Today’s Only Summary Business Links 2-15-12

A Warning Sign For The World http://albertpeia.com/warningsignfortheworld.htm Any financial system that is based on debt is doomed to fail.  Today, we are living in the greatest debt bubble that the world has ever seen … , Despite Two Thirds Of Components Declining, Empire Fed Prints At Highest Since June 2010 ZeroHedge | Chalk this one to “seasonal adjustments” or something, cause we no longer have any clue what is going on with the data fudging in America. , Dave’s Daily: http://www.etfdigest.com APPLE RUMORS & GREECE HALT RALLY February 15, 2012 , Inflation, Stealth Inflation, and How to Maintain Your Purchasing Power Against Both February 15th, 2012 http://gainspainscapital.com , A&G's AIG Moment Approaching: Moody's Downgrades Generali, Cuts Megainsurer Allianz Outlook To Negative Tyler Durden 2-15-12 , As Greece Crashes And Burns, Troika Arrives In Portugal With "Soothing Words Of Support" Tyler Durden 2-15-12 What is better than a one-front European war on insolvency? Why two-fronts of course , Guest Post: Bad Week For Freedom Tyler Durden 2-15-12 It was a bad week for freedom loving people, but I believe there are enough patriots left in this country to change our course. We are being buried under a blizzard of lies on a daily basis. We have a choice. We can support the existing corrupt crony capitalist establishment (Obama & Romney) or we can declare war on lies, deceit and misinformation by rallying behind the only person who would truly attempt to reverse decades of corruption, sleaze, incompetence, bloat, debt accumulation, and a warped version of free market capitalism – Ron Paul. He is the only public figure willing to level with the American people and tell them the truth. Will we let the concept of truth fade out of the world? The choice is ours. “In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia. The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.” –   George Orwell Biderman Beyond Baffled by B.O.'s Budget Durden 2-15-12 In his best Lewis Black impression, TrimTabs CEO Charles Biderman succinctly destroys the 'growth' myth behind Obama's budget plan as nothing but a handout and money-printing exercise in futility and drain-circling. Based on the $3.8tn budget plan, the TrimTabs truth-seeker notes that current government tax revenues are about $2.4tn, and growing at no more than $100bn each year, making the math surprisingly simple - we spend around $300bn per month and receive only $200bn with the missing $100bn to pay for the US government's largesse (income shortfall) coming from - 'printing money'. The spin is, of course, that revenues will somehow magically start to grow faster than spending and shrink the budget deficit. , The Hidden Taxes In Obama's Budget Tyler Durden 2-15-12 , Moody's may downgrade 17 banks, securities firms , US stocks fall as Greek talks lumber; Apple falls , Fed's Fisher Dismisses QE3 as 'Wall Street Fantasy' The Wall Street Journal , STOCKS FINALLY DIVE, TEMPERS EXPLODE IN EUROPE: Here's What You Need To KnowBusiness Insider , Market Recap: Stocks Slip as Greek Bailout Decision PostponedWall St. Cheat Sheet , Obama Cites Rising Gas Prices – Up 83 Percent Under His Tenure – Among Reasons to Extend Payroll Tax Cut CNS News , The Federal Reserve’s Explicit Goal: Devalue The Dollar 33% Business Insider , Li(e)borgate Set To Become "Next Big Litigation Thing" As Lawsuits Against Libor Banks Avalanche Tyler Durden 2-15-12 Last week we discussed the gradual unraveling of a topic we had been following for the past 3 years, namely the brazen and criminal manipulation in the Libor market, which directly and indirectly impacts a stunning $350 trillion worth of securities (and thus, their implied risk, and hence, prices). Today we are delighted to learn that the retribution against these banks who have been artificially representing to the market that they are in better condition than in reality (courtesy of Libor's "strict" self-reporting approach), are beginning to see lawsuits filed against them, with Schwab merely the latest out of the gate. And just as fraudclosure was the litigation topic of 2010 and 2011, sit down and watch as Li(E)borgate explodes into the biggest litigation pain for banks, with litigation expenses that could easily surpass both the robosigning scandal (and its robo-settlement) and the escalating banks Reps and Warranties scandal. Because as recent evidence confirms, there are likely emails proving manipulation exists black on white, as discussed last week. Which means that the case of Schwab, noted last summer by Reuters, is about to become a pandemic. , Complete Jeff Gundlach "Fall Of The [BLANK] Empire" SlideshowDurden 2-14-12 Your listened the call, now