Saturday, July 7, 2012

LIBOR Scandal Affects Millions of Americans, And They Don't Even Know It.

The manipulation is obvious to all and yet nothing is done to stop it because politicians, bureaucrats, and CEOs are afraid it will affect their financial fortunes.  Meanwhile, we are destroying that of our children.




Banks' Defenses to Potential Trillions in Libor Claims Fail

George Washington's picture




The big banks have been manipulating the world’s central economic indicator – Libor – for decades, harming homeowners, students, credit card holders, small businesses, cities and many others.
The sums involved were huge. As the Economist notes:
The sums involved might have been huge. Barclays was a leading trader of these sorts of derivatives, and even relatively small moves in the final value of LIBOR could have resulted in daily profits or losses worth millions of dollars. In 2007, for instance, the loss (or gain) that Barclays stood to make from normal moves in interest rates over any given day was £20m ($40m at the time). In settlements with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Britain and America’s Department of Justice, Barclays accepted that its traders had manipulated rates on hundreds of occasions.
The Independent notes that potential liability from the Libor suits could wipe out Barclays, RBS and other banks … and that the big banks have taken inadequate reserves against litigation risks.
David Kotok - Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Cumberland Advisors, with $2 billion dollars under management - writes:

The LIBOR rigging is systemic.

***

This scandal is going to take down many more than just Barclay’s leaders.  The claims are likely to be in the trillions.
But the banks say that they are judgment-proof because their manipulation didn’t cause any damage.
Specifically, the banks claim:
(1) Sometimes they nudges rates up and sometimes down …. so it’s a wash;
(2) Some people won and others lost … so it’s a wash; and
(3) It would be impossible for anyone who sued to quantify the amount of damages they suffered due to rate manipulation.
But the first argument is easily debunked. As Yves Smith notes:
The idea that one party’s loss from the manipulation was another’s gain is irrelevant to those on the losing side [quoting the Economist]:
….banks will be sued only by those who have lost, and will be unable to claim back the unjust gains made by some of their other customers. Lawyers acting for corporations or other banks say their clients are also considering whether they can walk away from contracts with banks such as long-term derivatives priced off LIBOR.
The second argument is also easily dispatched. For example, it is clear that for many years up until 2007, every time the banks nudged Libor rates higher, homeowners, students, credit card holders, small businesses and other borrowers were damaged by artificially inflated interest rates.
The case would be especially easy for people who borrowed money and finished paying off their loan during this period. For example, someone who bought a house in 2005 and sold it in 2007 could have a strong case.
Similarly, it is clear that Barclays and other big banks manipulated rates downward after the financial crisis hit in 2007, to make themselves look stronger than they really were. Because of the way their interest rate swaps were structured, local governments got creamed by lower Libor rates.
So governments which bought interest rate swaps during the relevant period based upon the assumption that rates would keep rising - especially if they were misled as to the likely direction of rates by one of the banks that participated in rigging Libor (Citi, Chase,, UBS, RBS, etc.) - could have a solid case.
Finally, I can assure you that derivatives experts, mortgage experts, statisticians, and alot of other people are crunching numbers right now to start quantifying damages.

12.7 Million Americans Unemployed!?

From Zerohedge


For a picture of the trend, this is also from Econoday:
As you can see, the first quarter job situation has been collapsing. There are still 12. 7 million Americans unemployed, 41.9% of the unemployed have been so for more than 27 weeks, and the broadest measure of unemployment (U-6) was 14.9% (+0.1%). For those of you wishing to see the so-called "U" data, please go here.

Steve Forbes: How To Bring Back America

He forgets to mention that he supports Ron Paul and silver is just as important as gold!



Steve Forbes: How To Bring Back America

Bank of England Ben Bernanke Ben Bernanke Deficit Spending Fail Federal Reserve fixed Global Economy Great Depression Housing Bubble Insurance Companies Market Conditions Money Supply None Post Office Precious MetalsRecession recovery Sovereign Debt Unemployment Volatility
Steve Forbes has a message for a nation dominated by increasingly short-term decisions made on Wall Street and in Washington D.C., and by ever greater economic, financial and currency instability.  As long as America continues moving away from sound money; away from sound financial and economic policies; and, ultimately, away from freedom, its future grows more dim.  The dot-com and housing bubbles followed by the 2008 financial crisis and the most severe economic decline since the Great Depression serve as powerful lessons.  A future of bigger government, higher taxes, more burdensome regulations, less consumer choice and more unrealistic government promises requires more and more Federal Reserve play money. Steve Forbes has a quintessentially American policy prescription rooted in American history.  The answer to America’s economic problems is—and has always been—new wealth creation.  New wealth creation doesn’t come from the government or from the Federal Reserve’s printing press.  New wealth creation is what happens naturally with stable money based on the gold standard, lower taxes on individuals, a simplified tax code, reduced bureaucracy and free markets.

Surprise, Central Banks Are Printing Money to Bail Out Their Owners

Remember that central banks are private institutions owned by dynasties and institutions that manipulate the money supply to benefit themselves, not the rest of us.  Just ask your savings account how much it has returned to you lately.  Interest rates are purposely pushed to the bottom purportedly to keep the economy stimulated by motivating people to borrow and spend, just what the growing poor and middle class need to do when their houses just tanked in value or they lost them altogether.  Their 401ks took a dive as well, probably still hasn't recovered from the 2008 dip.  And now there is a threat of another?  Boom bust cycles are purposefully created and controlled.  Don't be a fool.




