Archive - 2013 - Story

December 29th

Tyler Durden's picture

Caught On Tape: Suicide Bombing In Russia's Fifth Largest Train Station Kills 15, One Month Ahead Of Sochi Games





"I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us... " - Saudi Arabia's Bandar bin Sultan to Vladimir Putin, spoken in hope of Russia selling out the Syrian regime, summer 2013.

 

 

December 28th

Tyler Durden's picture

The New New Great Game: Geography, Energy, The Dollar And Gold





Sir Halford Mackinder’s 1904 speach in which he outlined his “Heartland Theory” was a founding moment for geo-politics. He argued that control of the Eurasian landmass (Europe, Asia and the Middle East), which contained the bulk of the world’s population and natural resources, was the major geo-political prize. As time passed, energy (first crude oil then natural gas), became increasingly integral to this concept and its strategic significance cannot be overstated. Remarkably, Mackinder’s theory has remained equally valid, if not more so, in the modern era - although key “pivot areas” for exercising control have evolved. In addition to Central Asia and Trans-Caucasus in Mackinder’s day, the oil producing nations of the Middle East took on increasing importance in the “New Great Game”. We see a “New New Great Game” emerging.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

President Obama's Hawaii Vacation (In One Cartoon)





Presented with no comment...

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Overstock CEO On Bitcoins, Gold, Austrian Economics, And... Zombies





Patrick Byrne, the embattled CEO of Overstock.com, had plenty to say in a recent Fortune interview. The outspoken CEO, whose company recently became the first US retailer to accept Bitcoin (beginning later next year) aligns his beliefs with Ron Paul, holds enough gold that if "zombies walked the Earth," he'd be taken care of. Byrne believes "the long-run value of all fiat money is zero," adding that,"we're not going to get rid of the Federal Reserve any time soon, so bitcoin is a step in the right direction."

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Keynes & Copernicus: Debasement Of Money Overthrows The Social Order And Governments





The US Senate moves toward the confirmation of Janet Yellen, now posited for next January 6th, as chair of the Federal Reserve System. Let us in this moment of recess reflect on eerily similar observations by two of history’s most transformational figures:  John Maynard Keynes and Nicolas Copernicus. One of Keynes’s most often-cited observations, from his 1919 The Economic Consequences of the Peace, chapter VI, contains an indictment of policies very like those which the Federal Reserve System has been implementing for the past dozen, and more, years.  These policies in slow motion are at the root of  the very political, social, and cultural dysphoria — uneasiness or generalized dissatisfaction — predicted by Keynes.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

David Collum's Year In Review - The Interview





For some, despite being the holidays, reading all 89 pages of David Collum's annual epic 'year in review' is tough to squeeze in between earning minimum wage at Toys'r'Us for 85 hours straight or "consuming" as much food and iPads as possible. Luckily, Erin Ade of Boom Bust sat down with David to discuss the critical aspects of his voluminous tome. Given his initial comments, we suspect the 20 minutes are well worth watching...

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Why The Turkish Government May Be The Casualty Of A $119 Billion PetroDollar "Loophole"





It was in October 2012 when we explained how Iran evades the Western blockade (ostensibly with the implicit nod of none other than the US), and when we first defined the concept of PetroGold in the context of the Turkey-Dubai-Iran crude-for-gold triangle. One year later, following Iran's unperturbed ability to exist in a world without US dollars, the blockade of Iran is a thing of the past, and the west has engaged in a full-blown detente with the country, much to the fury of both Israel and Saudi Arabia, lowering and in many cases outright eliminating Iran sanctions, which proved futile. So a happy ending for Iran (if only briefly). However, one country that has seen better days, whose government may be on the edge of collapse due to an unprecedented corruption scandal precisely for enabling said PetroGold scheme, and which has been in the news on a daily basis recently, is Turkey. As Turkey's Today's Zaman explains in "Iran's Turkish Gold Rush", the political crisis Turkey finds itself in may be nothing but a consequence of the PetroGold scheme conceived over a year ago, and in which Turkey played a crucial role.  Here is how the Turkey-Dubai-Iran PetroGold triangle, or as the Zaman calls it, "gas for gold", may soon result in the toppling of yet another government, simply because it showed that existence outside of the clutches of the 'Petrodollar' is perfectly possible...

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Bailout Of World's Oldest Bank In Jeopardy, Rests On Hope That "Ship Does Not Sink"





The ongoing debacle of Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi (BMPS) took a turn for the worst today. The bank's largest shareholders (MPS Foundation) approved (read - forced through) a delay in a EUR 3 billion capital raise, which the bank needs to avoid nationalization, until May. The delay (which will cost the bank EUR 120 million in interest) allows MPS more time to liquidate their 33.5% holding before their stake is massively diluted. Management is 'considering' resignation and is "very annoyed," but the city Mayor is going Nationalist with his delay-supporting comments that "we cannot let the third biggest bank in this country fall prey to foreign interests." So Europe is recovering but they can't even raise a day's worth of POMO to save the oldest bank in the world?

