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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 2, 2016 19:50:08 GMT -5
h/t WRSA via Maggie's Farm westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/stockman-the-end-is-near/Punch line: “...We are nearing the end. I think the world economy is plunging into an unprecedented deflation recession period of shrinkage that will bring down all the markets around the world that have been vastly overvalued as a result of this massive money printing and liquidity flow into Wall Street and other financial markets...”
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Post by avordvet on Feb 4, 2016 16:10:57 GMT -5
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Post by avordvet on Feb 5, 2016 4:53:29 GMT -5
After wasting billions trying to float solar, and with the economy chugging and sputtering, obama pulls a chaves and starts steering the economy completely over the edge of the cliff. Obama to seek new tax on oil in budget proposalFebruary 4, 2016, By Ayesha Rascoe and Valerie Volcovici In the last year of his presidency, Obama has said the country must stop subsidizing the “dirty” fossil fuels of the past and focus on clean, renewable fuels that do not exacerbate climate change. “By placing a fee on oil, the President’s plan creates a clear incentive for private sector innovation to reduce our reliance on oil and at the same time invests in clean energy technologies that will power our future,” the White House said in a statement. www.oann.com/obama-to-seek-new-tax-on-oil-in-budget-proposal/
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 8, 2016 20:49:45 GMT -5
h/t N C Renegade theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/day-of-reckoning-the-collapse-of-the-too-big-to-fail-banks-in-europe-is-hereDay Of Reckoning: The Collapse Of The Too Big To Fail Banks In Europe Is HereThere is so much chaos going on that I don’t even know where to start. For a very long time I have been warning my readers that a major banking collapse was coming to Europe, and now it is finally unfolding. Let’s start with Deutsche Bank. The stock of the most important bank in the “strongest economy in Europe” plunged another 8 percent on Monday, and it is now hovering just above the all-time record low that was set during the last financial crisis. Overall, the stock price is now down a staggering 36 percent since 2016 began, and Deutsche Bank credit default swaps are going parabolic. Of course my readers were alerted to major problems at Deutsche Bank all the way back in September, and now the endgame is playing out. In addition to Deutsche Bank, the list of other “too big to fail” banks in Europe that appear to be in very serious trouble includes Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, HSBC and BNP Paribas. Just about every major bank in Italy could fall on that list as well, and Greek bank stocks lost close to a quarter of their value on Monday alone. Financial Armageddon has come to Europe, and the entire planet is going to feel the pain. The collapse of the banks in Europe is dragging down stock prices all over the continent. At this point, more than one-fifth of all stock market wealth in Europe has already been wiped out since the middle of last year. That means that we only have four-fifths left. The following comes from USA Today… The MSCI Europe index is now down 20.5% from its highest point over the past 12 months, says S&P Global Market Intelligence, placing it in the 20% decline that unofficially defines a bear market. Europe’s stock implosion makes the U.S.’ sell-off look like child’s play. The U.S.-centric Standard & Poor’s 500 Monday fell another 1.4% – but it’s only down 13% from its high. Some individual European markets are getting hit even harder. The Milan MIB 30, Madrid Ibex 35 and MSCI United Kingdom indexes are off 29%, 23% and 20% from their 52-week highs, respectively as investors fear the worse could be headed for the Old World. These declines are being primarily driven by the banks. According to MarketWatch, European banking stocks have fallen for six weeks in a row, and this is the longest streak that we have seen since the heart of the last financial crisis… The region’s banking gauge, the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Index FX7, -5.59% has logged six straight weeks of declines, its longest weekly losing stretch since 2008, when banks booked 10 weeks of losses, beginning in May, according to FactSet data. “The current environment for European banks is very, very bad. Over a full business cycle, I think it’s very questionable whether banks on average are able to cover their cost of equity. And as a result that makes it an unattractive investment for long-term investors,” warned Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank. Overall, Europe’s banking stocks are down 23 percent year to date and 39 percent since the peak of the market in the middle of last year. The financial crisis that began during the second half of 2015 is picking up speed over in Europe, and it isn’t just Deutsche Bank that could implode at any moment. Credit Suisse is the most important bank in Switzerland, and they announced a fourth quarter loss of 5.8 billion dollars. The stock price has fallen 34 percent year to date, and many are now raising questions about the continued viability of the bank. Similar scenes are being repeated all over the continent. On Monday we learned that Russia had just shut down two more major banks, and the collapse of Greek banks has pushed Greek stock prices to a 25 year low… Greek stocks tumbled on Monday to close nearly eight percent lower, with bank shares losing almost a quarter of their market value amid concerns over the future of government reforms. The general index on the Athens stock exchange closed down 7.9 percent at 464.23 points — a 25-year-low — while banks suffered a 24.3-percent average drop. This is what a financial crisis looks like. Fortunately things are not this bad here in the U.S. quite yet, but we are on the exact same path that they are
