This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
STUNNER: S&P REVISES US OUTLOOK TO NEGATIVE
You read that right: S&P just revised its US outlook to negative. EURUSD surges on what can be seen as revolutionary news...
From S&P:
Overview
We have affirmed our 'AAA/A-1+' sovereign credit rating on the United States of America.
- The economy of the U.S. is flexible and highly diversified, the country's effective monetary policies have supported output growth while containing inflationary pressures, and a consistent global preference for the U.S. dollar over all other currencies gives the country unique external liquidity.
- Because the U.S. has, relative to its 'AAA' peers, what we consider to be very large budget deficits and rising government indebtedness and the path to addressing these is not clear to us, we have revised our outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable.
- We believe there is a material risk that U.S. policymakers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium- and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013; if an agreement is not reached and meaningful implementation does not begin by then, this would in our view render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than that of peer 'AAA' sovereigns.
Rating Action
On April 18, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AAA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings on the United States of America and revised its outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable.
Rationale
Our ratings on the U.S. rest on its high-income, highly diversified, and flexible economy, backed by a strong track record of prudent and credible monetary policy. The ratings also reflect our view of the unique advantages stemming from the dollar's preeminent place among world currencies. Although we believe these strengths currently outweigh what we consider to be the
U.S.'s meaningful economic and fiscal risks and large external debtor position, we now believe that they might not fully offset the credit risks over the next two years at the 'AAA' level.
The U.S. is among the most flexible high-income nations, with both adaptable labor markets and a long track record of openness to capital flows. In addition, its public sector uses a smaller share of national income than those of most 'AAA' rated countries--including its closest peers, the U.K., France, Germany, and Canada (all AAA/Stable/A-1+)--which implies greater
revenue flexibility.
Furthermore, the U.S. dollar is the world's most used currency, which provides the U.S. with unique external flexibility; the vast majority of U.S. trade flows and external liabilities are denominated in its own dollars. Recent depreciation of the currency has not materially affected this position, and we do not expect this to change in the medium term (see "Après Le Déluge, The U.S. Dollar Remains The Key International Currency," March 10, 2010, RatingsDirect).
Despite these exceptional strengths, we note the U.S.'s fiscal profile has deteriorated steadily during the past decade and, in our view, has worsened further as a result of the recent financial crisis and ensuing recession. Moreover, more than two years after the beginning of the recent crisis, U.S. policymakers have still not agreed on a strategy to reverse recent fiscal deterioration or address longer-term fiscal pressures.
In 2003-2008, the U.S.'s general (total) government deficit fluctuated between 2% and 5% of GDP. Already noticeably larger than that of most 'AAA' rated sovereigns, it ballooned to more than 11% in 2009 and has yet to recover.
On April 13, President Barack Obama laid out his Administration's medium-term fiscal consolidation plan, aimed at reducing the cumulative unified federal deficit by US$4 trillion in 12 years or less. A key component of the Administration's strategy is to work with Congressional leaders over the next two months to develop a commonly agreed upon program to reach this target. The President's proposals envision reducing the deficit via both spending cuts and revenue increases, and the adoption of a "debt failsafe" legislative mechanism that would trigger an across-the-board spending reduction if, by 2014, budget projections show that federal debt to GDP has not yet stabilized and is not expected to decline in the second half of the current decade.
The Obama Administration's proposed spending cuts include reducing non-security discretionary spending to levels similar to those proposed by the Fiscal Commission in December 2010, holding growth in base security (excluding war expenditure) spending below inflation, and further cost-control measures related to health care programs. Revenue would be increased via both tax reform and allowing the 2001 and 2003 income and estate tax cuts to expire in 2012 as currently scheduled--though only for high-income households. We note that the President advocated the latter proposal last year before agreeing with Republicans to extend the cuts beyond their previously scheduled 2011 expiration. The compromise agreed upon in December likely provides short-term support for the economic recovery, but we believe it also weakens the U.S.'s fiscal outlook and, in our view, reduces the likelihood that Congress will allow these tax cuts to expire in the near future. We also note that previously enacted legislative mechanisms meant to enforce budgetary discipline on future Congresses have not always succeeded.