Central Bankers Are Not Omnipotent

Bank of England Ben Bernanke Ben Bernanke Bond Borrowing Costs Central Banks European Central Bank Federal Reservefixed headlines Japan Monetary Policy Money Supply New Zealand Real estate Risk Premium Switzerland United KingdomYield Curve
A generation of market participants has grown up knowing only the era of central bankers and the 'Great Moderation' of (most of) the last two decades elevated their status significantly. While central bankers are generally very well aware of the limits of their own power, financial markets seem inclined to overstress the direct scope of monetary policy in the real world.
If markets fall, investors need only to run to central bankers, and Ben Bernanke and his ilk will put on a sticking plaster and offer a liquidity lollipop to the investment community for being such brave little soldiers in the face of adversity
Monetary policy impacts the real economy because it is transmitted to the real economy through the money transmission mechanism. This has become particularly important in the current environment, where, as UBS' Paul Donovan notes, some aspects of that transmission mechanism have become damaged in some economies. Simplifying the monetary transmission mechanism into four very broad categories: the cost of capital; the willingness to lend; the willingness to save; and the foreign exchange rate; UBS finds strains in each that negate some or all of a central bank's stimulus efforts. In the current climate, it may well be that the state of the monetary transmission mechanism is even more important than monetary policy decisions themselves. Some monetary policy makers may be at the limits of their influence.

Why I Want To Build & Own a #WikispeedC3 #100mpg #efficiency #agile

If you have seen and learned what I have then you would most likely be a twisted zombie just working away making a little money, struggling in this un-stimulating economy, frustrated by how much it costs to do anything, go anywhere, then you might begin to understand why I want to build a Wikispeed C3. Don't get me wrong, I have an awesome job with an excellent company with an awesome future.  But someday, I would liket o be able to say that I contributed to the new economy that values energy efficiency, assuming that ever comes.

Meanwhile, let me tell you about about the Wikispeed C3.

wikispeedc3
The Wikispeed C3 gets 100 mpg and can achieve
zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds.  Efficient and Awesome!
It's not only ultra efficient, already achieving over 100 miles per gallon with a combustion engine, its fast, economical (less than $25,000), made locally in the Peninsula with regionally sourced  materials where possible! and did I mention it gets 100 miles per gallon?  yes, that's right, gasoline is over $4 a gallon here in California and I would like to use as little as possible to save money and reduce the demand for the energy wars.

Right now this car is in its early testing and modeling stages.  Right now we are using Agile Scrum software development methodologies to iterate on the car and make it better and less expensive, without compromising quality and safety.  

Our goal is to continue achieving over 100 miles per gallon through each revision of the car and go to market with a whole new car company, similar to Tesla, which recently went public on  one of the exchanges in New York City.  (I'd like to see us start an exchange here in the Peninsula that competes with NYC or Chicago.  )  Anyway, this looks really fun.  I may even make something out of this business and pass it on to my kids.  Better than leaving them nothing.  

What Is a Transition Town? Why Do People Think We Need One?

If you ever end up reading this book, I sure would like to know what you think.  I am just a regular guy and reading this, along with other related books you see in the TwistedPolitix Reading List, doesn't look so bad.  The idea here is to finally get out of the boom bust cycle twisted economix and war presented by our world power hungry.  That just means making your local economy more resilient to outside forces, like bribery, corruption, racketeering, fear, uncertainty and doubt.  It would resemble life in the past in the sense that we were more locally involved, but that technology would be more advanced in some areas and behind in others.  Forget Obama, Romney, or Ron Paul for now.  Just think about how this economy and life in general could improve.  This is where you go think, not disengage behind a screen.

Transition Handbook

The first of these was the Transition Handbook, by Rob Hopkins.Transition Handbook cover
Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, describes it well:
“The Transition concept is one of the big ideas of our time. Peak oil and climate change can so often leave one feeling depressed and disempowered. What I love about the Transition approach is that it is inspirational, harnessing hope instead of guilt, and optimism instead of fear. The Transition Handbook will come to be seen as one of the seminal books which emerged at the end of the Oil Age and which offered a gentle helping hand in the transition to a more local, more human and ultimately more nourishing future.”

The Truth Behind NATO's Intervention in Libya And Gaddafi's Assassination


Some investigative reporters have reported that Gaddafi my have been ousted in 2011 by NATO forces not because there was a local uprising against his tyrannical rule, but because he was making progress on his ideas for a gold backed dinar that would be used to trade Libyan oil.  It would also be the single currency of a United States of Africa that Gaddafi had proposed starting in 2000, and brought up again in 2007 and 2009 at regional conferences.  Here are some of the articles that suggest there is a lot more behind the USA and NATO involvement.

The United States of Africa 

The United States of Africa is a proposed name for the concept of a federation of some or all of the 55 sovereign states of Africa.  Former Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was the 2009 Chairperson of the African Union (AU), advanced the idea of a United States of Africa at two regional African summits: in June 2007 in Conakry, Guinea,[4] and again in February 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.[5] Gaddafi had previously pushed for the creation of the African Union at a summit in Lomé, Togo, in 2000.[6] Having described the AU as a failure on a number of occasions, Gaddafi asserted that only a true pan-African state can provide stability and wealth to Africa.
The Gold Dinar



Muammar Gadhafi's decision to pursue gold standard and reject dollars for oil payments may have sealed his fate (June 7, 2011)
Attacking Col. Gadhafi can be understood in the context of America and Europe fighting for their survival, which an independent Africa jeopardizes.  The war raging in Libya since February is getting progressively worse as NATO forces engage in regime change and worse, an objective to kill Muammar Gadhafi to eradicate his vision of a United Africa with a single currency backed by gold.  Observers say implementing that vision would change the world power equation and threaten Western hegemony. In response, the United States and its NATO partners have determined “Gadhafi must go,” and assumed the role of judge, jury and executioner.
“That man has invested in Africa more than any other leader in the recent history of Africa's coming into political independence,” he continued. The Muslim leader said America needs access to the mineral resources in Africa to be a viable power in the 21st century.
Pre-existing Condition

During the Libyan escalation, General Wesley Clark wrote an article for the Washington Post suggesting to the world that Libya did not meet the US criteria for intervention (which is quite unusual considering that we have invaded sovereign nations over 200 times since 1800).  However what is certainly more concerning is that in 2007 on an interview on DemocracyNow, General Wesley Clark revealed plans exposed to him in the Pentagon right after 911 that suggested the US was planning to invade Libya as far back as 1998.

