Note:
I’m here in San Diego County in my new/old 39 foot Chevy Motorhome. I can’t get
a signal for my Verizon LG smartphone (I’ll be taking a spin in my Ford
Explorer in search of a signal; my VOIP phone, magicjack requiring a broadband
connection, is currently not up except for voicemail). The radio reception is
also limited which led me to ‘sample’ some limited AM offerings which included
shallow sean hannity the hallmark of insanity, and ‘rush revere’ [limbaugh…
he’s totally burned out (the consequence of his being ‘tired of carrying the
water for the republican party’? - his own words), relegated now to authoring
children’s illustrated books of a simplistic nature]. Shallow sean’s latest
‘crusade’ (beyond the same note/key obvious debacle of wobamacare) was defense
of the indefensible mobster but friend of sean’s, donald trump (trump should be
in jail). In defense of t_rump, he offers up the itsy-bitsy, teeny weeny
wohlman skating rink project as evidence of t_rump’s contribution to NYC (too
small for high new york priority given the magnitude of New York substantial
problems, some largely the result of trumpish tastes, ie., solid gold trump
tower fixtures, etc., that trump’s ‘pre-packaged bankrupcies’ seem to fail to
touch, and which extravagance must be paid for by someone, but not him).
Shallow sean’s excoriation of new york city never seems to link the obviousness
of t_rump’s grandstanding responsibility for same. After all, someone
ultimately has to pay for trump’s disproportionate non-value-added livin’
large. No talk of trump’s ingratiating bribe strategy for protection ( ie.,
retainer’s to law firms linked to state attorney generals, viz., {kimmelman}
wolf and sampson, chris droney’s brother, his sister’s protection/corruption
and quid pro quo from the federal bench, etc., and as well, protection of
drug-money laundering through his now nominal only casinos … See, ie., http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htmhttp://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm.Trump’s a fraud! I won’t be listening to ‘rush revere’ or shallow sean
prospectively. They’re a waste of time and preposterous given their unbridled
support of war criminals bush, cheney, etc., and the failed debacles they
created, etc……
{
The Cat dispatching this archaic reptilian remnant of an extinct species. Yet,
doesn’t the ill-fated croc seem to be smiling a typically wide grin as if to
say, ‘he’s glad to be done-in by such a noble creature as the Cat’ (as opposed
to lesser species including all forms of apes and their progeny, potentially
even winding up as a pocket-book, belt, or pair of shoes). Yes, there’s a place
in the universe for Cats! }
Here
they are. WilliamBanzai7's Special Holiday Puke Fine Art Print Editions just in
time for the Christmas Holidays…
.
.
.
.
Dear
Friends,
Here
before you is a truly historic series of images that I have painstakingly
adapted to the current state of sordidly odiferous political/financial affairs.
Years
from now, there will be little doubt over what the artist was seeing and
thinking contemporaneously in the year 2013.
I
am not going to oversell these pictures. They speak for themselves.
They
also demonstrate how history truly rhymes on Wall Street.
I
have all of these in very large high resolution files. So every print will
match the highest standards of fine art print production.
As
you can see, I have departed from normal practice by offering these prints in
an assortment of sizes. I have done this solely to maximize your
participation
by spreading price points. Bear in mind that the amount of personal time and
effort involved is the same irrespective of print size.
Each
print will be signed, numbered and dated December 25, 2013.
I
know that many of you are suffering various levels of economic hardship in
these trying times. As is always the case, you are free to print these off for
your own personal use.
I
truly appreciate all the the moral and financial support that I receive from
all of you.
As
you know, the primary reason that I am doing these prints is to signify my
gratitude in return for your generous support for my endeavors.
It
is my sincerest wish that the situation will turn sooner than later so
that each and everyone of us can return to personal prosperity.
{ I’ve had occasion to read the well-written book
‘Murder in Italy’ by award-winning italian-american author, Candace Dempsey,
which documents the horrific travesty called ‘italian justice’ (actually
blatant injustice) torturously imposed upon Amanda Knox et als (rudy guede
excepted). So outrageous but typical of these typical italians ( like packs of
the rabid dogs they are pre-disposed to be). (Parenthetically, my grandparents,
both of whom I loved and respected – Elsie/Nanny, Bari, Italy and
Martin/Mario/PopPop (Peia), Lake Como, Italy – were not typical as such; but
rather, thoroughly modern in all respects relative to time and extremely
civilized in a manner to be emulated by all people … although I found italians
with mob/mafia links/connections/sympathies to be like those rabid
perugians/italians who outrageously pilloried Amanda Knox, See,
ie., http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdfhttp://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htmhttp://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm}
The
Federal Reserve is creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air and
using that money to buy U.S. government debt and mortgage-backed securities and
take them out of circulation. Since the middle of 2008, these purchases
have caused the Fed's balance sheet to balloon from under a trillion dollars to
nearly four trillion dollars. This represents the greatest central bank
intervention in the history of the planet, and Janet Yellen says that she does
not anticipate that it will end any time soon because "the recovery is
still fragile". Of course, as I showed the other day, the truth is
that quantitative easing has done essentially nothing for the average person on
the street. But what QE has done is that it has sent stocks soaring to
record highs. Unfortunately, this stock market bubble is completely and
totally divorced from economic reality, and when the easy money is taken away
the bubble will collapse. Just look at what happened a few months ago
when Ben Bernanke suggested that the Fed may begin to "taper" the
amount of quantitative easing that it was doing. The mere suggestion that
the flow of easy money would start to slow down a little bit was enough to send
the market into deep convulsions. This is why the Federal Reserve cannot
stop monetizing debt. The moment the Fed stops, it could throw our
financial markets into a crisis even worse than what we saw back in 2008. (Read More....)
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - The implication of this particular and quite
unprecedented shadow banking circle jerk, which could very easily make even the
direct wealth transfer resulting from trillions in QE pale by comparison, is so
stunning that we leave it up to the reader to come to their own conclusion.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - By now, thanks to Edward Snowden, it is
common knowledge and not just conspiracy theory, that every bit of information
sent out into the wired or wireless ether is scanned, probed, intercepted and
ultimately recorded by the NSA and subsequently all such information is and can
be used against any US citizen without a court of law (because the president's
pet secret NISA "court" is anything but). Sadly, in a country in
which courtesy of peak social networking, exhibitionism has become an art form,
the vast majority of Americans not only could not care less about Snowden's
sacrificial revelations, but in fact are delighted the at least someone,
somewhere cares about that photo of last night's dinner. However, it turns out
that far from being a passive listener and recorder, the NSA is quite an active
participant in using the internet. The weaponized internet.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - Within the last seven years 11 countries
(Poland (2006), Russia (2008), Finland (2009), France (2009), Sweden (2010),
Iceland (2011), Spain (2011), Denmark (2012), Singapore (2012), Canada (2012)
and Japan (2013) have realized the need to appoint their own Arctic
ambassadors. These ambassadors are used for analysis and situational
assessments in the emerging “grand Arctic game,” with the ultimate aim of
exploiting mineral resources and using the Arctic route for shipping cargo from
Europe to Asia. At present, China’s Arctic initiatives suggest that
Beijing is eager to camouflage its true interests in the region with
environmental monitoring, Arctic life protection and concerns about indigenous
peoples. At the same time, Beijing is dropping hints that China is
not satisfied with the current balance of power in the Arctic region.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - With the market ebullient at the prospect of more
"miracles" from Yellen, we thought it worth dusting off the
following brief clip discussing what it would mean to "end the
Fed." In order to answer this question, we examine countries
throughout history that did not have an established central bank. So who
performs the functions of a central bank in these countries? Professor White
cites private institutions, including clearing house systems, banks, and
financial companies, as the main actors in the monetary systems of countries
without a central bank. Ultimately, he concludes that the Federal
Reserve is not necessary. Evidence shows that nations can survive
without a central bank. What the Federal Reserve does well can be done even
better by private institutions, and the institution is capable of
serious errors.
The
third stage of bull markets, the mania phase, can last longer and go
farther that logic would dictate. However, the data suggests that the
risk of a more meaningful reversion is rising. It is unknown, unexpected
and unanticipated events that strike the crucial blow that begins the market
rout. Unfortunately, due to the increased impact of high frequency and
program trading, reversions are likely to occur faster than most can adequately
respond to. This is the danger that exists today. Are we in the
third phase of a bull market? Most who read this article will say
"no." However, those were the utterances made at the peak of
every previous bull market cycle.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - How many more quarters of this Einsteinian
insanity will it take for investors to realize the sell-side analysts'
"forecasts" are worse than useless...?