Key members in the U.S. House of Representatives have also advocated fiscal tightening of a similar magnitude, US$4.4 trillion, during the coming 10 years, but via different methods. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's plan seeks to balance the federal budget by 2040, in part by cutting non-defense spending. The plan also includes significantly reducing the scope
of Medicare and Medicaid, while bringing top individual and corporate tax rates lower than those under the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
We view President Obama's and Congressman Ryan's proposals as the starting point of a process aimed at broader engagement, which could result in substantial and lasting U.S. government fiscal consolidation. That said, we see the path to agreement as challenging because the gap between the parties remains wide. We believe there is a significant risk that Congressional negotiations could result in no agreement on a medium-term fiscal strategy until after the fall 2012 Congressional and Presidential elections. If so, the first budget proposal that could include related measures would be Budget 2014 (for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2013), and we believe a delay beyond that time is possible.
Standard & Poor's takes no position on the mix of spending and revenue measures the Congress and the Administration might conclude are appropriate. But for any plan to be credible, we believe that it would need to secure support from a cross-section of leaders in both political parties.
If U.S. policymakers do agree on a fiscal consolidation strategy, we believe the experience of other countries highlights that implementation could take time. It could also generate significant political controversy, not just within Congress or between Congress and the Administration, but throughout the country. We therefore think that, assuming an agreement between Congress and the President, there is a reasonable chance that it would still take a number of years before the government reaches a fiscal position that stabilizes its debt burden. In addition, even if such measures are eventually put in place, the initiating policymakers or subsequently elected ones could decide to at least partially reverse fiscal consolidation.
In our baseline macroeconomic scenario of near 3% annual real growth, we expect the general government deficit to decline gradually but remain slightly higher than 6% of GDP in 2013. As a result, net general government debt would reach 84% of GDP by 2013. In our macroeconomic forecast's optimistic scenario (assuming near 4% annual real growth), the fiscal deficit would fall to 4.6% of GDP by 2013, but the U.S.'s net general government debt would still rise to almost 80% of GDP by 2013. In our pessimistic scenario (a mild, one-year double-dip recession in 2012), the deficit would be 9.1%, while net debt would surpass 90% by 2013. Even in our optimistic scenario, we believe the U.S.'s fiscal profile would be less robust than those of other 'AAA' rated sovereigns by 2013. (For all of the assumptions underpinning our three forecast scenarios, see "U.S. Risks To The Forecast: Oil We Have to Fear Is…," March 15, 2011, RatingsDirect.
Additional fiscal risks we see for the U.S. include the potential for further extraordinary official assistance to large players in the U.S. financial or other sectors, along with outlays related to various federal credit programs. We estimate that it could cost the U.S. government as much as 3.5% of GDP to appropriately capitalize and relaunch Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two financial institutions now under federal control, in addition to the 1% of GDP already invested (see "U.S. Government Cost To Resolve And Relaunch Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Could Approach $700 Billion," Nov. 4, 2010, RatingsDirect). The potential for losses on federal direct and guaranteed loans (such as student loans) is another material fiscal risk, in our view. Most importantly, we believe the risks from the U.S. financial sector are higher than we considered them to be before 2008, as our downward revisions of our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) on the U.S. to Group 3 from Group 2 in December 2009 and to Group 2 from Group 1 in December 2008 reflect (see "Banking Industry Country Risk Assessments," March 8, 2011, and "Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment: United States of America," Feb. 1, 2010, both on RatingsDirect). In line with these views, we now estimate the maximum aggregate, up-front fiscal cost to the U.S. government of resolving potential financial sector asset impairment in a stress scenario at 34% of GDP compared with our estimate of 26% in 2007.
Beyond the short- and medium-term fiscal challenges, we view the U.S.'s unfunded entitlement programs (such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) to be the main source of long-term fiscal pressure. These entitlements already account for almost half of federal spending (an estimated 42% in fiscal-year 2011), and we project that percentage to continue increasing as long as these entitlement programs remain as they currently exist (see "Global Aging 2010: In The U.S., Going Gray Will Cost A Lot More Green," Oct. 25, 2010, RatingsDirect). In addition, the U.S.'s net external debt level (as we narrowly define it), approaching 300% of current account receipts in 2011, demonstrates a high reliance on foreign financing. The U.S.'s external indebtedness by this measure is one of the highest of all the sovereigns we rate.
