Archive - Nov 28, 2015

"As part of an intellectual tradition that saw the salvation of the world in some form of world government... and with the financial backing of the CIA and the US State Department, the Anglo-American establishment was now committed to the creation of a federal United States of Europe." Today, this is still the case. Powerful international lobbies are already at work attempting to prove that any return to democratic self-government will spell doom.

A day after Turkey arrested two journalists for their report exposing Erdogan's weapon deliveries to extremist groups in Syria, confirming that no dissent to the president's foreign policy would be allowed, today a new riot has erupted in Istanbul following the dramatic murder in broad daylight of Tahir Elci, the president of the Turkish bar association in southeastern Diyarbakir province, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while giving a public speech.

As evidenced by the Greek, Chinese, and now Argentine 'jumps', the world remains increasingly aware of the inevitable worth of fiat currencies (and is looking for alternatives). From miners to merchants, the Bitcoin universe continues to expand dramatically as we noted previously, "There are more people in the world who need a currency they can trust, than there are people in the world who can trust their currency."

The successful completion of the Balkan Silk Road would lead to a significant sum of European trade being profitably redirected towards China and other booming non-Western locations like India and Ethiopia. The US fears losing its position as the EU’s top trading partner, knowing that the slippery strategic slope that could soon follow might lead to the rapid unraveling of its hegemonic control. The inevitable New Cold War clash that this represents and the extraordinarily high stakes that are involved mean that the Balkans will remain one of the main flashpoints in this dangerous proxy struggle, despite the hierarchical switch of its multipolar protagonists.

With the global climate talks in Paris set to begin this week, perhaps the 'real threat' will re-emerge...

A simmering rage is bubbling below the surface as 20% of American households rely on food stamps to survive, the percentage of Americans in the labor force stands at a four decade low, real household income remains stagnant at 1988 levels, corporate profits have reached record levels while corporations continue to fire Americans – shipping their jobs overseas, and the six mega-corporations representing the mainstream media cover up the truth, mislead the public with propaganda, while celebrating the .1% as saviors of our economy. There is nothing more volatile to societal stability than millions of unemployed men, growing angry and resentful towards the ruling class for their lot in life.

Put aside 4 minutes of your day to poke some fun at America’s leading religion: Consumerism.

With at least 83 percent of these companies' operating cash being spent on debt repayments - the highest on record - the renewed collapse in crude oil prices of the last month has renewed focus on the tidal wave of defaults that the credit market is increasingly pricing in (and stocks not).

Another 'mass' shooting, and another outraged statement from President Obama proclaiming "enough is enough." With 9 injured, and 2 police officers and 1 civilian dead after the dreadful standoff at a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado Springs, the President took the opportunity to explain "we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period." Of course, any discussion of the shooter's mental health, the violent polarization towards and politicization of abortion among an increasingly micro-aggressive America were conveniently ignored.

If the end justifies the means, and we make sure there never is an end to this, then arms will continue to be traded, profits will continue to be made, and lies will be told till no-one can tell up from down, since all means are justified until the end of time. That this leaves us morally utterly rudderless then becomes just another one of those justified means. Anything goes.

After failed breakouts earlier in the year, the charts of the Asian Tiger Cub markets suggest more trouble may lie ahead... as The Fed's decision looms.

After this week's vaporization of $29 billion of liabilities ($230 million of which was owed to the US Taxpayer) amid Abengoa's bankruptcy (Spain's 'Solyndra'), we thought it worth reminding the world's greater fools, just how "green" energy works...

In the short run this will probably lead to dramatic and unexpected change in financial flows. Over the longer run, a much-overlooked problem emerges. Simply put, it is highly unlikely that market rates will respond as the Fed moves its target rate upwards; in this case, the FOMC will have lost all control.

While many in The West had hoped for a "see, we told you so" strongman military response from Vladimir Putin, it appears the Russian leader has, for now, taken a more practical approach. The wide-ranging sanctions unleashed on Turkey (by its 2nd largest trade partner) include a ban on Turkish workers (with estimates that 90,000 will be fired by Jan 1 2016), restrictions on imported goods and services provided by Turkey, and scraps visa-free travel and bans charter flights (implicitly hurting a major part of Turkey's domestic industry). Finally, Putin calls for "strengthening of port control and monitoring to ensure transport safety," hinting at the fears many have voiced over whether Turkey shutting the Bosphorous in an escalation would be seen as an act of war.

If we assume that China’s hard landing can and will get hard-er-er, it’s worth asking which assets and currencies have priced in a further deceleration in the world’s engine of global growth and trade. Barclays has more on what’s expensive and what’s cheap vis-a-vis persistent deterioration in the Chinese growth story.