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 9, 2016 8:15:13 GMT -5
h/t WRSA... www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-08/market-knows-its-over-jim-rogers-warns-were-all-going-suffer#comment-7158722"The Market Knows It's Over" Jim Rogers Warns "We're All Going To Suffer"Back in the 1970’s as recession gripped the world for a decade, stocks stagnated and commodities crashed, investor Jim Rogers made a fortune. His understanding of markets, capital flows and timing is legendary. As crisis struck in late 2008, he did it again, often recommending gold and silver to those looking for wealth preservation strategies – move that would have paid of multi-fold when precious metals hit all time highs in 2011. He warned that the crash would lead to massive job losses, dependence on government bailouts, and unprecedented central bank printing on a global scale. Now, Rogers says that investors around the world are realizing that the jig is up. Stocks are over bloated and central banks will have little choice but to take action again. But this time, says Rogers in his latest interview with CrushTheStreet.com, there will be no stopping it and people all over the world are going to feel the pain, including in China and the United States. We’re all going to suffer… I can think of very few places that won’t suffer. But most people are going to suffer the next time around. We’re all going to suffer… I can think of very few places that won’t suffer. But most people are going to suffer the next time around. Central banks will panic. They will do whatever they can to save the markets. It’s artificial… it won’t work… there comes a time when no matter how much money you have, the market has more money. I don’t know if they’ll even call it QE (Quantitative Easing) in the future… who knows what they’ll call it to disguise it… they’re going to try whatever they can… printing more money or lowering interest rates or buying more assets… but unfortunately, no matter how much P.R. or whitewashing they use, the market knows this is over and we’re not going to play this game anymore.
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 10, 2016 8:08:50 GMT -5
h/t N C Renegade... theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/a-918-point-stock-market-crash-in-japan-and-deutsche-bank-denies-that-it-is-about-to-collapseA 918 Point Stock Market Crash In Japan And Deutsche Bank Denies That It Is About To CollapseOn Tuesday junk bonds continued to crash, the price of oil briefly dipped below 28 dollars a barrel, Deutsche Bank was forced to deny that it is on the verge of collapse, but the biggest news was what happened in Japan. The Nikkei was down a staggering 918 points, but that stock crash made very few headlines in the western world. If the Dow had crashed 918 points today, that would have been the largest single day point crash in all of U.S. history. So what just happened in Japan is a really big deal. The Nikkei is now down 23.1 percent from the peak of the market, and that places it solidly in bear market territory. Overall, a total of 16.5 trillion dollars of global stock market wealth has been wiped out since the middle of 2015. As I stated yesterday, this is what a global financial crisis looks like. Just as we saw during the last financial crisis, the big banks are playing a starring role, and this is definitely true in Japan. Right now, Japanese banking stocks are absolutely imploding, and this is what drove much of the panic last night. The following numbers come from Wolf Richter… •Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plunged 8.7%, down 47% from June 2015. •Mizuho Financial Group plunged 6.2%, down 38% since June 2015. •Sumitomo Mitsui plunged 6.2%, down 26% since May 2015 •Nomura plunged a juicy 9.1%, down 42% since June 2015 A lot of analysts have been very focused on the downturn in China in recent months, but I think that it is much more important to watch Japan right now. I have become fully convinced that the Japanese financial system is going to play a central role in the initial stages of this new global financial meltdown, and so I encourage everyone to keep a close eye on the Nikkei every single night. Meanwhile, the stock price of German banking giant Deutsche Bank crashed to a record low on Tuesday. If you will recall, Deutsche Bank reported a loss of 7.6 billion dollars in 2015, and I wrote quite a bit about their ongoing problems yesterday. Things have gotten so bad that now Deutsche Bank has been forced to come out and publicly deny that they are in trouble… Deutsche Bank co-CEO John Cryan moved to quell fears about the bank’s stability Tuesday with a surprise memo saying its balance sheet “remains absolutely rock-solid.” The comments come as investors grow increasingly nervous about the health of European banks, which have taken a hit on the fall in energy prices and which face rising concerns over their cash levels. Of course Lehman Brothers issued the same kind of denials just before they collapsed in 2008. Cryan’s comments did little to calm the markets, and even Jim Cramer saw right through them… “You know, Deutsche Bank puts out a note saying, ‘listen, don’t worry, all good.’ Reminds me of JPMorgan saying if you have to say that you’re creditworthy then it’s already too late.”