While thus far U.S. policymakers have been unable to agree on a fiscal consolidation strategy, the U.S.'s closest 'AAA' rated peers have already begun implementing theirs. The U.K., for example, suffered a recession almost twice as severe as that in the U.S. (U.K. GDP declined 4.9% in real terms in 2009, while the U.S.'s dropped 2.6%). In addition, the U.K.'s net general government indebtedness has risen in tandem with that of the U.S. since 2007. In June 2010, the U.K. began to implement a fiscal consolidation plan that we believe credibly sets the country's general government deficit on a medium-term downward path, retreating below 5% of GDP by 2013.
We also expect that by 2013, France's austerity program, which it is already implementing, will reduce that country's deficit, which never rose to the levels of the U.S. or U.K. during the recent recession, to slightly below the U.K. deficit. Germany, which suffered a recession of similar magnitude to that in the U.K. (but has enjoyed a much stronger recovery), enacted a constitutional limit on fiscal deficits in 2009 and we believe its general government deficit was already at 3% of GDP last year and will likely decrease further. Meanwhile, Canada, the only sovereign of the peer group to suffer no major financial institution failures requiring direct government assistance during the crisis, enjoys by far the lowest net general government debt of the five peers (we estimate it at 34% of GDP this year), largely because of an unbroken string of balanced-or-better general government budgetary outturns from 1997 through 2008. Canada's general government deficit never exceeded 4% of GDP during the recent recession, and we believe it will likely return to less than 0.5% of GDP by 2013.
Outlook
The negative outlook on our rating on the U.S. sovereign signals that we believe there is at least a one-in-three likelihood that we could lower our long-term rating on the U.S. within two years. The outlook reflects our view of the increased risk that the political negotiations over when and how to address both the medium- and long-term fiscal challenges will persist until at least after national elections in 2012.
Some compromise that achieves agreement on a comprehensive budgetary consolidation program--containing deficit reduction measures in amounts near those recently proposed, and combined with meaningful steps toward implementation by 2013--is our baseline assumption and could lead us to revise the outlook back to stable. Alternatively, the lack of such an agreement or a significant further fiscal deterioration for any reason could lead us to lower the rating.
Standard & Poor's will hold a global teleconference call and Web cast today--April 18, 2011--at 11:30 a.m. New York time (4:30 p.m. London time). For dial-in and streaming audio details, please go to www.standardandpoors.com/cmlive.
»
- 33227 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Don't start using logic it will only fustrate you pleb.
-Ben
Welcome Your next president:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5cZWRx_AMs
yes +++++++
No ------------- SP is a tool of the GMIC. But if you like war ... She's your gal.
put your koolaid down - did you notice the obama libya war? no un approval - not even congressional notice
Only an on program retarded troll would equate revulsion at your Sarah with admiration of Obummer.
Some kind of war is inevitable as global decooperation accelerates at some stage since 2008 crisis erupted. Obama was quick to move into Libya, too quick, it seems. May be its better to have a more practical head heading the USA military.
How will Geithner now explain USA debt growth to Chinese? Or Saudi?
Right, next up is world war, not puppet elections.
Or this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB0DmP3kSBQ&feature=feedf
Ron Paul could be Treasury secretary, tasked with replacing FED with something else that works differently. Or Congress leader.
How fucking sad that it's even an option. Over a quarter century of Bush1, Slick Willy, Dubya and O'bomber and sheeple still believe that the NEXT president/sock-puppet will somehow produce a different outcome! Sheeesh ... fucking morons for even discussing it.
+++++
Stunner? Those "stunned" are the talking heads on CNBS as they try to dismiss or marginalize the call as a mistake.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's plan seeks to balance the federal budget by 2040, in part by cutting non-defense spending. The plan also includes significantly reducing the scope
of Medicare and Medicaid, while bringing top individual and corporate tax rates lower than those under the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
CLASS WARFARE BABY!!!!
We are now officially FUCKED
steady there long juan silver! first, we have that great photo, here. must be a doe; lQQks just like pelosi. next, who cares what S & P sez? they're trying to suck up the the NWO & the IMF, and trying to keep their flip-flops on, too.
we're ok. unless, of course the chinese ratings agency, dagong-show, keeps telling the truth...
