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  • The Fed's Big Gamble
    It is a gamble when a government controlled economy supposedly be more effective than a market economy.

    In the past, a government controlled economy has always failed regardless when and where it was tried/imposed. Bailouts of failed businesses have never contributed to an economic progress. It just postponed the inevitable making a bad situation much more worst.
    Dec 31 15:42 pm |Rating: +6 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Bernanke's Great Lie: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression
    " When a society values anything based on perception rather than utility, it loses efficiency and will decline."

    Just recently, I visited a museum old American mid 19th century settlement in Massachusetts. It cost me $60 for three tickets, and I wad disappointed for a long drive and "nothing new" to see.

    But, at the settlement square, I got inside a bank-museum. I learned that at that time people used almost exclusively coin money. At that time, banks just started to introduce "paper money". Under a glass I found a history of paper-money introduction. It was based up on a very simple principle: Creation of these paper-obligations was based on people TRUST in banks issuing these paper-obligations to convert these IOU in "real" money.

    For the long years, America was an industrial superpower. The world was looking forward to buy American products and services, and US$ was supported by the US government to tax its people and businesses. Well, now it is a history. Now, US government is only capable of printing fiat-US$.

    The 20th century has been full of lies:
    * Socialists-Bolsheviks came to power in Russia promising to liberate worker and peasants from capitalistic oppression. Instead worker and peasants in Russia got slavery and concentration-extermin... camps well before NAZI Germany did the same on more "civilized" scale.

    * Then, there was a big lie about the WWII: bad Germans and Japanese and good Soviet Communists, Americans and British. Germans indeed killed many people in gas-chambers but Americans were planning to gas the entire Japan (only nukes dropped over Japan made it unnecessary)

    * Then we had lies about Vietnam, Iraq, etc., etc.,

    * Now, we got a big lie of how America got into the present economic & financial crisis. It was just greedy real-estate agents and mortgage companies together with few misguided Wall-Street bankers. The lie goes on telling us that by printing more fiat-money all American & world problems will be solved. If only FDA has printed more fiat-money, there would not be any Great Depression. How convenient!!!!
    Dec 28 20:02 pm |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Hedge Fund Redemptions May Crash Q1 Markets
    The Treasury and Fed will continue to "support & manipulate" financial markets keeping Dow in a 8,000-9,000 range.

    The purpose is to keep insurance companies solvent. However, at some point, this support will bebome unsustainable. At this junction, DOW will dive down with Gold jumping up (unless Obama will follow FDR's Great Gold Robbery.)
    Dec 22 12:43 pm |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Don't Be Scammed by Madoff Investor Sob Stories
    Let stop BS right now:
    - We pay taxes because we are forced to do so
    - 90% of all charitable contributions are going to their management collecting quite often 6-digits compensations
    - This "poor soles" can either get themselves a job (if they are not too old and/or sick) or, in addition to their $2,500 per months, they are getting another $2,500 from the Social Security for a total of $6,000 per years. This is even more that the majority of working Americans are living on
    - Finally, it is the time for people to become responsible for their own activities and following consequences.


    On Dec 21 the poster wrote:

    > You have no idea what you are talking about. Many people who invested with Madoff gave away money to charities who ended up helping the poor and others. <
    Dec 22 12:07 pm |Rating: +1 -2 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The Deflation Scam
    Just two comments:

    - Dr. Friedman theories can be inaccurate or even wrong

    - Not all Great Depressions are the same.

    Just because a person and/or an economy are very sick, it must be treated the same. This is why we go to a good doctor to diagnose an illness and only then be treated with the right medicine. Aspirin is a great medication but will it does not do any good for a cancer or any bacterial infection.


    On Dec 20 01:37 AM John Lounsbury wrote:

    > A worthwhile addition to this discussion stream would be to recognize the role of velocity of money in inflation.

    Inflation as a monetary phenomenon can be considered an increase in the nominal value of all transactions.

    Milton Friedman made popular (created?) the following equation...
    Dec 21 22:07 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The Deflation Scam
    There are two possibilities: either the government (the Treasury and Fed) want to
    - Execute a "controlled" deleveraging or
    - "Manage" the US economy

    If US government goal is to "manage" the economy then it will lead to a complete economic collapse (like it happened in Soviet Union and/or other "centrally planned" economies.)

    If US government goal is to have a "controlled deleveraging" of US economy then they better must slow down their US$ printing presses. US economy is on "drugs", that is, it is on a huge foreign money & goods infusion.

    The US foreign trade deficit is huge. US economy lost its international competitive edge some times ago, and it has to import huge quantity of industrial and consumer goods as well as almost all industrial commodities.

    US government can not inflate itself out of the present economic catastrophe without becoming competitive without totally ruining American standards of living.

    Any bailout of failed and inefficient US businesses must stopped (with exception for US strategic sector like national defence and security as well as major financial institution but, at the same time, these sectors must be modernized and become efficient). US must start making strategic investments in its economy promoting successful businesses.

    Anything else will even more exacerbate the already terrible situation leading to civil unrests.
    Dec 21 21:45 pm |Rating: 0 -1 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Rough Economic Seas Toss Many Boats, Including Oil Price
    The bad new for all these dreamers is that at under $40 too many oil producers will start shutting down their operations including the main US supplier Canada.

