dove World
Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.
The
White House Attempts To Refute The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever You’ve
certainly seen the chart that we’ve dubbed The Scariest Jobs Chart ever, which
shows how meager the jobs recovery has been since the start of the recession,
compared to other recessions.
Obama Did
Create 3 Million Jobs — in China President Obama should be saying, “My
economic stimulus plan has preserved or created 3 million jobs — in China.” He
keeps leaving out the words “in China.” His plan is stimulating American demand
for imports, not demand for American products.
Obama: Sounding Bush-like?
David Swanson said President Obama sounded like he embraced all the lies
about this war, including the falsehood about the surge which created “mythical
success”.
Abortionists
Kept Aborted Babies in Jars I used to think that the abortion industry were
simply capitalists who allowed their greed to override their humanity. I used
to think that maybe it was just feminism run amok and that cooler heads would
eventually prevail. I used to think that pro-lifers were simply up against the
extreme of secularized logic. Over the past few years though I’ve come to
believe that it’s more than that. It’s worse than that. We’re immersed in a
culture with a death fetish. Our fascination with death is boundless.
The
Establishment Media Smear Machine Is Officially Dead Ashes to ashes, dust
to dust. The establishment media smear machine is officially dead and buried.
Rand Paul has extended his lead over Democratic opponent Jack Conway to a
massive 15 points, proving that when the distrusted and discredited corporate
media attacks anyone now, it actually increases their popularity.
Obama
to call for $100B business tax credit(Washington
Post) [ Just in the nick of time … riiiiight! … for the elections … you know,
‘talking points’ though of no economic effect… and to make america, only slightly more bankrupt ... at this point,
who’s counting? ] Under mounting pressure to intensify his focus on the economy
ahead of the midterm elections, president seeks to boost research and
development
Afghan
bankers' assets frozen(Washington Post) Authorities bar sale of
properties held by principal owners, but freeze excludes Karzai's brother [
Yeah … don’t want to get him too angry … he’s too valuable to the heroin trade
resurrected by america. ].
Small
businesses feel squeezed by Obama policies (Washington Post) [ Well, the
grim reality for them is that they just don’t pony-up those big campaign
dollars like those non-performing corporate welfare recipient conglomerates /
big businesses. The other reality, reiterated again here is that everybody’s on
to the fact that wobama’s great at delivering speeches, albeit teleprompted,
but as we now all know, he doesn’t deliver. It’s rather pathetic to see that
old loser and jingoistic fake war hero fraud, senile, incompetent mccain who
never saw a new war opportunity he didn’t like despite america’s defacto
bankruptcy (a policy the post-election wobama’s promulgated) because of same
being given air time as some sort of wise old sage when he’s really just an
old, stale joke who would have been even worse than wobama but not by much,
failed presidencies both. ]
Charles
Manson: Global Warming Prophet Paul Joseph
Watson | James Jay Lee, along with many prominent
environmentalists and academics, share their eugenicist belief system with the
man who many consider to be evil incarnate.
The
Imperial Anatomy of Al-Qaeda. The CIA’s Drug-Running Terrorists and the “Arc of
Crisis” As the 9th anniversary of
9/11 nears, and the war on terror continues to be waged and grows in ferocity
and geography, it seems all the more imperative to return to the events of that
fateful September morning and re-examine the reasons for war and the nature of
the stated culprit, Al-Qaeda.
Dollar falls
to 15-year low against yen The dollar fell to a 15-year low against the yen
Tuesday, plunging at one point to 83.52, as the Japanese unit took advantage of
its status as a refuge currency amid global economic uncertainty.
Austerity
Strikes Hit France, Britain In France, unions called for a day of mass
strike action shutting down trains, planes, buses, subways, post offices and
schools in protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pensions reform bill.
Former
N.Korea soldiers to form group to topple regime Scores of former North
Korean soldiers who defected to South Korea will this week form a group aimed
at toppling the regime with the help of serving soldiers there, one of its
leaders said Monday.
Celebrating Job Losses ‘For now I will stick with the belief that Friday's action was just
another oversold rally in the context of a falling market. I would love for the
economy to right itself … Unfortunately I still don’t see or understand how we
are going to accomplish those things in the near term. I do see many technical
indicators flashing warning signs … Until then cash is the safest investment
and all celebrations should be put on hold.’
Sellers Cut Prices
on 50% of Homes Homeowners are slashing prices more drastically and more
frequently, according to recently released data from ZipRealty. The average
price reduction is now 7.1 percent of list price.
Roubini:
India May Overtake China within a Year Roubini warned that world growth
leader China was too dependent on exports to the struggling West and predicted
that within a year its economic growth will be overtaken by India, a huge
nation much more reliant on its domestic market for development.
CNN’s
‘Glass One-Quarter Full’ Spin: Emphasize Private Job Gains The Bureau of
Labor Statistics released its “all-important” jobs report on Sept. 3, the
morning before Labor Day weekend. CNN rapidly found the “bright spot” in a
report that showed a net loss of 54,000 jobs and a higher 9.6 percent
unemployment rate.
Democrats running on austerity(Washington
Post) [ Wee doggies! … The new republican party is born …Actually, despite the myth, the reality is
that under Reagan ( and the bushies, and of course, wobama – clinton caught a
break with the peace dividend but the bureaucracy grew ) government spending
significantly increased along with the government bureaucracy.] Fearing midterm wipeout, party hopefuls
embrace budget cuts with the zeal of Reagan Republicans.
Palin
calls reporters 'impotent' and 'limp' (Washington Post) [ I must reiterate,
she, palin’s so embarrassingly dumb! She truly is the joke that keeps on
giving! I really mean it! I mean, what next? ] The former Alaska governor
weighed in herself: "Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they
go on their anonymous -- sources that are anonymous -- and impotent, limp and
gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual
references," she told Sean Hannity. "It just slays me ( this could be
a somewhat Freudian slip as she contemplates the uselessness of sexually
non-interested reporters while she meant lays and I think her supposed /
purported attractiveness / desirability is vastly overstated; but, this makes
for great SNL skits; you know, those reporters not man enough to service her
)because it's so absolutely clear what
the state of yellow journalism is today that they would take these anonymous
sources as fact."
U.S. to temper stance on
Afghanistan corruption(Washington Post)[ Sounds like a plan! After all, in
america’s own image of corruption, ie., bribery, heroin trade, etc., they’re
remolding Afghanistan replete with good old american style corruption and they
don’t want no noses pokin’ around to see america’s direct involvement in the
corruption, bribery, etc., and particularly the heroin trade, the american
raison d’etre there where the Taliban had all but eradicated the heroin
production / trade which surged thereafter with the american participation. The
American rationale seems to be, continue the corruption, etc., since to
eliminate same would help the Taliban. Riiiiight!My, oh my! You can’t make this stuff up.]Military officials conclude that effort to
drive out all but the most corrosive abuses in region would create a power
vacuum that Taliban could exploit.
Economy
treading water as jobless rate rises(Washington Post) [ Ah yes, sweet Neil Irwin! He might just have those
rosy fraudulent wall street glass half-full word pictures on his mind. But, not
to rain on his parade, I’d say that drowning victim, Mr. Economy’s gone down
for the third time! ] Neil Irwin The unemployment
rate rose to 9.6 percent, the Labor Department said Friday, but private
employers added 67,000 jobs -- data that offer a mixed portrait of the labor
market in an economy that is neither growing fast enough to bring down
joblessness nor sinking back into a new downturn.
Not-so-dire
jobs report gives stocks a boost (Washington Post) AP Business
Highlights[ Wow! ‘Private
employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought’ …
Riiiiight! Especially with 2 months to the mid-term elections (time for federal
term limits and the abolition of lifetime appointments for anything owing to the
nation’s defacto bankruptcy), desperation with fake / false data / reports;
and, that negative but better than expected thing as unemployment rate inches
up to 9.6% (the real unemployment rate is approximately 20+% with that ‘stopped
looking’ fudge-factor giving them the false positive). I mean, come on! Private
reports on non-farm payrolls down each week, but suddenly from out of nowhere
defying virtually all economist estimates the ue claims are up, and prior gov’t
reports revised up. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits! ]
‘(AP)Companies add 67K workers, but jobless rate rises WASHINGTON (AP) --
Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first
thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend.
But the unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb
the growing number of people looking for work ...’
Mark
Hulbert's Take: What Are the Odds of a September Decline? at Seeking
Alpha (Fri, Sep 3) ‘Some of the work Mark Hulbert does is nothing
more than telling us what the gurus in the universe he follows are thinking
individually and, more frequently, in the aggregate. But of late, he also has
been doing some far more interesting analysis in the “Yale Hirsch” mode – and
the results are not satisfying if you are a bull.
The bullish case
seems to rest on two platforms: (1) August was really bad therefore September
should be good in reaction to that, and (2) “Everyone” now expects the current
crop of politicos to suffer major setbacks in November and, since the market is
a predictive mechanism, investors are positioning themselves today for what
they believe will be wonderful news post-November (like an extension of the
current tax rates and a reduction in pork-barrel spending by irresponsible
pols.)
The Dow
rallied more than 300 points the first two days of September so, making the
usual straight-line assumption, bulls believe that today is the day to get
invested, Hmmm. Let’s examine each of the above platforms in turn.
Quoting Mr.
Hulbert’s conclusions based upon his historical analysis:
I have good news and bad news when
it comes to slicing and dicing the historical data as it pertains to September.
The good news is that it is
possible, by carefully reading the statistical tea leaves, to get advance
insight into whether any given month is likely to do better or worse than
average.
The bad news: Those tea leaves provide no such hope
that this September will be able to beat its historical reputation as being
awful for stocks.
His research shows that since 1896 (the year the Dow
Jones Industrial Average was created,) the Dow has lost an
average of 1.15% in September. The average gain for all other
months was 0.71%. Worse, a look at the historical record shows that Septembers
did not show a 1.15% decline following a bad August – they showed a 2.7%
decline! Typically, when August is down, as goes August, so goes September --
only twice as bad as usual.
Worse than that, Hulbert notes, “During each of the
past nine decades... September's rank relative to other months in terms of
performance was never higher than ninth. It was dead last in five of those nine
decades -- including the most recent one.”
He adds a final bit of gasoline to this bonfire by
noting that the CBOE's Volatility Index (VIX) is relatively low going into
September, the month tends to do better. Uh-oh. The VIX at the end of August
was quite a bit higher than 20. (And for those who have followed our comments
on the VXX and VXZ ETFs in the past, we
believe they have now entered an excellent buy area.)
As for the second platform, the market seldom reacts
favorably to the same news twice. I’ve been writing for two years that the
pendulum will swing, that the 2008 election was a rejection of the
guns-and-butter policy of the previous administration and was little different
than the voters’ rejection of President Johnson’s guns and butter policies in
1968 (thrusting Richard Nixon into office with disastrous consequences we hope
are not repeated this time around), and that mid-term elections are almost
always about mitigating the euphoria of the previous presidential election.
This is not news!
The rally of September 1st and 2nd
may have occurred as a result of Johnny-come-latelies reaching the conclusion
Wall Street reached about the mid-term elections weeks or months ago. If that
is the case, I imagine the smart money is rubbing their hands with glee and
using this rally to lay on bigger short positions.
The current rally was ostensibly about the fact that
the Chinese Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.7 in August from 51.2 in July,
followed by the news that the U.S. ISM Manufacturing Index improved from 55.5
in July to 56.3 in August. I don't see it – these incremental numbers are
nothing but decimal dust in the grand scheme of things! Easily manipulated by
the bureaucrats in charge of such numbers, the “improvement” is so small as to
be barely measurable – and to raise not a stir among the media when they are
“revised” from “up 0.5%” to “down 0.1%” or whatever in another month.
The other economic numbers that form the backdrop to
this rally include: Canada’s GDP fell to an annual rate of 2% in the 2nd
quarter, down from 5.8% in Q1; auto sales absolutely plunged in the U.S. and
around the world; there was a continued drop in U.S. construction spending;
there were declining retail sales in Euro nations; and the ADP employment
report indicating that we didn’t just grow jobs at too slow a pace to cover all
the new workers entering the labor force, but we actually lost some 10,000
private sector jobs! Government is still hiring, of course, but we must always
remember: the private sector is income, government is overhead. That doesn’t
mean we don’t need certain government workers – what hellish existence would it
be without fire and police protection, or good teachers to educate our
children? But it is still overhead even if we collectively choose to pay for it
in order to enhance our safety or literacy.
Bottom line: September tends to do worse in years
that August has been bad. August was bad. The news of the mid-term elections is
already old news and will most likely follow the historical path of all mid-term
elections. We will return more to the center. And the good news to propel the
market higher is likely to be short-lived. Clearly, we aren’t out of the woods
yet. If the market is in a news-dominated phase, we are likely in big trouble.
For our clients we are stressing safety, with inverse
ETF protection from the likes of ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH),
ProShares Short Russell 200 (RWM), ProShares UltraShort Nasdaq (QID)
and ProShares Short MSCI Emerging Markets (EUM). (If the US and Europe
aren’t consuming, who is going to order stuff from the emerging nations? They
will fall if our markets and economies fall…) We are also buying VXX and VXZ
and are keeping our bond positions short and inflation-resistant, as we do with
WIP, TIP,
BWZ,
and MINT. Finally, we own
some special situations in precious metals, energy and agriculture. (See
previous articles for specifics, including this
and this...)
AP Business
Highlights[ Wow! ‘Private
employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought’ …
Riiiiight! Especially with 2 months to the mid-term elections (time for federal
term limits and the abolition of lifetime appointments for anything owing to
the nation’s defacto bankruptcy), desperation with fake / false data / reports;
and, that negative but better than expected thing as unemployment rate inches
up to 9.6% (the real unemployment rate is approximately 20+% with that ‘stopped
looking’ fudge-factor giving them the false positive). I mean, come on! Private
reports on non-farm payrolls down each week, but suddenly from out of nowhere
defying virtually all economist estimates the ue claims are up, and prior gov’t
reports revised up. This is a great opportunity to sell / take profits!
]Companies add 67K workers, but jobless rate rises WASHINGTON (AP) -- Private
employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a
glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the
unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the
growing number of people looking for work ...’
Stocks
Churning in Trading Range: Dave's Daily ‘This will be short. Perhaps the image [old lady (wall street)
churning (scam) butter (stocks)] and title should suffice as a summary of the
week. After all, I indicated "possibly" I might post on Friday. The
current market is a reprise of early July's rally from June's selloff. Now into
September the August lows are reversing. How durable will this be is anyone's
guess. Economic data was greeted with bullish enthusiasm as markets were
oversold after Monday's slump. The unemployment data was just about the same as
previous once you look deeper inside the data. The birth/death model is just an
estimate made out of thin air. Once you view the data ex-that, things look
pretty grim. There are very few players involved this week and perhaps in the
future. It's interesting many major banks are closing their proprietary trading
operations. This removes another important prop to markets as retail investors
have left the scene. Further, for stock mutual funds, the exodus continues for
the 16th straight week. Cash balances at these funds are at historic
lows of 3% as the outflow continues. Curiously, short interest is also at an
all-time low near 4% meaning few for bulls to squeeze. We only have hedge funds
and overseas investors in the game. And, it does seem like a game more than
ever now. Bulls jumped on the oversold conditions on Wednesday as a DeMark 9
was registered on Tuesday for most major market daily charts then. A rally on
that technical condition was no surprise ...’
Monthly
Markets Review: Risk Aversion Rises in August as Double Dip Concerns Grow at
Seeking Alpha (Fri, Sep 3) ‘…The ECB keeping rates at a record low
of 1% and zero interest policies in the US and in most western economies
remains bullish for gold as the opportunity cost, the lack of yield, of owning
gold is negligible, especially with inflation having picked up recently in many
economies internationally. Further signs of burgeoning food inflation were seen
in the surge in the price of global meat prices which have risen to 20 year
highs … (chart) September can be the 'cruelest month' for stocks. Conversely,
more years than not, precious metals prices perform well in September and many
analysts reckon this year will not disappoint those owning gold. Given the
uncertain financial and economic outlook, it is important that investors remain
diversified with allocations to cash, short dated government bonds,
international equities, and gold…’
More than
400 US Banks Will Fail: Roubini CNBC
| More than half of the 800-plus US banks on the “critical list” are likely to
go bust, according to renowned economist Nouriel Roubini.
U.S.
unemployment soars to 9.6% after economy loses 54,000 jobs The U.S.
unemployment rate rose to 9.6 per cent in August, official figures released
today have shown. The data from the U.S. Labor Department showed the economy
lost 54,000 jobs last month as the United States continues to struggle to
recover from the recent global recession.
The U.S. Path to Collapse National Inflation Association
| The pain that was felt after the collapse of Lehman Brothers is nothing compared
to the pain that will come when we begin to feel the effects of bailing out the
rest of Wall Street.
ABC
Nightline Hit Piece Smears Alex Jones As King of “Paranoia Porn” [ Yeah! This is unequivocally indefensible on
the part of abc (or nbc, fox, cbs, etc. if they shared a similar mainstream
media view) because there are so many substantial nation-damaging behaviors
that are in plain sight yet go unreported (and unprosecuted). I’d feel more
comfortable with aWashington Post
Network (possibly as a wholly owned subsidiary to militate against the risks
inherent to such a venture and the establishment of same). While I do find Alex
Jones’ somewhat overstated vaunted opinion of the so-called elite a bit much,
it’s not because these mental cases are not trying to do as he has accused /
shown, but rather because I find his ‘elite’ to be as I’ve previously stated
totally inept, incompetent vegetables who are incapable of doing anything well
or of substance. I’m really not exaggerating when you look at their track
records of inscrutable failure, if only because of a lack of focus on and
attention to such failure / corruption. This also includes the ‘pols’ who make
the case for term limits based upon any previous service at all. I think people
should be thankful that Infowars, Prison Planet, Jones, et als, value the
people / humanity enough to take the very real risks, and expend his time and
energy in sifting through the plethora of b*** s***, obfuscation, and cover-ups
to reveal the truth. Given the inherent state of human nature, their lack of
courage, integrity, etc., including that of americans generally, another area
where I part company with Jones et als and which, truth be told led them to
censor my comments to some of their articles (very hypocritical), such
sacrifice by them seems very difficult to justify; but the discomfort they give
the dysfunctional mainstream media is certainly a good thing of itself. ] Paul
Joseph Watson & Kurt Nimmo | Dan Harris proves yet again why the
establishment media is increasingly shunned and distrusted.
The True Cost of the War Paul Craig Roberts |
America’s “war on terror,” a fabrication, has resurrected the unaccountable
dungeon of the Middle Ages and the raw tyranny that prevailed prior to the
Magna Carta.
As
Usual, MSM Gushingly “Predicts” Our Fascist Future [ This is quite shocking inasmuch as they’d
then be able to easily ‘off’ the recipient of such with a few simple
modifications of the chip for any of a multitude of bad reasons / motives. I
would never, under any circumstances, permit this for myself, etc..] David
Kramer | From the broadcasting arm of the number one New World Order
industrial corporation, General Electric, comes this story about the
“convenience” of being microchipped for identification.
David Rosenberg: The U.S. Is Suffering a Japanese-Style
Depression Burrows
‘Presciently bearish David Rosenberg, the chief economist and strategist at Gluskin
Sheff who called the global meltdown back when he was still at Merrill Lynch,
isn't budging from his view that the U.S. is in a depression
-- and a prolonged, Japanese-style one at that.Rosenberg reminded clients on Wednesday that here we are 33
months after the Great Recession began, and yet home prices, gross domestic product, credit outstanding,
organic personal income and employment are all lower
now than they were prior to the onset of the downturn. "We can understand
that this is not exactly cocktail conversation, but this is a Japanese-style
(even worse perhaps) modern-day depression," Rosenberg writes. "It's
not the 1930s because soup lines have been replaced with unemployment insurance
lines -- over 10 million checks and for up to 99 weeks. The poor souls who endured
the bitter 1930s had no such relief." And as for the U.S.'s vaunted labor
flexibility and superior demographics saving it from a Japanese sort of lost decade or two, well, Rosenberg is having
none of it. "Government policy and the record number of people upside-down
on their mortgage have seriously impaired the flexibility of the labor
market," Rosenberg writes. And the U.S. birth rate has declined for two
consecutive years and is at its lowest level in a century, he notes. Of course,
it's no surprise to buy-and-hold investors that U.S. equities have already
notched a lost decade and then some. Take a look at this 10-year chart of the
S&P 500 ($INX): See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/aZTYr7’
[$$] U.S. Equity ETFs Implode ‘U.S. equity ETFs hemorrhaged assets during
the month of August as investors sought out emerging-market equity and debt
along with fixed-income picks. According to National Stock Exchange data
(nsx.com) released today, U.S. equity ETFs shed nearly $11 billion in assets
last month. Here's something remarkable: One U.S. equity ETF accounted for more
than half of these outflows. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF, arguably the ETF
industry's most iconic fund, saw net outflows totaling more than $6.6 billion
last month. Who were the biggest losers besides SPY? You'll recognize some of
these names: the PowerShares QQQ ETF, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF and the SPDR
DJIA ETF saw net asset outflows of $2 billion, $1.7 billion and $616 million,
respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, the Vanguard MSCI Emerging
Markets ETF and the iShares MSCI-Emerging Markets ETF attracted $1.9 billion
and $1.8 billion, respectively, while the...’
David
Rosenberg: The U.S. Is Suffering a Japanese-Style Depression Presciently
bearish David Rosenberg, the chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff
who called the global meltdown back when he was still at Merrill Lynch, isn’t
budging from his view that the U.S. is in a depression — and a prolonged,
Japanese-style one at that.
The U.S. Path to Collapse The
combination of more government spending and less taxes equals massive
inflation, but this represents the state of mind in Washington today. Inflation
is still the last thing on their minds because they don’t see it yet.
Can
A Family Of Four Survive On A Middle Class Income In America Today? When I
was growing up, $50,000 sounded like a gigantic mountain of money to me. And it
was actually a very significant amount of money in those days. But in 2010 it
just does not go that far. Today, the median household income in the United
States for a year is approximately $50,000.
The Reckless
Mess Created by The Fed Quantitative easing will put the American public at
ease, at least temporarily. They do not realize it but the American and world
economies are in a deliberate state of slow collapse. Yes, the Fed has created
a terrible mess. They have been totally unprofessional and reckless.
US Retail
Sales Top Estimates on Tax Holidays, DiscountsBloomberg A family walks toward
the entrance to the Kohl's store in Round Rock, Texas. Photographer: Jack
Plunkett/Bloomberg US retailers reported August sales that beat analysts'
estimates as ...
Retail
sales, home contracts rise modestly (Washington Post) [ Forced / Distressed / Underwater pending / foreclosure sales
the impetus for short-covering / suckers’ rally on light and hence, easily
manipulated, pre-holiday computerized trade volume. The government, desperate
and defacto bankrupt, is back to their fake / false data reporting; you know,
the kind that spurs the fraudulent wall street rallies and gets revised by 35%
+ down later as with GDP just recently, but the wall street frauds will get
their commissions again on the way down.YAHOO
[BRIEFING.COM]: ‘…Early
participants had little reason to alter their mood since the initial jobless
claims count for the week ended August 28 came in at 472,000, which is in on
par with the 475,000 initial claims that had been widely expected. The latest
tally was also little changed from the prior week total of 478,000. Continuing
claims saw a more substantial slip as they fell to 4.46 million from 4.48
million. Final nonfarm productivity readings for the second quarter also
offered little surprise. Productivity in the quarter fell 1.8%, which is in
stride with the 1.7% decline that had been widely forecasted. Unit labor costs
for the quarter increased 1.1%, as expected. Pending home sales for July
provided participants with a positive surprise. They posted a 5.2% monthly
increase, which contrasts with the call for no change from economists polled by
Briefing.com. That data overshadowed news that factory orders for July
increased 0.1% instead of 0.3% as had been widely expected…’Stocks
rise on economic hopes ahead of payrolls (Reuters) Riiiiight! Sounds like a
plan! ]
New
Evidence Of Controlled Demolition On 9/11 In the video, at about the 0:59 mark, a high-pressure explosion
occurs in one of the Twin Towers, below the impact zone, while the building is
still standing.
Karzai’s
brother calls for U.S. to shore up Kabul Bank as withdrawals accelerate As
depositors thronged branches of Afghanistan’s biggest bank, Mahmoud Karzai, the
brother of the Afghan president and a major shareholder in beleaguered Kabul
Bank called on Thursday for intervention by the United States to head off a
financial meltdown.
Mexico
drug kingpin says he received trailers of US cash A captured Mexican drug
kingpin admitted to “investments” in Colombia and said he had received trailers
full of dollars from the United States, in a first interrogation video released
here.
‘Iraq war
based on lies and deception’ Former Reagan Administration official Paul
Craig Roberts says that we didn’t hear why we initially went to war with Iraq,
although the world knows was based on lies and deception.
Russian police raid opposition
magazine... [They don’t often do this overtly in america anymore
since most media is in cahoots / controlled; but still, no excuse for putin who
is often disengaged as when he is out shooting Siberian Tigers with
sophisticated weaponry. ]
Pledge
beaten by sorority sisters who warned her 'snitches get stitches'... ‘… In her lawsuit,
excerpted here, Howard noted that she had originally planned to pledge
Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest African-American women’s sorority. But since the
sorority’s San Jose chapter has been suspended due to hazing activities, Howard
opted to join Sigma Gamma Rho, believing that “they represented the
‘sisterhood’ she sought in a sorority.” However, Howard contends, that the
group’s pledge process was far from sisterly. According to her complaint, she
and fellow pledges were punched, slapped, kicked, slammed into walls, struck
with a wooden spoon and a cane, and had books and coins thrown at them during a
series of 16 nighttime initiation sessions. Howard recalled one evening when a
sorority sister told her to close her eyes. She was then struck on the buttocks
with what she later learned was a kitchen pot. The pledges were also frequently
struck with a wooden paddle, Howard said, blows that left her with welts on her
buttocks. Howard reported that pledges were repeatedly warned not to talk with
friends and family about the initiation process, since “snitches get stitches.”
They were also told that if they failed to participate in certain pledge
activities, they would be “jumped out,” a gang term for a beating conducted by
all members of the group. Howard’s complaint names as defendants San Jose State
University, Sigma Gamma Rho, and various sorority members, including a quartet
of women who, court records show, pleaded no contest earlier this year to
misdemeanor hazing charges. The defendants--Princess Odom; Monique Hughes;
Joslyn Beard; and Nicole Remble--were each sentenced to 90 days in jail,
directed to serve two years of court probation, and barred from involvement
with any sorority. Odom, Hughes, Beard, and Remble (all negroes) are
pictured here, clockwise from upper left, in San Jose Police Department mug
shots.’
Pearlstein:
Put millionaires' tax money to good use (Washington Post) [ Nobody likes
even the sound of higher taxes, particularly when the same goes for such waste
as porkbarrel, political spending but especially the nation-bankrupting
needless war spending, the black budgets, etc.. That said, Mr. Pearlstein is
quite right, especially when one considers the source of the ‘largesse’, viz.,
nation-bankrupting war criminal moron dumbya bush who snidely smirked as he
talked of ‘his (political) base’ and all the ‘politicking’ entailed in same.
Remember… the nation is defacto bankrupt! Moreover, I don’t buy that ‘most
productive’ sector being ‘disincentivized’ unless measured by the magnitude of
their frauds (ie., wall street, etc.), transfer of the nation’s productive
capacity (ie., u.s. ceo’s and politicians, etc., with few exceptions).
Additionally, their marginal propensity to consume is less than that of lower
wage earners (economics) ]
Bernanke:
Regulators fell short in identifying problems (Washington Post) [ Now we
know why and what the initials B.S. (for B*** S*** ‘no-recession-helicopter
ben’) preceding bernanke stand for. Come on! Say the prosecution word and all’s
forgiven. Everyone knows that the criminally insane on wall street have been /
are engaged in a huge fraud and there are hundreds of trillions of worthless
paper still out there and marked to anything to prove it. See Graham Summers’
exposé, infra. ] In a lengthy analysis of the financial crisis, the Fed
chairman says the government did not do enough to protect consumers in the
marketplace.
Karzai calls aide's arrest reminiscent of
Soviet times(Washington Post) [ Exactly, eerily,
certainly realistically reminiscent of the former soviet union is the american
union in terms of economics (defacto bankrupt), geopolitics (intensely hated),
and even factual similarity (the final straw), with an unmistakable modus
operandi that gives rise to failure beyond the propaganda. After all,
corruption is as american and pervasive in america as apple pizza pies and
mother of hoods, etc. ]
Army supervisor was worried about leak
suspect's mental health, attorney says(Washington
Post) [ One cannot help but hearken back to a frequently deployed ‘government
at its worst’ strategy, ie., Ellsberg/Pentagon papers, former soviet union,
etc., in attempting to discredit such informants, etc., which of course is a
telltale sign of america’s similar fate / decline / fall. ]
What if Roger Clemens is telling the
truth? http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hard-hits/2010/08/what_if_roger_clemens_is_telli.htmlI ordinarily don’t comment on sports matters
but this is one of those exceptions. While not in any way dismissing the
seriousness of the prevalent use, for quite some time, of performance-enhancing
drugs, my own position on the matter was to place an asterisk next to those who
made the record-books so-doing (still matters of proof) with a more stringent
policy going forward. Where does an incompetent, nation-bankrupting,
non-performing congress get off going after a performance-driven baseball
player when huge crimes, warcrimes, frauds from this same government are still
unprosecuted? Ask the wall street frauds the tough questions … they’ll lie.
Then, even assuming, arguendo, Clemens slipped up … picture the
alice-in-wonderland surreal scene presided over by that mammalian rodent-like
presence of that incompetent in the semblance of some beaver-toothed woodland
creature as, ie., hedgehog, gopher, etc., amidst characters that would rival
the famed mad tea party, mad-hatters all. There are far bigger fish to fry and of
greater consequence to the nation but their lack of courage and incompetence is
the only consistency on capital hill, and everyone knows it. How pathetic!
After all, aren’t all three branches of the u.s. government a lie of
themselves, and have a near single digit approval rates to prove it.
Pa.
capital nearing bankruptcy (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a dry run for the nation’s capital. Drudgereport: MORGAN STANLEY: Government Bond Defaults Inevitable …
Everyone who is capable of thinking knows america is defacto bankrupt. The question is, how did Morgan
Stanley’s assessment escape scrutiny andfollow-up by the press. Indeed, it is certainly a breach of duty to have
done so in light of the implications. ] In a highly unusual move, the city of
Harrisburg says it will not make a $3.3 million payment.
Automakers
report weak sales (Washington Post) [ This really is sobering, yet totally
lost on the frauds that be on wall street. ‘Cheapskates’? Mr. Whoriskeyshould be ashamed of himself. After all, you
can’t spend what you don’t really have (unless you’re defacto bankrupt …
america ) and, let’s not kid ourselves, Mr. Whoriskey has to be considered
somewhat ‘ivory tower’. ] Chastened by the recession, more U.S. consumers have
become cheapskates: They are saving more and driving older cars. And that, in
part, explains the historically dismal sales reports released Wednesday by
automakers.
Manufacturing
rebound spurs stock rally(Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That new global hub of (very high priced)
manufacturing activity … Defacto bankrupt america …I don’t believe the ISM
number for even a minute, even with the defacto bankrupt government’s
market-frothing spending of money they definitely don’t have and believe the
forecasters were closer to reality.] After their worst August in nine years,
stocks kicked off September with a big snap-back rally, following the release
Wednesday of surprisingly good news about the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Obama prods Mideast leaders (Washington Post ) [ The real question is … who is going to prod defacto bankrupt, war
crimes nation america … on peace, that is. Then there’s that ‘oh, it’s just war
crimes, illegal nuke-toting israel … laws, rules, un resolutions, etc., don’t
apply to them factor and the concomitant skepticism attendant thereto. ]
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas are set to
open direct peace talks.
Five
reasons to be optimistic about the economy (Washington Post) Neil Irwin |(Very)
Political Economy [The unflappable Mr. Irwin. Fraudulent wall street’s shill
and man for all seasons falls in with the following as his glass half-full
runneth over:Those Who Ignore History...[The
aforementioned from The Pragmatic Capitalist is a cogent summary of extant
problems which undoubtedly will end quite badly for the unwary (today’s folly
represents a great opportunity to sell / take profits), infra, and
should be read in tandem with Graham Summer’s exposé which follows. Yet, the
situation as realistically bad as they’ve so presented same, is far more dire
than even they posit for the u.s. particularly owing to structural problems now
inherent to america’s economy / business model which bodes ill as never before
in america’s relatively short history. U.S.
Stocks Surge On Overseas Growth Riiiiight! Some of the same mainstream,
(msnbc) ‘money honey’ drivel one would expect from Forbes faux ‘capitalist
tool’ cheerleading squad, totally devoid of forward-looking analytical prowess
and leaves you burned every time. Come on! Government Motors and Ford sales
were down significantly, construction spending down, private sector jobs lost,
and even BofA’s Merrill Lynch has sugar-coated the reality cutting the wall
street frauds a break by calling this a ‘growth rececession’. The typical
fraudulent wall street churn-and-earn computerized trade scam with built in
commission volume for the way down. Sorry to say it, but the reality is:
This is a global depression.
This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a
manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a
typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great
regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.
This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud
as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not
end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally
prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.] Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.]The Pragmatic Capitalist‘My position over the last 2 years has been
as follows: this is a Main Street debt crisis. I have been highly critical of
the government’s incessant interventionist policies over the last few years
largely because they ignore the actual problems at hand. First it was Mr.
Bernanke saving the banks because he believed the credit crisis started with
the banking sector. The great monetarist gaffe ensued. Tim
Geithner piled on with the PPIP. FASB jumped on board the bank rescue plan by
altering the accounting rules. And then the icing on the cake was the Recovery
Act, which, in my opinion, just shoveled money into the hole that had become
the output gap, without actually trying to target the real cause of the crisis
– those burdened by the debt. In essence, the various bailouts primarily
targeted everyone except the people who really needed it.
A
year ago I posted a story citing the many reasons why we were
sinking into the deflationary Japanese trap. The primary flaw with the US
response to the crisis was that we never actually confronted the problem at
hand. I have often cited Japanese economists such as Richard Koo who appear to
have a good grasp on the problems in Japan and now in the USA. In this case, I
cited Keiichiro Kobayashi who is now looking most prescient:
We continue to ignore our past and the
warnings from those who have dealt with similar financial crises. Keiichiro
Kobayashi, Senior Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and
Industry is the latest economist with an in-depth understanding of Japan, who
says the U.S. and U.K. are making all the same mistakes:
“Bad debt
is the root of the crisis. Fiscal stimulus may help economies for a couple of
years but once the “painkilling” effect wears off, US and European economies
will plunge back into crisis. The crisis won’t be over until the nonperforming
assets are off the balance sheets of US and European banks.”…
Read that last paragraph again. These
are scarily accurate comments. While the USA claims to have many economists who
understand the Japan disease and/or the Great Depression the policy actions
we’ve undertaken do not appear to be in line with any understanding of this
history.
What we’ve done over the last few years
is repeat the mistakes of Japan’s past. Instead of confronting the debt
problems head on we have simply tried to fill the output gap with short-term
spending plans and impotent monetary policies. As Kobayashi presciently said,
the “bad debt is the root of the crisis”. I think most mainstream economists,
the administration and the Fed have continually misdiagnosed our problems. They
have attempted to save the banking sector and simply fill in holes with
spending plans that prop up markets, entice more borrowing and largely ignore
the actual cause of the current crisis. Some economists have argued that the
Recovery Act didn’t fail, but that it was too small. This is like saying that
the cancer patient didn’t receive enough percocet. More percocet isn’t the
cure. Targeting the cancer and trying to cut it out is the cure. Yet, we
continue to ignore the lessons of Japan despite having so many “experts” on the
Japanese disease. Therefore, we appear destined to repeat their horrid economic
history assuming our current path isn’t miraculously altered.’
WHO ELSE IS CLUELESS IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR? [ As I’ve previously said and
reiterate here, the lunatic frauds on wall street are criminally insane and the
only way to stop / deter their debilitating churn and earn among other
computerized frauds is prosecution, jail, fines, and disgorgement! Once again
they’re back to their huge fraudulent gains as seen this reporting period
despite growing problem bank list, worthless paper from the prior fraud in the
(hundreds of) trillions now marked to anything, and look at August results and
worse to come; that money for their commissions / premiums must come from
someplace, viz., the bubble which will deflate / crash. ] Graham Summers
‘Here’s a zinger of a news story:
Barclays Plc had no idea how big Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc.’s futures-and-options trading business was when it
considered taking over
the defunct bank’s derivatives trades at exchanges in 2008, a Barclays
executive said.“Lehman’s books were in such a mess that I don’t think
they knew where they were,” Elizabeth James, a director of Barclays’s
futures business, testified today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. James
worked on Barclays’s purchase of Lehman’s brokerage during the 2008 financial
crisis.-- Bloomberg
I’ve railed for months that the central
issue surrounding the Financial Crisis (derivatives) was not only misunderstood
but completely ignored by the mainstream financial media. Here we are, nearly
two years after Lehman Brothers went bust, and they’re telling us that Lehman
had “no idea” what its options and futures exposure was.
Let’s put this into perspective.
The notional value of the derivatives
market at the time that Lehman went bust was somewhere between $600 trillion
and $1 Quadrillion (1,000 trillions). It was a market of inter-linked paper
contracts entangling virtually every financial institution (including some
non-financials), country (Greece, Italy used derivatives to get into the
European union), and county (Birmingham Alabama is one example) in the world. As
a market it was at least 20 times larger than the world stock market and
somewhere north of 10 times World GDP.
In other words, this was the giant
white elephant in the living room.
And here’s Lehman brothers, one of Wall
Streets’ finest, most respected financial institutions which had been in
business for over 150 years announcing that it had “no idea” “if
it had sold $2 billion more options than it had bought, or whether it owned $4
billion more than it had sold.”
In today’s world of trillion dollar
bailouts, $2-4 billion doesn’t sound like much, so let’s give some perspective
here… in its golden days, Lehman Brother’s market cap was roughly $47 billion.
So you’re talking about bets equal to an amount between five and 10% of its
market cap. Not exactly chump change.
And Lehman had no idea where it was or
how much it really owed.
Mind you, we’re only addressing Lehman’s
options and futures derivatives, we’re completely ignoring its mortgage backed
securities, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), and other Level 3 assets.
Options and futures are literally the “tip of the iceberg,” the most visible
portion of the behemoth that was Lehman’s off balance sheet derivative issues. After
all, these are regulated securities, unlike most derivatives.
Now, if the above statement doesn’t
send shivers down your spine, have a look at the notional value of derivatives
exposure at the top five financial institutions in the US (mind you, this chart
is denominated in TRILLIONS). [chart]
If Lehman had “no idea” what it owned
even when it came to options and futures (regulated derivatives), what are the
odds that these other firms, whose derivative exposure is tens if not hundreds
of times larger than that of Lehman’s, might similarly be “in the dark’
regarding their risk?
Moreover, who on earth might be on the
opposite end of these deals? Other US counties like Birmingham Alabama (which
JP Morgan transformed into 3rd world country status)? Other countries like
Italy or Greece (who used Goldman’s financial engineering to get into the
European Union)? My next-door neighbor’s house? Tim Geithner’s long-lost tax
returns? WHO KNOWS?
The point is that the very same issues
that nearly took the financial world under in 2008 still exist today. In fact,
this time around the systemic risk is even more severe.
Consider that the Credit Default Swap
(CDS) market which nearly took the financial system down in 2008 was roughly
$50-60 trillion in size. In contrast, the interest rate based derivative
market is in the ballpark of $500+ trillion.
Indeed, US commercial banks alone have
$182 TRILLION in notional value of interest rate based derivatives outstanding
right now. To put that ridiculous number in perspective it’s 13 times
US GDP and roughly three times WORLD GDP…’
Predicting
This Year's Bank Failures ‘The FDIC’s quarterly banking profile, providing
data for quarter 2, was released today. The number of 2010 United States bank
failures will likely exceed the 2009 failures, the FDIC reported. This was as I
reported in this space back in May. Thus far this year there have been 118 bank
closings, which compares to about 80 by the same time of year in 2009. The
number of banks on the problem list is still rising. It is now at 829 banks…’
U.S.
Auto Sales May Hit 28-Year Low as Discounts Flop Bloomberg | U.S.
auto sales in August probably were the slowest for the month in 28 years as
model-year closeout deals failed to entice consumers concerned the economy is
worsening and they may lose their jobs.
A
Termite-Riddled House: Treasury Bonds Gonzalo Lira | The
United States will have a fiscal-debt-to-GDP ratio of 100% this year, and 110%
next year — if not higher.
The Reckless
Mess Created by The Fed Quantitative easing will put the American public at
ease, at least temporarily. They do not realize it but the American and world
economies are in a deliberate state of slow collapse. Yes, the Fed has created
a terrible mess. They have been totally unprofessional and reckless.
Second
Leg of Crisis Beginning: Hedge Fund Manager September and October hold bad
news for stock markets and banks remain overleveraged as we head into the
second leg of the financial crisis according to Pedro De Noronha, the managing
partner at Noster Capital in London.
Winners And Losers The reality
is that it has now become undeniable that globalism has arrived and we are now
part of a world economy that is integrating at lightning speed. Unfortunately,
all of this globalism has created some very clear winners and losers. But most
middle class Americans are in such a deep sleep that they don’t even realize
that they are the losers.
Death By Globalism Paul Craig Roberts | The Federal Reserve will
monetize the federal government deficit. The result will be high inflation,
possibly hyper-inflation and high unemployment simultaneously.
Increase
in federal spending hits record (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan …
the ‘increase the depth of the nation’s bankruptcy’ plan! And, unlike other
american plans, this plan’s working … that bankruptcy thing … but otherwise,
not! ]
Is
the U.S. Bankrupt? [YES!] (at Motley Fool)The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently reported that
bankruptcy filings between April and June hit a four-year high. Consumer
bankruptcies rose 21 percent while business bankruptcies increased eight
percent. The list of corporate bankruptcies over the last couple of years
includes big names like Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and GM. And financial institutions like
Bank of America(NYSE: BAC), Citigroup(NYSE: C), Wells Fargo(NYSE: WFC) received billions of dollars
through the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Should
investors add the U.S. government to that list of big name bankruptcies? I recently asked
Boston University economics professor Lawrence Kotlikoff, author of Jimmy Stewart is Dead: Ending the World's Ongoing
Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking. Mac Greer:
Larry, I noticed the headline or the title of a recent article that you wrote, US
is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It (see infra)
Home
prices up 4.2 percent in U.S. (Washington Post) [And america and ultimately
taxpayers paid for every percentage point with money they and soon taxpayers
don’t have and experts say the expiration of same will further be felt in the
form of declining real estate prices going forward. ]
For
banks, good news on earnings but not risk of failure (Washington Post) (
The same fraudulent game plan that caused the previous and continuing debacle: The following from Graham Summers is truly mind-boggling
and a must-read: WHO ELSE IS CLUELESS IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR?
[ As I’ve previously said and reiterate here, the lunatic frauds on wall street
are criminally insane and the only way to stop / deter their debilitating churn
and earn among other computerized frauds is prosecution, jail, fines, and
disgorgement! Once again they’re back to their huge fraudulent gains as seen
this reporting period despite growing problem bank list, worthless paper from
the prior fraud in the (hundreds of) trillions now marked to anything and the
current fraud, and look at August (market) results and worse to come, that
money for their commissions / premiums must come from someplace, viz., the
bubble which will crash. ] ) Lenders
post their biggest quarterly profit in almost three years, even as the number
of banks at risk of failure rose to 11 percent of insured institutions.
Predicting
This Year's Bank Failures ‘The FDIC’s quarterly banking profile, providing
data for quarter 2, was released today. The number of 2010 United States bank
failures will likely exceed the 2009 failures, the FDIC reported. This was as I
reported in this space back in May. Thus far this year there have been 118 bank
closings, which compares to about 80 by the same time of year in 2009. The
number of banks on the problem list is still rising. It is now at 829 banks…’
The explosion in private debt (excessive housing
borrowing, excessive corporate debt, etc) levels would reveal the private
sector as unable to sustain positive economic growth, de-leveraging and
deflation would ensue.
Government intervention would help moderately
boost aggregate demand, improve bank balance sheets, improve sentiment, boost asset
prices but fail to result in sustained
economic recovery as private sector balance sheet recession persists.
Extremely
depressed estimates and corporate cost cutting would improve margins
and generate a moderate earnings rebound, but would come under pressure
in 2010 as margin expansion failed to continue at the 2009 rate.
The rebound in assets was surprisingly strong and the
ability of corporations to sustain bottom line growth has been truly impressive
– far better than I expected. However, I am growing increasingly concerned that
the market has priced in overly optimistic earnings sustainability – in other
words, estimates
and expectations have overshot to the upside.
What we’ve seen over the last few years is not
terribly complex in my opinion. The housing boom created what was in essence a
massively leveraged household sector. The problems were compounded by the
leveraging in the financial sector, however, this was merely a symptom of the
real underlying problem and not the cause of the financial crisis (despite
what Mr. Bernanke continues to say and do to fix the economy) …’
Gold
Surges To Near $1,250, As Stealthy Flight To Safety Accelerates, Stocks
Oblivious As stocks continue to correlate with exactly nothing, and are
once again lost in their own HFT dreamworld, which fools Atari in believing the
toxic crap it is churning millions of times each second is worth something (and
the exchanges gladly continue to pay liquidity rebates for said churn), the
capital continues to quietly flow to safety.
Gold
Rallying to $1,500 as Soros’s Bubble Inflates Investors are accumulating
enough bullion to fill Switzerland’s vaults twice over as gold’s most- accurate
forecasters say the longest rally in at least nine decades has further to go no
matter what the economy holds.
Obama
promises new efforts to boost economy (Washington Post)[ New efforts with the same old failed team
covering for the previous same old failed team? The same promised new efforts
which were nothing new at all; viz., focus on new war in Afghanistan, increase
budget deficits, a penchant for the very perps who precipitated the financial
crisis and who should have been prosecuted, jailed, fined and disgorgement
imposed, etc.. No details? What’s the matter wobama? Teleprompter not working?
]Obama offered no new proposals during brief remarks in the Rose Garden, saying
he would provide details "in the days and weeks to come."
Car
sales, spending up, but experts not convinced of trend (Washington Post) [
I’d say time for ‘mouth tomouth
resuscitation’ and a closer look isn’t even necessary. Some experts? Just ask
any guy on main street. Treading water? I’d say time for post-mortem on the
drowning victim.] But a closer look at those car sales raises questions about
whether the auto market - and consumer spending as a whole - are indeed on an
upward arc or whether they are just treading water.
Obama
to loosen rules on technology exports (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Sounds
like a continuation of the ‘clinton plan’ regarding missile among other
technologies to China which worked so well for america in maintaining its
prominently global position vis-à-vis communist china et als. Come on! wobama’s
so done! Let the next president determine the probity of such a course! ] White
House is overhauling the decades-old rules for the export of sensitive military
and other technology, jettisoning what industry groups criticize as an
antiquated "Cold War" set of regulations.
In
the Middle East, it's still 1947(Washington
Post) [ Indeed it should be! Among the few
times the cia was correct, and they’ve been trying to put square pegs in round
holes ever since, to america’s substantial detriment. I wonder what what those
american sailors of the US Liberty killed by the israelis would say?USS
Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero
and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago.
On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national
claiming to work for the government of israel. As for the purported disdain
shown for war mongerer netanayahu, if only wobama’s actions matched his words,
the same would represent a major plus for him and the nation of america, so
sorely in need of pluses whether the same be budgetary or economic or
geopolitical. In fact, for America to abrogate 1948 would guarantee America’s
survival, prosperity, and global hegemony in the most positive sense. ]
Obama
speech on Iraq has risks (Washington Post) [ Yeah, very true indeed!
The main one being that he’s supplanting that illegal, unnecessary,
nation-bankrupting war with yet another in Afghanistan which will not be lost
on those who supported his candidacy based on promised end to unnecessary war
policies which have diverted time, attention, ill-afforded resources including
personnel and continue to do so even as defacto bankrupt america crumbles.
]
Home
prices up 4.2 percent in U.S. (Washington Post) [And america and ultimately
taxpayers paid for every percentage point with money they and soon taxpayers
don’t have and experts say the expiration of same will further be felt in the
form of declining real estate prices going forward. ]
In the Eye of a Financial Katrina- http://seekingalpha.com/author/wall-street-sector-selector
Sunday, August 29th, was the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall
along the Gulf Coast and all of us vividly remember the horrific images of that
day and the days and weeks after. Five years later, the Gulf Coast has come a
long way but most would agree there’s still have a long way to go and many
scars yet to be healed. In the world of money and investing, the Financial
Katrina hit three years ago this month with the beginning of the sub prime
meltdown that led to the “Great Recession.” For the past year or so, we
have been in what appeared to be a recovery but now looks more like the eye of
the storm; today it is quite likely that the second wall of the hurricane is
now rapidly bearing down upon us. The news this week was intensely
negative and the only bright spot came on Friday with Chairman Bernanke’s
speech at Jackson Hole in which he essentially told us, “don’t worry, be happy”
and that all would be well. In spite of the Chairman’s calming tone, Wall
Street Sector Selector remains in the “red flag flying” mode and we believe
that an intense storm lies just ahead.Looking at My Screens
On a technical basis, one can only be bearish and the two charts below tell a
quick and scary story. [ chart courtesy of StockCharts.com ]In the
chart of the S&P 500 above we see the “death cross” highlighted by the
downward pointing arrow wherein the 50-Day Moving Average crossed below the
200-Day Moving Average which is a widely followed indicator of lower stock
prices ahead. In the upper box we see the 14-day RSI pointing upwards from
relatively oversold levels indicating that a short term bounce could be
forthcoming, while the red horizontal line shows the support at 1040 which was
tested and held every day last week. From this display we can conclude that we
are in a bear market, slightly oversold and near support that, if broken, could
lead to a quick drop to the July lows of 1010. [ chart courtesy
of StockCharts.com ] The point and figure chart above paints an even
more ominous picture. A double bottom “sell” signal was generated on August
11th and the index has now broken through the blue bullish support line,
indicating the onset of a new bear market in this major index. Support and
resistance lines in point and figure charting tend to act like firm walls and
mark major turning points in direction, and this recent trend change is the
first since March, 2009, when the lows were hit and last year’s unprecedented
rally began. The breach of this bullish support line is a major development
and in my opinion is an unmistakable sign that it’s time to head for the storm
shelters.The View from 35,000 Feet The fundamental news
was equally shocking this week as existing home sales declined to 3.8 million
units for July from a previous level of 5.26 million. This number is a record
low and single family home sales were at the lowest levels since 1995. Truly we
are in what could only be described as a housing market depression, and this
comes in spite of historically low mortgage rates that people appear to be
ignoring. Seemingly almost nobody wants to buy a house at any rate or any
price. New home sales fared no better, declining to record lows, as well, while
25% of mortgage holders are currently “upside down” in their homes, owning more
than they’re worth, and 15% are in some part of the foreclosure process. Beyond
the dismal news from the housing market, the July Durable Goods report was
dismal and points to an ongoing slowdown in capital spending and on Friday 2nd
Quarter GDP was revised downward to 1.6% from a previous 2.4% in what could
only be described as a terrifying result in light of the stimulus and Federal
Reserve intervention required to generate this paltry number. More and more
analysts are pointing to further reductions in GDP for 3rd Quarter towards flat
or even negative territory while the stock market seems currently priced for
1.5-2.5% growth and this creates a situation which is unlikely to have a positive
outcome going forward. Looking
across the spectrum of noted analysts, we find Princeton economist and former
Federal Reserve member Alan Blinder writing an article in the Wall Street
Journal titled, “The Fed is Running out of Ammo” and noted Yale economist
Robert Shiller appeared on the Wall Street Journal’s “Big Interview” and said
that a double dip “may be imminent.” And finally Albert Edwards, the noted
analyst from Societe General says to look for 450 on the S&P 500,
a roll back to 1982 levels. Fidelity reports that in the second quarter 25% of
people took hardship withdrawals from their 401ks, a number that represents a
10 year high, to help them meet living expenses and the ECRI remained in
recessionary territory with a -9.9% reading last week. On Friday Intel (INTC) cut its earnings and revenue forecast
and across the Atlantic Ireland was downgraded and given a negative outlook by
S&P. Also in Europe, interest rates and Credit Default Swap pricing
continued to rise as their sovereign debt situation continues to erode
confidence in the outcome of the European Central Bank’s historic intervention
efforts of a couple of months ago. The bond market remains priced for
Armageddon, forming what many say will one day be the biggest bubble of all
time and lead to a historic crash in the bond market somewhere down the road.
But on Friday, Dr. Bernanke cheered world markets when he told us that he
expected no double dip, that growth would continue and improve and that he and
his colleagues stood ready to do whatever it takes to avoid deflation and that
he had the tools to lead the global economy to recovery. This upbeat assessment
comes after unprecedented government stimulus, interest rates lowered to near
zero and $1.7 Trillion of asset purchases by the Fed since the onset of the
Great Recession. So one can only wonder how this is going to work. If the
medicine hasn’t worked so far, why would a little more of the same medicine
make a difference?What It All Means As we’ve been saying
for weeks, a double dip looks highly probable with the odds growing daily,
lower stock prices look likely and to make your chest feel even tighter, summer
is almost over, traders will be back from the Hamptons, the kids will be back
in school and we’re about to enter the dreaded month of September which is
historically the worst month for stock market performance. At Wall Street
Sector Selector, we remain in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices
ahead, and we forecast that the second storm wall of the Financial Katrina is
about to hit.The Week Ahead To say that a major week lies ahead is a massive understatement. Economic
Reports: A busy round of economic reports this week will give us a
look at personal income and spending, home prices, manufacturing and what the
Federal Reserve really thought at their recent meeting with everything leading
up to the climactic Non Farm Payroll report on Friday. Certainly all of this
will be food for thought going into the long Labor Day weekend. Tuesday:
0900: Case/Shiller 20 City Home Price Index 0945: August Chicago PMI
1000: August Consumer Confidence. 1400: FOMC Meeting Minutes Wednesday:
0815: July Construction Spending 1000: August ISM Index 1400: August
Auto Sales Thursday: 0830: Initial Unemployment Claims, Continuing Unemployment Claims
1000: July Factory Orders 1000: July Pending Home Sales Friday: 0830: August Non Farm Payrolls 0830: August
Unemployment Rate 1000: ISM Services Sector Spotlight:Leaders:
Silver, Oil, Copper Laggards: Mexico, Global
Shipping, South Korea This week we’re heading for Southwest Florida for a last
week of R&R before school starts and reality strikes after the long Labor
Day weekend. We hope to have a nice time on the beach and not see any tar balls
between our toes. Sadly, I’m sure this year’s Labor Day celebration won’t be a
particularly happy occasion for the 14.6 million of our fellow citizens who
remain unemployed and I can only wish them the very best and a speedy return to
gainful employment and happier days ahead. Disclosure: RWM,
PSQ, SH, SEF, EFZ, SKF, VXX, S&P 500 Put Option
The Elites
Have Lost the Right to Rule Zero Hedge | When you get too many people of a particular
mindset (in this case highly quantitative and academic) to aggregate in a field
that is very much a people business and one where “street smart” common sense
is of extreme importance you are asking for serious trouble.
Ron Paul: Where Is the
Gold? [ As I’ve previously written,
I believe that beyond the gold plate, Fort Knox has been looted. ] New American | Congressman Ron Paul revealed that next year at
the start of the newly inaugurated 112th United States Congress, he would
introduce a new bill to audit the U.S. gold reserves.
Ron
Paul: ‘There Might Not Be Any Gold In Fort Knox’ Paul, a longtime critic of
the Federal Reserve and U.S. monetary policy, said he believes it’s “a
possibility” that there might not actually be any gold in the vaults of Fort
Knox or the New York Federal Reserve bank.
Government
Think Tank Calls For Infiltrating Conspiracy Websites Furious that state
involvement in major terror attacks is being exposed to a wider audience than
ever before via the Internet, a UK think tank closely affiliated with the
Downing Street has called for authorities to infiltrate conspiracy websites in
an effort to “increase trust in the government”.
The
Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions
Legislation currently pending in the Mexican legislature would ban a vast
array of large cash transactions, but the truth is that Mexico is far from
alone in trying to restrict cash. All over the world, governments are either
placing stringent reporting requirements on large cash transactions or they are
banning them altogether.
Report:
Israel planning to attack Hezbollah arms depots in Syria Israel is planning
to attack Hezbollah arms depots and weapons manufacturing plants in Syria, the
Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported on Saturday. The report is based on Western
sources who asserted that Israel has increased its military force level along the
northern border in the Golan Heights and Mount Dov areas.
USS
Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero
and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago.
On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national
claiming to work for the government of Israel.
EU
Popularity Plunges Right Across the Bloc People’s confidence in the the
European Union has dropped to record lows in most countries amid a placid
response to the rising unemployment and the troubles of the eurozone, a
Eurobarometer published on Thursday shows.
China’s
Central Bank Chief Rumored To Have Defected Rumors have circulated in China
that People’s Bank of China Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan has left the country. The
rumors appear to have started following reports on Aug. 28 which cited Ming
Pao, a Hong Kong-based news agency, saying that because of an approximately
$430 billion loss on U.S. Treasury bonds, the Chinese government may punish
some individuals within the PBOC, including Zhou.
Bernanke,
other leaders talk economic policy (Washington Post) [Yeah, they can talk
the talk, but we all know based upon reality, ie., that no-recession thing aka
financial debacle / disaster, etc., we’re still feelin’ in a very big way, they
just can’t can’t walk the walk!]
Google
wants in on the social networking game(Washington Post) [ I’ll bet they do … and as a cia/nsa front,
if you’re a sound thinker and arrange a meet with a newfound friend thereon, be
prepared for almost anything; ie., guns with silencers, garroted from behind,
knife attacks, sudden acceleration of cars toward you when crossing crosswalks,
etc. ] This Tweet -- "Google to launch Facebook competitor
very soon" -- unleashed a sense that the online world as we know it was
about to fundamentally change.
Stocks
up [america down] (Washington Post) Previously
reported economic growth, upon which hundreds of rally ‘points’ were
predicated, revised down by 50% of the actual 1.6%. This is typical but no
small laughing matter which bespeaks the wayward ways of wall street that got
us to this debacle which also includes defacto bankruptcy of the nation. So,
GDP down, consumer confidence down, and stocks rally like no tomorrow (which is
the fraudulent wall street time horizon … they’ll just commission on the way
down). Am I missing something here, particularly when a more sobering view from
a rational player, INTEL, is far more credible? One former fed chair likened
no-recession-helicopter ben bernanke’s factually deficient, empty words to ‘a
doctor telling a patient he’s not sure of what the problem is (that economic
uncertainty thing he referenced), but if his leg gets worse he can always
amputate.’Previously, as pertains to the jackson hole
no-recession-helicopter-ben b*** s*** non-event / talk.Fed action signals new activism (WP) [
Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more of what
brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing and
current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing like
a hegelian methodologyto create the
very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing
their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It
is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold
their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with
an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then
ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal
link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial
missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to
obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben,
etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just
outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After
all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you
certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s
also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub
rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is
being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the
frauds and great detriment to the nation.]
