A man who barely made it through a particularly brutal day in the market called his financial advisor the next day and asked: "May I please speak to Artie, my advisor?" The operator replied: "I'm sorry. Artie is deceased. Can anyone else help you?" The man said no and hung up.
Ten minutes later he called again and asked for Artie, his advisor. The operator said: "You just called a few minutes ago, didn't you? Artie died. I'm not making this up." The man hung up again.
Fifteen minutes later he called a third time and asked for Artie. By this time, the operator was fuming. "I've told you twice already. Artie is dead. He's not here! Why do you keep asking for him when I say he's dead?"
The man replied: "I just like hearing it."
masqara
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
THE STREETS OF REYKJAVIK HOT UP AS FINANCIAL MELTDOWN HITS ICELAND
“Even on TV and radio phone-ins callers are saying that maybe anarchy isn’t such a bad idea after all,” Siggi Pönk, lead vocalist of Icelandic punk band Dís explains, “people are saying capitalism in Iceland is dead, kill capitalism.”
The crisis facing the global economy is particularly acute in Iceland. Before the credit crunch Icelanders were, per capita, the world’s fifth richest population. According to the UN Iceland is the most developed country in the world (whatever that means). Unemployment and homelessness was virtually unknown; the island of just over 300,000 people was one of the greatest success stories of neo-liberalism. Now, precisely because of the Thatcher inspired ‘good years’, the odds are strong on it being the first ‘developed’ country to collapse into full economic depression.
So it’s fair to say that Icelanders are mildly angry. There’s been an upsurge in grassroots mobilisation as the scale of the damage to the economy has become apparent. Approximately 9,000 people (3% of the population) hit the streets in the last weekly anti-government-bank-billionaire demonstration. Open forums discussing the current situation are packed out - and politicians aren’t allowed through the door - unless they’re ordered to attend. New political groups are everywhere - 500 people even physically attacked Reykjavik’s main Police station and broke out a political prisoner. The collapse of capitalism in Iceland seems to have re-awakened the island’s traditional spirit of independence.
Precisely who caused this crash is the main unanswered question. What is perfectly clear is that it was the governments free market economic policy in the 80’s and 90’s which caused the nosedive. The Independence Party has ruled in every government since Iceland won it’s sovereignty in 1944. Now, for the first time, it has had to hire private bodyguards for it’s members, not least for Davíð Oddson (Mayor of Reykjavik 1982-1991; Prime Minister 1991-2005; Governor of Central Bank 2005-present), its most vigorous exponent of neo-liberal policies.
Unlike other Scandinavian countries, Iceland closely followed a Thatcherite route of privatising all its major industries and banks; slashing or abolishing corporate, inheritance, net wealth, income and company turnover taxes; signing National Accords (suicide pacts) with trade unions. The right-wing thinktank Economic Freedom of the World's annual survey rated Iceland 53rd of the 72 'free-est' (read deregulated) economies in 1975, while it was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe; by 2006 it had risen to be the 12th out of 141 and was amongst the richest on the planet. (Britain went from 23rd to 5th in the same period).
How does being 'economically free' translate into being ridiculously rich? Any fishmonger will tell you that no matter how many tax cuts you get, selling fish, Iceland’s main export, hardly makes you a millionaire. Instead their wealth came from debt. Icelandic bankers stuck their interest rates high so that foreign investors would leave their money with them. They then went on spending sprees across the world, especially in the UK and Denmark. Amongst the UK companies bought by the Icelandic Baugur group were Topshop, Debenhams, Iceland (the supermarket, for novelty value) and the biggest toy shop in Europe - Hamleys (well if you’re a billionaire you can’t just buy your kid an action man). Iceland’s glorious wealth however, was based on borrowed money.
Then the credit crunch bit the world, investors wanted their money back and it became blindingly obvious that the Icelandic bankers couldn’t pay. When all three of its main banks collapsed and were nationalised in the beginning of October (keeping most of the same management, of course), it was revealed that Iceland owed foreign investors $60 billion, 12 times their GDP! But, as these banks were now owned by the nation, it fell on the population as a whole, not the bankers and billionaires who’d taken out these loans, to repay. That’s a debt of about $100,000 per person! And of course, with foreign debts there’s interest and exchange rates to add on. The children of todays Icelanders will still be facing the hangover of the Good Years.
SLUMS GONE TO ICELAND
Out of the $11 billion package to ‘rescue’ its banks, the Icelandic government signed a $2.1 billion “International Monetary Foundation (IMF) conditionality agreement”. In Godfather like tones the IMF once described themselves as “the credit community’s enforcer.” Whereas the logic of investment is usually based on getting money for the risks you take, just like betting on Kazakhstan winning the World Cup would make you rich if they came through but would hit you in the face if they didn’t; the IMF guarantees that it will get its investment back regardless, like someone who bets on Kazakhstan and then points a gun at the bookie to demand their ‘winnings’ when they lose.
