Archive - Apr 2011

“By doing this we will send a resounding message that government officials are no longer going to stand by and continue to allow MERS and their joint venture banking partners to profit at the expense of the very same people that they are abusing."

The official story is that Bergman's position was eliminated in a reshuffling at the Chicago Fed, though that excuse feels just as fishy as the Argentina one.

And the EPA is planning on raising them ...

Somewhat ironically, up until the Texas Instruments news hit, NYSE market volume today was 3.2 billion shares. This is on par with the lowest non-holiday market volume since just before the market crash in September 2008. It seems not even algos and robots care to trade this market anymore. Any banks that may have been hoping to make some commission-based profits on a mythical jump in trading this uear will have to shelve such plans and continue to rely on the only proven money-making model: massively leveraged prop trading.

And so the biggest scam organization's dirty laundry get exposed by even the porn-addicted regulator.

• BOFA LOAN POLICY MAY HAVE BEEN INCONSISTENT WITH INDUSTRY
• SEC RELEASES 2010 LETTER TO BOFA ON N0NPERFORMING LOANS
• BOFA WAS PRESSED BY SEC ON DISCLOSURE OF NONPERFORMING LOANS

Oh, so they were lying? No....

RANsquawk Market Wrap Up - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc. – 04/04/11

Yet another notable deal, with an 80% premium, to be funded by cash and debt. Mostly debt. Very cheap debt.

Many are quick to point out that oil still has a good $30 to go before passing the all time highs from 2008. True... If one lives in the US. Those on the other side of the pond, who care little about the USD, and who pay for everything in euros, and paid for everything in euros back in 2008, are not quite so fortunate. As the chart below shows, Brent priced in Euros is literally just off its all time previous highs of €92.88. At last check it was just over €86. Which means that the European economy is about to, literally, grind to a halt.

Anyone remember the scaremongering tactics used by the kleptocracy when TARP was passed and when the Fed tried to hide its discount window borrowings (oh yes, the market really plunged on Thursday)? If not, here is a reminder, courtesy of a letter just released by the boy who not only cried wolf on so many different occasions, but continues to do so today: "The longer Congress fails to act, the more we risk that investors here and around the world will lose confidence in our ability to meet our commitments and our obligations. If Congress does not act by May 16, I will take all measures available to me to give Congress additional time to act and to protect the creditworthiness of the country....Defaulting on legal obligations of the United States would lead to sharply higher interest rates and borrowing costs, declining home values and reduced retirement savings for Americans. Default would cause a financial crisis potentially more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover....defaulting on legal obligations of the United States would lead to sharply higher interest rates and borrowing costs, declining home values and reduced retirement savings for Americans. Default would cause a financial crisis potentially more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover. Nor is it possible to avoid raising the debt limit by cutting spending or raising taxes. Because of the magnitude of past commitments by Congress, immediate cuts in spending or tax increases cannot make the necessary cash available. In order to avoid an increase in the debt limit, Congress would need to eliminate annual deficits immediately. " We are now, thusly, screwed.

Essentially, we are living in a fraud-based economy but it doesn't seem to be bothering anyone so I guess we shouldn't let it bother us.

Following the recent conviction of Bernard von NotHaus for his "domestic terrorism", "dollar counterfeiting" Liberty Dollar operation (for which he faces up to 25 years in jail and a $750,000 fine), the Feds are now scrambling to recover each and every ounce of physical silver available as part of the fallout. Today, for example, AP reports that Federal prosecutors tried to confiscate NotHaus' hoard of silver "Liberty Dollars" worth about $7 million. Whether or not this 181,000 ounces of "fungible" physical silver will be enough to satisfy Comex silver deliveries by Federal authorities (read a key tri-party repo clearer bank), remains to be seen.

No problem!

Remember the massive surge to world GDP courtesy of the Japanese disaster spouted by every idiot on CNBC? Well, here we go:

• TOYOTA SAYS WILL HAVE TO SHUT DOWN N. AMERICAN FACTORIES
• TOYOTA SAYS SHUTDOWNS MAY AFFECT 25,000 WORKERS

This is massively bullish for horse buggies and Flintstonemobiles.

During the Great Recession plenty of money was made betting against the consumer. In 2010, the number of non-business bankruptcy filings grew by 8.8% to 1.5 million. While this number may seem high, it is significantly lower than the 31.5% jump in 2009. In the shadow of bankruptcy lead defaults lies Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAA). With a market cap of $1.4 billion, PRAA is the leading receivables management company. Read more to see how you can cash in on their ability to collect.

Update: Nobel Peace Prize winner for 2011, Nicolas Sarkozy, has just authorized the use of force in Ivory Coast.

They don't make Nobel peace war prizes like they used to anymore. The 4th war front for the president of peace Barack Obama, who just started his reelection campaign, is almost here. Naturally, don't expect any actual declaration of war. From Reuters:

• U.N. ATTACK HELICOPTER FIRES ON PRO-GBAGBO MILITARY BASE IN IVORY COAST'S ABIDJAN - TWO WITNESSES

More as we get a list of casualties, whom we expect will be more than just chocolate lovers worldwide. In the meantime, the black market for Blood Chocolate is percolating.