Fed
vows to act if economy stalls(Washington Post) [ Wow!
Really! Sounds like a plan! A ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ plan! One former fed chair / bk. pres. likened no-recession-helicopter
ben bernanke’s factually deficient, empty words to ‘a doctor telling a patient
he’s not sure of what the problem is (that economic uncertainty thing no-recession-helicopter-ben referenced), but if his leg gets worse he can
always amputate’
New
rules for your money(Washington Post)[What
they really mean refers to the lack thereof; that new defacto bankrupt american
reality and all that flows therefrom in the most negative sense. ] Kiplinger's Personal
FinanceIn this
era of high unemployment, flat home prices and do-it-yourself retirement
savings, some traditional rules of saving and investing are due for an
overhaul.
Why
is the recovery faltering?(Washington Post) [ Oooooh! ‘Dat ben! He
gives such great, unctuously soothing talks. Along with wobama, we must consider
this time, a time for defacto bankrupt American decline with the cocomitant
rise of b*** s*** . The watchwords are no longer (as in Hollywood and
elsewhere) ‘pastics’, ‘computer chips’,but rather b*** s*** and more b*** s***! I truly must say, almost as a
‘revenge to Samuelson economics kind of thing’, that Mr. Samuelson here talks
symptoms rather than (structural) causes and totally misses the (big)
macroeconomic picture and should be chastised for faulting prudence.]
Make Sure the
Bunker is Well Stocked Mike Whitney Information Clearing House August 29,
2010 Robert Herz was forced to resign from his job as as chairman of the
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) because he insisted that the banks
assign a fair value to their assets. That’s not what you’ll read in the papers,
but it’s true just the same. Herz [...]
“Monetary
Shock and Awe”: The Fed prepared to launch most Radical Intervention in History
There’s no talk of green shoots any more, and even the deficit hawks have
gone into hibernation. It feels like the calm before the storm, which is why
all eyes were on Jackson Hole this morning where Fed chairman Ben Bernanke
delivered his verdict on the state of the economy on Friday.
Debt,
Depression, Default. America is in Deep Trouble Items we customarily
purchase, i.e., shoes, clothes, cars would become too expensive. Consequently,
the American financial woes would result in a global financial decline. The
enviable American standard of living will decrease and the next generation will
be saddled with insurmountable debt, not of their making.
Helicopter
Ben Bernanke Says Everything Is Going To Be Okay Don’t worry everybody.
Federal Reserve Chairman “No Recession Helicopter Ben” Bernanke says that the
U.S. economy is going to be just fine, and that if it does slip up somehow the
Federal Reserve is ready to rush in to the rescue. That was essentially
Bernanke’s message to an annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming on Friday.
Collapse
Survival Will Be Tribal: Begin Recruiting Now Human World Order
| The controllers are orchestrating the collapse of the American economy and
society right now, albeit in slow motion, but it is already crumbling.
Mullen:
National Debt is a Security Threat [Daaaaah!]The national debt is the single biggest threat to
national security, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. Tax payers will be paying around $600 billion in interest on the
national debt by 2012, the chairman told students and local leaders in Detroit.
U.S.
birth rate falls again, a possible effect of economic downturn The number
of babies born in the United States has dropped for the second year in a row,
according to new federal statistics released Friday that provide more evidence
that the nation’s economic troubles are affecting the birth rate.
Is Ben Lost? [Yes!]
Butter ‘The much awaited
speech by Ben Bernanke, on Friday, was a bit of a non-event. It was
interesting, however, to see the 30 Year bounce, from 3.55% to 3.7%, the moment
that Ben explained his cunning plan to push long-term interest rates down. But
at least we learned that $140 billion of the $1.25 billion the Fed advanced to
buy agency debt and MBS, got repaid. One question Ben: “How much did you pay
for the $140 billion that got repaid? Did you make a profit, or are you going
to wait until Ron Paul’s audit before you let us know how that went?.” I know
I’ve got a dirty mind, but I can’t help thinking that if Ben had made a profit
on that transaction, he would have been crowing about it. I loved this bit,
particularly the “Thus”:
Thus, our purchases of Treasury, agency debt, and
agency MBS likely both reduced the yields on those securities and also pushed
investors into holding other assets with similar characteristics, such as
credit risk and duration. For example, some investors who sold MBS to the Fed
may have replaced them in their portfolios with longer-term, high-quality
corporate bonds, depressing the yields on those assets as well.
Hmm…
Even Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers conceded
that there is absolutely nothing that the Fed can do to change long-term
Treasury yields. But, now Ben the Boy is saying that he can do that, he
must be Superman!
Good to see that Superman is also taking the
credit for pushing down yields on agency debt and toxic MBS. Obviously he
is a genius, the Maestro is re-incarnated, Err…but here is one little
thing; he’s the only guy buying that garbage.
Oh, and whoopee, Ben thinks that the “investors”
(translate deadbeat zombie banks), who sold him their (toxic) MBS, have
all rushed out to buy corporate bonds. I’m not quite sure what planet he’s
on. I thought they either kept the money on deposit with the Fed, or
bought Treasuries to repair their capital adequacy. Note the “may”…as if
he didn’t know!
But this was
the kicker, admittedly hidden away between jargon-heaped on jargon, but there
all the same:
(Al those good things managed)... provide further
support for the economic recovery while maintaining price stability, the Fed
has also taken extraordinary measures to ease monetary and financial
conditions.
I especially
love the part about “further” support. As if the banks are going out and
lending money to Main Street, as opposed to simply using their free, Fed
supplied, get-out-of-jail card to create an illusion of solvency whilst they
“extend and pretend”. Similar to what happened in Japan after their bubble burst.
The real gem, however, was the idea of “maintaining price stability”. What that
means is stopping assets prices (house prices, commercial real estate, and to
some extent stocks) from going down to where they have to go, before market
clearing can start. Funny how when asset prices were bubbling through the roof,
that was not considered “inflationary” by the Fed and was not something to be
concerned about. But, when asset prices fall through the floor, that is
considered deflationary (or disinflationary), and is very bad. Ben looks to me
suspiciously like a greenhorn lost in the woods who used up all his ammo
shooting at shadows. And yet, there is the Big Bad Wolf of private sector
deleveraging faster than he can run the printing presses, (and more importantly,
get that money out into the real world) lurking round the corner.’
We Need A
Revolution, Not A Movement Chuck Baldwin | The Tea Party movement, while still a force with
which to be contended, has already been diluted and compromised.
Corporate
Media Dismisses Castro’s Bin Laden Claim As Far-Fetched Conspiracy Theory The corporate media wasted little time in
seizing upon controversial Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s comments about Osama bin
Laden being a U.S. spy to deride the claim as a far-fetched conspiracy theory,
and yet the fact that Bin Laden was once a CIA protégé and has been used time
and again to the benefit of the U.S. government’s geopolitical agenda is a
documented fact.
7
U.S. troops die in Afghanistan violence(Washington
Post) [I was discussing my opposition
to the contrived conflict in Iraq with a former air force man with high (top?)
security clearance from economic, geopolitical, and humanitarian perspectives;
and further, mentioned I had sought and gotten an appointment to West Point (I
was exempt) so I could go (Vietnam) as an officer rather than a grunt who were
being used as mere cannon fodder as now in Iraq (I also related the fact that I
am thankful, for a multitude of reasons, I changed my mind in light of then new
realities). He replied, quite seriously, that’s what they’re there for… No they
are not! But yes, that is their unequivocal, unforgiveable attitude beyond the
b*** s*** (look at cheney-5 deferments, bush-powderpuff duty courtesy of poppy
bush, clinton-draft dodger, wobama-never served, etc.. Just a destructive
waste!) The latest deaths bring
to 42 the number of American forces who have died this month in Afghanistan
after July's high of 66.
U.S.
officers weary and humbled(Washington Post) [ Indeed they should be; and, if they are able
to make sense of the last 2 decades particularly, they are certifiably true
american crazy, a condition in the u.s. and among it’s war mongering allies
that is found in self-destructive abundance. No joke! And then there are the
crimes / frauds. My position is also that such frauds as the disappearance of
the 360 tons of $100 bills, etc., and similar such frauds should come right off
the top, a direct reduction in their budget allocation particularly in light of
the defacto bankruptcy of the nation! ]How Iraq vets make sense
of the last seven years will affect how america wields its military power [very
poorly indeed!] .
WikiLeaks
Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United
States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall
those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called
pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This
report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen
increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t
go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the
Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).
We’re Already In Recession [actually a depression] Harding‘‘…look at the trend. After an unusual four straight quarters of
negative growth in the severe 2008-2009 recession, the recession ended in the
September quarter of last year when GDP managed fragile growth of 1.6% for the
quarter, and then improved to 5.0% growth in the December quarter.It was
understood that much of that growth was temporary, fueled by government
spending, and spending by consumers provided with government bonuses and
rebates, as well as temporary rebuilding of inventories by businesses. But it
was expected that with that jumpstart the recovery could continue on its own
legs.So, it was a bit of a surprise when GDP growth slowed to 3.7% in the March
quarter of this year while those programs were still having an influence. But
economists still expected the economy would grow at a 3% pace in the June
quarter even with those programs winding down, and for the rest of the year.So,
it was a real disappointment when second quarter growth was reported a
month ago as having been only 2.4%. Plus, when additional data became
available for May and June, the last two months of the second quarter, and
those reports were increasingly negative, economists predicted that Q2 GDP
growth would be revised down to only 1.3%.On Friday, the revision was released,
and it showed growth last quarter slowed significantly, but only to 1.6%, not
as bad as the latest forecast.The media and the stock market, starving for good
news–and with the market short-term oversold after being down 10 of the
previous 13 days–took it as a positive. But let’s get real.The issue is
not whether economists got their forecast right or wrong, but the degree to
which economic growth is slowing. And a trend of 5% growth in the December
quarter, followed by a 1.3% decline to 3.7% growth in the March quarter,
followed by a 2.1% decline to 1.6% growth in the March quarter is a chilling
rate of decline.Now factor in that economic reports so far for July and August,
the first two months of the third quarter, have been significantly worse than
those of May and June, and significantly worse than economists’ forecasts, with
the relapse pretty much across the board; in the housing industry,
manufacturing, retail sales, consumer and business confidence, the decline in
U.S. exports, and so on.It’s not a stretch then to think that economic growth
is declining by another increment of more than 1.6% this quarter, which would
have it in negative territory, already in recession.In his speech Friday
morning at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chairman
Bernanke, while saying he still expects the economy to grow in the second half
“albeit at a relatively modest pace” did not put forth a very convincing
argument, using such phrases as “painfully slow recovery in the labor market”. .
. “economic projections are inherently uncertain”. . . . “the economy is
vulnerable to unexpected developments” . . . “the recovery is less vigorous
than we expected.”Nor did he seem confident that the Fed’s depleted arsenal of
tools to re-stimulate the economy would be effective if needed. Two of the four
possible actions he mentioned seemed to suggest consumers and markets could be
fooled into confidence with mere talk.His brief list of four possible actions
were, “1) conducting additional purchases of longer-term securities [bonds and
mortgage-related securities]; 2) modifying the Fed’s FOMC meeting
communications to investors; 3) reducing the interest the Fed pays banks on
their excess reserves. And I will also comment of a fourth strategy, proposed by
several economists- namely, that the Fed increase its inflation
goals.”Providing details on two of the four possible actions, he said, “The
Fed’s current statement after its FOMC meetings reflects the FOMC’s
anticipation that exceptionally low interest rates will be warranted ‘for an
extended period’ . . . A step the Committee could consider if conditions called
for it, would be to modify the language to communicate to investors that it
anticipates keeping the target for the federal funds rate low for a longer
period of time.”As for the fourth possible action in his list of four, he said
the Fed could alter the phrases it uses to communicate its goals for inflation
by “increasing its medium-term inflation goals above levels consistent with
price stability.”That’s scary stuff if those are two of the four actions the
Fed sees as its best options to re-stimulate the economy.Also of concern, in
its report revising Q2 GDP growth down to just 1.6%, the Commerce Department
reported that corporate earnings declined significantly in the second quarter,
after-tax earnings rising just 0.1%, compared to the gain of 11.4% in the first
quarter. Meanwhile, Wall Street continues to ratchet up its earnings
estimates.On the positive side, consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of
the economy, rose 2% in the second quarter, compared to 1.9% in the first
quarter. But the bad news is that the reports since, on consumer confidence and
retail sales in July and August, have been big disappointments.Putting it all
together, don’t be surprised if a couple of months down the road we learn the
economy was already in recession in the current quarter.’
Cramer
Gets It Wrong With “Mass Panic” GDP Forecast [To the contrary, among the few times cramer got it right … I
mean, come on … you don’t think that initial number and now this better than
all forecasts is correct … one couldn’t be that dumb. ]
Fed
vows to act if economy stalls(Washington Post) [ Wow!
Really! Sounds like a plan! A ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ plan! One former fed chair / bk. pres.(Brusca) likened no-recession-helicopter ben
bernanke’s factually deficient, empty words to ‘a doctor telling a patient he’s
not sure of what the problem is (that economic uncertainty thing no-recession-helicopter-ben referenced), but if his leg gets worse he can
always amputate’.] U.S. markets rebound on news that central bank will
step in if conditions unexpectedly worsen.
Collapse
Survival Will Be Tribal: Begin Recruiting Now Human World Order | The controllers are
orchestrating the collapse of the American economy and society right now,
albeit in slow motion, but it is already crumbling.
10 Leading
Retailers Close Stores Mish’s
Global Economic Trend Analysis | Signs of weak consumer discretionary
spending are popping up in multiple places.
Why Are Home Sales
Plummeting? On the surface, it is because the government’s tax-credit for
first-time home buyers lapsed in April. It takes a couple of months lag-time
between buyer purchase decisions and the actual close of escrow, and so the
expiration of the tax-credit is just now hammering the market.
Bearish
Sentiment Officially Reaching Fever Pitch Friday promises to be a huge day
(at least in the early going) with both the Fed and the Q2 GDP revisions
potentially giving investors more reasons to panic. The questions: is panic
hitting peak levels?
Report
on Fannie, Freddie gives new theory for collapse (Washington Post) Since
‘it’s always something’,time to
contact Rosanne Rosanna Danna to straighten this out! Tiny tim geithner, God
bless us everyone, ‘has also pointed to the weight of souring guaranteed loans
as a source for the companies' troubles. …Riiiiight! Guarantee’s are the thing!
… Rosanne Rosanna Danna, formerly of SNL fame needs to chime in with what her
mama always used to say, ‘ It’s always something ‘ . Of course, it matters
little to the frauds and what their frauds are on wall street what the
something is said to be since the reality is … ‘This is a global depression.
This is a secular bear market in a global depression. This was a manipulated
bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically
manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that
the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical
wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’
Flow
of imports drags down economic growth (Washington Post) [Ah, eureka! So
that’s what did it! Nothing to do with transferring productive capability
overseas / elsewhere as warned against by Ross Perot and celebrated by those
long-term thinking frauds on wall street. Well, we still have the worthless
paper to move around and commission as warned against by Morita of Sony fame.]
Stocks
slip as caution about the economy returnsAssociated Press (Washington Post) [Caution? Is
that what they’re calling reality these days? ] Stocks fell Thursday after
early gains from a better report on jobless claims faded in late trading,
sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its first close below 10,000 since
early July.
Is
the U.S. Bankrupt? [YES!] (at Motley Fool)The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently reported that
bankruptcy filings between April and June hit a four-year high. Consumer
bankruptcies rose 21 percent while business bankruptcies increased eight
percent. The list of corporate bankruptcies over the last couple of years
includes big names like Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and GM.
And financial institutions like Bank of America(NYSE: BAC), Citigroup(NYSE: C), Wells Fargo(NYSE: WFC) received billions of dollars
through the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Should
investors add the U.S. government to that list of big name bankruptcies? I recently asked
Boston University economics professor Lawrence Kotlikoff, author of Jimmy Stewart is Dead: Ending the World's Ongoing
Financial Plague with Limited Purpose Banking. Mac Greer: Larry, I noticed the headline or the title of a
recent article that you wrote, US is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It.
So with that in mind, what is your take on the economy these days? Larry Kotlikoff: Well there is a lot of uncertainty, as rightfully
there should be. We have seen the financial sector implode basically because of
the systematic production and sale of trillions of dollars of fraudulent
securities under the cover of proprietary information, so nobody really had the
ability to look inside big companies like Bear Sterns or Merrill Lynch to see
exactly what they owned or owed. That problem remains today, even with the
passage of Dodd-Frank. There is no requirement that the financial industry come
clean with respect to what it is doing with our money, so every major financial
player says you can't see what we are doing because we have the Midas touch. We
are going to beat the market, and if we show you, everybody will see our secret
formula for making you a mint. As a result, they have a great cover to produce
fraudulent securities. And then when there is a sniff of fraud, one can easily
presume that everything they are doing is fraudulent, which may not at all be
the case. And then there is a run against those institutions as we saw with Bear
Sterns and Lehman Brothers and all the other ones because of the perception
that so much of their holdings were fraudulent and that their reporting was
fraudulent. And of course the rating companies and the regulators and the
boards of directors and the members of Congress were all, in effect, in bed
with each other to achieve this result. I don't see anything that has
fundamentally changed, so that is one major area of fragility. We could have
another meltdown in the financial market tomorrow because as Dick Fuld [Lehman
former CEO] said, he claims that their balance sheet was just fine and that
this was all just a panic, it was not connected with any facts. Well, he said
that every institution on Wall Street --- Goldman Sachs(NYSE: GS), JP Morgan(NYSE: JPM)-- could have
experienced the same thing. His concern about this happening to other companies
is well taken. So we have a financial system that is set up to fail again, and
we have a fiscal situation which is a complete and dire mess. It could lead to
a financial panic that could lead to a much bigger meltdown of the financial
system than we have seen. Greer: Is the U.S. bankrupt? Kotlikoff: Bankruptcy means not being able to pay your future
bills. If you can't pay your current bills, your creditors are already after
you so you already are bankrupt. If you can't pay your future bills, that
really is the operational definition of going bankrupt or being bankrupt. The
U.S. government can't pay its future bills. These bills, in total, in present
value, exceed the revenues by $202 trillion. This is based on taking the data
projected by CBO (Congressional Budget Office) back on June 26 of this year,
when they put out their alternative fiscal scenario, which is their best
long-term projection of government spending, including servicing the official
debt, and government revenues. And if you present value the differential
between spending and revenues, including extrapolating beyond their projection
which is important to do, you get a fiscal gap of $202 trillion. To come
up with $202 trillion in present value, you'd have to immediately and
permanently double all taxes we have. You'd have to do it immediately.
We're talking here about running a 5% GDP surplus this year instead of running
a 9% deficit. So I don't see that happening. We have to cut spending or we have
to print money. Either way you're cutting spending so either way you're, in
effect, reining in spending promises. And that suits my definition of
bankruptcy. And I think there are ways of cutting spending and getting our
fiscal house in order but we need to engage in radical surgery here and not putting
on the band-aid that this administration is so fond of. Greer: One of our Motley Fool writers recently interviewed Euro Pacific Capital President Peter
Schiff. In 2006, he was predicting the economic downturn, and he now
says that we are, "In the early stages of a depression now. It is going to
be a horrific experience for average Americans who are going to watch their
standard of living plunge." Do you agree? Kotlikoff: Well, this has been a depression so far for
millions of Americans. It didn't have to happen. It is really man-made. We have
the same physical capital and human capital sitting here in place. We don't
have to stay in a depressed state. The problem is that things are not
coordinated. We don't have buyers optimistic about getting paid salaries and we
don't have sellers optimistic about being able to find buyers, so everybody is
kind of sitting on their hands. We can have some, a bunch of KISS's, which are
"keep it simple, stupid" solutions to our problems, and lots of
people throughout the country realize this, that we need to fix things
fundamentally. We can't do it with 2,000 page bills that make bureaucratic
structures that are basically clogging up our economic arteries, even more
bureaucratic…
America’s Debt: The BIG
Wave Damien Hoffman
| This, my friends, is only the tip of the iceberg of what will unfold should
we choose to kick the proverbial can farther down the road.
S&P
Says US Should Act to Protect AAA-Rating: Report The United States
government needs to take steps to preserve its top AAA-rating, a Standard &
Poor’s Ratings (S&P) official told Dow Jones newswire in an interview
published on Thursday.
It pays to riot in Europe Dublin
has played by the book. It has taken pre-emptive steps to please the markets
and the EU. It has done an IMF job without the IMF. Indeed, is has gone further
than the IMF would have dared to go.
The Economy When
Debt Is Everywhere As a result of austerity, imposed on Greece by its
Illuminist led government, unemployment has hit 70% in some places. The
country’s budget deficit has been reduced by 40%, truly draconian. Spending by
government has been cut 10%, which is more than double what the EU and IMF has
required.
Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg Positive
gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an
ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist
David Rosenberg said Tuesday. ‘Positive gross domestic product readings and
other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a
1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday.
Writing in his daily briefing to investors, Rosenberg said the Great Depression
also had its high points, with a series of positive GDP reports and sharp stock
market gains. But then as now, those signs of recovery were unsustainable and
only provided a false sense of stability, said Rosenberg. Rosenberg calls current economic conditions“a depression, and not just some garden-variety recession,” and notes
that any good news both during the initial 1929-33 recession and the one that
began in 2008 triggered “euphoric response.”
Op-Ed Columnist
- The Third Depression - NYTimes.com Economic Policy: Nobel
Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early
stages of a third Great Depression. The Third Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: June 27, 2010
‘Recessions are common; depressions are rare. As far as I can tell, there were
only two eras in economic history that were widely described as “depressions”
at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of
1873 and the years of mass unemployment that followed the financial crisis of
1929-31. Neither the Long Depression of the 19th century nor the Great
Depression of the 20th was an era of nonstop decline — on the contrary, both
included periods when the economy grew. But these episodes of improvement were
never enough to undo the damage from the initial slump, and were followed by
relapses.We are now, I fear, in the
early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression
than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the world economy
and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will
nonetheless be immense. And this third depression will be primarily a failure
of policy. Around the world — most recently at last weekend’s deeply
discouraging G-20 meeting — governments are obsessing about inflation when the
real threat is deflation, preaching the need for belt-tightening when the real
problem is inadequate spending. In 2008 and 2009, it seemed as if we might have
learned from history. Unlike their predecessors, who raised interest rates in
the face of financial crisis, the current leaders of the Federal Reserve and
the European Central Bank slashed rates and moved to support credit markets.
Unlike governments of the past, which tried to balance budgets in the face of a
plunging economy, today’s governments allowed deficits to rise. And better
policies helped the world avoid complete collapse: the recession brought on by
the financial crisis arguably ended last summer. But future historians will
tell us that this wasn’t the end of the third depression, just as the business
upturn that began in 1933 wasn’t the end of the Great Depression. After all,
unemployment — especially long-term unemployment — remains at levels that would
have been considered catastrophic not long ago, and shows no sign of coming
down rapidly. And both the United States and Europe are well on their way
toward Japan-style deflationary traps …’
Worse
than expected news on both durables and new home sales. Indeed, in this and the
prior session the ‘new homeseller stocks’ rose based on the foisted false
expectation of expected-to-better as opposed to, among other, far worse than
expected results. Yet, where / when was the worse than expected news
discounted. The fact is that it wasn’t, as fraudulent wall street with one of
those typical press the button, computerized program trade days, rallies to try
to suck the suckers back in to keep their ‘churn and earn’ rollin’. Note the
typical, almost tauntingly gleeful mainstream non-news headline, ‘US stocks
pull off a gain; Dow ends above 10,000 (at CNBC)’ … Riiiiight! … They
pulled it off … How pathetic! Democrats
move to shore up faltering economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Wow! And
all this time that’s what we thought they were doing. Now they’re gonna’ get
serious … riiiiight. Here’s some serious for you:Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff … : an
inflationary depression.)among other
economists, (Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) ,
andmy position and that of demographer
Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.]
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012 ).
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS(Washington
Post) Stock
market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There
should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of
and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers
| ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely
suspect. The vast majority of investors
are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell
/ Take Profits while you still can! ]
Bond Bubble, Dollar Doom - Embrace The Fear Says Fisher [ Riiiiight!
Sounds like a plan … to bail out the frauds on wall street as they sell their
‘hot potatoes’ in their typical ‘musical chair’ pre-crash charade! ] ‘… Hussman:
Dollar Collapse Coming: In his latest market commentary, top fund
manager John Hussman continues to express a bearish view, and says that more
quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to
trigger “an abrupt collapse in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar”.
Hussman offers something of a primer on exchange rates, and concludes by saying
this: “The policy of quantitative easing is likely to force a large adjustment
on the U.S. dollar because the Federal Reserve is choosing to lay a heavier
hand on the Treasury bond market than would result from economic conditions
alone,” he says. “The resulting shift in interest rates and long-term inflation
prospects combine to dramatically reduce the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar.
A significant and relatively abrupt devaluation is then required, in an amount
sufficient to set up expectations of a U.S. dollar appreciation over time.” Special
Offer: People mocked Gary Shilling when he said SELL in 2006 and 2007. But he
was right and his subscribers are richer for it. Click here for Gary Shilling’s
current investment advice. As for the market, Hussman says he
continues to see unfavorable valuations, unfavorable market action, and
unfavorable economic pressures. The Fed’s new go at quantitative easing may
well limit deflationary fears, he says, which has led him to increase exposure
to precious metals and foreign currencies. Hussman also says the U.S. should
focus on restructuring debt, and offers his take on how it should do so …’
Dow
Reclaims 10,000 as Stocks Pare Losses CNBC | Stocks opened
lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday as disappointing reports on new home
sales and durable-goods orders stoked worries about the economic recovery.
Consumers Dropping
Pay TV Services Investors.com | The number of subscribers
to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time
ever in the second quarter.
Plunge in
Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears Wall Street Journal | U.S.
home sales plummeted in July to a level not seen in more than a decade,
spurring fears of renewed weakness in housing prices and the broader economy.
Boehner
calls for mass firing of Obama's economic team (Washington Post) Yeah! True
enough. They should be fired (watch for fake data as a desperate reaction to
the reality the fake data’s been hidin’, revisions to fake data which hid
reality, etc., ‘cause they’re really desperate); yet where were the same calls
for paulsen, bush, et als. The truth is, they all should be fired! Every last
fraudulent one of them! All three corrupt branches of the u.s. non-government.
Frank
to hold hearing on regulation of Wall St. pay (Washington Post) [ Oooooh!
Riiiiight! More hearings … sounds like a plan! Youknow, max face time, no action, great politics as usual. After
all, if they were really serious, prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement
for the perps would have happened. Additionally, the so-called fin regs were
powder puffs after all the huff and puff and ignore prosecution under already existing
laws. What total fraud / b*** s***! ]
U.S. Financial System Still "Fundamentally
Corrupt," Kotlikoff Says: Here's How to Fix It‘We have a "fundamentally corrupt
financial system" and the Dodd-Frank reform bill did nothing to change it,
says Boston University economics professor Laurence
Kotlikoff. "Relatively little has changed except there are
going to be more federal regulators who are probably going to miss major
problems." At the core of the 2008 crisis was "the production and
sale of trillions of fundamentally fraudulent securities," Kotlikoff says,
suggesting all levels of society participated in the fraud -- including
homeowners. At the center of it all were financial intermediaries (a.k.a. Wall
Street) who packaged and sold "snake oil under the guise of proprietary
information" to limit or eliminate disclosure, and enabled by corrupt
rating agencies, regulators and elected officials, he says.In the accompanying video, Kotlikoff
explains how we can "make Wall Street safe for Main Street."In short, we should transform all financial
companies with limited liability (banks, hedge funds, private equity firms and
insurance companies alike) into mutual funds, which the professor describes as
"little banks that have 100% capital requirements. " Notably, the big
mutual fund companies survived the "financial earthquake" of 2008-09
when the rest of the financial system collapsed, Kotlikoff recalls. In late
2009, Kotlikoff and Harvard's Niall Ferguson penned an op-ed for The FT describing a blueprint for
how to take moral hazard out of banking. Citing a speech by Bank of England
governor Mervyn King, Kotlikoff and Ferguson called for "limited purpose
banking" (LPB), that would "limit banks to their legitimate purpose -
financial intermediation and payment facilitation." Nine months later,
Kotlikoff remains convinced this "very simple reform" remains a much
better alternative than the financial reform bill hammered out in Washington -
with plenty of influence from Wall Street lobbyists. "We are rebuilding
[the system] out of straw rather than out of brick," Kotlikoff says,
suggesting his "LPB" proposal will ultimately be good for the economy
and provide a model for the rest of the world. "If we have a safe, sound
[financial] structure other countries will follow suit," he says.’
Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are
numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The
vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners …
Sell / Take Profits while you still can!
Analyst:
Dow To 5,000, Lost Decade For Stocks The Dow Jones Industrial Average will
lose about half of its value over the next couple of years as it follows a
Nikkei-like pattern of several sharp rallies in an overall decline, according
to Charles Nenner, founder and president of Charles Nenner research.
Existing home sales
plunge 27% Existing home sales fell sharply in July, declining for a third
straight month, as the effects of the expired homebuyer tax credit continued to
add turbulence to the housing market.
Hindenburg
Omen Creator Has Exited The Market As we reported first, last week saw the
second confirmation of the Hindenburg Omen, most recently sighted for the first
time on August 12. Presumably this is an indication of putting one’s money
where one’s mouth is (and away from the market).
We’re
Underperforming The Great Depression In real (inflation/deflation-adjusted)
terms, when did the US market permanently regain the high reached in 1929? The
first chart illustrates two answers to the question. One uses the real price
and the other uses the real total return.
Top
Republicans urge Obama to oust economic team Reuters | The top Republican in the U.S. House of
Representatives called on Tuesday for President Barack Obama to fire his
economic team in a campaign-style speech meant to focus voters on the weak
American economy.
Home Sales Plunge to
Record Low NY Times | Sales
of existing homes plunged 27.2 percent in July, down to their lowest level
since the National Association of Realtors began keeping track over a decade
ago.
Unemployed
group blasts Geithner’s handling of economy The Hill | UCubed, a group representing unemployed and
underemployed workers, sharply criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
for his handling of the economy.
Stocks
Plunge, Double Dip Recession Fears Grow After Home Sales Report U.S. stocks
extended losses, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 10,000, and the
10-year Treasury yield fell below 2.5 percent for the first time since 2009 as
a bigger-than-estimated slump in existing home sales fueled concern the economy
may relapse into recession.
Americans
Using Their Rainy Day Savings to Live Rebel Traders | The reality of the ‘real
economy’, as measured by people, not Wall Street, is a deteriorating economy
where any source of funds is fair game to be tapped into.
The Never Ending Recession
Mr. Rosenberg believes we could see a negative GDP print THIS quarter. And
if he’s right that means analysts are far too optimistic about the upcoming
quarter.
JFK
Assassination Cover-Up Blown Sky High It is a story the corporate media, with the notable exception of
one lone Fox News affiliate, refuses to report. A former FBI agent, Don Adams,
has compelling evidence Lee Harvey Oswald did not assassinate president John F.
Kennedy.
Massive
solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with ‘force of 100m bombs’ Astronomers are
predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one
that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, is to strike
our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs.
Saudi
couple hammer 24 hot nails into their maid after she complained of heavy
workload [Saudi Arabia is total
b*** s***. Time for displacement of the saudi mob family, and establishment of
a meaningful nation-state! They are an embarrassment to Muslims everywhere!] A
Saudi couple tortured their Sri Lankan maid by hammering 24 hot nails into her
after she complained of her heavy workload. Mrs Ariyawathi told a local
newspaper that her employers tortured her with the nails as punishment.
Senate
To Sneak Through Internet Kill Switch Bill The Senate is attempting to
sneak through the infamous Internet kill switch cybersecurity bill by attaching
it to another piece of legislation that is almost guaranteed to pass – the
defense authorization bill – in an underhanded ploy to avoid the difficult task
of passing cybersecurity on its own.
Key
Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. The aide to President
Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption
investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to
Afghan and American officials.
WikiLeaks
Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United States
as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall
those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called
pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This
report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen
increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t
go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the
Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).
Inside
Job? Iraqi govt ‘involved in deadly bombings to get US troops to stay’ More than 40 people have been killed in a
string of bombings that have rocked Iraq. In Baghdad alone, over 20 bombs
exploded in at least 12 separate incidents. Today’s bombings are raising
questions the Iraqi government’s ability to deal with an ongoing insurgency.
Sabah Al-Mukhtar from the Arab Lawyers Association says the bombings may
actually be the Iraqi government’s way to get US troops to stay.
John McCain’s Attack
On Liberty Chuck Baldwin | The citizens of Arizona can do
the American people — and liberty itself — a great favor this year by giving
Senator John McCain his walking papers. [First, he’s a fraud with a long
mob-connected history. Second, he’s an incompetent mental case in the mold of
‘bolton’ et als, but all that’s how and why they keep this compromised a** in
there.]
Former
FBI Agent Reveals New Angle On Kennedy Assassination [bush, typically, was involved up to his
eyeballs, and ‘knuck’ (knucklehead not-to-bright ford) thetypical go along to get along. ]‘… Despite
the threat and possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the president, the
FBI and Secret Service allowed Kennedy to travel to Dallas. “[They] should have
stopped the President from traveling instantly,” said Adams. “You thought I was
kidding when I said he would be killed from a window with a high powered
rifle,” a “jubilant” Milteer” told the informant following the murder. Adams
points out that Milteer was in Dallas on the day of the assassination and has a
photograph to prove it. In the photo, Milteer stands near the presidential
limousine prior to the shooting. Adams notes this fact was not mentioned in the
Warren Commission report. Other, more well-known personages were also
photographed in Dealy Plaza on that fateful day, in particular George Bush
Senior. The future CIA director and president was photographed standing
outside the Texas Book Depository building where it was said Oswald
single-handedly shot the president from the sixth floor. Gerald Ford appointed
Bush to head-up the agency when the House Select Committee on Assassinations
was investigating CIA-FBI links to the murders of John F. Kennedy, Martin
Luther King and Robert Kennedy. During Gerald Ford’s funeral in 2007, the elder Bush attacked theories straying from the official
version. “After a deluded gunman assassinated President Kennedy, our nation
turned to Gerald Ford and a select handful of others to make sense of that
madness,” said Bush. “And the conspiracy theorists can say what they will, but
the Warren Commission report will always have the final definitive say on this
tragic matter. Why? Because Jerry Ford put his name on it and Jerry Ford’s word
was always good.” After Adams told the FBI he believed it was impossible for
Oswald to have fired three shots with a bolt-action rifle in seven-and-a-half
seconds while taking aim through a scope, he was warned by his superiors not to
pursue his findings. “Don, be careful what you say and how you say it,” an
agent told him. Mr. Adams’ assertions contribute to a huge body of evidence revealing
that Kennedy was not murdered by Oswald in the fashion described by the
government…’
4th
Amendment Violating Mobile X-Ray Scanners Hit The Streets As we warned at the beginning of the year,
X-ray body scanners currently being used and abused in airports across the
world are set to hit the streets as American Science & Engineering reveals
that “more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be
driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents” have been sold to
government agencies.
Pentagon
Teaches Kindergarten Kids As U.S. Schools Are Militarized For Martial Law
Conditioning This represents the
process of full spectrum dominance over our children’s minds. First the
government paid the mothers not to have husbands in the home (single parent
benefits) and now the soldiers are bringing up our kids from Kindergarten age.
This is about training Americans almost from birth that’s it’s normal to have
troops involved in routine life on a day to day basis. This is total martial
law conditioning.
Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg Positive
gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an
ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff
economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday. ‘Positive gross domestic product
readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US
economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg
said Tuesday. Writing in his daily briefing to investors, Rosenberg said the
Great Depression also had its high points, with a series of positive GDP
reports and sharp stock market gains. But then as now, those signs of recovery
were unsustainable and only provided a false sense of stability, said
Rosenberg. Rosenberg calls current economic conditions“a depression, and not just some garden-variety recession,” and notes
that any good news both during the initial 1929-33 recession and the one that
began in 2008 triggered “euphoric response.”
Op-Ed Columnist
- The Third Depression - NYTimes.com Economic Policy: Nobel
Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early
stages of a third Great Depression. The Third Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: June 27, 2010
‘Recessions are common; depressions are rare. As far as I can tell, there were
only two eras in economic history that were widely described as “depressions”
at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of
1873 and the years of mass unemployment that followed the financial crisis of
1929-31. Neither the Long Depression of the 19th century nor the Great
Depression of the 20th was an era of nonstop decline — on the contrary, both
included periods when the economy grew. But these episodes of improvement were
never enough to undo the damage from the initial slump, and were followed by
relapses.We are now, I fear, in the
early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long
Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost — to the
world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence
of jobs — will nonetheless be immense. And this third depression will be
primarily a failure of policy. Around the world — most recently at last
weekend’s deeply discouraging G-20 meeting — governments are obsessing about
inflation when the real threat is deflation, preaching the need for
belt-tightening when the real problem is inadequate spending. In 2008 and 2009,
it seemed as if we might have learned from history. Unlike their predecessors,
who raised interest rates in the face of financial crisis, the current leaders
of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank slashed rates and moved to
support credit markets. Unlike governments of the past, which tried to balance
budgets in the face of a plunging economy, today’s governments allowed deficits
to rise. And better policies helped the world avoid complete collapse: the
recession brought on by the financial crisis arguably ended last summer. But
future historians will tell us that this wasn’t the end of the third
depression, just as the business upturn that began in 1933 wasn’t the end of
the Great Depression. After all, unemployment — especially long-term unemployment
— remains at levels that would have been considered catastrophic not long ago,
and shows no sign of coming down rapidly. And both the United States and Europe
are well on their way toward Japan-style deflationary traps …’
Worse
than expected news on both durables and new home sales. Indeed, in this and the
prior session the ‘new homeseller stocks’ rose based on the foisted false
expectation of expected-to-better as opposed to, among other, far worse than
expected results. Yet, where / when was the worse than expected news
discounted. The fact is that it wasn’t, as fraudulent wall street with one of
those typical press the button, computerized program trade days, rallies to try
to suck the suckers back in to keep their ‘churn and earn’ rollin’. Note the
typical, almost tauntingly gleeful mainstream non-news headline, ‘US stocks
pull off a gain; Dow ends above 10,000 (at CNBC)’ … Riiiiight! … They
pulled it off … How pathetic! Democrats
move to shore up faltering economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Wow! And
all this time that’s what we thought they were doing. Now they’re gonna’ get
serious … riiiiight. Here’s some serious for you:Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff … : an
inflationary depression.)among other
economists, (Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) ,
andmy position and that of demographer
Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.]
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012 ).
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS(Washington
Post) Stock
market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There
should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of
and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers
| ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely
suspect. The vast majority of investors
are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell
/ Take Profits while you still can! ]
Bond Bubble, Dollar Doom - Embrace The Fear Says Fisher [ Riiiiight!
Sounds like a plan … to bail out the frauds on wall street as they sell their
‘hot potatoes’ in their typical ‘musical chair’ pre-crash charade! ] ‘… Hussman:
Dollar Collapse Coming: In his latest market commentary, top fund
manager John Hussman continues to express a bearish view, and says that more
quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to
trigger “an abrupt collapse in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar”.
Hussman offers something of a primer on exchange rates, and concludes by saying
this: “The policy of quantitative easing is likely to force a large adjustment
on the U.S. dollar because the Federal Reserve is choosing to lay a heavier
hand on the Treasury bond market than would result from economic conditions
alone,” he says. “The resulting shift in interest rates and long-term inflation
prospects combine to dramatically reduce the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar.
A significant and relatively abrupt devaluation is then required, in an amount
sufficient to set up expectations of a U.S. dollar appreciation over time.” Special
Offer: People mocked Gary Shilling when he said SELL in 2006 and 2007. But he
was right and his subscribers are richer for it. Click here for Gary Shilling’s
current investment advice. As for the market, Hussman says he
continues to see unfavorable valuations, unfavorable market action, and
unfavorable economic pressures. The Fed’s new go at quantitative easing may
well limit deflationary fears, he says, which has led him to increase exposure
to precious metals and foreign currencies. Hussman also says the U.S. should
focus on restructuring debt, and offers his take on how it should do so …’
Dow
Reclaims 10,000 as Stocks Pare Losses CNBC | Stocks opened
lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday as disappointing reports on new home
sales and durable-goods orders stoked worries about the economic recovery.
Consumers Dropping
Pay TV Services Investors.com | The number of subscribers
to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time
ever in the second quarter.
Plunge in
Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears Wall Street Journal | U.S.
home sales plummeted in July to a level not seen in more than a decade,
spurring fears of renewed weakness in housing prices and the broader economy.
Boehner
calls for mass firing of Obama's economic team (Washington Post) Yeah! True
enough. They should be fired (watch for fake data as a desperate reaction to
the reality the fake data’s been hidin’, revisions to fake data which hid
reality, etc., ‘cause they’re really desperate); yet where were the same calls
for paulsen, bush, et als. The truth is, they all should be fired! Every last
fraudulent one of them! All three corrupt branches of the u.s. non-government.
Frank
to hold hearing on regulation of Wall St. pay (Washington Post) [ Oooooh!
Riiiiight! More hearings … sounds like a plan! Youknow, max face time, no action, great politics as usual. After
all, if they were really serious, prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement
for the perps would have happened. Additionally, the so-called fin regs were
powder puffs after all the huff and puff and ignore prosecution under already
existing laws. What total fraud / b*** s***! ]
Too
far right (Washington Post)[ Too
far right, too far left, too republican, too democrat … Come on! Wake up! The
problem is simply too pervasively corrupt and these are distinctions without a
significant difference.For
Obama, some chances ahead (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake
up! There are no chances ahead for wobama’s already failed presidency! He knows
it, the people know it, and even his most ardent blind supporters know it. One
too many b*** s*** stories and broken (campaign) promises. Delivering a speech,
albeit teleprompted, is a far cry from delivering, which reality most have
awaken to. He seems to be incapable of even one original thought even as the
wobamas seem to take umbrage as they are dissed for self-created lack of approbation
($500 sneakers, spain trip, fiddling while the nation burns, etc.). What next?
The race card? Even as his (in)justice department had decided to ignore civil
rights violations by blacks and focus only on whites? No! wobama’s failed
presidencyis as done as an over-cooked
hard-boiled egg. Empty words just ain’t enough! ] New Orleans visit, Iraq
speech offer president opportunities to help end a frustrating summer.]
NASA
helping in rescue of miners (Washington Post)[I truly have no problem with and even (re)commend NASA andterrestrial undertakings such as this,
including infrastructure and budget allocations accordingly, so long as they
defacto, if not explicitly by declaration, own up to their frauds and complicit
illegal militarization of space with the cia / pentagon lunatics. God knows
america is sorely in need of infrastructure renewal / repair.]
The
Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global
Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on
planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new, destabilizing
weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit into another
“battlespace.”
New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece
of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have
already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to
speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware
say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might
want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space
alien host body.
First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space planmsnbc.com - Bill Ingalls -
The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's
decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not
going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out
effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured
piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned
lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news |
europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of
moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a
lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock'
in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch
national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the
moon by american astronauts, ... http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm
In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence
that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american
fraud!
Review of John Vaillant's
"The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival" Montgomery [Truly
my kind of hero!](Washington Posthttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/27/AR2010082702288.html?hpid=features1&hpv=nationalBuy this book. I will! )[Truly my kind of hero! (As a matter of
disclosure, I like all cats, big and small!) I do believe an important point to
be gleened here is how totally primative the Chinese are which makes this
current economic scenario we’re experiencing courtesy Clinton, and particularly
the bushes, ie., (captain cia ambassador poppy) who themselves have a long
documented familial history of primative behaviors (ie., war profiteering, war
crimes, etc.; the bushes are such can’t do anything well vegetables),
especially disheartening. I mean, after all, isn’t the communist Chinese
business model, simply put, probably the most primitive one this world has ever
known; viz., slave labor. I say, boycott china products; impose tariffs,
sanctions, restrictions on the products of the primitive communist Chinese
mongrels. ]
Stepped-up
efforts fail to stem drug money (Washington Post)[ Come on! Wake up! That’s american, yes american big business.
The stuff that the war in Afghanistan is made of; viz., ie., heroin, etc..
]Stashing cash in spare tires, engine transmissions and truckloads of baby
diapers, couriers for Mexican drug cartels are moving tens of billions of
dollars in profits south across the border each year, a river of dirty money
that has overwhelmed U.S. and Mexican customs agents.
Carlyle-owned
toy supplier files for bankruptcy (Washington Post) [ What is a
bush-involved company of paper (leveraged instruments, etc.) pushers doing with
any company doing business in the u.s. or elsewhere for that matter. The bushes
are vegetables who really can’t do anything well, except maybe, war, war
crimes, fraud, illegal drug deals (Iran contra, etc., http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg
) ]
05/11/03: (Information Clearing House)
There are so many connections between the Bushes, the ‘Defence’ establishment,
the global trade in arms, that the mind boggles. That it barely gets a mention
in the mainstream media (except of course, to simply ‘report’ it) is a scandal
of the grandest proportions. But it only goes to show the power of big business
and the political class they have installed in both the US and the UK..
Former
FBI Agent Reveals New Angle On Kennedy Assassination [bush, typically, was involved up to his
eyeballs, and ‘knuck’ (knucklehead not-to-bright ford) thetypical go along to get along. ]‘… Despite
the threat and possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the president, the
FBI and Secret Service allowed Kennedy to travel to Dallas. “[They] should have
stopped the President from traveling instantly,” said Adams.
bush/Carlyle
cont’d … (after all, John Major is employed by the Carlyle Group and BAE
Systems, the major arms supplier to the UK, is part-owned by Carlyle). Not only
the connections beggar belief but the sheer hypocrisy of the Bush government
should put it in a new category in the Guinness Book of Records! As you’ll see
from just of a few of the links to information on Carlyle below, their
tentacles extend to many of the armed conflicts going on in the world. There’s
no business like war business!
I’ve presented
them in no particular order, the common denominator is the Bush family.
"Arms
Buildup Enriches Firm Staffed by Big Guns"
Defense:
Ex-president and other elites are behind weapon-boosting Carlyle Group.
By Mark
Fineman, Times Staff Writer January 10 2002
"The
Pakistan-India conflict is being funded and fomented by the same faces that
brought you the war on terrorism"
A particularly
evil manifestation of the arms business is the one in the on-going low
intensity war between in India and Pakistan and the Carlyle Group’s role in it
"US arms
group heads for Lisbon: The Carlyle Group, integrated by the Bush and bin Laden
families awarded a billion dollar contract to "rebuild Iraq", 6
April 2003
How will
President George W. Bush personally make million$, if not billion$ from the War
on Terror? The easy way. He’ll inherit it. Former World Leaders and Washington
Insiders Making Billions in the War on Terrorism
WIKIPEDIAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group
‘The Carlyle Group is a global private
equity investment firm, based in Washington,
D.C., with more than $84.5 billion of equity
capital under management, diversified over 64 different funds as of March
31, 2009.[1]
The firm operates four fund families, focusing on leveraged
buyouts, growth capital, real estate
and leveraged finance investments. The firm employs
more than 890 employees, including 495 investment professionals in 20 countries
with several offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia; its portfolio companies employ more than 415,000
people worldwide. Carlyle has over 1300 investors in 71 countries.Carlyle was ranked in 2007 as the largest private
equity firm in the world, according to a ranking called the PEI 50 based on
capital under management.[2]
However, the firm moved down to second largest as of May 2010.[3]…’
Fed
policy is foggy as economic picture clouds(Washington
Post) [ Wow! Look to ‘no recession helicopter ben for guidance’? You’re hurting
my ears and eyes, again. Meanwhile, everyone’s waiting for buh, buh, buh, benny
and his jets to say no depression. At least we’ll be able to add certainty,
albeit the opposite of what he says. But the fact is already that, ‘This is a global depression. This is a
secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated
bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically
manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that
the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.’ ] With housing market retreating,
unemployment lingering and Fed officials in open disagreement, markets look to
Bernanke for guidance.
Op-Ed Columnist - The Third Depression - NYT Nobel
Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the US is in the "early
stages of a third Great Depression. The Third Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN
Peia: ‘This is a global depression. This is a
secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated
bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically
manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that
the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.’
Worse
than expected news on both durables and new home sales. Indeed, in this and the
prior session the ‘new homeseller stocks’ rose based on the foisted false
expectation of expected-to-better as opposed to, among other, far worse than
expected results. Yet, where / when was the worse than expected news
discounted. The fact is that it wasn’t, as fraudulent wall street with one of
those typical press the button, computerized program trade days, rallies to try
to suck the suckers back in to keep their ‘churn and earn’ rollin’, and the
‘pass the hot potatoe / musical chairs confidence game’ goin’. Note the
typical, almost tauntingly gleeful mainstream non-news headline, ‘US stocks
pull off a gain; Dow ends above 10,000 (at CNBC)’ … Riiiiight! … They
pulled it off … How pathetic!Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff: an
inflationary depression.)among other
economists, (Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) ,
andmy position and that of demographer
Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been
a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great
regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.
This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud
as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not
end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally
prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012 ).
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS(Washington
Post) Stock
market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There
should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of
and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers
| ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely
suspect. The vast majority of investors
are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell
/ Take Profits while you still can! ]
Bond Bubble, Dollar Doom - Embrace The Fear Says Fisher [ Riiiiight!
Sounds like a plan … to bail out the frauds on wall street as they sell their
‘hot potatoes’ in their typical ‘musical chair’ pre-crash charade! ] ‘… Hussman:
Dollar Collapse Coming: In his latest market commentary, top fund
manager John Hussman continues to express a bearish view, and says that more
quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to
trigger “an abrupt collapse in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar”.
Hussman offers something of a primer on exchange rates, and concludes by saying
this: “The policy of quantitative easing is likely to force a large adjustment
on the U.S. dollar because the Federal Reserve is choosing to lay a heavier
hand on the Treasury bond market than would result from economic conditions
alone,” he says. “The resulting shift in interest rates and long-term inflation
prospects combine to dramatically reduce the attractiveness of the U.S. dollar.
A significant and relatively abrupt devaluation is then required, in an amount
sufficient to set up expectations of a U.S. dollar appreciation over time.” Special
Offer: People mocked Gary Shilling when he said SELL in 2006 and 2007. But he
was right and his subscribers are richer for it. Click here for Gary Shilling’s
current investment advice. As for the market, Hussman says he
continues to see unfavorable valuations, unfavorable market action, and
unfavorable economic pressures. The Fed’s new go at quantitative easing may
well limit deflationary fears, he says, which has led him to increase exposure
to precious metals and foreign currencies. Hussman also says the U.S. should
focus on restructuring debt, and offers his take on how it should do so …’
Dow
Reclaims 10,000 as Stocks Pare Losses CNBC | Stocks opened
lower for a fifth straight day Wednesday as disappointing reports on new home
sales and durable-goods orders stoked worries about the economic recovery.
Consumers Dropping
Pay TV Services Investors.com | The number of subscribers
to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time
ever in the second quarter.
Plunge in
Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears Wall Street Journal | U.S.
home sales plummeted in July to a level not seen in more than a decade,
spurring fears of renewed weakness in housing prices and the broader economy.
Democrats
move to shore up faltering economic recovery (Washington Post) [ Wow! And
all this time that’s what we thought they were doing. Now they’re gonna’ get
serious … riiiiight. Here’s some serious for you:Economic
indicators reflect weak recovery (Washington Post) [Recovery? I say they’re
dreamin’! So does Schiff, (Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands
alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary
depression.)among other economists, (Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) ,
andmy position and that of demographer
Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally
prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012 ).
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS(Washington
Post) Stock
market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There
should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of
and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers
| ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely
suspect. The vast majority of investors
are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell
/ Take Profits while you still can! ]
Americans
Using Their Rainy Day Savings to Live Rebel Traders | The reality of the ‘real economy’,
as measured by people, not Wall Street, is a deteriorating economy where any
source of funds is fair game to be tapped into.
The Never Ending Recession
Mr. Rosenberg believes we could see a negative GDP print THIS quarter. And
if he’s right that means analysts are far too optimistic about the upcoming
quarter.
Boehner
calls for mass firing of Obama's economic team (Washington Post) Yeah! True
enough. They should be fired (watch for fake data as a desperate reaction to
the reality the fake data’s been hidin’, revisions to fake data which hid
reality, etc., ‘cause they’re really desperate); yet where were the same calls
for paulsen, bush, et als. The truth is, they all should be fired! Every last
fraudulent one of them! All three corrupt branches of the u.s. non-government.
Frank
to hold hearing on regulation of Wall St. pay (Washington Post) [ Oooooh!
Riiiiight! More hearings … sounds like a plan! Youknow, max face time, no action, great politics as usual. After
all, if they were really serious, prosecutions, jail, fines, and disgorgement
for the perps would have happened. Additionally, the so-called fin regs were
powder puffs after all the huff and puff and ignore prosecution under already
existing laws. What total fraud / b*** s***! ]
U.S. Financial System Still "Fundamentally
Corrupt," Kotlikoff Says: Here's How to Fix It‘We have a "fundamentally corrupt
financial system" and the Dodd-Frank reform bill did nothing to change it,
says Boston University economics professor Laurence
Kotlikoff. "Relatively little has changed except there are going
to be more federal regulators who are probably going to miss major
problems." At the core of the 2008 crisis was "the production and
sale of trillions of fundamentally fraudulent securities," Kotlikoff says,
suggesting all levels of society participated in the fraud -- including
homeowners. At the center of it all were financial intermediaries (a.k.a. Wall
Street) who packaged and sold "snake oil under the guise of proprietary
information" to limit or eliminate disclosure, and enabled by corrupt
rating agencies, regulators and elected officials, he says.In the accompanying video, Kotlikoff
explains how we can "make Wall Street safe for Main Street."In short, we should transform all financial
companies with limited liability (banks, hedge funds, private equity firms and
insurance companies alike) into mutual funds, which the professor describes as
"little banks that have 100% capital requirements. " Notably, the big
mutual fund companies survived the "financial earthquake" of 2008-09
when the rest of the financial system collapsed, Kotlikoff recalls. In late
2009, Kotlikoff and Harvard's Niall Ferguson penned an op-ed for The FT describing a blueprint for
how to take moral hazard out of banking. Citing a speech by Bank of England
governor Mervyn King, Kotlikoff and Ferguson called for "limited purpose
banking" (LPB), that would "limit banks to their legitimate purpose -
financial intermediation and payment facilitation." Nine months later,
Kotlikoff remains convinced this "very simple reform" remains a much
better alternative than the financial reform bill hammered out in Washington -
with plenty of influence from Wall Street lobbyists. "We are rebuilding [the
system] out of straw rather than out of brick," Kotlikoff says, suggesting
his "LPB" proposal will ultimately be good for the economy and
provide a model for the rest of the world. "If we have a safe, sound
[financial] structure other countries will follow suit," he says.’
Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are
numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The
vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners …
Sell / Take Profits while you still can!
Analyst:
Dow To 5,000, Lost Decade For Stocks The Dow Jones Industrial Average will
lose about half of its value over the next couple of years as it follows a Nikkei-like
pattern of several sharp rallies in an overall decline, according to Charles
Nenner, founder and president of Charles Nenner research.
Existing home sales
plunge 27% Existing home sales fell sharply in July, declining for a third
straight month, as the effects of the expired homebuyer tax credit continued to
add turbulence to the housing market.
Hindenburg
Omen Creator Has Exited The Market As we reported first, last week saw the
second confirmation of the Hindenburg Omen, most recently sighted for the first
time on August 12. Presumably this is an indication of putting one’s money
where one’s mouth is (and away from the market).
We’re
Underperforming The Great Depression In real (inflation/deflation-adjusted)
terms, when did the US market permanently regain the high reached in 1929? The
first chart illustrates two answers to the question. One uses the real price
and the other uses the real total return.
Top
Republicans urge Obama to oust economic team Reuters | The top Republican in the U.S. House of
Representatives called on Tuesday for President Barack Obama to fire his
economic team in a campaign-style speech meant to focus voters on the weak
American economy.
Home Sales Plunge to
Record Low NY Times | Sales
of existing homes plunged 27.2 percent in July, down to their lowest level
since the National Association of Realtors began keeping track over a decade
ago.
Unemployed
group blasts Geithner’s handling of economy The Hill | UCubed, a group representing unemployed and
underemployed workers, sharply criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
for his handling of the economy.
Stocks
Plunge, Double Dip Recession Fears Grow After Home Sales Report U.S. stocks
extended losses, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 10,000, and the
10-year Treasury yield fell below 2.5 percent for the first time since 2009 as
a bigger-than-estimated slump in existing home sales fueled concern the economy
may relapse into recession.
Americans
Using Their Rainy Day Savings to Live Rebel Traders | The reality of the ‘real
economy’, as measured by people, not Wall Street, is a deteriorating economy
where any source of funds is fair game to be tapped into.
The Never Ending Recession
Mr. Rosenberg believes we could see a negative GDP print THIS quarter. And
if he’s right that means analysts are far too optimistic about the upcoming
quarter.
Former
FBI Agent Reveals New Angle On Kennedy Assassination [bush, typically, was involved up to his
eyeballs, and ‘knuck’ (knucklehead not-to-bright ford) thetypical go along to get along. ]‘… Despite
the threat and possibility of a conspiracy to assassinate the president, the
FBI and Secret Service allowed Kennedy to travel to Dallas. “[They] should have
stopped the President from traveling instantly,” said Adams. “You thought I was
kidding when I said he would be killed from a window with a high powered
rifle,” a “jubilant” Milteer” told the informant following the murder. Adams
points out that Milteer was in Dallas on the day of the assassination and has a
photograph to prove it. In the photo, Milteer stands near the presidential
limousine prior to the shooting. Adams notes this fact was not mentioned in the
Warren Commission report. Other, more well-known personages were also
photographed in Dealy Plaza on that fateful day, in particular George Bush
Senior. The future CIA director and president was photographed standing
outside the Texas Book Depository building where it was said Oswald
single-handedly shot the president from the sixth floor. Gerald Ford appointed
Bush to head-up the agency when the House Select Committee on Assassinations
was investigating CIA-FBI links to the murders of John F. Kennedy, Martin
Luther King and Robert Kennedy. During Gerald Ford’s funeral in 2007, the elder Bush attacked theories straying from the official version.
“After a deluded gunman assassinated President Kennedy, our nation turned to
Gerald Ford and a select handful of others to make sense of that madness,” said
Bush. “And the conspiracy theorists can say what they will, but the Warren
Commission report will always have the final definitive say on this tragic
matter. Why? Because Jerry Ford put his name on it and Jerry Ford’s word was
always good.” After Adams told the FBI he believed it was impossible for Oswald
to have fired three shots with a bolt-action rifle in seven-and-a-half seconds
while taking aim through a scope, he was warned by his superiors not to pursue
his findings. “Don, be careful what you say and how you say it,” an agent told
him. Mr. Adams’ assertions contribute to a huge body of evidence revealing that
Kennedy was not murdered by Oswald in the fashion described by the government…’
4th
Amendment Violating Mobile X-Ray Scanners Hit The Streets As we warned at the beginning of the year,
X-ray body scanners currently being used and abused in airports across the
world are set to hit the streets as American Science & Engineering reveals
that “more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be
driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents” have been sold to
government agencies.