There are extensive reports supporting these claims.  including this RT report on YouTube. The articles and video all made the following startling and disturbing claims:

  1. Just prior to the air strikes, Gaddafi had planned to introduce a new currency, the “Gold Dinar”.
  2. The currency was to be supported by Libya’s massive gold reserves of 144 tonnes.
  3. The gold coin was to be accepted throughout Africa and the Middle East and would have been the only currency accepted for purchases of oil.
  4. This strategy would likely crush both the Dollar and the Euro, making the Dinar the dominant international currency.
  5. The NATO military action is the result of a US-led plan to crush Gaddafi’s currency plans and to protect Western financial interests. The military action is supported by US oil interests, who are seeking to obtain access to Libya’s massive oil reserves.



Grounds for Impeachment

President Obama argued that the War Powers Act did not apply to the Libyan intervention because the United Nations and NATO provided him with sufficient authority to be involved.  Understand that what Obama is saying is that the President of the United States, Chief of the US Military can direct US military intervention in another sovereign nation because the UN and NATO authorize such actions.  That is very likely unconstitutional and grounds for impeachment as many have suggested.  Unfortunately for those in favor of restricting the Presidential powers, the Democratic Party and Republican Party are too "motivated" to see money being spent on a US projection of power that distracts the public from the turmoil at home.







Friday, July 6, 2012

Should Congress ReenAct The Coinage Act of 1792?

Shouldn't we seriously consider doing something like this again? Or is our economy so bad that nothing can be done.  That's what they would like you to believe!



Coinage Act of 1792

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Coinage Act or the Mint Act, passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, established the
 United States Mint and regulated the coinage of the United States.[1]The long title of the legislation is An
 act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States. This act established the silver
 dollar as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a decimal
system for U.S. currency.[2]

¿Porque los EE.UU. tiene tanto deuda? Y Porque Chinga a Todo El Mundo?

Estoy usando Google translate y por eso se ve raro.  Me entienden? EE.UU ha tenido un golpe de estado y los que manejan el gobierno manejan a todo el mundo.


Lecciones económicas # 1 - ¿Cómo funcionan los EE.UU. como una enorme deuda?


Esta es una pregunta tan obvia. Sin embargo, ¿cuántas personas en la CNBC, MSNBC, he contestado para usted? Le dejan suponer que los EE.UU. es un país tan increíblemente eficiente y trabajadora, que todo el mundo confía en nosotros para pagar esa deuda en algún punto en el futuro .... , ¿No? ¿Alguien? Bueller? (Día de Ferris Beuhler de descuento de referencia para nuestros lectores de fuera de Estados Unidos).

Es una historia larga y aburrida de la forma en que se convirtió en el mayor deudor del planeta. Yo haré todo lo posible para que sea comprensible y, posiblemente, incluso emocionante. Debido a la comprensión de este tema es el primer paso para su despertar, una vez que comprendes, la respuesta a la pregunta que hice anteriormente, que cambiará para siempre la forma de ver los Estados Unidos y la forma en que manejamos nuestras relaciones exteriores.

Recuerde que esta es una historia de alto nivel / lección de economía y no debe ser visto como una pieza académica. Tendré que el glaseado sobre algunas partes de la historia y hacer algunas analogías imperfectas. Pero al final, si usted tiene una mente inquisitiva, este artículo debe despertar el interés de investigar un poco más y seguir aprendiendo.

La historia de los Estados Unidos como la conocemos hoy comienza no es sorprendente que antes de la Gran Depresión. Se nos enseña que la Gran Depresión se inició el Lunes Negro de 28 de octubre 1929. También se nos enseñó que la Gran Depresión fue causada por la exuberancia irracional de los años 20 y el sistema se bloqueó como todo el mundo empezó a vender todo lo que, al mismo tiempo.

Esto es cierto hasta cierto punto. Pero es como decir que el avión se estrelló porque el aire dejó de fluir en la parte superior de las alas. Bueno, no la mierda el avión se estrelló porque no había corriente de aire. ¿POR QUÉ LA PARADA DEL AIRE CORRIENTE es la pregunta que usted realmente necesita saber la respuesta a, y es aquí donde vamos a comenzar nuestra lección sobre por qué Estados Unidos puede funcionar como una enorme deuda.

Voy a salvar a la Gran Depresión y el gran colapso deflacionario para otra lección. Me limitaré a dar algunos puntos de alto nivel que deben ser entendidos acerca de la década de 1920 y 1930. La cosa más importante a comprender acerca de pre-1920 de la economía mundial es que Gran Bretaña era el perro grande en el mundo. La libra esterlina británica era el mundo lo que el dólar de EE.UU. es en la actualidad. Gran Bretaña tuvo influencia en los mercados del mundo entero, su flota naval, y estaba en el centro de un sistema mundial que se extrae la riqueza del mundo, luego el tercero y se lo trajo a la isla su hogar. Sin embargo, hubo un problema de elaboración de la cerveza en Gran Bretaña como la década de 1920 comenzó. El Reino Unido se fue extendiendo demasiado en casi cada turno. Llevaban una enorme deuda que en el pasado nunca fue un problema.

En el pasado, Gran Bretaña sólo tenía que tirar de las naciones del mundo más terceros bajo su "protección" y que podrían extraer más riqueza para mantener su deuda bajo control. El juego que estaban jugando empezó a terminar en la década de 1920 como la gente empezó a cuestionar el sistema libra esterlina británica que estaba en el corazón del comercio internacional durante ese tiempo.

Una vez más, voy a saltar un poco de historia muy importante aquí para mantener la historia en movimiento. Sólo entiende que es el colapso del sistema Libra esterlina, lo que condujo directamente a la Gran Depresión y en última instancia, la Primera Guerra Mundial 2.

En el decenio de 1930 casi toda Europa se vio envuelto en una depresión masiva y hacia el final de la década, la guerra abierta. En los Estados Unidos, la década de 1930 vio a una depresión económica masiva de la talla de los que nuestro país nunca había visto. Nuestras lecciones de la historia del estado que Roosevelt salvó al país a través de sus programas milagrosos en el gasto público y su intervención non-stop en la economía de EE.UU.. La realidad era (como ahora) que casi todos los programas iniciados en la década de 1930 fracasó estrepitosamente. No fue hasta el 07 de diciembre 1941 que las cosas empezaron a cambiar para los Estados Unidos.