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 11, 2016 8:20:31 GMT -5
h/t N C Renegade www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-11/markets-around-world-are-crashing-gold-soarsMarkets Around The World Are Crashing; Gold SoarsYesterday morning, when musing on the day's key event namely Yellen's congressional testimony, we dismissed the most recent bout of European bank euphoria which we said "will be brief if not validated by concrete actions, because while central banks have the luxury of jawboning, commercial banks are actually burning through funds - rapidly at that - and don't have the luxury of hoping for the best while doing nothing." This morning DB has wiped out all of yesterday's gain. As for Yellen's testimony, we said that "she can send stocks reeling with one word out of place" - the word in question being not what she said but what she didn't say, in this case not being dovish enough and thus supportive enough of risk. And the consequence is there for all to see as soon as their trading terminal boots up: everything is crashing (with the exception of China which is on holiday, and Japan which was mercifully closed yesterday). Here are the highlights: •S&P 500 futures down 1.8% to 1814 •Stoxx 600 down 3.4% to 304 •FTSE 100 down 2.6% to 5525 •DAX down 2.9% to 8760 •German 10Yr yield down 7bps to 0.18% •MSCI Asia Pacific up 0.1% to 117 •Hang Seng down 3.8% to 18546 •S&P/ASX 200 up 1% to 4821 •US 10-yr yield down 5bps to 1.62% •Dollar Index down 0.42% to 95.49 •WTI Crude futures down 2.9% to $26.65 •Brent Futures down 1.7% to $30.31 •Gold spot up 1.9% to $1,220 •Silver spot up 1.5% to $15.50 It all started in Hong Kong where as we reported last night, the Hang Seng Index plunged 3.9%, catching up with the week’s selloff as the market reopened from a holiday, and capping its worst Lunar New Year start since 1994. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average and China’s Shanghai Composite Index were both closed, but investors continued to pile into the yen, as virtually every carry trade has fallen apart in the past month. As a result, the dollar was down 1.8% against the yen at ¥111.28 after sliding below 111 briefly, a massive gain of nearly 300 pips in the past 24 hours, sending the Yen to the lowest level since October 2014 when Kuroda expanded QE.
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 14, 2016 20:36:05 GMT -5
www.intellihub.com/venezuela-out-food-here-what-economic-collapse-loos-like/Venezuela Is Out of Food: Here’s What an Economic Collapse Really Looks LikeAfter several years of long lines, rationing, and shortages, the socialist country does not have enough food to feed its population, and the opposition government has declared a “nutritional emergency.” This is just the most recent nail in the beleaguered country’s slow, painful economic collapse. Many people expect an economic collapse to be shocking, instant, and dramatic, but really, it’s far more gradual than that. It looks like empty shelves, long lines, desperate government officials trying to cover their tushes, and hungry people. For the past two years, I’ve been following the situation in Venezuela as each shocking event has unfolded. Americans who feel that our country would be better served by a socialist government would be wise to take note of this timeline of the collapse. A quick review: Why Venezuela Is Out of Food In 2013, many began to suspect that the outlook for Venezuela was grim when prepping became illegal. The Attorney General of Venezuela, Luisa Ortega Díaz, called on prosecutors to target people who are “hoarding” basic staples with serious sanctions. Shortly thereafter, grocery stores instituted a fingerprint registry to purchase food and supplies. Families had to register and were allotted a certain amount of supplies to prevent “hoarding.” Then, just over a year ago, it became even more apparent that the country was falling. when long lines for basic necessities such as laundry soap, diapers, and food became the norm rather than the exception. Thousands of people were standing in line for 5-6 hours in the hopes that they would be able to purchase a few much-needed items. Shortly after the story broke to the rest of the world, the propaganda machine shifted into high gear. As the government began to ration electricity, it was announced that this was not due to economic reasons at all, but instead was a measure of their great concern for the environment. As the situation continued to devolve, farmers in Venezuela were forced to hand over their crops last summer. They assumed control of essential goods like food, and began putting retail outlets out of business. Then, once they had control of the sales outlets, they began forcing farmers and food manufacturers to sell anywhere from 30-100% of their products to the state at the price the state opted to pay, as opposed to stores and supermarkets. But that wasn’t enough to keep the population fed. (Isn’t it astonishing how much less motivated people are to produce food and supplies when they are no longer allowed to benefit from their hard work? Historically, collectivism and farming have never gone successfully hand in hand.) This January, the government told citizens that they would need to produce their own food. The Ministry of Urban Farming was created to oversee this. While self-reliance sounds great, it isn’t so great in Venezuela. Just so the urban farmers don’t get too self-reliant, a registry of the crops and livestock will be required. (And obviously, they’ve already proven that they have no issue forcing farmers to hand over what they’ve produced.) Now, it looks like all of the socialist measures and forced food production haven’t been enough to keep the people of Venezuela fed. The country is in so much trouble now that it isn’t possible to cover it up with propaganda.
