Simon Johnson

50% In Favor of Directly Breaking Them Up ... Many More In Favor of Stopping Artificial Support and Letting them Shrink On Their Own

Reclaiming the Founding Fathers' Vision of Prosperity

Bankers have turned the paradigm of monetary truth upside down. People believe in fiat paper & digital money that is counterfeit and have always ended up in massive collapse to their intrinsic value of zero, and have zero belief in real money, like physical gold and silver, that has served civilizations as money and kept price indexes constant and stable for over 5,000 years.

No, American Banks DON'T Need to Be Big to Compete with Bigger Foreign Rivals

Lanny Breuer, the Assistant Attorney General who claimed that prosecuting banks for crimes poses a risk to the financial sector and so corrupt bankers are “too big to jail” has lost his job. But the man who put him there, and who is ultimately responsible for the policy — the Attorney General himself — is here to stay. Fundamentally, Obama’s continued support for Holder illustrates that Obama is still committed to the policy of holding financiers to a lesser standard of justice than other citizens. The big banks continue to ride roughshod over the American people with the complicity of the political class.

If you ever wondered how just a few thousand bankers could impose their Ponzi global banking scheme upon 7 billion people, here is "The 9 Step Process Bankers Use to Force Global Slavery Upon Humanity."

Presenting Dave Collum's now ubiquitous and all-encompassing annual review of markets and much, much more. From Baptists, Bankers, and Bootleggers to Capitalism, Corporate Debt, Government Corruption, and the Constitution, Dave provides a one-stop-shop summary of everything relevant this year (and how it will affect next year and beyond).

Liquidity, Fund Flows and Technicals matter now. Fundamentals, Dow Theory and the real economy, not so much. 

There is a common problem underlying the economic troubles of Europe, Japan, and the US: the symbiotic relationship between politicians who heed narrow interests and the growth of a financial sector that has become increasingly opaque (Igan and Mishra 2011). Bailouts have encouraged reckless behaviour in the financial sector, which builds up further risks – and will lead to another round of shocks, collapses, and bailouts. This is what Simon Johnson and Peter Boone have called the ‘doomsday cycle’. The continuing crisis in the Eurozone merely buys time for Japan and the US. Investors are seeking refuge in these two countries only because the dangers are most imminent in the Eurozone. Will these countries take this time to fix their underlying fiscal and financial problems? That seems unlikely. The nature of ‘irresponsible growth’ is different in each country and region – but it is similarly unsustainable and it is still growing. There are more crises to come and they are likely to be worse than the last one.

• Europe’s crisis will be followed by a more devastating one, likely beginning in Japan. (Simon Johnson)
• Porsche, Daimler Indicate Europe’s Car Crisis Spreading (Bloomberg)
• No progress in Catalonia-Madrid talks (FT)
• Hilsenrath speaks: Fed's Kocherlakota Shifts on Unemployment (WSJ) - luckily QEternity made both obsolete
• Lenders Reportedly Consider New Greek Haircut (Spiegel)
• Fed Officials Highlight Benefits of Bond-Buying (WSJ)
• ESM to Launch without Leverage Vehicle Options (WSJ)
• Japanese companies report China delays (FT)
• Borg Says Swedish Taxes Can’t Go Into Ill-Managed European Banks (Bloomberg)
• Greek Leaders Struggle With Spending Reductions (Bloomberg)
• Asian Stocks Rise as iPhone 5 Debut Boosts Tech Shares (Bloomberg)
• China government's hand seen in anti-Japan protests (LA Times)

America Was Founded on Courage ... What Hapened?

A Fight Both Liberals and Conservatives Can Rally Around ...

NOT JUST SANDY WEILL ...

Too Big Leads To Destruction of the Rule of Law

Scandal After Scandal, Lie Upon Lie ... What's Going On?