    No alternative energy sources will be developed with oil below $75.

    Remember that China is a communist state capable of surviving and prospering under very adversed consequences.
    Dec 19 23:20 pm |Rating: +1 -1 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Oil Majors Should Just Buy Real Gold
    The author idea is simple and correct: oil companies are sitting on mountains of fiat paper money whose value will sharply depreciate in a near future.

    It is obvious that governments all around world are printing endless quantities of paper money trying to inflate world economies out of coming depression.

    Consequently, these paper-money must be converted into something tangible that will hold its value no matter what.

    These tangible assets are gold, oil, gas, quality farm land and other valuable assets no government can print.

    It is mind boggling how oil and gas producing states continue to exchange their oil, gas and other valuable commodities for useless pieces of paper called US$.

    Remember that the USA foreign trade deficit is gigantic, i.e., the USA buys a lot and sells very little.
    Dec 18 00:07 am |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Own Gold? Time to Fold
    The Feds and Treasury are playing a simple game: the Central Planning System.

    Regardless of how much money is printed and/or how low interest rates are going down, it will do nothing to revive a free-market economy. The central planning system led to collapse of Soviet Union and all his satellites. It has no chance to succeed in the USA.

    The fact is that both the Feds and Treasury have lost control of US economy. The only thing they are still capable of accomplish are
    - to manipulate the Stock market and
    - to prevent a collapse of US major banks

    Like with Detroit, regardless of how much money given to them, Detroit auto industry will go into a bankruptcy since no fundamental problems are either addressed or solved.

    Finally, comparing US economy with Japanese is outright stupid.
    Dec 17 00:33 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Bernie Madoff Comes Out of the Closet
    Are American people really that stupid buying so much BS from the media and US political and economic elite?
    The answer is YES!

    Let us look at Bernie Madoff affair as it was told to us:
    - Madoff alone, without anybody help and assistance, was running for 25 years plus a multi-billion dollar hedge fund that
    - Had ~$50B (give or take a few) in assets
    - Had at least 25 large clients
    - Had to
    -- Find new clients, promote and market his fund
    -- Support financial, investment and administration and other array of business operations
    -- Issue to its clients and IRS a mountain of financial statements and reports
    -- Two of his sons as his Executive VPs
    - And on and on and on and on
    And
    - NOBODY KNEW NOTHING
    - His own family turned him to FBI finding that he was a crook.

    What a story? It is just an incredible miracle!!!!! But is it?

    People who believe in this story deserve their miserable destiny. It is that simple! It tells volumes about American people and the society as a whole.

    PS
    One more "fair story". About Detroit. Nobody in the entire world knew until Nov. 2008 that Detroit automakers are losing tons of money and running out of cash before the year-end.

    The funny story is that NOBODY at the Wall-Street was arrested yet for ruining the US and world economy and robbing American people on a tune of tens of trillions dollars...WOW!
    Dec 14 09:37 am |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Auto Industry Watch: You Can't Get Different Results Doing the Same Thing
    Union or not unions, American workers standard of living will go down, much down.

    Why? There is no reason why American worker must be paid 4-5 times more than his/her Asian counterpart doing the same job. It is just that simple!
    Dec 14 00:00 am |Rating: +1 -1 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Auto Industry Watch: You Can't Get Different Results Doing the Same Thing
    It does not make any sh*t regarding of who is who.

    The most important that American taxpayers money MUST be used only for the good of ALL American people not just for Detroit parasites.

    As for bailouts, instead of supporting losing businesses, American taxpayers money must be used for enhance and promote successful businesses benefiting the future for all.

    Regardless of "bridge" money or not, the Detroit is dead. It is time to save America since the great economic & political crisis is just started.
    Dec 13 23:51 pm |Rating: +2 -2 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Madoff Scandal: Where Was the SEC?
    Mr Cox, as the SEC Chairman, has done exactly the job he was hired for.

    Well, the New York state governor is a blind person. It is perfectly convenient for so many...

    As for Obama, he has no clue of what is going on. This is why he hired the entire former Clinton administrations.

    The problem that arsonists (from both Clinton and Bush administrations and their masters from the Wall-Street) started a terrible fire and greatly miscalculated the consequences.
    Dec 13 23:36 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Fiat Money and a Profligate Congress: A Bad Combination
    Volcker gets little too much credit.

    Fed's Chairman Burns tried to fight inflation and excessive money supply but Nixon stopped him dead.

    So, indeed Paul Volcker did a good job but it was Ronald Reagan who allowed him to do so. Without Regan's consent, Volcker would not be able to stay on his inflation-fighting course since too many people and politicians wanted him out.

    Do you remember as much Democrats blamed Reagan for running budget deficits? Somehow now, they do not care at all about deficits.

    Finally, Reagan administration did not use their deficits bailing out failed companies but rather used it for investments in high-tech, science and defense.

    PS
    Note that Reagan was not perfect. His immigration policies and budget compromises with the Congress were not excusable. However, nobody can argue with his many achievements.
    Dec 13 17:16 pm |Rating: 0 -1 |Link to Comment |View article
  • 100 Year Bonds Make Sense
    There is a good news: Mr. Rubin is now Obama's chief economic adviser.
    Dec 07 20:18 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

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