Business Summary Links By Day

Business Summary Links By Day

The Bank Runs In Greece Will Soon Be Followed By Bank Runs In Other European Nations ‘‘The bank runs that we are watching right now in Greece are shocking, but they are only just the beginning. Since May 6th, nearly one billion dollars has been withdrawn from Greek banks. For a small nation like Greece, that is an absolutely catastrophic number…’ http://albertpeia.com/greekbankrunsgoeurope.htm , This is the beginning of a run on banks. Zero Hedge blogger Tyler Durden fears the worst as he passes along pictures of ATM lines in Greece. "A Greek banking system which is now virtually shut out of any extrenal funding except for the ELA, where it has a few billions euros in access left, will be unable to deal with hundreds of millions in deposit outflows," he writes. "This may be the beginning of the end for Greece, just as Buiter and later JPM warned over the weekend." , The debt ceiling nightmare scenario (for the u.s.) , Euro Zone, a Solvency Not a Liquidity Crisis , Chris Martenson: "We Are About To Have Another 2008-Style Crisis" ZeroHedge.com Tyler Durden ‘…Alas, all good things come to an end, and a crisis rooted in ‘too much debt’ with a nice undercurrent of ‘persistently high and rising energy costs’ was never going to be solved by providing cheap liquidity to the largest and most reckless financial institutions. And it has not.’ , Three Charts On Why This Time Is 'Not' Different For Stocks We are constantly told that this time is different and we are on a sustainable magic carpet ride to growth, that stocks are merely 'stabilizing' to allow earnings to catch up with valuations, and that buying-the-dip is the obvious trade. However, as the three charts below indicate - its no different this time at all. As Barclays notes, VIX and credit markets are leaking exactly as they did in 2010 and 2011 in preemptive anticipation of the end of Twist (and LTRO) leaving stocks vulnerable to the real shocks of a real macro event risk world; equity performance remains too good to warrant a central bank response (as we just saw in the FOMC minutes) and TIPS breakevens are far above previous intervention levels; and while bank funding fears, growth slowdown concerns, and sovereign downgrade worries are supposedly lesser than in previous sell-off periods, we suggest they are absolutely rising in anxiety and that is the catalyst for the next leg down before the inevitable QE/LTRO occurs. , A 12-Year-Old Girl Crushes The Canadian (and American) Dream When Ron Paul stands up in front of a crowd and explains the fictional-reserve banking system's unreality, some listen, many shrug and bury their heads. When ZeroHedge does the same, comments are heavy but change is slow to come. But when a 12-year-old girl, in a little over five minutes can explain the total farce that is our monetary system, surely people have to listen and break free of the matrix. Victoria Grant, 12, explains how "The banks and the government have colluded to financially enslave the people of Canada," and as CTV notes, 'Grant lays out a brief history of the Canadian banking system, referencing obscure historical figures such as former Vancouver mayor Gerald McGeer and explaining that the Bank of Canada held primary control over government lending until the 1970's. Starting then, she says, governments began borrowing from private banks instead at considerably higher interest rates than those available through the central bank. The result, Grant argues, is a rapidly increasing national debt. The pint-sized pundit is quick to offer a solution. "If the Canadian Government needs money, they can borrow it directly from the Bank of Canada," she says. " ... Canadians would again prosper with real money as the foundation of our economic structure." The truth is out there - whether it comes from Alan Simpson, Ron Paul, ZeroHedge, or a 12-year-old Canadian young lady. , Bruno Iksil Leaving , Greece Sneezes, The Euro Dies of Pneumonia! A Step-by-Step Guide To Pan-Euro, Bank Busting Contagion http://albertpeia.com/paneurobankbustingcontagion.htm , European Banks Battered As Reality Sets In As Europe opened last night markets were very weak with Sovereigns gapping dramatically wider and equity and credit markets under pressure. Just as in the last few days in Europe though, early weakness has been tempered by a modest belief that the ECB will save us all if it gets bad enough. Today was a little different - as we noted it appeared the ECB was starting to play chicken a little more vocally and while equity, credit, and sovereigns rallied in their usual way off the open - there was one critical difference - financials did not. Early on it was clear that many traders were looking to place the short-financials, long-sovereign credit trade, this implicitly forced LTRO-encumbered banks to underperform (as Greek, Italian, and Spanish banks were crushed in stocks and spreads) moving the LTRO Stigma wider still - back near record wides. The EURUSD was choppy but once the ECB headlines hit and rumors swirled of more bank runs, cessation of support, and capital controls, it fell back below 1.2700 once again (only to surge a little into the Europe day-session close - back to unch. Treasuries and Bunds were in lockstep - leaking higher in yield as the technical support for sovereigns came in (not from the ECB but via our financials-sovereign spreads arb) but this gave way into the close as risk asset weakness dragged yields lower in Germany. US equities faded into the Europe close (as normal) ending back at a balanced VWAP, with EU financial stocks down over 1% on average, and EU stocks overall down around 0.75% (BE500). , Did Draghi Just Give Greece The All-Clear To Leave? ECB President Draghi just admitted that while the ECB Governing Council would like Greece to stay, there is a limit to what they will do to save it and will do everything they can to preserve their 'pristine' balance sheet - which sounds a lot to us like - 'we are not lending/printing/supporting your financial system anymore as you are far too big a risk (and are asset-stripped) and to be honest, it might be better if you just left - since we have encumbered all your assets anyway'. , Art Cashin On Ostrich Rallies, ATM Lines And MOC Bluffs You saw it all unfold here blow by blow yesterday. Now Art Cashin gives the post-mortem. , Housing Starts Beat, Permits Miss; Both Crawl Along Record Bottom Following several months of permits rising even as starts flatlined, today we get the opposite, as forward looking construction came weaker than expected, with permits printing at 715K on expectations of 730K, while starts coming ahead at 717K on expectations of 685K. Completions soared as backlogs caught up with inventory started and under construction. Really, that's all one can say about these two series, who long-term charts can be seen below. What can one say but crawling at the bottom, and increasing modestly courtesy of trillions in fiscal and monetary stimulus, and as of recently full-blown mortgage debt forgiveness courtesy of this country's desperate administration to get some traction in at least one metric of economic improvement.