The IMF has ruined countless poorer countries with its debt-enforcement, forcing countries to repay loans by raising interest rates; increasing tax whilst reducing public spending; selling off public industries and property; removing restrictions on the movement of money; taking out more loans...and so on. In short it’ll be business as usual for the current Icelandic government, which is probably why their only comments on the conditions for the loan (there are always conditions to IMF loans) were that they wouldn’t have to do anything they wouldn’t have needed to do anyway. Meanwhile they raised interest rates to 18% - step one of the programme. With billions of pounds of British cash nestling in the now decimated Icelandic banks the government has frozen assets using anti-terrorism laws. The Icelandic government was distinctly unimpressed, but has bigger issues to deal with on the home front.
ICE BREAKER
The movement that’s erupted in response to all of this has some unifying demands. 1) Immediate elections - for individuals instead of parties. 2) The entire Icelandic elite be jailed and forced to pay their debts themselves. 3) The entire finance regulatory organisation be replaced, including Davið Oddson, now the most hated man in over a millennium of history. 4) That nobody should lose their home - after Christmas unemployment is predicted to jump to 7% and you can bet that under the gaze of the IMF the already inadequate benefits will be cut.
One shred of good news is that the last 15 years of ecological devastation on the island is grinding to a halt. There’s simply no money to build more mega-dams, geothermal energy plants and aluminum smelters, especially as the aluminum industry itself has gone belly up from the credit crisis.
On a recent demonstration someone climbed on top of the Icelandic parliament and hoisted the symbolic flag of the billionaire Baugur Group, a grinning fat pink piggybank - the logo of their supermarket Bónus. The idea being that Iceland’s recent and hard won parliament was nothing more than an office for the arrogant super-rich and so it should fly its own flag. But while on a university trip to Parliament two weeks later, the same protester was spotted by an MP who got him nicked and locked up for an action against the aluminum industry that he participated in two years ago.
Word spread and 500 people turned up outside the police station, at first demanding his release and then forcing their way in, lobbing stones at the building’s windows and ramming its doors down with poles. Police responded with teargas. Someone paid for his release because a giant group of riot cops were forming behind the station to attack supporters. Once out of nick, the protester gave a speech to the cheering crowd, shouting “Such unity and power that you were upholding in front of this station should not be focused on getting some punk out of a prison cell. I’d rather you used this energy to bring the government to their knees. Launch a complete and general and immediate revolution!”
All this, and yet, the effects of the crisis have yet to even set in…
link
The crisis facing the global economy is particularly acute in Iceland. Before the credit crunch Icelanders were, per capita, the world’s fifth richest population. According to the UN Iceland is the most developed country in the world (whatever that means). Unemployment and homelessness was virtually unknown; the island of just over 300,000 people was one of the greatest success stories of neo-liberalism. Now, precisely because of the Thatcher inspired ‘good years’, the odds are strong on it being the first ‘developed’ country to collapse into full economic depression.
So it’s fair to say that Icelanders are mildly angry. There’s been an upsurge in grassroots mobilisation as the scale of the damage to the economy has become apparent. Approximately 9,000 people (3% of the population) hit the streets in the last weekly anti-government-bank-billionaire demonstration. Open forums discussing the current situation are packed out - and politicians aren’t allowed through the door - unless they’re ordered to attend. New political groups are everywhere - 500 people even physically attacked Reykjavik’s main Police station and broke out a political prisoner. The collapse of capitalism in Iceland seems to have re-awakened the island’s traditional spirit of independence.
Precisely who caused this crash is the main unanswered question. What is perfectly clear is that it was the governments free market economic policy in the 80’s and 90’s which caused the nosedive. The Independence Party has ruled in every government since Iceland won it’s sovereignty in 1944. Now, for the first time, it has had to hire private bodyguards for it’s members, not least for Davíð Oddson (Mayor of Reykjavik 1982-1991; Prime Minister 1991-2005; Governor of Central Bank 2005-present), its most vigorous exponent of neo-liberal policies.
Unlike other Scandinavian countries, Iceland closely followed a Thatcherite route of privatising all its major industries and banks; slashing or abolishing corporate, inheritance, net wealth, income and company turnover taxes; signing National Accords (suicide pacts) with trade unions. The right-wing thinktank Economic Freedom of the World's annual survey rated Iceland 53rd of the 72 'free-est' (read deregulated) economies in 1975, while it was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe; by 2006 it had risen to be the 12th out of 141 and was amongst the richest on the planet. (Britain went from 23rd to 5th in the same period).
How does being 'economically free' translate into being ridiculously rich? Any fishmonger will tell you that no matter how many tax cuts you get, selling fish, Iceland’s main export, hardly makes you a millionaire. Instead their wealth came from debt. Icelandic bankers stuck their interest rates high so that foreign investors would leave their money with them. They then went on spending sprees across the world, especially in the UK and Denmark. Amongst the UK companies bought by the Icelandic Baugur group were Topshop, Debenhams, Iceland (the supermarket, for novelty value) and the biggest toy shop in Europe - Hamleys (well if you’re a billionaire you can’t just buy your kid an action man). Iceland’s glorious wealth however, was based on borrowed money.