 

Tyler Durden's picture

El-Erian Warns "Fed May Have Won The 'Taper' Battle; But Are Yet To Win The 'QE-Exit' War"





With equity markets reacting enthusiastically to the Fed’s historic policy change announced last week, PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian notes many have rushed to declare victory. Whether in asserting investor comfort with the policy regime shift or in declaring the definitive end of dependence on quantitative easing (“QE”), they believe that the markets’ short-term reaction can indeed be extrapolated into the longer-term. While most Fed officials will welcome the markets’ favourable reaction – and especially so after the May-June shock – El-Erian suspects that they are much more cautious. Indeed, in this FT Op-Ed, he lays out four reasons why such caution is understandable.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

"It's OK, You Can Admit It..." - The "Independent" US Media Just Wants You To Shop Till You Drop





The holidays are a time for giving... to yourself if the "independent" US media has anything to do with it... (come on, who deserves it more anyway?)

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Bitcoin Catches Attention Of Goldman Sachs (And Walmart, And Cisco): Goldman Director Joins Bitcoin Startup





When Bitcoin fans were hoping for fast track adoption by the mainstream, catching the attention of the all-seeing eye of Sauron Goldman Sachs was probably low on their list of action items. Yet that is precisely what they got with the arrival of a Goldman Sachs board member Michele Burns, who recently joined the board of Boston-based Bitcoin payment processing system startup Circle Internet Financial. As Fortune reports "Circle launched earlier this year, and was founded by Jeremy Allaire, who has led other Internet start-ups, but recently has become a Bitcoin evangelist. The company got $9 million in funding from a number of venture capitalist firms. Jim Breyer, a partner at Accel and an early backer of Facebook (FB), is also on Circle's board, as is Raj Date, who recently left a top post at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Circle declined to comment about Burns. Two sources with knowledge of her move confirmed it."

 

Tyler Durden's picture

"You're Simply Continuing To Feed The Wolves Of Wall Street" - One Victim's Open Letter To The Kings Of Hollywood





"So here's the deal. You people are dangerous. Your film is a reckless attempt at continuing to pretend that these sorts of schemes are entertaining, even as the country is reeling from yet another round of Wall Street scandals. We want to get lost in what? These phony financiers' fun sexcapades and coke binges? Come on, we know the truth. This kind of behavior brought America to its knees. And yet you're glorifying it -- you who call yourselves liberals. You were honored for career excellence and for your cultural influence by The Kennedy Center, Marty. You drive a Honda hybrid, Leo. Did you think about the cultural message you'd be sending when you decided to make this film? You have successfully aligned yourself with an accomplished criminal, a guy who still hasn't made full restitution to his victims, exacerbating our national obsession with wealth and status and glorifying greed and psychopathic behavior. And don't even get me started on the incomprehensible way in which your film degrades women, the misogynistic, ass-backwards message you endorse to younger generations of men. But hey, listen boys, I get it. I was conned too. By. My. Own. Dad! I drove a white Range Rover in high school, snorted half of Colombia, and got any guy I ever wanted because my father would take them flying in his King Air."

 

December 27th

Tyler Durden's picture

How Ultra-Rich Chinese Men Find Their Wives





Much of the world is familiar with the unique struggles Chinese face when it comes to marriage. Increasingly strict financial security requirements coupled with the growing pains of a nation in the midst of swift change leave many unable to find proper marriage partners. Add in the traditional, family-enforced marriage age limits, and the increasing number of shengnan (leftover men) and shengnü (leftover women) make contextual sense. One particularly perplexing sector of society that has a hard time finding suitable marriage partners is young, extremely wealthy men.

 

Tyler Durden's picture

Inside An Underground Swiss Gold Vault





Deep in the bowels of Zurich, 18 feet below lake level, lies Credit Suisse's private client vault. Bloomberg gained access to the 1%-er stash and the 3,500 safes (ranging from 5cm high to closet size). And all you need to be part of this club is a bank account with the Swiss behemoth...

 

Tyler Durden's picture

America Is Addicted To Porn





With food prices soaring, and alcohol demand on the rise, it seems the American public is turning to the only thing left... porn. Every 30 minutes a porn video is made, 30,000 people are 'consuming' pornography every second, and the industry earns over $13 billion per year which has led to 200,000 Americans described as "porn addicts" - spending 11 hours or more per week online looking at porn... but what are the consequences...

 
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!