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 14, 2016 20:42:56 GMT -5
www.profitconfidential.com/economy/economic-collapse-insider-says-conditions-are-worse-than-2008/Economic Collapse: Insider Says Conditions are Worse Than 2008A global economic collapse might be on the horizon as AP Moeller Maersk A/S (CPH:MAERSK-B), owner of the world’s largest container shipping company, is powerfully ringing the alarm on international trade growth. This week, Maersk warned that it has been facing conditions significantly worse than the 2008 financial crisis. The rout in both oil prices and container freight rates are severely hurting the shipping-to-oil conglomerate. Oil prices have tumbled more than 80% since mid-2014 on ample supply. Many of the world’s busiest container shipping routes are struggling amid slowdown in emerging markets and weak growth in Europe. China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, expanded at 6.9% last year, the slowest in 25 years. Europe predicted just 1.5% growth in 2015. "It is worse than in 2008,” the company’s chief executive officer, Nils Andersen, told the Financial Times. “The oil price is as low as its lowest point in 2008-09 and has stayed there for a long time and doesn’t look like [it’s] going up soon. Freight rates are lower. The external conditions are much worse but we are better prepared.” (Source: “Maersk warns business conditions worse than during 2008 crisis,” Financial Times, February 10, 2016.) Shares of the Copenhagen, Denmark-based company surrendered as much as 9.3% in intraday trading on Wednesday, following the release of its weak earnings report. The stock recovered some of its losses on Friday, gaining as much as seven percent, but it is still down 41% in the past 12 months. The company, which is seen as a bellwether for global trade, estimated it grew just zero to one percent last year compared to double-digit growth before the financial crisis. Maersk projects an increase of between one and three percent this year, which is still below its post-crisis estimate of four percent to five percent growth.
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 17, 2016 16:10:08 GMT -5
ncrenegade.com/editorial/21-new-numbers-that-show-that-the-global-economy-is-absolutely-imploding/21 New Numbers That Show That The Global Economy Is Absolutely ImplodingAfter a series of stunning declines through the month of January and the first half of February, global financial markets seem to have found a patch of relative stability at least for the moment. But that does not mean that the crisis is over. On the contrary, all of the hard economic numbers that are coming in from around the world tell us that the global economy is coming apart at the seams. This is especially true when you look at global trade numbers. The amount of stuff that is being bought, sold and shipped around the planet is falling precipitously. So don’t be fooled if stocks go up one day or down the next. The truth is that we are in the early chapters of a brand new economic meltdown, and I believe that all of the signs indicate that it will continue to get worse in the months ahead. The following are 21 new numbers that show that the global economy is absolutely imploding… #1 Chinese exports fell by 11.2 percent year over year in January. #2 Chinese imports were even worse in January. On a year over year basis, they declined a whopping 18.8 percent. #3 It may be hard to believe, but Chinese imports have now plunged for 15 months in a row. #4 In India, exports were down 13.6 percent on a year over year basis in January. #5 In Japan, exports declined 8 percent in December on a year over year basis, while imports plummeted 18 percent. More… theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/21-new-numbers-that-show-that-the-global-economy-is-absolutely-imploding
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 19, 2016 8:30:39 GMT -5
ncrenegade.com/editorial/deere-in-headlights-after-guidance-cut-sees-10-sales-drop-due-to-downturn-in-global-farm-economy/Deere In Headlights After Guidance Cut: Sees 10% Sales Drop Due To “Downturn In Global Farm Economy” It is not just Caterpillar that continues to post horrendous numbers, and has now recorded 38 consecutive months of declining Y/Y sales, double the length of the contraction of the great financial crisis. Moments ago heavy farm equipment maker Deere likewise shocked its investors with a round of terrible numbers, when at first it reported a revenue and EPS beat, announced it had earned $0.80 EPS in Q4, above the $0.71 estimate, on $5.53BN in revenue, well above the $4.90BN expected, however it was the unprecedented drop in the forecast that was the punchline. According to the company’s announcement, equipment sales are projected to decrease about 10% for fiscal 2016 and to be down about 8 percent for the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Here is how CEO Samuel Allen tried to spin the cut in guidance which DE had previously seen at just -7%: “Although Deere expects another challenging year in 2016, our forecast represents a level of performance much better than we have experienced in previous downturns,”Allen said. Downturn? We thought the Fed was hiking because of the “strong recovery.”