Volveré a este período de tiempo durante otra lección, ya que es merecedor de artículos probablemente varios. Sé que Franklin Delano Roosevelt es considerado por muchos como una figura más allá del reproche. Y en algunos niveles que estaba. Yo no quiero ir en detrimento de la lección aquí por empantanarse con los debates en torno a Franklin Delano Roosevelt, la depresión y la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Vamos a parpadear adelante hacia el final de la guerra y 1944. Se hace evidente a los vencedores finales de la guerra (Francia, EE.UU. e Inglaterra) que si no se hace nada para evitarlo, y otra la depresión va a agarrar a medida que millones de hombres regresar a sus hogares a las fábricas que ya no son productores de tanques y aviones . Los aliados victoriosos en última instancia, se reunieron en un lugar llamado Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, donde se forjó el marco de un sistema monetario internacional para reemplazar el sistema fallido Inglés.

Desde que Estados Unidos era la economía más grande en este momento y tenía una base económica fuerte y profunda, se decidió que el dólar de EE.UU. podría actuar como moneda de reserva del mundo. Esto es más que importante a entender, ya que es este hecho crucial en que se basa toda nuestra existencia a este día.

¿Qué es una moneda de reserva?



Para poner esto en términos más fáciles de entender, vamos a utilizar tarjetas de comercio como un ejemplo. Digamos que tenemos a 10 personas diferentes que desean para el comercio. Tiene Pro Bowling cromos Tour, uno de los otros chicos tiene Pro cromos golfista y otro tipo tiene Pro cromos de hockey. Ahora nada en contra de las personas que comercian con este tipo de tarjetas, pero no son las cartas coleccionables más populares del mundo. Yo, en cambio otros tienen tarjetas de béisbol! Todo el mundo en el planeta si realmente gusta el béisbol o no, entender el valor de las tarjetas de béisbol de valor. Así que en este mundo en el que decide que mis tarjetas de béisbol será en el centro de nuestro sistema de comercio.

Todo es "denominado" (es decir, el precio se fija en esta moneda) en tarjetas de Bob COMERCIO DE BÉISBOL. Así que si usted quiere comprar gasolina para su coche, sus Pro Bowling cromos turísticos no son buenos. Usted tiene que cambiar por cromos de Bob en primer lugar. Con Bob cartas en la mano, entonces usted puede ir y comprar su gasolina.

El tipo de venta de la gasolina continuación, puede utilizar las tarjetas para comprar otras cosas, como tarjetas de béisbol de Bob son muy valiosos. O se puede simplemente sentarse en ellos y espero que seguir ganando en valor, lo que hacen desde hace décadas.

Así que sobre esto de nuevo al mundo real, ¿qué significa esto? Bueno, después de 1945 y el final de la guerra, los vencedores decide colocar el dólar de EE.UU. como moneda de reserva del mundo. Esto significa que todos los productos básicos como el petróleo y el trigo y la gasolina y el oro y la plata y todo lo demás se expresan principalmente en dólares estadounidenses.

Así que si usted es un país sin petróleo o gasolina, y usted está en necesidad de estas cosas, usted debe negociar. Llegados a este punto en el tiempo, los Estados Unidos fue de lejos el mayor productor de petróleo en el planeta. Los EE.UU. controla el precio internacional del petróleo. Sin importar si usted compró el aceite de los EE.UU. o el productor de petróleo en ciernes en el Oriente Medio, que ha adquirido de que el petróleo en dólares americanos. Así que si usted es francés y que está comprando petróleo de Arabia Saudita, la transacción debe hacerse en dólares estadounidenses. Esto significa que debes cambiar de francos (unidad monetaria de Francia ante el euro) de dólares estadounidenses.

Había mucho que entró en la determinación del valor relativo de una unidad monetaria los países y no voy a aburrir con los detalles de hoy. Baste decir que había un mercado que determina lo que vale la pena el Franco fue, en comparación con el dólar de EE.UU.. Así como una empresa francesa en la necesidad de petróleo, que intercambiaron francos para el USD (dólares estadounidenses) y ha adquirido su petróleo de Arabia Saudita. Ahora Arabia Saudita está sentado sobre un montón de dólares y que tienen necesidades muy pequeños, ya que somos un país un tanto simple. Tienen dos opciones. Ellos pueden gastar en lujosos palacios o la construcción de un militar o se puede guardar para un día lluvioso. Arabia Saudita, en esos días hicieron ambas cosas. Se compró equipo militar de EE.UU. para protegerse de sus vecinos y enviado de vuelta al dólar de los Estados Unidos y compraron bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos.

De cualquier manera, ese dinero terminó de vuelta en los Estados Unidos. El primer método ayudó a apuntalar a los traficantes de armas y los fabricantes en los Estados Unidos y cientos de miles de empleados de American en bien remunerados puestos de trabajo de contratos militares. El segundo método ayudó a Estados Unidos asumir una carga de la deuda casi permanente. Recuerde que los bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos no son más que la deuda de EE.UU. que se vende en el mercado. Los titulares de los bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos se les promete un modesto retorno de su dinero durante un período de años 1,3,5, 10 o 30. Los EE.UU. requebraja de hasta 1 mil millones de dólares en deuda y vende bonos del Tesoro en el mercado para ayudar a cubrir esa deuda. Sólo tiene que pago cuando el Tesoro madura. Arabia Saudita era conocido para comprar la deuda a largo plazo de EE.UU. en el rango de 30 años.

Esto significa que siempre que tenía confianza en la economía de EE.UU., que seguirá haciendo más dinero cuanto más tiempo mantenga su dinero en bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos. Y este fue el mismo para cualquier otra persona que celebró dólares estadounidenses. Recuerda que desde 1946 hasta finales de 1960, los Estados Unidos fue de lejos el mayor exportador de todo, desde automóviles y televisores, a los productos de granos y el petróleo.