***BREAKING NEWS ALERT***
Fitch downgrades Ancient Rome to BBB- from BBB
***THIS HAS BEEN A BREAKING NEWS ALERT***
That's hilarious. Nice work. +1
That is really funny.
Rumors on the street say they've been debasing the solidus.
But Paulus Krugmanus says that's just conspiracy theories for the tinfoil-helmet crowd.
hahaha +100BC
" the country's effective monetary policies have supported output growth while containing inflationary pressures"
*Choke.... *
someone should have put a warning in front of that sentence as being hazardous to health
Pot calls piece of charcoal black.
World is shocked. Such a joke.
Now, when said piece of charcoal catches fire, what then? Hmmmmm....
It's on then I suppose, the summer of dis-content. Let go...
ORI
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com
Congrats, ORI - one year Zerohedge. How does it feel to be a part of this site for such a long time? Any side effects? ;-)
I noticed that you didn't write much in the past few days. Hope everything is okay. Always interesting to read your input. Have you read 'Aravind Adiga - The white Tiger'?
"Our ratings on the U.S. rest on its high-income, highly diversified, and flexible economy, backed by a strong track record of prudent and credible monetary policy."
Prudent and credible monetary policy? Are they kidding!
Gold on the doorstep of $1500, after falling moderately earlier. This is a tsunami this morning!
Never follow the tide out grabbing fish.......
rather suspicious after the Soros bretton woods II and a call to abondon the dollar as reserve currency
My sentiments exactly. 10 days since BBII.
S&P whispers, uh, um, hmmm, the US looks a little naked doesn't he? Has he forgotten to put his clothes on this morning?
Wonder how long it will take S&P to catch up with the Chinese rating agencies?
http://www.businessinsider.com/dagong-downgrades-us-credit-rating-2010-11
http://dailyreckoning.com/us-debt-rating-downgraded-sort-of/
Long over due ... maybe this gets this over bloated government's attention.
BUY THE MUTHA F'ING DIP!!
We don't need no stinking ratings -we got printing presses bitchez.
Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It's gonna be one hell of a ride folks...hold on tight....
"US Treasury's Miller says S&P negative outlook underestimates ability of US leaders to come together to deal with US fiscal challenges"
Hmm, remember they said subprime is well contained eh, Miller?
LOL! Miller has high confidence in the money grubbing little rat puppets in DC to deal with fiscal challenges? Well it would certainly be a FIRST!
Nothing to see here, move along, says Geithner :)
'Treasury: S&P underestimates ability to cut debt'
'Treasury: Both parties agree need to cut deficit'
long axes
The die is cast and the mold is set.
I can't say it was a "stunner" but I'm surprised ithe news came out when it did. Maybe over the weekend or on a Friday afternoon.
Regardless, many of have been saying "this was long overdue".
Havent seen the deer in the headlights pic pulled out in quite a while, bravo!
Ha! Was going to say that.
See this for what it is: A political tool used by the TBTF. The TBTF own the SP ratings. How else you explain the WTF ratings from 2007 onward? With the budget battle heating up, the TBTF wanted to place a shot across the bow of congress to get things moving. TBTF needed interest rates to rise. With the Bernak's nose is too deep into his text books, he hasnt been hawkish enough in his soon to be press conferences. TBTF is now using the SP tool to help accomplish it's goals of higher interest rates. PIMCO is out. I am sure most TBTF are out. They need the rates higher.
This is all BS. They should have done this and more in the fall of 2008, but that would have been too painful for their masters.
What a wild ride we are are going to experience in the months to come. I don't believe anyone has all the answers.
somebody is going to have an unfortunate accident leading to an untimely death over this. Jamie is furious. Not even the morphine IV can keep him calm at this point
Is there historical precedence for this? Has S&P changed to "negative" before?
Just bot 250 S&P e-mini contracts.
THIS DIP MUST BE BOUGHT.
Watch out...what if the FED is DONE monetizing?
Well....as I look out my window, it is snowing.
STUNNER: S&P bond ratings are useless, keeps US debt rating AAA.
.
