What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Bill Bonner: Fed’s QE has not created one single extra job

"Our central banks are engaged in a breathtaking program of activism. We don't know where it will lead. But, from the historical record, activism and central banking go no better together than drinking and driving. Keep it up long enough and you're bound to have an accident. But the accident hasn't happened yet. So most people have stopped worrying about it. They smell the liquor on the driver's breath. But they get on the bus anyway. The most reckless driving in central bank history...raising the footings of the US financial system by a factor of 5 times...from $800 billion to $4 trillion...and it has not resulted in one single extra job." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Fed’s QE has not created one single extra job

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?

Graham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), appearing Sunday on CBS’s 'Face the Nation,' said that he believes Americans would be made safer if Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agents would physically confront non-criminals over their web surfing activities, especially if that person is on a watch list and has been looking at 'Islamist' sites online. He added that if someone federal agencies had received tips about 'goes on the Internet for the whole world to see, to interact with radical Islamic websites, how do we miss that?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGraham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

Central Banks Load Up on Equities

"Central banks, guardians of the world’s $11 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, are buying stocks in record amounts as falling bond yields push even risk- averse investors toward equities. Managers of banks’ assets are looking for alternatives to holding government bonds after efforts to stimulate growth from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England helped send yields near to record lows. Central banks’ foreign- exchange holdings have increased by about $8.5 trillion globally in the past decade, exceeding levels needed for day-to-day currency administration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCentral Banks Load Up on Equities

Bill Bonner: Is the economy is weaker than we think?

"We don't like the looks of it. Advisors are too bullish. Investors are too complacent. The financial authorities are too confident. All up and down Wall Street, in central banks and in Washington, the stuff that goeth before the fall is thick, sticky, and stinky. The economy is recovering, they say. The Fed has the situation in hand, they add. Don't worry, we know what we're doing, they assure us. Barron's says the Dow is going to 16,000, illustrated with a picture of a bull on a pogo stick. Abe says he'll revive the Japanese economy with more money. And speculators take each hint from the Fed as though it were a whisper from God Himself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Is the economy is weaker than we think?

U.S. Government Preparing for Major Terrorism Exercises In Three Cities

"Beginning sometime between May 7 and May 29, local, state and top level federal authorities will respond to simulated weapons of mass destruction attacks in three cities — Denver, Portsmouth, N.H., and the Washington, D.C.-area. Volunteers and professional actors will play the roles of victims, who will be rescued, diagnosed, decontaminated and treated over the 10-day period. A 'virtual news network' will be created that will broadcast on the exercises every hour on the hour. This marks the first time that an exercise of this scope, with the participation of top-level federal, state and local officials, has ever been conducted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Government Preparing for Major Terrorism Exercises In Three Cities

Twitter flash crash: Fake White House bomb report causes stock market panic

"A tweet from The Associated Press Twitter account claiming the White House had been bombed caused investors to suddenly push the Dow down more than 100 points in two minutes Tuesday before it became clear the report was untrue and AP's account had been hacked. Reaction on the stock market was swift, as what had been a mildly positive day on the Dow Jones quickly turned negative, with America's benchmark stock index losing more than 134 points or more than a full per cent of its value in a matter of seconds. Reports suggest more than $20 billion worth of equity positions changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange during the brief trading hiccup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwitter flash crash: Fake White House bomb report causes stock market panic

Central Bankers Admit They Are Flying Blind

"Growing concern at the International Monetary Fund over the long-term side-effects of interest rates close to zero came as some of the leading figures in central banking conceded they were flying blind when steering their economies. It is troubling for monetary policy experts that their crisis-fighting tools - rates stuck at zero, money printing operations to bring down longer-term interest rates and encourage private sector spending, and efforts to calm financial market fears - might have nasty side-effects. The central bankers were clear that they had got it wrong before the crisis, lulled into thinking they had eliminated financial vulnerabilities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCentral Bankers Admit They Are Flying Blind

Foreign Central Banks Keep Buying U.S. Treasury Debt

"Latest report: foreign holdings of U.S. government debt are up by 10%, year over year. China has been buying. It now holds $1.2 trillion. The total comes to $5.66 trillion. Of this, 72% is held by foreign governments and central banks. This policy of inflating the domestic currency and buying U.S. Treasury debt with the new money holds down U.S. interest rates. It helps keep recession away. It also holds down the dollar value of foreign currencies. This is great for American consumers. American consumers are getting subsidies from foreign governments. This is mercantilism in action. American consumers are the great beneficiaries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForeign Central Banks Keep Buying U.S. Treasury Debt

White House confirms NASA plan to ‘lasso’ and bring asteroid near Earth

"President Barack Obama’s administration will seek $100 million in funding for a mission to tow an asteroid closer to Earth for the purpose of helping future expeditions to Mars. NASA’s mission proposal, adapted from a scenario (PDF) designed by the Keck Institute for Space Studies, calls for a robotic probe to grab an asteroid measuring approximately 500 tons and 25 to 35 feet in width in 2019 and bringing it into orbit near the moon, which would shorten future asteroid expeditions by months, on top of providing access to the asteroid’s natural resources." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House confirms NASA plan to ‘lasso’ and bring asteroid near Earth