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20 Economic Statistics To Use To Wake Sheeple Up From Their Entertainment-Induced Comas http://albertpeia.com/20ecostatstowakesheeple.htm ‘The Dow has closed above 13,000 for the first time since 2008, and the mainstream media is declaring that a strong economic recovery is underway.  Barack Obama is telling anyone who will listen that his economic policies are a huge success, and U.S. consumers are piling up astounding amounts of new debt.  Unfortunately, this euphoria about the economy will be short-lived.  None of the long-term problems that are destroying the U.S. economy have been solved.  In fact, there are dozens of statistics that can be quoted that prove that the U.S. economy is in far worse shape than it was when the recession supposedly ended.  , Why Is the Financial World So Messed Up? : Phoenix Capital... : 2-29-12 - Why is the financial world so messed up? Because it’s run by Central Bankers. And those folks view money very differently than the businesspeople who create businesses, jobs, and wealth.   Germany Will Force Greece Out or Walk… Either Way a Collapse is Coming http://gainspainscapital.com February 29, 2012 By gpc1981 The situation in Europe has now reached the point that the major players have shown their hands. And they are: 1)   Germany will not put up more money unless Greece essentially passes up its fiscal sovereignty. 2)   The G20 will not give more money to Europe via the IMF unless Germany and other EU nations create a “firewall” by putting more capital into the ESM mega-fund. 3)   The ECB has announced Greek bonds are not eligible collateral for its LTRO operations, so if banks need immediate liquidity, they need to go to national central banks (read Germany). This is quite a turn of events. Prior to this, the ECB and Germany were seen to be working hand in hand (aside from the usual political spats) to save Europe. But between the ECB’s decision to swap out its Greek debt for new debt that won’t take a hit in the event of Greek default as well as its recent rejection of Greek debt as collateral for LTRO loans, it appears that the ECB is increasingly going to make Europe’s problems Germany’s problems. , Ron Paul To Ben Bernanke: "People Lose Trust In The Government Because You Lie To Them About Inflation" Durden 2-29-12 , China Dumps $100+ Billion In USTs In December Per Revised TIC Data; UK Is Now Russia's Shadow Buyer Durden 2-29-12 , Fed's Beige iPad Notes The Usual Regurgitated Fluff About The Economy Durden 2-29-12 For those confused, the Fed's Beige Book has been upgraded to the Beige iPad (apparently Ben is not a fan of the black or white version). Regardless, the latest version has just been released spewing forth the usual reflexive platitudes, in which the economy is said to be better because the stock market is higher, and so forth. In other words, the same stuff that completely ignores $110 WTI. Via Bloomberg: -FED SAYS U.S. ECONOMY EXPANDED AT `MODEST TO MODERATE PACE' - FED SAYS CONSUMER SPENDING WAS `GENERALLY POSITIVE' -FED SAYS MANUFACTURING EXPANDED AT `STEADY PACE' NATIONWIDE And more such headlines which nobody will actually read, except for the algos which scalp the optimistic tone put there precisely for such a purpose. , More Liquidity Extraction: Fed Resumes Reverse Repos Durden 2-29-12 , Ben Bernanke: "The ECB Is Well Capitalized" Durden 2-29-12 [Preposterous!] , Dave’s Daily: http://www.etfdigest.com NEFARIOUS ALGOS STOMP MARKETS 2-29-12 ‘The big story Wednesday was a “bear raid”. It began with what some initially referred to as either a mistake (“fat fingered”) with unusually large selling of Treasury futures contracts (over 100K contracts in one trade). The trade, later described as legitimate (see WSJ story) was based on the idea Bernanke would take QE3 off the table sending interest rates higher. The size of these trades created a domino effect triggering heavy selling in commodity markets, especially with precious metals which are also on an options expiration cycle. Much of the related selling was triggered by HFT algos piling headlines with selling. It’s also been common the past couple of years now to see some deliberate manipulation of prices by a handful of institutions in precious metals markets at the futures and options exchanges …’ , Does UPS Deserve to Be in the Dow? [ Yes! ] , 17 States Considering State Banks Noel Brinkerhoff | State run banks could be the road to sovereignty and the cure for Wall Street raping of US economy , Gold, Silver Plunge As Fears Monetary Punchbowl Is Taken Away Spread Zero Hedge | It seems the initial drop was merely the appetizer as Gold and Silver are now down considerably… , Another Unintended Consequence: $80 Billion ‘Gas Price’ Tax On Consumption Zero Hedge | The 60-cent to 80-cent increase in gas prices nationwide over the past two months is equivalent to a $60 billion to $80 billion annualized tax on consumption. , Dollar Alternative Anyone? Greg Hunter | Countries around the world have been actively seeking ways to not do business in dollars for the past few years.