Pretense Of Knowledge

Warning: Trump’s Federal Reserve Pick Hates Gold and Cash

"Marvin Goodfriend thinks there should be a robust negative interest rate placed on cash. For example, if there was a -10% interest rate on cash, your $10 bill would actually be worth only $9. It is basically a penalty for using cash. The excuse is that this will stabilize the economy by keeping more capital in the banks. It means banks, and by extension, the Federal Reserve, have more control over your money. The gold standard, Goodfriend argues, was also an encumbrance on monetary policy, 'destabilizing' prices."

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With the stroke of a pen, 31 million more Americans have hypertension

"Tighter blood pressure guidelines from U.S. heart organizations mean millions more people need to make lifestyle changes, or start taking medication, in order to avoid cardiovascular problems. At the new cutoff, around 46 percent, or more than 103 million, of American adults are considered to have high blood pressure, compared with an estimated 72 million under the previous guidelines in place since 2003. Potentially deadly high blood pressure can be brought under control with a wide array of medications."

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Fed Official Decries Bitcoin as “Not Backed”

"With one unit of Bitcoin now worth 10,000 times the US dollar, it makes sense that the Fed would begin to feel a bit defensive. Indeed, the speech comes to the defense of the central bank, the existing money, and payment system networks, and calls for the pace of innovation to be controlled by regulators in the interest of 'prudence.'"

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Bitcoin should be ‘outlawed’, says Nobel prize-winning economist

"Joseph Stiglitz said that he favours making the digital currency illegal because it does not have a 'socially useful function'. 'Bitcoin is successful only because of its potential for circumvention, lack of oversight,' the renowned economist said."

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The Black Swan In Plain Sight—Debt Out The Wazoo

"Washington has suspended it way into a $5.7 trillion increase in the public debt in just six years since October 2011. That is, during a period which supposedly constitutes the third longest business expansion in US history. At the end of the day, you can't borrow your way to prosperity. That's the oldest rule in the book of sound money and sustainable finance. And it's about ready to be learned all over again."

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Survey: Investor Optimism Highest Since Crash of ’87

"The difference between bulls and bears hasn't been this high in 30 years, according to Investors Intelligence. The last time investor sentiment was this far apart, stocks rallied – until they didn’t. The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 22 percent on Oct. 19, 1987, the worst one-day selloff in history. Euphoria is a dangerous stage in the market cycle -- when investors feel invulnerable and start to overpay for stocks. They become complacent with the expectation that they can sell their stocks to a 'bigger sucker.'"

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