Archive - Mar 2014
March 29th
The "Massive Gift" That Keeps On Giving: How QE Boosted Inequality To Levels Surpassing The Great Depression
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 16:02 -0500
A week ago, the official truth about QE finally emerged when the Fed's Fisher admitted that "QE was a massive gift intended to boost wealth." Fisher did not need to clarify just who the gift was aimed at - it was clear . But just in case there is any confusion, here is a chart confirming that all the events of the past 5 years have done, courtesy of the Fed's manipulation of the stock market to all time artificial highs, is to push the ratio of the average income of the "Top 10%" to the "Bottom 10%" to a previously unseen level, wildly surpassing the previous record inequailty highs that culminated in the Great Depression, and which were subsequently rapidly "equalized" by WWII.
Paul Craig Roberts: Pushing Toward The Final War
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 14:58 -0500
Does Obama realize that he is leading the US and its puppet states to war with Russia and China, or is Obama being manipulated into this disaster by his neoconservative speech writers and government officials? World War 1 (and World War 2) was the result of the ambitions and mistakes of a very small number of people. We are again on the road to World War. One hundred years ago the creation of a world war by a few had to be done under the cover of deception. Germany had to be caught off guard. The British had to be manipulated and, of course, people in all the countries involved had to be propagandized and brainwashed. Today the drive to war is blatantly obvious. The lies are obvious, and the entire West is participating, both media and governments.
"Nail Gun Suicide" Banker's Firm Probed Over Missing Millions
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 13:54 -0500
Just a few short weeks ago we reported on the unusual suicide, due to self-inflicted nail-gun wounds, of Richard Talley, CEO of Denver-based American Title Services. The death of the 57-year-old banker was accompanied by the fact that his firm was under investigation by the insurance regulators, and now, as The Denver Post reports, state prosecutors launched a criminal investigation and a grand jury over more than $2 million missing from escrow accounts. As part of that inquiry, investigators have seized about 100 boxes of documents and about 60 computers as records suggest the seemingly successful title business had serious financial problems. Talley's wife, Cheryl, who owns the other 60% of the firm has not commented.
Meanwhile, Tens Of Thousands Of Russian Troops Continue Piling Up At Ukraine's Borders - The Full Update
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 12:55 -0500
With Russia continuing to diplomatically assure the world that no invasion is pending, and rather comically asking for President Obama's benevolent aid in policing the treatment of Russians in non-Crimean Ukraine; it seems from all actions (as opposed to words) that Putin is pressing ahead with building his forces (up to 60,000) around the divided nation and as Dmitry Tymchuk notes, planning for invasion from Chernihiv to Donetsk. Internal politics continue to roil as Klitschko pulls out of the Presidential election (just as the US wanted) but we suspect the Ukrainians will be confused to discover their USA saviors have been spying on the future Premier Tymoshenko for years. The people of Ukraine are likely a little upset at We are sure Kerry and Lavrov will have plenty to discuss tomorrow in Paris and perhaps the following map will be a good starting point.
The US Is Like A Ship With No Lifeboats (Full Of Suicidal Bankers)
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 12:04 -0500
The rising price of gold is a huge embarrassment to the US government not because it devalues the dollar (it does not do this) but because it provokes a loss of confidence in the dollar. When the dollar is seen as falling in value against gold, its fall causes investors to exchange dollars and other currencies for gold as a means of protecting wealth. The rising price of gold is a blot on the prestige of the US dollar and the prestige of the US itself. The price of gold in dollars is therefore under strict government control. This fact, once derided as ridiculous, is increasingly accepted as truth by those interested in monetary matters around the world. The means for controlling the price of gold lies in the massive sales of “paper gold” which take place to suppress its price, as so many investigators have amply documented. US monetary policy considers that the dollar is here to stay forever, and that gold is no longer – and never again will be – the world’s ultimate money. The governments of several nations around the world do not share the same conviction with regard to the permanence of the dollar.
Angry Germany Asks "Is It Time For A Formal Espionage Investigation?" After Latest NSA Spying Revelations
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 10:56 -0500You Can't Make This Up: MF Global Sues PWC, Blames It For Its Collapse
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2014 08:45 -0500File this one in the "you can't make it up" category. Over two years after the MF Global collapse, in which the primary dealer headed by Jon "I don't recall" Corzine all but admitted it had engaged in the cardinal sin of any financial intermediary, i.e., commingling money, to cover up a trade gone horribly bad and which resulted in the disappearance of some $1 billion in client funds until such time as the bankruptcy process managed to "liberate" funds from other part of the company, MF Global has suddenly figured who is at fault: not the CEO, not his brown-nosing lackey, not some janitor meant to be scapegoated precisely in a situation such as this, not even the infamous "glitch" - no, the party that is accountable for the firm's theft of client funds, and horrible investing decisions that led to its bankruptcy, are the accountants.
Dollar Mixed to Start Q2
Submitted by Marc To Market on 03/29/2014 06:59 -0500A look at the price action in the foreign exchange market, within the context of fundamenal developments.
- Marc To Market's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Read more
Fed Needs To “Stress Test” Itself As Balance Sheet Balloons To $4.3 Trillion
Submitted by GoldCore on 03/29/2014 03:05 -0500The Federal Reserve is likely to suffer significant losses on its Treasury holdings once interest rates rise from historic lows. Indeed, the researchers at the San Francisco Fed have recently called for "stress tests" on the Fed itself. Fail to prepare ... prepare to ...
March 28th
Putin Calls Obama To "Draw Attention To Ukraine Extremists", Obama Replies With Request For Putin To Pull Out
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/28/2014 22:03 -0500
Moments ago the White House made a fine point of announcing that - for the first time since the Ukraine crisis erupted and led to the unanswered annexation of Crimea by Russia - Putin called the White House first to discuss what was vaguely enough described as "a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Ukraine." However a more detailed read through of what actually happened reveals that there is less here than meets the eye (as a rational person would suspect since any truly good news would have been divulged during market trading hours).
China & Germany Sign Yuan-Settlement Pact And Obama Heads To Saudi Arabia
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/28/2014 21:04 -0500
Lots of moves appear to be afoot on the macro front at the moment. Today's deal between the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and Germany’s Bundesbank seems quite significant given the importance of Germany within the global economy generally and the E.U. specifically. And with that in mind, let’s not forget that Obama is currently in Saudi Arabia trying to restore ties with the Medieival Kingdom, i.e., he is trying to figure out a way to arm al-Qaeda in Syria without the American public finding out about it. It appears that becoming entrenched in a Syrian civil war is still very much on the table... The months ahead should be very interesting to say the least.
West Desperate To Break Russia-China Axis, But "Money Talks" Straight To Putin
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/28/2014 20:30 -0500
Among other things, there is one major obstacle to the West's "costs" imposition on Vladimir Putin and his Russian economy - China. So far, a Xi Jinping has described, China has been a "sleeping lion" but today "the lion is awake" and with the Chinese President's first trip to Europe, as WSJ reports, western leaders are hoping to enlist his support over the crisis in Ukraine. However, privately, European diplomats concede that China's relationship with Russia remains solid and that was evidenced by their most recent investment in Russia's $10bn state-backed Direct Investment Fund (which just happens to be run by a former Goldman Sachs banker. It seems "money talks" once again and China will likely continue to play the middle ground.
Stephen Roach: Is This End Of Chinese Central Planning?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/28/2014 19:53 -0500
“Isn’t it now time for China to abandon the concept of a growth target?”
Jim Rogers: "America Is Shooting Itself In The Foot" Over Russia
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/28/2014 19:07 -0500
There is no reason for Russia to worry about the western sanctions it is facing now over the Ukrainian issue since "Moscow has too many other trade partners to work with," Jim Rogers explains in this interview, adding that "America is shooting itself in a foot getting the most of our world to pushing China and Russia closer together." Simply put, he warns, "I don’t see any sanctions strategy that they can use that will hurt Russia worse than it will hurt the people imposing those sanctions... I think Mr. Obama is making the fool of himself yet again."
Guest Post: The Government Inflation Scam
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/28/2014 18:34 -0500
Ask yourself: Why do governments finance their expenditures with inflation rather than simply by raising taxes?
The answer is a simple one: With taxes, everyone knows that the government’s the culprit because people can see that it’s a government agency that is collecting the taxes. With inflation, government can blame what is happening on the private sector, where prices are rising in response to the government’s continued debasement of the currency.