Plunge team working hard
This is being done today for a very specific reason. US hegemony was based on the concept that the USA has the best economic ideas for sustained growth. Nations wanted to not only invest in our model but also adopt it. A universal evil in the world is corruption. where there is corruption in a persons financial life, they are dis incentivize to work a fair days wage for a fair days pay. And to pay a fair amount of tax on that. No more or less than somebody who provided the same amount of goods and services into the market place. When people are economically dis-enfranchised (either as a corruptor or by the corruptors) they turn to spiritual corruption (sex, child neglect/abuse, drugs, rock and roll)
If you are an arab, you call american the great satan, but give him the oil to hang himself. If you are china, you call the USA horders, wasting resources on a non-meritorious way that stifles the innovation they need from us. If you are europe you want to see the US run a competant buerocracy, if for no other reason than to support a military (world cop) so that they don't have to.
And it all comes back to one thing. Today, Some brilliant US citizen is going to spend their time figuring out the US tax code, at the end of a gun or for the profit that can be gained (thanks G.E. you brought the tax code to life for all of us to see!)
If you elect wisefool president in 2012 I will merge the IRS and the department of energy. I will retain every single IRS employee. Instead of having them drive the lives of human beings into a machine the size of a house (the US tax code printed out) I will have them try to drive two hydrogen molecules together in an efficient way for sustainable fusion. All the tax attorneys and accountants will be employed for peer review and safety/quality control. And when we do get sustainible fusion and eliminate the tax prep burden on the rest of Americans, we WONT NEED a credit rating. We can also maybe avoid the untimely return of a certain man whose death is celebrated on Sunday.
you had me at "buerocracy"
sorry. The spellchecker didn't help me so I just did a Timmay!
What's all the fuss about?Congress finally agree to cut budget by 73 cents after adjustments,Bernanke signals low rates for some considerable time,QE3 announced -just what is the motherf*****g problem?
All wrong: Sarah Palin asked S&P to downgrade the US outlook in exchange to taking care her daughter's memoirs won't be published.
FED becomes ONLY buyer of US treasuries , BTFD
Deer looking into the head lights - Priceless
And that $1 million dollar bet on short Silver is entering the house of pain..Another one bites the dust mother fuckers....
If I remember correctly, the bet was not short silver, it was short SLV. Not the same thing.
Silver could continue to take off and SLV could collapse.
Read the prospectus.
This is NO surprise to ZHers!
Well that settles it then. We need to impose some downgrades on your standards of living in order to sustain my own.
10:00AM EST: ALGOS, you may now kick in
Time to go long on wet wipes.
Is now a good time to buy Apple? Can we get some real stock advice on this site ffs? Always doom and gloom which had made you money twice in the past 70 years.
Yes you should buy as much Apple as you can, dont mind the maggots.
Should have happened a couple of years ago. But now being used as a tool to enable QE3. QE is tantamount to taxation without representation.
Buy and eat your fing IPAD Bitchezzzz. Ask Bill Dudly.
...and over at the weather desk - Pompeii is looking at temperatures rising dramatically with mostly cloudy skies.
A headline for the algos?
"Desire Petroleum finds oil" - http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011/04/18/548241/desire-petroleum-finds-oil/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Seems like they didn't find much....and definitely much less than hoped for. Nothing to see here.
It was also used to take down commodities a bit......hey, GS's ploy pretty much failed last week.
The S&P prostitutes did not get paid yesterday by the Gov; that's why.
Hope and change
debt and spange
Watching Goolsbee on CNBC right now is priceless. It is like Baghdad Bob spinning like a top.
Breaking News from Treasury: S&P is wrong..nothing will stop us from issuing debt or paying debt (Evidently when you are buying your own debt) .
Back to Goolsbee: "I agree with Treasury.Did't the President just fix this will his outlined plan last week?" lol
This is truly priceless. Never a truthful word spoken by anyone in government.
I caught a little bit of that. Priceless indeed. Maybe someone could youtube it for posterity.
WhiteHouse flash:
Obama is pissed and looking to discredit (no pun) this travesty, said to be offering AirForce 1 rides.
Austin Goolsby and Liesman are consoling each other and putting out their best spin worthy of Pravda.