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 25, 2016 13:15:47 GMT -5
www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-24/tale-two-crashes-part-1A Tale of Two Crashes, Part 1By now, regular readers are familiar with the eight-year, bubble-and-crash cycles in our markets and economies which are manufactured by the crime syndicate known as “the One Bank.” The reason the cycles are roughly eight years long has also been explained: to coincide with the U.S. political cycle, and the rotation of its two puppet parties. With the last crash being the almost-terminal Crash of ’08, readers have been warned on many occasions that the Next Crash is scheduled for this year. With that manufactured collapse now being only a few months (weeks? days?) away, it is instructive to compare these two cycles of financial crime. The analysis of patterns can yield insights in two opposing manners. Value can be gleaned in looking at how these repeating cycles are the same, but perhaps more revealing is how and why they differ. In this particular piece, the focus will be on (hard) commodity prices in each of these cycles, and how and why the bubble-and-crash pattern have been significantly different in this respect.
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 27, 2016 8:38:41 GMT -5
ncrenegade.com/editorial/economic-recovery-13-of-the-biggest-retailers-in-america-are-closing-down-stores/Economic Recovery? 13 Of The Biggest Retailers In America Are Closing Down StoresBarack Obama recently stated that anyone that is claiming that America’s economy is in decline is “peddling fiction“. Well, if the economy is in such great shape, why are major retailers shutting down hundreds of stores all over the country? Last month, I wrote about the “retail apocalypse” that is sweeping the nation, but since then it has gotten even worse. Closing stores has become the “hot new trend” in the retail world, and “space available” signs are going up in mall windows all over the United States. Barack Obama can continue huffing and puffing about how well the middle class is doing all he wants, but the truth is that the cold, hard numbers that retailers are reporting tell an entirely different story. Earlier today, Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert released a letter to shareholders that was filled with all kinds of bad news. In this letter, he blamed the horrible results that Sears has been experiencing lately on “tectonic shifts” in consumer spending… In a letter to shareholders on Thursday, Lampert said the impact of “tectonic shifts” in consumer spending has spread more broadly in the last year to retailers “that had previously proven to be relatively immune to such shifts.” “Walmart, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Staples, Whole Foods and many others have felt the impact of disruptive changes from online competition and new business models,” Lampert wrote. And it is very true – Sears is doing horribly, but they are far from alone. The following are 13 major retailers that are closing down stores…
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Post by Michael Downing on Feb 28, 2016 9:22:37 GMT -5
ncrenegade.com/editorial/the-global-run-on-physical-cash-has-begun-why-it-pays-to-panic-first/The Global Run On Physical Cash Has Begun: Why It Pays To Panic FirstBack in August 2012, when negative interest rates were still merely viewed as sheer monetary lunacy instead of pervasive global monetary reality that has pushed over $6 trillion in global bonds into negative yield territory, the NY Fed mused hypothetically about negative rates and wrote “Be Careful What You Wish For” saying that “if rates go negative, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing will likely be called upon to print a lot more currency as individuals and small businesses substitute cash for at least some of their bank balances.” Well, maybe not… especially if physical currency is gradually phased out in favor of some digital currency “equivalent” as so many “erudite economists” and corporate media have suggested recently, for the simple reason that in a world of negative rates, physical currency – just like physical gold – provides a convenient loophole to the financial repression of keeping one’s savings in digital form in a bank where said savings are taxed at -0.1%, or -1% or -10% or more per year by a central bank and government both hoping to force consumers to spend instead of save. For now cash is still legal, and NIRP – while a reality for the banks – has yet to be fully passed on to depositors. The bigger problem is that in all countries that have launched NIRP, instead of forcing spending precisely the opposite has happened: as we showed last October, when Bank of America looked at savings patterns in European nations with NIRP, instead of facilitating spending, what has happened is precisely the opposite: “as the BIS have highlighted, ultra-low rates may perversely be driving a greater propensity for consumers to save as retirement income becomes more uncertain.”
