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David Graeber, DEBT: The First 5,000 Years [2012]

"Graeber carefully shows that everything from the ancient work of law and religion to human notions like 'guilt,' 'sin,' and 'redemption,' are deeply influenced by ancients debates about credit and debt. It is no accident that debt continues to fuel political debate, from the crippling debt crises that have gripped Greece and Ireland, to our own debate over whether to raise the debt ceiling. Debt, an incredibly captivating narrative spanning 5,000 years, puts these crises into their full context and illuminates one of the thorniest subjects in all of history." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Graeber, DEBT: The First 5,000 Years [2012]

Madness of a Stimulating Fed

"It would be nice to read a real evaluation of central banking in the modern mainstream press. But perhaps this is as close as we can expect to get. The author explains that low interest rates and money manipulation have given rise to wild economic swings and questions about the current monetary easing. In fact, he does more than question it. He actively questions the central bankers' mental health. Of course, the Fed will set off another destructive boom and bust cycle. In fact, it's already a given. The trouble with central banking is that it simply doesn't yield up rational conclusions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMadness of a Stimulating Fed

Bye-Bye, Bernanke… Hello Timmy?

"Paul Brodsky, a founder of QB Asset Management, with a decidedly different take. As some background, Paul's hypothesis – not unlike that of many Casey Researchers – is that governments will have no choice but to continuously accelerate money creation, which will lead to a reset of the global financial system sooner rather than later. Therefore the Fed doesn't need someone with sterling academic credentials as its next chairperson – it needs a diplomatic,'relationships' type to lead the US through the coming economic upheaval. And he believes that dark horse is Timothy Geithner." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBye-Bye, Bernanke… Hello Timmy?

Rental Investors Find Rich Pickings in Midwest, South

"Investors in single-family rental housing face the brightest prospects for steep returns in a string of cities in the Midwest and South, many of which were hit hard in the economic downturn, according to a study released Wednesday. Foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac ranked the 20 best markets in the country for landlords to buy single-family rental houses by calculating the annual return an investor could achieve from buying and renting out a typical three-bedroom house. Memphis, Tenn., Saginaw, Mich., Toledo, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Fla., were among those on the list." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRental Investors Find Rich Pickings in Midwest, South

Is the Fed Blowing a New Housing Bubble?

"Over the past year, the Federal Reserve has ramped up its policy of quantitative easing, with the result being new stock market highs and surging bond prices. Moreover, housing prices jumped 8%, the biggest annual gain since 2006. The result is that more than a trillion dollars have been added to the market value of single-family homes. Homeowners are now wealthier and according to what economists call the 'wealth effect,' they should be willing to spend more, helping the economy. But recent data released by FHFA suggest that the increase in house prices is not being driven by a broad-based improvement in the economy's fundamentals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs the Fed Blowing a New Housing Bubble?

Bubble, Bubble, Housing in Trouble

"It appears that the Fed’s zero-interest-rate and QE policies have finally achieved its insane goal of re-igniting a housing bubble. The Case-Schiller 20-City Index shows that housing prices increased by 1.2 percent in February and 9.3 percent year-over-year. All cities included in the index experienced substantial gains, which have been driven by staggeringly large increases in the bottom tier of the market. In Atlanta, bottom-tier home prices rose 36 percent year-over-year and at an annual rate of 70 percent in the past three months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBubble, Bubble, Housing in Trouble

Will Bitcoin Be Accepted by PayPal?

"EBay may open its wallet to the virtual currency Bitcoin. The e-commerce heavyweight is exploring ways to integrate bitcoins into its PayPal payments network, Chief Executive John Donahoe said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. 'It’s a new disruptive technology, so, yeah, we’re looking at Bitcoin closely,' Donahoe said. 'There may be ways to enable it inside PayPal.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Bitcoin Be Accepted by PayPal?

Fincen’s New Regulations Are Choking Bitcoin Entrepreneurs

"More than a decade ago, regulators nearly suffocated PayPal. Now it looks like they’re trying to squelch another disruptive, innovative payments system. At least three exchanges in the U.S. that traded the digital currency Bitcoin have shut down, apparently as a result of guidance issued last month by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. That agency has emerged as the top threat, at least in in the United States, to the decentralized Bitcoin network – moreso than the widely reported price volatility and hacker attacks. The fact that bitcoin survives at all with so many powerful forces lined up against it is a testament to its resiliency and tenacity." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFincen’s New Regulations Are Choking Bitcoin Entrepreneurs

Germany will think twice before saving France next time

"The Franco-German axis that has driven EU affairs ever since Schuman and Adenauer in the early 1950s is collapsing before our eyes. This was inevitable. Their interests have become incompatible under monetary union. The currency that was supposed to bind them is turning them into enemies, as this newspaper long warned. The latest argument gaining traction – advanced by Prof Bernd Lücke and the German eurosceptic party AfD among others – is that the only way to save the Franco-German relationship and therefore the EU is to break up the euro before it does more damage. Interesting twist." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany will think twice before saving France next time