Frontrunning: May 16

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/16/2012

Facebook's selling shareholders can't wait to get out of company, increase offering by 25% (Bloomberg)
Boehner Draws Line in Sand on Debt (WSJ)
Romney Attacks Obama Over Recovery Citing U.S. Debt Load (Bloomberg)
BHP chairman says commodity markets to cool further (Reuters)
Merkel’s First Hollande Meeting Yields Growth Signal for Greece (Bloomberg)
Greek President Told Banks Anxious as Deposits Pulled (Bloomberg)
EU to push for binding investor pay votes (FT)
Martin Wolf: Era of a diminished superpower (FT)
China’s Hong Kong Home-Buying Influx Wanes, Midland Says (Bloomberg)
U.N. and Iran agree to keep talking on nuclear (Reuters)
US nears deal to reopen Afghan supply route (FT)

ABC News Exclusive: Zimmerman Medical Report Shows Broken Nose, Lacerations After Trayvon Martin Shooting {That little (6’3”) thieving nigger was enraged by his being thwarted in his scope-out/plundering of Zimmerman’s neighborhood. Clearly self-defense with wounds consistent with his true story, Zimmerman was fighting for his life and ultimately saved the citizens of Florida from the future costs of the burgeoning violent, thieving typical nigger-criminal trayvon martin.}

Developing World’s Market Bubble Set to Bring Global Depression

Infowars | The world market bubble is setting the stage for a global economic collapse.

Jamie Dimon: Billions Lost in Derivatives Fraud is Merely ‘Standard Banking Practice’

LA Times | Head of JP Morgan Chase unveils arrogance of a banking elite not concerned with the real economy.

Death By Foreclosure: Desperate Man Commits Suicide After Wells Fargo Steals His Home . Dave Johnson Alternet : Norman and Oriane Rousseau were one more couple pushed by a huge, greedy bank to the brink of homelessness. On Sunday, desperate and with nowhere to go, Norman Rousseau shot himself.

This is the story of what happens when an average couple is up against a giant, wealthy, powerful bank. Unfortunately the result is what the result always is when people are on their own against the wealthy and powerful: the bank ends up with all of their money, takes their house to sell and throws them out onto the street. In this case the bank is Wells Fargo.The quick version of this terrible story is that Norman and Oriane Rousseau of Newbury Park, California were scammed into a predatory mortgage. But they made their payments anyway, always paying with a cashier’s check in person at the same branch. Then one day the bank misapplied their payment and said they still owed the money. This started a long, nasty process that led to the bank evicting the Rousseaus from their home. Here’s the shocker: right at the start the Rousseaus came up with proof that the bank had received the payment and had cashed the check. But the bank continued to claim it had missed the payment, gave the Rousseaus the runaround, started applying fees, and used it as an excuse to foreclose on the house anyway. Read full article here

Did Draghi Just Give Greece The All-Clear To Leave?