Pentagon
Teaches Kindergarten Kids As U.S. Schools Are Militarized For Martial Law
Conditioning This represents the
process of full spectrum dominance over our children’s minds. First the
government paid the mothers not to have husbands in the home (single parent
benefits) and now the soldiers are bringing up our kids from Kindergarten age.
This is about training Americans almost from birth that’s it’s normal to have
troops involved in routine life on a day to day basis. This is total martial
law conditioning.
Google’s
Plans to Take Over The Internet Exposed! Google’s agreement with Verizon to
speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete
sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under
Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV,
independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up
by transnational media giants.
‘Pre-Crime’
Reaches Number 1 Google Trend Spot Matt
Ryan | Steve Watson’s incredible article about the use of
pre-crime technology was picked up by large news sites such as the Drudge
Report and others.
Gasoline
prices hit 8-month low (Washington Post) [ Strange days indeed. There was a
time not long ago that the same news would engender a ‘glass-half-full’ spin
for a fraudulent wall street rallying point. At the same time, higher oil
prices one of those reasons for selling into the bubble. Today, higher oil
prices day to day provide a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street
rallying point that drives the oils (stocks) higher. Yes, that’s how bad the
economy really is. (Not a reference to ‘Strange Days’ the interesting film from
that impressive oscar-winning giant (amazon) of a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, which
sported a cast that included Tom Sizemore which of itself meant strange
indeed.) ].
AIG
pays back $4 billion of bailout debt (Washington Post) [ Ah, yes. How
endearing. Just goes to show that the hearts of american business are in the
right places. So touching … I’m sure I’m not alone in shrugging with a sense
that given america’s chosen intractable downward path such as this matters
little or none! ]
Obama
targets IT contracts(Washington
Post) [ And what goals are being met with the protracted mid-east wars with
costs exceeding a trillion other than defacto bankruptcy of the nation and
anti-american sentiment, not to mention the diversion from the multitude of
america’s domestic problems. It seems to me that IT would be among the last of
items warranting scrutiny (360 tons of $100’s flown into Iraq would without
scrutiny go right into the treasury, etc.) , particularly since tech, though
over-rated, is probably america’s last strength owing to a significant head
start and a built- in language bias, though quickly becoming mere assemblers /
distributors of foreign-made (components) at best.]The White House unveils plans to review 26 government
information-technology projects worth a total of $30 billion as part of an
effort to trim back or cancel contracts that aren't meeting goals.
NATIONAL / WORLD
For
Obama, some chances ahead (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake
up! There are no chances ahead for wobama’s already failed presidency! He knows
it, the people know it, and even his most ardent blind supporters know it. One
too many b*** s*** stories and broken (campaign) promises. Delivering a speech,
albeit teleprompted, is a far cry from delivering, which reality most have
awaken to. He seems to be incapable of even one original thought even as the
wobamas seem to take umbrage as they are dissed for self-created lack of
approbation ($500 sneakers, spain trip, fiddling while the nation burns, etc.).
What next? The race card? Even as his (in)justice department had decided to ignore
civil rights violations by blacks and focus only on whites? No! wobama’s failed
presidencyis as done as an over-cooked
hard-boiled egg. Empty words just ain’t enough! ] New Orleans visit, Iraq
speech offer president opportunities to help end a frustrating summer.]
Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS:
Hidden world, growing beyond control... 854,000 people have
top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance
which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and
personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak.
Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time
when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the
self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened
to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer
dollars, they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it
on.NSA
Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces In yet another terrifying expose, The
Washington Post continues to lift the veil on just how massive the US
government’s spying operation has become.
Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY
SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obamais BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a
picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.htmlObama’s
Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political
fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].
President
Obama’s Real Name “Barry Soetoro” Tops Google Trends Yet another search
term announced during the Alex Jones Show, “Barry Soetoro” has topped Google
Trends’ hot searches, and that means a boost to exposing important keys to
President Obama’s true history. The #1 search trend corresponds with a visit to
Austin, Texas today from President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Barry Soetoro.
Barry
Soetoro AKA Barack Obama’s Political Dynasty Crashes And Burns While Barry
Soetoro’s family lavish themselves at a luxury Spanish resort amidst deepening economic
turmoil, back home Obama’s political dynasty crashes and burns as his approval
ratings plunge to a record low of 41 per cent with less than a few months to go
before the October midterm elections.
The
Fraud Of Barry Soetoro (a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama) (Feb. 24 ... February 11, 2009
’Dear Senators and Congressmen:
Thank you for taking the time to review the documentation relevant to the
Constitutional legitimacy of the presidency Barack Obama. There have been
various problems with the vetting of Mr. Obama throughout the campaign and the
present. I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the most pertinent
and alarming issues that have been clearly revealed. I’m sure you will
agree that this information must be further investigated promptly before any
damage is done to the United States and its citizens beyond the Constitutional
compromises that currently exist. Most interesting, though, is the
fact that Mr. Obama has not simply ordered the original vault copy of his birth
certificate to be sealed and chosen to retain three (3) law firms to defend the
various cases spending a reported $800,000 (of whose money?). If Mr.
Obama has nothing to hide, then why fight the more than 42 cases in
federal courts alone (according to Justia) and similar number in state courts
of which the merits are well-founded and substantiated through factual
evidence, state and federal statutes, and international laws? Main issue is
that the state of HI, according to statue 338 allows Foreign born children of Hawaiian residents to obtain Hawaiian birth certificates and obtain them based
on a statement of one relative only. There is plenty
of evidence of Mr. Obama being born in Kenya and obtaining his Hawaiian birth
certificate based on a statement of his grandparent only, who simply didn’t
want to deal with immigration and not based on any records from any hospitals. Extensive
searches in the State of Hawaii showed no birthing records for his mother
[Stanley] Ann Dunham in any hospital in Hawaii. …I request all of this information to
be forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Finance Committee,
Senate Judicial Committee, Mr. Steven Whitlock, director of the whistle blower
office of the IRS, ICE, State Department, and FBI for further investigation.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.’
Did Google Block “Barry
Soetoro” Search Term?Screenshots obtained by a Prison Planet reader suggest
that Google may have moved to de-list “Barry Soetoro” as a popular search term
shortly after it rose to the top of the Google Trends charts after yesterday’s
effort by radio talk show host Alex Jones to focus attention on Barack Obama’s
real name.
Bombshell:
Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne
Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the
lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.
Google
wants in on the social networking gameSonja Ryst [ I’ll bet they do … and as a cia/nsa front, if
you’re a sound thinker and arrange a meet with a newfound friend thereon, be
prepared for almost anything; ie., guns with silencers, garroted from behind,
knife attacks, sudden acceleration of cars toward you when crossing crosswalks,
etc. ]This Tweet -- "Google to launch Facebook competitor
very soon" -- unleashed a sense that the online world as we know it was
about to fundamentally change.
Google
Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at
first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the
web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely
unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding
out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet
as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.
Google
Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda The net-neutrality ending
deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and
free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world
wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of
existence for good.
Obama’s
pledge to close down Guantanamo is ‘not even close’ Barack Obama’s pledge
to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after
the President’s self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first
administration.
Constitution
“Silly Stuff,” Says Illinois Congressman Democratic Congressman Phil Hare,
who caused outrage earlier this year when he told constituents who asked him
about the legality of the health care bill, “I don’t worry about the
constitution,” has sparked fresh consternation after he was caught on camera in
an Illinois hotel labeling the founding document of America “silly stuff”.
Google’s
Plans to Take Over The Internet Exposed! Google’s agreement with Verizon to
speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete
sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under
Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV,
independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up
by transnational media giants.
‘Pre-Crime’
Reaches Number 1 Google Trend Spot Matt
Ryan | Steve Watson’s incredible article about the use of
pre-crime technology was picked up by large news sites such as the Drudge
Report and others.
JFK
Assassination Cover-Up Blown Sky High It is a story the corporate media, with the notable exception of
one lone Fox News affiliate, refuses to report. A former FBI agent, Don Adams,
has compelling evidence Lee Harvey Oswald did not assassinate president John F.
Kennedy.
Senate
To Sneak Through Internet Kill Switch Bill The Senate is attempting to
sneak through the infamous Internet kill switch cybersecurity bill by attaching
it to another piece of legislation that is almost guaranteed to pass – the
defense authorization bill – in an underhanded ploy to avoid the difficult task
of passing cybersecurity on its own.
Key
Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. The aide to President
Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption
investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to
Afghan and American officials.
WikiLeaks
Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United
States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall
those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called
pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This
report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen
increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t
go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the
Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).
Inside
Job? Iraqi govt ‘involved in deadly bombings to get US troops to stay’ More than 40 people have been killed in a
string of bombings that have rocked Iraq. In Baghdad alone, over 20 bombs
exploded in at least 12 separate incidents. Today’s bombings are raising
questions the Iraqi government’s ability to deal with an ongoing insurgency.
Sabah Al-Mukhtar from the Arab Lawyers Association says the bombings may
actually be the Iraqi government’s way to get US troops to stay.
John McCain’s Attack
On Liberty Chuck Baldwin | The citizens of Arizona can do
the American people — and liberty itself — a great favor this year by giving
Senator John McCain his walking papers. [First, he’s a fraud with a long
mob-connected history. Second, he’s an incompetent mental case in the mold of
‘bolton’ et als, but all that’s how and why they keep this compromised a** in
there.]
Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers
| ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely
suspect. The vast majority of investors
are going to be taken to the cleaners … Sell
/ Take Profits while you still can!
Monday in the Markets: MOJO Extremes The decline in yields is overdone, gold is
overbought, and crude oil and the euro are oversold. The Dow is not
oversold.The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury tested 2.531 on Friday versus my
quarterly risky level at 2.495. Gold tested $1239.5 last week and today’s risky
level is $1241.7. For Crude oil this week’s pivot is $73.59 with my annual
pivot at $77.05. The euro is below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.2739
this morning. For the Dow today’s value level is 9,983 with the 50-day simple
moving average at 10,303, and weekly and annual pivots at 10.358 and 10,379.
10-Year Note – (2.612) My annual pivot is 2.813 with a weekly pivot at 2.574
and daily risky level at 2.507. My annual value level is 2.999 with quarterly
and semiannual risky levels at 2.495 and 2.249. Note that the decline
in yield is extremely overdone [charts] …
Karzai:
Private contractors ‘looting and stealing,’ working with terrorists Afghan
President Hamid Karzai on Sunday defended his decision to ban private security
contractors from operating in public in Afghanistan, saying many of the
organizations tasked with providing security are engaging in terrorist
activities, working with “Mafia-like” organizations and “looting and stealing
from the Afghan people.”
Washington
looks tantalizing to New York (Washington Post) [ I’m surprised to see this
‘old news’ here since it’s widely known that the wall street frauds, goldman et
als, have garnered near vampire legendary status by way of their infamous blood
(taxpayers) / treasury draining ways. Tantalized? I’d say consumed. ]
Federal
contractors team up with tech giants (Washington Post) [ Clearly the end of
an innovative tech sector as blood-sucking, treasury draining corporate welfare
artists show them how to get something for nothing but self-perpetuating,
self-created needs that aren’t really needed! ] For traditional government
contractors, the appeal of working with commercially successful companies such
as Google or Apple is clear.
Wikileaks’
Assange: Pentagon may be behind rape claims Agence France-Presse | [ This story smacks of
american modus operandi as alternative to outright murder / assassination.Enemy of the State Lew Rockwell | It’s been
clear for some time that the Pentagon would love to put a bullet in Julian
Assange’s brain. ] Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said in an interview
published on Sunday that he believes the Pentagon could be behind a rape
accusation against him that was later dropped by Swedish prosecutors.
Gulf Oil May Not
Degrade for Decades Washington’s
Blog | Scientists have found an underwater oil plume that is more than
22 miles long, more than a mile wide and 650 feet deep.
Yet another Soros
tentacle exposed Jim Wallis, the man behind the so-called “religious left”
– a left wing evangelical activist who worked to get evangelical support for
Obama — has been exposed as another stooge of George Soros.
Der Spiegel:
US middle class vanishing According to an article appearing in the German
newspaper, Der Spiegel, the negative consequences of the global financial
crisis include a widened social class rift and the elimination of the middle
class in the US.
U.S.
examines private sector's role in affordable housing (Washington Post)[ I’m sorry to say that in pondering the
so-called policy-makers in Washington or in the corporate boardrooms that I’m
hard-pressed to dismiss from my mind’s eye a picture of a bunch of scarecrows
fumbling around while singing refrains such as ‘if they only had a brain’
cirque the land of the wizard of oz. The reality is that some basic grasp of
economics, finance, business would go a long way in a more positive sense for
the nation. Then there’s those infamous internment / concentration /
‘affordable housing’ camps that’s been filtering through the filters, so to
speak.] The Obama administration is grappling over how much to force private
lenders to pay for apartments and homes for the poor as it presses ahead with a
major overhaul of the government's housing policy, officials said.
CBO
Offers tax cuts assessment(Washington
Post) [ One might be inclined to quip, well, you can’t give what you don’t
have; but, we all know that’s not true in washington these daysand they have the red ink to prove it. Drudgereport: CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP...
DEVELOPING...‘(P)recarious
fiscal situation by 2020? I’d call that wishful thinking! The 2020 part. How
‘bout now!]
Stock
market ends down for second straight week (Washington Post) [Yeah! There
should be no surprise here. Such is the scenario that bear markets are made of
and Maierhofer shows the math to prove it (infra), Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers | ‘There are
numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely suspect. The
vast majority of investors are going to be taken to the cleaners …]
Chiacgo's ShoreBank fails, is bought by investorsChicago Tribune -
Chicago-based ShoreBank, which for more than three decades made loans to South
and West siders who might not have gotten financing elsewhere to buy homes,
apartment buildings and start businesses, failed Friday. Regulators
shut big Chicago-based bankBusinessWeekRegulators shut down big Chicago bank, 7 othersThe Associated Press ‘… The FDIC also seized seven other
banks Friday, bringing to 118 the number of U.S. bank failures this year amid
the recession and mounting loan defaults …The FDIC also took over Community
National Bank at Bartow, in Bartow, Fla.; Independent National Bank of Ocala, Fla.;
Imperial Savings and Loan Association of Martinsville, Va.; and four California
banks: Butte Community Bank, based in Chico; Pacific State Bank, based in
Stockton; Los Padres Bank, in Solvang; and Sonoma Valley Bank, in Sonoma. …’Reuters - Bloomberg - Los Angeles Times (blog) -
Richmond Times Dispatch
BEAR MARKET MATH - JULY LOWS IN
DANGERSimon Maierhofer, On Friday August
20, 2010, 4:53 pm EDT ‘ 1+1=2
2+2=4 The simplicity
and accuracy of those calculations is undeniable. How about this equation?
Fundamental Weakness + Technical Sell Signals + Overpriced Stocks = Lower Stock
Prices. This calculation also seems to be simple and accurate. Let's look at
some equations that don't make sense. 1+1=3 or Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices Earnings season is over. Most companies
beat earnings but issued cautious forecasts. This is particularly true of the
tech (NYSEArca: XLK - News)
and financial sectors (NYSEArca: XLF - News).
By large, profits are still driven by cost-cutting, not organic growth. Retail
sales, which make up about one third of the economy, continued to fall after
the second quarter ended. Additionally, the expectation that taxes will go up
might have moved some companies to pull some of next year's income into this
year. This can't be good for Q3 and Q4 profits. As the chart below shows,
positive earnings reports are not bullish for stocks, especially if future
guidance is weak.[chart]
2+2=5 or Weaker than Expected Economy = Rising Stock Prices On July 30, the Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA) lowered the previous quarter's Gross Domestic Product (GD) growth from an
estimated 2.7% to 2.4%. But it didn't stop there. The real GDP for all three
previous years was revised as well. It was lowered by 0.2% for 2007, it was
lowered by 0.6% for 2008, and it was lowered by 0.4% for 2009. In percentage
terms, the real GDP for 2007 was revised down from 2.5% growth to 2.3%. The
2008 decrease was lowered from 1.9% to 2.8% and 2009 growth was revised up from
a 0.1% to a 0.2% increase. In essence, the BEA proved that the recession was
(or is) much deeper than perceived and the alleged recovery much weaker than
previously reported. This comes as no surprise, as the key sector of the
financial debacle - real estate (NYSEArca: IYR
- News)
- remains in a funk. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of vacant
properties, including foreclosures, residences for sale, and vacation homes,
reached 18.9 million. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to lose money. Has
anyone ever wondered how banks (NYSEArca: KBE
- News)
can make money on the same kind of loans that pushed Fannie and Freddie to the
brink of ruin? Since bad real estate loans triggered the post 2007 economic
meltdown, how can the economy recover without real estate leading the way?
3+3=7 or Positive
Analyst Estimates = Higher Stock Prices A recent Associated Press article observed that 'analysts
only seem to hit the mark with their estimates in the strongest economic times
(2003 - 2006).' Why? 'The problem is that analysts get most of their
information from the companies they cover. Corporate managers have every
incentive to stay positive for as long as they can.' Is that true; as true as
1+1=2? On April 26, the day the S&P (SNP: ^GSPC) topped at 1,219, the Dow
(DJI: ^DJI) at 11,258, the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) at 2,535, Bloomberg reported
the following: 'U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990 on analyst estimates.' Contrary
to analyst estimates, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter stated that 'the
potential exists that Monday's high marked a significant top.' Since April, the
broad market (NYSEArca: TWM - News)
dropped as much as 17%. In March 2009, with the Dow below 7000 and the S&P
below 700, analysts lowered their earnings forecasts from $113 in April 2008 to
$40. On March 2nd, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter sent out a Trend Change
Alert and recommended to buy long and leveraged long ETFs such as the Ultra
Financial (NYSEArca: UYG - News)
and Ultra S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca: SSO
- News).
If you care to know, analysts estimate that earnings for the S&P 500 will
exceed their 2006 all-time high, in 2011. Based on that assumption, stocks are
cheap. How about that for flawed math?
4+4=9 or Technical Sell Signals = Higher Stock Prices The 200-day moving average (MA) is one
of the best-known technical indicators, as it provides delineation between
technically healthy and sick stocks. On May 20, the S&P closed below the
200-day MA for the first time since late 2007. Every attempt to rally and stay
above it has since failed miserably. On July 2, the 50-day MA for the S&P
dropped below its 200-day MA for the first time since late 2007. The same holds
true for mid caps (NYSEArca: MDY - News),
small caps (NYSEArca: IWM - News)
and nearly all individual sector indexes. For good reason, this is called a
Death Cross. Over the past ten years, the death cross has been accurate 75% of
the time, with a 19.72% average return on six winning trades and 6.95% average
return on two losing trades. In addition to the Death Cross, there are two head
and shoulders patterns, one in the making for over 10 years, and the other has
the breadth suggestive of a major meltdown (see September ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter).
5+5=11 or Overvalued Stocks = Higher Prices As explained above, based on overly
optimistic earnings estimates, analysts believe that stocks are cheap. Rather
than basing a future outlook on estimates, it makes sense to use facts as a
foundation for any outlook. Why add an extra variable to what's already an
unpredictable market? Ask Yale Professor Robert Shiller, who's done extensive
research on the subject of valuations, and he'll tell you stocks are
historically overvalued based on the current P/E ratio. Compare today's P/E
ratio with the P/E ratio seen at major market bottoms, and you'll see that
stocks are overvalued by more than 50%. Another gauge that doesn't lie is
dividend yields. A company's dividends are a direct reflection of cash flow and
financial health. The current yield is 2.65% for the Dow and 2.05% for the
S&P. Even value funds like the iShares Russell 1000 Value (NYSEArca: IWD
- News)
yield only a measly 2.08%. Dividends are close to their all-time low set in
1999 (we know what happened then). This means that companies are cash strapped
or overvalued. Looking at a long-term chart of dividend yields plotted against
stock prices shows clearly that markets don't bottom until dividends skyrocket.
Just as ice doesn't thaw unless the temperature moves above 32 degrees, the
economy won't thaw and show signs of life unless P/E ratios drop to, and
dividend yields rise to, levels seen at major market tops. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter
includes a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics, along with short-term
target ranges for stocks and the ultimate market bottom. Based on simple math
and common sense, the July lows are certainly in danger. But it doesn't stop
there.’
DOES HISTORY REPEAT, RHYME OR JUST HAVE COINCIDENCES? Lounsbury: ‘… Has anything of economic utility resulted? I have
not found it. And counter to the effect of the dot.com collapse, the credit
bubble collapse may not have stripped out some of the speculative income
excesses. Wall Street bonuses are back to pre-crisis levels and there has been
no "claw-back" of ill-gotten gains from the pirates who seized the
economic ship. In fact, the pirates are still in command of the ship and are
still under full sail. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! From my first Treasury report:
… the problem was that our systems,
especially in finance and health care, are too heavily focused on pay for
transactions rather than pay for outcomes. I didn’t have the presence of mind
to bring instant gratification into the discussion, but that would have
certainly made my thought process clearer.
I don't think this created any waves,
but I will continue to wail in the wilderness about how compensation formulas
contribute to and compound the structural problems in our financial system. So,
back to the earnings chart that started this discussion. In view of what has
been discussed here I believe we will find that history, in this instance, will
at least rhyme, if not repeat exactly. Structural economic problems are
sufficiently similar for the two eras that I expect we will see some form of
recurrence of events 5 and 6 [Depression] …’
Hindenburg Omen
Confirmation #1 Today we got our first Hindenburg Omen confirmation. The
number of new highs was 136, and new lows was at 69 (per the traditional WSJ
source).
Greek crisis refuses
to go away The European Commission has approved the next €9bn (£7.4bn)
tranche of loans for Greece but the underlying economy continues to deteriorate
as Greek banks suffer a record loss of deposits and output contracts at a
quickening pace.
We
Killed The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg For middle class Americans, the
new global economy has provided mountains of cheap products made in China,
India and dozens of other nations, but it has also killed the goose that laid
the golden egg.
Is Our Money Based on
Debt? Robert
Murphy | The first thing to realize is that the Fed can control
the size of the monetary base, but it can’t directly control its composition.
Obama
Lied About Stimulus Dollars Aiding Local Project A local project that
President Barack Obama cited during a visit Wednesday to Columbus as an example
of how the federal stimulus package has worked isn’t actually being funded with
stimulus dollars.
DISMANTLING BULLISH ARGUMENTS Simon Maierhofer … Bull Market Argument #1 - Stocks are Cheap Even though the
economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression, economists at large
believe that stocks (NYSEArca: IVV - News)
are cheap … We've previously analyzed the folly of relying on projected
earnings forecasts and therefore, will only pose two more facts as food for
thought before moving onto the next argument. Even if earnings are
positive the market can decline, as we've seen with the 9% and 17% declines in
January and May. Most of the earnings growth has been fueled by cost-cutting,
not organic growth. What does that tell us about the sustainability of growth? Bull Market Argument #2 - Cash on the Sidelines Cash on the
sideline is viewed as bullish because, theoretically, it can be used to buy
stocks and drive up prices. Some distinguish between corporate cash and retail
cash on the sidelines. Many forget that for every dollar in cash, there is a
debt that has to be repaid. According to the Federal Reserve, nonfinancial
firms' debt totals $7.2 trillion, the highest level ever. As far as retail
investors go, the current debt-income ratio is at 126%. The pre-bubble average
was around 70%. To get back to the pre-bubble norm, about $6 trillion worth of
debt would have to be eliminated. Retail money in money market funds is
currently around the same level as it was in 2006/2007. Is that bullish? Debunking the Bond Myth No doubt there's been a migration from
investment dollars out of stocks and into bonds and gold… Bonds - especially
corporate high yield bonds - could soon assume the role real estate had in
2006. Many thought that real estate (NYSEArca: IYR
- News)
will always go up. As it turns out, real estate prices can move in both
directions, as can bond prices. A Closer Look at Gold What about gold? … The previous cash
level low was recorded in August of 2007. We know what happened then. Rather
than focusing on the sideline cash, perhaps we should focus on the trillions of
dollars still in the market. More selling means lower prices. 'Stocks are Cheap' vs. Realistic Valuations Using projected
earnings to determine the markets real value is like counting chickens that
have yet to hatch. Things change, and as studies have shown, analysts and
economist are usually the last to discern that change. Market forecasting based
on solid facts is tricky enough, but basing forecasts on thin assumptions
usually translates into financial suicide… Stock market tops when P/E ratios
are high, dividend yields are low and mutual fund cash reserves are low. Over
the past year, we have seen P/E ratios at an all-time high, dividend yields
close to their 1999 low, and mutual fund cash levels at an all-time low. In addition,
we have also seen investor optimism soar to levels reminiscent of 2000 and
2007…
Western
Economies Face Hyperinflation: Gold Bull The decline of the Western
economic model will bring about hyperinflation and decades of painful
readjustment, Egon von Greyerz, founder of gold investment intermediary
Goldswitzerland.com told CNBC Thursday.
US Prepares For Gold
Standard To understand this objective it helps to go back to a very
important moment in our monetary past…
CBO
Offers tax cuts assessment(Washington
Post) [ One might be inclined to quip, well, you can’t give what you don’t
have; but, we all know that’s not true in washington these daysand they have the red ink to prove it. Drudgereport: CBO: DEFICIT 9.1% OF GDP...
DEVELOPING...‘(P)recarious
fiscal situation by 2020? I’d call that wishful thinking! The 2020 part. How
‘bout now!]
Privatizing
Virginia liquor stores makes sense(Washington Post)
[Wow! I’m totally shocked. Having spent enough time in virginia with a
part-time office in proximity to washington to discern the corrupt state of affairs
of same dominated by what I refer to as government mob (predominantly cia,
related, etc.) (my direct sampling of corrupt states of jersey the worst, new
york, california, connecticut – 5 for 5) but I had no idea that the state was
as backwardas it appeared in having
state-run liquor stores. How totally preposterous! ‘The revenuers are the
brewers’ … just kidding!] Seventy-seven years after the repeal of
Prohibition, you'd think we regard the sale of liquor to consenting adults no
differently than the sale of any other good.
Warren
sits down with lobbyists(Washington Post) [Talk about
appearance of if not outright impropriety. Just what do these lobbyists do for
their money. Eke out more fraud protection … for the perps? Forget them! ]Elizabeth
Warren, a top candidate to lead the new Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection, met quietly with some of her sharpest critics: big bank lobbyists.
No Exit, Stage Left or Right
Peter shiff ‘… Those who fear a double dip
recession are justified in their concerns, but they are also missing the big
picture. The 2008 recession never ended. It was merely interrupted by
trillions of dollars of stimulus that purchased GDP “growth” with borrowed
money. But as the bills come due, GDP should now contract …
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Fed Leads America “To The Brink
Of Collapse”When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting
that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a
new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be
sounding loudly.
“Surprisingly” Bad
Economic News Bob
Livingston | Have you noticed how often the elitist “economists” in
government, academia and the media are surprised by bad economic news?
Bulls Scatter ... Again ‘At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we wanted to once again
highlight the lack of conviction among investors and advisors in the current
market environment. Following the July rally, bullish sentiment based on the Investors
Intelligence weekly survey jumped to its highest level since May. Then
last week, the S&P 500 dropped more than 3% and the bulls scattered. In
this week's survey, bullish sentiment declined 12% for its largest weekly
decline since the flash crash…’
That the daily number of NYSE new 52-Week Highs
and the daily number of new 52-Week Lows must both be greater than 2.2% of total NYSE issues
traded that day.
That the smaller of these numbers is greater
than or equal to 69 (68.772 is 2.2% of 3126). This is not a rule but more
like a checksum. This condition is a function of the 2.2% of the total
issues.
That the NYSE 10-Week moving average is rising.
That the McClellan Oscillator is negative on
that same day.
That new 52-Week Highs cannot be
more than twice the new 52-Week Lows (however it is fine for new 52-Week
Lows to be more than double new 52-Week Highs). This condition
is absolutely mandatory…’
Another Round of POMO: Dave's Daily ‘…Thursday we'll get another round of Uncle Sugar's
special blend via more POMO (Permanent Open Market Operations). This private
label brew will go directly to the Primary Dealers (dba: Da Boyz) who will use
it to trade as before…’
More Fuel For a Bigger Decline Simon Maierhofer, On Tuesday
August 17, 2010, 4:18 pm EDTA
French proverb states that a fault denied is committed twice. Denial, as
blissful as it is for the time being, does not serve as protection against the
inevitable.A perfect example of denial is the May 6 flash crash. Neither Wall
Street, the financial media, nor investors wanted to see the danger of such a
meltdown beforehand. After it happened, they were in denial about the cause.
Denial is Bliss
The
simple truth is that the market was ripe for a major correction. A few weeks
before the flash crash, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted the extremely
low CBOE Equity Put/Call Ratio and warned: 'It seems that only a minority of
equity positions are equipped with a put safety net. Once prices do fall and
investors do get afraid of incurring losses, the only option is to sell.
Selling, results in more selling. This negative feedback loop usually results
in rapidly falling prices.' As it turns out, there was no clumsy-fingered trader
at fault for the decline that reduced the Dow (DJI: ^DJI) by more than 1,000
points in one day. If it had been a simple error, stocks wouldn't have fallen
to new lows after the flash crash. If it had been a simple error, the S&P
(SNP: ^GSPC) and Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) wouldn't still be trading below the
flash crash close.
The Reality of Denial
But,
that's the power of denial. Since the April 26 highs, the S&P has been
moving from lower highs to lower lows. On July 1, the S&P had arrived at
1,011. The ensuing rally lifted the markets by nearly 10%, but failed to push
the S&P and Nasdaq above the July 21 highs. The July 21 highs failed to
move above the May 12 highs. The May 12 highs were significantly short of the
April 26 highs. Despite the obvious downtrend, investors get as excited about
dead end bounces as ever. This is not a bullish omen. In fact, according to the
ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter's technical analysis, the steepest leg of the
decline is still ahead. Before we look at more technical details, let's browse
through some fundamental factors that reflect the current state of denial:
Don't Worry About Bank Failures
111
banks were added to the FDIC's failed bank list thus far in 2010. At the same
time last year, only 76 banks had been shut down. According to an FDIC press
release, Metro Bank of Dade County had total assets of $442.3 million and total
deposits of $391.3 million. Assets outweigh liabilities by $51 million. That's
good, but apparently not accurate. According to the FDIC's press release, closing
Metro Bank will cost the FDIC $67.6 million. Why? Because an accounting trick
allows banks to artificially inflate their assets. The accounting trick allowed
this small bank to overstate its assets by about 25%. Other banks on the FDIC
list overstated their assets by more than 50%. Imagine the size of the problem,
considering that the four biggest banks (NYSEArca: KBE
- News)
of the country have about $7.5 trillion in combined assets. We should also
point out that none of those losses technically affect earnings, at least not
yet (for a detailed analysis refer to the June issue of the ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter).
Don't Worry About Falling Real Estate
The
National Association of Home Builders reported that its monthly reading of
builder's sentiment about the housing market sank to 14, the lowest level since
March 2009. Unlike other economic indicators, this index is taken from builders
that have their finger on the pulse of Main Street and is forward looking.
Despite the rally in equities (NYSEArca: VTI
- News)
and real estate (NYSEArca: IYR - News),
homebuilders (NYSEArca: XHB - News)
never really saw light at the end of the tunnel.
Don't Worry About Foreclosures
According
to RealtyTrac, more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their
homes to foreclosure this year. This is about 10 times as high as during an
average year. 25% of the U.S. household sector has a sub-600 FICO score. Yet,
Fannie Mae is offering financing to first-time buyers who only have a $1,000
down-payment. Nearly $150 billion have been spent to keep the doors of Fannie,
Freddie and company open. Does it make sense to artificially extend the
life of a patient destined to die? In the case of Fannie, politicians seem to
think that lending more money and ultimately creating more toxic assets will
solve the problems. Even a third grader understands the irony of that concept.
Denial is alive and well.
Don't Worry About Bankrupt States
States
are in trouble. The bigger the state, the bigger the trouble it seems.
California has a $1.8 trillion economy. If CA was a country, its economy would
be the seventh biggest in the world, bigger than Russia. But, CA has no money.
CNN reports that as many as 200,000 state workers in CA could see their pay
scale slashed to minimum wage, if orders from the governor's office are
followed. You don't need to be one of the 200,000 to know that is bad. To go
from state salary to minimum wage is a huge drop.
Don't Worry About Falling Prices
Look
around and you see a general downtrend develop: U.S. stocks (NYSEArca: IWB
- News),
international stocks (NYSEArca: EFA - News)
and emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM
- News).
The same applies to commodities (NYSEArca: DBC
- News),
real estate prices (NYSEArca: RWR - News)
and consumer goods. The above-mentioned 'don't worries' all contribute to the
deflationary spiral (see image below for a visual). Unemployment remains high
because businesses have no pricing power. This leads to lower income, default
foreclosures, and ultimately even higher unemployment. Even Bernanke knows,
there is no easy fix to a deflationary cycle. Once engrained, it feeds on
itself. [chart]
Don't Worry About Death Crosses
A
death cross is one of the most powerful technical indicators. It occurs when
the shorter simple moving average (SMA) crosses below the longer SMA. Over the
last few weeks we saw literally dozens of such death crosses. Most notable was
the S&P, Dow Jones and Nasdaq experiencing not only a death cross created
by the 50 and 200-day SMA, but also courtesy of the 10 and 40-week SMA. Despite
the rally from the July lows, the sell signal triggered by the various death
crosses remained active. The fact that the Dow Jones was the only major index
to rally above the June 21 highs provides an additional bearish
non-confirmation. Over the past ten years, the buy/sell action triggered by the
SMA crosses has a success rate of 75% - 100%. Winning trades outperformed
losing trades by a ratio of at least 3:1. In investing, those are not the kind
of odds you want to bet against. In other words, it's time to face reality and
abandon denial. Leading up to the April highs, the ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter noted a pinnacle of denial which was reflected by investors'
outright enthusiasm about stocks. At a time when approximately 8 of 10
investment advisors and newsletter writers were bullish on stocks, the ETF
Profit Strategy Newsletter noted: 'The message conveyed by the composite
bullishness is unmistakably bearish. The pieces are in place for a major
decline.' Since April 26, the major indexes dropped as much as 17%. Despite the
recent rally, this seems to have been only the first installment of a
significant decline. This decline is now in progress. In fact, the August issue
of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter
explains the one chart-pattern that explains why the next leg down will be
strong and powerful. A British Historian noted decades ago that a wise person
does at once what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at
different times. Will you get out of the markets way in time, or too late?
Here’s a new piece of the dismally murky puzzle which belies
a previous raison d’etre for rally: Greek
Bonds Slump As Austerity Backfires, Country Enters “Death Spiral”, And The
Violent End Game Approaches . Previously, Walmart same store sales were actually down (overseas
results were up), and, think about it. Isn’t Walmart, as essentially an
american based sales agent of china products a ‘contrarian indicator’ for the
the u.s.; that is , hasn’t Walmart’s rise coincided with american main street’s
demise. Similarly, fraudulent wall street high frequency churn and earn
programmed trade scams among many otherfrauds as yet unprosecuted has heralded the death knell for american
business and the economy, generally. Old news at best and, that ‘not bad as expected, better than expected dog
don’t hunt no more’! ‘YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]:
… Retailers were also strong. As a group retailers climbed 1.8%. Discount
retail giant and Dow component Wal-Mart (WMT 51.02, +0.61) was
a solid performer on the back of in-line earnings and an improved
forecast.Home improvement retailer and
fellow Dow component Home Depot (HD 28.31, +0.93) had
a more positive influence over retailers. It posted better-than-expected
earnings for the latest quarter, but issued a rather mixed forecast. A
smaller-than-expected increase in housing starts during July didn't do anything
to derail the stock this session. Housing starts for July increased 1.7%
month-over-month to an annualized rate of 546,000 units, which is less than the
rate of 555,000 units that had been widely anticipated. Building permits for
July fell 3.1% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 565,000, which is
below the rate of 573,000 that had been expected…’ But, just a push of the computer programmed trade button and off we go,
reality / valuation / economics be damned. In real security analysis (very
simplified / summarized), as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street,
one must begin with the largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word
picture / analogy: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the
probabilities in your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want
leading industries, and leading companies within said leading industries
(again, larger aggregates then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees,
in your favor). Your time frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including
income statement/EPS, balance sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a
detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond what could be described in this
summary); and, that’s all they are, projections. Beyond that time frame, your
guess. On fraudulent wall street, every day, though already discounted in large
part (6-8 mos, approx.), the market spins, churns, and with lightning fast
computerized high-frequency trade programs commissions in huge volumes like no
other time in financial history when real valuation meant something, with no
net economic value added, but very lucrative to the frauds on wall street,
which ultimately is a net detriment to the economy / the nation /and other
industries as we’ve seen and as described elsewhere on this site and in these
posts http://albertpeia.com
. Preposterously, they even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing
them for the first time and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already
discounted). Today, they shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the
election year frothing / manipulations.This
is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression.
The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market.
This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes
with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and
sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato
scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise,
will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.].
Are You Ready
For How Bad It Will Get? Graham Summers
| ‘There are numerous components in the latest GDP number that are extremely
suspect. The vast majority of investors
are going to be taken to the cleaners. I realize this view is far from the consensus. Even
those who are in the bear camp aver that the Stimulus did in fact bring us out
of recession at least temporarily.
However,
I would strongly contend that the recovery was in fact non-existent for the
following reasons:
1. The Government data used to validate
the recovery (GPD, unemployment, etc) is clearly massaged if not bordering on
outright propaganda
2. We are in fact in a depression and
the “recovery” was simply a bounce in economic activity taking place within the
context of a larger economy contraction
Regarding #1, every Government data
point used in promoting the “recovery” had some degree of fudging in it. Let’s
consider GDP for instance.
There are numerous devious tactics used
to overstate GDP growth, however, the most obvious gimmick the BLS uses is
overstating GPD growth in the present and then revising it lower in the
subsequent quarters.’
“Surprisingly” Bad
Economic News Bob
Livingston | Have you noticed how often the elitist “economists” in
government, academia and the media are surprised by bad economic news?
Chossudovsky:
China could already be world’s largest economy It’s widely predicted that China’s economy will be the largest in
the world by 2020, overtaking the U.S. Only this week the country surpassed
Japan to become the world’s second biggest economy by GDP.
Analysts
Foresee $1,300 Gold By Year-End Worries about a fragile U.S. economy are likely to keep investors
shifting toward gold and could push the metal to fresh record highs near the
$1,300 area by year-end, analysts and traders say.
geithner:
Fannie, Freddie in need of overhaul(Washington Post) Now this is an understatement from tiny tim, God bless
us everyone. I think tiny tim’s more concerned with public perception over
their haul of taxpayer dollars.
Goldman
Sachs Could be Largely Unaffected by ‘Financial Overhaul’ As Wall Street scrambles to find the best and
most profitable way to operate under the new financial reform law, Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. — the firm that was expected to suffer the most under the
legislation — could emerge practically unscathed.
Tons of
gold imports turn to dust on arrival Several tons of gold imported into the UAE by traders and
investors turned out to be fake on closer inspection, resulting in millions of
dirhams in losses and high levels of stress to the victims.
Google
Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at
first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the
web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely
unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding
out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet
as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.
From Good to Mediocre ‘Through last Friday, 2,127 US companies had reported quarterly
numbers this earnings season. What started out as a strong earnings season is
going out with a whimper (earnings season ends tomorrow with Wal-Mart's report)…’
“Surprisingly” Bad
Economic News Bob Livingston | Have you noticed how often
the elitist “economists” in government, academia and the media are surprised by
bad economic news?
Without a
Revolution, Americans Are History The United States is running out of time to get its budget and
trade deficits under control. Despite the urgency of the situation, 2010 has
been wasted in hype about a non-existent recovery. As recently as August 2
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner penned a New York Times column, “Welcome
to the Recovery.”
High Probability for Lower Market Prices Ahead ‘…Economic numbers being what they are (very poor), we
should expect a downward revision of second quarter GDP to 1.5% from the
originally disappointing number of 2.4%. As more data is being released it is
apparent that we are witnessing even further deterioration here in the third
quarter…We may have reached a tipping point where many are tired of others
being the benefactors of taxpayer money …’
Gold Providing Safety During Market Downturn ‘ … The death cross occurs when the 50
day moving average crosses the 200 day moving average on the downside. These
patterns, when combined with other technical indicators can predict major
market downturns…THE ODDS OF A LONG TERM DOWNTREND ARE
BECOMING HIGHLY PROBABLE. THESE SIGNALS COULD POSSIBLY INDICATE THE START OF A
TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN MONTH DOWN CYCLE. Gold, on the other hand, has shown
great relative strength despite the general markets correcting and negative
sentiment about the economy from Washington…’
Pension check
may not be in the mail Chicago
Tribune | Illinois public employees who think the state constitution
guarantees that they’ll get all their pension benefits
Back to
School? Bring Your Own Toilet Paper New York Times | “The first time I saw it, my
mouth hit the floor,” Emily’s mother, Kristin Cooper, said of the list, which
also included perennials like glue sticks, scissors and crayons.
An Argentina-like
Economic Crisis Scott Strzelczyk
| The United States’ economic decline precariously resembles Argentina’s
economic collapse.
U.S. Economy
Near Point of No Return Dan Weil | The Federal Reserve’s
decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a
dangerous one.
Obama
Says Private Accounts Would Endanger U.S. Social Security Benefits President Barack Obama said Republican
proposals to have people invest Social Security benefits in private accounts
would increase the U.S. budget deficit and put retirement money at risk to “the
whims of Wall Street traders.”
The Trade Deficit
Nightmare When they hear the word
deficit, most Americans immediately think of the U.S. government budget deficit
which is rapidly spiralling out of control.
Fed’s
Hoenig: Keeping Rates Too Low ‘Dangerous Gamble’ The Federal Reserve is
undertaking a “dangerous gamble” by keeping rates at near zero for so long, and
must start raising rates or risk damaging the nascent U.S. recovery, a top
Federal Reserve official said on Friday.
Iran Attack This Week? Kurt Nimmo | John Bolton and
the neocons refuse to accept that Iran’s facility will produce nuclear energy
and insist it will be used to create nuclear weapons.
Shilling for War on Iran I guess I was naïve in thinking that The Atlantic
and its American-Israeli writer Jeffrey Goldberg might shy away from arguing
for yet another war — this one with Iran — while the cauldrons are still
boiling in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even world-class chutzpah must have its
limits, I had thought.
U.S. Economy
Near Point of No Return Dan Weil | The Federal Reserve’s
decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a
dangerous one.
HOW TO BEAR MARKET PROOF YOUR PORFOLIO Simon Maierhofer,On Friday
August 13, 2010, ‘… The 22 trading days following the April 26
market highs erased eight months worth of gains. Bear markets move much quicker
than bull markets.
Rule #1: Better too Early than too Late
When preparing for a bear market (we'll discuss in a
moment why we have been preparing for a bear market), it is prudent to start
early. Anyone who sold their long positions as early as September last year
would be in a better position than the buy-and hold crowd that is still
clinging to their holdings.
Rule #2: Don't Trust Wall Street and the Media
By now, even the mainstream media is sensing that
something might not be quite right with the market's performance. However,
there is still hope that the second half of the year will get a lift from
positive earning results. Before you bet your money on that line of reasoning,
consider the picture the media painted days within the April 2010 market top.
April 19, 2010 'America is back - The remarkable tale of
an economic turnaround' – Newsweek
'Recovery tilting to V-shape as profits prompts growth revision' - Bloomberg
April 25, 2010: 'U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990 on
analyst estimates' – Bloomberg
'Technical Analysts see room to roll' - Wall Street Journal
April 27, 2010 'Greece contagion fears unfounded' -
Reuters
May 3, 2010: 'Manufacturing in U.S. grows at fastest pace
since 2004 as recovery gains traction' - Bloomberg
Over the past two and a half months, the S&P
(NYSEArca:SPY-News) and Dow (NYSEArca:DIA-News) have lost as much as 17%. A 20% loss is
considered the mark of a new bear market. In essence, we are only one bad day
away from the next bear. Of course, throughout the massive bear market rally
from the March 2009 lows, which the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter
predicted via the March 2, 2009 Trend Change Alert, the newsletter maintained
that it was only a bear market trap which would fool a majority of investors.
On April 16 it stated that 'Most bulls have no clue why they are bullish except
for the fact that they feel the need to play the momentum game. Sounds like
2000 and 2007 all over again. The message conveyed by the composite bullishness
is unmistakably bearish.'
Rule #3: Don't Underestimate Cash
In a period of falling prices, cash or cash equivalents
like short term Treasuries (NYSEArca:SHY-News) maintain your purchasing power -
long-term Treasuries (NYSEArca:TLT-News) are interest rate sensitive and may move
faster than you think. When stocks fall and you are able to maintain your
purchasing power, you are able to buy stocks at a discount. In essence, cash
offers a positive return in periods of falling prices. Additionally, or
alternatively, investors may choose to buy short or leveraged short ETFs such
as the Short S&P 500 ProShares (NYSEArca:SH-News), UltraShort Russell 2000 ProShares
(NYSEArca:TWM-News) UltraShort S&P 500 ProShares
(NYSEArca:SDS-News), Short Financial ProShares (NYSEArca:SEF-News), Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3x Shares
(NYSEArca:FAZ-News) and many more.
Rule #4: Don't Procrastinate
On May 14, the ETF Profit Strategy
Newsletter predicted that the S&P (NYSEArca:IVV-News) will fall through the important 1,040
resistance level. Aside from a small cluster of resistances (one being round
number resistance), a break below 1,040 opened the door wide for significantly
lower prices. We mentioned above that we've been preparing for a reemerging
bear market even before the April highs. Why? Simply put, stocks are
overvalued. How can that be? One of the above headlines read that U.S. stocks
are cheapest since 1990, at least according to analyst projections. The key
word is projections. Analysts project operating earnings for the S&P to
clock in at $94.83 in 2011. This is higher than the 2007 peak of $91.47. That's
right, despite record high unemployment, a European (NYSEArca:VGK-News) debt crisis, a 17% U.S. market
correction, and all the other problems economists expect corporate profits will
exceed their 2007 all-time highs. Does that sound reasonable to you? Keep in
mind that projected earnings are just that - projected. They can and will
change. In fact, analysts have a reputation of following the trend. In April
2008, analysts predicted earnings of $113. After cutting its forecast to $53,
Goldman Sachs cut its earnings forecast to $40 in March 2009. As we know today,
stocks rallied, and actual 2009 earnings came in at $56.87. The list goes on,
but the simple message is that analysts tend to be overly optimistic before the
fall and overly pessimistic before a rally. Right now they are overly
optimistic. The conclusion is easy.
Rule #5: Know who to Trust
Even when basing the current P/E ratio on overly
optimistic estimates, it is still far away from the P/E ratios seen at historic
market bottoms. The same holds true for dividend yields. A look at various
valuation measures shows that the market is overvalued by much more than just
10 or 20%. TheETF Profit Strategy Newsletterprovides a detailed analysis of four
valuation metrics with a near spotless track record of historic
accuracy…’
No Exit, Stage Left or Right
Peter shiff ‘… Those who fear a double dip
recession are justified in their concerns, but they are also missing the big
picture. The 2008 recession never ended. It was merely interrupted by
trillions of dollars of stimulus that purchased GDP “growth” with borrowed
money. But as the bills come due, GDP should now contract … After decades
of abuse, it’s time for the Fed to take make a dramatic exit, because the US
economy can’t take it anymore.’
An Argentina-like Economic
CrisisScott Strzelczyk| The
United States’ economic decline precariously resembles Argentina’s economic
collapse.
The Dollar’s Third and Final ActLewRockwell.com| The US
credit system is in the midst of its third credit crisis since the advent of
the Federal Reserve.
Hindenburg Omen: Stock Market
Crash Imminent?Easily the most feared technical pattern in all of
chartism (for the bullishly inclined) is the dreaded Hindenburg Omen. Those who
know what it is, tend to have an atavistic reaction to its mere mention.
Jobless claims jump to 5-month
highThe number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance
rose to the highest level since late February last week, according to a weekly
government report released Thursday.
Deficit in July Totals $165.04
BillionThe U.S. government spent itself deeper into the red
last month, paying nearly $20 billion in interest on debt and an additional
$9.8 billion to help unemployed Americans.
Fed Leads America “To The Brink
Of Collapse”When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting that the
United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a new great
depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be sounding loudly.
Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks:
Congressional Report Confirms What We Already KnewA Congressional Oversight
Panel issued today highlights the fact that large portions of the Treasury’s
$700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into the coffers of foreign banks,
a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now being officially recognised.
Is this finally the economic
collapse?Fortune| Should we
bite the bullet and accept that current economic policy dictates 0%
returns-on-savings, even as Washington continues to lever-up our future to the
point of economic collapse?
U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t
Even KnowBloomberg| Let’s get
real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the
country pay its bills.
States
get grants to help regulate health insurance rates (Washington Post)Sounds like a plan … born of capital hill
math; viz., ie., just sayin’, $1million for a bureaucracy that will cost many millions, even as states
like the nation itself are defacto bankrupt.
Regulators
consider toughening overdraft rules even more (Washington Post) Wow!
They’re tough … when talking millions instead of the hundreds of billions of
taxpayer funds they’ve frittered away. You can’t make this stuff up!
In
Supporting The Ground Zero Mosque, Barack Obama Falls On His Sword [ I really wasn’t inclined to comment on this
because it’s just not that big a deal except as to exceedingly small minds.
However, I feel I must say that if the jewish Mayor of NYC who is certainly no
slouch and really knows how to count thinks it’s ok, then it’s OK. Period! ]
With President barack obama’s political dynasty already on life support, his
decision to publicly back the hugely unpopular building of a Muslim mosque near
Ground Zero confirms that Obama, or rather the advisors that pull his strings,
have decided to commit political suicide and cut him loose from the Washington
power structure, with the hope of fooling Americans with another establishment
Republican as a legitimate alternative in 2012.
Makeup
of Obama's housing reform panel draws ire(Washington
Post) [Wow! Talk about late to the party! I mean … a conference? It’s not as if
this was some new or novel problem coming down the pike. Then there’s the
everything but the core issue / problem approach that seems recurringly
fashionable.] Advocates say that the administration is excluding
consumer and community groups from playing prominent roles in a
government-sponsored conference next week that will kick off efforts to
overhaul national housing policy.
Warnings:
Social Security at risk(Washington Post) [ Not this again! It bears repeating, that was always
a bad idea and there was a plethora of reasons set forth on my site as to why
the social security privatization plan being shilled by moron war criminal
dumbya bush on behalf of the wall street frauds was an exceedingly bad idea.
Indeed, as defacto insolvent as america / the social security system is, the
nation and system would have been wiped out by privatization debacle. Talk
about too big to, but still failed. It was a bad idea then, and though
accusations may fly as to fear mongering, the reality of the venality attendant
to such a preposterous course on behalf of the wall street frauds requires
vigilance, scrutiny, and discourse concerning even the remote possibility of
such a fool-hearty betrayal of the citizenry of the nation. As such, as off the
mark as wobama has almost invariably been, he’s on the mark on this. ]ANALYSIS | Obama says GOP wants to privatize program, but
liberals see a different threat.
Foreclosures
surge 9 percent in July(Washington
Post) Those glass-half-full frauds on wall street along with the administration
will be cheering this unequivocally bad news with a dubious retort as ‘used
home sales will rise’ … riiiight! Anything you say …
Pearlstein: The
FCC and the bandwidth wars(Washington
Post) [The internet has been among the few areas of growth and american
prominence, at least at this point in time. Clearly, as with the throng that
heralded in NAFTA, the self-interested voices of ie., google, verizon, etc.,
are similarly anathema to the greater good (as was NAFTA). Berners-Lee spoke
against such parochialism in no uncertain terms, much as did Ross Perot on
NAFTA and history has proven Perot correct as is so of the mind numbing
approaches of google, verizon, etc.]Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse (infowars.com) [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the
internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously
opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and
verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc.,
operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government
hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy
framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.
AP Business
Highlights ‘Jobs picture dims as
unemployment claims rise WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is looking bleaker
as new applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in
almost six months. It's a sign that hiring remains weak and employers may be
going back to cutting their staffs. Analysts say the increase suggests
companies won't be adding enough workers in August to lower the 9.5 percent
unemployment rate. First-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to
a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the
highest total since February. Analysts had expected claims to fall…’
Bearish Sentiment Falls to 14-Week Low [Talk about contrarian indicators!] AAII – ‘Bullish sentiment rose
9.4 percentage points to 39.8% in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Despite the
size of the increase, the proportion of individual investors expecting stock
prices to rise over the next six months is only at a two-week high. The
historical average is 39%. Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices
will stay essentially flat over the next six months, fell 1.3 percentage points
to 30.1%. The historical average is 31%. Bearish sentiment, expectations that
stock prices will fall, dropped 8.1 percentage points to 30.1%. This is a
14-week low. The historical average is 30%. The survey period, Thursday through
Wednesday, needs to be taken into consideration when looking at these results.
Stock prices were essentially flat through most of this week's survey period
(with the obvious exception of yesterday), giving some investors hope that a
short-term bottom had been established. Though there were big changes in
bullish and bearish sentiment, both optimism and pessimism are close to their
historical averages. As a result, I would argue that individual investors'
confidence in the market remains fragile…’
Lavish
lifestyle for bank executive in Waters case(Washington
Post) While this is typical of California, isn’t it as typical of the wall
street frauds? Scammin’ everybody with that too big to fail b*** s*** when
they’re a net economic drain, high frequency churn-and-earn computer programmed
trading scams among the more blatant frauds emanating from their insatiable
greed and sense of entitlement. Previous post: Cities,
counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say
must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the
nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking
with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I
worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state)
high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher
taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager
waspaid nearly 900,000 annually (with
benefits the package was an incredible $1,500,000), and specifically mentioned
the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and contracts to interested,
even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done this better than feinstein,
albeit on a more federal level and China contracts through her husband’s
companies, as previousl set forth on this website. Drudgereport: 'Where do the bailouts end?' [I feel compelled to comment here
that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion
taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state /
local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]
Bailouts
benefited foreign firms(Washington
Post) True enough! But, truth be told, the fraud giving rise to the financial
debacle was home grown americana. Moreover, the remnants of same are still out
there in the trillions, now ‘marked to anything they so choose’, courtesy of a
complicit, albeit after the fact, congress. This is the point … rather than as
should have been the case of making the perps pay, the bailouts / cover-ups by
now enablers if not accomplices is ending quite badly with much worse to come,
and that includes those european lightweights who have come into the fraudulent
wall street fold to theirs and the world’s economic and financial detriment.
U.S.
trade deficit startles markets(Washington Post) [ Unexpectedly? I don’t
think so! And, I have my site, other references / links and posts to prove it;
and, what’s more, I’m not alone. After all, what are NAFTAs for anyway.
However, I also must candidly admit I don’t frequent the mainstream blather /
propaganda that includes the ‘money-honeys’ (when the messenger’s more
important than the message, problems and distortions are bound to follow) and
their ilk, etc.. NBR’s
about it and even they have their pressures (I don’t consider the Washington
Post mainstream in the pejorative sense of the word, with a rich journalistic
history to back that up, all things considered) ]. Unexpectedly bad news from
three continents reinforces fears that global recovery is faltering.
Obama signs $26 billion jobs
bill(WP) [I feel compelled to
comment here that even using capital hill math one would be hard-pressed to
justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save
300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto
bankrupt! I think the former Soviet Union would have done the same.]
Fed action signals new activism (Washington
Post) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more
of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing
and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing
like a hegelian methodologyto create
the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing
their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It
is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold
their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with
an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then ever
after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal link
by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial missteps
were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to obfuscate
their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben, etc.) comes
at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just outright crime.
I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After all, at this point
of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you certainly can’t point to
success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s also the missing
trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub rosa activity with
the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is being supplanted with
ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the frauds and great detriment
to the nation.]
ACCORDING TO TECHNICAL INDICATORS, MELTDOWN IS
POSSIBLESimon MaierhoferA SOLID TRACK
RECORDAn analysis of the SMA crossover
buy/sell signals triggered for the S&P over the past 10 days shows that six
of the eight signals (75%) were correct. ..LAGGING BUT
ACCURATEMany dismiss
the 200-day or other SMAs as lagging indicators. Although an indicator may be
lagging it doesn't mean it's incorrect or should be dismissed… Even though a
lagging indicator, the rain does confirm that a storm is coming. A PRO-ACTIVE
APPROACH You'd expect Wall Street and the financial
media to be the financial weather man and warn you of upcoming storms.
Unfortunately, that is not so. Leading up to the April 2010 recovery highs,
Wall Street and the media proclaimed the skies are clear, 'sunny throughout the
year' was their weather forecast. Only after investors got drenched, did Wall
Street recommend pulling out the umbrella. Sure enough, as soon as the
umbrellas came out, stocks switched into rally mode and the sky cleared up.
Unlike Wall Street, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned of the brewing
storm while it was still sunny. On April 16, the newsletter warned that
'historically, there has rarely been a more pronounced sell signal ... When
consumers spend, they do so with credit cards. Visa and Master Card both got
hit with a death cross. It's just a matter of time until the discretionary
sector follows. WAIT, THERE IS MORE …High copper
prices are reflective of high demand and a humming economy. Lower copper prices
signal trouble ahead. On June 22, an ominous death cross visited copper's
chart. PUTTING THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR Investing is
a game of probabilities. While you always want to have the odds in your favor,
you never want to bet against the odds. Right now, the odds are piling up on
the bearish side of the ledger. Even though Wall Street is saying that the sky
has cleared up, 'meteorologists' with a better track record are warning of the
storm ahead. In fact, there is one rare chart formation that strongly suggests
the onset of a 2008-like decline, a development that's certainly supported by
the number of death crosses spanning a variety of markets. The August issue of
theETF Profit Strategy Newsletterincludes a detailed short, mid and
long-term forecast, along with the one chart that tells the market's story and
true bearish potential.
U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t
Even KnowBloomberg| Let’s get
real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the
country pay its bills.
Crowd waiting for housing
vouchers gets rowdyAtlanta
Journal-Constitution| A crowd
of people hoping to get federal housing assistance became unruly Wednesday
morning with reports of fights breaking out in the crowd.
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went
public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end
the Internet as we know it.
San Francisco Fed: “A
Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two
Years”[ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay /
motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the
antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency
over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘ estimates
revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality figures somewhat
in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas ain’t comin’ back.
Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call it! ] Presented
without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the LEI and factor
for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.
Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The
Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands
alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary
depression.
15 Economic Statistics That
Just Keep Getting WorseA little over a week ago, U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned an article for the New York Times
entitled “Welcome To The Recovery” in which he touted the great strides that
the U.S. economy was making.
America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey
Mouse Economy’: CIOAmerica is a “Mickey Mouse economy” that is
technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer
(CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.
Republicans
Suggest Names for 'Second Stimulus' Bill... 'Where
do the bailouts end?' [I feel compelled to comment here that
even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer /
treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local
government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went
public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end
the Internet as we know it.
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Japan
Redux: A Video Case Study Of The Upcoming U.S. Lost Decade Whether one
believes in inflation or deflation, one thing is certain: in many ways the
current US experience finds numerous parallels to what has been happening in
Japan for not one but two decades.
