Archive - Nov 2013 - Blog entry

France’s General de Gaulle once said that the only thing that would unite Europe would be China. At the time he was probably visionary in the knowledge that the Europeans would never unite.

"The Senate was established to make sure that minorities are protected."
-Senator Harry Reid 12/8/06 
......scratch that...... 
This gridlock [filibusters] has consequences. Terrible consequences. It is not only bad for President Obama and bad for the United States Senate; it’s bad for our country.  -Senator Reid, 11/ 21/13

Outsourcing the NSA’s Dirty Deeds In An Attempt to Create Plausible Deniability

Do not click on this post unless you have taken all necessary food and beverage precautions...

However, the reality of higher inflation won’t show up in China’s inflation data (which clocks in at an absurdly low 3%). However, you can see clear signs of this in China’s civil unrest: you don’t get wage and labor strikes for nothing. 

A dispassionate analysis of Bitcoins, their function and implications.

However, while price manipulations may work in the short term, in the long term gold prices will be dictated by the real world forces of physical supply and demand for gold coins, bars and jewellery. The smart money is fading out the considerable noise regarding volatile intraday price falls and focusing on gold's importance as a long term diversification in a portfolio.

When the Taper Talk sign is on, beware. The sign is now brightly lit.

There are increasing signs of deflationary risks in the developed world, suggesting bonds are set for a comeback. 

When the US shutdown sent shivers and ripples through the financial markets in October with the fear that the federal government would end up defaulting on the repayment of its debts, the banks decided to set up contingency plans.

CBO estimates that U.S. may be able to push the debt ceiling deadline to as late as June of next year, but OECD is already freaking out about the prospect of a U.S. debt ceiling bind....

3 Senators with Top Secret Clearance “Have Reviewed This Surveillance Extensively and Have Seen No Evidence That The Bulk Collection of Americans’ Phone Records Has Provided Any Intelligence of Value That Could Not Have Been Gathered Through Less Intrusive Means”

Crowdfunding now going mainstream in SouthEast Asia

The Law demands that we atone;

When we take things that we don't own;

But leaves the lords and ladies fine;

Who take things that are yours and mine... (Anon.)

The Fed’s economic models, and 99% of the economic models employed by Central Banks in general, believe that monetary easing can bring about an economic recovery. The primary argument for this crowd if QE has thus far failed to produce a recovery is that the QE efforts have not been big enough. And then there’s Japan...