Eliminating Elites won’t eliminate our structural problems or the reduction in phantom wealth we’ve all been relying on. Many finance-oriented critiques start from the position that our problems largely stem from the financial/political dominance of Elitist cartels and cabals. Clearly, the malinvestment, exploitation, predation and disregard for the law that characterizes the rule of political-financial… Read More »
The Euro and stocks both gapped sharply up over the weekend on news that EU finance ministers are moving forward with a €100 billion Spanish bailout. A few thoughts on this move: Where is the money coming from? (most EU Governments are broke) What precedent is this setting? (Ireland is already clamoring for a rewrite… Read More »
I’ve warned time and again that the EU would collapse in May-June. That collapse is here right on schedule. And NO ONE will be able to stop it. Here’s why: 1) According to the IMF, European banks as a whole are leveraged at 26 to 1 (this data point is based on reported loans… the… Read More »
Watching pompous politicians, egotistical economists, arrogant investment geniuses, clueless media pundits, and self- proclaimed experts on the Great Depression predict an economic recovery and a return to normalcy would be amusing if it wasn’t so pathetic. Their lack of historical perspective does a huge disservice to the American people, as their failure to grasp the… Read More »
Students are starting to wake up to the perils of student loan debt. See more at CollegeHumor
Here’s a December 2011 snapshot from the inimitable Kyle Bass http://watch.bnn.ca/the-street/december-2011/the-street-december-13-2011/#clip584882 (sorry no embed for that one) Here’s another treat. Must watch for everyone who enjoys not being lied to. Unlike all other cheap talking heads, and know-nothing pundits who merely need a suit to make an appearance on one of the TV’s financial comedy… Read More »
We had a major development here in Europe today folks. Yields on the ten year Italian bond soared to over 7%. The 7% hurdle is considered critical because once Greece and Ireland went over 7%, they turned to the EU for a bail out. So the thinking now is that Italy needs a bail out… Read More »
While the world is awash in liquidity, no one seems to notice that it’s actually in the form of leverage or cheap debt, NOT real capital or equity. The US banking system as a whole is leveraged at 13-to-1. While this is not horrible relative to Europe’s banking system (more on this in a moment),… Read More »
The typical American household is insolvent: its debts exceed its assets. There is nothing fancy about calculating insolvency: if debts exceed assets, the enterprise is insolvent. By this measure, most American households are insolvent, if their real assets are marked to actual market. The typical American household is thus in service to its debt, not… Read More »