Pentagon
can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve
done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my
article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the
Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to
March 10, 2004.
Dollar
approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh
eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed
expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal
Reserve.
Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate
at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and
manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just
around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many
of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial
economic structural / financial shifts.
When perusing the headlines and the
following, I immediately thought ‘between Iraq and a hard place (Afghanistan
and america’s defacto bankruptcy)’:
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jerry Slusiewicz ‘Everyone knows that being between a rock
and a hard place is not a good place to be. That is where the market is right
now. We continue to have terrible news in the housing sector. There is no
general economic recovery as of yet. Jobless claims continue to mount, while
net new jobs are not being created in a significant enough number to even
sustain the population growth (approximately 150,000 net new jobs per month
needed). By far the majority of economic reports for May, June, July, and now
August, have been worse than forecast. That includes home starts, home sales,
home-builder confidence, retail sales, auto sales, consumer confidence, durable
goods orders, manufacturing, jobs, etc. Yet the market rallies or barely goes
down on these bad reports. What gives? It seems that bad news is good news
right now…
Social Security
in the red this year Washington Times | Meanwhile
President Obama’s health care overhaul has given Medicare’s basic Hospital
Insurance an extra 12 years of financial stability, though it did not solve all
of the program’s long-term challenges.
U.S. Employers Shed Jobs WSJ | he U.S. economy shed
more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at
9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.
Impoverished
U.S. City Will Close Libraries Mob infested, pervasively corrupt jersey’s
most impoverished city will close all three branches of its public library at
year’s end unless a rescue can be pulled off. Camden’s library board says the
libraries won’t be able to afford to stay open past Dec. 31 because of budget
cuts from the city government. The city had its subsidy from the state cut.
Dollar
approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh
eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed
expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal
Reserve.
Visualize
Your State’s Financial Collapse Better Than Ever Just because wishing away
local and state financial collapse doesn’t work quite as well as it does at the
Federal level (courtesy of everyone’s favorite printer genie), attached is a
terrific interactive chart.
Stepping Aside Because I Can Always
Buy Back In Leigh Drogen ‘I sold
out of everything this morning, for a few reasons…First, breakouts don’t always
work and momentum stocks have a habit of ending their trends abruptly.
Second, …I can buy back in this afternoon if I change my mind (not likely). I
see more risk to the downside here than I do to the upside. …Third, the jobs
number tomorrow scares me. No, it doesn’t matter what the number is, we all
know it’s going to be bad, what matters is how the market reacts, and I have
the feel it’s not going to be good. Fourth, many of my oscillators are
overbought here.Fifth, and finally, I don’t like the fact that this rally has
primarily taken place on the back of the most beaten down sectors. …It all just
doesn’t pass the smell test for me. I’ve been successful at this not because
I’m always right, but because I know when I’m wrong and I’m willing to change
course or step aside. Right now, I’ll step aside.’
Food stamp use
hit record 40.8m in May The number
of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May
as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government reported
yesterday.
Journalists
Still Hiding Obama’s Broken Promises on Jobs On Aug. 6, everyone’s attention will be fixed on the release of
July’s unemployment numbers. The national unemployment rate is forecast to
increase to 9.6 percent, according to Bloomberg News’ survey.
11 Reasons
Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that the Federal
Reserve is bad, but very few of them can coherently explain why this is true.
WE’RE UNDERESTIMATING THE BEARISH POTENTIAL Simon Maierhofer, August 3, 2010
’… Will Anything Stop the Market? Something Did … At the same time, the April numbers were lowered the second time by
an additional 24,000 units, while May sales were revised lower by 33,000 units.
To summarize, April and May sales were reduced by 57,000 units. Therefore, June
sales were 24% above May sales. By the way, May sales were the lowest on record…
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the
unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as
more people enter the labor force.
Americans who swap
passports London Telegraph | At the US Embassy in London,
there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. At the US
Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to
discuss. On the list are Americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure sign
of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all places?)
Come on! Who are they kidding? All the
data was bad, and that ‘not bad as expected dog don’t hunt anymore’!
They’re losing their minds in china: Silicon Alley
Insider: ‘… The first big economic news of the week was the Chinese PMI which
indicated that Chinese manufacturing was inching ever closer to contraction.
But contrary to the expectations of some, it did not spook investors. In fact,
Asia had a very big night, with Shanghai gaining about 1.3% …’;
europe: the basket-case eu economy, with obfuscation taken
directly out of the fraudulent wall street playbook including fake stress
tests, saw air ball stock rally based on earnings data long ago discounted;
u.s.:
We already know they’re criminally insane on wall street! Yahoo: ‘…The
mood improved further still after the ISM Manufacturing Index for July came in
at 55.5. That may have marked a pullback from the 56.2 of June, but it exceeded
the 54.2 that had been widely expected ...’
Oh, yeah … there’s also the higher oil
prices, ever more worthless Weimar dollar part of the rally, and so on!
This is an especially great opportunity
to sell / take profits since there is much worse to come!
Warning
Signs Suggest Market Headed for Another Collapse…One can find no shortage of fundamental or
mechanical theories explaining what might form the basis of a future financial
collapse published at Zero Hedge, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Nouriel Roubini or
Karl Denninger. In fact, I buy into a lot of the evidence presented by these
sources, and believe that one gains a better grasp of financial reality
spending 10 minutes with Zero Hedge than spending 2 weeks listening to the
mainstream financial media. It is laughable to compare the vacant drivel coming
out of Dennis Kneale to even one single article published by Tyler Durden or
Ryan Iskander…
1. HEAD &
SHOULDERS ON THE S&P 500, DOW JONES, AND NASDAQ …
2. BULLISH FLAG ON
THE VIX? We can’t have a massive spike in volatility without a coinciding
collapse in the equity markets …
3.
THE DEATH-CROSS ON THE S&P SUGGESTS THE 2009 TO 2010 RALLY MIGHT BE OVER
…
4. THE VOLUMELESS
RALLY & MUTUAL FUND OUTFLOWS
…
5. 1,000 POINT FLASH
CRASHES
…
6. BOND MARKET
DISTRUSTFUL OF THE RALLY
…
7. MARKET LEADERSHIP
IS WEAKENING
[chart] … ‘
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington
Post) This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012
alan
greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until
the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have
hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]
Trying
to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post)
Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of
the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money
they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough,
they’re waiting for the apple carts.
Did
TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What
do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported
same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was
appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax
valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these
‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which
ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile
incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was
interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause,
double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!
Are the American
people obsolete? Salon
| The richest few don’t need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police
anymore. Maybe we should all emigrate.
What's
coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new
american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’
(the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for
real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.
U.S.
bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached
108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the
Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.
Foreclosures
Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse
| RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for
foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have
continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.
U.S.
recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post
| The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth
that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a
troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put
Americans back to work.
Stocks' Late Push: Some
Optimism, Some Pessimism [Late
push … as in a constipated bowel movement … Come on! Another one of those push
the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation /
economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized),
as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the
largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy: ‘rising
tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your favor
are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and
leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then
picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time
frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance
sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach
beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are,
projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street,
every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the
market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade
programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history
when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very
lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to
the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described
elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they
even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time
and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they
shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing
/ manipulations.This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market
in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in
a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has
preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds
and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and
earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national
decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the
wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and
disgorgement imposed.].
China Becomes Second Biggest
World EconomyChina has overtaken Japan to become the world’s
second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has
lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Marc Faber Questions if Dow
Could Hit 1,000In the August edition of the ‘The Gloom, Boom
& Doom Report’ Marc Faber questions whether the Dow could hit 1,000as predicted by Robert Prechter,
based on his interpretation of Elliot Waves, Fibonacci numbers and
socioeconomic trends. Prechter, whohas written 13
books on finance(external link), believes that the
stock market is historically overvalued in terms of dividends and earnings,
because of a “great rise in positive social mood.” But the mood changed in 2000
and the “trend toward negative social mood will lead to an economic
contraction,” according to Prechter. “Small bear markets lead to recessions,
big bear markets lead to depressions. The current bear market will be the
biggest in nearly 300 years, so the depression will be correspondingly deep,”
Prechter said.
Wall
St falls after weak outlooks drag (Reuters) U.S. stocks sagged in volatile
trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat
comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.
US Treasury is
running on fumes The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’
release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our
coalition partners at risk.”
Trillions for Wall Street Mike
Whitney | The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money’s never
a problem.
Look
What Surprises They Snuck Into The Financial Reform Bill The Economic Collapse| The
financial reform bill was supposed to “fix” Wall Street and the financial
system, but it did not do much of anything. Even just a
decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a
few dozen pages long. But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an
important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.
Cash-starved
California orders unpaid leave for workers California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency Wednesday, requiring most
state employees to take three days of unpaid leave per month until a new budget
is enacted.
Flaws of the European Stress Test … 'Bank stress test' became the magic phrase. Nothing calms fear
like a stress test that's labeled as rigorous. The stress test raises a few
very obvious questions: 1) Will it work? 2) Why was it needed in addition to a
$1 trillion aid package? 3) Is the stress test just a gimmick to appease
investors? The stress test is conducted by the London-based Committee of
European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). Ironically, the test has ignored the majority
of banks' holdings of sovereign debt. Sovereign debt concerns by the so-called
PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) triggered the latest wave
of financial problems. Ignoring sovereign debt in the Euro stress test would be
like ignoring toxic real estate assets in the U.S. 10% Good - 90% Bad
According to a Morgan Stanley survey, European banks hold about 90% of their
Greek government bonds in their banking books and 10% in their trading books.
The bonds in the banking book are generally held until maturity, the bonds in
the trading book are traded more frequently. According to a document obtained
by Bloomberg, the stress test assumes a loss of 23.1% on Greek debt, 14% on
Portuguese bonds, 12.3% on Spanish debt, 4.7% on German debt, 10% on U.K. debt,
and 5.9% on French debt. However, the stress test only looks at the bonds held
in banks' trading books, which account for a mere 10% of Greek bond holdings.
Can that be called a stress test? Nouriel Roubini says that 'the assumptions
made about economic growth, about sovereign risk are not realistic enough.' The
fact that only seven banks failed the test with a combined shortfall of $4.5
billion confirms the lax nature of the test. … The U.S. Bank Stress Test - A Nice Façade A closer look
under the hood of the U.S. bank stress test, however, shows that there's not
much substance behind the facade either. It was determined that the 19 tested
U.S. banks need to increase their balance sheets by $75 billion to meet the
conditions of what's termed the 'worst case scenario.' To a large extent, the
$75 billion of additional capital was financially engineered. Banks didn't have
to actually raise $75 billion. They were able to change the label of some of
their assets on their balance sheets. The government supported this practice
via mandatory convertible preferred shares (detailed analysis in May 2009 issue
of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) …’
Regulatory Magic President Obama has signed the financial
industry regulatory overhaul — officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act. Predictably, what he said about it cannot possibly
be true.
Flashback:
Bush report: Sending jobs overseas helps U.S. The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to
other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S.
economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush
administration said yesterday.
Smoking
Guns of U.S. Treasury Monetization Kitco
| A significant feature of fiat money systems is the privilege for the
custodian of the reserve currency to engage in regular practices of ham-fisted
monetary management.
Banking
Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media Greg Hunter | It is amazing to me how little time
the mainstream media is spending on this unfolding financial disaster and how
much time it is devoting to things like Mel Gibson’s domestic problems.
Consumer
confidence dims (Reuters)
Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since
February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months,
underscoring the precarious state of econo...
Another
Recession Due Circa 2012: Jim Rogers A new recession would be due around
2012 but central banks will not be able to throw cash at it anymore, Jim
Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Tuesday.
Marc Faber:
Relax, This Will Hurt A Lot Marc Faber closed out this week’s Agora
Financial Symposium with a speech that pretty much recapitulated the view that
the end of the world is if not nigh, then surely tremendous dislocations to the
existing socio-political and economic landscape are about to take place (with
some very dire consequences for the US).
US
bank failures in 2010 surpass 100WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak
milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South
Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday
bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year
is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid
the recession and mounting loan defaults …
The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2%
in June, the second drop in three months. A negative surprise.
Unemployment claims rose to 464,000, more than
expected.
Uncle Ben said we are facing a period of
“unusual uncertainty.” No kidding.
Uncle Ben said we need continuing stimulus to a
Congress unwilling to stimulate anyone or anything other than lobbyists
with cash to contribute.
Home sales fell 5.1% in June…’
(No recession helicopter ben) Bernanke Admits Major Policy Failures; Stocks Soar Darryl Montgomery What's wrong with this picture?
In his bi-annual testimony before Congress yesterday, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke
admitted that after more than a year and a half of zero interest rates and $3
trillion in federal deficit spending since 2008, the best case
scenario for the U.S. economy is slow growth and high unemployment. The S&P
500 is up 2.5% so far this morning on this 'good' news.Bernanke's congressional testimony included the
following statements (emphasis added by me):
"Most [FOMC] participants viewed uncertainty
about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the
majority saw [at the June Fed meeting] the risks to growth as weighted to
the downside."
"Financial conditions--though much improved
since the depth of the financial crisis--have become less supportive of
economic growth in recent months."
"Many banks continue to have a large volume
of troubled loans on their books, and bank lending standards remain tight.
With credit demand weak and with banks writing down problem credits, bank
loans outstanding have continued to contract."
"After two years of job losses, private payrolls
expanded at an average of about 100,000 per month during the first half of this
year, a pace insufficient to reduce the unemployment rate materially.
In all likelihood, a significant amount of time will be required to restore the
nearly 8-1/2 million jobs that were lost over 2008 and 2009."…
Serious Analysis has given rise to a realistically mocking view of the current
fraud on wall street:
For
Obama, some chances ahead (Washington Post) [ Come on! Wake
up! There are no chances ahead for wobama’s already failed presidency! He knows
it, the people know it, and even his most ardent blind supporters know it. One
too many b*** s*** stories and broken (campaign) promises. Delivering a speech,
albeit teleprompted, is a far cry from delivering, which reality most have
awaken to. He seems to be incapable of even one original thought even as the
wobamas seem to take umbrage as they are dissed for self-created lack of
approbation ($500 sneakers, spain trip, fiddling while the nation burns, etc.).
What next? The race card? Even as his (in)justice department had decided to
ignore civil rights violations by blacks and focus only on whites? No! wobama’s
failed presidencyis as done as an
over-cooked hard-boiled egg. Empty words just ain’t enough! ] New Orleans
visit, Iraq speech offer president opportunities to help end a frustrating
summer.
Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS:
Hidden world, growing beyond control... 854,000 people have
top-secret security clearance...
You really have to laud The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance
which whether people appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and
personal courage; even more so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak.
Clearly, this illuminates the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time
when america will not be able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the
self-perpetuating, need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened
to a perverse version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars,
they’ll find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on.NSA
Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces In yet another terrifying expose, The
Washington Post continues to lift the veil on just how massive the US
government’s spying operation has become.
Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY
SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obamais BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a
picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.htmlObama’s
Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political
fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].
President
Obama’s Real Name “Barry Soetoro” Tops Google Trends Yet another search
term announced during the Alex Jones Show, “Barry Soetoro” has topped Google
Trends’ hot searches, and that means a boost to exposing important keys to
President Obama’s true history. The #1 search trend corresponds with a visit to
Austin, Texas today from President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Barry Soetoro.
Barry
Soetoro AKA Barack Obama’s Political Dynasty Crashes And Burns While Barry
Soetoro’s family lavish themselves at a luxury Spanish resort amidst deepening
economic turmoil, back home Obama’s political dynasty crashes and burns as his
approval ratings plunge to a record low of 41 per cent with less than a few
months to go before the October midterm elections.
The
Fraud Of Barry Soetoro (a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama) (Feb. 24 ... February 11, 2009
’Dear Senators and Congressmen:
Thank you for taking the time to review the documentation relevant to the
Constitutional legitimacy of the presidency Barack Obama. There have been
various problems with the vetting of Mr. Obama throughout the campaign and the
present. I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the most pertinent
and alarming issues that have been clearly revealed. I’m sure you will
agree that this information must be further investigated promptly before any
damage is done to the United States and its citizens beyond the Constitutional
compromises that currently exist. Most interesting, though, is the
fact that Mr. Obama has not simply ordered the original vault copy of his birth
certificate to be sealed and chosen to retain three (3) law firms to defend the
various cases spending a reported $800,000 (of whose money?). If Mr.
Obama has nothing to hide, then why fight the more than 42 cases in
federal courts alone (according to Justia) and similar number in state courts
of which the merits are well-founded and substantiated through factual
evidence, state and federal statutes, and international laws? Main issue is
that the state of HI, according to statue 338 allows Foreign born children of Hawaiian residents to obtain Hawaiian birth certificates and obtain them based
on a statement of one relative only. There is plenty
of evidence of Mr. Obama being born in Kenya and obtaining his Hawaiian birth
certificate based on a statement of his grandparent only, who simply didn’t
want to deal with immigration and not based on any records from any hospitals. Extensive
searches in the State of Hawaii showed no birthing records for his mother
[Stanley] Ann Dunham in any hospital in Hawaii. …I request all of this information to
be forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Finance Committee,
Senate Judicial Committee, Mr. Steven Whitlock, director of the whistle blower
office of the IRS, ICE, State Department, and FBI for further investigation.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.’
Did Google Block “Barry
Soetoro” Search Term?Screenshots obtained by a Prison Planet reader suggest
that Google may have moved to de-list “Barry Soetoro” as a popular search term
shortly after it rose to the top of the Google Trends charts after yesterday’s
effort by radio talk show host Alex Jones to focus attention on Barack Obama’s
real name.
Bombshell:
Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne
Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the
lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.
Google
Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at
first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the
web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely
unprecedented and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding
out that it is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet
as we know it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.
Google
Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda The net-neutrality ending
deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and
free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world
wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of
existence for good.
Obama’s
pledge to close down Guantanamo is ‘not even close’ Barack Obama’s pledge
to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after
the President’s self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first
administration.
Constitution
“Silly Stuff,” Says Illinois Congressman Democratic Congressman Phil Hare,
who caused outrage earlier this year when he told constituents who asked him
about the legality of the health care bill, “I don’t worry about the
constitution,” has sparked fresh consternation after he was caught on camera in
an Illinois hotel labeling the founding document of America “silly stuff”.
Google’s
Plans to Take Over The Internet Exposed! Google’s agreement with Verizon to
speed certain Internet content to users opens the door to the complete
sterilization of the world wide web as a force for political change. Under
Google’s takeover plan, the Internet will closely resemble cable TV,
independent voices will be silenced and the entire Internet will be bought up by
transnational media giants.
‘Pre-Crime’
Reaches Number 1 Google Trend Spot Matt
Ryan | Steve Watson’s incredible article about the use of
pre-crime technology was picked up by large news sites such as the Drudge
Report and others.
US-Vietnam
Military Drills Crank Up Tensions With China The U.S. Navy just began
military exercises with Vietnam in the South China Sea and China, which had in
the past been more accepting of the U.S.’ naval power in the region, is now
showing its anger, according to The Asia Times.
Poll: ‘No’ to
US wars at all time high A new opinion poll says the number of Americans
opposed to the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is at an all time high.
Two Films
That Blew Bilderberg Wide Open Paul Joseph Watson | Fidel Castro’s spotlight
on the Bilderberg clique is part of a global awakening to the new world order.
Orwell
in charge? Kucinich compares Iraq ‘exit’ to Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ “Who
is in charge of our operations in Iraq , now? George Orwell? A war based on
lies continues to be a war based on lies. Today, we have a war that is not a
war, with combat troops who are not combat troops. In 2003, President Bush said
‘ Mission Accomplished ‘ . In 2010, the White House says combat operations are
over in Iraq , but will leave 50,000 troops, many of whom will inevitably be
involved in combat-related activities.
Zionist
Lobby Paid Off U.S. Journalists To Sell Israeli Foreign Policy Newly
declassified documents highlighting how the Israeli lobby routinely paid off
journalists in the U.S. corporate media to write pro-Zionist propaganda in
support of Israeli aggression against Palestine and Iran during the 60’s have
taken on new significance after the Atlantic Monthly, which is named in the
documents as being complicit in the bribing scandal, recently published a cover
story hyping the necessity and inevitability of an Israeli attack on Iran.
9/11
Heroes Blast Obama: Forget The Mosque, We’re Dying Hero 9/11 first responders, many of whom are
sick and dying, have slammed Obama in an open letter for ignoring their plight
while taking the time to outline views on a proposed mosque close to ground
zero, the site of the 2001 attacks that felled the twin towers.
Chaos
Erupts in California as Over-Taxed Residents Express Outrage The city of Bell, CA has recently been
exposed for having corrupt and overpaid city officials receiving salaries
larger than the President of the United States. Residents who have recently
learned they were over-taxed to pay for the government workers took control of
a City Council meeting and demanded resignations.
China Reacts
Angrily To Pentagon Report Beijing
reacted angrily Wednesday to a Pentagon report expressing worries about China’s
burgeoning military capabilities, calling such concerns baseless.
In
Supporting The Ground Zero Mosque, Barack Obama Falls On His Sword [ I really wasn’t inclined to comment on this
because it’s just not that big a deal except as to exceedingly small minds.
However, I feel I must say that if the jewish Mayor of NYC who is certainly no slouch
and really knows how to count thinks it’s ok, then it’s OK. Period! ] With
President barack obama’s political dynasty already on life support, his
decision to publicly back the hugely unpopular building of a Muslim mosque near
Ground Zero confirms that Obama, or rather the advisors that pull his strings,
have decided to commit political suicide and cut him loose from the Washington
power structure, with the hope of fooling Americans with another establishment
Republican as a legitimate alternative in 2012.
Former
Pakistani Intel Chief Fears World War Three Is Imminent Former Pakistani General and intelligence
chief Hamid Gul appeared on the Alex Jones Show yesterday for a full hour in
what turned out to be a fascinating extended interview, addressing the major
geopolitical issues that are shaping modern history.
Neocon
Bolton Renews Call for Israel to Bomb Iran Last Friday the former interim UN ambassador during the Bush
administration went on Fox News and warned that if Israel did not conduct a
bombing raid against Iran’s nuclear energy program within a few days, the
window of opportunity would be lost. Bolton made his comment following a report
last week that Russia will begin loading nuclear fuel at Iran’s Bushehr reactor
on July 21.
Google search: ‘bolton, neocon, mental problems’ About 143,000 results (0.37
seconds)
Here’s the first of many pages. Yeah … he’s that bad / psychotic!
·Think Progress
» John Bolton jokes about nuking Chicago, entire ...
Feb
26, 2009 ... Bolton, the NEOCON gift that keeps on giving the
Repuglycans zero ... The problem with McCain was this. As a veteran
and a POW he get's high marks. ..... to get some treatment at the closest mental
health facility. ...
thinkprogress.org/2009/02/26/bolton-nukes-chicago/ -
Cached
- Similar
Aug
4, 2009 ... Bolton, like all neocons, doesn't understand that
there is ..... Of course, we all know it was BUSH who caused the problem
in the first place, right? .... they view the world in the light of their own mental
disorder, ...
thinkprogress.org/2009/08/.../bolton-north-korea-journalists/ - Cached
- Similar
Dec
21, 2009 ... Re: Breaking: Neocon John Bolton Names Dick
Cheney "Conservati ... republicanism/conservatism is a mental
illness that is killing America and ... Problem is one side will
shamelessly try and stack the deck in their favor ... crooksandliars.com › Blogs
› Logan
Murphy's blog - Cached
- Similar
Apr
17, 2007 ... On March 25, John Bolton was interviewed by BBC
Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman (video here). ... I think the real problem
was in not relying more on Iraqis. .... BTW, a mental giant, you are
not. The best thing to happen to ... www.democrats.com › Blogs
› Bob
Fertik's blog - Cached
Bolton and his neo-con
crazies aren't setting the agenda anymore, ... And I do not mean the mental
condition of Mr Bolton and his fellow neocons. ...
www.lobelog.com/bolton-suggests-nuclear-attack-on-iran/ - Cached
- Similar
May
26, 2009 ... It's a special kind of mental illness. ... Bolton
has been derided as "the neocon's neocon" who "laps up
the hosannas of fellow ...
atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/.../dont-hold-your-breath-ambassador-bolton.html - Cached
Dec
4, 2006 ... Clyburn: E-Vote 'Hacked'; Rawl: 'Systemic Software Problems'
.... Add 'The Fall of the NeoCons: Bye Bye Bolton' to
Del.icio · Add 'The ... The Army's Lack of Mental Health Treatment for
Returning Troops" NEXT STORY » ...
www.bradblog.com/?p=3873 - Cached
"Religion
is science for the mental ill" - Myself ... John Bolton
is a Bush neo con,,, obviously broke and needing the money. ...
www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1163684/pg2
New
article on darkpolitricks: Neocon Bolton Renews Call for Israel to
Bomb Iran http: darkpoltweeter (Dark Politricks RT): New article on
darkpolitricks: ...
www.wwnewsflash.com/bolton
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick
View
a sweeping diagnosis, it's clear that mental health has been a problem
within ...... Neocon icon John Bolton, Bush's abrasive former
Ambassador to the UN, ...
www.sf911truth.org/neocons.pdf
Ban
Ki-moon’s Top Advisor: Scientific Elite Should Spearhead Global Population
Control “The fertility reduction
and stabilization of population is crucial. He (Sachs) concluded by urging for
the adoption of a globally agreed action plan at next year’s Summit to achieve
the MDGs by 2015, and proposed to form Working Groups with members of the
delegations around particular themes. He characterized this effort as not
negotiation, but as global problem solving and suggested that the Working
Groups would brainstorm on the globally agreed plan.”
Obama, the one-term
president [ The fact is, as I’ve
previously commented, he’s ok with and has already accepted his one-term ‘being
there’ failed presidency which explains his huge divergence from his promised
change, among other promises and the false expectations he created thereby. He
lacks courage, of course; but that’s become so typically american and he’s very
typical. ] Q: Will Barack Obama be a one-term president? A: Yes, he might last
that long.
Dreaded
Hindenburg Omen Will Play Out Within 4 Weeks UBS Financial Services
Director Art Cashin says that we’ll know within 3 or 4 weeks whether the
dreaded Hindenburg Omen, a set of market factors that precede a stock market collapse,
will unfold as many are now predicting.
Obama: All In The Company Wayne Madsen | CIA connected
to institutions and individuals figuring prominently in the lives of Barack
Obama, his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.
Rand
Paul Slams Obama: Stop Forcing Big Government Down Our Throats Steve
Watson | Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul made an impassioned
speech this weekend slamming the actions of the Obama administration for
continuing a big government agenda at the expense of the American people.
Internet
Kill Switch Bill Moves Closer To Senate Vote An Internet kill switch bill
that would give President Obama the power to shut down parts of the world wide
web for a period of at least four months without congressional oversight has
moved closer to a Senate vote, with one of its primary advocates, Democratic
co-chairman of the House Cybersecurity Caucus Jim Langevin, threatening a
“cyber-9/11″ if the legislation is not quickly passed.
Rand
Paul Slams Obama: Stop Forcing Big Government Down Our Throats Kentucky
Senate candidate Rand Paul made an impassioned speech this weekend slamming the
actions of the Obama administration for continuing a big government agenda at
the expense of the interests of the American people.
AT&T
claims net neutrality is oppressive US TELECOM AT&T has come out in
support of Google’s contention that wireless communications are different than
wireline Internet services.
Government
Using Google Earth To Loot Destitute Americans Aerial imaging technology is being used by the government to spy
on Americans in an effort to collect revenue and enforce ordinances on swimming
pools without safety certificates, junk cars being stored without permission,
unlicensed porches, and a myriad of other petty transgressions that the state
is feeding off in complete violation of the Fourth Amendment to suck citizens
dry of whatever income they have left after being looted of trillions of
dollars in wealth that the state has transferred to foreign banks.
Cybersecurity Lie Exposed:
Power Plants Are Not Connected To The InternetSenator Joe
Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting
Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to
protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent
Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants
are not even connected to the public Internet.
Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks:
Congressional Report Confirms What We Already KnewA
Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large
portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into
the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now
being officially recognised.
Activists Take On Fluoridated
Water in WichitaConcerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed
that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the
public about the health hazards of water fluorination.
Activists Take On Fluoridated
Water in WichitaInfowars.com| Concerned
citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a
poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water
fluorination.
China
focuses on military might(Washington Post) [And the big difference here (between them
and defacto bankrupt america) is that ‘THEY CAN AFFORD IT’ and are not fighting
nation-bankrupting, anti-american-sentiment-creating wars all over the
place.]Nation is quickly modernizing
forces, extending influence deep into Pacific and Indian oceans.
Afghans
still see U.S. as bad guy(Washington Post ) [Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan …
winning hearts and minds throughout the world … great for exports also as such
‘won hearts and minds’ just love to buy american.] American, NATO forces retain
blame for civilian deaths despite spike from insurgent violence.
U.S. looks to replicate Iraq
strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right!
Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as in drowning, in ie.,
debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military officials hope that a secure
green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will make it more difficult for
Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings in the Afghan city.
Google and Verizon DID do a
deal for new internet ‘first class’ superhighwayTechnology
giants Google and Verizon have today paved the way for a future ‘two-tier’
internet in which companies can pay extra to make sure their services get
through.Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google
and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as
the pact to end the Internet as we know it.
The Cycle of Violence in
AfghanistanLast week the National Bureau of Economic Research
published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq
that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years:
the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and
prompts them to seek revenge. This should be self-evident.
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern
day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who
has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom
on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Street
Action: Poison In Tap Water Fliers Went out on a beautiful Saturday after
noon in Edmonton Alberta posting more fliers, posters etc. had a great time had
a few people harass me but nothing big. Just gave me motivation to do more!!
Resistance is Victory. Never Forget that.!!
Wheat
Crisis Threatens Inflationary Timebomb, Food Riots Russia’s ban on wheat
exports following widespread fires in the country sent food prices skyrocketing
by 19 per cent in just a single week as fears grow that global volatility in
foodstuffs and commodities could lead to a worldwide inflationary timebomb
accompanied by widespread food riots.
Afghan
war ‘kills 1,325 civilians this year’ More than 1,300 civilians have been
killed in Afghanistan so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents, a leading
Afghan rights group said Sunday.
Iran
Unveils New Submarines and Makes More Persian Gulf Warnings Iran announced
the addition of four new submarines to its fleet Sunday, saying the
Iranian-manufactured vessels to be deployed in the Persian Gulf have
sonar-evading technology and can launch torpedoes and missiles simultaneously.
Pentagon
can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve
done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my
article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the
Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to
March 10, 2004.
Who poses
the real threat to the Internet? A new opinion piece on CNN.com argues that
it’s the government, not the companies providing internet access, that is the
real danger to free speech and the internet. [I personally have found more
often and prospectively problematic is that said government / company distinction
is one without a difference when the government flexes muscle, particularly
with leverage as ie., to non-performing monopolist microsoft, nsa/cia partner
google (to a lesser extent at this juncture), cnn/timewarner cable
(incompetence also a factor), fedex, etc.].
Voters
Reject Notion That “Government Can Do Anything It Likes” A Rasmussen poll
indicates that an overwhelming eighty-six percent (86%) of voters nationwide
say there should be “limits on what the federal government can do”, in response
to recent comments from pro-Obamacare Congressman Pete Stark.
Swine
Flu Investigator Jane Bürgermeister Faces Prison Now that there is
verifiable, unambiguous evidence that the Austrian government and state
prosecutors have faked criminal charges to provide a pretext to arrest and
detain me, I am going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.
U.S. Employers Shed Jobs The
U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate
held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing
momentum.
Gold
Surges To Three Week High As Dollar Tanks Gold prices have surged to to
three week highs as the stock market and the U.S. economy continue to flounder,
leaving investors seeking a safe haven in hard assets.
Globalists
Race To Enforce Criminal Carbon Tax Despite the failure of last year’s
Copenhagen climate summit, the United Nations is pushing ahead for a global
carbon tax that will bankroll the expansion of world government as globalists
attempt to make Americans pay for the evisceration of their own sovereinty and
future prosperity.
Poison
Tap Water Exposed As Soft Kill Weapon Water fluoridation has come to refer
to the addition of over 40 chemicals into the water supply that synergistically
come together to wreak havoc on the body and its processes.
Poison
Tap Water Makes Number 1 Google Search Poison tap water has become the number one trending search term on
Google trends today after our efforts to bring attention to how sodium fluoride
in tap water is a deadly health threat went viral.
Sodium
Fluoride: Poison In The Tap Water Alex Jones is launching a new campaign to
inform the public about the toxic chemical fluoride being added to tap water
across the country. While EPA scientists and workers are calling for an end to
water fluoridation, the government is doing everything in its power to continue
and even increase the amount of toxic chemicals being added to public water
supplies.
Naked
Body Scanners: Monumental Cover Up Exposed At the height of the furor over
airport body scanners earlier this year, the TSA publicly stated that it was
not possible to store, record, transmit or print out the images that show in
detail the naked bodies of men, women and children that have passed through
them. At the time we presented evidence to the contrary. Now it has been
conclusively proven that the TSA and other federal agencies using the scanners
flat out lied to an unwitting public.
SEC
Probes BP Potential Insider Trading: Sources Reuters |
U.S. securities regulators are investigating whether people may have illegally
profited from trading on nonpublic information at BP in the weeks following the
disastrous Gulf oil spill.
China
Holds More Military Exercises Amid Tensions With U.S. Chinese armed forces
on Thursday continued a second set of back-to-back exercises, underscoring
expanding capabilities and ambitions that have prompted unease among top U.S.
military officers. That unease has been exacerbated by Beijing’s freezing of
military-to-military ties.
Preparing
for World War III, Targeting Iran Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads.
War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi
tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.
Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing" (Reuters)[Great
advice … if only the endless war, military complex based pentagon could take
it!] The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks
immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet
published and erase material it had alrea…
US faces deadliest month in
Afghan warWith 63 US service members killed,
July has become the deadliest month for American forces stationed in war-torn
Afghanistan.
Google
and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Google’s
cosy relationship with the U.S. spy network has once again been thrust into the
spotlight as the company is reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in
an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites
for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.
Google
and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology More evidence has emerged
revealing Google’s spook connections. Noah Shachtman, writing for Wired,
details how the CIA’s technology investment operation, In-Q-Tel, and Google are
supporting a company that monitors the web in real time.
President
Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into
the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of
words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a
mongrel people.”
White
House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity The
Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel
companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a
court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or
intelligence investigation.
Source
of leaked military docs unknown: WikiLeaks While the United States is
trying to hunt for the individual behind the massive leak of US military data
on Afghanistan war, the whistleblowers’ website, that made the 91,000
classified documents available to the world, has said that the source of leak
is unknown.
Leaked
files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories Buried among
the 92,000 classified documents released Sunday by WikiLeaks is some intriguing
evidence that the U.S. military in Afghanistan has adopted a PR strategy that got
it into trouble in Iraq: paying local media outlets to run friendly stories.
Congress
extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress
voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion
late on Tuesday.
Kucinich:
92,000 reasons to end the wars AFP | US lawmakers opposed
to the Afghan war, emboldened by a huge leak of military files on the conflict,
pushed Tuesday for pulling US forces from Pakistan.
Rockefeller
Study Envisages Future Dictatorship Controlled By Elite … (Vegetables … Yes,
Asparagus, not Broccoli) … Here’s the pathetic news, however; it’s called
reality: [Neanderthals, Humans
Interbred, DNA ProvesSigns of Neanderthals
Mating With Humans-
Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their
imprint in the human genome. Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in
prehistoric hayYou're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP)Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil
analysis finds For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see
here http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm
Previously I wrote:FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN....
These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more
studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are
distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote: [see infra] and [Interestingly, my
intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the
compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the
correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more
“enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention,
etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced
diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by
neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and
forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with
the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly
contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing
links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn
of man”.] [see infra] …]Global pandemics that kill
millions, mandatory quarantines, checkpoints, biometric ID cards, and a world
of top-down government control. These things are not lifted from the latest
sci-fi blockbuster movie, they’re part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s vision
for what the globe might be like in 15-20 years’ time under a new world order
tightly controlled by the elite. [That’s getting awfully close to the outside
‘decades, not millennia or even centuries’].
US, NATO
behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in
the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East
to spread terror on Iran’s borders.
WASHPOST
Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing controversy
over the Justice
Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members
of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues
but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months,
readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been
covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the New
York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing
bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing
them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually
silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of
the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube
video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing
paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’
Latino
KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist
comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks
in America have her back.
‘West,
israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A
ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated
“the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the
southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.
Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO
strikes that killed civilians: Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans,
denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds
like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network
‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to
success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is
unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology
Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives; Heidi Montag files for divorce (Washington
Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this
headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so,
purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider
the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of
government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his
time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N.,
etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by
any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there
with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all
the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this
nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal
israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war
strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive
american goal / objective; but rather issuch a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only
an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set
forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked
about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing
thatshe is wiser than most in
Washington.
Republicans
Suggest Names for 'Second Stimulus' Bill... 'Where
do the bailouts end?' [I feel compelled to comment here that
even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer /
treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local
government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]
Economic
indicators reflect weak recovery(Washington Post) Even assuming their anemic,
negative numbers are real (I don’t believe anything they say and believe
situation to be more dire than reported), the economic reality indicated
prospectively thereby is as previously set forth: This is a global depression. This is a
secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated
bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically
manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that
the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical
wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior
crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until
justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted,
jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed
As
economy slowly recovers, area companies announce IPOs(Washington
Post)With very few exceptions,
economic realities make the same (ordinarily a real net economic positive) a
negative owing to dilution and the absence of real, profitable, private sector
investment opportunities.
Fed’s
Hoenig: Keeping Rates Too Low ‘Dangerous Gamble’ The Federal Reserve is
undertaking a “dangerous gamble” by keeping rates at near zero for so long, and
must start raising rates or risk damaging the nascent U.S. recovery, a top
Federal Reserve official said on Friday.
Lots
of stimulus yet to be spent (Washington Post) [Wow! Sounds like Alec’s
looking for ‘work’ on wall street. I think his glass is not only
‘wall-street-half-full’, but has an extra concentration of fluoride, the
effects of which seem ‘reachingly obvious’. Time to come back to economic
reality, Alec. ]Alec MacGillis / As Americans puzzle
over why the economic stimulus package enacted more than a year ago has failed
to restore vigorous job growth, one explanation has emerged from new reports: A
lot of the money is not yet out the door.
High Probability for Lower Market Prices Ahead ‘…Economic numbers being what they are (very poor), we should expect a
downward revision of second quarter GDP to 1.5% from the originally
disappointing number of 2.4%. As more data is being released it is apparent
that we are witnessing even further deterioration here in the third quarter.
Will we have a double dip or since it officially has never been declared that
we have come out of the recession, is this just more of the same? Globally,
governments have spent trillions of dollars to revive their economies. We are
seeing mixed results from that largess, as some countries such as Germany and
China are doing better than others, such as Greece, Ireland and the US. Will
more government intervention help? I think not. We may have reached a tipping
point where many are tired of others being the benefactors of taxpayer money …’
Pension check
may not be in the mail Chicago
Tribune | Illinois public employees who think the state constitution
guarantees that they’ll get all their pension benefits
Back to
School? Bring Your Own Toilet Paper New York Times | “The first time I saw it, my
mouth hit the floor,” Emily’s mother, Kristin Cooper, said of the list, which
also included perennials like glue sticks, scissors and crayons.
An Argentina-like
Economic Crisis Scott
Strzelczyk | The United States’ economic decline precariously
resembles Argentina’s economic collapse.
U.S. Economy
Near Point of No Return Dan Weil | The Federal Reserve’s
decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a
dangerous one.
Obama
Says Private Accounts Would Endanger U.S. Social Security Benefits President Barack Obama said Republican
proposals to have people invest Social Security benefits in private accounts
would increase the U.S. budget deficit and put retirement money at risk to “the
whims of Wall Street traders.”
The Trade Deficit
Nightmare When they hear the word
deficit, most Americans immediately think of the U.S. government budget deficit
which is rapidly spiralling out of control.
Economic
indicators reflect weak recovery (Washington Post) [Recovery? I say they’re
dreamin’! So does Schiff, (Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands
alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary
depression.)among other economists, (Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression,
according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others
now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) ,
andmy position and that of demographer
Dent (This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will
not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are
criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012 ).
Warnings:
Social Security at risk(Washington Post) [ Not this again! It bears repeating, that was always
a bad idea and there was a plethora of reasons set forth on my site as to why
the social security privatization plan being shilled by moron war criminal
dumbya bush on behalf of the wall street frauds was an exceedingly bad idea.
Indeed, as defacto insolvent as america / the social security system is, the
nation and system would have been wiped out by privatization debacle. Talk
about too big to, but still failed. It was a bad idea then, and though
accusations may fly as to fear mongering, the reality of the venality attendant
to such a preposterous course on behalf of the wall street frauds requires
vigilance, scrutiny, and discourse concerning even the remote possibility of
such a fool-hearty betrayal of the citizenry of the nation. As such, as off the
mark as wobama has almost invariably been, he’s on the mark on this. ]ANALYSIS | Obama says GOP wants to privatize program, but
liberals see a different threat.
Makeup
of Obama's housing reform panel draws ire(Washington
Post) [Wow! Talk about late to the party! I mean … a conference? It’s not as if
this was some new or novel problem coming down the pike. Then there’s the
everything but the core issue / problem approach that seems recurringly
fashionable.] Advocates say that the administration is excluding consumer
and community groups from playing prominent roles in a government-sponsored
conference next week that will kick off efforts to overhaul national housing
policy.
Foreclosures
surge 9 percent in July(Washington
Post) Those glass-half-full frauds on wall street along with the administration
will be cheering this unequivocally bad news with a dubious retort as ‘used
home sales will rise’ … riiiight! Anything you say …
Pearlstein: The
FCC and the bandwidth wars(Washington
Post) [The internet has been among the few areas of growth and american
prominence, at least at this point in time. Clearly, as with the throng that
heralded in NAFTA, the self-interested voices of ie., google, verizon, etc.,
are similarly anathema to the greater good (as was NAFTA). Berners-Lee spoke
against such parochialism in no uncertain terms, much as did Ross Perot on
NAFTA and history has proven Perot correct as is so of the mind numbing
approaches of google, verizon, etc.]Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse (infowars.com) [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the
internet along with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously
opposed same and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and
verizon as mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc.,
operatives at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government
hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went public today with their “policy
framework” — better known as the pact to end the Internet as we know it.
AP Business
Highlights ‘Jobs picture dims as
unemployment claims rise WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is looking bleaker
as new applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in
almost six months. It's a sign that hiring remains weak and employers may be
going back to cutting their staffs. Analysts say the increase suggests
companies won't be adding enough workers in August to lower the 9.5 percent
unemployment rate. First-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to
a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the
highest total since February. Analysts had expected claims to fall…’
Bearish Sentiment Falls to 14-Week Low [Talk about contrarian indicators!] AAII – ‘Bullish sentiment rose
9.4 percentage points to 39.8% in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Despite the
size of the increase, the proportion of individual investors expecting stock
prices to rise over the next six months is only at a two-week high. The
historical average is 39%. Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices
will stay essentially flat over the next six months, fell 1.3 percentage points
to 30.1%. The historical average is 31%. Bearish sentiment, expectations that
stock prices will fall, dropped 8.1 percentage points to 30.1%. This is a
14-week low. The historical average is 30%. The survey period, Thursday through
Wednesday, needs to be taken into consideration when looking at these results.
Stock prices were essentially flat through most of this week's survey period
(with the obvious exception of yesterday), giving some investors hope that a
short-term bottom had been established. Though there were big changes in
bullish and bearish sentiment, both optimism and pessimism are close to their
historical averages. As a result, I would argue that individual investors'
confidence in the market remains fragile…’
Lavish
lifestyle for bank executive in Waters case(Washington
Post) While this is typical of California, isn’t it as typical of the wall
street frauds? Scammin’ everybody with that too big to fail b*** s*** when
they’re a net economic drain, high frequency churn-and-earn computer programmed
trading scams among the more blatant frauds emanating from their insatiable
greed and sense of entitlement. Previous post: Cities,
counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say
must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the
nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking
with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I
worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state)
high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher
taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager
waspaid nearly 900,000 annually (with
benefits the package was an incredible $1,500,000), and specifically mentioned
the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and contracts to interested,
even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done this better than feinstein,
albeit on a more federal level and China contracts through her husband’s
companies, as previousl set forth on this website. Drudgereport: 'Where do the bailouts end?' [I feel compelled to comment here
that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion
taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state /
local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]
Bailouts
benefited foreign firms(Washington
Post) True enough! But, truth be told, the fraud giving rise to the financial
debacle was home grown americana. Moreover, the remnants of same are still out
there in the trillions, now ‘marked to anything they so choose’, courtesy of a
complicit, albeit after the fact, congress. This is the point … rather than as
should have been the case of making the perps pay, the bailouts / cover-ups by
now enablers if not accomplices is ending quite badly with much worse to come,
and that includes those european lightweights who have come into the fraudulent
wall street fold to theirs and the world’s economic and financial detriment.
U.S.
trade deficit startles markets(Washington Post) [ Unexpectedly? I don’t think
so! And, I have my site, other references / links and posts to prove it; and,
what’s more, I’m not alone. After all, what are NAFTAs for anyway. However, I
also must candidly admit I don’t frequent the mainstream blather / propaganda
that includes the ‘money-honeys’ (when the messenger’s more important than the
message, problems and distortions are bound to follow) and their ilk, etc.. NBR’s about it and even they have their pressures (I
don’t consider the Washington Post mainstream in the pejorative sense of the
word, with a rich journalistic history to back that up, all things considered)
]. Unexpectedly bad news from three continents reinforces fears that global
recovery is faltering.
Obama signs $26 billion jobs
bill(WP) [I feel compelled to
comment here that even using capital hill math one would be hard-pressed to
justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save
300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto
bankrupt! I think the former Soviet Union would have done the same.]
Fed action signals new activism (Washington
Post) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more
of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing
and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing
like a hegelian methodologyto create
the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing
their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It
is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold
their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with
an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then
ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal
link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial
missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to
obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben,
etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just
outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After
all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you
certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s
also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub
rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is
being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the
frauds and great detriment to the nation.]
ACCORDING TO TECHNICAL INDICATORS, MELTDOWN IS
POSSIBLESimon MaierhoferA
SOLID TRACK RECORDAn analysis
of the SMA crossover buy/sell signals triggered for the S&P over the past
10 days shows that six of the eight signals (75%) were correct. ..LAGGING
BUT ACCURATEMany dismiss
the 200-day or other SMAs as lagging indicators. Although an indicator may be
lagging it doesn't mean it's incorrect or should be dismissed… Even though a
lagging indicator, the rain does confirm that a storm is coming. A
PRO-ACTIVE APPROACH You'd expect Wall Street and the
financial media to be the financial weather man and warn you of upcoming
storms. Unfortunately, that is not so. Leading up to the April 2010 recovery
highs, Wall Street and the media proclaimed the skies are clear, 'sunny
throughout the year' was their weather forecast. Only after investors got
drenched, did Wall Street recommend pulling out the umbrella. Sure enough, as
soon as the umbrellas came out, stocks switched into rally mode and the sky
cleared up. Unlike Wall Street, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned of
the brewing storm while it was still sunny. On April 16, the newsletter warned
that 'historically, there has rarely been a more pronounced sell signal ...
When consumers spend, they do so with credit cards. Visa and Master Card both
got hit with a death cross. It's just a matter of time until the discretionary
sector follows. WAIT, THERE IS MORE …High copper
prices are reflective of high demand and a humming economy. Lower copper prices
signal trouble ahead. On June 22, an ominous death cross visited copper's
chart. PUTTING THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR Investing is
a game of probabilities. While you always want to have the odds in your favor,
you never want to bet against the odds. Right now, the odds are piling up on
the bearish side of the ledger. Even though Wall Street is saying that the sky
has cleared up, 'meteorologists' with a better track record are warning of the
storm ahead. In fact, there is one rare chart formation that strongly suggests
the onset of a 2008-like decline, a development that's certainly supported by
the number of death crosses spanning a variety of markets. The August issue of
theETF Profit Strategy Newsletterincludes a detailed short, mid and
long-term forecast, along with the one chart that tells the market's story and
true bearish potential.
U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t
Even KnowBloomberg| Let’s get
real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the
country pay its bills.
Crowd waiting for housing
vouchers gets rowdyAtlanta Journal-Constitution| A crowd
of people hoping to get federal housing assistance became unruly Wednesday
morning with reports of fights breaking out in the crowd.
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went
public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end
the Internet as we know it.
San Francisco Fed: “A
Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two
Years”[ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay /
motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the
antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency
over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘
estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality
figures somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas
ain’t comin’ back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call
it! ] Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the
LEI and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.
Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands
alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary
depression.
15 Economic Statistics That
Just Keep Getting WorseA little over a week ago, U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned an article for the New York Times
entitled “Welcome To The Recovery” in which he touted the great strides that
the U.S. economy was making.
America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey
Mouse Economy’: CIOAmerica is a “Mickey Mouse economy” that is
technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer
(CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.
Republicans Suggest Names for
'Second Stimulus' Bill... 'Where do the bailouts end?' [I feel compelled to comment here that
even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion taxpayer /
treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state / local government
jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went
public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end
the Internet as we know it.
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is
currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according
to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now
forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Japan
Redux: A Video Case Study Of The Upcoming U.S. Lost Decade Whether one
believes in inflation or deflation, one thing is certain: in many ways the
current US experience finds numerous parallels to what has been happening in
Japan for not one but two decades.
Pentagon
can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve
done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my
article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the
Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to
March 10, 2004.
Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate
at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and
manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just
around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many
of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial
economic structural / financial shifts.
When perusing the headlines and the
following, I immediately thought ‘between Iraq and a hard place (Afghanistan
and america’s defacto bankruptcy)’:
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jerry Slusiewicz ‘Everyone knows that being between a rock
and a hard place is not a good place to be. That is where the market is right
now. We continue to have terrible news in the housing sector. There is no
general economic recovery as of yet. Jobless claims continue to mount, while
net new jobs are not being created in a significant enough number to even
sustain the population growth (approximately 150,000 net new jobs per month
needed). By far the majority of economic reports for May, June, July, and now
August, have been worse than forecast. That includes home starts, home sales,
home-builder confidence, retail sales, auto sales, consumer confidence, durable
goods orders, manufacturing, jobs, etc. Yet the market rallies or barely goes
down on these bad reports. What gives? It seems that bad news is good news
right now…
Social Security
in the red this year Washington
Times | Meanwhile President Obama’s health care overhaul has
given Medicare’s basic Hospital Insurance an extra 12 years of financial
stability, though it did not solve all of the program’s long-term challenges.
U.S. Employers Shed Jobs WSJ | he U.S.
economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held
steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.
Impoverished
U.S. City Will Close Libraries Mob infested, pervasively corrupt jersey’s
most impoverished city will close all three branches of its public library at
year’s end unless a rescue can be pulled off. Camden’s library board says the
libraries won’t be able to afford to stay open past Dec. 31 because of budget
cuts from the city government. The city had its subsidy from the state cut.
Dollar
approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh
eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed
expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal
Reserve.
Visualize
Your State’s Financial Collapse Better Than Ever Just because wishing away
local and state financial collapse doesn’t work quite as well as it does at the
Federal level (courtesy of everyone’s favorite printer genie), attached is a
terrific interactive chart.
Food stamp use
hit record 40.8m in May The number
of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May
as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government reported
yesterday.
Journalists
Still Hiding Obama’s Broken Promises on Jobs On Aug. 6, everyone’s attention will be fixed on the release of
July’s unemployment numbers. The national unemployment rate is forecast to
increase to 9.6 percent, according to Bloomberg News’ survey.
11 Reasons
Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that the Federal
Reserve is bad, but very few of them can coherently explain why this is true.
WE’RE UNDERESTIMATING THE BEARISH POTENTIAL Simon Maierhofer, August 3, 2010
’… Will Anything Stop the Market? Something Did … At the same time,
the April numbers were lowered the second time by an additional 24,000 units,
while May sales were revised lower by 33,000 units. To summarize, April and May
sales were reduced by 57,000 units. Therefore, June sales were 24% above May
sales. By the way, May sales were the lowest on record…
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the
unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as
more people enter the labor force.
Americans who swap
passports London
Telegraph | At the US Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that
none of the officials likes to discuss. At the US Embassy in London, there is a
waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. On the list are
Americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure sign of insanity … I mean,
Orwellian england of all places?)
Come on! Who are they kidding? All the
data was bad, and that ‘not bad as expected dog don’t hunt anymore’!
They’re losing their minds in china: Silicon Alley
Insider: ‘… The first big economic news of the week was the Chinese PMI which
indicated that Chinese manufacturing was inching ever closer to contraction.
But contrary to the expectations of some, it did not spook investors. In fact,
Asia had a very big night, with Shanghai gaining about 1.3% …’;
europe: the basket-case eu economy, with obfuscation taken
directly out of the fraudulent wall street playbook including fake stress
tests, saw air ball stock rally based on earnings data long ago discounted;
u.s.:
We already know they’re criminally insane on wall street! Yahoo: ‘…The
mood improved further still after the ISM Manufacturing Index for July came in
at 55.5. That may have marked a pullback from the 56.2 of June, but it exceeded
the 54.2 that had been widely expected ...’
Oh, yeah … there’s also the higher oil
prices, ever more worthless Weimar dollar part of the rally, and so on!
This is an especially great opportunity
to sell / take profits since there is much worse to come!
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington Post) This
is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression.
The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market.
This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes
with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and
sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato
scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and
otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et
als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012
alan
greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until
the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have
hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]
Trying
to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to
deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus /
tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer
‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple
carts.
Did
TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do
you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same
despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate.
Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating
standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can
always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the
ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun,
co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such
words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi
recession’. What total b***s***!
Are the American
people obsolete? Salon | The richest few don’t need the rest of us as
markets, soldiers or police anymore. Maybe we should all emigrate.
What's
coming this week (Washington
Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution
colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid
the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than election-year
market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.
U.S.
bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached
108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the
Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.
Foreclosures
Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse | RealtyTrac says that
unemployment has become the major reason for foreclosures. In a very alarming
sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have continued to dramatically increase
in 2010. But there has been a shift.
U.S.
recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a
troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put
Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is
setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.
Stocks' Late Push: Some
Optimism, Some Pessimism [Late
push … as in a constipated bowel movement … Come on! Another one of those push
the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation /
economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized),
as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the
largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy:
‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in your
favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries, and
leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates then
picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time
frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance
sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach
beyond what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are,
projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street,
every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the
market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade
programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history
when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very
lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to
the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described
elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they
even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time
and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they
shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing
/ manipulations.This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market
in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in
a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has
preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds
and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and
earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national
decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the
wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and
disgorgement imposed.].
China Becomes Second Biggest
World EconomyChina has overtaken Japan to become the world’s
second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has
lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Marc Faber Questions if Dow
Could Hit 1,000In the August edition of the ‘The Gloom, Boom
& Doom Report’ Marc Faber questions whether the Dow could hit 1,000as predicted by Robert Prechter, based
on his interpretation of Elliot Waves, Fibonacci numbers and socioeconomic
trends. Prechter, whohas written 13
books on finance(external link), believes
that the stock market is historically overvalued in terms of dividends and
earnings, because of a “great rise in positive social mood.” But the mood
changed in 2000 and the “trend toward negative social mood will lead to an
economic contraction,” according to Prechter. “Small bear markets lead to
recessions, big bear markets lead to depressions. The current bear market will
be the biggest in nearly 300 years, so the depression will be correspondingly
deep,” Prechter said.
Wall
St falls after weak outlooks drag (Reuters) U.S. stocks sagged in volatile
trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat
comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.
US Treasury is
running on fumes The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’
release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our
coalition partners at risk.”
Trillions for Wall Street Mike Whitney | The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money’s never a
problem.
Look
What Surprises They Snuck Into The Financial Reform Bill The Economic Collapse| The
financial reform bill was supposed to “fix” Wall Street and the financial
system, but it did not do much of anything. Even just a
decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a
few dozen pages long. But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an
important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.
Cash-starved
California orders unpaid leave for workers California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency Wednesday, requiring most
state employees to take three days of unpaid leave per month until a new budget
is enacted.
Flaws of the European Stress Test … 'Bank stress test' became the magic phrase. Nothing calms fear
like a stress test that's labeled as rigorous. The stress test raises a few
very obvious questions: 1) Will it work? 2) Why was it needed in addition to a
$1 trillion aid package? 3) Is the stress test just a gimmick to appease
investors? The stress test is conducted by the London-based Committee of
European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). Ironically, the test has ignored the
majority of banks' holdings of sovereign debt. Sovereign debt concerns by the
so-called PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) triggered the
latest wave of financial problems. Ignoring sovereign debt in the Euro stress
test would be like ignoring toxic real estate assets in the U.S. 10%
Good - 90% Bad According to a Morgan Stanley survey, European banks hold about 90%
of their Greek government bonds in their banking books and 10% in their trading
books. The bonds in the banking book are generally held until maturity, the
bonds in the trading book are traded more frequently. According to a document
obtained by Bloomberg, the stress test assumes a loss of 23.1% on Greek debt,
14% on Portuguese bonds, 12.3% on Spanish debt, 4.7% on German debt, 10% on
U.K. debt, and 5.9% on French debt. However, the stress test only looks at the
bonds held in banks' trading books, which account for a mere 10% of Greek bond
holdings. Can that be called a stress test? Nouriel Roubini says that 'the
assumptions made about economic growth, about sovereign risk are not realistic
enough.' The fact that only seven banks failed the test with a combined
shortfall of $4.5 billion confirms the lax nature of the test. … The U.S. Bank Stress Test - A Nice Façade A closer look under the hood of
the U.S. bank stress test, however, shows that there's not much substance
behind the facade either. It was determined that the 19 tested U.S. banks need
to increase their balance sheets by $75 billion to meet the conditions of
what's termed the 'worst case scenario.' To a large extent, the $75 billion of
additional capital was financially engineered. Banks didn't have to actually
raise $75 billion. They were able to change the label of some of their assets
on their balance sheets. The government supported this practice via mandatory
convertible preferred shares (detailed analysis in May 2009 issue of the ETF
Profit Strategy Newsletter) …’
Regulatory Magic President Obama has signed the financial
industry regulatory overhaul — officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act. Predictably, what he said about it cannot possibly
be true.
Flashback:
Bush report: Sending jobs overseas helps U.S. The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to
other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S.
economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush
administration said yesterday.
Smoking
Guns of U.S. Treasury Monetization Kitco | A significant feature of fiat money systems is the
privilege for the custodian of the reserve currency to engage in regular
practices of ham-fisted monetary management.
Banking
Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media Greg Hunter | It is
amazing to me how little time the mainstream media is spending on this
unfolding financial disaster and how much time it is devoting to things like
Mel Gibson’s domestic problems.
Consumer
confidence dims (Reuters)
Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since
February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months,
underscoring the precarious state of econo...