Zero Hedge | ECB President Draghi just admitted that while the ECB Governing Council would like Greece to stay.

Greece faces stark election choice – in or out of the euro

London Guardian | Collapse of coalition talks plunges eurozone into fresh turmoil as EU policymakers work on plans for post-Greek single currency.

Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase & The Fed: Billions & Trillions for Insiders

New American | Oops! Another couple billion dollars lost.

Rogers: “Volume Is Not Going To Come Back. We’ve Had A Great 30 Years. That’s Finished!”

AP Business Highlights

...Yahoo Market Update…

Metal News for the Day

Impeach Obama 2012. Join the National Campaign

Infowars.com | Now is the time to put an end to Obama’s treasonous and tyrannical behavior.

http://albertpeia.com/impeachobama.htm

Nancy Pelosi Wants to Amend the First Amendment Kurt Nimmo | When Pelosi says “special interests,” she means interests opposed to establishment Democrats. [ Here’s a look at the pelosi / wobama styled new california ( 16 Reasons To Move Away From California `http://albertpeia.com/16reasonstomoveawayfromcalifornia.htm` ) . pelosi’s incompetent / senile in that chronological order. At this point, wobama the b for bs is just incompetent but acts and seems as if he’s senile, particularly with regard to previous things he’s said and prior promises that he’s made. ]

Drudgereport: Obama: 'Sometimes I Forget' Magnitude of Recession…{ Oh! How conveniently forgetful, though the vast majority of americans don’t have wobama’s luxury of feigned amnesia suffering from what wobama did and didn’t do contrary to promises last time around the perpetual campaign trail littered with his typical jive-talking b***s***! The following headline will help him remember some of his sordid, pot-clouded high school past! }...
FLASHBACK: Obama's Sordid High School Past...
By Ben Shapiro ‘While the Washington Post has been diligently digging into relatively innocent high school pranks by Mitt Romney, they’ve spent the last few years diligently ignoring President Obama’s far more controversial high school days.Obama, by all accounts, was a habitual drug user in high school. He tried cocaine, he admits in Dreams From My Father; he “tried drugs enthusiastically.” The Chicago Tribune reported back in 2007 that Obama thanked the “Choom Gang” in his high school yearbook; “chooming” was Hawaiian slang for smoking pot. The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Obama’s senior portrait “prominently displayed … A package of ‘Zig-Zag’ rolling papers and a matchbook.” One of Obama’s close friends was arrested for drug possession during high school.In his memoir, Obama talked about routinely getting high. “Junkie. Pothead,” he wrote. “That’s where I’d been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man.” But, according to Obama, he only got high because he was contemplating deep matters: drugs could “push questions of who I was out of my mind.” Obama told students in 2007 that this activity constituted “goofing off” and “wasting time”:"I will confess to you that I was kind of a goof off in high school as my mom reminded me," Obama said. "I went to high school in Hawaii, so there's a lot of opportunity to goof off because the weather is really good all the time …"You know, I made some bad decisions …. You know, got into drinking and experimenting with drugs. There was a whole stretch of time where I didn't apply myself. It wasn't until I got out of … high school, and went to college that I started realizing, man, I wasted a lot of time.”The New York Times, however, went out of its way to find Obama’s classmates to testify that drugs played only a “bit part” in Obama’s youth. Yet Obama would later brag on the campaign trail that he “inhaled frequently … that was the point.”During his high school years, Obama hung out with communist radical Frank Marshall Davis; in 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that during his high school days, “he felt the first stirrings of anger toward whites. He says he also delved into black nationalism.” He was “offended or even enraged when white classmates adopted black street slang or revealed their underlying consciousness of his race by going out of their way to tell him how much they admired a black musician or athlete.” This activity is certainly more reflective of Obama’s ideological history than Mitt Romney’s pranks on teachers and fellow students. And as for the drug use – well, that seems just a bit more serious than walking a teacher into a door or cutting a student’s hair. But leave it to the Post to ignore or downplay all of that in favor of continuing stories about Romney’s dog, his high school hijinks, and whatever other nonsense they can use to protect President Obama from his own incompetence.’ Ben Shapiro is Breitbart News Editor-at-Large. Follow him on twitter @benshapiro.
Cracks in the Washington Post story on Romney’s ‘pranks’ emerge
Correction Request: Washington Post Uses Falsehood in Romney Hit Piece
Media Downplays Obama's Past, Tries to Define Romney with Teen Prank
If we're going to delve deep into a candidate's past, let's delve deep into a candidate's past. Here's Obama in his own words admitting to physically shoving a little girl named Coretta. Yes, it was at this moment that the first shot in the War on Women was fired.http://albertpeia.com/obamashovesgirl.png

