We are on our third EU sovereign state review, and thus far everyone has lied, (scratch that) stretched the truth about the prospective path of their economies out of excessive debt situation. Once you see a pattern of, ahem,,, creativity in forging so called "austerity" plans, how long before the markets simply discount the over-indebted EU as a whole.
I am of the belief that Prepaid Legal, a publicly traded company, is actually running a pyramid scheme and a ponzi scheme (potentially illegal, but arguably legal due to the current laws of the land). They are also employing a self-destructive [pyramid] business model and instead of revamping that model and reinvesting heavily in marketing, they spend money on [ponzi] share buybacks to enrich management who are compensated in stock that is sold directly into the share buyback scheme. This is the opportunity to for the SEC to prove that it is not just the Shellgame Enablement Commission (SEC).
As I warned in my Pan-European Sovereign Debt Crisis series and amid a depression, this Eastern European government has collapsed. Western European countries (and their banks) have material claims within this country, and when combined with pressure from the PIIGS, may be the ones that set off the financial/economic contagion daisy chain. It is difficult to determine who sets it off, which is why it is best to attempt to determine the path of the contagion instead...
The Greek saga continues, exactly as was anticipated. For all of those who don't regularly read me, this is really not about Greece but about the start of either default or significant depression throughout a large swath of the Eurozone. Greece is the firestarter and it looks as if we are starting to burn...
Sometimes I have to actually read articles twice, because it really seems that I have somehow missed the point the first time around. Well, on my third glance at this Bloomberg article, I still don't get it: SLM Sells Debt at Higher Interest Rate Than Students Pay
Germany is openly saying what we all really know, Greece is probably !@#!$%. The problem is, how can Greece go down without pulling half the Euro zone with it? The Greek tragedy saga is much worse than the mainstream media is making it out to be. Reference my annotation on today's Bloomberg article...
I have warned my readers about following myths and legends versus reality and facts several times in the past, particularly as it applies to Goldman Sachs and what I have coined "Name Brand Investing". Very recent developments from Senator Kaufman of Delaware will be putting the spit-shined patina of Wall Street's most powerful bank to the test, as it appears he ain't playin'. Here's the speech from the esteemed Senator from Delaware (yes, the most corporate friendly state in this country), complete with an analysis that you will NEVER see in the mainstream media!!!
Sometimes I truly wonder if those who make broad proclamations of "the coast is clear", "everybody is safe", and "all is calm on the western (European) front" ever took the time to glean the facts and evidence before makings such a proclamation. Here is HARD evidence that easily shows that the Greek crisis is FAR from over. I welcome anyone and everyone to challenge the evidence and/or prove otherwise.
Let's get something straight right off the bat. We all know there is a certain level of fraud in the financial industry. It is just that now it is endorsed by the government...
Two years ago when I warned that Munis were getting primed for default in quite a few states (analysis linked below), my admonitions were pooh-poohed. Muni's practically never default, said the ivory tower (muni salesmen) professionals. Don't look now, but bankruptcy warnings are now standard fare in the Detroit prospectus, that doesn't even come with a set of financial statements attached. They are probably paying more than Greece,,, with more to come.
A detailed overview of the current state of charge-offs, delinquencies and (yes) improvements in the mortgage industry - and most importantly what can be discerned from these trends...
Nations cannot sweep the credit bust problems under the sovereign rug and expect them to go away. At best, we are simply Transmogrifying one systemic risk for another. Thus, even if we succeed in curing the threat of financial contagion, all we have done is issued in a new threat of economic contagion...
China's local government to international bank, "Of course we'll stand behind that 30 billion Yuan loan your giving to our investment arm. It's government guaranteed!.... (a year or two after the deal closes...)
Syke, we were just kidding! :-)
Two months ago I pointed out an anomaly in JP Morgan's "blowout" quarterly earnings release. Bloomberg's recent story informs us of how big the problem actually is. Let's reminisce...
