recovery

Does anyone seriously think the global recovery is still intact? Based on what? Does anyone think that stagnant/declining wages, falling real estate values, skyrocketing prices for materials and energy, and belt-tightening by bankrupt States are ideal foundations for higher profits? Anyone who doesn't realize the quake in Japan is a tragic load dumped on a fragile addict's quivering back (i.e. the global recovery) will undoubtedly be surprised by how fast the global economy will start unraveling. Anyone who kept their eyes open is only wondering how a debt and propaganda-fueled recovery lasted this long.

After consumer credit seemed poised to be at a critical inflection point in December, after total credit increased by $6 billion, and all important revolving (i.e., credit card) credit component increasing by $2.3 billion, and the government - recently the only source of incremental consumer credit - largely absent from the monthly pickup, the January number confirmed this single month occurrence was largely a fluke, and was predicated by the already discussed consumer weakness seen in the beginning of the year. Not only did today's consumer credit update indicate last month's increase was revised lower by 33%, to just $4.1 billion (revolving revised from $2.3 billion to $2.1 billion), the revolving credit improvement is now dead and buried, after there was another drop in total revolving credit to the tune of $4.2 billion, more than wiping out last month's increase and printing the 28th of 29 consecutive monthly declines in revolving credit. Yet what is most troubling is that while non-revolving credit increased by $9.3 billion, $24.9 billion of this increase was due to the Federal Government, while the traditional source of credit: consumer banks, plunged by $15.1 billion M/M, the biggest monthly drop since the securitization-commercial reclassification in March of 2010. In addition all other holders of debt saw their notional amounts decline with the exception of savings institutions which increased by a token $345 million. Unfortunately for the Fed, consumer deleveraging is alive and healthy, meaning that the US government will need to fund the private sector indefinitely in the future, which also means monetization of the relentless surge in debt (note today's record $224 billion monthly budget deficit) will continue.

This may be a highly distasteful proposition, but just for a moment, I want you to sit back, and imagine that you are a member of the corporate banking elite. You are a walking talking disease ridden power mad pustule who naively believes himself intellectually superior to the vast majority of humanity and above the inherent laws of conscience, honor, and general good taste. You are a villain in the purest sense, in that you not only do great harm to the world, you actually SEEK to do great harm to the world, if only to benefit yourself and your exclusive circle of “friends”; a clan of degenerate blood thirsty sociopaths with delusions of omnipotence that stalk the night like Armani wearing Chupacabra exsanguinating the joy from poor unsuspecting cultures. You are capable of anything, and sadly, you take “pride” in this fact…The issue is, how do you convince the general public that all is well until you are ready to unleash hyperinflation and fiscal Armageddon? How do you make them believe with all their hearts that they are not in the midst of a debt meltdown and the end of their financial sovereignty, but basking in a full-on economic recovery?! Here is a step by step guide to fabricating an economic recovery out of thin air….

The latest job Obamatunity in a promising field...

But, but, munis always pay back almost 100 cents on the dollar, even in bankruptcy, right? Wrong. Bankrupt Vallejo just filed a POR to pay back unsecured creditors between 5 and 20 cents. "The city regrets that it cannot pay a higher percentage,” Vallejo officials said in the court filings. “The city lacks the revenues to do so while maintaining an adequate level of municipal services, such as the provision of fire and police protection and the repairing of the city’s streets." Just wait for the reaction when holders of unsecured debt all those other (hundreds of) insolvent cities, towns, and states realize that a 5 cent recovery is all too possible...

I’ve been pouring through the Fed Reserve’s recent release of circa 2005 FOMC meeting transcripts. The most striking observation that one can make is that the consumer - the very lifeblood that determines whether our economy will live or die - has been discarded...The solution is simple, we are broke since we take in with taxes and borrowing less then we owe. Our deficit alone ensures default or Quantitative Easing from now until the wheels come entirely off. It is time we reissue the currency, tie it temporarily and loosely to gold, get our manufacturing jobs back and move on.

Counterfeiting is an effective way to stimulate the economy, but the costs can be quite high.

Can they please at least keep their lies straight? While two months ago the IMF said that "Oil price rise not threat to global recovery", we now get an FT article with the following title: "Oil price ‘threat to recovery’" based on a quote from the IEA." H.M.M.M.M. we wonder whose opinion is more accurate: an organization run by idiots (who subsequently matriculate into modestly coherent people whose only job is to bash their former employer), whose only purpose is to destroy economies under mountains of debt (or is that the World Bank?) and to bail out insolvent PIIGS... or the International Energy Agency? We'll have to get back to you on that.

Today's must see TV comes from the following interview of Pimm Fox on the consumer and the economy with retail expert Howard Davidowitz, who in 10 minutes provides more quality content and logical thought than we have seen from CNBC guests in probably all of 2010 (except of course for that one time when Erin Burnett kicked out Mike Pento, but that's a different story). Where does one start? Probably at the end: "I am not surprised by the strength of retail sales, because i knew that 30% of consumers are responsible for retail sales, and these 30% did much better because of the performance of capital markets. I don't think it is indicative of anything going forward. I don't think the economy is going to get any better. If you look at our fiscal and monetary policy, we went two trillion in the hole last year. Two trillion... to produce this... and unemployment went up to 9.8%! We've spent two trillion we're printing money we're going bananas. Our balance sheet, we've got $2.6 trillion on there, and what;s on there government securities, and MBS." And here is the kicker for the world's biggest hedge fund, which at least one person besides Zero Hedge appears to get: "If interest rates go up a point Bernanke's bankrupt. Everything he's bought is underwater. All the MBS are underwater, the whole country is underwater." Does anyone see the issue now with why rising interest rates, aside from predicting a "recovery", may also, courtesy of its now $2 billion DV01, "predict" the insolvency of the Federal Reserve?