No doubt that after expending all that energy bullying an innocent little girl, young Obama readied himself for round two by eating a Golden Retriever. More on this breaking story here.If you're wondering what the rules are regarding a candidate's past; how far back we're allowed to go in an attempt to define them -- the answer is simple: the corrupt media will let us know.
Washington Post Disgraces Itself By Targeting Romney's 'Anti-Gay' High School Pranks by Ben Shapiro { It is true! The once great now failed newspaper, the washington post, is an absolute disgrace! But a shadow of its former self, the post is biased presumably owing to shared desperation with the failed president wobama in return for access. So egregious had the bias become wherein ‘sensitive’ commentary antithetical to wobama and his, seldom seemed to work/post properly; and, then of course, the post’s pro-wobama perpetual darkness-induced blind ‘constituency’. I stopped posting there and have not visited their site since nor will I ever again. A rather pathetic swansong / end / wind-down / final chapter for what was once a great newspaper for which I had the utmost regard and respect! }
Obama WILL NOT pursue gay marriage as part of party platform...
STONE: 'Playing a cruel and cynical game'...
Unites Republicans?
New Black Panther Niggers Plan Newspaper Cover With Zimmerman In Noose { and civilized people everywhere should respond with niggers in nooses and contributions to the Klu Klux Klan! } ...
LOONEY CLOONEYLAND: BIG CAMPAIGN BOXOFFICE FOR NIGGERO – Meanwhile, looney clooneyland ain’t doin’ so well with the niggero model – see next headline! ...
Failed Wobama model illustrated: 16 Reasons To Move Away From California http://albertpeia.com/16reasonstomoveawayfromcalifornia.htm
Postal Service loses $3.2b in first quarter...
78% of California 8th graders fail national science test...

