What Could Possibly Go Wrong

‘The Fed Is Trying Like Crazy, But Nothing It’s Doing Can Save The Economy’

"David Rosenberg, the veteran Wall Street economist and bearish strategist at Gluskin Sheff, gave an intense presentation on Friday at John Mauldin's Strategic Investment Conference. Titled 'Bernanke: The Wizard Of Potemkin,' this presentation offers a sobering look at the anemic U.S. economy, the labor market mess, and the Federal Reserve's controversial efforts to get everything back on track. Before you can even think about getting bullish, you must consider the eye-opening charts from Rosenberg's presentation." Continue reading →

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Cody Willard: Game plan for a completely corrupted market

"So, what’s the game plan? It remains the same. You want to remain net long those inflated stocks for at least a while longer, but much less aggressively long than we were two and three years ago when stock prices were much lower. You want to keep buying and scaling into more real physical gold and silver (and a tiny position in Bitcoins too). Coins and bullion that you have stored yourself somewhere safe (not a paper promise, but the real stuff that you can hold). You want to start shorting Treasurys, but not rush into a big position anytime soon. The trends and systems and bubbles we’re seeing in front of us presently can last much longer than most bears thinks possible." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCody Willard: Game plan for a completely corrupted market

How Bad Can Things Get?

"The typical American household has made no preparation for anything but the state-debt-feudal Status Quo: they have essentially no food, cash or energy in reserve, leaving the household extremely vulnerable to the slightest disruptions in income, energy and food delivery. How bad can things get? I confess to following Andy Grove's dictum that 'only the paranoid survive.' Clearly, a healthy appreciation for risk and the benefits of advance planning should obstacles arise offers selective advantages. Even if 9 of 10 problems run into the ditch, it pays to look ahead and think about what responses are likely to be the lowest cost and most successful should any of the 10 reach us." Continue reading →

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Present Shock and the Fantasy of Change

"Millennials (born 1982-2004) are pursuing high-cost university educations in the belief that multiple degrees are now essential to being offered a job. Even as evidence piles up that the economy has changed in fundamental ways such that even advanced degrees no longer inoculate the owner against financial insecurity, millions of young people feel they have no choice but to indebt themselves and spend scarce family resources on a questionable-value education. The underlying assumption here is the present will endure, and change will be marginal. The idea that the narrative of history suggests major disruptions of the status quo are cyclical and thus inevitable doesn't register." Continue reading →

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Lengthy, costly trail to Bay Bridge’s eastern span

"The $6.4 billion eastern span of the bridge costs roughly five times its original estimate and took at least seven years longer than expected. It took Caltrans officials 7 1/2 years and $1 million in research before they decided to replace the eastern span rather than retrofit it. In March, as contractors were tightening huge bolts attaching seismic safety devices to the bridge deck, the rods cracked. The surprising discovery of the cracked rods, some as long as 17 feet, led to an intensive investigation into how and why it happened and who was responsible, how the embarrassing problem could be fixed and whether - and when - it would be safe to open the bridge." Continue reading →

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Japan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

"Japan expects to spend a record $257 billion to service its debt during the next fiscal year, a document obtained by Reuters showed, underscoring the huge burden created by the government's borrowings. That will be up 13.7 percent from the amount set aside for the current fiscal year, reflecting the ministry's plan to guard against any future rise in long-term interest rates. Years of fiscal stimulus to revive a stagnant economy and surging social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have led to Japan running a record 1,000 trillion yen ($10 trillion) in public debt, double the size of its economy and the biggest among major industrialized nations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

Guarding Kerala’s Great Temple Treasures

"How much is the treasure, which has been estimated at up to one trillion rupees ($19 billion), actually worth? 'We have no idea because the digital inventory is going on,' he says before giving a mini inventory of his own, listing the items he has seen in the vaults. Mr. Harikumar estimates that the inventory of Vault A will take another year to complete – it began in February, with 3D images taken of each artifact with equipment provided by state-owned Keltron, an electronics specialist. Five of the six chambers have been opened but Vault B remains closed after a submission to the Supreme Court from the Travancore royal family that said opening it could unleash a curse." Continue reading →

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How Do You Like Your Central Planners, Bookish or Flamboyant?

"I knew Yellen in grad school and have encountered Summers in person, and I agree fully with these characterizations. But the Economist’s editorialist misses entirely the bizarre, indeed grotesque, context of this discussion. The Fed is the world’s most powerful government economic planning organization and its decisions affect the lives and prosperity of millions, if not billions. All this will hinge on the personality of one person? How about a system in which authority is decentralized, power is limited, and nobody cares who calls himself 'Fed Chair'?" Continue reading →

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The More Attention on The Next Fed Chair, The Better!

"The head of the AFL-CIO and Bette Midler are making Fed Chair endorsements??!! That has to make the establishment's skin crawl! People are talking...and that's not good for The Fed. The more that people talk, the more they will find out...or hopefully want to find out. Senator Barry Goldwater once said 'Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international moneylenders. The bankers want it that way.'" Continue reading →

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David Galland: Mexico Invades Syria!

"Could the attack trigger a quick and violent sympathetic public uprising in Saudi Arabia, sending the Saud family on the run and oil prices to $200 or more? In terms of consequences of a less violent nature, what if the Russians and the Chinese, the latter being Syria's largest trading partner, decided to protest by dumping some of the massive amount of US dollars they hold? I could go on, but won't. Instead, I'll leave off by saying that, given the risks vs. the rewards of yet another Western attack on the Middle East, I personally couldn't be more opposed to it. Hopefully there are enough people in what's left of the degraded Western democracies who feel the same way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: Mexico Invades Syria!