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Post by Michael Downing on Mar 2, 2016 17:37:55 GMT -5
ncrenegade.com/editorial/plunging-manufacturing-numbers-mean-that-it-is-time-to-hit-the-panic-button-for-the-global-economy/Plunging Manufacturing Numbers Mean That It Is Time To Hit The Panic Button For The Global EconomyWe haven’t seen numbers like these since the last global recession. I recently wrote about how global trade is imploding all over the planet, and the same thing is true when it comes to manufacturing. We just learned that manufacturing in China has now been contracting for seven months in a row, and as you will see below, U.S. manufacturing is facing “its toughest period since the global financial crisis”. Yes, global stocks have bounced back a bit after experiencing dramatic declines during January and the first part of February, and this is something that investors are very happy about. But that does not mean that the crisis is over. All bear markets have their ups and downs, and this one will not be any different. Meanwhile, the cold, hard economic numbers that keep coming in are absolutely screaming that a new global recession is here. Just consider what is happening in China. Manufacturing activity continues to implode, and factories are shedding jobs at the fastest pace since the last financial crisis… Chinese manufacturing suffered a seventh straight month of contraction in February. China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 49.0 in February, down from the previous month’s reading of 49.4 and below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. A private survey also showed China’s factories shed jobs at the fastest rate in seven years in February, raising doubts about the government’s ability to reduce industry overcapacity this year without triggering a sharp jump in unemployment.
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Post by avordvet on May 11, 2016 4:49:11 GMT -5
11 Signs That The U.S. Economy Is Rapidly Deteriorating Even As The Stock Market SoarsBy Michael Snyder, on May 10th, 2016 We have seen this story before, and it never ends well. From mid-March until early May 2008, a vigorous stock market rally convinced many investors that the market turmoil of late 2007 and early 2008 was over and that happy days were ahead for the U.S. economy. But of course we all know what happened. It turned out that the market downturns of late 2007 and early 2008 were just “foreshocks” of a much greater crash in late 2008. The market surge in the spring of 2008 was just a mirage, and it masked rapidly declining economic fundamentals. Well, the exact same thing is happening right now. The Dow rose another 222 points on Tuesday, but meanwhile virtually every number that we are getting is just screaming that the overall U.S. economy is steadily falling apart. So don’t be fooled by a rising stock market. Just like in the spring of 2008, all of the signs are pointing to an avalanche of bad economic news in the months ahead. The following are 11 signs that the U.S. economy is rapidly deteriorating… theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/11-signs-that-the-u-s-economy-is-rapidly-deteriorating-even-as-the-stock-market-soars
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Post by avordvet on Jun 7, 2016 4:51:22 GMT -5
Something Big That Always Happens Right Before The Official Start Of A Recession Has Just HappenedBy Michael Snyder, on June 6th, 2016 Temporary Help ServicesWhat you are about to see is major confirmation that a new economic downturn has already begun. Last Friday, the government released the worst jobs report in six years, and that has a lot of people really freaked out. But when you really start digging into those numbers, you quickly find that things are even worse than most analysts are suggesting. In particular, the number of temporary jobs in the United States has started to decline significantly after peaking last December. Why this is so important is because the number of temporary jobs started to decline precipitously right before the last two recessions as well. You see, when economic conditions start to change, temporary workers are often affected before anyone else is. Temporary workers are easier to hire than other types of workers, and they are also easier to fire. theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/something-big-that-always-happens-right-before-the-official-start-of-a-recession-has-just-happened
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Post by avordvet on Jun 8, 2016 4:40:44 GMT -5
World's "Safest" Market Suffers Worst Volatility Since 2009by Tyler Durden - Jun 7, 2016 7:55 PM As Fed credibility collapses in a pile of failed communications, Bloomberg notes that the $1.5 trillion market for U.S. Treasury bills, known as an oasis of stability for investors worldwide, is experiencing the most volatility since the financial crisis. Since September's farcical Fed fold, T-Bill yields have seen a visibly notable increase in volatility - extra- and intra-day... www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-07/worlds-safest-market-suffers-worst-volatility-2009
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Post by WARLOC on Jun 12, 2016 7:13:22 GMT -5
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) said in a Wednesday interview with the Washington Free Beacon that when the Federal Reserve begins to unwind its balance sheet of roughly $4.5 trillion there will be a bout of inflation or possibly a recession.
The Fed traditionally conducts monetary policy by setting the federal funds rate, “the rate at which banks borrow and lend reserves on an overnight basis.” The Fed lowered this rate almost to zero in December 2008 after the economy sunk into recession due to the financial crisis. After some time, the Fed injected more money into the economy by purchasing Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. Between 2009 and 2014, the Federal Reserve made large-scale asset purchases, known as quantitative easing, which increased the size of the Fed’s balance sheet to $4.5 trillion in October 2014.
“The more probable scenario is we are at some point going to be in a bout of huge inflation or we’re going to be back in a bad recession,” Hensarling said. “They have a huge balance sheet that they have to unwind and depending on if you unwind it too quickly, if you unwind it too slowly, you could either end up with high inflationary pressures or you could throw the economy back into a recession.”