Another
Recession Due Circa 2012: Jim Rogers A new recession would be due around
2012 but central banks will not be able to throw cash at it anymore, Jim
Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Tuesday.
Marc Faber:
Relax, This Will Hurt A Lot Marc Faber closed out this week’s Agora
Financial Symposium with a speech that pretty much recapitulated the view that
the end of the world is if not nigh, then surely tremendous dislocations to the
existing socio-political and economic landscape are about to take place (with
some very dire consequences for the US).
US
bank failures in 2010 surpass 100WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak
milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South
Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday
bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year
is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid
the recession and mounting loan defaults …
The index of leading economic indicators fell
0.2% in June, the second drop in three months. A negative surprise.
Unemployment claims rose to 464,000, more than
expected.
Uncle Ben said we are facing a period of
“unusual uncertainty.” No kidding.
Uncle Ben said we need continuing stimulus to a
Congress unwilling to stimulate anyone or anything other than lobbyists
with cash to contribute.
Home sales fell 5.1% in June…’
(No recession helicopter ben) Bernanke Admits Major Policy Failures; Stocks Soar Darryl Montgomery What's wrong with this picture?
In his bi-annual testimony before Congress yesterday, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke
admitted that after more than a year and a half of zero interest rates and $3
trillion in federal deficit spending since 2008, the best case
scenario for the U.S. economy is slow growth and high unemployment. The S&P
500 is up 2.5% so far this morning on this 'good' news.Bernanke's congressional testimony included the
following statements (emphasis added by me):
"Most [FOMC] participants viewed uncertainty
about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the
majority saw [at the June Fed meeting] the risks to growth as weighted to
the downside."
"Financial conditions--though much improved
since the depth of the financial crisis--have become less supportive of
economic growth in recent months."
"Many banks continue to have a large volume
of troubled loans on their books, and bank lending standards remain tight.
With credit demand weak and with banks writing down problem credits, bank
loans outstanding have continued to contract."
"After two years of job losses, private payrolls
expanded at an average of about 100,000 per month during the first half of this
year, a pace insufficient to reduce the unemployment rate materially.
In all likelihood, a significant amount of time will be required to restore the
nearly 8-1/2 million jobs that were lost over 2008 and 2009."…
Serious Analysis has given rise to a realistically mocking view of the current
fraud on wall street:
Historic Voter Volatility in
This Year of FearIt’s becoming increasingly clear that Americans aren’t
simply in the midst of hard times. They are in the midst of one of the most
volatile political environments since World War II.
Pat Tillman’s Father To Army
Investigator: ‘F— You… And Yours’There always was a dark
cinematic thread to the story of Pat Tillman: the football star imbued with
post-9/11 patriotism who was killed in a friendly-fire incident in the Afghan
mountains and the allegations of a massive bureaucratic cover-up involving the
highest levels of the U.S. Army in the wake of the tragedy.
Petraeus wants more time in
AfghanistanForeign
Policy| ISAF
commander Gen. David Petraeus and other military officers are publicly and
privately pushing to limit troop reductions starting in July 2011.
Pat Tillman’s Father To Army
Investigator: ‘F– You… And Yours’Huffington Post| The
Weinstein Company sent the Huffington Post two previously unseen letters
written by Tillman’s father at the peak of frustration with the army’s
investigation into his son’s death.
Cybersecurity Lie Exposed:
Power Plants Are Not Connected To The InternetSenator Joe
Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting
Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to
protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent
Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants
are not even connected to the public Internet.
Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks:
Congressional Report Confirms What We Already KnewA
Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large
portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into
the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now
being officially recognised.
Activists Take On Fluoridated
Water in WichitaConcerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed
that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the
public about the health hazards of water fluorination.
Fed Leads America “To The Brink
Of Collapse”When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting
that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a
new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be
sounding loudly.
Activists Take On Fluoridated
Water in WichitaInfowars.com| Concerned
citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a
poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water
fluorination.
Google and Verizon DID do a
deal for new internet ‘first class’ superhighwayTechnology
giants Google and Verizon have today paved the way for a future ‘two-tier’
internet in which companies can pay extra to make sure their services get
through.Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google
and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as
the pact to end the Internet as we know it.
The Cycle of Violence in
AfghanistanLast week the National Bureau of Economic Research
published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq
that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years:
the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and
prompts them to seek revenge. This should be self-evident.
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern
day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who
has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom
on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Street
Action: Poison In Tap Water Fliers Went out on a beautiful Saturday after
noon in Edmonton Alberta posting more fliers, posters etc. had a great time had
a few people harass me but nothing big. Just gave me motivation to do more!!
Resistance is Victory. Never Forget that.!!
Wheat
Crisis Threatens Inflationary Timebomb, Food Riots Russia’s ban on wheat
exports following widespread fires in the country sent food prices skyrocketing
by 19 per cent in just a single week as fears grow that global volatility in
foodstuffs and commodities could lead to a worldwide inflationary timebomb
accompanied by widespread food riots.
Afghan
war ‘kills 1,325 civilians this year’ More than 1,300 civilians have been
killed in Afghanistan so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents, a leading
Afghan rights group said Sunday.
Iran
Unveils New Submarines and Makes More Persian Gulf Warnings Iran announced
the addition of four new submarines to its fleet Sunday, saying the
Iranian-manufactured vessels to be deployed in the Persian Gulf have
sonar-evading technology and can launch torpedoes and missiles simultaneously.
Pentagon
can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve
done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my
article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the
Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to
March 10, 2004.
Who poses
the real threat to the Internet? A new opinion piece on CNN.com argues that
it’s the government, not the companies providing internet access, that is the
real danger to free speech and the internet. [I personally have found more
often and prospectively problematic is that said government / company
distinction is one without a difference when the government flexes muscle,
particularly with leverage as ie., to non-performing monopolist microsoft,
nsa/cia partner google (to a lesser extent at this juncture), cnn/timewarner
cable (incompetence also a factor), fedex, etc.].
Voters
Reject Notion That “Government Can Do Anything It Likes” A Rasmussen poll
indicates that an overwhelming eighty-six percent (86%) of voters nationwide
say there should be “limits on what the federal government can do”, in response
to recent comments from pro-Obamacare Congressman Pete Stark.
Swine
Flu Investigator Jane Bürgermeister Faces Prison Now that there is
verifiable, unambiguous evidence that the Austrian government and state
prosecutors have faked criminal charges to provide a pretext to arrest and
detain me, I am going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.
U.S. Employers Shed Jobs The
U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate
held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing
momentum.
Gold
Surges To Three Week High As Dollar Tanks Gold prices have surged to to
three week highs as the stock market and the U.S. economy continue to flounder,
leaving investors seeking a safe haven in hard assets.
Globalists
Race To Enforce Criminal Carbon Tax Despite the failure of last year’s
Copenhagen climate summit, the United Nations is pushing ahead for a global
carbon tax that will bankroll the expansion of world government as globalists
attempt to make Americans pay for the evisceration of their own sovereinty and
future prosperity.
Poison
Tap Water Exposed As Soft Kill Weapon Water fluoridation has come to refer
to the addition of over 40 chemicals into the water supply that synergistically
come together to wreak havoc on the body and its processes.
Poison
Tap Water Makes Number 1 Google Search Poison tap water has become the number one trending search term on
Google trends today after our efforts to bring attention to how sodium fluoride
in tap water is a deadly health threat went viral.
Sodium
Fluoride: Poison In The Tap Water Alex Jones is launching a new campaign to
inform the public about the toxic chemical fluoride being added to tap water
across the country. While EPA scientists and workers are calling for an end to
water fluoridation, the government is doing everything in its power to continue
and even increase the amount of toxic chemicals being added to public water
supplies.
Naked
Body Scanners: Monumental Cover Up Exposed At the height of the furor over
airport body scanners earlier this year, the TSA publicly stated that it was
not possible to store, record, transmit or print out the images that show in
detail the naked bodies of men, women and children that have passed through
them. At the time we presented evidence to the contrary. Now it has been
conclusively proven that the TSA and other federal agencies using the scanners
flat out lied to an unwitting public.
SEC
Probes BP Potential Insider Trading: Sources Reuters | U.S. securities regulators are investigating
whether people may have illegally profited from trading on nonpublic
information at BP in the weeks following the disastrous Gulf oil spill.
The Psychology of
Conspiracy Denial Wired Magazine writer Jonah Lehrer attempts to offset the
overwhelmingly critical response to his attack on Alex Jones by characterizing
skepticism of authority in the context of vaccines and mass medication as a psychological
dysfunction, despite the fact that the history of government-funded medical
research in the United States is replete with examples of scientific abuse
against unwitting victims.
Enemy hyped
assassination: Iran pres. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejects
reports about an assassination attempt on his life in Hamadan Province as a
plot hatched by the enemies.
China
Holds More Military Exercises Amid Tensions With U.S. Chinese armed forces
on Thursday continued a second set of back-to-back exercises, underscoring
expanding capabilities and ambitions that have prompted unease among top U.S.
military officers. That unease has been exacerbated by Beijing’s freezing of
military-to-military ties.
Preparing
for World War III, Targeting Iran Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads.
War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi
tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.
Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing" (Reuters)[Great
advice … if only the endless war, military complex based pentagon could take
it!] The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks
immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet
published and erase material it had alrea…
US faces deadliest month in Afghan
warWith 63 US service members killed, July
has become the deadliest month for American forces stationed in war-torn
Afghanistan.
Google
and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Google’s
cosy relationship with the U.S. spy network has once again been thrust into the
spotlight as the company is reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in
an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites
for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.
Google
and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology More evidence has emerged
revealing Google’s spook connections. Noah Shachtman, writing for Wired,
details how the CIA’s technology investment operation, In-Q-Tel, and Google are
supporting a company that monitors the web in real time.
President
Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into
the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of
words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a
mongrel people.”
White
House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity The
Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies
to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order
if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence
investigation.
Source
of leaked military docs unknown: WikiLeaks While the United States is
trying to hunt for the individual behind the massive leak of US military data
on Afghanistan war, the whistleblowers’ website, that made the 91,000
classified documents available to the world, has said that the source of leak
is unknown.
Leaked
files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories Buried among
the 92,000 classified documents released Sunday by WikiLeaks is some intriguing
evidence that the U.S. military in Afghanistan has adopted a PR strategy that
got it into trouble in Iraq: paying local media outlets to run friendly
stories.
Congress
extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore
Co. Independent Examiner | Congress
voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion
late on Tuesday.
Kucinich:
92,000 reasons to end the wars AFP | US
lawmakers opposed to the Afghan war, emboldened by a huge leak of military
files on the conflict, pushed Tuesday for pulling US forces from Pakistan.
US, NATO
behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in
the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East
to spread terror on Iran’s borders.
WASHPOST
Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing
controversy over the Justice
Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members
of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues
but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months,
readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been
covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the
New York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing
bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing
them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually
silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of
the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube
video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing
paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’
Latino
KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan
Klan woman can scream racist comments because the Obama administration and most
of the major news networks in America have her back.
‘West,
israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A
ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated
“the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the
southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.
Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO
strikes that killed civilians: Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans,
denounce NATO strikes (Washington
Post ) Sounds like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of
gates on failed network ‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of
troops) linked to success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re
there is unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology
Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives; Heidi Montag files for divorce (Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on
entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a
disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is
very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed
leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental
an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress
who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to.
Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her
performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and
stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame)
had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly
endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and
quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is
neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal /
objective; but rather issuch a debacle
and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto
bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the
well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the
synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing thatshe is wiser than most in Washington.
Options Action: Bearish Bet on the Market ‘During tumultuous times you want to protect your
portfolio but how should you do it? Brian Stutland has a strategy using the S&P
ETFHe suggests selling
a call against a long position.
[$$] Prepping for a Data-Filled Friday [Writing covered calls is an interesting,
conservative financial strategy that certainly can enhance overall return, but
as well, limit upside potential / capital gains … which in this market is ‘no
problemo’ whatsoever, reality considered ]‘There were several folks out this
morning yelling to buy the dip (Jim Cramer was one of them), and traders who
followed that advice did pretty well. Rather than buying the dip, I used the
initial drop to escape some positions I thought were going to expire worthless,
then I used the bounce to lighten up more. Bears were able to get the SPDR back
under the $108.75 to $108.88 area, which I see as key right now. Another Friday
and I'm curious to see any impact from the weekly options. Will the big names
be stuck right around the strikes where they stand now? Unfortunately, the
bigger tech names are closer to their downward strikes than their higher
strikes, so that could pressure the market. One name that doesn't seem to care
is Baidu. It is right in between the $80 and $85 strike right now, so...’
Jobless claims jump to 5-month
highThe number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance
rose to the highest level since late February last week, according to a weekly
government report released Thursday.
Lavish
lifestyle for bank executive in Waters case(Washington
Post) While this is typical of California, isn’t it as typical of the wall
street frauds? Scammin’ everybody with that too big to fail b*** s*** when
they’re a net economic drain, high frequency churn-and-earn computer programmed
trading scams among the more blatant frauds emanating from their insatiable
greed and sense of entitlement. Previous post: Cities,
counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say
must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the
nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking
with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I
worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state)
high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher
taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager
was paid nearly $900,000 annually (with benefits the package was an incredible
$1,500,000), and specifically mentioned the part-time typical compensation of
$100,000 and contracts to interested, even familial, parties. Of course, no one
has done this better than feinstein, albeit on a more federal level and China
contracts through her husband’s companies, as previously set forth on this
website. Drudgereport: 'Where do the bailouts end?' [I feel compelled to comment here
that even capital hill math would be hard-pressed to justify $26 billion
taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save 300,000 state /
local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto bankrupt! ]
On-air
use of N-word 'was wrong' (AP) (Washington
Post) [The infamous ‘N’ word … the wobama Oedipal effect …] Dr. Laura
apologizes for using it on talk radio show with caller she deemed
"hypersensitive" to racism.
Bailouts
benefited foreign firms(Washington
Post) True enough! But, truth be told, the fraud giving rise to the financial
debacle was home grown americana. Moreover, the remnants of same are still out
there in the trillions, now ‘marked to anything they so choose’, courtesy of a
complicit, albeit after the fact, congress. This is the point … rather than as
should have been the case of making the perps pay, the bailouts / cover-ups by
now enablers if not accomplices is ending quite badly with much worse to come,
and that includes those european lightweights who have come into the fraudulent
wall street fold to theirs and the world’s economic and financial detriment.
U.S.
trade deficit startles markets(Washington Post) [ Unexpectedly? I don’t
think so! And, I have my site, other references / links and posts to prove it;
and, what’s more, I’m not alone. After all, what are NAFTAs for anyway.
However, I also must candidly admit I don’t frequent the mainstream blather /
propaganda that includes the ‘money-honeys’ (when the messenger’s more
important than the message, problems and distortions are bound to follow) and
their ilk, etc.. NBR’s
about it and even they have their pressures (I don’t consider the Washington
Post mainstream in the pejorative sense of the word, with a rich journalistic
history to back that up, all things considered) ]. Unexpectedly bad news from
three continents reinforces fears that global recovery is faltering.
Obama signs $26 billion jobs
bill(WP) [I feel compelled to
comment here that even using capital hill math one would be hard-pressed to
justify $26 billion taxpayer / treasury dollars they don’t really have, to save
300,000 state / local government jobs! After all, the nation is defacto
bankrupt! I think the former Soviet Union would have done the same.]
Fed action signals new activism (Washington
Post) [ Riiiiight! The activist fed! That’s all we need. As if we needed more
of what brought us to this point! Certainly the fed’s role in the continuing
and current financial crisis / debacle cannot be ignored or disputed. Nothing
like a hegelian methodologyto create
the very problems for which they are called upon to offer solutions, increasing
their sense of importance, and concentrating power thereby. (Think about it. It
is really rather quite absurd that each meeting time the financial markets hold
their bated breath for these incompetent boobs). Then there’s the cover-up with
an opportunity for enrichment of some, usually the tight-lipped yes-men then
ever after and forever bonded in what becomes tantamount to an almost fraternal
link by ‘virtue’ of the crime thereby. No, I’m not saying their initial
missteps were necessarily badly intended, but the manipulations thereafter to
obfuscate their incompetence (senile greenspun, no-recession-helicopter-ben,
etc.) comes at a great price and is nothing less than tantamount to or just
outright crime. I’d abolish the fed without hesitation or compunction. After
all, at this point of decline and defacto bankruptcy of the nation you
certainly can’t point to success nor argue their indispensability. Then there’s
also the missing trillions, over-printing of fiat currency, and all that sub
rosa activity with the worthless fraudulent toxic paper which I believe is
being supplanted with ultimately hard currency to the great benefit of the
frauds and great detriment to the nation.]
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google
and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as
the pact to end the Internet as we know it.
Resistance
on Gaza flotilla came as surprise (Washington Post,
8-12-10) Oh, please! Spare me the b*** s***! You’re hurting my ears and eyes!
There’s no excuse for what are typical militant, belligerent, provocative, war
criminal israeli actions, to america’s and the world’s detriment. For one to
buy into the typical israeli line they’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind; and
particularly, self-destructively foolish. It’s sadly always the same old story
with the bloodthirsty israelis, with the few exceptions, bright lights as they
were, ie., Christ, Rabin, etc., meeting the same bloody and dismal fate.
Netanyahu:
Raid on aid flotilla was 'last resort' after talks failed
(Washington Post) Come on! Isn’t everyone tired of the israeli b*** s*** of
contriving circumstances to sabotage resolution, then having everyone pay the
price for their intransigence and militancy (they have illegal nukes, commit
war crimes, etc.). Then there’s the everyone play dumb in light thereof; and,
defacto bankrupt america, et als,have
been very dumb which is not lost on the rest of the world. Time for tough
action against war criminal nation, international law / u.s. resolution
violator israel.
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went
public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end
the Internet as we know it.
San Francisco Fed: “A
Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two
Years”[ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay /
motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the
antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency
over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘
estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality figures
somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas ain’t comin’
back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call it! ]
Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the LEI
and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.
Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early
Stages of a Depression”The
Motley Fool| Four
years and the worst recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands
alone again with a bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary
depression.
15 Economic Statistics That
Just Keep Getting WorseA little over a week ago, U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner penned an article for the New York Times
entitled “Welcome To The Recovery” in which he touted the great strides that
the U.S. economy was making.
America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey
Mouse Economy’: CIOAmerica is a “Mickey Mouse economy” that is
technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer
(CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.
Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate
at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their thinking and
manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment is just
around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer here, many
of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to substantial
economic structural / financial shifts.
When perusing the headlines and the
following, I immediately thought ‘between Iraq and a hard place (Afghanistan
and america’s defacto bankruptcy)’:
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Jerry Slusiewicz ‘Everyone knows that being between a rock
and a hard place is not a good place to be. That is where the market is right
now. We continue to have terrible news in the housing sector. There is no
general economic recovery as of yet. Jobless claims continue to mount, while
net new jobs are not being created in a significant enough number to even
sustain the population growth (approximately 150,000 net new jobs per month
needed). By far the majority of economic reports for May, June, July, and now
August, have been worse than forecast. That includes home starts, home sales,
home-builder confidence, retail sales, auto sales, consumer confidence, durable
goods orders, manufacturing, jobs, etc. Yet the market rallies or barely goes
down on these bad reports. What gives? It seems that bad news is good news
right now…
Social Security
in the red this year Washington Times | Meanwhile
President Obama’s health care overhaul has given Medicare’s basic Hospital
Insurance an extra 12 years of financial stability, though it did not solve all
of the program’s long-term challenges.
U.S. Employers Shed Jobs WSJ | he U.S. economy shed
more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate held steady at
9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing momentum.
Impoverished
U.S. City Will Close Libraries Mob infested, pervasively corrupt jersey’s most
impoverished city will close all three branches of its public library at year’s
end unless a rescue can be pulled off. Camden’s library board says the
libraries won’t be able to afford to stay open past Dec. 31 because of budget
cuts from the city government. The city had its subsidy from the state cut.
Dollar
approaches 15-year low against yen The dollar plunged to a fresh
eight-month low against the yen after US employment data disappointed
expectations, raising the prospect of looser monetary policy from the Federal
Reserve.
Visualize
Your State’s Financial Collapse Better Than Ever Just because wishing away
local and state financial collapse doesn’t work quite as well as it does at the
Federal level (courtesy of everyone’s favorite printer genie), attached is a
terrific interactive chart.
Stepping Aside Because I Can Always
Buy Back In Leigh Drogen ‘I sold
out of everything this morning, for a few reasons…First, breakouts don’t always
work and momentum stocks have a habit of ending their trends abruptly.
Second, …I can buy back in this afternoon if I change my mind (not likely). I
see more risk to the downside here than I do to the upside. …Third, the jobs
number tomorrow scares me. No, it doesn’t matter what the number is, we all
know it’s going to be bad, what matters is how the market reacts, and I have
the feel it’s not going to be good. Fourth, many of my oscillators are
overbought here.Fifth, and finally, I don’t like the fact that this rally has primarily
taken place on the back of the most beaten down sectors. …It all just doesn’t
pass the smell test for me. I’ve been successful at this not because I’m always
right, but because I know when I’m wrong and I’m willing to change course or
step aside. Right now, I’ll step aside.’
Food stamp use
hit record 40.8m in May The number
of Americans who are receiving food stamps rose to a record 40.8 million in May
as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government reported
yesterday.
Journalists
Still Hiding Obama’s Broken Promises on Jobs On Aug. 6, everyone’s attention will be fixed on the release of
July’s unemployment numbers. The national unemployment rate is forecast to
increase to 9.6 percent, according to Bloomberg News’ survey.
11 Reasons
Why The Federal Reserve Is Bad Millions of Americans are waking up to the fact that the Federal
Reserve is bad, but very few of them can coherently explain why this is true.
WE’RE UNDERESTIMATING THE BEARISH POTENTIAL Simon Maierhofer, August 3, 2010
’… Will Anything Stop the Market? Something Did
… At the same time, the April numbers were lowered the second time by an
additional 24,000 units, while May sales were revised lower by 33,000 units. To
summarize, April and May sales were reduced by 57,000 units. Therefore, June
sales were 24% above May sales. By the way, May sales were the lowest on
record…
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the
unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as
more people enter the labor force.
Americans who swap
passports London Telegraph | At the US Embassy in London,
there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to discuss. At the US
Embassy in London, there is a waiting list that none of the officials likes to
discuss. On the list are Americans hoping to give up their citizenship… (sure
sign of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all places?)
Come on! Who are they kidding? All the
data was bad, and that ‘not bad as expected dog don’t hunt anymore’!
They’re losing their minds in china: Silicon Alley
Insider: ‘… The first big economic news of the week was the Chinese PMI which
indicated that Chinese manufacturing was inching ever closer to contraction.
But contrary to the expectations of some, it did not spook investors. In fact,
Asia had a very big night, with Shanghai gaining about 1.3% …’;
europe: the basket-case eu economy, with obfuscation taken
directly out of the fraudulent wall street playbook including fake stress
tests, saw air ball stock rally based on earnings data long ago discounted;
u.s.:
We already know they’re criminally insane on wall street! Yahoo: ‘…The
mood improved further still after the ISM Manufacturing Index for July came in
at 55.5. That may have marked a pullback from the 56.2 of June, but it exceeded
the 54.2 that had been widely expected ...’
Oh, yeah … there’s also the higher oil
prices, ever more worthless Weimar dollar part of the rally, and so on!
This is an especially great opportunity
to sell / take profits since there is much worse to come!
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS (Washington
Post) This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.
This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud
as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not
end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally
prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012
alan
greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until
the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have
hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]
Trying
to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post)
Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of
the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money
they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough,
they’re waiting for the apple carts.
Did
TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What
do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported
same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate.
Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating
standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can
always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the
ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun,
co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such
words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi
recession’. What total b***s***!
Are the American
people obsolete? Salon
| The richest few don’t need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police
anymore. Maybe we should all emigrate.
What's
coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new
american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’
(the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for
real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.
U.S.
bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached
108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the
Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.
Foreclosures
Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse
| RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for
foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have
continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.
U.S.
recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post
| The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic
growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading,
and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to
put Americans back to work.
Stocks' Late Push: Some
Optimism, Some Pessimism [Late
push … as in a constipated bowel movement … Come on! Another one of those push
the computer programmed trade button and off we go, reality / valuation /
economics be damned. In real security analysis (very simplified / summarized),
as opposed to the continued frauds on wall street, one must begin with the
largest and most significant aggregate (a simple word picture / analogy:
‘rising tide lifts all boats’). If you get this right, the probabilities in
your favor are substantially enhanced. From there, you want leading industries,
and leading companies within said leading industries (again, larger aggregates
then picks, to enhance probabilities, not guarantees, in your favor). Your time
frame, 1-3-5 yrs tops for projections, (including income statement/EPS, balance
sheet, and applying an appropriate P/E – a detailed, multi-faceted approach beyond
what could be described in this summary); and, that’s all they are,
projections. Beyond that time frame, your guess. On fraudulent wall street,
every day, though already discounted in large part (6-8 mos, approx.), the
market spins, churns, and with lightning fast computerized high-frequency trade
programs commissions in huge volumes like no other time in financial history
when real valuation meant something, with no net economic value added, but very
lucrative to the frauds on wall street, which ultimately is a net detriment to
the economy / the nation /and other industries as we’ve seen and as described
elsewhere on this site and in these posts http://albertpeia.com . Preposterously, they
even sometimes refer to seasonal factors as if hearing them for the first time
and ‘explaining’ an up move (almost invariably already discounted). Today, they
shrugged off the deepening economic reality despite the election year frothing
/ manipulations.This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market
in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in
a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has
preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds
and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and
earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national
decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the
wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and
disgorgement imposed.].
China Becomes Second Biggest
World EconomyChina has overtaken Japan to become the world’s
second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has
lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Marc Faber Questions if Dow Could
Hit 1,000In the August edition of the ‘The Gloom, Boom
& Doom Report’ Marc Faber questions whether the Dow could hit 1,000as predicted by Robert Prechter,
based on his interpretation of Elliot Waves, Fibonacci numbers and
socioeconomic trends. Prechter, whohas written 13
books on finance(external link), believes that the
stock market is historically overvalued in terms of dividends and earnings,
because of a “great rise in positive social mood.” But the mood changed in 2000
and the “trend toward negative social mood will lead to an economic
contraction,” according to Prechter. “Small bear markets lead to recessions,
big bear markets lead to depressions. The current bear market will be the
biggest in nearly 300 years, so the depression will be correspondingly deep,”
Prechter said.
Wall
St falls after weak outlooks drag (Reuters) U.S. stocks sagged in volatile
trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat
comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.
US Treasury is
running on fumes The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’
release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our
coalition partners at risk.”
Trillions for Wall Street Mike
Whitney | The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money’s never
a problem.
Look
What Surprises They Snuck Into The Financial Reform Bill The Economic Collapse| The
financial reform bill was supposed to “fix” Wall Street and the financial
system, but it did not do much of anything. Even just a
decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a
few dozen pages long. But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an
important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.
Cash-starved
California orders unpaid leave for workers California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency Wednesday, requiring most
state employees to take three days of unpaid leave per month until a new budget
is enacted.
Flaws of the European Stress Test … 'Bank stress test' became the magic phrase. Nothing calms fear
like a stress test that's labeled as rigorous. The stress test raises a few very
obvious questions: 1) Will it work? 2) Why was it needed in addition to a $1
trillion aid package? 3) Is the stress test just a gimmick to appease
investors? The stress test is conducted by the London-based Committee of
European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). Ironically, the test has ignored the
majority of banks' holdings of sovereign debt. Sovereign debt concerns by the
so-called PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) triggered the
latest wave of financial problems. Ignoring sovereign debt in the Euro stress
test would be like ignoring toxic real estate assets in the U.S. 10%
Good - 90% Bad According to a Morgan Stanley survey, European banks
hold about 90% of their Greek government bonds in their banking books and 10%
in their trading books. The bonds in the banking book are generally held until
maturity, the bonds in the trading book are traded more frequently. According
to a document obtained by Bloomberg, the stress test assumes a loss of 23.1% on
Greek debt, 14% on Portuguese bonds, 12.3% on Spanish debt, 4.7% on German
debt, 10% on U.K. debt, and 5.9% on French debt. However, the stress test only
looks at the bonds held in banks' trading books, which account for a mere 10%
of Greek bond holdings. Can that be called a stress test? Nouriel Roubini says
that 'the assumptions made about economic growth, about sovereign risk are not
realistic enough.' The fact that only seven banks failed the test with a
combined shortfall of $4.5 billion confirms the lax nature of the test. … The U.S. Bank Stress Test - A Nice Façade
A closer look under the hood of the U.S. bank stress test, however, shows that
there's not much substance behind the facade either. It was determined that the
19 tested U.S. banks need to increase their balance sheets by $75 billion to
meet the conditions of what's termed the 'worst case scenario.' To a large
extent, the $75 billion of additional capital was financially engineered. Banks
didn't have to actually raise $75 billion. They were able to change the label
of some of their assets on their balance sheets. The government supported this
practice via mandatory convertible preferred shares (detailed analysis in May
2009 issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter) …’
Regulatory Magic President Obama has signed the financial
industry regulatory overhaul — officially, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act. Predictably, what he said about it cannot possibly
be true.
Flashback:
Bush report: Sending jobs overseas helps U.S. The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to
other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S.
economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush
administration said yesterday.
Smoking
Guns of U.S. Treasury Monetization Kitco
| A significant feature of fiat money systems is the privilege for the
custodian of the reserve currency to engage in regular practices of ham-fisted
monetary management.
Banking
Disaster Largely Ignored By Mainstream Media Greg Hunter | It is amazing to me how little time
the mainstream media is spending on this unfolding financial disaster and how
much time it is devoting to things like Mel Gibson’s domestic problems.
Consumer
confidence dims (Reuters)
Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since
February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months,
underscoring the precarious state of econo...
Another
Recession Due Circa 2012: Jim Rogers A new recession would be due around
2012 but central banks will not be able to throw cash at it anymore, Jim
Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Tuesday.
Marc Faber:
Relax, This Will Hurt A Lot Marc Faber closed out this week’s Agora
Financial Symposium with a speech that pretty much recapitulated the view that
the end of the world is if not nigh, then surely tremendous dislocations to the
existing socio-political and economic landscape are about to take place (with
some very dire consequences for the US).
US
bank failures in 2010 surpass 100WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak
milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South
Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday
bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year
is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid
the recession and mounting loan defaults …
The index of leading economic indicators fell
0.2% in June, the second drop in three months. A negative surprise.
Unemployment claims rose to 464,000, more than
expected.
Uncle Ben said we are facing a period of
“unusual uncertainty.” No kidding.
Uncle Ben said we need continuing stimulus to a
Congress unwilling to stimulate anyone or anything other than lobbyists
with cash to contribute.
Home sales fell 5.1% in June…’
(No recession helicopter ben) Bernanke Admits Major Policy Failures; Stocks Soar Darryl Montgomery What's wrong with this picture?
In his bi-annual testimony before Congress yesterday, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke
admitted that after more than a year and a half of zero interest rates and $3
trillion in federal deficit spending since 2008, the best case
scenario for the U.S. economy is slow growth and high unemployment. The S&P
500 is up 2.5% so far this morning on this 'good' news.Bernanke's congressional testimony included the
following statements (emphasis added by me):
"Most [FOMC] participants viewed uncertainty
about the outlook for growth and unemployment as greater than normal, and the
majority saw [at the June Fed meeting] the risks to growth as weighted to
the downside."
"Financial conditions--though much improved
since the depth of the financial crisis--have become less supportive of
economic growth in recent months."
"Many banks continue to have a large volume
of troubled loans on their books, and bank lending standards remain tight.
With credit demand weak and with banks writing down problem credits, bank
loans outstanding have continued to contract."
"After two years of job losses, private payrolls
expanded at an average of about 100,000 per month during the first half of this
year, a pace insufficient to reduce the unemployment rate materially.
In all likelihood, a significant amount of time will be required to restore the
nearly 8-1/2 million jobs that were lost over 2008 and 2009."…
Serious Analysis has given rise to a realistically mocking view of the current
fraud on wall street:
Cybersecurity Lie Exposed:
Power Plants Are Not Connected To The InternetSenator Joe
Lieberman’s draconian Internet takeover legislation, the 197-page Protecting
Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, is being promoted as a vital tool to
protect vulnerable infrastructure hubs from terrorist attacks, but as a recent
Wall Street Journal report makes clear, large industrial power and water plants
are not even connected to the public Internet.
Bailouts Went To Foreign Banks:
Congressional Report Confirms What We Already KnewA
Congressional Oversight Panel issued today highlights the fact that large
portions of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund have gone straight into
the coffers of foreign banks, a fact that we knew months ago, but is only now
being officially recognised.
Activists Take On Fluoridated
Water in WichitaConcerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed
that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the
public about the health hazards of water fluorination.
Fed Leads America “To The Brink
Of Collapse”When even the New York Times and CNN are admitting
that the United States faces not only a double-dip recession but potentially a
new great depression, any alarm bells that have not been rung should now be
sounding loudly.
Activists Take On Fluoridated
Water in WichitaInfowars.com| Concerned
citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a
poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water
fluorination.
Google and Verizon DID do a
deal for new internet ‘first class’ superhighwayTechnology
giants Google and Verizon have today paved the way for a future ‘two-tier’
internet in which companies can pay extra to make sure their services get
through.Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google
and Verizon went public today with their “policy framework” — better known as
the pact to end the Internet as we know it.
The Cycle of Violence in
AfghanistanLast week the National Bureau of Economic Research
published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq
that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years:
the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and
prompts them to seek revenge. This should be self-evident.
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern
day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who
has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom
on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Street
Action: Poison In Tap Water Fliers Went out on a beautiful Saturday after
noon in Edmonton Alberta posting more fliers, posters etc. had a great time had
a few people harass me but nothing big. Just gave me motivation to do more!!
Resistance is Victory. Never Forget that.!!
Wheat
Crisis Threatens Inflationary Timebomb, Food Riots Russia’s ban on wheat
exports following widespread fires in the country sent food prices skyrocketing
by 19 per cent in just a single week as fears grow that global volatility in
foodstuffs and commodities could lead to a worldwide inflationary timebomb
accompanied by widespread food riots.
Afghan
war ‘kills 1,325 civilians this year’ More than 1,300 civilians have been
killed in Afghanistan so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents, a leading
Afghan rights group said Sunday.
Iran
Unveils New Submarines and Makes More Persian Gulf Warnings Iran announced
the addition of four new submarines to its fleet Sunday, saying the
Iranian-manufactured vessels to be deployed in the Persian Gulf have
sonar-evading technology and can launch torpedoes and missiles simultaneously.
Pentagon
can’t account for $8.57 billion in Iraqi funds B is for billions. And b is for it’s hard to believe that they’ve
done it again. The last time, even more money vanished, which I noted in my
article, Following Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11. This was under the
Zionist Dov Zakheim’s watch as Comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to
March 10, 2004.
Who poses
the real threat to the Internet? A new opinion piece on CNN.com argues that
it’s the government, not the companies providing internet access, that is the
real danger to free speech and the internet. [I personally have found more
often and prospectively problematic is that said government / company
distinction is one without a difference when the government flexes muscle,
particularly with leverage as ie., to non-performing monopolist microsoft,
nsa/cia partner google (to a lesser extent at this juncture), cnn/timewarner
cable (incompetence also a factor), fedex, etc.].
Voters
Reject Notion That “Government Can Do Anything It Likes” A Rasmussen poll
indicates that an overwhelming eighty-six percent (86%) of voters nationwide
say there should be “limits on what the federal government can do”, in response
to recent comments from pro-Obamacare Congressman Pete Stark.
Swine
Flu Investigator Jane Bürgermeister Faces Prison Now that there is
verifiable, unambiguous evidence that the Austrian government and state
prosecutors have faked criminal charges to provide a pretext to arrest and
detain me, I am going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.
U.S. Employers Shed Jobs The
U.S. economy shed more jobs than expected in July while the unemployment rate
held steady at 9.5%, a further sign the economic recovery may be losing
momentum.
Gold
Surges To Three Week High As Dollar Tanks Gold prices have surged to to
three week highs as the stock market and the U.S. economy continue to flounder,
leaving investors seeking a safe haven in hard assets.
Globalists
Race To Enforce Criminal Carbon Tax Despite the failure of last year’s
Copenhagen climate summit, the United Nations is pushing ahead for a global
carbon tax that will bankroll the expansion of world government as globalists
attempt to make Americans pay for the evisceration of their own sovereinty and
future prosperity.
Poison
Tap Water Exposed As Soft Kill Weapon Water fluoridation has come to refer
to the addition of over 40 chemicals into the water supply that synergistically
come together to wreak havoc on the body and its processes.
Poison
Tap Water Makes Number 1 Google Search Poison tap water has become the number one trending search term on
Google trends today after our efforts to bring attention to how sodium fluoride
in tap water is a deadly health threat went viral.
Sodium
Fluoride: Poison In The Tap Water Alex Jones is launching a new campaign to
inform the public about the toxic chemical fluoride being added to tap water
across the country. While EPA scientists and workers are calling for an end to
water fluoridation, the government is doing everything in its power to continue
and even increase the amount of toxic chemicals being added to public water
supplies.
Naked
Body Scanners: Monumental Cover Up Exposed At the height of the furor over
airport body scanners earlier this year, the TSA publicly stated that it was
not possible to store, record, transmit or print out the images that show in
detail the naked bodies of men, women and children that have passed through
them. At the time we presented evidence to the contrary. Now it has been
conclusively proven that the TSA and other federal agencies using the scanners
flat out lied to an unwitting public.
SEC
Probes BP Potential Insider Trading: Sources Reuters |
U.S. securities regulators are investigating whether people may have illegally
profited from trading on nonpublic information at BP in the weeks following the
disastrous Gulf oil spill.
The Psychology of
Conspiracy Denial Wired Magazine writer Jonah Lehrer attempts to offset the
overwhelmingly critical response to his attack on Alex Jones by characterizing
skepticism of authority in the context of vaccines and mass medication as a
psychological dysfunction, despite the fact that the history of
government-funded medical research in the United States is replete with
examples of scientific abuse against unwitting victims.
Enemy hyped
assassination: Iran pres. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejects
reports about an assassination attempt on his life in Hamadan Province as a
plot hatched by the enemies.
China
Holds More Military Exercises Amid Tensions With U.S. Chinese armed forces
on Thursday continued a second set of back-to-back exercises, underscoring
expanding capabilities and ambitions that have prompted unease among top U.S.
military officers. That unease has been exacerbated by Beijing’s freezing of
military-to-military ties.
Preparing
for World War III, Targeting Iran Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads.
War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi
tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.
Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing" (Reuters)[Great
advice … if only the endless war, military complex based pentagon could take
it!] The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks
immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet
published and erase material it had alrea…
US faces deadliest month in
Afghan warWith 63 US service members killed,
July has become the deadliest month for American forces stationed in war-torn
Afghanistan.
Google
and CIA Plough Millions Into Huge ‘Recorded Future’ Monitoring Project Google’s
cosy relationship with the U.S. spy network has once again been thrust into the
spotlight as the company is reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in
an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites
for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.
Google
and CIA Fund Political Precrime Technology More evidence has emerged
revealing Google’s spook connections. Noah Shachtman, writing for Wired,
details how the CIA’s technology investment operation, In-Q-Tel, and Google are
supporting a company that monitors the web in real time.
President
Obama calls African-Americans a ‘mongrel people’ President Obama waded into
the national race debate in an unlikely setting and with an unusual choice of
words: telling daytime talk show hosts that African-Americans are “sort of a
mongrel people.”
White
House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity The
Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel
companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a
court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or
intelligence investigation.
Source
of leaked military docs unknown: WikiLeaks While the United States is
trying to hunt for the individual behind the massive leak of US military data
on Afghanistan war, the whistleblowers’ website, that made the 91,000
classified documents available to the world, has said that the source of leak
is unknown.
Leaked
files indicate U.S. pays Afghan media to run friendly stories Buried among
the 92,000 classified documents released Sunday by WikiLeaks is some intriguing
evidence that the U.S. military in Afghanistan has adopted a PR strategy that
got it into trouble in Iraq: paying local media outlets to run friendly
stories.
Congress
extends war funding for Afghanistan Baltimore Co. Independent Examiner | Congress
voted to extend funding for the war in Afghanistan by an additional $59 billion
late on Tuesday.
Kucinich:
92,000 reasons to end the wars AFP | US lawmakers opposed
to the Afghan war, emboldened by a huge leak of military files on the conflict,
pushed Tuesday for pulling US forces from Pakistan.
US, NATO
behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in
the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East
to spread terror on Iran’s borders.
WASHPOST
Ombudsman: Why Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing
controversy over the Justice
Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members
of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues
but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months,
readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been
covering the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the
New York Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing
bloggers have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing
them of trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually
silent. The story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of
the New Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube
video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing
paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’
Latino
KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist
comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks
in America have her back.
‘West,
israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A
ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated
“the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the
southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.
Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO
strikes that killed civilians: Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans,
denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds
like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network
‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to
success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is
unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology
Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography arrives; Heidi Montag files for divorce (Washington
Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on entertainment news, but this
headline concerning what appears to be a disparaging, and quite selectively so,
purported biography of Angelina Jolie is very disheartening when you consider
the numerous instances of failed leadership at nearly all very high levels of
government having so detrimental an impact on the world, that morton deems his
time appropriate to an actress who has actually tried to do good things (U.N.,
etc.) without having to. Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by
any standard as is her performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there
with 4 the max and stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all
the ‘Bonds’ to shame) had an important message in terms of the damage to this
nation by a seemingly endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal
israelis already, and quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war
strategy that is neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive
american goal / objective; but rather issuch a debacle and folly that the same could very well be one that only
an enemy of defacto bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set
forth in the well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked
about the synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing
thatshe is wiser than most in
Washington.
Military
experience helps shape future career success (Washington Post) [Oh yes.
That now typical american government / military experience; born of nothing and
offering nothing of real value morphing into that so-called conduit for
treasury-draining money flows aka the infamous consultant]. John Morgan's
service in the Navy propels him to greater responsibilities at the Pentagon,
and eventually to a consulting position with Toffler Associates.
The
anti-business president's pro-business recovery(Washington Post) [First,
what recovery? He’s just with open-eyes transferred treasury / taxpayer dollars
to fraudulent wall street et als including the military complex while incurring
unsustainable debt loads for already defacto bankrupt america. Others have
already recognized this reality. Is Obama a Marxist? He Works
for the BankersPoll: Waning
support for Obama on wars Support
for Obama’s wars fell to 36%, down from 48% - reality: This is a global depression. This is a
secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated
bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically
manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that
the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical
wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior
crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until
justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted,
jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
In
Iraq, $2.6B unaccounted for(Washington Post) [Daaah! Fog of war frauds among others; the nation’s
treasury pillaged and plundered; I’ve previously commented here and included on
my website http://albertpeia.com , see infra]Pentagon can't account for how it spent $2.6 billion of Iraqi oil
proceeds, an IG report says.
The
power of Palin's touch
(Washington Post) [Wow! Talk about stupid. Murphy could have eliminated the
middle-man (person) and appeared on SNL himself; maybe reprising a familiar
(Eddie) Murphy role as Gumby 2, Son of Gumby. The only thing funnier is palin
herself. She’s so embarrassingly dumb!] .Endorsement lifts little-known
candidate in Md., giving the struggling campaign a "megaphone."
San Francisco Fed: “A
Recessionary Relapse Is A Significant Possibility Sometime In The Next Two
Years”[ Picture the fed as a pseudo ninja with fancy foreplay /
motions getting decked / ‘koed’ with a simple right-hook to the jaw by the
antagonist named reality. All this finagling, manipulation, fiat currency
over-printing, and nation bankrupting debt, and … nothing / nada / ‘growth ‘
estimates revised downward, unemployment unabated since economic reality
figures somewhat in hiring to say the least, and jobs transferred overseas
ain’t comin’ back. Quite simply, this is a depression no matter what they call
it! ] Presented without commentary, suffice to say that idiots who look at the
LEI and factor for the curve inversion subindicator deserve all they get.
Google-Verizon Pact: It Gets
Worse [ Timothy Berners-Lee, putative father of the internet along
with Cerf, has already weighed in on this topic and strenuously opposed same
and whose learned opinion should be given great weight. google and verizon as
mere government shills at best and government, ie., nsa / cia, etc., operatives
at worst, are ‘johnny-come-latelies’ and died fast in government hands! ]. So Google and Verizon went
public today with their “policy framework” — better known as the pact to end
the Internet as we know it.
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the
unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as
more people enter the labor force.
Accountability is unclear in israeli probe of flotilla
raid(Washington
Post) Oh, come on! An
israeli probe of an israeli massacre of civilians. Time for israel to pay; for
illegal nukes, for violations of international law, for continued violations of
u.n. resolutions, for provocations as pretexts to sabotage peace talks, and on
and on ad nauseum. Why does america among other nations feel compelled to
sacrifice themselves for the sake of a global criminal nation with an
insatiable greed and blood-thirst as israel?
What
Pentagon cuts mean for future of defense contractors(Washington Post) Well, taking a page from the fraudulent wall street glass
always half full even when empty camp, they might say more pie and less
competition for that inner circle of frauds. You know, this is a dead goose
with gold-plated eggs scenario. Reality: U.S.
IS BANKRUPT AND WE DON’T EVEN KNOW IT : LAURENCE KOTLIKOFF LAURENCE KOTLIKOFFAUG. 11
(BLOOMBERG) -(WASHINGTON POST)- LET’S GET
REAL. THE U.S. IS BANKRUPT. NEITHER SPENDING MORE NOR TAXING LESS WILL HELP THE
COUNTRY PAY ITS BILLS ...Peter Schiff: “We’re in the
Early Stages of a Depression”The
Motley Fool| Four years and the worst
recession since the Great Depression later, Schiff stands alone again with a
bleaker diagnosis for the economy: an inflationary depression.
Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’ dynamic that saves the
day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress, and according to their
thinking and manipulations, full employment at an unprecedented 0% unemployment
is just around the corner as everyone stops looking for the jobs no longer
here, many of which were sent overseas and which are not coming back owing to
substantial economic structural / financial shifts.
Yeah!
Dave’s the only one who seems to be on the mark concerning the preposterous
market action this day. Even before reading same I was going to comment here
that I believed that the decision to ‘mouse click / button push’ the programmed
buy trades was probably made after hours in the previous session. Remember,
these are desperate criminally insane frauds on wall street who really try very
hard to get people to by into their paper-churning high-frequency trade /
commission scam for which ultimately potentially productive money is siphoned
off / drained from the economy into their pockets which is a net negative in
real economic terms. They know all the tricks, technical trendlines, moving
averages, etc., to suck them in: Buy Program Express Lifts Markets: Dave's Daily - The
economic news from the unemployment report could not be worse and an old
pattern was repeated -- higher volume on a selloff followed by an engineered
"stick save" into the close. It used to be hard to make this stuff
up, now it's becoming routine. As noted yesterday, bulls might like bad data
since they'd expect another round of quantitative easing (QE2) from the Fed and
a politically desperate administration. This means more liquidity baby and an
opportunity to lift stocks to new highs. That's the thinking from bizzaro-land.
So we get another big intraday 150 point swing in the DJIA as the "2:15 PM
Buy Program Express" hits the tape on time as volume starts to dry up.
That's why the caution sign advises to stay away from the Program Trading
Express.Nevertheless, volume increased
Friday with most of that coming early and often. Breadth was negative but not
overwhelmingly so.
China orders closure of more than
2,000 factoriesAssociated
Press(Washington
Post) [ Riiiight! The ultimate environmentalists. The communist Chinese. How
‘bout that’s the China bubble bursting that you hear / see! Be sure to wear
some flowers in your hair… if you’re goin’ to san fran Beijing, your goin’ to
meet some gentle people there …] China
orders 2,087 steel and cement mills and other factories with poor energy
efficiency to close as the country struggles to improve its battered
environment.
(08-09-10)
Economists
Herald New Great Depression The world is currently
experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a
prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting
ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
Social Security borrowing cash to
tap its own trust fund (Washington Post) [ Wow! Talk about creative
accounting / finance. Borrowing more cash to replace paper IOU’s which should
be cash but has been spent. Yes, indeed! This sounds like a plan not sound.
Sounds like defacto bankruptcy! ]This
year's cash deficit, the first since the early 1980s and the biggest ever,
means the government will have to borrow money to redeem some of the Treasury
securities in the trust fund.
Freddie Mac's loss narrows, but
firm needs more aid (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! After
all, what are corporations for in a free enterprise capitalist system but to as
closely as possible follow that fraudulent wall street boondoggle paradigm of
socializing the losses and privatizing the gains. I still can’t get over those
compensation packages that probably exceed the value of the company.] Mortgage
finance giant Freddie Mac said that its loss in the second quarter narrowed but
that taxpayers would still be on hook for the foreseeable future.
Post
Co. reports big increase in second-quarter earnings Congratulations to the
Washington Post for well deserved results! A testament to the fact that
excellence in fearless journalism has its rewards! …If not the Post, then who? … :
Economist
sticks by stimulus, regrets call on jobless rate (Washington Post) Well,
they skipped the ‘fall on her sword for the sake of the empire’ part, albeit a
defacto bankrupt empire … or, maybe that’s why she was chosen … because she’s a
Rome ..r. I’m still perplexed since ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ bernanke and
senile greenspun have far worse track records and indeed have been causative
agents for crises owing to their consistent ‘misdiagnoses’, and as if tenured
to said position received no such critical, job-jeopardizing scrutiny ( I’d
abolish the fed, absent full audit / transparency. In other words, I’d abolish
the fed).
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment
rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as more people
enter the labor force.
alan
greenspan: “The Financial System Is Broke” We will be in deflation until
the broke financial system becomes unbroke… and then we will have
hyperinflation. [Little bit late to be talkin’ the obvious truth!]
Gold Has Got Its Groove
Back How dare any of you second guess the gold bugs. From a day’s low of
$1,168 per ounce, the yellow metal rallied to a day’s high of $1,186. Our
precioussss is back on a tear, maybe.
Trying
to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post) Sounds like a new, new plan to
deal with the overwhelming success of the panoply of government stimulus /
tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money they don’t have and taxpayer
‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough, they’re waiting for the apple
carts.
Did
TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What do
you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported same
despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was appropriate.
Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax valuation / rating
standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these ‘cheerleaders’ can
always be counted on to toe the network line which ultimately enables the
ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile incompetent greenspun,
co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was interviewed and used such
words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause, double-dip possible, quasi
recession’. What total b***s***!
What's
coming this week (Washington
Post) How ‘bout last week and the new american economic institution
colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’ (the news dump so as to avoid
the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for real rather than
election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.
U.S.
recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post | The recovery is fading, and a
troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put
Americans back to work. The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is
setting in: economic growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work.
Recovery
sputters as companies add few jobs (Washington Post) ‘The nation’s economic
recovery continued to sputter in July as employers kept shedding jobs and
181,000 discouraged workers dropped out of the labor force, according to a
government report released Friday… ‘ [Riiiiight! That ‘no-longer looking’
dynamic that saves the day and the ue rate at 9.5%. At this rate of progress,
and according to their thinking and manipulations, full employment at an
unprecedented 0% unemployment is just around the corner as everyone stops
looking for the jobs no longer here, many of which were sent overseas and which
are not coming back owing to substantial economic structural / financial
shifts.]
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the
unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as
more people enter the labor force.
Trying
to make August less of a 'dog' with sidewalk sale (Washington Post)
Sounds like a new, new plan to deal with the overwhelming success of
the panoply of government stimulus / tarp, etc., plans ‘financed’ with money
they don’t have and taxpayer ‘largesse’. For those who’ve lived long enough,
they’re waiting for the apple carts.
Did
TARP work? Two economists say yes. (Washington Post) Come on! What
do you expect them to say? They’re invested in that position having supported
same despite the massive fraud for prosecution and disgorgement was
appropriate. Indeed, moody’s itself has been faulted (liable?) for lax
valuation / rating standards which contributed to the debacle. Moreover, these
‘cheerleaders’ can always be counted on to toe the network line which
ultimately enables the ubiquitous frauds we’ve seen. Amazingly, senile
incompetent greenspun, co-architect / enabler of the fraud / debacle was
interviewed and used such words in conjunction as ‘modest recovery, pause,
double-dip possible, quasi recession’. What total b***s***!
What's
coming this week (Washington Post) How ‘bout last week and the new
american economic institution colloquially now known as ‘bank failure Friday’
(the news dump so as to avoid the so-called ‘news cycle’). Then, let’s hope for
real rather than election-year market frothing fake / false / manipulated data.
U.S.
bank failures total 108 after 5 shut on Friday U.S. bank failures reached
108 so far in 2010 on Friday as regulators seized five small banks in the
Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, none publicly traded.
Foreclosures
Continue To Dramatically Increase In 2010 Economic Collapse
| RealtyTrac says that unemployment has become the major reason for
foreclosures. In a very alarming sign for the U.S. economy, foreclosures have
continued to dramatically increase in 2010. But there has been a shift.
U.S.
recovery hopes fade as economic growth dips Washington Post
| The recovery is fading, and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic
growth that is too slow to put Americans back to work. The recovery is fading,
and a troubling new pattern is setting in: economic growth that is too slow to
put Americans back to work.
FCC
ends net neutrality talks (Washington Post) God knows it’s rare for me to
commend america for a governmental policy decision, but this is indeed one such
moment inasmuch as freedom of speech, constitution, meaningful laws applicable
to all, etc., are what define a nation and america, particularly.
Retailers'
back-to-school blues (Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! The
back-to-school part; and make sure the frauds on wall street along with capital
hill are with them … you know, for the readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic, among
other fundamentals that they’ve forgotten or never learned. Like
adding/subtracting on capital hill, economics/finance/accounting on wall
street, etc.. Drogen doesn’t believe they can so this day he’s Stepping Aside Because I Can Always
Buy Back InLeigh Drogen ‘I sold out of everything this morning, for a
few reasons.(infra)
Fannie
Mae shows progress (Washington Post) Wow! Talk about wall street spin and
parallel universes! I mean, come on; billion dollar plus losses are still
billion dollar plus losses; and, given the amounts of money defacto bankrupt
america doesn’t have that’s been thrown at the problem, anyone who doesn’t have
a sense of foreboding is a fool.
General's
record is set straight (Washington Post) Knowing for sure,
you know, that it truly was Nixon who banged that pregnant girl just like the
tea shirt / poster said is kind of a mind altering experience. After all, just
as Truman once said, Nixon didn’t know whether he’s lying or telling the truth.
Well, that’s one for old saint Nixon since that militates against intent; you
know, the not knowing part, and after all, he was a liar(sic) by trade. Truth
be told, by more current american standards of corruption, venality, verity,
etc., Nixon was but a choir boy.The
irony of it all. Oh, the times they are a changin’.
House
break cut short to work on jobs bill (Washington
Post) Eh … what the heck, ‘tis only money (they don’t reallyhave) and besides, only the federal
government can print it … sounds like a plan … and just in time for the
election, and that should help the ue stats.
Come on! Preposterous!
Service sector? You mean the the b*** s*** sector. Even if believed (I don’t
believe anything they say, and at the least all must be discounted down, as
they do later when people have forgotten that’s the purported reason they
rallied), what is 17,000 service (predominantly b*** s*** government bought
jobs with non-existent deficit building funds with some exceptions – yes, 80%
of america’s economy is now b*** s*** and as on wall street, fraud) jobs in the
relative scheme of things given the magnitude of the problems, structural and
otherwise? Nothing! Stocks went up on typically spun ‘nothing’.
General's
record is set straight (Washington Post) Knowing for sure, you know, that it
truly was Nixon who banged that pregnant girl just like the tea shirt said is
kind of a mind altering experience. After all, just as Truman once said, Nixon
didn’t know whether he’s lying or telling the truth. Well, that’s one for old
saint Nixon since that militates against intent; you know, the not knowing
part, and after all, he was a liar(sic) by trade. Truth be told, by more
current american standards of corruption, venality, verity, etc., Nixon was but
a choir boy.The irony of it all. Oh,
the times they are a changin’.
How Obama can help small
business (Washington Post) You’re a bit late … they’ve already decided how to
help … you might call their plan of putting them out of their vaunted misery
mercy killing, euthanasia, etc..
FHA: Mortgage insurance claims down (Washington Post) At least somethin’s goin’
up, according to tiny tim ‘God bless us, everyone’! Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down Infowars.com - [Ooooh!
Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most
americans, and warned it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a
couple of months before it comes down as more people enter the labor force.
U.S. savings rate at highest level in a year, data show: UNEASE ABOUT U.S.
ECONOMY
Data suggest recovery not yet self-sustaining (Washington Post) Riiiight!
Income and spending basically unchanged with falloff in both, while pending
housing sales down to the lowest level on record. The half-glass full frauds on
wall street will take it. They can spin that.
Drudgereport: NEW LOW FOR O: USATODAYGALLUP HAS OBAMA APPROVE AT 41%...
Americans swap passports; Desire to avoid tax leads some to renounce
citizenship...
FALTERING RECOVERY TRIPS DOLLAR...
GM, FORD and CHRYSLER Sales All Lag Estimates...
FHA: Mortgage insurance
claims down (Washington Post) At least somethin’s goin’ up, according to tiny
tim ‘God bless us, everyone’! Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment
Could Go Up Before It Comes Down Infowars.com - [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan
‘tiny tim’! … God bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
acknowledged that it is still a “tough economy” for most americans, and warned
it’s possible the unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it
comes down as more people enter the labor force.
U.S. savings rate at
highest level in a year, data show (Washington Post) Riiiight! Income and
spending basically unchanged with falloff in both, while pending housing sales
down to the lowest level on record. The half-glass full frauds on wall street
will take it.
Manufacturing focus of
jobs plan (Washington Post) L’il bit late, but, sounds like a plan. The government’s
defacto bankrupt, but, they could always use an extra pen or two for signing
those spending bills. No bics allowed. Made in usa pens only. Ah! But alas.
Defacto bankrupt america’s expertise now lies in manufacturing wars.
Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner: Unemployment Could Go Up Before It Comes Down [Ooooh! Sounds like a plan ‘tiny tim’! … God
bless us everyone! ] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged that it
is still a “tough economy” for most Americans, and warned it’s possible the
unemployment rate will go up for a couple of months before it comes down as
more people enter the labor force.
Americans who swap
passports americans hoping to give
up their citizenship… (sure sign of insanity … I mean, Orwellian england of all
places?)
In
devising punishments, SEC faced with competing interests(Washington Post) The best punishment and the greatest
deterrent is to assure that the wall street
frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement
imposed; that is, to forfeit what
they stole by fraudulent means (remember, the bad paper is still out there but
I believe slowly but surely and very selectively being supplanted by hard,
albeit fiat currency) at the least. The cost to the treasury / taxpayer has been enormous
and hence, the resistance to transparency / audit. The wall street perps should
pay, and as yet, they haven’t.
Tiny Tim geithner to bankers: Fear not new rules
(Washington Post) They don’t! … And, you can take that to the insolvent, mark
to anything bank! God bless us everyone! … And tiny tim, where’s that missing 4
trillion at the new york fed? Have the taxpayers, through more surreptitious
skullduggery effectively picked up that tab too?