Then the credit crunch bit the world, investors wanted their money back and it became blindingly obvious that the Icelandic bankers couldn’t pay. When all three of its main banks collapsed and were nationalised in the beginning of October (keeping most of the same management, of course), it was revealed that Iceland owed foreign investors $60 billion, 12 times their GDP! But, as these banks were now owned by the nation, it fell on the population as a whole, not the bankers and billionaires who’d taken out these loans, to repay. That’s a debt of about $100,000 per person! And of course, with foreign debts there’s interest and exchange rates to add on. The children of todays Icelanders will still be facing the hangover of the Good Years.
SLUMS GONE TO ICELAND
Out of the $11 billion package to ‘rescue’ its banks, the Icelandic government signed a $2.1 billion “International Monetary Foundation (IMF) conditionality agreement”. In Godfather like tones the IMF once described themselves as “the credit community’s enforcer.” Whereas the logic of investment is usually based on getting money for the risks you take, just like betting on Kazakhstan winning the World Cup would make you rich if they came through but would hit you in the face if they didn’t; the IMF guarantees that it will get its investment back regardless, like someone who bets on Kazakhstan and then points a gun at the bookie to demand their ‘winnings’ when they lose.
The IMF has ruined countless poorer countries with its debt-enforcement, forcing countries to repay loans by raising interest rates; increasing tax whilst reducing public spending; selling off public industries and property; removing restrictions on the movement of money; taking out more loans...and so on. In short it’ll be business as usual for the current Icelandic government, which is probably why their only comments on the conditions for the loan (there are always conditions to IMF loans) were that they wouldn’t have to do anything they wouldn’t have needed to do anyway. Meanwhile they raised interest rates to 18% - step one of the programme. With billions of pounds of British cash nestling in the now decimated Icelandic banks the government has frozen assets using anti-terrorism laws. The Icelandic government was distinctly unimpressed, but has bigger issues to deal with on the home front.
ICE BREAKER
The movement that’s erupted in response to all of this has some unifying demands. 1) Immediate elections - for individuals instead of parties. 2) The entire Icelandic elite be jailed and forced to pay their debts themselves. 3) The entire finance regulatory organisation be replaced, including Davið Oddson, now the most hated man in over a millennium of history. 4) That nobody should lose their home - after Christmas unemployment is predicted to jump to 7% and you can bet that under the gaze of the IMF the already inadequate benefits will be cut.
One shred of good news is that the last 15 years of ecological devastation on the island is grinding to a halt. There’s simply no money to build more mega-dams, geothermal energy plants and aluminum smelters, especially as the aluminum industry itself has gone belly up from the credit crisis.
On a recent demonstration someone climbed on top of the Icelandic parliament and hoisted the symbolic flag of the billionaire Baugur Group, a grinning fat pink piggybank - the logo of their supermarket Bónus. The idea being that Iceland’s recent and hard won parliament was nothing more than an office for the arrogant super-rich and so it should fly its own flag. But while on a university trip to Parliament two weeks later, the same protester was spotted by an MP who got him nicked and locked up for an action against the aluminum industry that he participated in two years ago.
Word spread and 500 people turned up outside the police station, at first demanding his release and then forcing their way in, lobbing stones at the building’s windows and ramming its doors down with poles. Police responded with teargas. Someone paid for his release because a giant group of riot cops were forming behind the station to attack supporters. Once out of nick, the protester gave a speech to the cheering crowd, shouting “Such unity and power that you were upholding in front of this station should not be focused on getting some punk out of a prison cell. I’d rather you used this energy to bring the government to their knees. Launch a complete and general and immediate revolution!”
All this, and yet, the effects of the crisis have yet to even set in…
link
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Upcoming Hedge Funds Crisis
Up to a fifth of managers in the $1.6 trillion (1.1 trillion pound) hedge fund industry are at risk of going out of business in the next two years, a Man Group strategist said on Wednesday.
Thomas Della Casa, head of the research, analysis & strategy group at Man Investments, told a briefing in Frankfurt one in 10 hedge funds tended to fold after a few years even in favourable market conditions.
"The number will go down from 10,000. In the next two years 2,000 (hedge funds) could perhaps disappear," he said.
Overall, hedge funds are on track for their third ever year of losses, based on industry data going back 18 years, Della Casa noted. Hedge funds last failed to earn money for their investors in 1998 and before that in 1994.
"Assets under management will remain relatively unchanged, we don't expect net inflows," Della Casa said about prospects for 2009. Many investors are likely to go on shunning risky assets, preferring to hoard cash for quite some time, he said.
"Every dollar parked on the sidelines and held as cash usually stays away from markets for about 12 months. We don't expect this liquidity to return any time soon.
"The beginning of 2009 will be hard. We will still see liquidations and fire sales," Della Casa said, referring to hedge funds and their assets, such as corporate bonds.
Yet such conditions could create buying opportunities, he said.
Credit was trading at $0.67-$0.68 to the dollar compared with a "normal" recovery value of $0.70, he said, adding Man Group saw "enormous opportunities here."
Man Group sees the global economic recession lasting at least between four and six quarters. With history as a yardstick, equity markets tend to bottom out half-way through a recession, Della Casa said.