Ministry of Propaganda on high alert....where is that Huffington windbag when you need her
IMHO this is primarily about the debt limit discussions. Political rumors are that there are not enough votes to increase the limit.
This is a warning to the politicians as Wall Street does not want to see gold go up anymore and they have plans for the free money Bennie is handing out.
It is difficult to take these guys too seriously.
sschu
Unfortunately, the gold stocks are being flash crashed with everything else.
Maybe we are entering Armageddon, but the poor gold stock investors could get wiped out with everything else.
Time to batten down the hatches and short everything??
No, time to buy Gold Stocks.
"The market isn't pricing in QE3. The market is pricing in an economic boom, led by the US consumer." -RobotTrader
perfect!
I was waiting for this quote to surface, +1 Interwebz for you sir.
another knee slapper. just last week you were telling us you would be fully invested on the minor pullback. you listed the stocks you were buying, and then laughed at the gold perma-gloomers. now you're shorting the world, joining the perma-gloomers you mocked last friday.
this is why you are the world's worst trader. you're like a plastic bottle in the ocean getting slammed up against the sea wall by the waves. time to get a day job.
Good, gold stocks arent worth more than the paper theyre written on, take delivery of physical.
What, no chart?
Boring.
And go long........Treasuries!
I loaded up on the morning dip (but <10 year only).
This is a TRADE only. As QE2 wind down approachs, Treasuries should rally. The technicals support it too.
And today, this thesis is working. Treasuries are UP....DESPITE the S&P announcement!
Short everything tied to mindless consumerism and wasteful government spending. Buy real value of which PMs and commodities are value kings! Fools will part with real value in a broad selloff. That is why it is wise to always have some dry powder ready to deploy!
Broken:
How can you flag this as junk...
The markets have once again rolled under their 50DMA. It's not looking pretty.
my inner chartologist, still reeling from march madness, sees a dingleberry with handle...
"The market isn't pricing in QE3, the market is pricing in an economic boom, led by the US consumer." -RobotTrader
remember, the federal reserve is a flailing, rogue beast. no telling what the criminals will do to save their self-acclaimed entitlement of wine, women and song.
Unpredictable like a cornered, rabid dog. God help whomever they bite next.
ahhhhhhhhhh, Joe Biden and I, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, think that, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, america is a great country, ahhhhhhhhhhhh.
Calling the Plunge Protection Team - Ben, Timmy, call your peeps tell them to buy, buy, buy...
+1 Too true Gimp... I'm always now very wary about trying to short Dow / S&P / US 10yr Bonds because of being burned by the Helicopter Ben & Timmy Mallett PPT.
The relative to its 'AAA' peers is strange.
Shouldn't bond ratings be absolute? I'd expect a rating to say they can pay not just they have more of an ability to pay than someone else (who is also in trouble)
Tyler's weekend piece about Ben shorting Treasury puts might have been the straw for S&P.
This is a surprise?
Harry Reid: Planned Parenthood is very important - how dare you treat our women this way. Planned Parenthood needs to screen for cancer. How are the markets doing?
WOW
/si getting taken to the shed
-2.5% from it's highs in 45 minutes
The UK and USA bet everything of a system that relied more and more on financial services and less and less on manufacturing.
However, the leeches (financial elite), after sucking dry slave nations, have now turned on their own people.
As the oligarchy gets richer and richer, the masses are told to work for less, have less services, enjoy their degrading quality of life, and to survive on rising costs and lower wages.
However, people should not worry about wealth being tranfered to the top, as soon enoough it will begin to 'trickle down'. It should start any day now....
kill the consumers! ... no wait, 70% of the economy is consumer based ......Right! sooo.... kill the consumers!
Welcome to the end of the beginning of the Fed engineered fiat explosion. Now wait for all of the internationalist to sell the unified currency program to the sheeple, proclaiming it is the only way to prevent utter and total collapse.
Gold and silver now getting liquidated.
Anyone have the guts to short SLV?
slv is down less than 1%. suggesting that folks short silver is again an example why you are the world's worst trader. step up. get fully invested like you boasted and bragged you were gonna do last thursday.
Damnit. Another chartless post.
Boring.
As others have mentioned, probably a staged event to make sure QE3 is a go.