With the Federal Reserve now openly endorsing the ponzi scheme nature of the US stock market, it would be expected that any releases out of the Fed or its regional offices would be strictly within the limits of preapproved propaganda. Which is why we were stunned when we read the following research piece released from the Dallas Fad, titled: "The Fallacy of a Pain-Free Path to a Healthy Housing Market" in which we read unpleasant facts that traditionally are relegated only to the dark and murky world of the blogosphere. Among these are the following pearls: "Prices, in fact, have begun to slide again
in recent weeks. In short, pulling demand forward has not produced a
sustainable stabilization in home prices, which cannot escape the
pressure exerted by oversupply", "About 3.6 million housing units,
representing 2.7 percent of the total housing stock, are vacant and
being held off the market....Presumably, many are among the 6 million distressed
properties that are listed as at least 60 days delinquent, in
foreclosure or foreclosed in banks’ inventories." (the bulk of which are still populated by squatters who pay no mortgage, yet who are not booted by the lender banks, and who instead can redirect the money to uses such as iPad purchases), and this stunner: "With nearly half of total bank assets backed by residential real estate, both homeowners on the cusp of negative equity and the banking system as a whole remain concerned amid the resumption of home price declines.....The latest price declines will undoubtedly cause more economic dislocation. As the crisis enters its fifth year, uncertainty is as prevalent as ever and continues to hinder a more robust economic recovery. Given that time has not proven beneficial in rendering pricing clarity, allowing the market to clear may be the path of least distress." This is a stunning admission: in essence the Fed itself is advocating for mark-to-market, and the ensuing bloodbath that would ensue with bank book, and market, capitalization. Will this proposal by authors Danielle DiMartino Booth and David Luttrell see more traction at the Fed or promptly disappear in someone's inbox? Our money is on the latter.

For the duration of what I estimate to be a 10 year economic slowdown (we are entering year 4), you will hear countless experts proclaim that the economy has recovered. Economic recovery evangelists were temporarily silenced earlier in the year, but they have now come out in force.In today's FOMC statement, the Fed actually had the chutzpah to say: "The economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring down unemployment".

Bernanke looks like he's terrified ...

Bernanke: Economic Recovery 'May Not Be' Self-Sustaining

Bernanke: Could Buy More Bonds Depending On Inflation, 'How Economy Looks'

Bernanke: Getting 'Awfully Close' To Range Where Prices Start Falling

Bernanke: Could Be 4-5 Years Before US Sees 'More Normal' Unemployment Rate

Bernanke: Defends Plan To Buy Treasury Securities

Bernanke: High Unemployment Rate 'Primary Source Of Risk' To Economy

Bernanke: Double-Dip Recession 'Doesn't Seem Likely'

There is propaganda, and there are facts. For anyone seeking just one concise, definitive and completely true (as in fact-, not hope- based) explanation of what has happened to the American economy in the past 2 years, we suggest this presentation by former OMB director David Stockman, whose 10 minute appearance on the CNBC's strategy session left the hosts with absolutely nothing to retort. Among his observations: the government sector for the first time in history is shrinking: "the reason is that governments are broke... we are going to have to cut back government employment." And it gets scarier: "if you take core government plus the middle class economy (65 million jobs), that's the breadwinning economy, if we take some numbers - how many jobs in the "core economy" in November - zero; how many jobs since last December: net zero; how many jobs since the bottom of the recession in June 2009: still a million behind from when the recession ended." As to whether the economy can grow without employment growth: "I can't imagine how it can because employment growth generates income growth which is the basis for spending and saving ultimately and we are not getting income growth out of the middle class." And the stunner: the job "growth" has come almost exclusively from the part-time economy (two-thirds). Why is this a major problem: "there is 35 million jobs in that sector, with an average wage of $20,000 a year: that is not a breadwinning job, you can't support a family on that, you can't save on that. Those jobs will not generate income that will become self-feeding into spending." As for the biggest condemnation, it is reserved to what Zero Hedge has been claiming for two years now is a completely broken market: "I can't explain the market... I don't know what it is pricing today, I don't think the market discounts anything anymore, it is purely a daytraders' market that is trading off the Fed, trading off the headlines. One day it is manic, the next day it is depressive, and we can't draw any conclusions." And scene.

Another day passes, proving that you have economic propaganda (is the Dow at 36,000 yet, solely on ponzi hot potato passing between 3 computers and 2 primary dealer), and then you have reality. A quick look at KR stock indicates that not all is good with the largest US supermarket chain. Sure enough, earlier today, the company announced it was lowering the top end of its full-year profit forecast. Kroger projected per-share earnings of $1.65 to $1.78, compared with its previous forecast of $1.60 to $1.80, according to a statement today by the Cincinnati-based retailer. The consensus is $1.78. It was, however, the commentary from the conference call is most telling: The slow economic recovery is hurting grocery sales and consumers are “cautious in their spending,” Chief Executive Officer David Dillon told analysts on a conference call. The recovery is slower and weaker than Kroger had expected and competition remains “intense,” he said. Hear that: the economy is "slower and weaker"...Although that only pertains to such irrelevant items as food and drink. And who needs those when you have Kindles to keep you fed and warm at night.