Economy

Oligarchy in the 21st Century … Get Used to It?

"Alan Greenspan no doubt would have answered in a way that allowed for multiple interpretations. But Yellen took the question with little equivocation. We can see that Yellen is being cautious, even as she is granting the possibility that the US is an oligarchy. Sanders has an agenda, but Yellen is certainly not about to discount it outright. That this question came up at all is the result of a Princeton study on the subject. A TalkingPoints post back in April reported on the study, which asks 'who really rules the US.' The study concludes that in the past few decades America's political system has evolved from democracy to oligarchy." Continue reading →

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Cyprus lifts almost all domestic capital controls

"Cyprus has reached another milestone in getting rid of capital controls it put in place after being bailed out last year, saying all domestic controls have been lifted except the opening of new bank accounts. The Finance Ministry said in a statement Friday that a prohibition on cashing checks as well as caps on domestic transactions and payments that don't require central bank vetting have now been removed. However, restrictions on unfettered money transfers abroad remain in place. Authorities said they hope to lift them by year's end. Authorities imposed restrictions to prevent a run after international creditors last year forced the seizure of uninsured deposits in its two largest lenders." Continue reading →

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DOJ’s ‘Operation Choke Point’ Closing Legal Websites’ Bank Accounts

"Under 'Operation Choke Point,' the DOJ and its allies are going after legal but subjectively undesirable business ventures by pressuring banks to terminate their bank accounts or refuse their business. The very premise is clearly chilling—the DOJ is coercing private businesses in an attempt to centrally engineer the American marketplace based on it's own politically biased moral judgements. Targeted business categories so far have included payday lenders, ammunition sales, dating services, purveyors of drug paraphernalia, and online gambling sites." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: What You NEED to Know about Wealth Inequality

"After the 1970s, real capital played a smaller and smaller role. It was replaced by credit and its sinister twin: debt. The r in Piketty’s now famous annotation r > g is supposed to represent the return on capital investment. But where did the wad come from? Savings rates went down. Real earnings went down. Growth rates went down. So how could there be more capital available and how could it produce higher rates of return (compared to economic growth)? The whole thing is a headache for a thoughtful man. Capital investments with no real capital behind them. Profits that outstrip the economic growth from which they must come. What to make of it?" Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Don’t Be Fooled By the Wealth Inequality Debate

"QE is supposed to be the weapon in the Fed’s fight against unemployment. The Fed is still buying $45 billion of bonds via QE every month… in addition to holding short-term interest rates to the floor. Where does that $45 billion go? The insurance companies and pension funds that sell bonds to the Fed use this newly created money to buy the real assets of America – houses, companies, commercial property, resources, farmland… everything. And that drives up the prices of everything for everyone else. The Fed says QE is meant to help create jobs… and 'stimulate' the economy. It does nothing of the sort. Instead, it lines the pockets of those at the top of the heap." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Don’t Be Fooled By the Wealth Inequality Debate

Fed Tapers Another $10 Billion, Expecting Rebound From Grim Q1

"The U.S. economy stalled out in Q1, as GDP rose at a 0.1% annual rate, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. But with other data showing rebounding growth in the spring, the Federal Reserve voted to taper its bond-buys by another $10 billion. The Fed's decision, widely expected, cited ongoing improvement in the economy. But as previously signaled, the central bank left interest rates untouched and pledged to keep policy easy as long as the economy remained shaky. Residential investment fell hard for a second straight quarter, and business fixed investment declined at a 5.5% rate. Both sectors were expected to help lead the economy in 2014." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Tapers Another $10 Billion, Expecting Rebound From Grim Q1

Five+ Years of Fed Futility Laid Bare for All to See

"It has been five-and-a-half years since Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other casualties of the credit crisis imploded! We’ve been subjected to more than a half-decade of the Fed’s supposedly useful and appropriate medicine … Unlimited money printing. Zero percent interest rates. Gargantuan bank bailouts. Deliberate attempts to inflate stock and house prices. And for what? More than $3 TRILLION in extra padding on the Fed balance sheet doesn’t look like it’s done much for the broad economy. GDP grew just 0.1 percent in the first quarter. Even that dismal reading was propped up by a massive surge of $43.3 billion in health care spending tied to the Obamacare rollout." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFive+ Years of Fed Futility Laid Bare for All to See

Retirement Myth Reveals the Possibility of Great Socioeconomic Change

"So now we know: Even a million dollars isn't enough to retire on. Sounds reasonable, given all the obstacles to retirement in the West and especially in the US. But there is a problem with this article that is much bigger than the retirement issues it explores. The problem is – and we can see from the article's feedback – that the readership is a good deal more sophisticated than the article itself. As we've often pointed out, when people cease to believe in the narrative provided to them by their own elites, then inevitably society begins to change in fundamental ways. As we can see, this article glosses over the REASONS for increasing retirement problems." Continue reading →

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Millennials Mired in Wealth Gap as Older Americans Recoup Wealth

"The damage inflicted on U.S. households by the collapse of the housing market and recession wasn’t evenly distributed. For households headed by someone 40 years old or younger, wealth adjusted for inflation remains 30 percent below 2007 levels on average. Net worth for older Americans has already recouped the losses. With fewer young people owning homes, not as many are benefiting from the rebound in home prices. What’s more, heads of households under age 40 aren’t benefiting as much from a boom in equity prices, which have hit record highs this year. About 27 percent of 18 to 29 year olds owned stocks as of April 2013, compared to 61 percent of 50 to 64 year olds." Continue reading →

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Loan Program For Investors With More Than 4 Properties Financed

"In 2009, Fannie Mae rolled back a mortgage rule that prevented real estate investors from financing more than 4 properties at once. At the time, investors were limited to 4 properties financed, which included their primary residence. Today, the maximum number of allowable, simultaneously financed properties is 10. You wouldn't know it, though -- few banks actually offer the program. This article describes how to get a mortgage if you have 5-to-10 homes in your portfolio. So, why don't all banks participate in the 5-10 Properties Financed program? The probable answer is that underwriting a 5-property-owning investor's mortgage application can be very hard work." Continue reading →

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