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Bill Bonner: A Barbarous Fed…

"Barbaric people used force and violence to get what they wanted; civilized transactions are based on mutual consent and cooperation. We know that the economy of the Soviet Union, driven by brute force, was a disaster. How do you think the economy of the US – heavily persuaded by the padded force of the Yellen-led Fed – will fare? Is today’s Fed a modern, civilized institution? Or an archaic throw-back to the past? And what about the dollar itself? Is it a form of modern money… or a barbarous relic, depending on the police power of the state to give it value?" Continue reading →

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Cameron Announces U.K. Plans for Debut Issue of Islamic Gilts

"Prime Minister David Cameron said the U.K. plans to become the first country outside the Muslim world to sell a Shariah-compliant bond as soon as next year. Cameron laid out his government’s intentions in a speech to the World Islamic Economic Forum in London. The Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, would be valued at about 200 million pounds ($320 million). Cameron also said London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) is creating an Islamic market index. Islamic bonds are typically backed by assets or cash flow because of the religion’s ban on interest. About 60 percent of the world’s sukuk is issued from Malaysia, according to Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCameron Announces U.K. Plans for Debut Issue of Islamic Gilts

Carney Gets Ready to Blow Up the World

"This article is truly scary. Like a bullet across the bow, or the crack of a whip, it announces with certainty that the world's top bankers intend to blanket the world with faux currency. Carney was said by his central banking peers to be the 'best' central banker of his generation and his recent choice to head the Bank of England was therefore preordained. In fact, we figured that was a bit like being the 'best' used car salesman. But we were wrong. It's worse, much worse. What this article in the Financial Times tells us is that Carney was brought in not just to glad-hand the media and put a sympathetic face on this bloody and miserable facility, but his real brief is to use its powers to the utmost." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarney Gets Ready to Blow Up the World

Economy Coming in High and Hard

"We're not certain that this bull market – if they manage to ignite it, and it looks like they will – is going to act like a normal market from a historical perspective. We figure the elements are in place for them to boost averages powerfully but this is still a kind of pre-op coronary patient ... being kept alive by big infusions of adrenaline. The JOBS Act is in place and the product is in the pipeline. The small cap and IPO markets are primed. Fracking promises cheap and plentiful energy – that's what they say, anyway. Somebody's going to make an awful lot of money – and fast – if this market goes up as planned. But it could go down again fast and hard. Timing will be important." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEconomy Coming in High and Hard

Guy Who Predicted Lehman Brothers’ Fall Sees Big Trouble for China

"The next financial crisis will not come from the United States. All of my systemic risk indicators are clearly pointing at Asia. Asia is back where we were in 2007; they have a trillion dollars of toxic assets off the balance sheets -- hidden. If you look at interbank lending, we meticulously measure every day how much banks trust each other, and that is a phenomenal leading indicator. If you take summer 2011, the S&P dropped 20 percent in about 35-45 days. And sure enough, right before that, the interbank trust in Europe in May and June was completely breaking down because some banks in Europe, France and Germany own a lot of Greek bonds and the Greek bonds were in flames." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuy Who Predicted Lehman Brothers’ Fall Sees Big Trouble for China

A Confiscation Tax is Headed Your Way …

"Scariest of all in the IMF’s assessment is the phrase: 'If it is implemented before avoidance is possible.' The IMF reflexively recognizes that the medicine it prescribes will not go down without force, and that those of us who can will rapidly seek ways to keep the government’s greedy paws away from our personal wealth. To counter that, the IMF implicitly advocates a blitzkrieg approach to governmental thievery. Imagine waking up some random Monday to find that the federal government has imposed a week-long 'bank holiday' that limits your access to your own money to maybe $200 a day through an ATM, and that the government is imposing a new 'wealth tax'. Can’t happen here in America?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Confiscation Tax is Headed Your Way …

Bill Bonner: The Fed Was Right…

"Corporate earnings rose. But behind that story lurked another sordid tale. Since the March 2009 low, nearly two-thirds of the rise in operating earnings for S&P 500 companies has come from neither higher sales nor increased productivity. Instead, it has come from lower interest expenses on corporate debt. Corporate America is a debtor. It benefits from lower interest rates, while savers lose. Second, as the so-called “risk free” return on bonds falls, future earnings streams from stocks look more attractive on a relative basis. Third, by evaporating the yields off bonds, the Fed has forced investors to 'reach for yield' elsewhere. An obvious place to look is stocks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: The Fed Was Right…

What the Fed Can Learn From the McDonald’s Dollar Menu

"We live in parallel universes. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is said to have a healthy concern about deflation. McDonald’s franchisees, on the other hand, not so much. The chain of Golden Arches fame will give up its Dollar Menu after 11 years, renaming it 'The Dollar Menu & More' next month. It turns out you simply can’t make a buck selling burgers for a buck. It must be hard to give up on such an amazing marketing gimmick, generating one-seventh of all sales since its inception. If Ben Bernanke is paying attention, he is no doubt thrilled to hear about rising price pressures." Continue reading →

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No Dorothy, US Capital Controls Haven’t Been Imposed

"It's true that the US government could impose capital controls almost instantly. All it would take would be a flick of President Obama's pen. The bigger question is 'why?' Governments have imposed capital or "foreign exchange" controls for more than 2,000 years, starting with the ancient Greeks. The reason has always been the same—to maintain the value of a declining currency. On the other hand, if a country's currency is going up in value, or at least stable, there's no reason to restrict the flow of capital across borders. So will the USA impose capital controls? I think it's extremely unlikely—at least in the next few years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNo Dorothy, US Capital Controls Haven’t Been Imposed

Paul Craig Roberts: As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap

"Influenced by neoconservative warmongers who advocated America using its 'sole superpower' status to establish hegemony over the world, Washington let hubris and arrogance run away with it. The consequence was that Washington destroyed its soft power with lies and war crimes, only to find that its military power was insufficient to support its occupation of Iraq, its conquest of Afghanistan, and its financial imperialism. Now seen universally as a lawless warmonger and a nuisance, Washington’s soft power has been squandered. With its influence on the wane, Washington has become more of a bully. In response, the rest of the world is isolating Washington." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap