Archive - Apr 27, 2014
Piketty Is Rickety On Government Complicity
Submitted by George Washington on 04/27/2014 22:27 -0500- Bill Gates
- Bond
- Brazil
- Central Banks
- China
- Dell
- Donald Trump
- Fail
- Federal Reserve
- Federal Reserve Bank
- Fisher
- Gambling
- Germany
- Great Depression
- India
- International Monetary Fund
- Japan
- John Paulson
- Joseph Stiglitz
- Krugman
- Main Street
- Medicare
- Meltdown
- Mexico
- Monetary Policy
- Morgan Stanley
- Paul Krugman
- Private Equity
- Quantitative Easing
- Roman Empire
- Ron Paul
- Savings And Loan
- Simon Johnson
- Too Big To Fail
- Unemployment
- Warren Buffett
Bad Government and Central Bank Policy Are the MAIN CAUSE of Runaway Inequality
Russian "Doomsday Plane" Flies For 4th Consecutive Day; Accompanies Putin On Spiritual Mission
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 21:15 -0500Following three consecutive days of missions by the Russian "Doomsday Plane", i.e. the Tupolev Tu-214SR communication relay aircraft, which as we reported first on Friday, has been circling in proximity to Finland, above the island of Valaam in Lake Ladoga, moments ago, deep in the Russian night, the plane which traditionally accompanies Putin took off from Moscow's Vnukovo airport and is once again making loops over Valaam island (flight can be tracked in real-time for the next several hours with FlightRadar24).
Canadian Sanctions "Boomerang": Cancels Russia-based Spy Satellite Launch
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 20:44 -0500
The Conservative Canadian government’s hard line on sanctions against Russia has scuttled the launch of a key Canadian military satellite that was to be put into orbit by a Russian rocket. As The Ottawa Citizen reports, on the heels of Russia expelling a Canadian diplomat in Moscow, labelling him a spy, Canadian Space Agency spokeswoman Maya-Olivia Eyssen said the spy satellite, which was to have been launched from Russia’s facilities in Kazakhstan, is now trying to find another country or private company willing to send it into space. Russia has indicated it is more than willing to launch the Canadian satellites, say sources.
The "Hidden" Truth About US Foreign Policy
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 19:49 -0500
Shh, don't tell anyone...
The Quest To Freeze "Putin's Billions"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 18:49 -0500
For years, the suspicion that Mr. Putin has a secret fortune has intrigued scholars, industry analysts, opposition figures, journalists and intelligence agencies but defied their efforts to uncover it. Numbers are thrown around suggesting that Putin may control $40 billion or even $70 billion, in theory making him not only the richest head of state in world history but possibly the richest man alive in the world today, period. Now, the quest to track down, and isolate, Putin's billions launches in earnest.
These Are America's 10 Most And Least Expensive Cities (And The 361 Cities Inbetween)
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 17:43 -0500Here is a full breakdown of regional price parities, again using BEA data, this time at the Metro State Level, which shows for example that it is over 30% more expensive to live in New York, NY (which is the second most expensive city in the US after Honolulu.
This Is Crazy! Current Leveraged Recap Binge Is Clone Of 2007 Mania
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 17:34 -0500- Bain
- Bank of America
- Bank of America
- Bloomberg News
- Bond
- Borrowing Costs
- Capital Expenditures
- Collateralized Loan Obligations
- Covenants
- default
- Default Rate
- Dividend Recap
- Federal Reserve
- High Yield
- Investment Grade
- LBO
- LIBOR
- Madison Dearborn
- Main Street
- Market Crash
- Meltdown
- Merrill
- Merrill Lynch
- Private Equity
- recovery
- Subprime Mortgages
- Volvo
This eruption of late cycle bubble finance hardly needs comment. Below are highlights from a Bloomberg Story detailing the recent surge of leveraged recaps by the big LBO operators. These maneuvers amount to piling more debt on already heavily leveraged companies, but not to fund Capex or new products, technology or process improvements that might give these debt mules an outside chance of survival over time. No, the freshly borrowed cash from a leveraged recap often does not even leave the closing conference room - it just gets recycled out as a dividend to the LBO sponsors who otherwise hold a tiny sliver of equity at the bottom of the capital structure. This is financial strip-mining pure and simple - and is a by-product of the Fed’s insane repression of interest rates.