Globally, investors withdrew $40 billion from hedge funds in October, leaving $1.56 trillion in assets under management, Chicago-based tracking firm Hedge Fund Research said on November 20.
October's redemptions exceeded the third quarter's net outflow of $31 billion as retail and institutional investors alike fled to the safety of cash after the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holding Inc (LEHMQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
London-based Man Group, the world's largest listed hedge fund group, said recently its assets under management dwindled to $61 billion by early November from $67.6 billion at the end of September, mainly due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.
Reuters
Thomas Della Casa, head of the research, analysis & strategy group at Man Investments, told a briefing in Frankfurt one in 10 hedge funds tended to fold after a few years even in favourable market conditions.
"The number will go down from 10,000. In the next two years 2,000 (hedge funds) could perhaps disappear," he said.
Overall, hedge funds are on track for their third ever year of losses, based on industry data going back 18 years, Della Casa noted. Hedge funds last failed to earn money for their investors in 1998 and before that in 1994.
"Assets under management will remain relatively unchanged, we don't expect net inflows," Della Casa said about prospects for 2009. Many investors are likely to go on shunning risky assets, preferring to hoard cash for quite some time, he said.
"Every dollar parked on the sidelines and held as cash usually stays away from markets for about 12 months. We don't expect this liquidity to return any time soon.
"The beginning of 2009 will be hard. We will still see liquidations and fire sales," Della Casa said, referring to hedge funds and their assets, such as corporate bonds.
Yet such conditions could create buying opportunities, he said.
Credit was trading at $0.67-$0.68 to the dollar compared with a "normal" recovery value of $0.70, he said, adding Man Group saw "enormous opportunities here."
Man Group sees the global economic recession lasting at least between four and six quarters. With history as a yardstick, equity markets tend to bottom out half-way through a recession, Della Casa said.
Globally, investors withdrew $40 billion from hedge funds in October, leaving $1.56 trillion in assets under management, Chicago-based tracking firm Hedge Fund Research said on November 20.
October's redemptions exceeded the third quarter's net outflow of $31 billion as retail and institutional investors alike fled to the safety of cash after the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holding Inc (LEHMQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
London-based Man Group, the world's largest listed hedge fund group, said recently its assets under management dwindled to $61 billion by early November from $67.6 billion at the end of September, mainly due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.
Reuters
Could Tsys Be the Next Bubble?
By Dan Burrows
We may be through the looking glass here, people. Treasurys, the world's invincible vault of wealth and stability, are acting pretty weird these days. They're behaving like stocks, or at least how stocks used to behave.
Remember, Treasurys are debt instruments, not equities. They're supposed to be kind of boring and not terribly rewarding. But then what do you expect from Uncle Sam's big snuggly security blanket? After all, Treasurys are "riskless," right?
Well, yes and no. They simply can't default, the thinking goes, because the government actually owns the machine that prints money. So you lend the feds some cash, they guarantee your money back, and they throw in a little vigorish for your trouble. (Although those meager yields won't help much later when all this fed paper eventually fuels inflation.)
But we digress. No risk, no reward, whatever. When stocks go down, bonds go up. This time it's different. So much cash has poured into Treasurys that yields are scraping the deck. And bond prices? They're up, up and away. (Remember, when bonds trade, their prices and yields move in opposite directions.)
Which brings us to this: Has the world's panicked flight to safety become a mass exodus to insanity? Could Treasurys (gulp!) be the next bubble?
No doubt it has been a strong and long bull run for Treasurys. The total return generated by the Treasury market was 5.1% in November, making it the best month since 1981. Back then the yield on the 10-year note was 15%, wrote David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch's North American economist. Ahem, but today the yield on the 10-year note is dabbling with, uh, 2.7%.
"What a great time it has been to have been long the Treasury market as we head into the home stretch of this massive bull market," Rosenberg wrote Nov. 28. "And to think that the asset class most despised and the most underowned in pension fund, household, commercial bank and mutual fund portfolios is the one generating the greatest returns."
It gets weirder. For the first time in 50 years the dividend yield on the S&P 500 index (it's 3.7%) rose above the interest rate on the 10-year note. Historically this ain't how it's supposed to go. Over the long haul stocks generate better returns than bonds, but bonds are less risky and supply a steady stream of fixed income. As one goes up, the other goes down, but to this degree, and in Treasurys, no less?
Here's some data that will make equity investors throw up in their mouths a little bit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite index have bled out 35%, 40% and 45%, respectively, year-to-date. Now take a look at the total returns generated by various U.S. Treasury indexes.
It's almost too good to be true, as Merrill Lynch's Rosenberg was careful to point out. "Investors should understand that while we maintain a constructive posture, Treasurys have moved into overvalued territory," he wrote.
Not that it has to end anytime to soon. Helicopter Ben is circling his Huey, firing cash down around the perimeter of a hot LZ. Meanwhile, down on the ground, sheer and ongoing financial terror is enveloping the globe.
Almost perversely, that's great news. It means this overvalued condition is likely to persist, Rosenberg says, "as the Fed, households and institutional investors emerge as large-scale buyers, even as foreign central banks pull back."