One of the biggest lies in
finance is this perpetual deception that inflation is good. Ben Bernanke, the current high priest of US
monetary policy, recently remarked that it’s “important to prevent US inflation
from falling too low.” Well of course, we wouldn’t want that, would we? Just
imagine the chaos and devastation that would ensue if the cost of living actually
remained… you know… the same. One shudders at the mere thought of price
stability.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - This objective report concisely summarizes
important macro events over the past week. It is not geared to push an agenda.
Impartiality is necessary to avoid costly psychological traps, which all
investors are prone to, such as confirmation, conservatism, and endowment
biases.
How could such a monetary
disaster happen in a civilized and advanced society, leading to the total
destruction of the currency? Many explanations have been put forward. It has been argued
that, for instance, that reparation payments, chronic balance of payment
deficits, and even the depreciation of the Papermark in the foreign exchange
markets had actually caused the demise of the German currency. However, these
explanations are not convincing. Looking at the world today - in which many economies have been
using credit-produced paper monies for decades and where debt loads are
overwhelmingly high, the current challenges are in a sense quite similar to
those prevailing in the Weimar Republic more than 90 years ago. Now as then, a reform of the monetary order
is badly needed; and the sooner the challenge of monetary reform is taken on,
the smaller will be the costs of adjustment.
Would printing the cash to
fund pensions for low-income retirees trigger inflation? It's more of an open question than we might
imagine at first glance.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on 11/15/2013 - "We fumbled the rollout on this
health-care law," could be President Obama's understatement of the
century. In the month-or-so since Obamacare was unleashed 106,185
people enrolled (based on a loose re-definition by the White House).
However, in that same period, the WSJ
reportsa stunning 4.02 million people received policy
cancellations. So, in a month, a total of 3,918,205 fewer people
are now 'enrolled' in a heathcare plan than before Obamacare. So far,
California, Florida, and Washington are suffering the most under Obamacare...
The Republicans' "Keep Your
Health Plan Act of 2013" bill has passed the House (as somewhat expected).
However, what is more critical - as
we noted previously - is that a large number of Democrats broke
ranks and voted for the bill.
*HOUSE VOTES 261-157 FOR REPUBLICAN BILL ON KEEPING HEALTH
PLANS
*THIRTY-NINE DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS ON HEALTH-POLICY
BILL
39 House Democrats voted in
favor, shunning
Obama's proclamation that he would veto the bill (which he
described as "threatening the health care security of hard working, middle
class families,") anyway if it came to his desk. It is unlikely to pass
the Senate.
"It's time to deepen
the offensive, go to the bone in this economic war," warned Venezuelan President Maduro -
echoing Hugo Chavez's iron fist of socialism (and nationalization) before him -
as his decision to jail over 100 businessmen is "defending the poor."
As
Reuters reports, plenty of Venezuelans have applauded his measures, saying
price hikes were out of control, while others have expressed fears that Maduro
could be uncorking dangerous forces as opposition forces note Maduro's
economic policies were "chillingly similar" to those of Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe. Officials say unscrupulous companies have
been hiking prices of electronics and other goods more than 1,000 percent.
Critics say failed socialist economic policies and restricted access to foreign
currency are behind Venezuela's runaway inflation. No matter which, Maduro
thundered "They are barbaric, these capitalist parasites!"
The headline Empire
manufacturing data missed expectations by the most since January (the
4th month in a row) and plunged to its lowest since January. Across
the board sub-indices collapsed (every one of them) into contraction with
shipments down from over 13 to -0.5, and New Orders down from 7.75 to -5.5.
"Hope" didn't save it this time either as the outlook droped to 3
month lows. Labor market conditions were subdued. The index
for number of employees drifted downward for a third consecutive month, coming
in at 0.0 in November in a sign that employment levels were flat (falling at
fastest rate in 2013). The average workweek index fell nine points to -5.3,
pointing to a decline in hours worked. This can only be great news for the
bulls and guarantees that the S&P 500 will hit 1800 today...
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/15/2013 - They
may be brutal, barbarian, CIA-funded cannibal savages, but at least they are
brutal, barbarian, CIA-funded cannibal savages with manners. Case in point:
after an Al-Qaeda linked rebel group chopped the head off a person it thought
was a member of the government side, it has since emerged the person was
actually one of the group's own commanders. Subsequently, Al-Qaeda issued a
formal apology.