Durante este periodo de tiempo, que era un beneficio neto de tener dólares estadounidenses en forma de bonos del Tesoro, ya que nuestra moneda era de lejos el más estable y pagado los mejores rendimientos. Y nuestras necesidades se convirtió en insaciable como la Guerra Fría batido una y otra vez. Desde el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, que tuvo el conflicto de Corea y la Guerra de Vietnam, que eran enorme déficit creación de eventos, pero también tuvimos innumerables conflictos más pequeños y las operaciones encubiertas que cuestan decenas de Estados Unidos miles de millones de dólares. TODO ESTO fue financiado por el sistema de reciclaje EE.UU. DÓLAR.

Podríamos incurrir en déficits enormes, ya que nuestra moneda se puede crear a voluntad mediante la creación de la deuda en forma de bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos. Estos tesoros fueron por lo general en la demanda como el dólar estadounidense se apilan en los bancos extranjeros, con nada más que hacer con ellos. Si ellos no estaban comprando bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos, que estaban comprando el hardware militar de EE.UU. o el número cada vez mayor de bienes de consumo como refrigeradores y lavadoras. El mundo entero la banca occidental (y todos sus subordinados en todo el mundo) se centró en la creación de deuda de EE.UU.. Es la lubricación que mantiene el consumo de rodadura y sigue.

Este sistema funcionó de maravilla a lo largo de las décadas de los años 1950 y 1960. No fue sino hasta la última parte de los años 60 y principios de los 70 que las grietas comenzaron a aparecer en la superficie de este "maravilloso" sistema. Al igual que el sistema de Inglés en la década de 1920, la gente comenzó a cuestionar la carga de la deuda de los Estados Unidos y la disminución de la destreza de nuestra base manufacturera. Fue en este momento que los EE.UU. también dejó de ser un exportador neto de petróleo.

La combinación de estos dos eventos (EE.UU. convertirse en una nación acreedora importar más de lo que exporta, y el hecho de que consumimos más petróleo del que produce) que llevó a un colapso del sistema de Bretton Woods en 1971. Fue provocada por Francia, y su renuencia a comprar bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos con sus repuestos dólares estadounidenses. Por el contrario, exigió el equivalente de oro de los dólares estadounidenses. Esto habría sido catastrófico si se hubiera permitido que ocurra. Debido a que no había forma dólares americanos demasiados a cabo en el sistema para ser todo lo convierte en oro. Y se temía que si Francia se le permitió cobrar de USD para el oro, que habría una avalancha de otros países hagan lo mismo.

En reacción a este pánico, el presidente Nixon cerró la ventana del oro llamada, lo que significa que los EE.UU. ya no es convertir a dólares por el oro en los mercados internacionales. Esto llevó a una crisis financiera que muchos temían que la cabeza del mundo en 1929 y la depresión en todo el mundo. Los líderes del mundo financiero se reunieron de nuevo en Bretton Woods, NH y elaboraron un nuevo acuerdo.

Este acuerdo es el que ha llevado a los Estados Unidos de algas de hasta un asombroso 16 billón de dólares de la deuda nacional (cerca de 70000 mil millones si se cuentan los pasivos no financiados, como el Seguro Social y las guerras sin fondos). Este acuerdo se denomina Los Acuerdos de Bretton Woods y se firmó el de casi todos los grandes (y pequeños) potencias económicas del mundo.

Es un sistema que ya no se basa en el oro como soporte para monedas internacionales. Es estrictamente un sistema de trabajo que enfrenta a una divisa contra otra, sobre la base de valor relativo según lo determinado por los mercados abiertos.

Pero hay algo que el mundo se olvidó. O, más probable es que no podía encontrar la manera de librarse de el agujero que se encontraban in Se olvidaron de que el dólar de EE.UU. sigue siendo denominados cada cosa de la pena en el planeta. El más grande de lo que era (y sigue siendo) de petróleo. En la década de 1970 fue la OPEP, que fue la determinación de los precios del petróleo en todo el mundo, y los Estados Unidos tuvo que llegar a una forma de mantener a estos pequeños países ricos en petróleo se hunda a los EE.UU. a otra Gran Depresión.

La respuesta fue RECICLAJE DE PETRO DÓLAR. Este es un término que yo estoy seguro que todos ustedes han oído hablar, pero tal vez no aprecian lo que significa. Si usted está familiarizado con el trabajo del Sr. Ruppert sobre estupefacientes, estoy seguro de que han oído el término de reciclaje Narco Dólar. Es el mismo concepto. A partir de mediados a finales de 1970 es los Estados Unidos hicieron acuerdos difíciles con Arabia Saudí y en esencia de acuerdo en que un ataque sobre el Oriente Medio era lo mismo que un ataque a los propios Estados Unidos. Conocido en última instancia, como la Doctrina Carter (anunciado oficialmente en 1980), se entendió que cualquier país que metido con Arabia Saudita o en cualquiera de los otros productores de petróleo importantes en el Golfo, se corría el riesgo de estar en el extremo receptor de los Estados Unidos el poderío militar.

A día de hoy, es lo que mantiene el acuerdo de Bretton Woods en el afecto. Desde la década de 1970 hasta el día de hoy, toda nuestra existencia está determinada por este acuerdo. Lo que esto significa partir de ese día, DÉFICIT EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS NO IMPORTA.

Le tomó casi la mitad de una década para que este acuerdo propio cemento y para las economías del mundo para comenzar a estabilizarse y, al final, tuvo la genialidad económica (la locura) de un grupo de hombres que rodeaba a un nuevo presidente en 1981 para aprovechar al máximo el poder del mundo se había dado a los Estados Unidos. Llegó a ser conocido como "la mañana en los Estados Unidos" o "economía vudú". Se dio cuenta por los responsables en los Estados Unidos que tenían las riendas de un dinero que nunca terminó de impresión de la máquina que, literalmente, podría continuar para siempre.

Si nos fijamos en cada carta única en relación con la deuda y el gasto en los Estados Unidos, que se vería una aceleración constante e interminable de la deuda y el gasto a partir de finales de 1970 y continúa hasta el momento en que escribió esta frase. El mundo dio a Estados Unidos carta blanca para gastar a su antojo ... ¿POR QUÉ? Porque no hay otra opción.