Ugh. This scenario seems spooky and familiar. Are Treasurys setting up for that classic mania-turn-to-bubble phase we've seen too often and too recently? Tech stocks in 2000. Real estate in 2006. Once the general public crowds itself 10 deep at the craps table, it might be time to take some winnings off the table.
SMARTMONEY.COM
We may be through the looking glass here, people. Treasurys, the world's invincible vault of wealth and stability, are acting pretty weird these days. They're behaving like stocks, or at least how stocks used to behave.
Remember, Treasurys are debt instruments, not equities. They're supposed to be kind of boring and not terribly rewarding. But then what do you expect from Uncle Sam's big snuggly security blanket? After all, Treasurys are "riskless," right?
Well, yes and no. They simply can't default, the thinking goes, because the government actually owns the machine that prints money. So you lend the feds some cash, they guarantee your money back, and they throw in a little vigorish for your trouble. (Although those meager yields won't help much later when all this fed paper eventually fuels inflation.)
But we digress. No risk, no reward, whatever. When stocks go down, bonds go up. This time it's different. So much cash has poured into Treasurys that yields are scraping the deck. And bond prices? They're up, up and away. (Remember, when bonds trade, their prices and yields move in opposite directions.)
Which brings us to this: Has the world's panicked flight to safety become a mass exodus to insanity? Could Treasurys (gulp!) be the next bubble?
No doubt it has been a strong and long bull run for Treasurys. The total return generated by the Treasury market was 5.1% in November, making it the best month since 1981. Back then the yield on the 10-year note was 15%, wrote David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch's North American economist. Ahem, but today the yield on the 10-year note is dabbling with, uh, 2.7%.
"What a great time it has been to have been long the Treasury market as we head into the home stretch of this massive bull market," Rosenberg wrote Nov. 28. "And to think that the asset class most despised and the most underowned in pension fund, household, commercial bank and mutual fund portfolios is the one generating the greatest returns."
It gets weirder. For the first time in 50 years the dividend yield on the S&P 500 index (it's 3.7%) rose above the interest rate on the 10-year note. Historically this ain't how it's supposed to go. Over the long haul stocks generate better returns than bonds, but bonds are less risky and supply a steady stream of fixed income. As one goes up, the other goes down, but to this degree, and in Treasurys, no less?
Here's some data that will make equity investors throw up in their mouths a little bit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite index have bled out 35%, 40% and 45%, respectively, year-to-date. Now take a look at the total returns generated by various U.S. Treasury indexes.
It's almost too good to be true, as Merrill Lynch's Rosenberg was careful to point out. "Investors should understand that while we maintain a constructive posture, Treasurys have moved into overvalued territory," he wrote.
Not that it has to end anytime to soon. Helicopter Ben is circling his Huey, firing cash down around the perimeter of a hot LZ. Meanwhile, down on the ground, sheer and ongoing financial terror is enveloping the globe.
Almost perversely, that's great news. It means this overvalued condition is likely to persist, Rosenberg says, "as the Fed, households and institutional investors emerge as large-scale buyers, even as foreign central banks pull back."
Ugh. This scenario seems spooky and familiar. Are Treasurys setting up for that classic mania-turn-to-bubble phase we've seen too often and too recently? Tech stocks in 2000. Real estate in 2006. Once the general public crowds itself 10 deep at the craps table, it might be time to take some winnings off the table.
SMARTMONEY.COM
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
What MUST Be Done
To Avoid Financial Destruction by Jim Sinclair
My Dear Extended Family,
Things are now "Out of Control."
This international financial crisis is now out of control as the world asks if the USA has two presidents, one president or no president at all.
It would appear that Paulson is in financial control with Bernanke as his second.
I warned you by personal email long before the statement was proven totally correct that “This is it.” That was followed by “This is it, and it is now.” Many people laughed it off.
This is it, and it is now.
Now it is out of control.
Now we enter the Collapse of Confidence period.
Then we begin the Weimar Experience.
It has all hit the fan, and still the absolute majority have no clue. The OTC derivative dealers broke the system into millions of pieces of glass. This broken glass cannot be put back together.
It is heart rending to see a picture of GM autoworkers holding a prayer meeting for their retirement funds. The retirement money was never funded. It is a lost hope. This is another responsibility the government has undertaken that is going to go wild.
Those of you still in freeze frame are headed for lines around your bank. Your bank will likely be acquired by another bank that also is in deep trouble.
The US dollar, like a leaderless company, will lose its respect and therefore value.
In order of importance the following MUST be done unless you want to be one of the suffering masses that will be all too visible this winter:
1. You must have your assets held anywhere they are in true custodial-ship accounts. That type of account at a bank or broker states clearly that the assets held there are not on the balance sheet of the host financial entity. Those assets are clearly segregated in your name. This must be reviewed by counsel to be sure you have what you think you have. Don’t cheap out. All you have is depending on the validity of true custodial-ship accounts.
You cannot know all the banks are broke, however I feel ALL banks are broke because finance is an intertwined system that if visible would look like a spider’s web. Problems on the top will materialize all along the web. Therefore the singular most important step you must take is the establishment of a true custodial-ship account.