The overnight global scramble to
buy stocks, any stocks, anywhere, continued, with the Nikkei soaring higher by
2% as the USDJPY rose firmly over 100, to levels not seen since May as the
previously reported
speculation that more QE from the BOJ is just around the corner takes a
firm hold. Sentiment that the liquidity bonanza would accelerate around the
world (with possibly more QE from the ECB) was undented by news of a surge
in Chinese short-term money market rates or the Moody's one-notch
downgrade of four TBTF banks on Federal support review. The release of more
market-friendly promises from China only added fuel to the fire and as a result
S&P futures are now just shy of 1800, a level which will almost certainly
be taken out today as the multiple expansion ramp continues unabated. At this
point absolutely nobody is even remotely considering standing in front of the
centrally-planned liquidity juggernaut that has made "market" down
days a thing of the past.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - For
five years, congressional Democrats have sprung to his defense when Obama's
been in trouble. Now though, amid the dismal reality of Obamacare, Politico
reports a familiar refrain from Democratic sources: Obama's
"if-you-like-it-you-can-keep-it" promise on insurance policies is his
"Read my lips, no new taxes" moment — a reference to the
broken promise that came to damage President George H.W. Bush’s credibility
with his fellow Republicans. His one-time allies are no longer sure that it's
wise to follow him into battle, leaving Obama and his law not only vulnerable
to existing critics, but open to new attacks from his own party. Democratic
sources say, Obama can expect that lawmakers will be quicker to
criticize him — and distance themselves from his policies.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - While
the Dow has quietly added over 200 points in the last 2 days, the potential for
Kuroda and Abe to embark on QQQE has sent Japan's Nikkei 225 up a
magnificently suitable (given the utterly dismal macro data from yesterday) 700
points in the same period. Somehow this jerk higher to near the big
collapse-day highs in May makes sense to someone (as TEPCO announces yet
another leak). Meanwhile, across the sea, Chinese money-markets are exploding.
The last 2 days have seen a combination of no operations yesterday and
a big lift in rates today which spiked overnight repo-rates to 5.32% - the
highest in 5 months if it closed there - as clearly smaller banks are
desperate for liquidity. FX markets are seeing weakness continue in Indonesia,
Thailand, and the Philippines. So, all-in-all, total chaos...
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - Allegations
of JP Morgan’s use of clever tactics to bribe Chinese officials recently
received mainstream attention
when Salon journalist Alex Pareene mentioned it in a comical
and classic interview on CNBC (you need to watch the video before
reading this) with presstitute Maria Bartiromo. When Mr. Pareene mentioned
these claims against the TBTF bank, CNBC mocked him.
Howeverer, this article from the New York Times details how JP Morgan
paid $75,000 a month to an obscure consulting firm called
Fullmark Consultants, which hadonly two employees. The firm was
run by a woman named Lily Chang, which in reality was the alias used by Wen
Jiabao’s only daughter Wen Ruchun. Wen Jiabao was the Prime
Minister of China at the time.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - It
is human nature to follow fads,
no matter how strange or cultish they may seem. Anything from Beanie
Babies to cupcakes to even tech IPOs fall into this category, but,
ConvergEx's Nick Colas asks, why do some of these trends manage to stick around
while others die off? We might laugh now at bellbottoms and the so-called
“grapefruit diet”, but at one point in time these were both fashionable – and
profitable. So what does it take to make a fad last? Colas looks at a number of
quirky trends past and present and importantly for market participants, finds
lessons that extend directly to investor psychology and discipline. The
bottom line is that we are sometimes blind to our own trading (and fashion)
mistakes in the moment, but we are not preordained to make the same errors in
perpetuity.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - Where
and how is all of this going to end? We don't know, but we doubt the
end will be anything but painful for all around.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - It
is becoming increasingly obvious that we are seeing the disconnect between
financial markets and the real economy grow. It is also increasingly obvious (to Citi's
FX Technicals team) that not only is QE not helping this dynamic, it is making
things worse. It encourages misallocation of capital out of the real economy,
it encourages poor risk management, it increases the danger of financial asset
inflation/bubbles, and it emboldens fiscal irresponsibility etc.etc. If
the Fed was prepared to draw a line under this experiment now rather than
continuing to "kick the can down the road" it would not be painless
but it would likely be less painful than what we might see later. Failure
to do so will likely see us at the "end of the road" at some time in
the future and the 'can' being "kicked over the edge of a cliff." Enough
is enough.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - Maybe
2015 will be the year of the collapse. Our entire economy runs on debt
creations, vis-a-vis financialization, since we import $500 billion a
year more than we export. 2015 is the year when increasing debt results
in ZERO GDP growth. The end of the line. But that won’t stop the
Federal Reserve and the criminals in Washington. Enjoy what time we have left
before it all collapses. The Keynesians that are busy trying to turn the magic
levers in our economy right now still aren’t getting the message, more than two
years later: government spending can’t make the economy grow.