The Canadian Housing Bubble Puts Even The US To Shame
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 16:32 -0500While the Fed has clearly had a problem with reflating the broader housing bubble, one which would impact the middle class instead of just those who are already wealthier than ever before thanks to the Russel 200,000, one place which not only never suffered a housing bubble pop in the 2006-2008 years, but never looked back as it continued its diagonal bottom left to top right trajectory is Canada. As the chart below shows, the Canadian housing bubble has put all attempts at listening to Krugman and reflating yet another bubble to shame.
Kingdom Tower: World’s Tallest Building
Submitted by Pivotfarm on 04/27/2014 16:26 -0500Why does man have to go one better than everyone else every time? As soon as the biggest, the tallest, the highest, the something-est gets built and made, then it has to be toppled by something that is even bigger. One-upmanship is what man does best at times; going that little bit further, whether it be for good or for bad.
Chinese Trump Russians As Manhattan's Top Apartment Buyers
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 15:40 -0500
With Canada having closed the door on the cash-for-canadian-citizenship housing bubble blowing machine, it seems the Russian oligarch sanctions have left a gaping window for the Chinese to swoop and spend their billions. As Reuters reports, for the first time in history, wealthy Chinese top wealthy Russians are the biggest buyers of Manhattan real estate. It seems Manhattan real estate will always be home to some desperate capital flow, money-laundering 1%-ers cash - no matter what the price.
Why Intellectual Leadership Can Get Us All Killed
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 14:25 -0500
One can’t help when watching the latest news stories and shake one’s head in both amazement, as well as disgust. Whether it’s the latest political blunder or snafu, all the way through to some of the worlds largest corporations. One thing becomes crystal clear: Most “Intellectuals” can only remain looking smart if the world is calm, or a current business cycle is booming. For once the tide turns and decisive action is needed during the turbulence: the dumbest choice of people to deal with an evolving crisis are “intellectuals.”
Bitcoin Tumbles After BTC China Halts Funding Amid Concerns PBOC About To Get Serious
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 13:25 -0500
Bitcoin prices tumbled almost 15% as Chinese bitcoin exchange BTC China announced it has stopped accepting RMB deposits to user accounts from a major bank. As Coindesk reports, Management decided to proactively halt deposits from one of the country’s largest banks, China Merchants Bank, after the bank posted on its public website that it would no longer allow its customers to engage in bitcoin-related transactions, and said essentially it would require all such businesses to close their accounts. Withdrawals, of course, are allowed, but as Coindesk goes on to note, that while the PBOC's 'official' policy on Bitcoin has not changed since December, this 'pre-emptive' move may suggest he PBOC would soon set stricter rules about how its earlier edicts should be followed.
Pro-Russian Forces "Parade" OSCE Hostages On TV As Ukraine Air-Force In "Full Operational Readiness" & EU Preps Sanctions 2.0
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 12:50 -0500
The Ukrainian defense ministry has issued a statement confirming that Ukraine's air-defense forces have been placed in "operation readiness" in the nation's southern regions. This comes on the heels of the pro-Russian separatists taking OSCE observers hostage - and later "parading" them on local TV (where they explained they were not being treated badly). In another odd twist, pro-Russian forces (wearing British militrary fatigues) have taken over the region's TV station based in Donetsk. Twitter rumors suggest there has been a full military mobilization in Kharkiv - yet to be confirmed; but Germany's deputy forign minister Erler confirmed the EU is set to widen "stage-two" sanctions against Russia tomorrow and may discuss further sanctions later in the week.
US and EMU Events Dominate Next Week's Agenda
Submitted by Marc To Market on 04/27/2014 12:38 -0500A dispassionate look at next week's events and data.
Martin Armstrong Fears World War III Is On The Horizon
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2014 12:16 -0500
Russia and China are becoming closer thanks to Obama and his insane policies behind the NSA that have left America trying to find friends in a dark hour. The sanctions being imposed on Russia have sent China into its camp. The USA is finding it increasingly more difficult to be the bully in the school-yard. No former administration has ever acted with such arrogance and blind stupidity than the Obama Administration. The net result is to empower Russia and to inspire a new dynamic-duo of Russia-China against the USA. China supported Russia, when Western countries launched an anti-Russian campaign. With both of their economies turning down, this is by no means the proper time to impose sanctions. All this policy is doing is re-enforcing Putin and placing him in the position where he must become more aggressive or seem weak in the shadow of Obama.