Bernanke: Long road back to economic health(Washington Post) No-recession helicopter ben, waxing
philosophical while strumming a few lines from the Beatle’s ‘Long and Winding
Road’ with great emotion that makes us feel for that poor sot … or snot … or
NOT!
China Becomes Second Biggest
World EconomyChina has overtaken Japan to become the world’s
second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has
lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Obama's
'I told you so' on autos (Washington Post) Riiiiight, wobama. One out of
thousands of things you said (laws of ‘random probability’ on your side), all
total b*** s***, ain’t nothin’ to crow about …
and, by not standing by things wobama said, the nation’s more bankrupt!
For
some, power is money (Washington Post) ‘Montgomery workers lose wages as
they wait for power to return’ … Sounds like a plan … waiting for Godot …
July
becomes deadliest month for U.S. troops(Washington Post)
Sounds like plan! You know, the fraudulent wall street glass half full kind of
thing … lowering of costs of prospective medical, benefits, pension … well, in
truth, I’m not sayin’ that they said that, but you’re dreamin’ if you don’t
think they think like that. You know, the new ‘attention to deficits disorder’
in light of the nation’s defacto bankruptcy. What a total waste in every
respect!
Middle
East Digest (Washington Post)Witnesses report Israeli airstrikes in Gaza
Previous-Mideast
DigestIsraeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians:(Washington Post)[War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year
old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them]
In 1948, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, an opponent
of the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, warned that, even though
failure to go along with the Zionists might cost President Truman the states of
New York, Pennsylvania, and California, it was about time that somebody should
pay some consideration to whether we might not lose the United States. Mr.
Forrestal was absolutely correct! Isn’t that exactly what’s happened to defacto
bankrupt america in intractable decline.
TIME
TO REVOKE AND NULLIFY THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND ABROGATE THE CREATION OF THE
NATION STATE OF ISRAEL
Adding
profits but subtracting workers (Washington Post) Sounds like an american
strategy as on wall street launched pleine lune, vollmond,luna ilena, plenilunio, pełnia księżyca, or full moon in English. You
know, despite warnings from the very sane Ross Perot very near labeled a
lunatic, the lunatics on wall street and elsewhere ‘figured’ how by shipping
production and jobs elsewhere you could do nothing with almost no workers and
still make a similar percentage profit by selling the repackaged foreign
product here (in other words something akin to wall street’s churn-and-earn
high frequency computerized commissionable trade programs that in real economic
terms is a net negative). The reference to Orwellian, though in other context,
if only for the synchronicity and the rapidity with which these negative events
have unfolded is welcomed. Just look at britain. Those poor dumb brits. They
think Orwellian’s their destiny and the way to go.
Long-term
deflation is called a possibility (Washington Post) Whoops … Federal
Reserve's James Bullard: Long-term deflation like Japan’s is a possibility … If
only america’s could be like Japan’s … they’d take it. Though an
understatement, this revelation comes at a time when the ‘no recession ben fed’
has become the antithesis of that ‘Washington cherry-tree tale’ since they’ve
become known for their american tail (sic)‘they cannot tell the truth’.
Foreclosures
rise in most major metropolitan areas (Washington Post) Ooooh! Sounds like
a plan! Bully, bully, bullish say the frauds on wall street since when sold in
foreclosure those sales can be spun for increased existing (or new) real estate
sales (kind of like that almost contrarian indicator, short sales, meaning at
some point they’ll have to cover … righto old beans).
The biggest question since:Atlas/Who is John Galt?Who is Barry Soetoro,wobama?
Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY
SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?".
The REAL name of President Barack Obamais BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a picture of him on the front and
the question, "Where is the Birth Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.htmlObama’s
Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political
fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].
WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS:
Hidden world, growing beyond control... 854,000 people have
top-secret security clearance... You really have to laud
The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people
appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more
so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates
the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be
able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating,
need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse
version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll
find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on.NSA
Has Gotten So Big, Area Around It Has 112 Acres Of Parking Spaces In yet another terrifying expose, The
Washington Post continues to lift the veil on just how massive the US
government’s spying operation has become.
DIGEST: Consumer confidence down; home
prices up (from and at low levels which Shiller’s concedes are for
the moment stabilized but unsustainable) (Washington Post) The positive here is that at least the
consumers / populace have finally got something right.
Consumer
confidence dims (Reuters)
Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since
February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months,
underscoring the precarious state of econo...
Chiefs' compensation(Washington
Post) The foregoing list, though only oil, reveals an
inherent american inclination toward thievery which also explains the wall
street debacle. Only the exceptionally few well-managed american companies have
ceo’s deserving of exceptional pay packages / compensation and I think you’ll
find in said companies compensation commensurate with results. american ceo’s
generally, and global results (and comparisons) bear this out, are overpaid.
D.C.
area housing market a bright spot (Washington Post) Clearly a contrarian
indicator which means more in Washington doing nation’s business; clearly a bad
thing (more doing less, creating more problems than solving, costing more for
less, etc.).
Why
Bernanke isn't advocating fiscal stimulus (Washington Post) I would be
inclined to say the obvious; that you can’t spend what you don’t have; but, we
all know that’s not true. Indeed, that’s become a significant part of the
problem and america’s defacto bankrupt status a testament to that reality. Then
there’s the over-printing of an ever more worthless fiat currency which
continues as ‘we speak’; and, there are limits to that too as the dire results
of same ultimately begin to unfold.
Cities,
counties could slash 500,000 more jobs (Washington Post) Could? I’d say
must. Particularly when you factor in that this election ‘spurt’ leaving the
nation even more bankrupt is illusory. I had occasion some time ago in speaking
with a long-time California resident (instructor at the college gym where I
worked out) to express my surprise at the bloated (municipal, state)
high-priced bureaucracy which of course is not productive except as to higher
taxes and which is at the forefront in the city of Bell where the city manager
waspaid nearly 900,000 annually, and
specifically mentioned the part-time typical compensation of $100,000 and
contracts to interested, even familial, parties. Of course, no one has done
this better than feinstein, albeit on a more federal level and China contracts
through her husband’s companies, as previousl set forth on this website.
US
bank failures in 2010 surpass 100WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. bank failures this year have surpassed a bleak
milestone of 100 as regulators shut down banks in Georgia, Florida, South
Carolina, Kansas, Nevada and Minnesota. The six bank seizures announced Friday
bring to 102 the failures so far in 2010. The pace of bank closures this year
is well ahead of that of last year, which saw a total 140 bank shuttered amid
the recession and mounting loan defaults …
'Systemic
risk' and preventing the next bubble (Washington Post) Come on! We’re in
the next bubble; or, should I say in the same bubble inasmuch as the so-called
‘last bubble’ never totally deflated owing to overactive Weimar dollar (now
european) printing presses, fraudulent mark to anything accounting among other
manipulations, etc.; and a less elastic (ready to burst) one at that.
This is quite incredible. The wobama market … based on b*** s***
alone. Yes, there’s a waning full moon. Yes, this is an election year and we’ve
seen frothing, false data / reports before. But come on! This is downright ridiculous.
I had occasion to hear from a so-called money manager on what used to be a
balanced business / finance radio program (I seldom listen to said program
anymore, truth be told, but owing to a scheduling quirk caught same this day)
say that all the economic / business news last week was good. In point of fact,
the actual news was all bad (except for some sporadic earnings reports that
were discounted many months ago). What parallel universe are these foisty
feisty frauds living in? Again, waning full moon Then the infamous federal but
not really federal, express in only a month (with blazing full moon) changed
downward guidance to upward guidance and based on b*** s***, and voila …
another full moon rally (oh yeah, the percentage up from low level housing
still low). Are the 30 day lunar cycles at work or just election year frothing?
Preposterous. Fundamentals have not changed. Structural problems to the economy
and insurmountable debt remain and will worsen. All their computer programmed
trading tricks with eye towards so-called technical support, resistance, etc.,
levels will suck some suckers in as always, they’ll still get their commissions
on the way down, and we’ll see the bubble deflate again.
This is an especially great opportunity to sell and take whatever
profits / gains because there is truly much worse to come and the nation’s
defacto bankrupt in every way.
This Week in the Markets - Suttmeier‘ …Bank Failure Friday – The FDIC closed
seven banks last Friday bringing the total for the month of July to 17 and 103
for the year. Month to date bank failures have drained the FDIC Deposit
Insurance fund by $925.7 million brining the year to date today to $18.5
billion well above the $15.33 billion prepaid assessments for all of 2010. I
estimate that the DIF is now in arrears by $32.7 billion.
Only 25 banks failed in 2008, as the FDIC was
slow closing community and regional banks.
There were 140 bank failures in 2009 with a peak
of 50 in the third quarter.
In the first quarter of 2010 there were 41
failures, in the second quarter there were 45 failures, and so far 17 for
the third quarter for a year to date total of 103.
At this
pace bank closures in 2010 will be within my 150 to 200 estimate range for
2010.
Since the
end of 2007, the FDIC has closed 267 banks on the way to my predicted 500
to 800 by the end of 2012 into 2013 …’
Jim Rogers:
Stress Test Is a PR Exercise The stress test in which only seven of 91
European Union banks failed is just a public relations exercise and wasn’t
tough enough, famous investor Jim Rogers told CNBC.com Monday.
ETF Investing: S&P 500 ETF
sending bearish signal…After hitting its 2010 peak in April, the $70 billion SPDR
S&P 500 ETF(SPY110.41,+0.95,+0.87%)has been in a downtrend punctuated by fizzled low-volume
rallies and lower highs.
Global
bank rules deal struck (Washington Post) No action. Delay. Obfuscate and
‘fraudulate’. Riiiiight! Sounds like a plan! Things are going so fraudulently
swimmingly with the many trillions of bad paper / worthless assets still out
there and in defacto bankrupt american fashion now marked to anything. Don’t
want to upset that applecart; or rather, ‘something’ cart – apples are just to
expensive for street vending!
Financial
Crisis Commission Threatens To Audit Goldman Sachs The Financial Crisis
Inquiry Commission headed up by Phil Angelides has threatened to audit Goldman
Sachs, as it looks for more data on its dealing in derivatives. (They should!
Forget the threats … Just do it and prosecute!)
Goldman
reveals where bailout cash went Des Moines Register | Goldman Sachs sent $4.3 billion in federal tax money to 32
entities, including many overseas banks, hedge funds and pensions.
The Death of Paper Money Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard | As they
prepare for holiday reading in Tuscany, City bankers are buying up rare copies
of an obscure book on the mechanics of Weimar inflation published in 1974.
Yes! I just (7-24-10) looked up and a
quandary no longer as I saw the reason for the market action to the upside the
last few sessions. A blazing full moon! Lest there be any doubt, truly a
testament to the reality of lunacy and the lunar links thereto are the lunatic
fraudulent rallies on fraudulent wall street; criminally insane by any
standard.
This
is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression.
The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market.
This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes
with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and
sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato
scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national
decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted,
jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
INSIDER TRANSACTIONS(Washington
Post) Sell / Take profits / gains. That’s what insiders do in
contra-indicated stock bubbles as this (and don’t forget, options must be
executed and shares bought before they’re sold).
Financial
News: What's coming this week (Washington Post) What does it matter? False
data, manipulated data, spun data, even blatantly bad data as in the past week.
More important are the lunar cycles:
China
builds influence via cash (Washington Post) Well, cash is something that
accumulates when you don’t spend same on illegal wars (as is so of defacto
bankrupt america, ie., Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.); note Germany, Japan, etc..
Then there’s the ‘hate’ factor attendant to the ‘killing machine strategy’
which contrary to their folly / imagination, does not win hearts and minds.
Then there’s the fraudulent paper push which militates against real, net
economic gains.
Finally,
there’s the american ‘crazy train’ factor which has become ever more globally
recognized.
'Tony
Hayward is about to get his life back' (Washington Post) In Siberia … Yes,
tiny tony of little people fame sent into exile in Siberia as one might expect
from the New Soviet Socialist European Union. Note Russia’s Putin has jumped
onto that crazy train and to curry favor therein has ‘thrown Iran under the
bus’, so to speak. But, then again, what can you expect from a former KGB
indoctrinated communist, although america’s now mutated form of capitalism /
free enterprise (really not either) might yet resurrect the likes of marx,
lenin, trotsky, etc.. I’m somewhat embarrassed to have even considered going to
Europe (specifically Switzerland / Geneva) and though language the impediment
(I’m hard-wired for english and even with a prior background in French, ie.,
junior high, high school, recent course-work in French here in Cal did not come
easily at all; although, computerization / algorithms in English from inception
did, which I believe explains Japan’s difficulty with computers, ie., Sony
vaio, Toyota car computerized systems, etc.). Even meaningfully lawless
america’s better than Europe (a very low standard / threshold at that), for all
the reasons that gave rise to america, plus new reasons which will prove
insurmountable having become the ‘lapdog’ joke of the ages as like lemmings
they followed fraudulent wall street’s, america’s lead blindly into the
abyss.
Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY
SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obamais BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a
picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.htmlObama’s
Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” [More b*** s***!].
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains
how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating
fraud thus far.The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE
BIAS AT JUSTICE...Justice official quit over the handling of a voter
intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former
employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases
that involve black defendants and white victims Cases
against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):
Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange: more revelations to come The Wikileaks founder,
Julian Assange, said today that the organisation is working through a “backlog”
of further secret material and was expecting a “substantial increase in
submissions” from whistleblowers after one of the biggest leaks inUS military
history.
Top
U.S. officer warns Afghan war will get worse More NATO troops will die in Afghanistan as violence mounts over
the summer, but Washington’s goal of turning the tide against the insurgency by
year’s end is within reach, the top U.S. military officer said on Sunday.
[Sounds like a plan!].
Goldman
Sachs Names European Banks It Paid Amid AIG’s U.S.-Funded Bailout Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. said it made payments to banks including Germany’s DZ Bank AG
and Banco Santander SA of Spain for mortgage-related losses as it received U.S.
taxpayer funds through theAmerican International Group Inc. bailout in 2008.
Kucinich,
Ron Paul: Get US troops out of Pakistan Two US lawmakers — a Republican and
a Democrat — proposed a bill this week demanding the withdrawal of all US
troops in Pakistan, where they are conducting covert operations against
militants.
Pentagon workers
tied to child porn Federal investigators have identified several dozen
Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who
allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed
number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material,
according to investigative reports.
Infowars.com Censored
in Greece An Infowars.com reader sent an email today informing us that our
website is no longer available in Greek public libraries.Sarkozy
Accused of Working for Israeli Intelligence Gamal Nkrumah | A
letter dispatched to French police officials late last winter revealed that
Sarkozy was recruited as an Israeli spy.
israeli
official offers warnings (Washington Post) What about israel’s
illegal nukes, israeli/american war crimes, etc.. Next stop on the
israeli/american crazy train: Iran.
Contracting
industry anxious about Defense cutbacks(Washington Post) [As
well they should be inasmuch as in any rational / solvent nation, they wouldn’t
be spending what they don’t have. Defacto bankrupt america, spends what it
really doesn’t have in amounts exceeding more than the defense / military
spending of all other nations in the world combined. Yes; at long last, the entitlement
programs of the military industrial complex warned of by underrated President
General Eisenhower are in jeopardy. ]
Pentagon to cut thousands of jobs, defense secretary says(Washington Post) [ Sure sounds like he means business; and,
it’s certainly somewhat reassuring to see a state almost as bad as mob infested
pervasively corrupt jersey, viz., virginia, take the hit (virginia is
predominantly government mob, much of which is cia at that). Yet, one must be
skeptical of what this perpetual-war, hot or cold, career cia slug is actually
accomplishing with these relatively small peripheral cuts given the defacto
bankrupt status of the nation. But, this is one of those rare instances of
something being better than nothing since guns verses butter is real economic
decision-making and reality. ]
Base
in Kyrgyzstan remains on track(Washington Post)
Sounds like a plan! In Osh, no less; which similarity to Osh Kosh confers a
certain ‘legitimacy’ to america’s self-destructive, nation-bankrupting
non-strategy of ‘being there’. A new raison d’etre, so to speak! Osh, Kosh, be
Gosh!
Karzai's
bid to control inquiries worries U.S.(Washington
Post) [My Lord! You just can’t make this stuff up! The americanization of
Afghanistan … hopelessly corrupt … but american ‘liberators’ want their cut
from the now hopelessly corrupt liberated nation, in america’s own image, of
the heroin trade they’ve worked so hard to restore.] There is
growing concern that U.S. support for the war will diminish further if voters
continue to see the Afghan government as hopelessly corrupt.
China
focuses on military might(Washington Post) [And the big difference here (between them
and defacto bankrupt america) is that ‘THEY CAN AFFORD IT’ and are not fighting
nation-bankrupting, anti-american-sentiment-creating wars all over the place.]Nation is quickly modernizing forces,
extending influence deep into Pacific and Indian oceans.
Afghans
still see U.S. as bad guy(Washington
Post ) [Riiiiight! Sounds
like a plan … winning hearts and minds throughout the world … great for exports
also as such ‘won hearts and minds’ just love to buy american.] American, NATO
forces retain blame for civilian deaths despite spike from insurgent violence.
U.S. looks to replicate Iraq
strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as
in drowning, in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american
sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military
officials hope that a secure green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will
make it more difficult for Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings
in the Afghan city.
Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO
strikes that killed civilians: Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans,
denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds
like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network
‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to
success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is
unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography
arrives(Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on
entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a
disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is
very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed
leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental
an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress
who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to.
Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her
performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and
stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame)
had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly
endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and
quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is
neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal /
objective; but rather issuch a debacle
and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto
bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the
well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the
synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing thatshe is wiser than most in Washington.
Obama reminds veterans he's beginning war's end(Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! I mean,
after all you must have a beginning before you have an end. Yeah, there’s a
certain ineluctable logic to that; a certain ‘ring’ to it! Like full circuit
‘b*** s***!
Accountability is unclear in israeli probe of flotilla
raid(Washington
Post) Oh, come on! An israeli probe of an
israeli massacre of civilians. Time for israel to pay; for illegal nukes, for
violations of international law, for continued violations of u.n. resolutions,
for provocations as pretexts to sabotage peace talks, and on and on ad nauseum.
Why does america among other nations feel compelled to sacrifice themselves for
the sake of a global criminal nation with an insatiable greed and blood-thirst
as israel?
Murder on the high seas
JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at
least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an
emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the
United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the
international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip
How
does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war
crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s.
gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money
that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.
It's time to expel
israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound
"Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the
most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has
been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so
cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the
Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to
the hapless people of Gaza Strip?
Girdles
for men?(Washington Post) [ I’d say par for the course
… of human male evolution that is. After all, more and more peoples are
referring to the war mongering american male trend of warring on the far less
militarily capable, bullying if you will, as just a bunch of c***s. ]They
call it "men's shapewear," but ladies, we know that you know what
that really means. Spanx for Men debuted to such a success this year that the
company is coming out with a line of (gulp) bottoms for the fall.
Rockefeller
Study Envisages Future Dictatorship Controlled By Elite … (Vegetables … Yes,
Asparagus, not Broccoli) … Here’s the pathetic news, however; it’s called
reality: [Neanderthals, Humans
Interbred, DNA ProvesSigns of Neanderthals
Mating With Humans-
Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their
imprint in the human genome. Genome hints humans, Neanderthals rolled in
prehistoric hayYou're a Neanderthal: Genes say yes — a little bit (AP)Neanderthals and people interbred, fossil
analysis finds For more info on man’s humble beginnings, see
here http://www.albertpeia.com/anthroindex1.htm
Previously I wrote:FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN....
These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more
studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are
distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote: [see infra] and [Interestingly, my
intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to closer examination of the
compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain what I believe to be the
correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated, for the most part, the more
“enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation, accident, luck, intervention,
etc.) left the unvarying confines of their Sub-Saharan origins, experienced
diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced what has been described (by
neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as neurogenesis in varying degrees and
forms thereby over time, which trait was selected for and is consistent with
the purported multi-regional evolutionary model which does not overtly
contradict ultimately, initial African origins. Races, sub-species, missing
links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and sorrowful tale of the “dawn
of man”.] [see infra] …]Global pandemics that kill
millions, mandatory quarantines, checkpoints, biometric ID cards, and a world
of top-down government control. These things are not lifted from the latest
sci-fi blockbuster movie, they’re part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s vision
for what the globe might be like in 15-20 years’ time under a new world order
tightly controlled by the elite. [That’s getting awfully close to the outside
‘decades, not millennia or even centuries’].
Middle
East Digest (Washington Post)Witnesses report Israeli airstrikes in Gaza
Previous-Mideast
DigestIsraeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians:(Washington Post)[War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year
old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them …
press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom
fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza
Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said.
An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants
suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.
July
becomes deadliest month for U.S. troops(Washington Post)
Sounds like plan! You know, the fraudulent wall street glass half full kind of
thing … lowering of costs of prospective medical, benefits, pension … well, in
truth, I’m not sayin’ that they said that, but you’re dreamin’ if you don’t
think they think like that. You know, the new ‘attention to deficits disorder’
in light of the nation’s defacto bankruptcy. What a total waste in every
respect!
Mideast Digest
(Washington Post, August 4, 2010) Blowback’s a reality. One that only fools
would ignore, defacto bankrupt america. Time to throw hated war criminal nation
israel under the bus. Why should america sacrifice itself for the war mongering
israelis. They’d NEVER do that for america. I’ve even heard analysts with
regional expertise say that the nation was better off under sadam.
Top Secret America: How
the DOD does it (Washington Post) Does what? Come On! You can’t take this
guy seriously. First, he’s military; what do you expect him to say. Second, he
talks of wars as if they always have to have one or be searching for one and we
all know they “find” them. Finally, he all but ignores what the underrated
President General Eisenhower warned of in the form of the unscrupulous,
insatiably greedy military/industrial complex which as colonel he but a very
small cog in who goes along to get along. The fact is also that they can’t be
managed and also that they don’t even try!
Corrupt u.s. courts /
judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt
entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to
abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and
corrupt costly bureaucracies.
Ron
Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’ US House Rep. Ron Paul
says the CIA has has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government,
and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.” I also personally
believe there has been a defacto coup d’etat which has manifested in
various substantial, blatant, brazened frauds, ie., wall street, missing 360
tons of $100 bills in Iraq, war profiteering, etc., without any fear of
prosecution, and of course concomitant decline for u.s. as the treasury is
looted. But I also believe its scope is beyond just the CIA with many complicit
within the corrupted 3 branches of u.s. government (fed judges, us attorneys,
illegal system, etc.) plus the military and private big money, ie., Goldman
Sachs / wall street men, etc., among other organized crime. america is defacto
bankrupt in every way!
In
Iraq, $2.6B unaccounted for(Washington Post) [Daaah! Fog of war frauds among others; the nation’s
treasury pillaged and plundered; I’ve previously commented here and included on
my website http://albertpeia.com , see infra]Pentagon can't account for how it spent $2.6 billion of Iraqi oil
proceeds, an IG report says.
Top Secret America: How
the DOD does it (Washington Post) Does what? Come On! You can’t take this
guy seriously. First, he’s military; what do you expect him to say. Second, he
talks of wars as if they always have to have one or be searching for one and we
all know they “find” them. Finally, he all but ignores what the underrated
President General Eisenhower warned of in the form of the unscrupulous,
insatiably greedy military/industrial complex which as colonel he but a very
small cog in who goes along to get along. The fact is also that they can’t be
managed and also that they don’t even try!
Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS:
Hidden world, growing beyond control... 854,000 people have
top-secret security clearance... You really have to laud
The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people
appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more
so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates
the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be
able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating,
need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse
version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll
find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on.
The following youtube video is well worth the look and
explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their
devastating fraud thus far.The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed. (Cases
against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):
SEC
enforcers get to keep subpoena authority(Washington Post) I believe that they should also be
empowered to bring criminal charges inasmuch as the doj and u.s. attorneys
offices thereunder seem either unwilling, lacking courage, incapable, without
specific knowledge in the securities field (inept), or just, as is my
experience, plain corrupt, politically motivated, and venal. This national
decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and, ie.,
the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and
disgorgement imposed.
FBI
could get easier access to Internet data (Washington Post) I hope so; at
least as to my data; then there will be no excuse for lack of resolution in
accordance will meaningful law. The fact is, they already have the relevant
data under penalty of perjury on disk. Moreover, it’s been assigned out here
and I’ve once again offered to take a polygraph on any and all matters.
There is really no way to
rationalize or attempt to justify what america is / has become since they have
with open eyes chosen this contra-indicated course of ineluctable decline, from
illegal wars, to war crimes, to backing war criminal nations as israel, to huge
frauds, to war profiteering, to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering,
and this list goes on and on …:
(Previously) I’d say this
alito vs. wobama is a tempest in a teapot inasmuch as alito is more than just a
lightweight, hack, liar, fraud etc., as set forth in the comments. alito is a
criminal who should have served / should be serving time in prison for
obstruction of justice, bribery, among other RICO violations. To alito, drug
money is as green as corporate money and worth his vote as well. In addition to
being an inept [I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost
(accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and
the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman
through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent
corrupt alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a
few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom
along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches)] and
corrupt (see below and particularly the summary provided to the FBI under
penalty of perjury [
http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
] ) u.s. attorney.
You’re naïve to think
that the so-called supreme court is any different from the rest of the
meaningfully lawless and pervasively corrupt american ‘system’. I knew well an
accomplished trial lawyer, fellow american college of trial lawyers / and a bar
examiner, who pondered from time to time becoming a judge “so he’d never have
to work again” – his words.
Some comments on
alito…all appropriate:
Probably the worst appointment in one
hundred years.
Posted by: mnjam
-----------------------
Really? That's a pretty sweeping
statement to make about someone who's only been on the court a short few years.
And I thought that liberals were in
universal agreement that Clarence Thomas was the worst appointment in all of
history?
Posted by: blert | January 28, 2010 2:11
AM | Report abuse
----------------------------
Yes. Really. Alito is a total lightweight and hack. He makes Thomas look like
John Marshall or Oliver Wendell Holmes. I KNOW ALITO.
Posted by: mnjam | January 28, 2010 2:24 AM |
the loser here is alito.lost his composure not good for a judge especially
afederal or supreme justice .loser big time this will live with guy for a very
time.roberts and the other justices will have a talk with him that is a
given.this relly larger than o one day news cycle.
Posted by: donaldtucker | January 28, 2010 1:12 AM |
Should Alito resign or be impeached?
Posted by: jdmca | January 28, 2010 1:05 AM |
Rendition:
Where the War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs Henningsen | It’s time to ditch the
policies we have come to tolerate for decades before they consume what is left
of our moral core. I’ve experienced the corrupt inter-relationship of the
government (all 3 corrupt branches) and the illegal drug trade / obstruction of
justice / bribery first hand, particularly the courts / u.s. attorneys offices
(ie., alito – now u.s. supreme court justice – quid pro quo for his complicity
/ cover-up), feds; see immediately after article excerpt for links / summary.
…“Evidence points to aircraft – familiarly
known as “torture taxis” – used by the CIA to move captives seized in its
kidnapping or “extraordinary rendition” operations through Gatwick and other
airports in the EU being simultaneously used for drug distribution in the
Western hemisphere. A Gulfstream II jet aircraft N9875A identified by the
British Government and the European Parliament as being involved in this
traffic crashed in Mexico…” In 2004, another torture taxi crashed in a field in
Nicaragua with a ton of cocaine aboard… Mexican soldiers found ..132 bags
containing 3.3 metric tons of cocaine. The origination of the Gulfstream’s
flight is unknown but it was destined for Cancun when it crash landed.Again,
here is the important point: that same Gulf Stream II was one of the very same
planes chartered to the CIA for the rendition of suspected terrorists
prisoners. Gulf Stream II crashed in Mexico with 3 tons of
cocaine on board ..it should not be surprising that this illegal practice of rendition
has in some part, been used as a well-run smokescreen for another
borderless illegal operation- an extremely lucrative international transfer and
delivery of cash and narcotics.,,These
flights are not subject to regular customs checks, inspections or normal
regulations as they move seamlessly between destinations in the US, Britain,
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Cuba and possibly through US bases in
Turkey, Greece and Morocco…
Corrupt u.s. courts /
judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt
entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to
abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and costly
bureaucracies. Rules of law mean nothing to these typically corrupt americans.
Most, including sam alito of the u.s. supreme court, concerning drug
money laundering and obstruction of justice in the 3rd circuit (
also maryanne trump barry who covered-up drug money laundering through her
brother’s casinos in a civil RICO case) should have gone to or belong in jail. Contrary to popular belief, they do it
for the money, personal money, big, cash, untraceable money. The fog of war is
great for such things (360 tons $100 bills flown into Iraq and missing, etc.).
Corrupt u.s. courts /
judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt
entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to
abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and
corrupt costly bureaucracies.
There must be such things
as parallel universes (I don’t really believe that, because there isn’t) or how
else do you explain the disconnect between reality, current and prospective,
and the wet dreams posited to keep the war funding / corporate welfare programs
alive in collectively what has already become a trillion dollar boondoggle (not
counting prospective medical costs, etc.) and promises to go much higher. Even
israel apologist Cohen of The Washington Post alludes to the Vietnam analogy.
However, even if there were real goals beyond the poppy / heroin trade which
the Taliban had all but eradicated (there isn’t); even if america wasn’t
defacto bankrupt (america is); even if america wasn’t killing innocent
civilians in large numbers (war criminal nation america is); even if america’s
allies haven’t similarly helped to bankrupt themselves by way of this war (they
have); even if I hadn’t told you so (I did) ….. this war still was, is, and
remains a very bad idea!
I
include the first two comments to the foregoing headline:
Billo Says:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:15
am
Lunacy? Keep in mind
that this country is run and controlled by lunatics. Our press government and
military seem to take their orders from Israel. Isarel wants to be known as a
pack of “mad dogs. Do we want “mad dogs” controlling us?
Here we see a bunch of phony accusations against Iran just
like we did in the run up to the bogus wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now
Pakistan. The boy has cried wold ten thousand times. It’s time to identify the
“lunatics” and kindly take away the car keys. If you won’t let your friends
drive drunk, why do we let a bunch of “lunatic” enemies run this place.
Glen Reply:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:47
am
Lunacy it would be.
But it is also to their
great credit that the Iranians have not made their own threats.
Everyone knows there are
3 WMD threats, Nuclear Biological and chemical. The scariest of which is
Biological.
Any attack done under
the threat of immediate biological retaliation would deter only the insane.
Watch out america home
of the insane, home of the leaders who want an 80% population reduction.
General
McChrystal’s Burning Contempt for the Puppet Obama The farce that is the
war in Afghanistan is coming apart at the seams. General Stanley McChrystal’s
sharp comments about Obama, Biden, and the administration published by Rolling
Stone are not so much about disrespect, as the script-reading corporate media
talking heads would have it, but rather about a policy in disarray in
Afghanistan.
Mideast
DigestIsraeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians:(Washington Post)[War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year
old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them …
press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom
fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza
Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said.
An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants
suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.
A
Plague Upon The World: The USA is a “Failed State” Dr. Paul
Craig Roberts | The American people are lost in la-la land. They have
no idea that their civil liberties have been forfeited. US
citizen killed on flotilla reportedly shot four times in head Raw
Story | A forensic report said Furkan Dogan was shot at close range,
with four bullets in his head and one in his chest, according to the Anatolian
news agency. The explanation foisted off on the americans by war criminal
israelis is probably something on the order of ‘they just wanted to make sure
they missed him’. Roberts:
‘AIPAC purchases US elections’ Russia Today | Paul
Craig Roberts says that there will be nothing that is going to be done by the
United States to change the relationship with Israel.
‘US
funding terrorist group against Iran’ Press TV | A
member of a terrorist organization operating in Iran says that a US State
department radio station originally put him in touch with the group.
Paul
Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs Kurt Nimmo
| John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I
think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is: http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm
‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was
referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the
"songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his
Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented
with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military
code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here. [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm
] But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade
of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as
america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to
rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the
(corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed,
prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street"
has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective
legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention,
and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise
of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn";
huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’
Israel’s
Nukes Out of the Shadows Israel faces unprecedented pressure to
abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons
as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this
week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East.
The
Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global
Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on
planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new,
destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit
into another “battlespace.”
New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece
of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have
already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to
speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware
say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might
want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space
alien host body.
First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space planmsnbc.com - Bill Ingalls -
The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's
decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not
going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out
effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured
piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned
lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news |
europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of
moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a
lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock'
in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch
national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the
moon by american astronauts, ... http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm
In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence
that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american
fraud!
Editorial: US in
quagmire Seeing the warm welcome extended to the Afghan president on his US
trip, it is hard to believe that only weeks ago Washington was seething with
anger and frustration at Hamid Karzai’s behavior and there were even dark
mutterings by US officials that he might be mad.
War
in Afghanistan and Iraq costs America $1trillion From the Old
| On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have
spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Sinking
of the Cheonan: A Classic False Flag Operation Russia Today
| Sinking of the warship was really intended to convince Japan not to move US
forces off Okinawa as well as divert the attention of Americans from the dire
economic situation at home.
. Israel:
IDF Troops Who Murdered Unarmed Innocent People Are ‘Brave Heroes’ The
government of israel, aided by many quarters of the international media, is
attempting to spin today’s deadly IDF assault on a humanitarian aid ship
carrying supplies to Gaza as the fault of the murdered activists on board the
vessel, ludicrously characterizing machine-gun carrying Israeli troops who
killed over a dozen innocent people as the victims of the incident.
Iraqi
doctors demand cancer probe Al Jazeera | Iraqi
doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003
invasion is spreading cancer through the population. [This is all too true and
real; and I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, coverage … well,
maybe not that surprised ].
"What
this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they
live on," Paabo … With regard to that extinction thing, I’d say
they’re still working on it (ultimately, decades, extinction, the distinction,
without a difference). Actually, prior to studying the compelling subject
of Biological Anthropology (Michael Park text), I too had some misconceptions
about the group known as Neandertals (recent spelling drops the ‘h’) and
actually mis-referenced same by the stereotypical image of members of said
clade even as the debate continues as to whether they are within the species
homo sapiens or a separate species. I believe these to be distinctions without
important differences, so humble the origins and evolution of man truly are.
Parenthetically, I wonder what that anthropological scientist Heidi Klum thinks
on the subject.
FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN....
These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more
studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are
distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote:
10-5-09
Postscript: Professor *****,
I felt compelled to thank you again for the add; not to curry your favor but
indeed to express profound thanks inasmuch as this is probably the last formal
course at a formal educational institution I'll ever take; and among the most
important. While I had bought at discount a library-discarded 1993 Anthropology
by Embers text, though meaning to read same never quite got to it. I am
astounded by the substantial amount of time involved in the evolutionary
process, not that I ever stopped to think about it, and one must come away with
the sense of 'and all that...for this?'. This course should be required
curriculum along with psychology, sociology, etc., but probably won't be owing
to what is, as it should be, a very humbling educational experience for any
member of the human race.
Regards,
Al Peia
[Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to
closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain
what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated,
for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation,
accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their
Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced
what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as
neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was
selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary
model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins.
Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and
sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.]
Sen. Levin urges State Department to put
Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups(Washington
Post) Oooooh! … Sounds like a plan … and emanating from washington (and a
thriving Michigan jew no less) … who says they don’t do anything? … And,
consistent with that apocalyptic vision set forth in the Bible [albeit a book
of truth from a very limited perspective (for which literal interpretations are
misleading); after all, the Wise Men thought it was a movable star that was
guiding them and shone the bright ‘spotlight’ upon the manger with the Christ];
the jews and some other entity against the rest of the world for that final
Armageddon … oh, they’ll make that happen … it gets them through their day with
every step closer to apocalypse but not to the place called heaven will they
go. The end of this world? You might say america / israel / and theirs are
feverishly working on just that, one way or another!
Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S.
extradition request (Washington Post, July 13, 2010) Without diminishing in any way the seriousness of the crime, this
result is the direct consequence of the growing global recognition of the
pervasiveness of corruption in american courts, state and federal, and america
generally; so much so, that said corrupt american courts cannot be relied on
anywhere, anytime. Indeed, my own sampling, though hardly random to be candid,
is 5 for 5 (new jersey, new york, connecticut, virginia, california)
pervasively and egregiously corrupt to the point where these costly, corrupt
bureaucracies should be abolished and supplanted with alternatives as I’ve
previously set forth in these comments.
No
shame, just blame (Washington Post) Come on! This is america today. Look at
wobama … lied his way in and no shame … typical … criticism just like water off
a duck’s back. I think he’s content to be a failed president just so he can do
as he does best on the speaking tours as a retiree from the office … b*** s***!
They’re all the same. Legislated raises for themselves in congress as the
nation was bleeding jobs, legislated NAFTA and gave huge wall street frauds
money and still no pros, but that’s where the campaign funds are. No guts!
Pervasively corrupt and meaningfully lawless, america’s done! And america’s
defacto bankrupt in every way.
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains
how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating
fraud thus far.The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE
BIAS AT JUSTICE...Justice
official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New
Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the
civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white
victims Cases
against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):
How
much is $1.4 trillion? | Doing
the math(Washington Post) Math?
How plebian a task on capital hill. I think the lack thereof is as much a lack
of aptitude / intelligence as it is a lack of will. And, this is a bi-partisan
foible. According to the Debt Clock (approx. two months ago):
• Total national debt:$13 trillion (near 13.3 now) • Debt per citizen:$42,026 • Debt per taxpayer: $117,982
• Total interest due: $1.9 trillion
• Interest per citizen: $2,211
• Total personal debt:$16.5 trillion • Total mortgage debt: $14.1 trillion
• Total consumer debt: $2.45 trillion
• Personal debt per citizen: $53,483
• Debt held by foreign countries:$4.07
trillion
Big
banks pass stress tests (Washington Post) They’ve swallowed the american
paradigm of fraud and b*** s***, hook, line, and sinker and sink they will as
yet another reason is manifest in the ‘death of the west’ (as coined by
Buchanan), displaced by emerging economies, asia, most notably China, etc.,
where they tend not to lie to either themselves or others. No wonder the failed
‘nation states of the west’ are joined at the hip in such ill-fated ventures as
illegal wars, past and present, among many other strategic blunders.
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013,
especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a
deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012
They
ensured financial regulation overhaul(Washington Post) What
overhaul? New bureaucracy, more power to the fed and corrupt incompetents as
tiny tim geithner (that $4 trillion’s still missing from the ny fed), no
recession helicopter ben bernanke, perps scot free and keep their loot, etc..
Real reform requires that the wall
street frauds et als be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement
imposed.
Existing-home
sales drop for second month (Washington Post) Bad economic news … what
better reason for a typically fraudulent suckers’ bear market, short-covering
rally for the high-frequency computerized churn-and-earn wall street frauds to
commission and ultimately sell into.
US, NATO
behind Iran bombings: MP An Iranian lawmaker slams the recent bombings in
the country’s southeast as a plot by Western military forces in the Middle East
to spread terror on Iran’s borders.
WASHPOST Ombudsman: Why
Silence on Black Panther Story? (Washington Post) ‘Thursday's Post reported about a growing
controversy over the Justice
Department's decision to scale down a voter-intimidation case against members
of the New Black Panther Party. The story succinctly summarized the issues
but left many readers with a question: What took you so long? For months,
readers have contacted the ombudsman wondering why The Post hasn't been covering
the case. The calls increased recently after competitors such as the New York
Times and the Associated Press wrote stories. Fox News and right-wing bloggers
have been pumping the story. Liberal bloggers have countered, accusing them of
trying to manufacture a scandal. But The Post has been virtually silent. The
story has its origins on Election Day in 2008, when two members of the New
Black Panther Party stood in front of a Philadelphia polling place. YouTube
video of the men, now viewed nearly 1.5 million times, shows both wearing
paramilitary clothing. One carried a nightstick…’
‘West,
israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A
ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated
“the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the
southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.
Three of every four oil and gas lobbyists worked for
federal government (Washington Post) This is an important article but in no way
should be limited to the oil and gas industries even if disproportionate to the
upside, even as wall street has actually begun occupying capital hill in a
manner of speaking. The revolving-door standards and the functions of
‘toll-bridge to taxpayer dollars’ must end. After all, you see, the nation is
defacto bankrupt!‘Three out of every
four lobbyists
who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government,
a proportion that far exceeds the usual revolving-door standards on Capitol
Hill, a Washington Post analysis shows’
Good
credit isn't what it was (Washington Post) Gee! I thought this article was
about america, pre-defacto bankruptcy compared with now.
Bernanke:
Fed ready to step in if economy falters (Washington Post) Step in with
what? Another two step (backwards)? They’ve ‘shot their wad’. Moreover, they
can’t print the ever more worthless Weimar dollars any faster.
Stocks
drop as Bernanke warns of uncertain economy (AP) One of those daaah moments
courtesy of ‘no recession helicopter ben fed’!On the positive side, however, at least a semblance of reality is extant
asopposed to stroking the frauds on
wall street to facilitate their churn-and-earn high frequency trade scams
(those lofty fraudulent peaks provide room to trade in and are great to sell
into).Bernanke 'uncertain' about economy's outlookThe Federal Reserve chairman says the outlook for the
economy is “unusually uncertain” and that the central... Bernanke's
economy comment batters market (Reuters) - Reuters - Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's dour assessment of the U.S. recovery hit stocks
on Wednesday, as his comment that the economy faced "unusually
uncertain" prospects rattled investors.
U.S.
financial reform bill also targets 'conflict minerals' (Washington
Post) The bill doth try to do too much, methinks. After all, look at
Sub-Saharan Africa generally … ‘mission impossible’ … and, with huge crime
rates in the ‘ states, I’d say ‘look homeward, hell’s angels’. Then there’s the
law of parsimony sometimes referred to as ‘Ockham’s razor’ which as a logical
approach generally says ‘keep it simple’, only what’s necessary. Then, as well,
there’s the defacto bankruptcy thing for america which will preclude meeting
domestic promises, necessaries, and expectations. That’s reality along with the
fact that: ‘This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes.’ Being a ‘meat and
potatoes’ kind of guy, I also feel that all will be served if the frauds on wall street et als are criminally
prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed.
Job
growth slows in Washington region(Washington Post) Wow! Sounds like
a plan … a great plan, even … so long as the slowing’s on capital hill / D.C. .
And, that’s if you believe their fake numbers. I’ don’t! Real Jobs, Fake Jobs In many ways, the unemployment numbers are
much worse than they appear. One factor has been the timing of the US census.
Home building down 5 percent in
June(Washington Post) Lunatic frauds on wall street say, ‘well,
it could have been a 20% decline and they’ll take it (not really)’
A
new front in racism battle (Washington Post) Truth be told, I’ve found that
all peoples are prejudiced / biased. Probably an adaptive evolutionary relic
that defies intellectual scrutiny, I’ve also found that those peoples who claim
to be victimized the most are themselves the worstoffenders despite their flaming rhetoric (there are numerous
other and even better examples but the following are news current):
b) Latino
KKK: You are too white to be American! ALIPAC | Tan Klan woman can scream racist
comments because the Obama administration and most of the major news networks
in America have her back.
DRUDGEREPORT: Arab guilty of rape after
consensual sex with Jew...‘An Israeli man of Arab origin has been convicted of rape after having
consensual sex with a woman who had believed him to be a fellow Jew. Sabbar
Kashur, 30, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday after the court
ruled that he was guilty of rape by deception. According to the complaint filed
by the woman with the Jerusalem district court, the two met in downtown
Jerusalem in September 2008 where Kashur, an Arab from East Jerusalem,
introduced himself as a Jewish bachelor seeking a serious relationship. The two
then had consensual sex in a nearby building before Kashur left. When she later
found out that he was not Jewish but an Arab, she filed a criminal complaint
for rape and indecent assault …’
Mideast
DigestIsraeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians:(Washington Post)[War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year
old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them …
press on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom
fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza
Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said.
An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants
suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.
The yardarm is the
remedy Dozens of our friends and comrades, of wonderful compassionate
activists are dead and wounded in the pirate attack in the high seas on
humanitarian aid boats. This is a dreadful crime that will forever be
remembered and should be punished. The Israeli pirates attacked the
humanitarian aid Freedom Flotilla in the international waters over 150 km out
of their territorial waters. The boats carried no arms; the participants
strictly adhered to Ghandian mode by asking the Greek and Cyprus authorities to
search the boats to avoid later claims that they were armed.
A
Plague Upon The World: The USA is a “Failed State” Dr. Paul
Craig Roberts | The American people are lost in la-la land. They have
no idea that their civil liberties have been forfeited. US
citizen killed on flotilla reportedly shot four times in head Raw
Story | A forensic report said Furkan Dogan was shot at close range,
with four bullets in his head and one in his chest, according to the Anatolian
news agency. The explanation foisted off on the americans by war criminal
israelis is probably something on the order of ‘they just wanted to make sure
they missed him’. Roberts:
‘AIPAC purchases US elections’ Russia Today | Paul
Craig Roberts says that there will be nothing that is going to be done by the
United States to change the relationship with Israel.
‘US
funding terrorist group against Iran’ Press TV | A member of a terrorist organization
operating in Iran says that a US State department radio station originally put
him in touch with the group.
Mideast
DigestIsraeli shelling kills 2 wounds 6 Gaza civilians:(Washington Post)[War criminal israelis justified their attack saying when the 10 year
old girl grew up to be a woman she’d be prepared to fire rockets at them … press
on says fellow war criminal defacto bankrupt nation america] israeli shellfire killed two Palestinian freedom
fighters and wounded six people, including a 10-year-old girl, in the Gaza
Strip, Palestinian medical workers and an official with a militant group said.
An israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire on militants
suspected of preparing to fire a rocket at them.
Top Secret America: How
the DOD does it (Washington Post) Does what? Come On! You can’t take this
guy seriously. First, he’s military; what do you expect him to say. Second, he
talks of wars as if they always have to have one or be searching for one and we
all know they “find” them. Finally, he all but ignores what the underrated
President General Eisenhower warned of in the form of the unscrupulous,
insatiably greedy military/industrial complex which as colonel he but a very
small cog in who goes along to get along. The fact is also that they can’t be
managed and also that they don’t even try!
Drudgereport: WASHPOST TAKES ON THE SPOOKS:
Hidden world, growing beyond control... 854,000 people have
top-secret security clearance... You really have to laud
The Washington Post for this investigative brilliance which whether people
appreciate it or not, requires great corporate and personal courage; even more
so inasmuch as this is their backyard, so to speak. Clearly, this illuminates
the boondoggles which amazingly are coming at a time when america will not be
able to handle ‘bare necessities’ much less the self-perpetuating,
need-creating, bureaucracies which I’ve previously likened to a perverse
version of ‘Field of Dreams’ where if you will commit taxpayer dollars, they’ll
find / create a war, conflict, new war, etc., to spend it on.
The following youtube video is well worth the look and
explains how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their
devastating fraud thus far.The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed. (Cases
against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ):
There is really no way to
rationalize or attempt to justify what america is / has become since they have
with open eyes chosen this contra-indicated course of ineluctable decline, from
illegal wars, to war crimes, to backing war criminal nations as israel, to huge
frauds, to war profiteering, to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering,
and this list goes on and on …:
(Previously) I’d say this
alito vs. wobama is a tempest in a teapot inasmuch as alito is more than just a
lightweight, hack, liar, fraud etc., as set forth in the comments. alito is a
criminal who should have served / should be serving time in prison for
obstruction of justice, bribery, among other RICO violations. To alito, drug
money is as green as corporate money and worth his vote as well. In addition to
being an inept [I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost
(accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and
the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman
through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent
corrupt alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a
few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom
along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches)] and
corrupt (see below and particularly the summary provided to the FBI under
penalty of perjury [
http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
] ) u.s. attorney.
You’re naïve to think
that the so-called supreme court is any different from the rest of the
meaningfully lawless and pervasively corrupt american ‘system’. I knew well an
accomplished trial lawyer, fellow american college of trial lawyers / and a bar
examiner, who pondered from time to time becoming a judge “so he’d never have
to work again” – his words.
Some comments on
alito…all appropriate:
Probably the worst appointment in one
hundred years.
Posted by: mnjam
-----------------------
Really? That's a pretty sweeping
statement to make about someone who's only been on the court a short few years.
And I thought that liberals were in
universal agreement that Clarence Thomas was the worst appointment in all of
history?
Posted by: blert | January 28, 2010 2:11
AM | Report abuse
----------------------------
Yes. Really. Alito is a total lightweight and hack. He makes Thomas look like
John Marshall or Oliver Wendell Holmes. I KNOW ALITO.
Posted by: mnjam | January 28, 2010 2:24 AM |
the loser here is alito.lost his composure not good for a judge especially
afederal or supreme justice .loser big time this will live with guy for a very
time.roberts and the other justices will have a talk with him that is a
given.this relly larger than o one day news cycle.
Posted by: donaldtucker | January 28, 2010 1:12 AM |
Should Alito resign or be impeached?
Posted by: jdmca | January 28, 2010 1:05 AM |
Ron
Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’ US House Rep. Ron Paul
says the CIA has has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government,
and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.” I also personally
believe there has been a defacto coup d’etat which has manifested in
various substantial, blatant, brazened frauds, ie., wall street, missing 360
tons of $100 bills in Iraq, war profiteering, etc., without any fear of
prosecution, and of course concomitant decline for u.s. as the treasury is
looted. But I also believe its scope is beyond just the CIA with many complicit
within the corrupted 3 branches of u.s. government (fed judges, us attorneys,
illegal system, etc.) plus the military and private big money, ie., Goldman
Sachs / wall street men, etc., among other organized crime. america is defacto
bankrupt in every way!
There must be such things
as parallel universes (I don’t really believe that, because there isn’t) or how
else do you explain the disconnect between reality, current and prospective,
and the wet dreams posited to keep the war funding / corporate welfare programs
alive in collectively what has already become a trillion dollar boondoggle (not
counting prospective medical costs, etc.) and promises to go much higher. Even
israel apologist Cohen of The Washington Post alludes to the Vietnam analogy.
However, even if there were real goals beyond the poppy / heroin trade which
the Taliban had all but eradicated (there isn’t); even if america wasn’t
defacto bankrupt (america is); even if america wasn’t killing innocent
civilians in large numbers (war criminal nation america is); even if america’s
allies haven’t similarly helped to bankrupt themselves by way of this war (they
have); even if I hadn’t told you so (I did) ….. this war still was, is, and
remains a very bad idea!
How
does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war
crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s.
gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money
that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.
It's time to expel
israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound
"Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the
most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has
been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so
cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the
Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to
the hapless people of Gaza Strip?
I
include the first two comments to the foregoing headline:
Billo Says:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:15
am
Lunacy? Keep in mind
that this country is run and controlled by lunatics. Our press government and
military seem to take their orders from Israel. Isarel wants to be known as a
pack of “mad dogs. Do we want “mad dogs” controlling us?
Here we see a bunch of phony accusations against Iran just
like we did in the run up to the bogus wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now
Pakistan. The boy has cried wold ten thousand times. It’s time to identify the
“lunatics” and kindly take away the car keys. If you won’t let your friends
drive drunk, why do we let a bunch of “lunatic” enemies run this place.
Glen Reply:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:47
am
Lunacy it would be.
But it is also to their
great credit that the Iranians have not made their own threats.
Everyone knows there are
3 WMD threats, Nuclear Biological and chemical. The scariest of which is
Biological.
Any attack done under
the threat of immediate biological retaliation would deter only the insane.
Watch out america home
of the insane, home of the leaders who want an 80% population reduction.
General
McChrystal’s Burning Contempt for the Puppet Obama The farce that is the
war in Afghanistan is coming apart at the seams. General Stanley McChrystal’s
sharp comments about Obama, Biden, and the administration published by Rolling
Stone are not so much about disrespect, as the script-reading corporate media
talking heads would have it, but rather about a policy in disarray in
Afghanistan.
Russia
accuses U.S. of kidnapping pilot(Washington Post) The lesson to be learned here is don’t mess with
american drug trade … they’ll **** you up! That’s their drug money he’s takin’…
riiiiight! …World
Digest: China Oil Spill; U.S. aid boat wants to sail to Gaza as 'The Audacity
of Hope'Rendition:
Where the War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs Henningsen | It’s time to ditch the
policies we have come to tolerate for decades before they consume what is left
of our moral core. I’ve experienced the corrupt inter-relationship of the
government (all 3 corrupt branches) and the illegal drug trade / obstruction of
justice / bribery first hand, particularly the courts / u.s. attorneys offices
(ie., alito – now u.s. supreme court justice – quid pro quo for his complicity
/ cover-up), feds; see immediately after article excerpt for links / summary.
…“Evidence points to aircraft – familiarly
known as “torture taxis” – used by the CIA to move captives seized in its
kidnapping or “extraordinary rendition” operations through Gatwick and other
airports in the EU being simultaneously used for drug distribution in the
Western hemisphere. A Gulfstream II jet aircraft N9875A identified by the
British Government and the European Parliament as being involved in this
traffic crashed in Mexico…” In 2004, another torture taxi crashed in a field in
Nicaragua with a ton of cocaine aboard… Mexican soldiers found ..132 bags
containing 3.3 metric tons of cocaine. The origination of the Gulfstream’s
flight is unknown but it was destined for Cancun when it crash landed.Again,
here is the important point: that same Gulf Stream II was one of the very same
planes chartered to the CIA for the rendition of suspected terrorists
prisoners. Gulf Stream II crashed in Mexico with 3 tons of
cocaine on board ..it should not be surprising that this illegal practice of rendition
has in some part, been used as a well-run smokescreen for another
borderless illegal operation- an extremely lucrative international transfer and
delivery of cash and narcotics.,,These
flights are not subject to regular customs checks, inspections or normal
regulations as they move seamlessly between destinations in the US, Britain,
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Cuba and possibly through US bases in
Turkey, Greece and Morocco…
Corrupt u.s. courts /
judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt
entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to
abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and costly
bureaucracies. Rules of law mean nothing to these typically corrupt americans.
Most, including sam alito of the u.s. supreme court, concerning drug
money laundering and obstruction of justice in the 3rd circuit (
also maryanne trump barry who covered-up drug money laundering through her
brother’s casinos in a civil RICO case) should have gone to or belong in jail. Contrary to popular belief, they do it
for the money, personal money, big, cash, untraceable money. The fog of war is
great for such things (360 tons $100 bills flown into Iraq and missing, etc.).
Corrupt
u.s. courts / judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished,
which corrupt entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan,
etc.. Time to abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime
stipends and corrupt costly bureaucracies.
Paul
Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs Kurt Nimmo
| John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I
think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is: http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm
‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was
referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the
"songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his
Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented
with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military
code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here. [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm
] But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade
of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as
america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to
rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the
(corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed,
prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street"
has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective
legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention,
and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise
of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn";
huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’
Israel’s
Nukes Out of the Shadows Israel faces unprecedented pressure to
abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons
as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this
week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East.
The
Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global
Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on
planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new,
destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit
into another “battlespace.”
New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece
of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have
already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to
speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware
say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might
want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space
alien host body.
First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space planmsnbc.com - Bill Ingalls -
The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's
decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not
going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out
effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured
piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned
lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news |
europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of
moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a
lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock'
in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch
national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the
moon by american astronauts, ... http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm
In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence
that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american
fraud!
Editorial: US in
quagmire Seeing the warm welcome extended to the Afghan president on his US
trip, it is hard to believe that only weeks ago Washington was seething with
anger and frustration at Hamid Karzai’s behavior and there were even dark
mutterings by US officials that he might be mad.
War
in Afghanistan and Iraq costs America $1trillion From the Old
| On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have
spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq. Sinking
of the Cheonan: A Classic False Flag Operation Russia Today
| Sinking of the warship was really intended to convince Japan not to move US
forces off Okinawa as well as divert the attention of Americans from the dire
economic situation at home.
. Israel:
IDF Troops Who Murdered Unarmed Innocent People Are ‘Brave Heroes’ The
government of israel, aided by many quarters of the international media, is
attempting to spin today’s deadly IDF assault on a humanitarian aid ship
carrying supplies to Gaza as the fault of the murdered activists on board the
vessel, ludicrously characterizing machine-gun carrying Israeli troops who
killed over a dozen innocent people as the victims of the incident.
Murder on the high seas
JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at
least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an
emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the
United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the
international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip
Iraqi
doctors demand cancer probe Al Jazeera | Iraqi
doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003
invasion is spreading cancer through the population. [This is all too true and
real; and I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, coverage … well,
maybe not that surprised ].
"What
this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they
live on," Paabo … With regard to that extinction thing, I’d say
they’re still working on it (ultimately, decades, extinction, the distinction,
without a difference). Actually, prior to studying the compelling subject
of Biological Anthropology (Michael Park text), I too had some misconceptions
about the group known as Neandertals (recent spelling drops the ‘h’) and
actually mis-referenced same by the stereotypical image of members of said
clade even as the debate continues as to whether they are within the species
homo sapiens or a separate species. I believe these to be distinctions without
important differences, so humble the origins and evolution of man truly are. Parenthetically,
I wonder what that anthropological scientist Heidi Klum thinks on the subject.
FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN....
These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more
studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are
distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote:
10-5-09
Postscript: Professor *****,
I felt compelled to thank you again for the add; not to curry your favor but
indeed to express profound thanks inasmuch as this is probably the last formal
course at a formal educational institution I'll ever take; and among the most
important. While I had bought at discount a library-discarded 1993 Anthropology
by Embers text, though meaning to read same never quite got to it. I am
astounded by the substantial amount of time involved in the evolutionary
process, not that I ever stopped to think about it, and one must come away with
the sense of 'and all that...for this?'. This course should be required
curriculum along with psychology, sociology, etc., but probably won't be owing
to what is, as it should be, a very humbling educational experience for any
member of the human race.
Regards,
Al Peia
[Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to
closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain
what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated,
for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation,
accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their
Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced
what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as
neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was
selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary
model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins.
Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and
sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.]
Sen. Levin urges State Department to put
Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups(Washington
Post) Oooooh! … Sounds like a plan … and emanating from washington (and a
thriving Michigan jew no less) … who says they don’t do anything? … And,
consistent with that apocalyptic vision set forth in the Bible [albeit a book
of truth from a very limited perspective (for which literal interpretations are
misleading); after all, the Wise Men thought it was a movable star that was
guiding them and shone the bright ‘spotlight’ upon the manger with the Christ];
the jews and some other entity against the rest of the world for that final
Armageddon … oh, they’ll make that happen … it gets them through their day with
every step closer to apocalypse but not to the place called heaven will they
go. The end of this world? You might say america / israel / and theirs are
feverishly working on just that, one way or another!
Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S.
extradition request (Washington Post, July 13, 2010) Without diminishing in any way the seriousness of the crime, this
result is the direct consequence of the growing global recognition of the
pervasiveness of corruption in american courts, state and federal, and america
generally; so much so, that said corrupt american courts cannot be relied on
anywhere, anytime. Indeed, my own sampling, though hardly random to be candid,
is 5 for 5 (new jersey, new york, connecticut, virginia, california)
pervasively and egregiously corrupt to the point where these costly, corrupt
bureaucracies should be abolished and supplanted with alternatives as I’ve
previously set forth in these comments.