Si usted es Grecia y desea comprar petróleo de Kuwait, que aún debe hacerlo en dólares estadounidenses. Usted debe cambiar euros por dólares de Estados Unidos en primer lugar, comprar el petróleo de Kuwait y Kuwait tiene más o menos una de las dos opciones sobre qué hacer con esos dólares. O bien comprar hardware militar de EE.UU., o que compran los bonos del Tesoro de Estados Unidos.

Por lo tanto el apetito insaciable de petróleo en todo el mundo sólo fortalece los Estados Unidos con cada nueva transacción. Nos permite pasar más de un billón de dólares más que tomamos en cada año. Las cantidades son absolutamente irrelevantes sin embargo. Podríamos mover la barra a dos billones y el sistema todavía podría mantener el bombeo de distancia.

¿POR QUÉ? Debido a que en su corazón es la fuerza militar. Es por eso que invadió Irak después de 9/11, es por eso que amenazan con invadir a Irán. Es por eso que Islandia fue sancionado por dar la espalda en el sistema hace varios años, y es por eso que Grecia se ve obligada a comer austeridad en vez de hacer lo que está en su mejor interés y lanzar el euro por la borda y eludir su "responsabilidad".

Sin el mundo acepta dólares americanos como intermediario para el pago en el sistema económico mundial, los EE.UU. y por poder todo el mundo conectados EE.UU. caería en una depresión global completa y devastadora de la talla de los cuales nunca se han visto.

Esa es la apuesta que están jugando en contra y es por eso que está aquí. Es por eso que debe ser religiosamente trabajando para encontrar soluciones locales a los problemas que enfrentan usted y su comunidad. Porque al igual que el sistema británico de la década de 1920, el Sistema de EE.UU. va a fallar y cuando lo hace, hará que la Gran Depresión mirar manso. Y el desafortunado final para la mayoría de los sistemas monetarios globales es la guerra y la hambruna.

Si nos fijamos en la historia a través de la lente de la economía y los sistemas monetarios, verá que lo que estamos viviendo en estos momentos ha sucedido en innumerables ocasiones. Pero nunca en la escala mundial, estamos en peligro de ahora. Casi a la una, no es una guerra que se reúne al final de la desaparición de cualquier sistema monetario global o regional.

Se puede volver a ocurrir. Sólo que está en juego son mucho más altos ahora que incluso durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Ojalá esta lección podría terminar con una nota más feliz, pero la realidad es la realidad. Por otra parte, haciendo caso omiso de la historia puede ser fatal para la familia y los amigos (y de uno mismo), la mejor manera de comprender los desafíos y los peligros y seguir adelante con un plan que puede aislarse de lo peor de lo que puede venir a nuestra manera.

Perdón por la longitud de este post y si usted ha llegado hasta aquí, por favor, mándenme una nota de abajo y dime lo que piensas. Esta información me ayudará a construir mejores lecciones en el futuro.

The original article appeared in English on Collapsenet.

Barclays on the Edge of Collapsing?

As you read this, remember that Lehman Brothers failed in 2008 because they were unable to get short term financing in the repo market.  This is where the banks borrow money every 24 hours to go gambling.  They are not only vampire squids, they gambling addicts.  We should define Harmful Gambling and make it punishable by life in prison.

So if they weren't on the verge of collapsing, then they were just being corrupt.  Thieves.  Swindlers.  Vampires sucking the life out of economies.


BREAKING: Barclays Revealed Libor Scandal Four Years Ago

How's this for prescient?
Check out the first couple of paragraphs of a Bloomberg News article from May 29, 2008, underthe headline, "Libor Banks Misstated Rates, Bond at Barclays Says." (Yes, the article ran more than four years before Barclays's $453 million settlement last month with U.S. and U.K. authorities for manipulating Libor.) The story begins:

About Jonathan Weil

Jonathan Weil joined Bloomberg News as a columnist in 2007, and his columns on finance and accounting won Best in the Business awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2009 and 2010.
More about Jonathan Weil
Banks routinely misstated borrowing costs to the British Bankers' Association to avoid the perception they faced difficulty raising funds as credit markets seized up, said Tim Bond, a strategist at Barclays Capital.
"The rates the banks were posting to the BBA became a little bit divorced from reality," Bond, head of asset-allocation research in London, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "We had one week in September where our treasurer, who takes his responsibilities pretty seriously, said: 'right, I've had enough of this, I'm going to quote the right rates.' All we got for our pains was a series of media articles saying that we were having difficulty financing."

Developing Economies Fight Anglo Inflation

Every time the US or EU or Chinese or UK central bank reduces the interest rate, they are purportedly trying to stimulate the economy.  Instead they are giving nearly interest free loans to banks so they can stay afloat.  Meanwhile those banks are NOT lending that money back out to consumers and businesses.  They are counting it as deposits which improves their reserve ratios, AND they are betting on every kind of security, asset, and gambling opportunity they can find, in order to maintain the appearance of legitimate enterprise and capitalism.

Here is an example of Brazil fighting inflation June 8, 2011:


Policymakers voted unanimously to raise the so-called Selic rate to 12.25 percent from 12 percent, a move all 21 economists in a Reuters survey expected.
In a statement that was nearly identical to that of its April rate hike, the bank said it had weighed risks to inflation and the still uncertain signs as to what extent Brazil's economic boom is slowing.
The bank said that, as a result, it believed that the "most adequate strategy" to bring inflation back down to the center of its target range next year was tight monetary policy "for a sufficiently prolonged period."
Keeping that phrase "makes it understood that the central bank is really going after the inflation target, at least in 2012, and that we can expect another rate hike in July," said Clodoir Vieira, the chief economist at the Souza Barros brokerage.
While monthly inflation is slowing after a surge on higher commodity prices and strong demand, 12-month inflation remains above the upper limit of the government's target, reaching 6.55 percent in May.
Central Bank President Alexandre Tombini has said the bank's policymakers are committed to ending the year with inflation as close as possible to the government target of 4.5 percent, plus or minus two percentage points.
Strong inflation puts Brazil among a group of powerhouse emerging markets, such as China and India, that are raising interest rates to try to control the price pressures that come with brisk growth.
In contrast, many developed markets, including the United States, find themselves trying to boost anemic growth by keeping interest rates ultra-low.


