Bankocracy

Japanese Solution for Collapsing Portugal?

"The Portuguese population is getting older as it shrinks. The presumptive obligations of the Portuguese government to take care of its aging population will be increasingly tested within the current environment. Spain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal – gradually and in various ways the Southern half of Europe is collapsing into varying stages of violence and apathy. But if the Portuguese solution takes hold, then the damage that has been done in the past five years may extend a generation or more. Europe may gain a euro but it will lose decades of vitality and innovation as its younger generations emigrate to more hospitable regions." Continue reading →

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Kyle Bass Warns: “The ‘AIG’ Of The World Is Back”

"His single best investment idea for the next ten years is, 'Sell JPY, Buy Gold, and go to sleep,' as he warns of the current situation in markets, 'we are right back there! The brevity of financial memory is about two years.' The main thrust of the discussion is Bass' thesis on Japan's pending collapse - which we wrote in detail on here, here, and here - and while the details of this thesis should prepare most for the worst, it is the Q&A that provides some very clear insights into just what is going on in the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKyle Bass Warns: “The ‘AIG’ Of The World Is Back”

Thousands rally against the Troika in Brussels

"Around 1,500 protesters rallied at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, according to police on the scene. Although more were seen gathering close to the European Council Summit at the Place Shuman. There have reportedly been 25 arrests by police. The police banned protesters from marching past the banks and the seats of government in Brussels, to the dismay of many of the protesters. 100 of the protesters occupied the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels (DG ECFIN). The DG ECFIN provides most of the staff whose job it is to go to indebted European countries to impose austerity measures regardless of public opinion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands rally against the Troika in Brussels

Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Flees Currencies Tainted by Stimulus Addiction

"Norway’s $713 billion sovereign wealth fund is turning away from the world’s biggest currencies and their debt-laden governments as policy makers undermine their exchange rates through unprecedented stimulus measures. The Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest wealth fund, cut its holdings in French and U.K. government bonds by almost half last year as it raised its share of government bonds in emerging-market currencies to 10 percent of its fixed-income holdings by adding investments in Turkey, Russia and Taiwan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Flees Currencies Tainted by Stimulus Addiction

Made Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

"Needy families and individuals in the European Union are becoming increasingly reliant on charity organizations like the Red Cross for basic needs like food, water and shelter. Two-thirds of national Red Cross societies within the European Union have begun distributing food aid, according to the head of the aid groups' international organization -- a sign that the economic crisis in Europe is having an alarming effect on poverty. Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said on a visit to New Delhi on Monday that the scope of food distribution had not been at its current level since the end of World War II." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMade Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

Banks Saved, but Europe Risks ‘Losing a Generation’

"Europe has spent hundreds of billions of euros rescuing its banks but may have lost an entire generation of young people in the process, the president of the European Parliament said. But little has been done to tackle the devastating social impact of the crisis, with more than 26 million people unemployed across the EU, including one in every two young people in Greece, Spain and parts of Italy and Portugal. That crippling level of unemployment has led to protests and outbreaks of violence across southern Europe, raising the threat of full-scale social breakdown, including rising crime and anti-immigrant attacks that can further rattle unstable governments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanks Saved, but Europe Risks ‘Losing a Generation’

Fed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week

"Those who have been following our exclusive series of the Fed's direct bailout of European banks (here, here, here and here), and, indirectly of Europe, will not be surprised at all to learn that in the week ended February 27, or the week in which Europe went into a however brief tailspin following the shocking defeat of Bersani in the Italian elections, and an even more shocking victory by Berlusconi and Grillo, leading to a political vacuum and a hung parliament, the Fed injected a record $99 billion of excess reserves into foreign banks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week

Which Fed Members Move the Market?

"[The chart] shows the sum of the absolute value of the impact on the ten-year Treasury yield of each member's public speeches. Chairman Bernanke tops the list with a total impact of 18 basis points. President Lockhart came in second place with an impact of 17 basis points, and President Fisher was third with about 16 basis points." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhich Fed Members Move the Market?

Dimon’s Extra $1.4 Million Payout Hangs on Fed Decision

"JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon personally stands to miss out on about $1.39 million a year if the Federal Reserve decides last week’s stress-test results don’t justify a dividend increase. That’s how much extra income Dimon could get from his stake of about 6 million shares if his New York-based bank raises its payout as much as analysts predict. The sum dwarfs the combined $73,300 of new annual dividends at stake for his CEO peers at Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co., based on forecasts compiled by Bloomberg." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDimon’s Extra $1.4 Million Payout Hangs on Fed Decision

Japan To Hike Utility Prices By 14-19% As Inflation Surges In All The Wrong Places

"First it was gas prices, then it was food prices, and now it is the turn of basic utilities to see costs surge by double digits. 'Japanese utilities, forced to idle their nuclear power plants over the past two years and facing higher fuel costs due to a weak yen, are now looking to push through double-digit rate hikes for their commercial customers.' This means less disposable income, less corporate profits, less monetary velocity, less growth and ultimately less 'inflation' in other things such as the much desired stock market, which was supposed to be the wealth effect offset to all staples price increases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan To Hike Utility Prices By 14-19% As Inflation Surges In All The Wrong Places