_______________________________________

{ some prior links of current interest }

A Warning Sign For The World http://albertpeia.com/warningsignfortheworld.htm, Inventor of World Wide Web Savages Government’s Big Brother Plans http://albertpeia.com/bernersleeantibigbrotherwebintrusion.htm , 16 Reasons To Move Away From California `http://albertpeia.com/16reasonstomoveawayfromcalifornia.htm` , 20 Signs You Might Be A Typical American Worker http://albertpeia.com/20signsoftypicalamericanworker.htm , 10 Signs That America Is Decomposing Right In Front Of Our Eyes http://albertpeia.com/10signsamericadecomposing.htm , Soylent Pepsi is People http://albertpeia.com/soylentpepsi.htm Infowars.com | Ground up dead baby fetuses… just business as usual. { Well, let’s not kid ourselves; there’s likely canabalism in wobama’s line! How totally disgusting. I’ll never drink pepsi ever again! } New Obama Executive Order Pushes Us Closer To A North American Union And A One World Economic Systemhttp://albertpeia.com/wobamaexecorderforoneworldgovernment.htm { The truly astounding thing here is that without exception, these respective nations, from largest to smallest, can’t even manage themselves, their own nations properly, efficiently; and then there’s the inevitable corruption, ‘bigger and better?’. Come on! More obfuscation! In a world such as this, human nature being what it is, ‘bigger is definitely not better’! They’re pushing on a string! Time for accountability! Time to pay the piper! Additionally, people must come to grips with the reality that wobama hasn’t the slightest idea what he’s doing; hence, the over-vacationed teleprompter reader whose ‘handlers’ have literally taken over policy, with some ‘slick’ maneuvering to try and repackage him; ultimately to no avail inasmuch as his disastrous results at home and abroad speak volumes. If only he had done what he said he was going to do last campaign, this nation and the world would have been in a better position today! } ,Military Winning War Over Pensions Bruce Krasting 05/02/2012 Why is the Military Retirement Fund exploding higher? http://albertpeia.com/militarypensiondebacle.htm , This Is the First Time In History that All Central Banks Have Printed Money at the Same Time … And They’re Failing Miserably Washington’s Blog | Simultaneous Global Printing Is Failing Miserably. Why New York Times Economist Paul Krugman Is Partly Right But Mostly Wrong http://albertpeia.com/nyteconomistkrugmanwrong.htm , NBER's Martin Feldstein Bashes The Deplorable US Economy, Says Bernanke Has Engineered Another Stock Bubble Tyler Durden 5-2-12 , Hugh Hendry On Europe "You Can't Make Up How Bad It Is" , Biderman Makes Friends: "Bankers Are As Dumb As Politicians" , Guest Post: 3 Likely Triggers Of The Next Recession Durden [ We’re already in a (continued) recession, stupid; actually, depression. { Financial Crisis Phase II Is Ahead at Forbes Bert Dohmen ‘ In late 2007, I wrote the book Prelude To Meltdown, predicting the global crisis that occurred the following year. I now see a similar confluence of events .. “the new recession has started.”… Over the past 33 years, we have called the start of every recession..Currently, the GDP deflator is 1.8%, which hardly reflects the true rise in prices. Therefore, what is counted as “growth,” is actually price increases. Actual inflation..is now more than 11%. Using that to adjust GDP for inflation, would show that the economy is now in a very sharp contraction…’ } ] , Zuckerman To CNBC: "The Recession Never Ended" 8 Reasons Why The Greek Debt Deal May Not Stop A Chaotic Greek Debt Default http://albertpeia.com/8reasonsgreekdebtdefaultstillcoming.htm , 55 Interesting Facts About The U.S. Economy In 2012 http://albertpeia.com/55factsaboutus2012economy.htm , http://albertpeia.com/debtpercapita.jpg , Double-dip recession setting in across eurozone: EU , America 1950 vs. America 2012 http://albertpeia.com/downhillslideofamerica.htm , Society’s Five Stages of Economic Collapse http://albertpeia.com/5stagesofcollapse.htm , No Housing Recovery - Case Shiller Shows 8th Consecutive Month Of House Price Declines Durden , Goldman: Germany Is Now On The Hook By €1 Trillion (Or 40% Of GDP) Durden, , 20 Economic Statistics To Use To Wake Sheeple Up From Their Entertainment-Induced Comas http://albertpeia.com/20ecostatstowakesheeple.htm , Central bank balance sheet expansion since end 2007 Mar 1st, 2012 by News (ZeroHedge) — SNB +230%; Fed +222%, BOJ +125%, BOE +87%, PBOC +93%, ECB +51%. USA Gold / PG View: Pretty strong evidence that the rally in bonds — and by extension the rally in stocks — is nothing but a charade. , 10.7 Percent: Unemployment In Europe Is Worse Than It Was At The Peak Of The Last Recession http://albertpeia.com/europeunemploymentworsethanrecession.htm , Inflation Is A Tax And The Federal Reserve Is Taxing The Living Daylights Out Of Us http://albertpeia.com/inflationisatax.htm , 15 Potentially Massive Threats To The U.S. Economy Over The Next 12 Months http://albertpeia.com/15massivethreatstoeconomy.htm , 1 Through 30 – The Coming U.S. Financial Crisis By The Numbers http://albertpeia.com/1-30usfinancialcrisiscoming.htm , Greece Has Defaulted - Which Country In Europe Is Next? http://albertpeia.com/greecehasdefaultedwhonext.htm , Five Charts That Prove We’re in a Depression and That the Federal Reserve and Washington Are Wasting Money gpc1981 http://albertpeia.com/usindepressionfedandgovwastingmoney.htm , Broken Promises: Pensions All Over America Are Being Savagely Cut Or Are Vanishing Completely .http://albertpeia.com/uspensionscutorvanishing.htm , America Is Being Transformed From A Wealthy Nation Into A Poor Nation At Breathtaking Speed http://albertpeia.com/ustransformedfromwealthytopoor.htm , ECRI Stays with Recession Call New American | The vicious cycle is starting where lower sales, lower production, lower employment and lower income [leads] back to lower sales…BOB ADELMANN New American Tuesday, March 13, 2012 http://albertpeia.com/ecricallsrecession.htm , Consumer prices rise on high gas costs But outside higher pump prices, inflation stayed mild. (Washington Post) [ Wake up! They’d have a hard time denying what’s in plain sight for everyone to see. Yet, apparently they’ve not gone grocery shopping lately; you know, all that catered food for fools in Washington. , Financial Crisis Phase II Is Ahead at Forbes Bert Dohmen ‘ In late 2007, I wrote the book Prelude To Meltdown, predicting the global crisis that occurred the following year. I now see a similar confluence of events that warns of phase II of the global crisis… My work shows that “the new recession has started.”… Over the past 33 years, we have called the start of every recession, often on the exact month, or within one month, of the official start as determined one year later by the official arbiter of recession, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)… However, inflation is far understated for political reasons. Currently, the GDP deflator is 1.8%, which hardly reflects the true rise in prices. Therefore, what is counted as “growth,” is actually price increases. Actual inflation, according to free market economists who calculate inflation as it was done in 1980 before the politician re-engineered it, is now more than 11%. Using that to adjust GDP for inflation, would show that the economy is now in a very sharp contraction…’ , Conned 2012: Joseph Kony Is A CIA Contractor [ Yeah, cia, mossad, kony, they look like and are a bunch of spooks. ] Saman Mohammadi | Former European MP, journalist, and author Richard Cottrell says Lord Resistance Army is backed by CIA and Mossad. , 11 Reasons Why America Would Be A Better Place Without Goldman Sachs [ If only it was just 11 and not an endless number of reasons why the aforesaid is true! And, though america particularly, not just america, but the entire world as well! ] http://albertpeia.com/americabetterwithoutgoldmansachs.com , The Obama Flag: Who Decided That It Was Okay To Replace The Stars On The American Flag With The Face Of Barack Obama? http://endoftheamericandream.com http://albertpeia.com/monkeyflag.htm [Aside from the desecration issues, from a purely aesthetic perspective, that picture on the flag of that ugly monkey obama is an absolute disgrace and affront to any rational person’s aesthetic sensibilities!] , Who Decided That It Would Be A Good Idea.... http://albertpeia.com/misplacedfaith.htm , Chimps Throwing Poop And 29 Other Mind Blowing Ways That The Government Is Wasting Your Money http://albertpeia.com/whydochimpslikeobamasthrowpoop29waysgovernmentwastesmoney.htm , Failed Wobama model illustrated: 16 Reasons To Move Away From California `http://albertpeia.com/16reasonstomoveawayfromcalifornia.htm ,` No Housing Recovery Until 2020 In 5 Simple Charts
http://albertpeia.com/nohousingrecoveryuntil2020in5charts.htm Durden `,`The Mother Of All Infographics: Visualizing America's Derivatives Universe http://albertpeia.com/usderivatives221trillionof707trillionglobal.htm , Fasten Your Seatbelts: High Frequency Trading Is Coming To The Treasury Market `[` http://albertpeia.com/highfrequencytradingcomingtotreasuries.htm , As US Rakes Largest Monthly Deficit In History, 2012 Tax Revenues Net Of Refunds Trail 2011 Durden, Guest Post: Money from Nothing - A Primer On Fake Wealth Creation And Its Implications (Part 1) Durden 3-12-12 What is fraud except creating “value” from nothing and passing it off as something? Frauds interlink and grow upon each other. Our debt-based money system serves as the fraud foundation. In our debt-based money system, debt must grow in order to create money. Therefore, there is no way to pay off aggregate debt with available money. More money must be lent into the system to make the payments for old debts. This causes overall debt to expand as new money for actual people (vs. banks) always arrives at interest and compounds exponentially. This process is called financialization. Financialization: The process of making money from nothing in which debt (i.e. poverty, lack) is paradoxically considered an asset (i.e. wealth, gain). In current financialized economies “wealth expansion” comes from the parasitic taxation of productivity in the form of interest on fiat lending. This interest over time consumes a greater and greater share of resources, assets, labor, and livelihood until nothing is left., Guest Post: Money from Nothing - A Primer on Fake Wealth Creation and its Implications (Part 2) ZeroHedge.com 3-14-12 Only in a debt-based money system could debt be curiously cast as an asset. We’ve made “extend and pretend” a quaint phrase for a burgeoning market for financial lying and profiteering aimed toward preventing the collapse of a debt- (or lack-) based system that was already doomed by its initial design to collapse. , Guest Post: The Audacity of Bonuses At MF Global Durden 3-12-12 In the spirit of George Orwell’s Animal Farm commandment: “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal then others” comes the galling news that bankruptcy trustee, Louis Freeh, could approve the defunct, MF Global to pay bonuses to certain senior executives. This, despite the fact that nearly $1.6 billion of customer funds remains “missing” or otherwise partially accounted for, yet beyond the reach of those customers, perhaps forever, since before the firm declared bankruptcy on October 31, 2011... ,