Do not assume you have this type of account unless a competent attorney reviews the account papers.
2. I am extremely concerned about those of you who persist in holding certificates for gold rather than holding the actual metal either delivered to you or held for you in a true custodial-ship type account. The scams out there in gold are plentiful. The only way to avoid these scams absolutely is to have your gold in your own possession.
Every other means of holding gold is steps away from perfection. Some will be ok, but many will not.
3. Why would anyone fail to either take paper certificates or order their financial agent to make direct registration book entry at the transfer agent? In most cases you only have until year-end to accomplish this strategy.
4. Withdraw from ETFs.
5. If you carelessly keep large assets with your broker you are as mad as a hatter. The FDIC DOES NOT have the money to guarantee all they are undertaking. Withdraw excess money constantly from any net broker. If you are so stubborn that you think you can trade to insure yourself when your funds are not making money while still getting your money that counts you are nuts. Admit to yourself you are nothing more than a gambling addict in a downward spiral.
6. Leave no gold or coins with any coin dealer.
7. If you can withdraw from your corporate retirement plan do it.
8. Withdraw from credit unions.
9. Withdraw from all money market instruments.
10. This is it.
11. It is now.
12. It is out of control NOW.
The next two months are going to be shocking, but nothing compared to what you will have to experience in 2009.
Respectfully yours,
Jim
My Dear Extended Family,
Things are now "Out of Control."
This international financial crisis is now out of control as the world asks if the USA has two presidents, one president or no president at all.
It would appear that Paulson is in financial control with Bernanke as his second.
I warned you by personal email long before the statement was proven totally correct that “This is it.” That was followed by “This is it, and it is now.” Many people laughed it off.
This is it, and it is now.
Now it is out of control.
Now we enter the Collapse of Confidence period.
Then we begin the Weimar Experience.
It has all hit the fan, and still the absolute majority have no clue. The OTC derivative dealers broke the system into millions of pieces of glass. This broken glass cannot be put back together.
It is heart rending to see a picture of GM autoworkers holding a prayer meeting for their retirement funds. The retirement money was never funded. It is a lost hope. This is another responsibility the government has undertaken that is going to go wild.
Those of you still in freeze frame are headed for lines around your bank. Your bank will likely be acquired by another bank that also is in deep trouble.
The US dollar, like a leaderless company, will lose its respect and therefore value.
In order of importance the following MUST be done unless you want to be one of the suffering masses that will be all too visible this winter:
1. You must have your assets held anywhere they are in true custodial-ship accounts. That type of account at a bank or broker states clearly that the assets held there are not on the balance sheet of the host financial entity. Those assets are clearly segregated in your name. This must be reviewed by counsel to be sure you have what you think you have. Don’t cheap out. All you have is depending on the validity of true custodial-ship accounts.
You cannot know all the banks are broke, however I feel ALL banks are broke because finance is an intertwined system that if visible would look like a spider’s web. Problems on the top will materialize all along the web. Therefore the singular most important step you must take is the establishment of a true custodial-ship account.
Do not assume you have this type of account unless a competent attorney reviews the account papers.
2. I am extremely concerned about those of you who persist in holding certificates for gold rather than holding the actual metal either delivered to you or held for you in a true custodial-ship type account. The scams out there in gold are plentiful. The only way to avoid these scams absolutely is to have your gold in your own possession.
Every other means of holding gold is steps away from perfection. Some will be ok, but many will not.
3. Why would anyone fail to either take paper certificates or order their financial agent to make direct registration book entry at the transfer agent? In most cases you only have until year-end to accomplish this strategy.
4. Withdraw from ETFs.
5. If you carelessly keep large assets with your broker you are as mad as a hatter. The FDIC DOES NOT have the money to guarantee all they are undertaking. Withdraw excess money constantly from any net broker. If you are so stubborn that you think you can trade to insure yourself when your funds are not making money while still getting your money that counts you are nuts. Admit to yourself you are nothing more than a gambling addict in a downward spiral.
6. Leave no gold or coins with any coin dealer.
7. If you can withdraw from your corporate retirement plan do it.
8. Withdraw from credit unions.
9. Withdraw from all money market instruments.
10. This is it.
11. It is now.
12. It is out of control NOW.
The next two months are going to be shocking, but nothing compared to what you will have to experience in 2009.
Respectfully yours,
Jim
Thursday, November 20, 2008
China PBOC Mulls Raising Gold Reserve by 4,000 T
BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China's central bank is considering raising its gold reserve by 4,000 metric tons from 600 tons to diversify risks brought by the country's huge foreign exchange reserves, the Guangzhou Daily reported, citing unnamed industry people in Hong Kong.
The Guangzhou-based newspaper didn't elaborate on the plan.
China's forex reserves, at US$1.9056 trillion at the end of September, is the world's largest. U.S. dollar-denominated assets, including U.S. treasury bonds and mortgage agency bonds, account for a big proportion of the forex reserves.
Newspaper Web site: http://gzdaily.dayoo.com
The Guangzhou-based newspaper didn't elaborate on the plan.