Federal Government Stimulates the Boom Bust Cycle

See how this boom and bust cycle chart shows the intensity of the boom and bust?




You've Seen It Before, And Here It Is Again: "The Chart That Tears Apart The Stimulus Package"

Tyler Durden's picture




Over a year ago we penned "QE 2 Was A Disaster: Here Is Why US Fiscal "Stimulus" Was  A Complete Failure As Well", because, well, QE2 was a disaster, which is important to remember as we are about to set off on the NEW QE as per Hilsenrath, because apparently creating 80,000 jobs per month (with the S&P a whopping 5% off multi-year highs) "Leaves Door For Fed Wide Open" even though the Fed has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt it is incapable of creating jobs and at best can ramp the Russell 2000 for a few months. But more importantly, a year later it is obvious that the ARRA just kept on being wronger and wronger with each passing month, until we get to today. We will spare readers our conclusion about ARRA architect Christina Romer's (long gone from the administration for obvious reasons) predictive powers, suffice it to say they are on par with those of the Fed itself. Simon Black, using AEI data, reminds us how the ARRA chart looks, one year later.
The graph that tears appart the stimulus package
After Obama was elected, one of his first initiatives was to enact a massive stimulus package in order to reduce the rising unemployment after the housing collapse and bailout all the failing banks. When promoting his plan, the President offered many promises about the success of his idea but very few have so far come to fruition. Below is a graph that was supposed to estimate the effects of the stimulus, however as you can see, it far from achieved the President’s goals.
AEI reports on the ineffectiveness of the program:

 The graph that tears appart the stimulus package

This was not the employment report either the American worker or the Obama campaign wanted to see right now. The Labor Department said the U.S. economy created just 80,000 jobs in June, less than the 90,000 economists had been forecasting. And private-sector job growth was just 84,000, down sharply from 105,000 in May. Not doing fine.

The unemployment rate stayed at a lofty 8.2%.

This continues to be the longest streak — 41 months — of unemployment of 8% or higher since the Great Depression. And recall that back in 2009, Team Obama predicted that if Congress passed its $800 billion stimulus plan, the unemployment rate would be around 5.6% today.

– If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7% then vs. 63.8% today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 10.9%. Even if you take into account that the LFP should be declining as America ages,theunemployment rate would be 10.5%.

– The broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes “all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons,”  is 14.9%, up a bit from May.

– The average duration of unemployment ticked up to 39.9 weeks.






Denmark - Engaged in the Global Currency War

Recently several banks around the world are fighting inflation in their own country caused by money printing by the Anglo Central Banks.


Danish central bank cuts deposit rates to below zero for first time in history
Andrew Moran, International Politics Examiner 
Copenhagen - The certificate of deposit rate was cut by a quarter by the Danish central bank that will now yield negative 0.2 percent. The central bank argues that the Danish economy is quite strong and investors are willing to pay the Danish government one-fifth of a percentage point for the nation to hold their money.
Furthermore, the central bank also slashed its lending rate from 0.45 percent to 0.20 percent. The policy still maintains a charge on its loans, but the number is substantially low.


Yes, you read that correctly - negative interest rates (also referred to as Negtative Interest Rate Policy {#NIRP}.  The government of Denmark is paying people to take their bonds to keep their economy going.



Thursday, July 5, 2012

Anglo Central Banks Creating Inflation in a Global Currency War

For those of you familiar with the New World Order, read the post below.  If you are not familiar with the concept, start doing your research.  It will take you a while to put the pieces together.  Start with George Bush Sr's NWO speech on YouTube and then watch "The Invisible Empire".  

The New World Order has many different facets.  This particular post will look at the coordinated global central banks moves to "save the economy".  What the central banks really do is print money, lend it to their cartel buddies, and suck the life out of economies, like a vampire squid sucking the tit of the earth.

The following post came in on Mike Shedlock's global financial analysis blog.


Global Uncoordinated Panic; ECB Cuts Rates to Record Low, Deposit Rate to Zero; Bond Market Response Was "Not Enough"; Words "Heightened Uncertainty" Explained

Global Uncoordinated Panic
In a 45-Minute Salvo today, the ECB cuts rates to a record low 0.75 percent and reduced the deposit rate to zero. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China cut their benchmark borrowing costs (the second time in a month), and the Bank of England raised the size of its asset-purchase program.
Also note the central banks of Australia, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Israel cut rates in June, while the Swiss National Bank is buying euros to defend its franc ceiling.
ECB president Mario Draghi said these events were not global coordinated easing.
I am willing to take him for his word. Thus, it's safe to assume that what has transpired was more akin to global uncoordinated panic.

Fed Uncertainty Principle
Now would be a good time to review the Fed Uncertainty Principle, especially corollaries one and two. 
Corollary Number One:The Fed has no idea where interest rates should be. Only a free market does. The Fed will be disingenuous about what it knows (nothing of use) and doesn't know (much more than it wants to admit), particularly in times of economic stress.

Corollary Number Two:The government/quasi-government body most responsible for creating this mess (the Fed), will attempt a big power grab, purportedly to fix whatever problems it creates. The bigger the mess it creates, the more power it will attempt to grab. Over time this leads to dangerously concentrated power into the hands of those who have already proven they do not know what they are doing.
What I said about the Fed apples to central banks in general.

So this particular post from Mish talks about the ECB, the Federal Reserve, and a few other market where central banks turned on the spicket.  Before you go any further, you should recognize that outside of the EU, the UK, and USA, most central banks are increasing interest rates to tame inflation.  That inflation is created by the Anglo Central Banks (EU, UK, ECB) lending more money into the system.  It is quite confusing and will take several months of serious effort to understand.  For the purposes of this article, just understand that most central banks around the world are RESPONDING to  a currency war that has been CREATED by the Anglo Central Banks.  It is also important to note that the Anglo Central Banks are owned by mostly the same people or institutions, and have been for generations.  Yes, I am talking about oligarchs, aristocrats, the 1%, the mega wealthy and elite that control 80% or more of the resources and wealth on this planet.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Geopolitix - Connecting Some Dots

Ok, this has got to be at least a little eye opening for at least a few zombie weenies that still think Obama is a great guy and that the Federal Reserve bank is here to help you.