Until they stop trying (and racking up immense, almost unfathomable amounts of
debt), things are likely to continue to get worse.
Submitted
by Tyler Durden on
11/14/2013 - Yellen
had to field several questions about potential market bubbles, but she
deflected them aggressively saying that she did not believe that “bubble-like
conditions” existed. Basically, she has given the market the green
light to “melt-up”. The only question is how much higher will the
Fed’s ‘gift’ drive prices? She indicated the Fed has no choice but to
continue with this policy until it succeeds (or will it ultimately fail?).
As perverse as this seems, Yellen likely ensured that an equity market crash
(someday) is inevitable. Yellen’s failure to acknowledge any signs of
bubble-like conditions encourages more risk-taking and speculation. Therefore,
this fact, combined with her hints of a continuation of policy, should lead to
a bubble; if one hasn't been created already. And, all bubbles
eventually pop.
Paul Joseph Watson | Rep. Louie Gohmert: “I want to know are
they are they using weapons to train, or are they being taught to use syringes
and health care items?”
Paul Joseph Watson | Rep. Louie Gohmert: “I want to know are
they are they using weapons to train, or are they being taught to use syringes
and health care items?”
bizpacreview.com | A Tennessee
high school student spoke from personal experience when he gave a highly
critical speech on Common Core at the Knox County School Board meeting earlier
this month.
Did
you know that the Obama administration is negotiating a super secret
"trade agreement" that is so sensitive that he isn't even allowing
members of Congress to see it? The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being
called the "NAFTA of the Pacific" and "NAFTA on steroids",
but the truth is that it is so much more than just a trade agreement.
This treaty has 29 chapters, but only 5 of them have to do with trade.
Most Americans don't realize this, but this treaty will fundamentally change
our laws regarding Internet freedom, health care, the trading of derivatives,
copyright issues, food safety, environmental standards, civil liberties and so
much more. It will also merge the United States far more deeply into the
emerging one world economic system. Initially, twelve nations will be a
party to this treaty including the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan,
Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and
Vietnam. Together, those nations represent approximately 40
percent of global GDP. It is hoped that additional nations such
as the Philippines, Thailand and Colombia will join the treaty later on. (Read More....)
The Daily Telegraph | Crime
rates will soar, economies will stagnate and Europe’s social fabric will
deteriorate if policymakers do not act to address youth unemployment, World
Economic Forum report warns.
Zero Hedge | Over the weekend,
we reported that as Bitcoin’s unprecedented, Caracas-like surge continues,
legislators are finally starting to pay attention to the digital currency.
NY Times | The Central
Intelligence Agency is secretly collecting bulk records of international money
transfers handled by companies like Western Union.
The
Federal Reserve is creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air and
using that money to buy U.S. government debt and mortgage-backed securities and
take them out of circulation. Since the middle of 2008, these purchases
have caused the Fed's balance sheet to balloon from under a trillion dollars to
nearly four trillion dollars. This represents the greatest central bank
intervention in the history of the planet, and Janet Yellen says that she does
not anticipate that it will end any time soon because "the recovery is
still fragile". Of course, as I showed the other day, the truth is
that quantitative easing has done essentially nothing for the average person on
the street. But what QE has done is that it has sent stocks soaring to
record highs. Unfortunately, this stock market bubble is completely and
totally divorced from economic reality, and when the easy money is taken away
the bubble will collapse. Just look at what happened a few months ago
when Ben Bernanke suggested that the Fed may begin to "taper" the
amount of quantitative easing that it was doing. The mere suggestion that
the flow of easy money would start to slow down a little bit was enough to send
the market into deep convulsions. This is why the Federal Reserve cannot
stop monetizing debt. The moment the Fed stops, it could throw our
financial markets into a crisis even worse than what we saw back in 2008. (Read More....)