China's forex reserves, at US$1.9056 trillion at the end of September, is the world's largest. U.S. dollar-denominated assets, including U.S. treasury bonds and mortgage agency bonds, account for a big proportion of the forex reserves.
Newspaper Web site: http://gzdaily.dayoo.com
Thoughts
I see the SP drifting below 800 by the week... Yet some is cooking around, or better the liquidity was cut in waiting the next event so to try to curb again the fall...but Its just curbing, a spike and then sell again....
this has just no sense of holding stock so overvalued imo..now youll be telling me am mad in saying overvalued....actually not ...since overvaluation was a factor of a wrong based global boom, that will end very poorly..
There's simply no phsical room for growth as we have seen in the past 10-40 years anymore. There were some huge mistakes made by our leading classes.
But at the very end am happy of It, as current model of falsification and selling dreams has been eroding most of our planetary resources, from copper to zinc to food and water etc.. Plus the 6.8 billions of consumers are now Ill, nothing to buy...no economy to sustain, no production to be made....
As am saying the bigger human fraud of history under the name of falsifications from a wealthy bunch of gangsters..
Como Perrie November 19, 2008
this has just no sense of holding stock so overvalued imo..now youll be telling me am mad in saying overvalued....actually not ...since overvaluation was a factor of a wrong based global boom, that will end very poorly..
There's simply no phsical room for growth as we have seen in the past 10-40 years anymore. There were some huge mistakes made by our leading classes.
But at the very end am happy of It, as current model of falsification and selling dreams has been eroding most of our planetary resources, from copper to zinc to food and water etc.. Plus the 6.8 billions of consumers are now Ill, nothing to buy...no economy to sustain, no production to be made....
As am saying the bigger human fraud of history under the name of falsifications from a wealthy bunch of gangsters..
Como Perrie November 19, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Iran switches reserves to gold
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has converted financial reserves into gold to avoid future problems, an adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in comments published on Saturday, after the price of oil fell more than 60 percent from a peak in July.
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme and is now also facing declining revenue from its oil exports after crude prices tumbled.
"With the plans of the presidency...the country's money reserves were changed into gold so that we wouldn't be faced with many problems in the future," presidential adviser Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi was quoted as saying by business daily Poul.
He gave no figures or other details.
Before oil prices plunged by more than 60 percent from a peak of $147 per barrel in July, Iran made windfall gains from its crude exports and in April estimated its foreign exchange reserves at about $80 billion.
Iranian officials in July denied reports Iranian banks were moving funds from Europe, with one report suggesting as much as $75 billion had been withdrawn and converted into gold or placed in Asian banks, because of a threat of tightening sanctions.
The International Monetary Fund said in August that if the price of Iranian crude fell to $75 a barrel, Iran would face a current account deficit in the medium term that would be tough to sustain due to Tehran's financial isolation.
On Friday, U.S. crude fell $1.20 at $57.04.
Gold futures ended more than 5 percent higher on Friday and bullion ended the week about $10 higher compared with its last Friday's close of $735.95 as investors covered short positions.
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme and is now also facing declining revenue from its oil exports after crude prices tumbled.
"With the plans of the presidency...the country's money reserves were changed into gold so that we wouldn't be faced with many problems in the future," presidential adviser Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi was quoted as saying by business daily Poul.
He gave no figures or other details.
Before oil prices plunged by more than 60 percent from a peak of $147 per barrel in July, Iran made windfall gains from its crude exports and in April estimated its foreign exchange reserves at about $80 billion.
Iranian officials in July denied reports Iranian banks were moving funds from Europe, with one report suggesting as much as $75 billion had been withdrawn and converted into gold or placed in Asian banks, because of a threat of tightening sanctions.
The International Monetary Fund said in August that if the price of Iranian crude fell to $75 a barrel, Iran would face a current account deficit in the medium term that would be tough to sustain due to Tehran's financial isolation.
On Friday, U.S. crude fell $1.20 at $57.04.
Gold futures ended more than 5 percent higher on Friday and bullion ended the week about $10 higher compared with its last Friday's close of $735.95 as investors covered short positions.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Medvedev market
MOSCOW, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Russian stocks have shed more than $1 trillion during Dmitry Medvedev's presidency as investors dump Russian assets on concerns the economy is sinking
into the worst crisis for a decade, investors said on Thursday. Stocks, bonds and the rouble have plummeted since a brief period of euphoria following Medvedev's May 7 inauguration.
The dollar-dominated RTS exchange <.IRTS> said the capitalisation of the stocks it handles has fallen more than $1 trillion to less than $400 billion since a market peak on May 19.
The crisis has further undermined confidence, already shaken by a series of corporate conflicts, worries about state intervention in companies and the war in Georgia.
"Things are as bad as they possibly could be: the Russian market no longer functions," said James Beadle, an asset manager at Pilgrim Asset Management, which invests in stocks and bonds. "The main reasons are obviously what is going on globally, particularly with commodity prices, and political issues within Russia," said Beadle. The crisis has undermined the Kremlin's ambitions to take Russia to the top table of world finance and illustrated the weaknesses of Russia's economy, which is heavily reliant on the export of oil, gas and natural resources.