“It’s problematic and it’s dangerous what they’re doing,” Hensarling said. “We need monetary policy to be predictable, rules based, and easily communicated to the public so everybody can plan their financial affairs around knowing what the value of money will be. Today we don’t know.” The Fed finally raised interest rates to a quarter of a percentage point in December 2015 after keeping them near zero since 2008. Hensarling said that he is not trying to get interest rates to either increase or decrease but he is advocating for a more predictable, rules-based monetary policy.
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Post by avordvet on Jun 13, 2016 5:14:32 GMT -5
Why are so many bankers committing suicide?By Michael Gray, June 12, 2016 | 6:00am Three bankers in New York, London and Siena, Italy, died within 17 months of each other in 2013-14 in what authorities deemed a series of unrelated suicides. But in each case, the victim had a connection to a burgeoning global banking scandal, leaving more questions than answers as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths. nypost.com/2016/06/12/why-are-so-many-bankers-committing-suicide/
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Post by avordvet on Jun 16, 2016 4:49:08 GMT -5
15 Facts About The Imploding U.S. Economy That The Mainstream Media Doesn’t Want You To SeeBy Michael Snyder, on June 15th, 2016 You are about to see undeniable evidence that the U.S. economy has been slowing down for quite some time. And it is vital that we focus on the facts, because all over the Internet you are going to find lots and lots of people that have opinions about what is going on with the economy. And of course the mainstream media is always trying to spin things to make Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton look good, because those that work in the mainstream media are far more liberal than the American population as a whole. It is true that I also have my own opinions, but as an attorney I learned that opinions are not any good unless you have facts to back them up. So please allow me a few moments to share with you evidence that clearly demonstrates that we have already entered a major economic slowdown. The following are 15 facts about the imploding U.S. economy that the mainstream media doesn’t want you to see… theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/15-facts-about-the-imploding-u-s-economy-that-the-mainstream-media-doesnt-want-you-to-see
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Post by avordvet on Jun 17, 2016 5:34:31 GMT -5
The Stock Market Crash Of 2016: Stocks Have Already Crashed In 6 Of The World’s 8 Largest EconomiesBy Michael Snyder, on June 16th, 2016 Over the past 12 months, stock market investors around the planet have lost trillions of dollars. Since this time last June, stocks have crashed in 6 of the world’s 8 largest economies, and stocks in the other two are down as well. The charts that you are about to see are absolutely stunning, and they are clear evidence that a new global financial crisis has already begun. Of course it is true that we are still in the early chapters of this new crisis and that there is much, much more damage to be done, but let us not minimize the carnage that we have already witnessed. In general, there have been three major waves of financial panic over the past 12 months. Late last August we saw the biggest financial shaking since the financial crisis of 2008, then in January and February there was an even bigger shaking, and now a third “wave” has begun in June. Not all areas around the globe have been affected equally by each wave, but without a doubt this new financial crisis is a global phenomenon. The charts that I am about to show you come from Trading Economics. It is an absolutely indispensable website that is packed full of useful data, and I encourage everyone to check it out. theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-stock-market-crash-of-2016-stocks-have-already-crashed-in-6-of-the-worlds-8-largest-economies
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Post by avordvet on Jun 24, 2016 3:59:41 GMT -5
The Amount Of Stuff Being Bought, Sold And Shipped Around The U.S. Hits The Lowest Level In 6 YearsBy Michael Snyder, on June 23rd, 2016 When less stuff is being bought, sold and shipped around the country with each passing month, how in the world can the U.S. economy be in “good shape”? Unlike official government statistics which are often based largely on projections, assumptions and numbers seemingly made up out of thin air, the Cass Freight index is based on real transactions conducted by real shipping companies. And what the Cass Freight Index is telling us about the state of the U.S. economy in 2016 lines up perfectly with all of the other statistics that are clearly indicating that we have now shifted into recession mode. If you are not familiar with the Cass Freight Index, here is a definition of the index from the official Cass website… theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-amount-of-stuff-being-bought-sold-and-shipped-around-the-united-states-is-the-lowest-in-6-years
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Post by avordvet on Aug 5, 2016 3:40:25 GMT -5
Factory Orders Plunge For 20th Month In A Row - Longest Streak In US Historyby Tyler Durden, Aug 4, 2016 10:09 AM Despite a small beat in MoM data (-1.5% vs -1.9% exp), US factory orders plunged 5.6% YoY - the worst drop since September 2015. This extends the period of annual contraction to 20 months - a record streak of declines in US history and one which has always, without exception, coincided with recession... The big drop was driven by a plunge in non-defense aircraft and parts... (even with a surge in car orders) www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-04/factory-orders-plunge-20th-month-row-longest-streak-us-history