enjoy the Gundlach slides in the leisure of your own unrehypothecated concrete bunker, 50 feet below sea level.Rumor Regurgitation Time: China To The Rescue... All Over Again Durden 2-14-12 In case one is wondering what lit a fire under the EURUSD and the ES' ass in the past 30 minutes, why it is the trusty old fall back - China, to which all algos respond every single time like stung donkeys as if on command. Because just as the EURUSD was about to retrace the lows as the realization that the EOD rumor was nothing but an infrared herring, something else had to step in an continue to rumor-based levitation. , David Rosenberg - "Let's Get Real - Risks Are Looming Big Time" Durden 2-14-12 Earlier, you heard it from Jeff Gundlach, whom one can not accuse (at least not yet) of sleeping on his laurels and/or being a broken watch, who told his listeners to "reduce risk right now" especially in the frenzied momo stocks. Now, it is David Rosenberg's turn who tries to refute the presiding transitory dogma that 'things are ok" and that a Greek default will be contained (no, it won't be, and if nobody remembers what happened in 2008, here is a reminder of everything one needs to know ahead of the "controlled", whatever that is, Greek default). Alas, it will be to no avail, as one of the dominant features of the lemming herd is that it will gladly believe the grandest of delusions well past the ledge. On the other hand, they don't call it the pain trade for nothing. Infographic: Visualizing The True Cost Of War Durden 2-14-12 http://albertpeia.com/costofwar.jpg While we have shown some quite fascinating infographics (here and here) from the folks at Demonocracy, this one may be the most informative. Because while everyone knows by now that if the global "bailout" to preserve the insolvent ponzi were to be paid in crisp, physical $100 bills, the amount of money required would fill countless skyscrapers, and only pales compared to the the amount of money needed to fund the insolvent welfare state which at last check was at over a quarter of a quadrillion, it is another less appreciated aspect of the daily US spending routine that is arguably just as big an offender when it comes to endless wanton spending: the cost of war. Below we present just that, in a series of simple, easy to understand charts that even Nobel peace prize winners should grasp.Many Of You Will Not Believe Some Of The Things Americans Are Doing Just To Survive http://albertpeia.com/survivinginamerica.htm ‘You might not want to read this article if you have a weak stomach.  Most Americans have absolutely no idea what is going on in the dark corners of America, and when people find out the truth it can come as quite a shock.  Many of you will not believe some of the things Americans are doing just to survive.  Some families are living in sewers and drain tunnels, some families are living in tents, some families are living in their cars, some families will make ketchup soup for dinner tonight and some families are even eating rats.  Some homeless shelters in America are so overloaded that they are actually sending people out to live in the woods.  As you read this, there are close to 50 million Americans that are living below the poverty line, and that number rises a little bit more every single day.  America was once known as the greatest nation on earth, but now there is decay and economic despair almost everywhere you look.  Yes, money certainly cannot buy happiness, but the lack of it sure can bring a lot of pain.  As the economy continues to decline, the suffering that we see all around us is going to get a lot worse, and that is a very frightening thing to think about.The following is a half hour documentary produced by the BBC entitled "Poor America".  Trust me, this is a must watch.  Your heart will break as you hear some American children talk about what they have to do forfood ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=suJCvkazrTc , Guest Post: Wall Street Has A Sad :-( Durden 2-14-12 Michael “Moneyball” Lewis was the first one to, er, expose us to the term Big Swinging Dick. His his first novel, Liar’s Poker, was full of them. The BSDs were the guys on the trading floor who brought more rain than El Niño. But the BSDs have gone a little soft now. Even the famous Wall Street bull has been caged. And some, like number one banking fanboi Dick Bove say that bankers been “castrated” altogether by new regulation. Regulation which many argue does not go far enough. Regardless, the Masters of the Universe suddenly find themselves feeling the pain that many of the rest of us have been feeling for the past four years. Only their ways of coping with it are a little different than what you might expect.