ilene's blog

Even today, the price of insurance on a government default has been higher than that for Colgate Palmolive, the global toothpaste giant, which has a rating two notches below AAA.

A wise prognosticator knows when NOT to prognosticate!  

The easy way out of turning to bigger, more solvent governments for bailouts has run its course.

Anyone who thinks that the crisis is over for the market has another thing coming.

From the televised speeches of Obama and Boehner, to the hard-line tactics of the Tea Party, to the pitiful cobbled-together agreement the House put together late Friday - there has been no shortage of grandstanding, posturing or spouting of rhetoric.

Where is the money coming from to buy stocks? 

Considering how enormous the U.S. debt load currently is (roughly $14.5 Tn), higher interest rates would add a crippling burden to an already high burden.

What is worse is that it looks like the pace of layoffs is going to keep increasing.

Today MSFT is effectively a 68% foreign operation. In return they get all the benefits of stimulus and minimize the costs of supporting the US system... One of the big economic winners, Apple Computer, is even worse...

Podcast of Lee Adler and Russ Winter at Wall Street Examiner discussing the debt ceiling, gang of 6 and the impossible situation facing the government.

This lack of accountability leads to increasing bad behavior.

A big part of the supposed assets backing our bank deposits are is worthless crap, and I see no sign of that changing any time soon.

On all fronts, this debt story feels like the swirling motion is starting.

This edifice blows apart once there are actually defaults and as importantly downgrades of the so called AAA debt structure.

"It’s a good cop-bad cop deal, a charade that they’re both playing." - Michael Hudson