Remember the bankers warning 2008 - "we are all going to die unless you give us taxpayers money"
force QE3 and also force some sh!tty solution efore 2012 elections
force qe3 .. maybe not this time
"A staged event" -- was my first thought, when I read it.
We can't let them die now because they have all of our money...
The TPTB are taking down silver like a shot. Are the markets rigged or what? At this rate the United States ill announce a complete and utter default and gold and silver will go to zero. WTF. BTFD.
Oh this is classic now with the this guy from S&P rolling his eyes "Literally" at the CNBC crew.
Liesman says: "Isn't it impossible for a government to define on it's own debt if it can print"
S&P Dude says: Nope..we disagree.
Margin calls a coming people.
CNBC attacking S&P on air (live) and gold begins to give back intraday gains. Hmm.
Uh oh.....this could turn into a rout.
Print More Money!!!
Obviously the S&P's computers were infected by Stuxnet. Any downgrades are not supposed to happen until demise is irreversable.....oh wait..
"The economy of the U.S. is flexible and highly diversified"
Bah hahahahaha. Really? what do we produce again. Aren't "financial products" like 30% of the GDP or something? Too fucking funny. I guess that is why the banks keep insisting on "mark to fantasy" accounting.
+14Trillion
By "flexible" they meant it's very easy to fold paper.
By "diversified" they meant that the different pieces of paper are printed with all the colors of the rainbow.
Bitchin' Kitchen!
This just in, and only two decades late!
Way to go fraud and whores.
I guess record bonuses and liars are coming out of vogue.
+1
fuc# the leeches
This isn't HuffPo pussy, you can swear here.
I still want you to marry me!
The last thing the FED needs is for Gold/Silver to be viewed as an alternative to UST for of wealth storage. You can always count on a raid, after the initial run up, on news exposing the ponzi scheme. It happens everytime and has proven to be a great buying opportunity. This time will be no different.
Even gold and silver are looking weak. Another flight to cash?
Does anyone remember when Marc Faber was on CNBC one morning saying "eventually the US would lose its AAA rating" and the three hosts (including the old blonde and Kneale) started laughing. Boy I wish I had that video right now so I could get a good laugh.
More political theater. "raise the debt ceiling or youwill be held personally responsible for the outcome"
Flexible. I like that. Its like we've been doing yoga or something.
gh
Well there has been a whole lot of stretchin' goin' on...
...as we set sail on the u.s. feda-titanic-ernanke, i wandered around the decks. I happened to check under all the life boats and noticed all were stamped "made in china"...thinking, hmmnn, so sad that we will soon find out that they were also made out of old sponges...after i few calls to the manufacturer, it turns out their rationale was that if there was ever a leak, the sponges would soak up all the liquidity...and off in the distance, i could hear the shuffling of chairs...and the band was playing ragtime.
S&P says that clean-up of financial sector is about 34% of GDP
thank you leeches!!
but , but, but, leo told me...................
Uh, just curious...how DOES one take risk off today?
Bueller, Bueller.
BTFD
Good luck with that one, risk be comin' off. Where it goes, nobody knows.
Fed put writing, S&P, IMF, Debt Ceiling, scumbag "representatives" re-arranging deck chairs.....anyone else feel like getting short 2008 style? At least until a QE3 band aid is applied to the severed cardioid.
Alas I forgot that TD changed my entire world view Saturday night....getting short perhaps but if that trade works, it's unit of measure will go nukelear.
Damn.
So, Japan's nuclear wasteland, MENA exploding, Portugal going belly-up and mass inflation isn't enough to smack this market upside it's head, but a "surprise" negative outlook on US paper from S&P is??
Sorry, don't buy it.
Risk off....feels overdue doesn't it?
That would be a severed carotid. A severed cardioid would be a carved up mathematical equation and not nearly as funny.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_carotid_artery
double post ------
Like I said, the PM stocks fare the worst during a bear market.
All you guys how are up to your ears in PM stocks better start unloading.
Calm down. Gold is doing fine. Gold has no loyalty to the US or any other fascist government. The governments rely on gold, it is not the other way around. Technology relies on gold. Gold is the lender of last resort. That is why Bernanke hates gold; he is jealous.
I dont have fake PM stocks, just real physical PM.