U.N. official calls
Ban's leadership 'deplorable' (Washington Post) As long as
she’s looking in the mirror as she speaks … we’ll buy it! After all, they’ve
all but ignored illegal israeli nukes, israeli violations of international law
/ u.n. resolutions, etc., even as they bully Iran. Collectively, the u.s. has
indeed become a joke.
A
lost fight to keep selling Chryslers(Washington Post) I realize it’s easy to say after the fact,
with hindsight, that I was always at a loss to understand this very issue and
such lack of understanding of the dealer / manufacturer inter-relationships
left me speechless; however, the same always seemed counter-intuitive. Truth be
told, however, I ‘m a big fan of Cal Worthington here in California based solely
(and uniquely for me) on his television commercials in which the big cats
figure prominently in actual footage of him with them, along with him riding
bulls, killer whales, etc., and having very competitive advertised prices (He’s
primarily Ford but sells them all).
The week ahead in business
(Washington Post) Big week indeed for
‘no-recession-helicopter-ben’ bernanke, the captain of that unsinkable american
economic Titanic who like the senile incompetent predecessor alan green_spun
quite a few contra-indicated yarns himself! Market
Going Down With the Ship? Montgomery: ‘This morning the Baltic Dry Index, a
measure of freight rates for international shipping, was at 1700. It hasn't
been at this level since April 2009, only four months after its Credit Crisis
low and only one month after the stock market was at its bottom.Bloomberg News
noted a week ago that the index had dropped continuously for the longest period
in nine years. Yes, the current drop in the preceding seven weeks (from a high
of 4209 in late May) has been bigger than anything seen during the Credit
Crisis. The last drop of this magnitude was in August 2001 in the middle of
that year's recession. Lack of shipping activity from China, the engine for
global economic activity, was cited as the main cause for the falling index.
Charter rates for all types of ships tracked in the index are falling. Prices
for dry bulk shipping, which doesn't include energy commodities, tend to be
very sensitive to economic activity. A sharp drop in rates indicates a
significant drop in global trade. Based on historical charts it looks like the
Baltic Index can lead, be coincident or lag movements in economic data and the
stock market. The index seems to be most closely correlated with prices of
industrial commodities and the industrial sector of the global economy. While
this is not the largest component of the U.S. economy (the service sector is
four times larger), it is the key sector in developing economies. It was
manufacturing though that had the biggest rebound in the U.S. since last year.
The service sector has remained lackluster. The stock market will likely be
following the Baltic Index down, although perhaps not with such a precipitous
decline. The Index has dropped almost 60% since late May. With the exception of
the small cap Russell 2000, none of the major stock indices have had even a 20%
drop - at least not yet. Disclosure: No positions.’
‘The Obama Deception’
Censored A viral You Tube upload of
one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been
censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title
to the top of the major internet search engines.
‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear
market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***)
cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as
has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds
and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and
earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’
Fed sends the dollar
tumbling Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard | The Fed confessed that the US economy may not recover
for five or six years.
A
slap on the wrist for Goldman Sachs Aljazeera.net | The “great vampire squid wrapped
around the face of humanity” agreed to pay $550 million to settle fraud
charges.
I disagree! Indeed, there have been and are a plethora of laws
and ad hoc prosecutions; but, particularly for the ‘risk seeker’ criminally
insane mentality on wall street, the same is far from a deterrent as seen from
historical perspective / fact and might even perversely provide for them an
incentive. The amount is relatively meager, but so long as this settlement is
as supposedly indicated to former SEC head by Khuzami narrowly drawn and in no ways
protective of goldman with regard to the yet unresolved massive frauds in the
many trillions, the SEC should be given the benefit of the doubt. However, ‘turning
its attention to exotic financial products that MIGHT be used to harm
investors’ is troubling to say the least. Might? Who are they kidding. The ‘bad
paper’ is still out there in the many trillions and in criminally complicit
fashion now marked to anything. I further believe these products of fraud and
consequent damage are being surreptitiously being, with corrupt fed help,
supplanted with real, albeit fiat, currency ultimately to citizens / taxpayers
/ nations detriment. As things currently stand, particularly from the numbers,
fraud by wall street does pay; and pays well! Khuzami,
a 29-year-old former employee in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s
business intelligence unit, had better produce or appropriately find himself
prosecuted for conflict, collusion, etc.. After all, he’s hardly one to be
considered unbiased. The frauds on wall street et
als must be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. I truly believe
that absent such prosecution, there will be revolution in this country. In
other words, their ‘jig is up’ and they must go down for what they did / do.
They still know how to
count. When you defraud for many billions, paying $550 million is chump change.
Goldman
to pay $550M to settle civil fraud charges (AP)Late stock rally
ahead of Goldman settlement news And the beat goes on!Goldman Sachs beats the SEC– ‘Can Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wheel and deal or
what? The bank and brokerage's settlement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on Thursday over the ill-fated Abacus deal may be its best trade
ever.At $550 million, it's not terribly
expensive. (GS152.19, +6.97, +4.80%) hasn't agreed to restrict its practices
in any meaningful way. And poof! The firm can go back to work with its biggest
liability paid. Investors are ecstatic, Goldman shares rocketed 5.5% in
after-hours trading. No wonder Goldman called it "the right outcome for
our firm shareholders and clients." See
full story on the SEC settlement. For the regulators, the settlement is
more than just anticlimactic. Having bet all of its chips on reversing
embarrassing episodes such as the Bernie Madoff fiasco in an aggressive case
against Wall Street, the SEC whiffed.Sure, the settlement is the biggest in the agency's history. Yes, the
SEC was able to squeeze Goldman on the settlement language and admit it was a
"mistake" not to have disclosed Paulson & Co.'s role in picking
the ill-fated securities. But come on. Goldman's net income last year was $12.1
billion. It could be even higher this year, given the robust first quarter
Goldman already has had. The settlement amounts to less than 5% of profits.
Maybe Goldman Sachs will even be able to write it off …’
‘West,
israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A
ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated
“the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the
southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.
I believe the printing presses have been working
overtime to pump out ever more worthless fiat currency and with the many
trillions of worthless fraudulent paper still out there and marked to anything.
I further believe the same is being surreptitiously used to supplant the
fraudulent paper, the consequences of which will be devastating, of course, as
is invariably so in depressions in any event. This scenario would also mean
huge fraud accomplis. This market
is paper on paper moving around and generating commissions at lightning
computerized speed but adding no real value in real economic terms; again, the
analogy of termites eating away at the (nation’s) foundation is apposite. As
such, that money has to come from some real place and hence, the ever more
frequent and larger crashes we are seeing. Don’t forget that the worthless
paper from previous such fraudulent schemes now marked to anything is still out
there in a magnitude some have placed in the hundreds of trillions.
Biggest wall will be reality:
‘This is
a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The
past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This
has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into.’
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012
Economists
worry women, minority business owners' gains will be lost (Washington Post)
Little bit late for ‘economists worry’; talk about senile greenspan /
no-recession bernanke economics / prognosticating. Does anybody recall the
merciless drubbing (and pressure) that Ross Perot got for predicting the ill
effects of NAFTA and standing against the tide. In america today, the best men
never win; that’s reality, and also the sign of decline.
Exports
are up, but where are the jobs? (Washington Post) Gone with the wind?
Sorry, I must have been thinking of million dollar movies. Seriously though, I
dare say everyone knows they were gone with that ‘bi-partisan executive /
congressional, think-tank, cia / nsa ill wind’ that others might refer to as
flatulence / passing gas, also called NAFTA, and also proudly hailed by the
foregoing as ‘strategy’. They’re gone, and never to return. Moreover, the
flipside of the exports, viz., imports, doesn’t bode well despite the fraudulent
wall street b*** s*** and their chorus of cheerleaders in washington. Some
might say self-delusion but I would say fraud covers all.
Companies
pile up cash but still won't add jobs(Washington Post) Unlike the public sector (which now exceeds private
sector in job gains and average compensation), the private sector attempts to
mesh hiring with economic supply / demand factors to maximize(shareholder) profits / wealth. Whatever
faults american companies have, with relatively few exceptions, this still
remains a very basic fundamental and building surplus (generating profits) is a
necessary precept to ensure survival and the capacity to be a good ‘citizen’ so
to speak. Then there’s reality:
Retail
sales down for 2nd consecutive month (Washington Post) Another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This
time it’s the unexpected downward revision to previous market-frothing retail
sales report and poor retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then
there’s the fed minutes pointing to extended bad economy. See Dave Fry’s (Daily)
summary below referencing in euphemistic fashion, yet another ongoing
manipulation also known as fraud. (Absent prosecutions, they’ll continue to do
what comes natural to frauds on wall street). Great opportunity to sell / take
profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come.
Then there’s also the bad but typical news; viz.,retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and yesterday
deficits, trade and budget, up.
NATION NEWS DIGEST: J.P. Morgan Chase
posts $4.8 billion profit(Washington Post) Yet another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This
time it’s the unexpected jump in continuing claims for unemployment, yesterday
the downward revision to previous market-frothing retail sales report and poor
retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then there’s the fed
minutes pointing to extended bad economy. Then there’s also now the ‘goldfinger
factor’ as in goldman’s middle finger. When you defraud for many billions, paying $550 million is
chump change. Goldman shares rocketed 5.5% in after-hours trading. No wonder
Goldman called it "the right outcome for our firm shareholders and
clients." (Absent
prosecutions, they’ll continue to do what comes natural to frauds on wall
street). Great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called
reality beyond the b*** s***, to come. Then there’s also the bad but typical
news; viz., previous retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and
continuing claims for unemployment, deficits, trade / budget, up. (Just in:
7-16-10 Poll – only 43% of Americans approve of the Afganistan War, down from
52% in January, 2010)
Pearlstein:Can
regulation beget innovation?(Washington Post)I believe the more seminal question to be,
whether american companies, consistent with overall american decline and
corruption in so pervasive a fashion, are capable of or inclined toward real
innovation where enhancements to productivity, as well as greater profits, is
the consequence as desired. Certainly there has been ‘innovation’ by the wall
street frauds in the types of (ultimately worthless / fraudulent) paper and
high frequency trade programs enhancing their bottom-lines but little else;
and, those cutting edge ‘weapons of mass destruction’ produced or financed
(israel) by america are hardly productive in the economic sense but innovative
and profitable in the short run, and unwise and nation-bankrupting in the
longer run which we’re in right now!
Goldman
agrees to pay $550M(Washington Post) My own
skepticism based on the disparate numbers (the size of the frauds compared to
the relatively small fine) and as set forth in the initial reactions /
headlines that immediately follow has been allayed somewhat by an interview on
NBR with former SEC head Ruder who explained the very narrow scope of the
settlement which in no way shelters goldman from the huge frauds they have
perpetrated. So long as this is true in fact as well as law and in application,
the SEC deserves praise as has been so under the auspices of ‘Mother Mary’ who
appears to have the gonads lacking in prior SEC heads. The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed.
For
now, spew of oil into Gulf of Mexico is halted(Washington Post) Well, thank God for small favors! I suggest they change that
name, ‘integrity test’; that’s doomed to end in failure. Yes, the brits are
back. They’ve clogged the well, with help from the ‘usual suspects’, the
americans.What precision! What teamwork!
Victory at last … riiiiight!
U.S.
Regulatory Bill Nears Passage With Republican Support The U.S. Senate plans
to pass the financial-regulation bill on July 15 as Democrats secured the 60
votes needed to enact the biggest rewrite of Wall Street rules since the Great
Depression.
Fed Sees Slower Growth Wall
Street Journal | Updated forecast to be released Wednesday afternoon
with the minutes of the Fed’s late-June policy meeting is likely to show that
officials have trimmed their second-half forecasts.
UK
public sector debt ‘around £2 trillion’ London Telegraph | The UK’s public sector debt
could be £1.13 trillion higher than headline figures suggest, according to
research.
Public
confidence in Obama reaches new low(Washington Post). Six in 10 Americans lack faith in Obama and
hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the latest Washington
Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to
typify scenarios as this where you break every significantcampaign promise that got you elected, from
endless war (ie., Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall
street, and the growing realization of ‘typical’: Public confidence in Obama reaches new low(Washington Post) Six in 10 Americans lack
faith in Obama and hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the
latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to typify
scenarios as this where you break every significantcampaign promise that got you elected, from endless war (ie.,
Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall street, and the
growing realization of ‘typical’:
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains
how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating
fraud thus far.The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE
BIAS AT JUSTICE...CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE
FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In
emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the
handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party
accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights
division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims
...’ US v. AZ...Cases
against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has
promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):
While boner and barton are indeed jokes / vegetables that bespeak
the single-digit approval rate for congress, obama’s failure to deliver on promises
with as well, endless war spending despite defacto bankruptcy of the nation and
a watered down nothing financial regulation bill for talking points but little
substance, make him as big a joker. This well researched / produced video tells
the real story :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=PlayList&p=2EFAB57B44063742&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1‘THE OBAMA DECEPTION’ – well worth the
view.
Pentagon
warns Congress: Accounts running dry...(Drudgereport) Isn’t this headline
eerily reminiscent of that seminal B film by Roger Corman for Jack Nicholson,
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ (and remake) wherein a murderous vegetable / plant
clamors incessantly and insatiably, ‘feed me’. Eight U.S. service members killed in series
of attacks in southern Afghanistan(Washington Post, July 15,
2010) . This ridiculous war apparently for the sake of the american sponsored
reinvigorated heroin trade was a bad idea ab initio even if america wasn’t
defacto bankrupt.
I believe the printing presses have been working
overtime to pump out ever more worthless fiat currency and with the many
trillions of worthless fraudulent paper still out there and marked to anything.
I further believe the same is being surreptitiously used to supplant the
fraudulent paper, the consequences of which will be devastating, of course, as
is invariably so in depressions in any event. This scenario would also mean
huge fraud accomplis. This market
is paper on paper moving around and generating commissions at lightning
computerized speed but adding no real value in real economic terms; again, the
analogy of termites eating away at the (nation’s) foundation is apposite. As
such, that money has to come from some real place and hence, the ever more
frequent and larger crashes we are seeing. Don’t forget that the worthless
paper from previous such fraudulent schemes now marked to anything is still out
there in a magnitude some have placed in the hundreds of trillions.
Biggest wall will be reality:
‘This is
a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The
past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This
has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into.’
Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a
Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012
Economists
worry women, minority business owners' gains will be lost (Washington Post)
Little bit late for ‘economists worry’; talk about senile greenspan / no-recession
bernanke economics / prognosticating. Does anybody recall the merciless
drubbing (and pressure) that Ross Perot got for predicting the ill effects of
NAFTA and standing against the tide. In america today, the best men never win;
that’s reality, and also the sign of decline.
Exports
are up, but where are the jobs? (Washington Post) Gone with the wind?
Sorry, I must have been thinking of million dollar movies. Seriously though, I
dare say everyone knows they were gone with that ‘bi-partisan executive /
congressional, think-tank, cia / nsa ill wind’ that others might refer to as
flatulence / passing gas, also called NAFTA, and also proudly hailed by the
foregoing as ‘strategy’. They’re gone, and never to return. Moreover, the
flipside of the exports, viz., imports, doesn’t bode well despite the
fraudulent wall street b*** s*** and their chorus of cheerleaders in
washington. Some might say self-delusion but I would say fraud covers all.
Companies
pile up cash but still won't add jobs(Washington Post) Unlike the public sector (which now exceeds private
sector in job gains and average compensation), the private sector attempts to
mesh hiring with economic supply / demand factors to maximize(shareholder) profits / wealth. Whatever
faults american companies have, with relatively few exceptions, this still
remains a very basic fundamental and building surplus (generating profits) is a
necessary precept to ensure survival and the capacity to be a good ‘citizen’ so
to speak. Then there’s reality:
Retail
sales down for 2nd consecutive month (Washington Post) Another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This
time it’s the unexpected downward revision to previous market-frothing retail
sales report and poor retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then
there’s the fed minutes pointing to extended bad economy. See Dave Fry’s
(Daily) summary below referencing in euphemistic fashion, yet another ongoing
manipulation also known as fraud. (Absent prosecutions, they’ll continue to do
what comes natural to frauds on wall street). Great opportunity to sell / take
profits since much worse, also called reality beyond the b*** s***, to come.
Then there’s also the bad but typical news; viz.,retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and yesterday
deficits, trade and budget, up.
Mideast Digest: Wow! Belfast, Northern
Ireland; and in the Mideast Digest Section, of all places. It’s been a long
time. While I have had some difficulties with Irish mob in the context of
litigation but only tangential to my primary RICO action vis-à-vis the Italian
mob (and similarly tangentially the jewish mob and then primarily what I
learned to be ‘governmental mob’, federal, state, local, derivative thereby and
the sine quo non of corruption / bribery / synergy that spells decline for any
nation), it is difficult to not be empathetic to the plight of an otherwise
beautiful nation tainted only by the orange stain in that northern quarter.
After all, what hasn’t england not mucked up from balfour to the mideast to now
even their own nation having hitched a ride on the american / israeli crazy
train. As a matter of disclosure, I must admit to an affinity for the Irish and
somewhat fairly recently had been asked what I thought of Philadelphia to which
without hesitation I immediately replied that Grace Kelly (truly magnificent by
any standard) was born there. I could think of nothing else that could parallel
such a distinction.
WHICH WAY IS THE MARKET GOING NEXT? Gomes: ‘Having been a technical analyst for the first 10 years of my
investing career and a fundamental analyst for the past 15 years, I'm a
believer that technical patterns form as fundamentals unfold. As such, if you
know something about both, you can confirm both against each other. At this
point in time, I see a market that is technically reaching up toward its 200
day moving average (2,250 for the NASDAQ). I also see a 50 day moving average
that is threatening to drop below that 200 day moving average. Technically,
that is usually a very bad sign for the market. …
1) Economic indicators are dropping fast. For all intents and purposes, the
unemployment rate has not budged. Meanwhile, store shelves are stocked again,
PCs have been upgraded, etc. In other words, the pent-up demand that drove the
current rebound has almost run its course. What little remains no longer has
the power to drive the economy as it has over the past 18-months.
2)
"Follow the money". This is one of the most powerfully simple rules
on Wall Street. When money is flowing into the economy (i.e. via lower interest
rates or stimulus $$$), it's usually good for stocks..and vice versa. At
present, interest rates can't go much lower and the numerous stimulus programs
are losing effectiveness. This means that the money is no longer flowing in.
Worse yet, the money that was spent is not generally viewed as having been
money well spent. This does not bode well for a new stimulus package to come
anytime soon. In other words, money is not flowing in AND doesn't appear poised
to flow in anytime soon. In fact, state and municipal budgets are being cut
(money flowing OUT), while they raise local sales and income taxes (more money
flowing out). if federal taxes go up in 2011, as planned, even more money will
be flowing out. If you follow that, you should be flowing out of the stock
market. In short, barring a new stimulus package of other major money-flowing
event, I believe the economy slips back toward recession. Whether or not we
double-dip, we will almost certainty slip in that direction.
3)
If you follow the money in Europe, you will run for the hills. Europe has
decided to spin 180-degrees and shift from stimulus to austerity (if you don't
know the definition, look it up -- you'll likely hear it again -- and not just
from me). Effectively the opposite of stimulus, austerity will pull money away
from the European economies...which tells us to pull money away from stocks.
Worse yet, the effect of the EU/IMF bailout is already wearing off. Greek
yields are rising again and Portuguese credit ratings have been reduced.
4)
Global bubbles are bursting. Most notably, home sales in China and Canada are
starting to fall. Remember what happened when the U.S. housing market cracked?
That's right -- that's what started this mess in the first place.
5)
Politically, this period in time has a tendency to be bad for stocks. There is
uncertainty around the mid-year elections...and the market hates uncertainty.
Historically, the political picture doesn't become clear until October, at
which point we might expect a rally. Until then, expect the democrats to do
everything they can to retain their jobs in November. That means, "stop
pissing off the public"...and the public seems pretty pissed about how the
stimulus $$$ worked out for them (or more accurately, how it DIDN'T work out
for them). Thus, the political pressure will lean against further stimulus
until after the elections.
The
Bottom Line: I believe that the market will start to reflect these concerns
very soon. These are real fundamental concerns, which you can see reflected in
the technicals. As the market reaches the 50DMA and the 200DMA, it will be
inclined to retreat (barring some new, hugely positive news). Meanwhile, the
50DMA is 90%+ likely to cross below the 200DMA, giving the market more reason
to retrench. At some point, if the economy sinks far enough and if the market
drops far enough, political pressure for more stimulus will mount. At that
point, money will flow back into the economy. But that time is not now. Now,
money is flowing away like the tide...and so should your invested capital. I'm
not always right, but I do my best, based on the information before me. Based
on what I see right now, the most logical conclusion is to expect a long, ugly
summer for stocks. If I see information that changes that view, I'll be sure to
post an update to this post. Disclosure: I have short positions against the
market
If
not for the likes of ie., Dell Computer, most (ie., those die hard Mac, Iphone,
Ipad, etc., aficionados among others) would say microsoft’s already in the
clouds, so to speak. Microsoft
takes aim at the cloud (Washington Post)
No
help in sight for jobless(Washington Post) Well, from their perspective, they
really don’t feel your pain, and, it gives the frauds on wall street another
b*** s***, market frothing, false talking point in the form of ‘fewer
continuing claims for unemployment’. Then there’s that ‘ depression thing’.
‘This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up
move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn, pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes.’
Making
millions from mowing lawns [Sounds like a plan … riiiiight!]
(Washington Post) Value Added | Entrepreneur's reinvestment and diversification
… By Thomas Heath For the less entrepreneurial at heart
there’s always … flippin’ burgers … Washington,
D.C.: the nation's (burger) capital? (Washington Post) | ‘The Washington
area has emerged as fertile ground for ground chuck …’ Survey:
A satisfied federal workforce (Washington Post) Indeed they should be since
they’re totally expendable and a waste of taxpayer money.
The Debt Party Is Over ‘… In a Ponzi scheme, the end comes
when the marginal investor decides to do something else with his money. Then
the house of cards stars falling apart. …’
They say ‘stocks oversold’. Preposterous!
Stocks have been overbought based on bad news or nothing at all, rallying on
‘not as bad as expected’. Even if that were true (I don’t believe anything they
say), who cares what the criminally insane frauds on wall street say what they
expect. It’s fundamentals, economic and financial, that ultimately count; but,
in the meantime, they’re like termites eating away at the nation’s foundation
with lightning fast computerized trade programs, all of which excessively huge
commission churn / earn revenues are a net negative for the economy in real
economic terms which is evidenced by unprecedented economic decline in all
productive sectors of the economy. This is a great opportunity to SELL / TAKE
PROFITS since this suckers rally to suck suckers in and keep them sucked in is
based on fraud and b*** s*** alone
and: ‘This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a
global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a
secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has
preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds
and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and
earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes.’
Technical Indicators Trigger Major
Sell Signal ‘…In summary, the bearish picture is confirmed by technical
indicators, a fundamental outlook, sentiment gauges, and valuations.Based on
what the market considered fair market valuations at prior historic market
bottoms, one can conclude how far stocks have to drop to reach the previously
attained level of fair valuations …’
Simon
Maierhofer: ‘On Friday July 9, 2010,
4:32 pm EDT It rarely ever happens, but when it does, it's serious. It
has only happened nine times in 10 years. We are referring to crossovers
between the 200-day and 50-day simple moving averages (SMAs).Very few technical
indicators receive as much attention and media coverage as the 50 and 200-day
SMAs. The 200-day MA is perceived to be the dividing line between a stock that
is technically healthy and one that is not. It's a Big
DealIt's a big deal when a stock or an index drops
below the 200-day SMA. It's an even bigger deal when the 50-day SMA of any
given stock or index drops below the 200-day SMA. Such a crossover reflects
internal weakness - at least in theory. We'll discuss in a moment how the
actual numbers match up with theoretic assumptions. On June 22, 2010, the
S&P 500 (SNP: ^GSPC) and Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI) dropped below the 200-day
SMA. One day later the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC) followed. On July 2, 2010, the
50-day SMA for the S&P (NYSEArca: SPY
- News)
dropped below the 200-day SMA. On July 6, the Dow Jones (NYSEArca: DIA
- News)
followed. As of today, the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: QQQQ
- News)
is barely hanging on. This sounds like a doomsday scenario. Does a rigid
analysis show that there is validity to 200-day and 50-day SMA crossover
buy/sell signals? Let's investigate.Crossovers - Lagging but NotableMany argue that
the SMA crossover is a delayed signal that emphasizes past weakness more than
it foreshadows future declines. To an extent, that is true. There are other
warning signals that point to a market turn long before the SMA does. For
example, on April 16, 2010, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter noted an
extremely low put/call ratio along with other bullish sentiment extremes. The
newsletter stated that 'the message conveyed by the composite bullishness is
unmistakably bearish. Once prices start to fall and investors get afraid of
incurring losses, the only option is to sell (due to the low put/call ratio).
Selling, results in more selling. This negative feedback loop usually results
in rapidly falling prices.' Prices did fall rapidly. The 22 trading days
following the April 26 high, erased eight months worth of gains. It took a 17%
drop for the SMA crossover to trigger a sell signal. When the ETF Profit
Strategy Newsletter issued a strong buy signal on March 2, 2009, it emphasized
that the developing rally would be a counter trend rally followed by a steep
decline and maintained this viewpoint even though prices kept rallying
relentlessly into the April highs. The SMA crossover now expresses the
possibility that even lower prices are ahead. 200 and
50-day SMA Crossovers - How Accurate?How about the
SMA crossover track record? Over the past 10 years, there have been nine
S&P SMA crossovers with five sell and four buy signals. We have yet to see
the results of the most recent sell signal. However, of the eight previous
signals, six were correct. Average gains following each signal were 14.91%.
$10,000 invested according to the buy/sell recommendations given right after
the first sell signal was triggered on October 30, 2000 at S&P 1,399, would
be worth $24,769 today. More Than just Crossovers If it sounds
too good to be true, it often is. As is the case with so many technical
indicators, crossovers need to be viewed in context with other indicators. In
other words, take a step back and evaluate how crossovers fit into the larger
picture. The larger picture (going back to 2007) reveals that trading volume
associated with market declines has been generally high, while trading volume
seen during rallies has been generally low; a bearish sign. Does
Wednesday's 3.13% Rally Invalidate the Sell Signal?On Wednesday,
the S&P rallied 32 points or 3.13%. The Dow rallied 2.82%, while the Nasdaq
rallied 3.13%. Does this mean the bull market is back on track?Since the
April market top, we've seen about a handful of 2-3% bounces. All associated
gains were erased within a matter of days. Chances are this time will be the
same. In fact, some sort of bounce was to be expected. On July 5, the ETF
Profit Strategy Newsletter stated 'considering that the S&P is butting
against the 100-week SMA, lower accelerations band, 38.2% Fibonacci retracement
levels, round number resistance at 1,000, and weekly s1 at 994, there is a good
chance we will see some sort of a bounce develop from the 990 - 1,015 area.
Weekly r1 at 1,066 and pivot at 1,063 should serve as resistance.' This bounce
is in its later stages right now. What's Next?Let's revisit
the larger picture. Out of the nine leading industry sectors, seven have seen
their 50-day SMA cross below the 200-day SMA - financials (NYSEArca: XLF
- News),
technology (NYSEArca: XLK - News),
consumer staples (NYSEArca: XLP - News),
materials (NYSEArca: XLB - News),
utilities (NYSEArca: XLU - News),
energy (NYSEArca: XLE - News)
and healthcare (NYSEArca: XLV - News).
The consumer discretionary (NYSEArca: XLY
- News)
and industrial sector (NYSEArca: XLI - News)
are the only holdouts. All nine sectors, however, trade below their 200-day
SMA. Fundamentals, sentiment readings and valuations also point south. Some of
the fundamentals we have discussed in these pages are crafty accounting practices
designed to hide huge losses racked up by big financial institutions not yet
realized along with a continually bad unemployment picture. Sentiment
surrounding the April highs recorded extremes not seen since the 2000, 2007,
and even 1987 market top. There are multiple sentiment measures (such as the
VIX, cash allocation, put/call ratio, percentage of bullish/bearish advisors,
mutual fund cash levels, etc.). Each sentiment measure is one piece of
the puzzle. The more pieces of the puzzle you have, the clearer the picture
becomes. Leading up to the April highs, nearly all sentiment indicators peaked,
painting a complete bearish picture. In summary, the bearish picture is
confirmed by technical indicators, a fundamental outlook, sentiment gauges, and
valuations. Based on what the market considered fair market valuations at prior
historic market bottoms, one can conclude how far stocks have to drop to reach
the previously attained level of fair valuations. The ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter
includes a detailed analysis of four valuation metrics with a track record of
accuracy, along with the implied target range for an ultimate market bottom.
This is provided in addition to its short, mid and long-term forecast. When the
market speaks, it behooves investors to listen. Fighting the tape has often
proven to be foolish, as the market will always have the final word.’
Commercial Real Estate Loans Extend
and Pretend ‘…Courtesy of Thomson / Reuters
Commercial Real Estate Loans – Extend and Pretend Community banks have commercial real estate
loans where the borrower cannot make scheduled interest and principle payments.
More than 50% of all FDIC-insured institutions have loan pipelines that are 80%
to 100% funded. This is a measure of how banks are stuck with noncurrent
assets, but they are not classified that way. Instead, community banks are
giving borrowers more time to make their payments on the theory that it’s better to collect zero on some loans rather than
owning the real estate that collateralizes those loans. This concept is dubbed
“extend and pretend” hoping that the borrower will
eventual pay the loan back. Banks in this practice are known as “Zombie Banks” as
they can’t
lend, can’t lure in new investors, and wait for the FDIC to knock
on their doors on Friday afternoon. This strategy includes stretching out loan
maturities and allowing below-market interest rates to slow the number of
defaults and preserving the capital of banks that would be expended if property
had to become “Other Real Estate Owned.” As a result “Loans 30 to 89 Days in Arrears” and “Noncurrent”
loans are not growing as fast as they should be. The net result of these
practices masks the true toxicity of the Commercial Real Estate market. It’s not just the small banks that
are employing “extend and pretend”
tactics. I read that the Bank of America (BAC) has extended a large real estate loan in
Buckhead, Georgia the high-class area north of Atlanta. The loan finances the
development of a high-end shopping and residential project in 2007 and now
three years later the cranes are silent and the project is fenced in. The
banking regulators are helping the banks by allowing the lenders several ways
to restructure loans. While doing so the banks are allowed to keep these loans
as “performing” even with collateral values below the loan
amounts. Extend and pretend is also known as kicking the can down the road. It
seems to me that we have wasted billions if not trillions in stimulus money and
bank bailouts when this money could have been used to actually fund the
completion of these projects. Such a plan would have cost tax payers much less
and would have kept Americans working on Main Street USA, as finishing
incompleted real estate projects are clearly “shovel ready” projects.
According to Foresight Analytics banks hold $176 billion of CRE loans that
could be declared toxic. This is the tip of the iceberg as the FDIC Quarterly
Banking Profile shows $1.09 trillion in nonfarm nonresidential real estate
loans and $418 billion in Construction & Development loans on the books of
our nation’s banks. About two-thirds of
the CRE loans are maturing between now and 2014, and are underwater. Commercial
real estate property values are down 42% from the October 2007 peak. At the end
of the first quarter 9.1% are delinquent up from 7% a year earlier. Bankers
justify “extend and pretend” saying
that it’s better than calling the loan and dumping more property
on a depressed market. We need a stronger economy to entice new investors to
resurrect projects and to find new demand for competed offices, hotels, condos
etc which are the finished products of completed CRE projects. Without a strong
economic recovery these loans will eventually have to be written off down the
road. The problem is that while these loans are on hold banks can’t justify new
loans, which would be the engine of economic growth. And the beat goes on. Disclosure:
No positions’
Light Volume Temptations: Dave's Daily ‘Volume still matters, doesn't it?
It seems not as the financial media ignores our light volume market in favor of
writing bullish headlines. With hedge funds mostly sidelined according to
reports posted here yesterday, the primary buyers must be trading desks on Wall
Street and a handful of algo traders. It's tempting to come off the sidelines
and join the fun but perhaps it's just the trap they're laying for you. A
headline at Reuters read this afternoon: "Weaker Economic Views Equals
Stronger 3-Year Note Sale". So, if equity markets are forward-looking one
must wonder what these few buyers are seeing beyond a short-term trade.
Headline writers say its strong earnings growth that will prop markets coupled
with rosy outlooks. That would have to be the case otherwise this is just a
sucker's rally. As stated, volume was holiday-like light (40% below average)
making it really easy for the machines to take over trading, and so they did
... ‘
Economists,
Financial Experts: U.S. Is Trapped In 1932 Size Depression Following
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman’s declaration last week that the U.S.
is in entering a third period of great depression, more and more economists are
following suit, comparing the scale of the crisis to that of the early
1930s.
The
Lights Are Going Out For Free Speech On The Internet Type the
keywords “Internet censorship” into Google News and you will immediately
understand to what degree the world wide web is under assault from attempts by
governments globally to regulate and stifle free speech. From Australia to
Belarus, from Turkey to Vietnam, from Pakistan to Egypt, from Afghanistan to
Iran, huge chunks of the Internet are going dark as the Chinese model of
Internet regulation is adopted worldwide. [Has everybody lost their minds?
Referring to the china model as something to be emulated. It’s true they are
more productive than america, generally, but their business model is almost
prehistoric and the direct consequence of the great american sell-out for money
(the ‘pass through’ or direct) by those who’ve pledged otherwise (walmart,
congress, clinton, bush, wobama, etc.). Even some of their simplest products
are junk (but priced incredibly low to make the relative value) and seem to
have adopted that GM strategy of planned obsolescence, breakdown, etc., to spur
sales. Then there’s the communist faux capitalism paradox, suppression,
oppression, etc., which has even the defacto bankrupt, pervasively corrupt,
fallen america blindly following. Quite simply, their ancient business model is
slave labor. As for Iran, they are a relatively small nation under collective
siege.]
US
taxpayers’ Afghan aid money buys rich Afghans’ Dubai villas You
already might have heard that it costs the United States $1 million for each solider
per year in Afghanistan, to cover the cost of the soldiers’
benefits, troop transports and other materiel. Billions
of dollars secreted out of Kabul Spiegel Online |
Billions of dollars are being secreted out of Kabul to help well-connected
Afghans buy luxury villas in Dubai and then there are the american recipients
who are a bit more careful with their stash.
Iran
says planes denied fuel in Germany, UK, UAE Reuters
| The claim could not be independently confirmed and was met abroad by
skepticism. [Europe really fell fast. They make Christians look like the
dumbest people in the world, along with the likes of ie., UAE if true (and
defacto bankrupt america). After all, this ‘all for israel’ mantra is contraindicated inasmuch as the hebrews
deny the very foundation of the Christian religion and indeed were behind his
crucifixion].
Double
Dip Recession and the Obama 2011 Budget (February 2010): The long and
short is that – come Summer – the inventory cycle’s thrust will have
dissipated. And if companies are not hiring by this time and consumer
spending is not increasing more robustly, then the state budgets, the
strategic defaults and all of the rest of that becomes a serious obstacle.
In my view, more likely than not, this will lead to another recession late
in 2010 or in 2011. And nothing in the President’s budget changes this
outlook.
US
GDP growth rate is unsustainable; recovery will fade (April 2010): The
inventory cycle is already starting to fade. That means weak 1 or 2%
growth at best by Q4 2010. Unless job growth picks up tremendously by the
second half of the year, this recovery is in trouble.
I would be nonplused about the recent ISM data if it
weren’t for the column highlighted in red. Notice how the momentum for
everything is slowing. Not just the overall index, but new orders, production
and employment …’
U.S.
Economy “Is a Complete Disaster” Yahoo! Finance |
The U.S. economy is in shambles and Americans will continue to see high
unemployment and lower living standards in the years to
come. America
is sinking under Obama’s towering debt I hope the White House is
paying attention to the latest annual Congressional Budget Office Long-Term
Budget Outlook, which offers a truly frightening picture of the scale of
America’s national debt, with huge implications for the country’s future
prosperity. 7.9
million jobs lost, many forever CNNMoney | The
recession killed off 7.9 million jobs. It’s increasingly likely that many will
never come back.
Turn On, Tune In...Nah, Just Drop Out … Discouraged workers at a new
cycle high And small wonder. The median unemployment duration went to a new
all-time high (since the 1940s, anyway, when that series begins) and shows no
signs of slowing its ascent …
(Chart, source Bloomberg)…
JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT 9.5%... 125,000 JOBS
LOST... Rate
dips as 652,000 give up search... Depressing...
[That’s why they’re called depressions (just kidding … but no laughing matter)
… At this rate, with all those lost jobs and jobseekers no longer seeking
those lost jobs that aren’t there, by their calculations (9.5% the bright spot
… riiiiight!) we should be at full employment very soon … you can’t make this
stuff up … really!].
Ron
Paul: 114 Flip Flop on Audit The Fed Causing Bill to Fail 229 – 198 Ron
Paul’s attempt to audit the Federal Reserve, which was previously co-sponsored
by 320 members of the House (HR 1207), failed by a vote of 229-198. All
Republicans voted in favor of the measure with 23 Democrats crossing the aisle
to vote with Republicans. 122 co-sponsors of HR 1207, all Democrats, jumped
ship and voted against the measure. The Future of Audit the
Fed Congressman Ron Paul discusses the latest in the efforts to get a
full and complete audit of the Fed as well as the future of Fed transparency.
Like Congressman Paul says, we’ve accomplished a lot of good with our movement,
and there’s many reasons to be optimistic for the
future. Ditch
the Buck! Dollar demise ‘a matter of months’ A report by the United
Nations says the American dollar should be ditched as the main global reserve
currency. It said that the global financial meltdown has exposed systematic
weaknesses, one of which is the reliance on the
greenback. G-20
is Relying on China To Drive the World Economy … But China Isn’t Looking So Hot
The G-20 is apparently relying on China to drive the world economy.
GOP chairman: Afghan 'war of Obama's choosing' (AP) -
Republican chairman Michael Steele drew criticism from within his own party
Friday, including calls to resign, after saying the 9-year-old commitment of
U.S. troops to Afghanistan was a mistaken ... [Steele is quite right and wobama
and war facilitators deserve criticism; not
Steele.] Pelosi:
Unemployment Checks Fastest Way to Create Jobs “It
creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name.” [pelosi’s
so ‘in over her head’, burnt out,
borderline senile, etc.] Seventy
million expired flu vaccines about to be incinerated as waste [government
/ corporate welfare / fraud] Forty million doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine are
about to go up in flames, and another 30 million will soon meet the same fate.
They’ve expired, you see, and despite
the CDC’s best efforts to push flu vaccines on the american people, the
industry still couldn’t find a way to offload seventy million doses of a
vaccine that doesn’t even work.
50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World
Has Happened To America - The Economic Collapse July 2,
2010 Our world is changing at a pace that is so staggering these days that it
can be really hard to fully grasp the significance of what we are
witnessing. Hopefully the collection of random facts below will help you
to “connect the dots” just a little bit. On one level, the facts below
may not seem related. However, what they all do have in common is that
they show just how much the United States has fundamentally changed. Do
you ever just sit back and wonder what in the world has happened to America?
The truth is that the America that so many of us once loved so much has been
shattered into a thousand pieces. The “land
of the free and the home of the brave” has been transformed into a socialized
Big Brother nanny state that is oozing with corruption and has accumulated
the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. The greatest
economic machine that the world has ever seen is falling apart before our very
eyes, and even when our politicians actually try to do something right (which
is quite rare) the end result is still a bunch of garbage. For those
who still love this land (and there are a lot of us) it is heartbreaking to
watch America slowly die.
The following are 50 random facts that show
just how dramatically america has changed….
#50) A new report released by the United
Nations is publicly calling for the establishment of a world
currency and none of the major news networks are even
covering it. #49) Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered California
State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal
minimum allowed by law — $7.25 an hour for most
state workers. #48) A police officer in Oklahoma recently tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed
and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn’t breathe because they
considered her to be a “threat”. #47) In early 2009, U.S. net national savings as a
percentage of GDP went negative for the first time since 1952,
and it has continued its downward trend since then. #46) Corexit 9500 is so incredibly toxic that the
UK’s Marine Management Organization has completely banned it, so if there
was a major oil spill in the North Sea, BP would not be able to use it.
And yet BP has dumped over a million gallons of dispersants such as Corexit
9500 into the Gulf of Mexico. #45) For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps,
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43
million Americans in 2011. #44) It has come out that one employee used a Federal
Emergency Management Agency credit card to buy $4,318 in “Happy
Birthday” gift cards. Two
other FEMA officials charged the cost of 360 golf umbrellas ($9,000) to the
taxpayers. #43) Researchers at the State University of New York at
Buffalo received $389,000 from the U.S. government to pay
100 residents of Buffalo $45 each to record how much malt liquor they drink and how much
pot they smoke each day. #42) The average duration of unemployment in the United States
has risen to an all-time high. #41) The bottom 40 percent of all income earners in
the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s
wealth. #40) In the U.S., the average federal worker now earns about twice as much as the average
worker in the private sector. #39) Back in 1950 each retiree’s Social Security benefit
was paid for by 16 workers. Today, each retiree’s Social
Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers.
By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers
for each retiree. #38) According to a U.S. Treasury Department report to
Congress, the U.S. national debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015. #37) The federal government actually has the gall to ask for online
donations that will supposedly go towards paying off the national
debt. #36) The Cactus Bug Project at the University Of
Florida was allocated $325,394 in economic stimulus funds to study the mating decisions of cactus bugs. #35) A dinner cruise company in Chicago got nearly $1
million in economic stimulus funds to combat terrorism. #34) It is being reported that a 6-year-old girl from Ohio is
on the “no fly” list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security. #33) During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of
loans that are at least three months past due in the United States increased for the 16th consecutive quarter. #32) According to a new report, Americans spend twice as much as residents of other
developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality and far less
efficiency. #31) Some experts are warning that the cost of bailing
out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could reach as high as $1
trillion. #30) The FDA has announced that the offspring of cloned animals could be in our food
supply right now and that there is nothing that they can do about
it. #29) In May, sales of new homes in the United States dropped to the lowest level ever
recorded. #28) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to
the average worker’s paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000,
that ratio has ranged between 300 to 500 to one. #27) Federal border officials recently said that Mexican
drug cartels have not only set up shop on American soil, they are
actually maintaining lookout bases in
strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona. #26) The U.S. government has declared some parts
of Arizona off limits to U.S. citizens because of
the threat of violence from Mexican drug smugglers. #25) According to the credit card repayment calculator, if you
owe $6000 on a credit card with a 20 percent interest rate and only pay the
minimum payment each time, it will take you 54 years to pay off that credit
card. During those 54 years you will pay $26,168 in interest
rate charges in addition to the $6000 in principal that you are required to pay
back. #24) According to prepared testimony by Goldman Sachs Chief
Operating Officer Gary Cohn, Goldman Sachs shorted roughly $615 million of
the collateralized debt obligations and residential mortgage-backed securities
the firm underwrote since late 2006. #23)The six biggest banks in the United States now
possess assets equivalent to 60 percent of America’s gross national product. #22) Four of the biggest U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan
Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup) had a “perfect
quarter” with zero days of trading losses during the
first quarter of 2010. #21) 1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in
2009 – a 32 percent increase over 2008. #20) BP has hired private security contractors
to keep the American people away from oil cleanup sites and nobody
seems to care. #19) Barack Obama is calling for a “civilian expeditionary force”
to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to help overburdened military troops build
infrastructure. #18) On June 18th, two Christians decided that they would
peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk
outside a public Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within 3 minutes
8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest. #17) It is being reported that sales of foreclosed homes in
Florida made up nearly 40 percent of all
home purchases in the first part of this year. #16)During a recent interview with Larry King,
former first lady Laura Bush revealed to the world that she is actually in
favor of legalized gay marriage and a woman’s “right” to abortion. #15) Scientists at Columbia University are warning that the
dose of radiation from the new full body security scanners going into airports
all over the United States could be up to 20 times higher
than originally estimated. #14)43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000
saved for retirement. #13) The FDIC’s deposit insurance fund now has negative 20.7 billion dollars in it,
which represents a slight improvement from the end of 2009. #12) The judge that BP is pushing for to hear an
estimated 200 lawsuits on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster gets tens of thousands of dollars a
year in oil royalties and is paid travel expenses to industry
conferences. #11) In recent years the U.S. government has spent $2.6
million tax dollars to study the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes and
$400,000 tax dollars to pay researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos
Aires, Argentina to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior
when drunk. #10) U.S. officials say that more than three billion
dollars in cash (much of it aid money paid for by U.S. taxpayers)
has been stolen by corrupt officials in Afghanistan and flown out of Kabul
International Airport in recent years. #9) According to a report by the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the baggage check fees
collected by U.S. airlines shot up 33% in the first
quarter of 2010 to $769 million. #8) Three California high school students are fighting for
their right to show their American patriotism - even on a Mexican
holiday - after they were forced to remove
their American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo. #7) Right now, interest on the U.S. national debt and spending
on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are somewhere in
the neighborhood of 10 to 15 percent of GDP. By 2080, they are
projected to eat up approximately 50 percent of GDP. #6) The total of all government, corporate and consumer
debt in the United States is now about 360 percent of GDP. #5) A 6-year-old girl was recently handcuffed and sent to
a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her
elementary school. #4) In Florida, students have been arrested by police for things as
simple as bringing a plastic butter knife to school, throwing an eraser,
and drawing a picture of a gun. #3) School officials in one town in Massachusetts are
refusing to allow students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. #2) According to one new study, approximately 21 percent
of children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010. #1) Since 1973, more than 50 million babies have been
murdered in abortion facilities across the United States.
Fed
Made Taxpayers Unwitting Junk-Bond Buyers Bloomberg
| So-called assets included collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed
bonds. Dollar
Plunges After UN Call To Ditch Greenback The dollar plunged today following
a United Nations report which called for the greenback to be replaced as the
global reserve currency by the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights
(SDRs). National
debt soars to highest level since WWII The federal debt will
represent 62% of the nation’s economy
by the end of this year. Dollar
should be replaced as international standard, U.N. report says CNN
| The dollar is an unreliable international currency and should be replaced by
a more stable system, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs said. Double
Dip Picking Up: Jobless Claims Spike To 472,000, On Expectations Of 455,000 Jobless
claims were a disaster, coming in at 472k, on expectations of 455k. Prior was
revised, surprise, surprise, higher to 459k from 457k. What is scariest is that
between extended benefits and EUC, now that Congress has turned off the
perpetual insurance spigot for the unemployed, dropped by -158,155 and
-217,513.‘Jobless
Recovery’ Myth as Banksters RAPE and ENSLAVE the Public! GET OFF YOUR KNEES! We’re told that this will be a ‘jobless recovery’ with further job losses expected before things get
better. Well, if you believe that nonsense I’ve got a fantastic sundrenched beach on the growing ice packs of
Antarctica to sell you. How on earth can there be anything called a jobless
recovery? The simple answer is that there can’t! Study:
US media redefined torture after US started practicing it The US news
media radically changed how it reported on the issue of waterboarding after it
emerged that US forces had used the practice, says a new study from Harvard
University. The
Toronto G20 Riot Fraud: Undercover Police engaged in Purposeful Provocation Toronto
is right now in the midst of a massive government / media propaganda fraud. As
events unfold, it is becoming increasingly clear that the ‘Black Bloc’ are undercover police operatives engaged in
purposeful provocations to eclipse and invalidate legitimate G20 citizen protest
by starting a riot. Government agents have been caught doing this before in
Canada.
Drudgereport: JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT 9.5%... 125,000 JOBS
LOST... Rate
dips as 652,000 give up search... Depressing...
[That’s why they’re called depressions (just kidding … but no laughing matter)
… At this rate, with all those lost jobs and jobseekers no longer seeking
those lost jobs that aren’t there, by their calculations (9.5% the bright spot
… riiiiight!) we should be at full employment very soon … you can’t make this
stuff up … really!].
First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors,
small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1,
2011:
Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax
rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which
two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will
rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also
rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out,
which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The
full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage
penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first
dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to
$500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for
married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and
adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no
death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55
percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving
behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax
bill to their loved ones.
Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital
gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The
dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in
2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare,
Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible
spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to
purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).
The “Special Needs Kids Tax” This provision of Obamacare
imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there
is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for
whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special
needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs
children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special
needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special
needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily
exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay
for this type of special needs education.
The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare
increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from
10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged
accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes
When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be
in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief
provisions will have expired. The major items include:
The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last
year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index
the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4
million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate
their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was
created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will
disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than
slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This
will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense
half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will
have to be “depreciated.”
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There
are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The
biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining
high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.
Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The
deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for
education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct
classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be
cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The
student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of
families.
Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.
Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000
per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also
counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability
will no longer be there.
Investors get more gloomy & bearish We just had a very
difficult three month stretch for stocks. The S&P 500 fell 12% for
the quarter as did NASDAQ. The Shanghai Composite, China’s largest stock index, fell 22.9 in its local
currency, the yuan. The MSCI EAFE Index (foreign stocks) was down 14%.
Given the negative news, it is not surprising that investors are becoming more
bearish on stocks. This chart from Bespoke is based on the weekly Investors
Intelligence survey, which is getting close to levels from a year
ago. This is not close the peak we reached in early 2009, but the mood is
definitely more negative now: [chart]
Double Dip on the Way There were many events contributing to yesterday’s sell-off, and the
most likely culprits around the globe included more protests in Greece,
continued to concerns about Europe at large, and a downward revision (due to a
calculation error) of a leading economic indicator reading in China for the
month of April. But when it comes down to it, our own economy has yet to stand
on solid ground. While the recovery has continued to be shaky at best, recent
economic readings may be pointing to a double dip recession. Yesterday’s batch
of economic data seemed to be confirming that, as it brought a very dismal
reading on consumer confidence. June’s number stood at 52.9, far below
expectations of 62.5, and pointing to the consumers’ weariness about the job
market, and economic recovery in general. To go further, the previous reading
for May was revised downward, to 62.7 from 63.3. But the drop from May to June
really sends the message home: we’re not out of the woods yet. Earlier in the
week, we saw personal savings rates rise again, even while personal income
growth was meager. Americans, despite bringing home a little more cash,
continued to save more for the expected rainy days, and have yet to return to
their spendthrift ways. After yesterday’s precipitous selling, one would expect
to see a bit of a bounce in today’s trading session. That wasn’t the case,
however, as more weak data continued to dampen economic hopes. Today’s culprit
was the ADP private sector job report. The report stated that private payroll
gains were muted in June, with only 13,000 jobs added – far less than the
60,000 expected by economists. While May’s reading was revised slightly upwards
(to 57,000 hires from previously reported 55,000), today’s release does not
bode well for the much anticipated report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
due out on Friday. The non-farms payroll survey includes government workers and
has been inflated in recent months due to hiring for the 2010 Census … [chart]
…The June report, however, will reflect many of those workers being laid off in
the past month. In May, 431,000 jobs were added, but without support from
temporary government hires, economists are predicting job losses in June. Last week,
consensus estimates were for a loss of 70,000 jobs for the month. By yesterday,
those estimates were downgraded further, to 110,000. With the help of today’s
ADP report, expectations have continued to fall: economists now expect a
reading of negative 125,000 …
Barron's: Why the Market Will Keep Sliding Perry D- Barron's has a nice summary of what the future may hold in its
"Up and Down Wall Street." It summarizes as well as anything I've
read recently where we're likely headed. Bugging the (stock) market is the
increasingly obvious disparity between what the Street's incorrigible
cheerleaders see and prophesy and what's actually happening in the real
world...The double dip in housing may or may not be a template of what's in
store for the economy as a whole. But at the very least, it is a precursor of
other serious disappointments destined to feed the unease among the jittery
populace, which most emphatically includes investors.
It cites the predictions of SDK Captial's Dee Kessler:
--the massive
fiscal and monetary stimulus so liberally applied in 2008-2009 is starting to
run out of steam, with financial conditions tightening and leading economic
indicators pointing to a stretch of "anemic activity."
--"structural
headwinds," such as public and private deleveraging, higher taxes, greater
regulation and trade tensions.
--the
well-publicized woes of the European bloc, which accounts for 20% of the
world's GDP, as further evidence that the global economy, as he puts it, is
downshifting.
--The period of
easy comparisons in corporate results, he says, is coming to a close,
--"Although
the fundamentals in the U.S., Europe and Japan are worse," Dee spots
plenty of downside in emerging markets and doesn't fancy the notion of
decoupling.
--Come another
financial crisis, "the only policy response left will be to print
money." Which, of course, is what the gold bugs are counting on and why
bullion has glistened so brightly.
That about sums
up the outlook. The nice insight here is that anxiety over future economic
malaise -- and the additional money printing that'll be done to mask it --
might be a bigger factor than current inflationary pressure behind the surge in
gold prices.
In other words,
for the deflation-believers: deflation today? Perhaps. But big-time inflation
tomorrow.
Stocks: Once More Up, Then the Big Down Smith -The ingredients
for a classic head and shoulders topping pattern in the stock market are all
present. That suggests one more rise and then a massive grinding move down to
2009 lows. Officially, of course, everything's peachy with the economy.
Europe is fixed, China is booming, consumer confidence is rising, and we are
encouraged to resume our borrow and spend ways as the economy will not
"double-dip" into recession. The economy will not slide into another
recession, we are reassured constantly, even though roughly 80% of Americans
don't think we ever left the recessionary quicksand. Please see "Two
Scoop Special": Double-Dip Recession Guaranteed (May 21, 2010) for
more … Exactly what drivers are there for future gains in corporate profits? I
can't think of any, short of Martians landing and going on a shopping spree
with gold they manufacture in their spacecraft. On the negative side, we have:
1. The rising dollar is a huge headwind to sales in the
eurozone and elsewhere.
2. The low-hanging fruit of pushing the workforce to produce more output for
the same salary/wages have all been picked.
3. The inventory build-out is done for everything but the iPhone 4 and iPad.
4. So-called "fiscal austerity" (when did living within one's means
become some sort of brutual "austerity"? Talk abour propaganda!) in
the eurozone and U.S. states will remove tens of billions of dollars from
corporate sales.
5. Global overcapacity is alive and well. There is overcapacity in everything
manufactured except the iPhone 4, and that will be in glut by 2011 as well.
6. Uncle Sam is not distributing trillions of dollars quite as freely. There
seems to be some glimmer of awareness that there could be consequences of squandering
trillions of borrowed dollars on essentially worthless projects such as
occupying Iraq, inflating the housing market by socializing the entire mortgage
market, propping up Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA, etc.
7. Housing is rolling over now that the socialized mortgage market has been
tentatively allowed to go off life-support (it is wheezing and turning blue in
the face, not signs of vibrant health).
8. There is no pricing power anywhere once stimulus-goosed demand declines to
organic demand (flat to down) …
Momentum Book Update: The Market Is a Mess and the Long Bond Is
About to Break Out … Not only do us swing traders have to fight the urge
to chase price action up, but lay off the keyboard trying to catch falling
knives in the relative strength stocks which are holding up. If you tried to
buy support in your favorite names this week, you got your hands cut up. I’ll continue to rely on the understanding of my own
emotions as they have served me well. When we opened higher on Monday morning I
knew I was in the right place, cash, as the market was just way overbought. If
you bought most relative strength names last week, by the end of this week you
were well underwater. So where do we go from here? I’ve got no clue, the market is a mess, the charts are a mess, and the
long bond is about to break out. If that happens all bets are off, we could see
an “event”. If the smart money is lining up at the exits and moving into
bonds, there’s a good chance they see
something coming down the pipe …
SUITING UP FOR A POST-DOLLAR WORLD John Browne ‘The
global financial crisis is playing out like a slow-moving, highly predicable
stage play. In the current scene, Western governments are caught between the
demands of entitled welfare beneficiaries and the anxiety of bondholders who
fear they will be stuck with the bill. As the crisis reaches an apex, prime
ministers and presidents are forced into a Sophie's choice between social
unrest and bankruptcy. But with the "Club Med" economies set to fall
like dominoes, the US Treasury market is not yet acting the role we would have
anticipated. … The newspapers are now riddled with hints that foreign
governments have lost faith in Washington and the dollar reserve system. It
seems to me only natural that after a century of war, inflation, and socialism,
the next hundred years would belong to those people who hold the timeless
values of hard money and fiscal prudence. Unfortunately, our policymakers are
not those people.’
China's
Hu Jintao Says Group of 20 Must Coordinate to Consolidate RecoveryBloomberg … How about the G195
countries in the world collectively be considered in this task of
coordination owing to the abject failure of the so-called G20 which have in
lockstep coordination precipitated this global crisis including the war
mongering, war criminal acts of the so-called nato allies et als, particularly
the u.s., and as well the likes of war criminal nation israel which have never
avoided a contra-indicated, anti-recovery war / conflict they could contrive /
rationalize. The so-called G7, 8, 9, 20, etc., are a pathetic bunch of
incompetent vegetables / jokers / showmen / clowns.
New
York Times reporter calls Zionist terrorism ‘romantic’ A little-noticed
comment in a New York Times interview with Israeli opposition leader Tzipi
Livni has critics arguing that it shows the media has a “double standard” when
it comes to terrorism.
States
of Crisis for 46 Governments Facing Greek-Style Deficits Californians don’t
see much evidence that the worst economic contraction since the Great
Depression is coming to an end. Unemployment was 12.4 percent in May, 2.7
percentage points higher than the national
rate. Evans-Pritchard
Announces Fed Contemplating $5 Trillion QE Expansion In his latest column,
the Daily Telegraph’s A. Evans-Pritchard does a good job of recapping all the
various reasons why Bernanke has now completely cornered himself, and facing a
newly collapsing economy, is left with just one recourse: the printing of more,
more, more paper. History
Tells US The Euro Will Not Survive, Greece Will Get Worse, And There Will Be A
Trade Shock With the PBoC’s currency announcement last Saturday and
the surge (!) in the value of RMB on Monday (all very kindly timed to add zest
to my meetings this week in Boston, New York, and Washington), you would assume
that today’s entry would be all about the RMB and the effect of the PBoC
announcement.
The following is really the
quintessential question and issue, particularly in light of america’s defacto
bankruptcy and international law; but paramount humanitarian concerns alone
would militate against america’s current misguided course.Is Petraeus McChrystal’s Replacement or Obama’s? Paul
Craig Roberts | All of this drama is playing out despite the
continuing lack of any valid reason for the american invasions of Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Israeli
Leaders Sued in Belgium for War Crimes Former Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert, Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
were among those charged with war crimes committed during the Gaza war in the
winter of 2008-09, the French daily Le Monde
reported. Congress
OKs sanctions on Iran’s energy, banks Congress on Thursday approved
tough new unilateral sanctions aimed at squeezing Iran’s
energy and banking sectors, which could also hurt companies from other
countries doing business with Tehran.