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Post by avordvet on Aug 9, 2016 4:08:44 GMT -5
Why The Jobs Report Is Not Nearly As Strong As You Are Being ToldBy Michael Snyder, on August 7th, 2016 Jobs Unemployment Main Street - Public DomainHappy days are here again? On Friday, the mainstream media was buzzing with the news that the U.S. economy had added 255,000 jobs during the month of July. But as you will see below, the U.S. economy did not add 255,000 jobs during the month of July. In fact, without an extremely generous “seasonal adjustment”, the number of jobs added during the month of July would not have even kept up with population growth. But the pretend number sounds so much better than the real number, and so the pretend number is what is being promoted for public consumption. Why doesn’t the government ever just tell us the plain facts? Unfortunately, we live at a time when “spin” is everything, and just about everyone in the mainstream media seemed quite pleased with the “good jobs report” on Friday. However, as Zero Hedge has pointed out, the truth is that the “unadjusted” numbers tell a very different story… theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/why-the-jobs-report-is-not-nearly-as-strong-as-you-are-being-told
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Post by avordvet on Sept 13, 2016 4:33:32 GMT -5
Sorry, You Can't Have Your Goldby Tyler Durden, Sep 12, 2016 7:30 PM, Submitted by Jeff Thomas via InternationalMan.com But why should this be? What are these institutions up to? Don’t they realise that they’re sending a message to clients that they’re not helpful partners? Well, yes they do, but they’re also aware of another factor that’s more important to them. As the economic crisis gets ever closer, they understand that the day will soon come when a banking emergency is declared and the banks will shut their doors for an as-yet-unknown period of time (presumably until a solution is found). What will the new rules be? No one knows. Will the banks and storage facilities be obligated to deliver in full if the doors open once again? No one knows. Therefore, in the final stretch of this race to the bottom, they want to be holding as much of your money and metals as they can. www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-12/sorry-you-cant-have-your-gold
No Gold For You!
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Post by avordvet on Sept 16, 2016 3:50:52 GMT -5
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Post by avordvet on Sept 22, 2016 3:45:51 GMT -5
The Biggest Washington Whopper Yetby Tyler Durden, Sep 21, 2016 9:51 AM, Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog, You can’t find lazier people than in the mainstream financial press, but their exuberant cheerleading about the purported 5.2% gain in the real median household income in 2015 surely was a new high in mendacity. And we are not talking about the junior varsity here: The Washington Post was typical with a headline of superlatives followed by even more exuberance in the text: U.S. household incomes soared in 2015, recording biggest gain in decades………The data represents the clearest evidence to date that the nation’s long, slow and topsy-turvy economic recovery has finally begun to deliver prosperity for wide swaths of workers. The self-evident fact is that the median household couldn’t have had an after-inflation income gain of 5.2% in 2015. There is not a single data point in the mountains of “incoming” economic data that is consistent with that proposition. Yet nothing in the Post story, or any other mainstream coverage, even hints that the Census Bureau’s whopper isn’t on the level. In the context of what was by all accounts a sputtering economy during 2015, in fact, the Census Bureau unleashed the largest year-over-year gain in recorded history. But not a single reporter smelled a fish. www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-21/biggest-washington-whopper-yet
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Post by avordvet on Oct 10, 2016 15:44:11 GMT -5
Commercial Bankruptcies Soar 38 Percent as Debt Crushes BusinessesBy R Williams, Monday, 10 Oct 2016 07:59 AM Bankruptcy filings by U.S. businesses soared 38 percent in September from a year earlier in an ominous sign of a weakening economy, says Wolf Richter, editor of the Wolf Street blog. Last month’s bankruptcies reached 3,072 to bring the year-to-date total to 28,789 and marked the eleventh straight month of increases from 2015, according to data from the American Bankruptcy Institute. “Rising bankruptcies are an indicator that the ‘credit cycle’ has ended,” Richter says in a commentary about the limits of the Federal Reserve’s ability to help an economic recovery. “The Fed’s policy of easy credit has encouraged businesses to borrow – those that could. But by now, this six-year debt binge has created an ominous debt overhang that is suffocating these businesses as they find themselves, against all promises, mired in an economy that’s nothing like the escape-velocity hype that had emanated from Wall Street, the Fed and the government.” www.newsmax.com/Finance/Economy/bankruptcy-restaurant-Wolf-Richter-economy/2016/10/10/id/752515/
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Post by avordvet on Oct 12, 2016 4:25:46 GMT -5
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