This week may very well go down as ‘connect the dots’ week. Submitted to Zerohedge.com by Simon Black of Sovereign Man Blog,

Things have been moving so quickly, so let’s step back briefly and review the big picture from the week’s events:

1) After weeks… months… even years of posturing and denial, Spain and Cyprus became the fourth and fifth countries to formally request aid from Europe’s bailout funds on Monday.

In doing so, these governments have officially confessed to their own insolvency and the insolvency of their respective banking systems.

Meanwhile, Slovenia’s prime minister said that his country may soon ask for a bailout. (Humorously, Slovenia’s Finance Minister denied any such plans.)

Spain’s 10-year bond yield jumped to over 7% again in response, and many Spanish banks were downgraded to junk status by Moodys.

2) Over in the US, the city of Stockton, California filed for bankruptcy this week… the largest so far, but certainly a mere drop in the proverbial bucket.

3) JP Morgan, considered to be among the few ‘good’ banks remaining in the US, conceded that the $2 billion loss they announced several weeks ago might actually be more like $9 billion.

4) The Federal Reserve reported yesterday that foreigners are reducing their holdings of US Treasuries.

5) Countries from Ukraine to Kazakstan to Turkey announced that they have purchased gold in recent months to bolster their growing reserves.

6) Chile has joined a growing list of countries that has agreed to bypass the US dollar and settle all of its trade with China in renminbi.

7) China has further announced plans to create a special zone in Shenzhen, one of its wealthiest cities, to allow full exchange and convertibility of the renminbi.

8) World banking regulators from the Bank of International Settlements to the FDIC are proposing that gold bullion be treated as a risk-free cash equivalent by commercial banks.

My additions:


Brent Futures Spiked to Settle Near $98 on EU Deal, Published: Friday, 29 Jun 2012 on Reuters

"Brent crude futures jumped more than 7 percent on Friday, the biggest one-day percentage gain since April 2, 2009, after European leaders acted to aid troubled euro zone banks and preserve the single currency."

And yet, on the same day we learn:


Iran Oil Embargo Goes Into Effect: Crude Up 8% on Zerohedge on 06/29/2012 

Following a 3-sigma fall yesterday, WTI crude has rebounded exuberantly amid the European ecstacy and the Iran Oil Embargo. Up almost 9% from late yesterday's lows (a 6-sigma jump), it appears yet another squeeze is in play (perhaps from demand-pull on the back of Hillary's unyielding national policy - oh yeah apart from China and Singapore). While the WSJ notes: "There's no material price premium from the Iran issue", it seems the potential for an epic short-squeeze - as Iran's largest importer of Oil (cough China cough) is now exempt (and continuing to hoard) leaving refiners potentially tight on supply - as macro tail-risk is seemingly removed from the downside by the 'nothing' summit we just experienced.



Previously we learned


SocGen Lays It Out: "EU Iran Embargo: Brent $125-150. Straits Of Hormuz Shut: $150-200"

Previously we heard Pimco's thoughts on the matter of an Iranian escalation with "Pimco's 4 "Iran Invasion" Oil Price Scenarios: From $140 To "Doomsday"", now it is the turn of SocGen's Michael Wittner to take a more nuanced approach adapting to the times, with an analysis of what happens under two scenarios - 1) a full blown EU embargo (which contrary to what some may think is coming far sooner than generally expected), and the logical aftermath: 2) a complete closure of the Straits. The forecast is as follows: 1) "Scenario 1: EU enacts a full ban on 0.6 Mb/d of imports of Iranian crude. In this scenario, we would expect Brent crude prices to surge into the $125-150 range." 2) "Scenario 2: Iran shuts down the Straits of Hormuz, disrupting 15 Mb/d of crude flows. In this scenario, we would expect Brent prices to spike into the $150-200 range for a limited time period." The consequences of even just scenario 1 is rather dramatic: while the adverse impact on the US economy will be substantial, it would be the debt-funded wealth transfer out of Europe into Saudi Arabia that would be the most notable aftermath. And if there is one thing an already austere Europe will be crippled by, is the price of a gallon of gas entering the double digits. And then there are the considerations of who benefits from an Iranian supply deterioration: because Europe's loss is someone else's gain. And with 1.5 million of the 2.4 Mb/d in output already going to Asia (China, India, Japan and South Korea) it is pretty clear that China will be more than glad to take away all the production that Europe decides it does not need (which would amount to just 0.8 Mb/d anyway).

Just 9 days ago we learned that the Fed was going to print again:


Fed Expands Operation Twist By $267 Billion Through 2012 on Bloomberg - Jun 20, 2012



The Federal Reserve will expand its Operation Twist program to extend the maturities of assets on its balance sheet and said it stands ready to take further action to put unemployed Americans back to work.
 
Policy makers led by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke are taking steps to shore up the world’s largest economy as faltering growth leaves it vulnerable to fallout from the European debt crisis and looming fiscal tightening in the U.S. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, at a Joint Economic Committee hearing in Washington. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The central bank will prolong the program through the end of the year, selling $267 billion of shorter-term securities and buying the same amount of longer-term debt in a bid to reduce borrowing costs and spur the economy.



So, in summary, what we can see from the last 2 week’s events is:

  • Tightening Oil Supply increases prices and negatively affects already stretched economies
  • European governments are insolvent
  • European banks are insolvent
  • US governments are heading in that direction
  • Even the best US banks are not as strong as believed
  • Foreigners are abandoning the US dollar and seeking alternatives
  • Gold is money

These events are all connected, and the trend is becoming so clear that even the most casual observers are starting to wake up.

When you connect the dots, the next steps lead to what may soon be regarded as an obvious conclusion: the system, as it exists right now, is crumbling.

No amount of self-delusion can make this go away.

Rational thinking and measured action, on the other hand, can make the consequences go away… turning people from victims into spectators of the greatest bubble burst in modern times.