Cybersecurity
Measures Will Mandate Government “ID Tokens” To Use The Internet The
move to shut down and regulate the Internet, the only source of uncensored news
and truth, under a new government-controlled system has accelerated into high
gear with the announcement that the government’s cybersecurity strategy
revolves around issuing Internet users with ID “tokens” without which they will
not be able to visit websites, the latest salvo against web freedom which, in
combination with Senator Joe Lieberman’s ‘kill switch’ bill, will serve to
eviscerate the free Internet as we know it.
3 SIGNS OF A SUCKER RALLY Simon
Maierhofer ‘ … AFTER
EXAMINING TECHNICAL EVIDENCE, SENTIMENT INDICATORS AND VARIOUS VALUATION
METRICS, IT BECOMES OBVIOUS THAT THE RECENT BOUNCE PROVIDES A SELLING, NOT
BUYING OPPORTUNITY ...’
Russell:
This Is One Of The Largest Tops In Stock Market History Richard Russell has grown very vocally bearish in recent
months. Earlier this year, Russell warned that the stock market was once again
becoming grossly overvalued despite its relentless new highs. Pragmatic Capitalism June 24, 2010 Richard
Russell has grown very vocally bearish in recent months. Earlier this year, Russell warned that the stock market
was once again becoming grossly overvalued despite its relentless
new highs. He has maintained that the bear market never ended and that
the world is far too indebted to exit the bear market. He also believes
the bear will not end until all fiat currencies have failed. Although I
disagree with him on many aspects of the micro I agree with his larger macro
outlook. This bear market is not over. The secular bear market
lives on. Mr. Russell thinks we might be on the verge of a terrible
collapse: “We’re now in the process of
building one of the largest tops in stock market history. The result, I think,
will be the most disastrous bear market since the ‘30s, and maybe worse. Question: “What
could possibly be behind such a bear market?” you ask. “The stock market is
stirring up optimism on a weekly, if not daily basis, by not falling apart.” Answer:
This is the “rest” or “dead zone” I was talking
about. Bear markets don’t conclude in a day, a week or a month. Months will go
by, often adding to the bulls’ optimism.I think the key element behind this
great bear market will be the complete destruction of all fiat currencies. This
has been a long time coming. Fiat currencies are “wealth” created by man. They are created without
sacrifice, without labor, without risk, and without sweat. Basically they are
an immoral device, created by secretive bankers. If you watch the figures
carefully, you’ll note the subtle deterioration. For instance, the
advance-decline ratio, although up slightly for the week, had a relatively weak
performance with the Dow up several hundred points over the course of the week.
And we broke the trendline in May (see the chart below showing the cumulative
advance-decline line for NYSE Common Stock only, which is what we publish in
our figures (courtesy of DecisionPoint —
www.decisionpoint.com). The vertical lines are Jan 2008, Jan 2009 and Jan 2010
as you move to the right on the chart. [CHART] My
old friend, Bob Prechter, is talking about Dow 400. I used to think this was an
absurd joke. I no longer think it’s a joke. The ultimate result will be a
primary bear market shocking in duration and extent. …’
Reports:
IAF Landed at Saudi Base, US Troops near Iran Border Arutz
Sheva | The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at
a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed
Wednesday. It’s
time for the world to take a close look at the despotic, totalitarian regime
that presently exists for the grandeur and wealth of a few while hiding behind
Islam as they betray same and Muslims everywhere. The time has come for regime
change in Saudi Arabia to yield a nation of and for the people of Saudi Arabia
and the glory of Islam.
[It should be noted, and there have been a multitude of other
instances, that I’m getting substantial ‘attacks’ vis-à-vis my internet
connection which has slowed dramatically these posts. I don’t think the
interference is either accidental or just coincidental but consistent with that
similarly experienced by critics of corrupt defacto bankrupt america of which I
am one and not alone in that regard – slowing, militating against the
devastating truth about america. It should be noted that yet another
attempt by the criminal american government and related partners in crime to
silence an unwavering critic (to really understand america is to not be able to
stand pervasively corrupt and defacto bankrupt america and her failed criminal
cohort nations / lapdogs, ie., uk, eu, israel, etc.), in contravention of first
amendment rights / protections, and as in the RICO case [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
] to cover up substantial crimes in which the government was / is also
involved. Some delays but a work-around is in
progress. I won’t forget this and a price will be paid, as continues to be
true. (6-22-10)THE
WORK-AROUND-IN-PROGRESS I ALLUDED TO IS NOW FOR THE MOST PART SUCCESSFULLY
COMPLETED BY WAY OF A DSL CONNECTION AND A DELL COMPUTER.]
China To
Overtake USA In Manufacturing FT | The US remained
the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is poised to
relinquish this slot in 2011 to China – thus ending a 110-year run as the
number one country in factory production.
When
will the SEC prosecute for market rigging? Michael Schmidt
| Are the large gold bullion banks working in collusion with the US Federal
Reserve to artificially torpedo the key rival to US dollar
hegemony? China To
Overtake USA In Manufacturing FT | The US remained
the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is poised to
relinquish this slot in 2011 to China – thus ending a 110-year run as the
number one country in factory production.
Connecticut
vegetable lieberman: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We … (great
logic from a totalitarian zionist)? Senator joe Zelig the zionist
israeli lieberman, co-author of a bill that would give President Obama a ‘kill
switch’ to shut down parts of the Internet, attempted to reassure CNN viewers
yesterday that concerns about the government regulating free speech on the web
were overblown, but he only stoked more alarm by citing China, a country that
censors all online dissent against the state, as the model to which American
should compare itself.
Market Outlook: Bearish Background to Bullish Storyline Sean
Hannon: ‘The last two weekly market
commentaries have discussed how the underlying trend of the market is now
bearish and all rallies should be used to sell stocks and reduce risks. With
nearly every news outlet spouting the bullish storyline, these articles served
as an outline of a disciplined investment strategy. Those who followed the
outline have done well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow), S&P 500,
and NASDAQ each declined over 5% since my initial warning. With the Dow still
stuck below the psychologically important 10,000 level and all three major U.S.
markets trading beneath their 200-day moving averages (MA), the bearish
backdrop is clear. Even if many are still looking for a rally, we should
understand that the primary trend is lower. Instead of focusing on how high
prices will rally, we should instead consider how much further prices can fall
…’
Greek
Default Seen by Almost 75% in Poll Doubtful About Trichet Global
investors have little confidence in Europe’s efforts to contain its debt crisis
or in European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, with 73 percent
calling a default by Greece likely. 12
Reasons Why The U.S. Housing Crash Is Far From Over Over the past
several months, many in the mainstream media have hailed the slight improvement
in the U.S. real estate market as a “housing
recovery”. US
Needs Austerity Too: Hedge Fund Strategist The United States will
have to adopt austerity measures similar to the ones taken in Europe, because
the problems faced are largely the same, Timothy Scala, macro-strategist at
Sophis Investments, told CNBC.com. Market
Analyst: ‘BP’s Not Going to Last as a Company More Than a Matter of Months’ We’ve
heard politicians, even conservative Republicans, suggest BP would be held
completely responsible for the devastation caused by the oil spill plaguing the
Gulf of Mexico, even if it means its very existence.
US
Media Terrified Of Mentioning USS Liberty Do you know that an
american naval vessel was attacked by israel in international waters, 43 years
ago today, resulting in the deaths of dozens of american sailorsArab lawmaker on flotilla sparks outrage in israel (AP) -
An Israeli-Arab lawmaker's decision to join hundreds of activists on a
pro-Palestinian flotilla has elevated her from relative political obscurity,
transforming her into the poster child for the ...
Why To Question the 2010 Stock Market Rally [Why To Question the 2010
Stock Market Rally – Web Site Archived with Charts Click Here - In
the past year, we've written a lot about the similarity between the rally of
early 1930 and the one we had through April of this year. The early 1930 rally
came after the market had fallen nearly 50% in the fall of 1929. The spring
1930 rally took the market up nearly 50% again, to a level that was only about
20% below the previous peak.That rally, of course,
was also the biggest sucker's rally in history. After the market peaked in
April 1930, it crashed again, eventually ending up down 89% from the 1929 high
and more than 80% from the 1930 high. The
market did not reach the 1930 high again for another quarter of a century. The rally that recently ended in April 2010 came after
a crash that was actually slightly more severe than the 1929 crash (53% versus
48%). It took the market up nearly 80% from the low! The recent rally also
lasted longer than the 1930 rally did--a year, as opposed to 6 months … ]
‘What Does China Want?’ They want to speak to Rosanne
Rosanna Danna, of course! ‘Asian markets tumble on fears over Hungary’
…Riiiiight! Hungary’s the thing! … Rosanne Rosanna Danna, formerly of SNL fame
wanted in Asia to chime in with what her mama always used to say, ‘ It’s always
something ‘ . Of course, it matters little to the frauds on wall street what
the something is said to be since the reality is … ‘This is a global
depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. This was a
manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a
typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great
regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into.
This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud
as in prior crashes.’ ( It should be noted, and there
have been a multitude of other instances, that I’m getting substantial
‘attacks’ vis-à-vis my internet connection which has slowed dramatically these
posts. I don’t think the interference is either accidental nor just
coincidental but consistent with corrupt defacto bankrupt america’s critics of
which I am one and not alone in that regard – slowing, militating against the
devastating truth about america.) Europe
is Heading for a Depression Despite a nearly-$1 trillion rescue operation,
financial conditions in the eurozone continue to deteriorate. All the gauges of
market stress are edging upwards and credit default swaps (CDS) spreads have
widened to levels not seen since the weekend of the emergency
euro-summit. Key
Indicators of a New Depression With the mainstream media focusing on the
country’s leveling unemployment rate, improving retail sales, and nascent
housing recovery, one might think that the US government has successfully
navigated the economy through recession and growth has
returned. Get Ready for a Double Dip … but many warning
flags point towards significant deterioration in the U.S. and global economy
going forward and so I think that by the end of the year or early 2011, we
could very well be facing a new leg down in the world’s economic situation …
[I’d say too optimistic since, to reiterate: This
is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression.
This was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has
been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with
great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell
into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam /
fraud as in prior crashes.]
european
central banks intervened to shore up the ever more worthless euro, buying into
that fraudulent wall street b*** s*** story that that ‘s a good thing, rallying
stocks off their lows. It is amazing how dumb europe has become so quickly. An
exception is what I believe was Germany’s steps against derivatives, which market
according to a derivatives trader on the radio this day is a $40 trillion
market (missed his name). To reiterate as applicable to yet another fraudulent
scheme previously stated, said market is paper on paper moving around and
generating commissions at lightning computerized speed but adding no real value
in real economic terms; again, the analogy of termites eating away at the
(nation’s) foundation is apposite. As such, that money has to come from some
real place and hence, the ever more frequent and larger crashes we are seeing.
Don’t forget that the worthless paper from previous such fraudulent schemes now
marked to anything is still out there in a magnitude some have placed in the
hundreds of trillions. The
Worst Money Supply Plunge Since The Depression Means A Double Dip Is Now A
‘Virtual Certainty’ The stock of U.S. money as measured by ‘M3′
money supply fell to $13.9 trillion from $14.2 trillion during the three months
ending in April. [ This is still an extraordinarily
high level but … I don’t buy it. I believe the printing presses have been working
overtime to pump out ever more worthless fiat currency and with the many
trillions of worthless fraudulent paper still out there and marked to anything.
I further believe the same is being surreptitiously used to supplant the
fraudulent paper, the consequences of which will be devastating, of course, as
is invariably so in depressions in any event. This scenario would also mean
huge fraud accomplis. ] Fiat
Money Supply Contracting at Great Depression Level The bankster
operative who helped destroy Glass-Steagall is back. Larry Summers, Obama’s top
economic adviser, has told Congress to “grit its teeth” and approve a fresh
fiscal boost of $200 billion to keep growth on track, reports the Daily
Telegraph. Fiat
Money Supply Contracting at Great Depression Level Kurt Nimmo
| The Federal Reserve stopped publishing M3 figures back in 2006.
Sell in May and Go Away, Indeed [ I wasn’t
kidding; and, I’m still not kidding when I say: This is a great
opportunity to sell / take profits because there’s much worse to come! ]
Forecasts from Dent,
Napier, and then Prechter: Depression is
Imminent The Dow Jones Industrial Average will go down to at least 1000, most
likely to below 777 which was the starting point of its mania back in August
1982, and quite likely drop below 400 at one or more times during the bear
market.
10 Reasons to Worry About Margin
Growth … a good portion of these factors will likely impact
margins by the end of the year. I don’t believe this is adequately factored
into earnings estimates across the board. Given this, I believe we have seen
the highs for the year and next few quarters will be extremely volatile
...
The frauds on wall street et als should be criminally
prosecuted, jailed, fined and disgorgement imposed. If that were so, they
wouldn’t be worrying about who wins / loses since those who fraudulently play,
invariably would (and should) pay. If they’re not prosecuted, everyone
loses.
POST MORTEM AND REVIEW Ricky: A post mortem is in order. The elements of this
worldwide con game are remarkably simple, not complex at all. Apparently you
only need a few things to make a mockery of the entire global economic system,
and big banks garnered these few important things through “regulatory capture”: 1) Unregulated, unenforced rules (particularly for
derivatives)
2) license to “mark to model” (assign your own values to your assets)
3) ability to peg present value to irrational expected future returns (based on
unlimited, exponential growth)
4) infinite leverage (no effective requirements for reserve capital in
unregulated “shadow” markets)
5) massive size, so that the bank is "too big to fail"
6) non-transparency and non-accountability.
SELL IN MAY AND GO AWAY!
THE FORECASTS: Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and
mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to
implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of
2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the
latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010
and 2012 Russell Napier is the author of the book “Anatomy of the Bear”, a professor at the
Edinburgh Business School and a consultant to CLSA Ltd. which is one of the top
research houses in Asia. Napier’s research indicates (and I paraphrase) that:
The S&P 500 will Decline to 400 by 2014 (the Dow 30 to 3800)
The S&P 500 will then undergo a major crash that will see U.S. equity
prices bottom at almost 50% below current levels (i.e. to 400 or less; the Dow
30 to 3800 or less) sometime around 2014 as Tobin’s “q” drops to 0.3 signaling
the end of the bear market, as it has done at the end of the four largest U.S.
market declines in 1921, 1932, 1949 and 1982.
U.S. Treasury Sales Collapse Leading to End of U.S. Dollar as Reserve Currency Robert R. Prechter Jr. is author of a number of newsletters and books including
“Elliott Wave Principle” (1978) in which he predicted the super bull market of
the 1980s; “At the Crest of the Tidal Wave – A Forecast of the Great Bear
Market” (1995) in which he predicted a slow motion economic earthquake, brought
about by a great asset mania, that would register 11 on the financial Richter
scale causing a collapse of historic proportions; and “Conquer the Crash: You
can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression” (2002) in which he
described the economic cataclysm that we are just beginning to experience and
advised how to position one’s self financially during that period of time.
Depression is Imminent
The Dow Jones Industrial Average will go down to at least 1000, most likely to
below 777 which was the starting point of its mania back in August 1982, and
quite likely drop below 400 at one or more times during the bear market.
According to the Debt Clock:
• Total national debt:$13 trillion • Debt per citizen:$42,026 • Debt per taxpayer: $117,982
• Total interest due: $1.9 trillion
• Interest per citizen: $2,211
• Total personal debt:$16.5 trillion • Total mortgage debt: $14.1 trillion
• Total consumer debt: $2.45 trillion
• Personal debt per citizen: $53,483
• Debt held by foreign countries:$4.07
trillion
TED OLSON SEEKING TO
OVERTURN CALIFORNIA'S PROPOSITION 8, WHICH LIMITS MARRIAGE TO A MAN AND A
WOMAN. After shilling for the corrupt u.s. government as solicitor
general, maybe he just wanted to go straight [Just Kidding!]. There is no
immunity, judicial or otherwise for criminal acts. Moreover, there is no
sovereign immunity for non-governmental acts as would include
involvement in the illegal drug and related crimes, ie., bribery, etc.,
and the supreme court has so held against foreign nations in the context of the
RICO statute but in my RICO case olson the liar would shill otherwise, not that
he really had to worry in light of the pervasively corrupt and wastefully
costly federal courts which should be abolished.
NATION NEWS DIGEST: J.P. Morgan Chase
posts $4.8 billion profit(Washington Post) Yet another ‘Come on’ day on fraudulent wall street! This
time it’s the unexpected jump in continuing claims for unemployment, yesterday
the downward revision to previous market-frothing retail sales report and poor
retail sales and plunge in mortgage applications and then there’s the fed
minutes pointing to extended bad economy. Then there’s also now the ‘goldfinger
factor’ as in goldman’s middle finger. When you defraud for many billions, paying $550 million is
chump change. Goldman shares rocketed 5.5% in after-hours trading. No wonder
Goldman called it "the right outcome for our firm shareholders and
clients." (Absent
prosecutions, they’ll continue to do what comes natural to frauds on wall
street). Great opportunity to sell / take profits since much worse, also called
reality beyond the b*** s***, to come. Then there’s also the bad but typical
news; viz., previous retail sales, mortgage apps, economic outlook down, and
continuing claims for unemployment, deficits, trade / budget, up. (Just in:
7-16-10 Poll – only 43% of Americans approve of the Afganistan War, down from
52% in January, 2010)
Pearlstein:Can
regulation beget innovation?(Washington Post)I believe the more seminal question to be,
whether american companies, consistent with overall american decline and
corruption in so pervasive a fashion, are capable of or inclined toward real
innovation where enhancements to productivity, as well as greater profits, is
the consequence as desired. Certainly there has been ‘innovation’ by the wall
street frauds in the types of (ultimately worthless / fraudulent) paper and high
frequency trade programs enhancing their bottom-lines but little else; and,
those cutting edge ‘weapons of mass destruction’ produced or financed (israel)
by america are hardly productive in the economic sense but innovative and
profitable in the short run, and unwise and nation-bankrupting in the longer
run which we’re in right now!
Grace
Kelly: Eternal fashion icon(Washington
Post) To reiterate, I seldom comment on entertainment matters; but, I also
would not pass up the opportunity to pay homage to such a ‘magnificent and
exotic creature (in the most positive sense the term is used)’ as Grace Kelly,
the Eternal Princess. I previously referenced her in the post which follows and
includes the context of the post. One might say, London Exhibit? What? Yet,
Alfred Hitchcock’s good taste and keen eye for splendor and beauty was not lost
on Grace Kelly about whom he publicly raved (he also admitted his love for Cary
Grant, but not that way. No, Alfred Hitchcock was not a homo).
Mideast Digest: Wow! Belfast, Northern
Ireland; and in the Mideast Digest Section, of all places. It’s been a long
time. While I have had some difficulties with Irish mob in the context of
litigation but only tangential to my primary RICO action vis-à-vis the Italian
mob (and similarly tangentially the jewish mob and then primarily what I
learned to be ‘governmental mob’, federal, state, local, derivative thereby and
the sine quo non of corruption / bribery / synergy that spells decline for any
nation), it is difficult to not be empathetic to the plight of an otherwise beautiful
nation tainted only by the orange stain in that northern quarter. After all,
what hasn’t england not mucked up from balfour to the mideast to now even their
own nation having hitched a ride on the american / israeli crazy train. As a
matter of disclosure, I must admit to an affinity for the Irish and somewhat
fairly recently had been asked what I thought of Philadelphia to which without
hesitation I immediately replied that Grace Kelly (truly magnificent by any
standard) was born there. I could think of nothing else that could parallel
such a distinction.
U.S.
to host Mideast peace talks(Washington Post)[ Call
me skeptical, cynical, etc., but somehow, u.s. juxtaposed with the wordsMideast, peace strains credulity andjust doesn’t ring true! ]While citing obstacles, White House expresses
hope that deal for Palestinian state may come soon.
U.S.
examines private sector's role in affordable housing (Washington Post)[ I’m sorry to say that in pondering the
so-called policy-makers in Washington or in the corporate boardrooms that I’m
hard-pressed to dismiss from my mind’s eye a picture of a bunch of scarecrows
fumbling around while singing refrains such as ‘if they only had a brain’
cirque the land of the wizard of oz. The reality is that some basic grasp of
economics, finance, business would go a long way in a more positive sense for
the nation. Then there’s those infamous internment / concentration /
‘affordable housing’ camps that’s been filtering through the filters, so to
speak.] The Obama administration is grappling over how much to force private
lenders to pay for apartments and homes for the poor as it presses ahead with a
major overhaul of the government's housing policy, officials said.
Officials:
Karzai aide part of wider probe(Washington
Post)If only he hadn’t taken / made
those calls to the Taliban, things would still be aok for america. Yeah, they’d
be ‘down with it’. You know, everything copasetic …
A quandary in Afghan corruption fight (Washington Post) U.S. effort to help
Afghanistan fight corruption has complicated ties [ Complicated ties, I’d say
so, and a quandary indeed! Particularly when the corruption and ties are of the
homegrown american variety as in opium / heroin trade (all but eradicated by
theTaliban) and the bribes, ‘takes’, cover-ups, etc., involved therein.]
U.S. to temper stance on
Afghanistan corruption(Washington Post)[ Sounds like a plan! After all, in
america’s own image of corruption, ie., bribery, heroin trade, etc., they’re
remolding Afghanistan replete with good old american style corruption and they
don’t want no noses pokin’ around to see america’s direct involvement in the
corruption, bribery, etc., and particularly the heroin trade, the american
raison d’etre there where the Taliban had all but eradicated the heroin
production / trade which surged thereafter with the american participation. The
American rationale seems to be, continue the corruption, etc., since to
eliminate same would help the Taliban. Riiiiight!My, oh my! You can’t make this stuff up.]Military officials conclude that effort to
drive out all but the most corrosive abuses in region would create a power
vacuum that Taliban could exploit.
Previously: Karzai's
bid to control inquiries worries U.S.(Washington
Post) [My Lord! You just can’t make this stuff up! The americanization of
Afghanistan … hopelessly corrupt … but american ‘liberators’ want their cut
from the now hopelessly corrupt liberated nation, in america’s own image, of
the heroin trade they’ve worked so hard to restore.] There is
growing concern that U.S. support for the war will diminish further if voters
continue to see the Afghan government as hopelessly corrupt.
Obama:
'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war(Washington
Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b*** s*** which
b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed,
covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If
only teleprompters had a brain of their own.] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the
chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S.
dead.
U.S. looks to replicate Iraq
strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh
right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as in drowning,
in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military officials hope that a secure
green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will make it more difficult for
Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings in the Afghan city.
7
U.S. troops die in Afghanistan violence(Washington
Post) [I was discussing my opposition
to the contrived conflict in Iraq with a former air force man with high (top?)
security clearance from economic, geopolitical, and humanitarian perspectives;
and further, mentioned I had sought and gotten an appointment to West Point (I
was exempt) so I could go (Vietnam) as an officer rather than a grunt who were
being used as mere cannon fodder as now in Iraq (I also related the fact that I
am thankful, for a multitude of reasons, I changed my mind in light of then new
realities). He replied, quite seriously, that’s what they’re there for… No they
are not! But yes, that is their unequivocal, unforgiveable attitude beyond the
b*** s*** (look at cheney-5 deferments, bush-powderpuff duty courtesy of poppy
bush, clinton-draft dodger, wobama-never served, etc.. Just a destructive
waste!) The latest deaths bring
to 42 the number of American forces who have died this month in Afghanistan
after July's high of 66.
U.S.
officers weary and humbled(Washington Post) [ Indeed they should be; and, if they are able
to make sense of the last 2 decades particularly, they are certifiably true
american crazy, a condition in the u.s. and among it’s war mongering allies
that is found in self-destructive abundance. No joke! And then there are the
crimes / frauds. My position is also that such frauds as the disappearance of
the 360 tons of $100 bills, etc., and similar such frauds should come right off
the top, a direct reduction in their budget allocation particularly in light of
the defacto bankruptcy of the nation! ]How Iraq vets make sense
of the last seven years will affect how america wields its military power [very
poorly indeed!] .
WikiLeaks
Release: CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum – What If Foreigners See the United
States as an ‘Exporter of Terrorism’ [Which of course is the reality, along with israel; you do recall
those israeli operatives who were caught cheering the 911 hit, the so-called
pearl harbor event so cherished by the neo-cons.] The document states, “This
report examines the implications of what it would mean for the US to be seen
increasingly as an incubator and ‘exporter of terrorism.’” However, it doesn’t
go on to mention the U.S. state sponsored terrorist activities of the
Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG).
Inside
Job? Iraqi govt ‘involved in deadly bombings to get US troops to stay’ More than 40 people have been killed in a
string of bombings that have rocked Iraq. In Baghdad alone, over 20 bombs
exploded in at least 12 separate incidents. Today’s bombings are raising
questions the Iraqi government’s ability to deal with an ongoing insurgency.
Sabah Al-Mukhtar from the Arab Lawyers Association says the bombings may
actually be the Iraqi government’s way to get US troops to stay.
John McCain’s Attack
On Liberty Chuck Baldwin | The citizens of Arizona can do
the American people — and liberty itself — a great favor this year by giving
Senator John McCain his walking papers. [First, he’s a fraud with a long
mob-connected history. Second, he’s an incompetent mental case in the mold of
‘bolton’ et als, but all that’s how and why they keep this compromised a** in
there.]
Paul
Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs Kurt Nimmo
| John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I
think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is: http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm
‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was
referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the
"songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his
Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented
with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military
code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm
] But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade
of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as
america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to
rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the
(corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed,
prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street"
has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective
legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention,
and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise
of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn";
huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)
Google
Yanks “Kill The Web” Article That Warned Of Internet Takeover Having at
first appeared as normal, our earlier article about Google’s plan to kill the
web has been completely de-listed from Google News. This is completely unprecedented
and underscores how keen Google is to prevent people from finding out that it
is a CIA-NSA front that is preparing to completely end the Internet as we know
it with the Verizon net-neutrality killing deal.
Google
Plans To Kill Web In Internet Takeover Agenda The net-neutrality ending
deal with Verizon is just the beginning of Google’s plans to kill the open and
free Internet as part of their takeover agenda to completely control the world
wide web and force independent media websites, radio and TV shows out of
existence for good.
Obama’s
pledge to close down Guantanamo is ‘not even close’ Barack Obama’s pledge
to shut down Guantanamo Bay will not be honoured until at least a year after
the President’s self-imposed deadline – and may not be completed in his first
administration.
CIA
sees increased threat from al-Qaeda in Yemen(Washington Post)An
agency's rise and fall(Washington Post) [
Gee! I was hoping they were referring to the cia in the latter article, but no
such luck. The cia’s already covered the bases; creating enemies when and
wherever they can, real or imagined, and all the while, using the booty from
their plunder / illegal drug ops to bribe anyone who would charged with the
responsibility of stopping them. Yes … this is one of those instances where
they’re all in cahoots to everyone’s detriment. This is the way things are in a
declining / fallen nation as defacto bankrupt america most certainly is. ]
Obama
speech on Iraq has risks (Washington Post) [ Yeah, very true
indeed! The main one being that he’s supplanting that illegal, unnecessary,
nation-bankrupting war with yet another in Afghanistan which will not be lost
on those who supported his candidacy based on promised end to unnecessary war
policies which have diverted time, attention, ill-afforded resources including
personnel and continue to do so even as defacto bankrupt america crumbles.
]
In
Iraq, a precarious time plagued by 'what ifs' (Washington
Post) [ How ‘bout in america, a
precarious time plagued by ‘what ifs’. What if bush et als hadn’t lied and
brought us this (these) illegal war(s). What if america hadn’t been bankrupted
by these pointless, self-defeating, and endless war policies. What if wobama
had delivered on his promises. What if … ] ‘…"The Americans are leaving,
and they didn't solve the problems," said Falah al-Naqib, a Sunni
legislator from the secular Iraqiya bloc. "So far they've failed and left Iraq
to other countries."…’
Fla.
pastor reconsiders plan on burning Korans(Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan!
Riiiiight! ] Amid disagreement
over whether deal was struck to move mosque near Ground Zero in exchange for
calling off burning, he now says he's "suspending" event.
‘We
are still determined’: U.S. pastor vows to carry out Burn-a-Koran day on Sept
11 despite death threats As Gerald
Celente said on the show today, General Petraeus’ comment that burning the
Koran could upset Muslims is the height of hypocrisy. Did Petraeus ever
consider the notion that bombing and occupying their countries also wouldn’t go
down too well? This whole issue is about manipulating us into a helter-skelter
race war as a distraction from the economic collapse and to rally the country
around another war in the middle east.
NYPD
Top Cop: Planned Quran Burning Is “Dangerous” [ I personally wasn’t going to comment on this and let others draw
their own conclusions; especially, as pointed out by Celente, when america’s
been bombing and killing civilian muslims in droves, based on lies, and even
for drug trade pre-eminence, etc.. After all, it’s not too difficult to dredge
up memories of other historical book-burners, ie., that Austrian house-painter
with a brush mustache, etc.. But really, isn’t this guy jones a neo-con dream
come true? I think he’s just a publicity seeking, mentally unbalanced dummy. He
even looks a bit like john bolton. But, in america, mental unbalance has become
the new normal. ] Police Commissioner Ray Kelly sided with Gen. Petraeus last
night, calling a planned burning of Qurans on the anniversary of Sept. 11,
“unwise” and “un-American” during the 9/11 Museum and Memorial’s fundraising
dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan Tuesday night.
Karzai calls aide's arrest reminiscent of
Soviet times(Washington Post) [ Exactly, eerily,
certainly realistically reminiscent of the former soviet union is the american
union in terms of economics (defacto bankrupt), geopolitics (intensely hated),
and even factual similarity (the final straw), with an unmistakable modus
operandi that gives rise to failure beyond the propaganda. After all,
corruption is as american and pervise as apple pizza pies and mother of hoods,
etc. ]
Army supervisor was worried about leak suspect's
mental health, attorney says(Washington Post) [
One cannot help but hearken back to a frequently deployed ‘government at its
worst’ strategy, ie., Ellsberg/Pentagon papers, former soviet union, etc., in
attempting to discredit such informants, etc., which of course is a telltale
sign of america’s similar fate / decline / fall. ]
Obama prods Mideast leaders (Washington Post ) [ The real question is … who is
going to prod defacto bankrupt, war crimes nation america … on peace, that is.
Then there’s that ‘oh, it’s just war crimes, illegal nuke-toting israel … laws,
rules, un resolutions, etc., don’t apply to them factor and the concomitant
skepticism attendant thereto. ] Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and
Palestinian President Abbas are set to open direct peace talks.
Afghans
still see U.S. as bad guy(Washington
Post ) [Riiiiight! Sounds
like a plan … winning hearts and minds throughout the world … great for exports
also as such ‘won hearts and minds’ just love to buy american.] American, NATO
forces retain blame for civilian deaths despite spike from insurgent violence.
U.S. looks to replicate Iraq
strategy, tactics (Washington Post ) [Oh right! Stick with that winning plan that worked so swimmingly (as
in drowning, in ie., debt, death, regional if not wordly anti-american
sentiment, etc.)]. In Kandahar, U.S. military
officials hope that a secure green zone, similar to the area in Baghdad, will
make it more difficult for Taliban insurgents to mount attacks to key buildings
in the Afghan city.
China
focuses on military might(Washington Post) [And the big difference here (between them
and defacto bankrupt america) is that ‘THEY CAN AFFORD IT’ and are not fighting
nation-bankrupting, anti-american-sentiment-creating wars all over the
place.]Nation is quickly modernizing
forces, extending influence deep into Pacific and Indian oceans.
A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption?(Washington
Post)[ How about a not so subtler tack
to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and
crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from
american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing
civilians, etc..Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless,
War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:
A
quandary in Afghan corruption fight (Washington Post)[Come on! Is this some cruel
joke? Corruption, lawlessness is now synonomous with america.Afghans
question U.S.-style corruption/capitalism(Washington
Post) [ As indeed they should inasmuch as the same is neither capitalism nor
american style in the traditional sense referenced here. Defacto bankrupt, in
decline, and pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless america is a nation
unworthy of emulation! ] Kabul Bank became the pride of Afghanistan's
financial system by offering the conveniences and thrills of 21st-century
capitalism. But the scene outside the bank's headquarters Wednesday was far
from that modern ideal.U.S.-backed investigative teams have assembled evidence
of rampant corruption in Afghanistan, and the findings have had unintended
consequences.
Afghans march in Kabul to denounce NATO
strikes that killed civilians: Demonstrators shout anti-American slogans,
denounce NATO strikes (Washington Post ) Sounds
like a plan! Almost surreal was the appearance of gates on failed network
‘news’ show to shill the non-strategy of draw down (of troops) linked to
success. What success? Just being there and every day they’re there is
unequivocally abject failure. Celebritology Weekend: Angelina Jolie biography
arrives(Washington Post ) I usually don’t weigh in on
entertainment news, but this headline concerning what appears to be a
disparaging, and quite selectively so, purported biography of Angelina Jolie is
very disheartening when you consider the numerous instances of failed
leadership at nearly all very high levels of government having so detrimental
an impact on the world, that morton deems his time appropriate to an actress
who has actually tried to do good things (U.N., etc.) without having to.
Indeed, even her latest film ‘Salt’ (spectacular by any standard as is her
performance – there are at least 2 winning sequels there with 4 the max and
stretching it owing to age – she puts all, and I mean all the ‘Bonds’ to shame)
had an important message in terms of the damage to this nation by a seemingly
endless, nation-bankrupting, anti-american (war criminal israelis already, and
quite correctly, globally hated) sentiment producing war strategy that is
neither strategy nor reasonably consistent with any positive american goal /
objective; but rather issuch a debacle
and folly that the same could very well be one that only an enemy of defacto
bankrupt america could hatch and for the reasoning set forth in the
well-written / directed film. She astutely observed and talked about the
synchronicity of the film as juxtaposed to recent events revealing thatshe is wiser than most in Washington.
Obama reminds veterans he's beginning war's end(Washington Post) Sounds like a plan! I mean,
after all you must have a beginning before you have an end. Yeah, there’s a
certain ineluctable logic to that; a certain ‘ring’ to it! Like full circuit
‘b*** s***!
Karzai
officials on CIA payroll(Washington Post)[Riiiiight! The roster of allies … love of america breakin’ out all over
the region … boy oh boy … talk about creating your own boondoggles … well, they
can afford it. After all, it’s only taxpayer money and america’s already
defacto bankrupt. Then again, they have the requisite licenses; viz., to kill,
to steal, to distribute illegal drugs, etc.. Whew! Glad they didn’t act without
the requisite licensure.]
Who’s Barry Soetoro, wobama? Get your very own BARRY
SOETORO T-Shirt and ask the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". The REAL name of President Barack Obamais BARRY SOETORO so get a t-shirt with a
picture of him on the front and the question, "Where is the Birth
Certificate?". http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/basot.htmlObama’s
Comeback Strategy: Appearing On “The View” Now we know how the President will turn his flagging political
fortunes around… [More b*** s***!].
President
Obama’s Real Name “Barry Soetoro” Tops Google Trends Yet another search
term announced during the Alex Jones Show, “Barry Soetoro” has topped Google
Trends’ hot searches, and that means a boost to exposing important keys to
President Obama’s true history. The #1 search trend corresponds with a visit to
Austin, Texas today from President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Barry Soetoro.
Barry
Soetoro AKA Barack Obama’s Political Dynasty Crashes And Burns While Barry
Soetoro’s family lavish themselves at a luxury Spanish resort amidst deepening
economic turmoil, back home Obama’s political dynasty crashes and burns as his
approval ratings plunge to a record low of 41 per cent with less than a few
months to go before the October midterm elections.
The
Fraud Of Barry Soetoro (a.k.a. Barack Hussein Obama) (Feb. 24 ... February 11, 2009
’Dear Senators and Congressmen:
Thank you for taking the time to review the documentation relevant to the
Constitutional legitimacy of the presidency Barack Obama. There have been
various problems with the vetting of Mr. Obama throughout the campaign and the
present. I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the most pertinent
and alarming issues that have been clearly revealed. I’m sure you will
agree that this information must be further investigated promptly before any
damage is done to the United States and its citizens beyond the Constitutional
compromises that currently exist. Most interesting, though, is the
fact that Mr. Obama has not simply ordered the original vault copy of his birth
certificate to be sealed and chosen to retain three (3) law firms to defend the
various cases spending a reported $800,000 (of whose money?). If Mr.
Obama has nothing to hide, then why fight the more than 42 cases in
federal courts alone (according to Justia) and similar number in state courts
of which the merits are well-founded and substantiated through factual
evidence, state and federal statutes, and international laws? Main issue is
that the state of HI, according to statue 338 allows Foreign born children of Hawaiian residents to obtain Hawaiian birth certificates and obtain them based
on a statement of one relative only. There is plenty
of evidence of Mr. Obama being born in Kenya and obtaining his Hawaiian birth
certificate based on a statement of his grandparent only, who simply didn’t
want to deal with immigration and not based on any records from any hospitals. Extensive
searches in the State of Hawaii showed no birthing records for his mother
[Stanley] Ann Dunham in any hospital in Hawaii. …I request all of this information to
be forwarded to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Finance Committee,
Senate Judicial Committee, Mr. Steven Whitlock, director of the whistle blower
office of the IRS, ICE, State Department, and FBI for further investigation.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq.’
Did Google Block “Barry
Soetoro” Search Term?Screenshots obtained by a Prison Planet reader suggest
that Google may have moved to de-list “Barry Soetoro” as a popular search term
shortly after it rose to the top of the Google Trends charts after yesterday’s
effort by radio talk show host Alex Jones to focus attention on Barack Obama’s
real name.
Bombshell:
Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation Wayne Madsen | Investigative journalist Wayne
Madsen has discovered CIA files that document the agency’s connections to the
lives of Barack Obama and his mother, father, grandmother, and stepfather.
Accountability is unclear in israeli probe of flotilla
raid(Washington
Post) Oh, come on! An israeli probe of an
israeli massacre of civilians. Time for israel to pay; for illegal nukes, for
violations of international law, for continued violations of u.n. resolutions,
for provocations as pretexts to sabotage peace talks, and on and on ad nauseum.
Why does america among other nations feel compelled to sacrifice themselves for
the sake of a global criminal nation with an insatiable greed and blood-thirst
as israel?
Murder on the high seas
JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at
least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an
emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the
United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the
international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip
How
does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war
crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s.
gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money
that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.
It's time to expel
israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound
"Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the
most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has
been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so
cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the
Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to
the hapless people of Gaza Strip?
In
the Middle East, it's still 1947(Washington
Post) [ Indeed it should be! Among the few
times the cia was correct, and they’ve been trying to put square pegs in round
holes ever since, to america’s substantial detriment. I wonder what what those
american sailors of the US Liberty killed by the israelis would say?USS
Liberty Survivor Threatened by Unknown Israeli This is what happened to Phillip F. Tourney, decorated war hero
and survivor of Israel’s premeditated attack on the USS Liberty 43 years ago.
On the evening of Aug. 6, Tourney was verbally threatened by a foreign national
claiming to work for the government of israel. As for the purported disdain
shown for war mongerer netanayahu, if only wobama’s actions matched his words,
the same would represent a major plus for him and the nation of america, so
sorely in need of pluses whether the same be budgetary or economic or
geopolitical. In fact, for America to abrogate 1948 would guarantee America’s
survival, prosperity, and global hegemony in the most positive sense. ]
‘The Obama Deception’
Censored A viral You Tube upload of
one of Alex Jones’ most popular feature films ‘The Obama Deception’ has been
censored following a spur of the moment campaign to elevate the movie’s title
to the top of the major internet search engines.
Censorship
Alert: Obama Deception Illegally Removed from You Tube Made to look like a hack, Thought Police
Block Mega-Viral Anti-Establishment Documentary After More than a Year of
Dominating Viewcounts, Ranking #1 in Search Engines and Waking Up Millions to
the False Left-Right Paradigm Perpetuated by Obama.
Public
confidence in Obama reaches new low(Washington Post). Six in 10 Americans lack faith in Obama and
hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the latest Washington
Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to
typify scenarios as this where you break every significantcampaign promise that got you elected, from
endless war (ie., Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall
street, and the growing realization of ‘typical’: Public confidence in Obama reaches new low(Washington Post) Six in 10 Americans lack
faith in Obama and hold lower esteem for members of Congress, according to the
latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Such stats as this tend to typify
scenarios as this where you break every significantcampaign promise that got you elected, from endless war (ie.,
Afghanistan, etc.) to not prosecuting the frauds on wall street, and the
growing realization of ‘typical’:
The following youtube video is well worth the look and explains
how and why the frauds on wall street have gotten away with their devastating
fraud thus far.The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed. ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE
BIAS AT JUSTICE...CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE
FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ‘In
emotional and personal testimony, an ex-Justice official who quit over the
handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party
accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights
division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims
...’ US v. AZ...Cases
against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Washington Post | Obama has
promised to hold Wall Street accountable for the meltdown. ):
Goldman
agrees to pay $550M(Washington Post) My own
skepticism based on the disparate numbers (the size of the frauds compared to
the relatively small fine) and as set forth in the initial reactions /
headlines that immediately follow has been allayed somewhat by an interview on
NBR with former SEC head Ruder who explained the very narrow scope of the
settlement which in no way shelters goldman from the huge frauds they have
perpetrated. So long as this is true in fact as well as law and in application,
the SEC deserves praise as has been so under the auspices of ‘Mother Mary’ who
appears to have the gonads lacking in prior SEC heads. The
frauds on wall street et als should be criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined,
and disgorgement imposed.
‘West,
israel linked to SE Iran blasts’ A
ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated
“the us, israel and some european countries” in the deadly blasts in the
southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.
Stepped-up
efforts fail to stem drug money (Washington Post)[ Come on! Wake up! That’s american, yes american big business.
The stuff that the war in Afghanistan is made of; viz., ie., heroin, etc..
]Stashing cash in spare tires, engine transmissions and truckloads of baby
diapers, couriers for Mexican drug cartels are moving tens of billions of
dollars in profits south across the border each year, a river of dirty money
that has overwhelmed U.S. and Mexican customs agents.
Carlyle-owned
toy supplier files for bankruptcy (Washington Post) [ What is a
bush-involved company of paper (leveraged instruments, etc.) pushers doing with
any company doing business in the u.s. or elsewhere for that matter. The bushes
are vegetables who really can’t do anything well, except maybe, war, war
crimes, fraud, illegal drug deals (Iran contra, etc., http://albertpeia.com/CIAAgentAffidavit1.jpg
) ]
GOP chairman: Afghan 'war of Obama's choosing' (AP) -
Republican chairman Michael Steele drew criticism from within his own party
Friday, including calls to resign, after saying the 9-year-old commitment of
U.S. troops to Afghanistan was a mistaken ... [Steele is quite right and wobama
and war facilitators deserve criticism; not
Steele.]
Judge: 'Don't ask, don't tell' is
unconstitutional(Washington Post) [ Well, we
all know that judge walker is alledgedly a homo, so the question here is
whether judge phillips is a lesbian… just kidding! Not to slight homosexuals
but to emphasize judicial bias / corruption which is pervasive in america and
I’ve observed, experienced, and have been substantially damaged by pervasive
and systemic corruption in the american judicial process which has become more
blatant and which justifies the abolition of these costly, corrupt lifetime
appointment / bureaucracies. The fact is that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is the
policy throughout the pervasively corrupt federal system which is indeed as
illegal as it is unconstitutional!
( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
). ]
There is really no way to
rationalize or attempt to justify what america is / has become since they have
with open eyes chosen this contra-indicated course of ineluctable decline, from
illegal wars, to war crimes, to backing war criminal nations as israel, to huge
frauds, to war profiteering, to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering,
and this list goes on and on …:
(Previously) I’d say this
alito vs. wobama is a tempest in a teapot inasmuch as alito is more than just a
lightweight, hack, liar, fraud etc., as set forth in the comments. alito is a
criminal who should have served / should be serving time in prison for
obstruction of justice, bribery, among other RICO violations. To alito, drug
money is as green as corporate money and worth his vote as well. In addition to
being an inept [I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost
(accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and
the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman
through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent
corrupt alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a
few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom
along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches)] and
corrupt (see below and particularly the summary provided to the FBI under penalty
of perjury [ http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
] ) u.s. attorney.
You’re naïve to think
that the so-called supreme court is any different from the rest of the
meaningfully lawless and pervasively corrupt american ‘system’. I knew well an
accomplished trial lawyer, fellow american college of trial lawyers / and a bar
examiner, who pondered from time to time becoming a judge “so he’d never have
to work again” – his words.
Some comments on
alito…all appropriate:
Probably the worst appointment in one
hundred years.
Posted by: mnjam
-----------------------
Really? That's a pretty sweeping
statement to make about someone who's only been on the court a short few years.
And I thought that liberals were in
universal agreement that Clarence Thomas was the worst appointment in all of
history?
Posted by: blert | January 28, 2010 2:11
AM | Report abuse
----------------------------
Yes. Really. Alito is a total lightweight and hack. He makes Thomas look like
John Marshall or Oliver Wendell Holmes. I KNOW ALITO.
Posted by: mnjam | January 28, 2010 2:24 AM |
the loser here is alito.lost his composure not good for a judge especially
afederal or supreme justice .loser big time this will live with guy for a very
time.roberts and the other justices will have a talk with him that is a
given.this relly larger than o one day news cycle.
Posted by: donaldtucker | January 28, 2010 1:12 AM |
Should Alito resign or be impeached?
Posted by: jdmca | January 28, 2010 1:05 AM |
Ron
Paul: After ‘CIA coup,’ agency ‘runs military’ US House Rep. Ron Paul
says the CIA has has in effect carried out a “coup” against the US government,
and the intelligence agency needs to be “taken out.” I also personally
believe there has been a defacto coup d’etat which has manifested in
various substantial, blatant, brazened frauds, ie., wall street, missing 360
tons of $100 bills in Iraq, war profiteering, etc., without any fear of
prosecution, and of course concomitant decline for u.s. as the treasury is
looted. But I also believe its scope is beyond just the CIA with many complicit
within the corrupted 3 branches of u.s. government (fed judges, us attorneys,
illegal system, etc.) plus the military and private big money, ie., Goldman
Sachs / wall street men, etc., among other organized crime. america is defacto
bankrupt in every way!
Rendition:
Where the War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs Patrick Henningsen
| It’s time to ditch the policies we have come to tolerate for decades before
they consume what is left of our moral core. I’ve experienced the corrupt
inter-relationship of the government (all 3 corrupt branches) and the illegal
drug trade / obstruction of justice / bribery first hand, particularly the
courts / u.s. attorneys offices (ie., alito – now u.s. supreme court justice –
quid pro quo for his complicity / cover-up), feds; see immediately after
article excerpt for links / summary.
…“Evidence points to aircraft – familiarly
known as “torture taxis” – used by the CIA to move captives seized in its
kidnapping or “extraordinary rendition” operations through Gatwick and other
airports in the EU being simultaneously used for drug distribution in the
Western hemisphere. A Gulfstream II jet aircraft N9875A identified by the
British Government and the European Parliament as being involved in this
traffic crashed in Mexico…” In 2004, another torture taxi crashed in a field in
Nicaragua with a ton of cocaine aboard… Mexican soldiers found ..132 bags
containing 3.3 metric tons of cocaine. The origination of the Gulfstream’s
flight is unknown but it was destined for Cancun when it crash landed.Again,
here is the important point: that same Gulf Stream II was one of the very same
planes chartered to the CIA for the rendition of suspected terrorists
prisoners. Gulf Stream II crashed in Mexico with 3 tons of
cocaine on board ..it should not be surprising that this illegal practice of rendition
has in some part, been used as a well-run smokescreen for another
borderless illegal operation- an extremely lucrative international transfer and
delivery of cash and narcotics.,,These
flights are not subject to regular customs checks, inspections or normal
regulations as they move seamlessly between destinations in the US, Britain,
Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Cuba and possibly through US bases in
Turkey, Greece and Morocco…
Corrupt u.s. courts / judges:
Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt entities
are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to abolish
these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and costly
bureaucracies. Rules of law mean nothing to these typically corrupt americans.
Most, including sam alito of the u.s. supreme court, concerning drug
money laundering and obstruction of justice in the 3rd circuit (
also maryanne trump barry who covered-up drug money laundering through her
brother’s casinos in a civil RICO case) should have gone to or belong in jail. Contrary to popular belief, they do it
for the money, personal money, big, cash, untraceable money. The fog of war is
great for such things (360 tons $100 bills flown into Iraq and missing, etc.).
Corrupt u.s. courts /
judges: Their lifetime plush appointments should be abolished, which corrupt
entities are unheard of in productive societies as China, Japan, etc.. Time to
abolish these drags on society and eliminate their lifetime stipends and
corrupt costly bureaucracies.
There must be such things
as parallel universes (I don’t really believe that, because there isn’t) or how
else do you explain the disconnect between reality, current and prospective,
and the wet dreams posited to keep the war funding / corporate welfare programs
alive in collectively what has already become a trillion dollar boondoggle (not
counting prospective medical costs, etc.) and promises to go much higher. Even
israel apologist Cohen of The Washington Post alludes to the Vietnam analogy.
However, even if there were real goals beyond the poppy / heroin trade which
the Taliban had all but eradicated (there isn’t); even if america wasn’t
defacto bankrupt (america is); even if america wasn’t killing innocent
civilians in large numbers (war criminal nation america is); even if america’s
allies haven’t similarly helped to bankrupt themselves by way of this war (they
have); even if I hadn’t told you so (I did) ….. this war still was, is, and
remains a very bad idea!
How
does anyone take the u.s. seriously in light of their credibility problems, war
crimes, etc.? What nuke technology israel didn’t steal from the u.s., the u.s.
gave them along with missile, armaments, etc.. and paid for with taxpayer money
that u.s. taxpayers and the defacto bankrupt nation don’t have.
It's time to expel
israel from the UN Without doubt, the israeli attack on the Gaza-bound
"Freedom Flotilla" in the dawn of Monday, May 31, 2010 is one of the
most savage crimes in recent history. It seems the ruling power in Tel Aviv has
been afflicted with a variant of mad cow disease; otherwise, how could it be so
cruel to unleash such a beastly raid on the "Mavi Marmara," the
Turkish flagship of a flotilla carrying medical and humanitarian supplies to
the hapless people of Gaza Strip?
I
include the first two comments to the foregoing headline:
Billo Says:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:15
am
Lunacy? Keep in mind
that this country is run and controlled by lunatics. Our press government and
military seem to take their orders from Israel. Isarel wants to be known as a
pack of “mad dogs. Do we want “mad dogs” controlling us?
Here we see a bunch of phony accusations against Iran just
like we did in the run up to the bogus wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now
Pakistan. The boy has cried wold ten thousand times. It’s time to identify the
“lunatics” and kindly take away the car keys. If you won’t let your friends
drive drunk, why do we let a bunch of “lunatic” enemies run this place.
Glen Reply:
June 11th, 2010 at 6:47
am
Lunacy it would be.
But it is also to their
great credit that the Iranians have not made their own threats.
Everyone knows there are
3 WMD threats, Nuclear Biological and chemical. The scariest of which is
Biological.
Any attack done under
the threat of immediate biological retaliation would deter only the insane.
Watch out america home
of the insane, home of the leaders who want an 80% population reduction.
General
McChrystal’s Burning Contempt for the Puppet Obama The farce that is the
war in Afghanistan is coming apart at the seams. General Stanley McChrystal’s
sharp comments about Obama, Biden, and the administration published by Rolling
Stone are not so much about disrespect, as the script-reading corporate media
talking heads would have it, but rather about a policy in disarray in
Afghanistan.
Paul
Craig Roberts: Government Abandoned Vietnam POWs Kurt Nimmo
| John McCain worked overtime to make sure Vietnam POWs never came home. I
think the even bigger story vis-à-vis mccain is: http://www.albertpeia.com/heroenot.htm
‘Did you know that that so-called "american heroe" john mccain was
referred to by his fellow pows in Vietnam as something akin to the
"songbird" inasmuch as he was constantly "singing" to his
Viet-Cong captors to curry favor and better treatment? This has been documented
with authority by Colonel David Hackworth. The same violates military
code/protocol (other soldiers have been court-martialed for far less) click Here, Here. [ http://www.albertpeia.com/hackworth.htm
] But, you see, this covered up scenario, compromizing the false facade
of far less than a heroe, is exactly what a criminal (lie of a) nation as
america loves and encourages (get everyone's hands dirty so no-one dares to
rectify same, ie., bush, sr., clinton, bush, jr.). That is, "toe the
(corrupt, propagandized) line", become a criminal, or be exposed,
prosecuted, and/or ruined; and, hasn't anyone asked how "wall street"
has been "spared the spotlight" (and even was accorded protective
legislation from their criminal culpability) and focus of inquiry, attention,
and prosecution despite being the primary beneficiaries financial and otherwise
of these scams (you know the wall street motto, "churn and earn";
huge conflicts of interest if not outright fraud)…’
Israel’s
Nukes Out of the Shadows Israel faces unprecedented pressure to
abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons
as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this
week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East.
The
Militarization of Outer Space: The Pentagon’s “Space Warriors” Global
Research | It’s not as if things aren’t bad enough right here on
planet earth. Now the Defense Department wants to up the stakes with new,
destabilizing weapons systems that will transform low- and high-earth orbit
into another “battlespace.”
New Boondoggle promised to save NASA boondoggle defacto bankrupt budget piece
of pie. And don’t forget, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, et als, have
already done this so it’s not as if they’re starting from ‘ground zero’, so to
speak; and Brian DePalma already has ‘Mission to Mars’ in the can, but beware
say the producers of ‘Species II’ since Eve, the cloned daughter of Sill, might
want to mate with astronaut Paddy Ross who has returned from Mars as a space
alien host body.
First fake moonwalker blasts Obama's space planmsnbc.com - Bill Ingalls -
The first man to pretend to walk on the moon blasted President Barack Obama's
decision to cancel NASA's back-to-the-moon program on Tuesday, saying that not
going with the new movie is “devastating” to america's boondoggle spaced out
effort. Fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed a treasured
piece at the dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned
lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, ...bbc news bbc news |
europe | fake dutch 'moon rock' revealed prized moon rock a fake - a piece of
moon rock given to an overseas politician by the united states is actually a
lump of petrified wood, museum authorities revealed yesterday. ... 'Moon rock'
in dutch museum is just petrified wood aug 27, 2009 ... Fake moon rock at dutch
national museum. Rijksmuseum / ap. This rock, supposedly brought back from the
moon by american astronauts, ... http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm
In reality it is just a piece of petrified wood ... Another piece of evidence
that shows again that apollo program is indeed a fake and a typical american
fraud!
Editorial: US in
quagmire Seeing the warm welcome extended to the Afghan president on his US
trip, it is hard to believe that only weeks ago Washington was seething with
anger and frustration at Hamid Karzai’s behavior and there were even dark
mutterings by US officials that he might be mad.
War
in Afghanistan and Iraq costs America $1trillion From the Old
| On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have
spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq. Sinking
of the Cheonan: A Classic False Flag Operation Russia Today
| Sinking of the warship was really intended to convince Japan not to move US
forces off Okinawa as well as divert the attention of Americans from the dire
economic situation at home.
. Israel:
IDF Troops Who Murdered Unarmed Innocent People Are ‘Brave Heroes’ The
government of israel, aided by many quarters of the international media, is
attempting to spin today’s deadly IDF assault on a humanitarian aid ship
carrying supplies to Gaza as the fault of the murdered activists on board the
vessel, ludicrously characterizing machine-gun carrying Israeli troops who
killed over a dozen innocent people as the victims of the incident.
Murder on the high seas
JERUSALEM: Israeli marines stormed aid ships bound for Gaza on Monday and at
least 10 rights activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an
emergency session of the UN Security Council. European nations, as well as the
United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to the
international campaigners' bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip
Iraqi
doctors demand cancer probe Al Jazeera | Iraqi
doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003
invasion is spreading cancer through the population. [This is all too true and
real; and I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, coverage … well,
maybe not that surprised ].
"What
this means is that Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us, they
live on," Paabo … With regard to that extinction thing, I’d say
they’re still working on it (ultimately, decades, extinction, the distinction,
without a difference). Actually, prior to studying the compelling subject
of Biological Anthropology (Michael Park text), I too had some misconceptions
about the group known as Neandertals (recent spelling drops the ‘h’) and
actually mis-referenced same by the stereotypical image of members of said
clade even as the debate continues as to whether they are within the species
homo sapiens or a separate species. I believe these to be distinctions without
important differences, so humble the origins and evolution of man truly are. Parenthetically,
I wonder what that anthropological scientist Heidi Klum thinks on the subject.
FOUND: MISSING LINK BETWEEN APES AND MAN....
These stories, and the many like it, are old news and I subscribe to the more
studied view that there is no “missing link” per se and in my view they are
distinctions without significant differences. I previously wrote:
10-5-09
Postscript: Professor *****,
I felt compelled to thank you again for the add; not to curry your favor but
indeed to express profound thanks inasmuch as this is probably the last formal
course at a formal educational institution I'll ever take; and among the most
important. While I had bought at discount a library-discarded 1993 Anthropology
by Embers text, though meaning to read same never quite got to it. I am
astounded by the substantial amount of time involved in the evolutionary
process, not that I ever stopped to think about it, and one must come away with
the sense of 'and all that...for this?'. This course should be required
curriculum along with psychology, sociology, etc., but probably won't be owing
to what is, as it should be, a very humbling educational experience for any
member of the human race.
Regards,
Al Peia
[Interestingly, my intuitive (but unstudied) thoughts prior to
closer examination of the compelling subject of Biological Anthropology remain
what I believe to be the correct scenario. Specifically, very simply stated,
for the most part, the more “enlightened” (but not by much; by mutation,
accident, luck, intervention, etc.) left the unvarying confines of their
Sub-Saharan origins, experienced diverse new environs, challenges, etc., experienced
what has been described (by neuroscientists, psychologists, etc.) as
neurogenesis in varying degrees and forms thereby over time, which trait was
selected for and is consistent with the purported multi-regional evolutionary
model which does not overtly contradict ultimately, initial African origins.
Races, sub-species, missing links, etc., are subsumed in this very humbling and
sorrowful tale of the “dawn of man”.]
Sen. Levin urges State Department to put
Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups(Washington
Post) Oooooh! … Sounds like a plan … and emanating from washington (and a
thriving Michigan jew no less) … who says they don’t do anything? … And,
consistent with that apocalyptic vision set forth in the Bible [albeit a book
of truth from a very limited perspective (for which literal interpretations are
misleading); after all, the Wise Men thought it was a movable star that was
guiding them and shone the bright ‘spotlight’ upon the manger with the Christ];
the jews and some other entity against the rest of the world for that final
Armageddon … oh, they’ll make that happen … it gets them through their day with
every step closer to apocalypse but not to the place called heaven will they
go. The end of this world? You might say america / israel / and theirs are
feverishly working on just that, one way or another!
Roman Polanski freed after Swiss reject U.S.
extradition request (Washington Post, July 13, 2010) Without diminishing in any way the seriousness of the crime, this
result is the direct consequence of the growing global recognition of the
pervasiveness of corruption in american courts, state and federal, and america
generally; so much so, that said corrupt american courts cannot be relied on
anywhere, anytime. Indeed, my own sampling, though hardly random to be candid,
is 5 for 5 (new jersey, new york, connecticut, virginia, california)
pervasively and egregiously corrupt to the point where these costly, corrupt
bureaucracies should be abolished and supplanted with alternatives as I’ve
previously set forth in prior comments.