Yearly Archives: 2013

Depreciating Dollar Not Good For People, But Good for ‘the Economy’?

"All the nations are inflating, so that their exporters will not suffer from an appreciating currency. Central bankers regard appreciating currency as a disaster. They are mercantilists. Yet we know that, as individuals, to hold on to an appreciating currency is a great thing. Why is it a great thing for individuals to hold an appreciating currency, yet it is also a good policy for a central bank to expand the money supply, so as to decrease the international value of the currency? There seems to be something wrong here. There seems to be cognitive dissonance." Continue reading →

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Hollande warns on euro strength, denounces markets for currencies

"Francois Hollande has issued a clear warning that the current strength of the euro could damage the fragile economic recovery in Europe, calling for international action to stem currency distortions. 'The euro should not fluctuate according to the mood of the markets,' the French president told the European parliament in Strasbourg. 'A monetary zone must have an exchange rate policy. If not, it will be subjected to an exchange rate that does not reflect the real state of the economy.'" Continue reading →

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The Fed’s Asset-Inflation Machine

"Winners on stocks or land holdings should happily accept their gains as the best to be expected in a very unsettled financial environment. But they should also remember the 2000s, when so many people thought their newfound riches were real and cashed them in for yet more debt, such as home-equity loans. They later had a rude awakening. The 'wealth illusion' of asset inflation is seductive, which is why central banks in charge of a fiat currency and subject to no external disciplines so often drift in that direction. Politicians smile in satisfaction and powerful Washington lobbies cry for more. But an economy built on an illusion is hardly a sound structure." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers: Short US Government Bonds ‘Right Now’

"With the Federal Reserve and now Bank of Japan printing massive amounts of money, billionaire investor Jim Rogers told CNBC's 'Closing Bell,' he is shorting U.S. government debt. 'It's all artificial what's going on right now,' Rogers said. 'The Federal Reserve is printing money as fast as they can. The Bank of Japan said 'we're going to print unlimited money.'' He called the Fed's monetary stimulus 'outrageous.' He also likes Russia for the first time in his career. Russia is changing but the market remains unloved. Rogers is buying the bonds, the currency and stocks." Continue reading →

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Why S&P is in the Crosshairs of the Department of Justice

"It was S&P that took the heat in August of 2011, being first to actually cut the nation's rating to AA+. At the time the Obama administration lashed out at S&P, launching an unprecedented attack, specifically accusing the agency of 'misleading calculations.' Some now speculate that the Obama administration is merely getting revenge on S&P's downgrade by taking legal action against the rating agency. But it is also plausible that the Obama administration made a shrewd political calculation in taking this action. The Obama Justice Department's suit puts Moody's and Fitch on notice that they had better behave." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers Joins Bill Gross Warning on Treasuries

"Investor Jim Rogers joined Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund, in warning that a rout that sent Treasuries to their biggest loss last month in almost a year probably isn’t over. 'I’m short long-term government bonds,' betting the securities will fall, Rogers, the author of the book 'Street Smarts,' said yesterday on Bloomberg Radio. 'I plan to short more. That bull market, that’s a bubble.' In an interview with Bloomberg News on Oct. 28, 2009, he said Treasuries are the 'next bubble in the making' when yields on the 10-year note were 3.42 percent." Continue reading →

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Fed Has Bought More U.S. Gov’t Debt This Year Than Treasury Has Issued

"So far this calendar year, the Federal Reserve has bought up more U.S. government debt than the U.S. Treasury has issued. By the close of business on Wednesday, Feb. 6, according to the U.S. Treasury, the total federal debt had climbed to $16.4799 trillion—an increase of $47.2 billon for the calendar year. At the close of business on Jan. 2, the Federal Reserve had owned $1.661 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities. By the close of business on Feb. 6, it owned $1.7172 trillion—an increase of $51.1 billion for the calendar year." Continue reading →

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Judge Napolitano on Obama’s Drone Strike Policy: ‘This Is the Power Claimed by Kings and Tyrants’

"'It says 'any informed high-level U.S. government official can strip an American of his or her constitutional protections and order the killing of that American if the person is overseas, if it's difficult to arrest that person,' said Napolitano, explaining that the memo does not clearly define what 'imminent danger' to the United States means. 'This is the power claimed by kings and tyrants. This is about as un-American a power as one could imagine,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano on Obama’s Drone Strike Policy: ‘This Is the Power Claimed by Kings and Tyrants’

Reality Check: President Obama’s Rules For Assassinating U.S. Citizens?

"It is a story that has made national headlines in the past twenty four hours but a story Reality Check has been telling you for nearly two years. NBC News obtained a copy of the Obama administration’s rules for assassinating U.S. citizens." Continue reading →

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Washington state prepares to take on TSA

"HB 1454, The Washington State Freedom Of Travel Act, uses clear and commonsense language to point out the illegal activities which the TSA is already carrying out on a regular basis and sets penalties for violations within the state. The bill goes on to mention the illegality of groping and removing children from parental custody without permission, important sections in light of the TSA's apparent policy of hiring criminals, including a former Catholic priest who was defrocked for sexually abusing young girls." Continue reading →

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