The price of Urals crude , the main type of oil sold by Russia, fell to just over $50 on Thursday, the lowest since the start of 2007, from more than $140 in July. Trading on Russia's MICEX rouble denominated stock index <.MCX> was halted 35 minutes after opening on Thursday after the index tumbled as much as 17 percent, Gazprom , the world's largest natural gas company by reserves, has seen its market capitalisation slide $270 billion since late May to less than $100 billion.
DEATH SPIRAL?
The Russian stock market is now in what some investors are calling a "death spiral." Sovereign bond yields have soared and the central bank is being forced to sell tens of billions of dollars of reserves to support the rouble. The meltdown has revived memories of the 1998 devaluation of
the rouble and Russia's default on $40 billion in debt, an event which sent a wave of volatility through world markets. "This is on par with 1998 in terms of value destruction though it is not as structural as it was in 1998 -- it is now more about confidence and liquidity issues," said Beadle. Economists say falls in the price of oil threaten a ten-year economic boom and the stability that former President Vladimir Putin, who is now prime minister, was credited with enforcing after the chaos of the 1990s. The market falls under Medvedev -- whose name derives from the Russian word for bear -- have even spawned a series of quips from traders about bear markets. But investors said Medvedev, a 43-year-old former corporate lawyer, has fallen victim to the failure of his predecessor to reform the Russian economy. "This crisis shows what we all knew: that the Russians have not implemented any of the reforms they really needed to over
the past four or five years," said one investor who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. The political fallout from the market slump has so far been muted, with opinion polls giving high popularity ratings to Putin and Medvedev. Critics say the Kremlin uses its power to contain any dissent. Plummeting confidence has been further diminished by a
series of state probes into Russian companies, including Uralkali and Mechel . Russia had a net capital outflow of $50 billion in October, the biggest on record, and more than $100 billion has been shaved off gold and forex reserves in three months. The turnaround in Russia's fortunes could not be sharper: in July Medvedev told an investor conference that the rouble should
be a reserve currency and Moscow a financial capital. Russia has hoarded the third largest gold and forex reserves in the world during the bull market for oil but all eyes are now on the rouble .
Dollars were on sale in Moscow at exchange offices on Thursday at 28.25 roubles. In May, the dollar cost about 24 roubles. "The population has seen its savings destroyed several times
in the last twenty years, and will not take any chances," Beadle said. "Popular as Russia's current leaders are, citizens have learned to be cautious with their savings."
into the worst crisis for a decade, investors said on Thursday. Stocks, bonds and the rouble have plummeted since a brief period of euphoria following Medvedev's May 7 inauguration.
The dollar-dominated RTS exchange <.IRTS> said the capitalisation of the stocks it handles has fallen more than $1 trillion to less than $400 billion since a market peak on May 19.
The crisis has further undermined confidence, already shaken by a series of corporate conflicts, worries about state intervention in companies and the war in Georgia.
"Things are as bad as they possibly could be: the Russian market no longer functions," said James Beadle, an asset manager at Pilgrim Asset Management, which invests in stocks and bonds. "The main reasons are obviously what is going on globally, particularly with commodity prices, and political issues within Russia," said Beadle. The crisis has undermined the Kremlin's ambitions to take Russia to the top table of world finance and illustrated the weaknesses of Russia's economy, which is heavily reliant on the export of oil, gas and natural resources.
The price of Urals crude , the main type of oil sold by Russia, fell to just over $50 on Thursday, the lowest since the start of 2007, from more than $140 in July. Trading on Russia's MICEX rouble denominated stock index <.MCX> was halted 35 minutes after opening on Thursday after the index tumbled as much as 17 percent, Gazprom , the world's largest natural gas company by reserves, has seen its market capitalisation slide $270 billion since late May to less than $100 billion.
DEATH SPIRAL?
The Russian stock market is now in what some investors are calling a "death spiral." Sovereign bond yields have soared and the central bank is being forced to sell tens of billions of dollars of reserves to support the rouble. The meltdown has revived memories of the 1998 devaluation of
the rouble and Russia's default on $40 billion in debt, an event which sent a wave of volatility through world markets. "This is on par with 1998 in terms of value destruction though it is not as structural as it was in 1998 -- it is now more about confidence and liquidity issues," said Beadle. Economists say falls in the price of oil threaten a ten-year economic boom and the stability that former President Vladimir Putin, who is now prime minister, was credited with enforcing after the chaos of the 1990s. The market falls under Medvedev -- whose name derives from the Russian word for bear -- have even spawned a series of quips from traders about bear markets. But investors said Medvedev, a 43-year-old former corporate lawyer, has fallen victim to the failure of his predecessor to reform the Russian economy. "This crisis shows what we all knew: that the Russians have not implemented any of the reforms they really needed to over
the past four or five years," said one investor who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. The political fallout from the market slump has so far been muted, with opinion polls giving high popularity ratings to Putin and Medvedev. Critics say the Kremlin uses its power to contain any dissent. Plummeting confidence has been further diminished by a
series of state probes into Russian companies, including Uralkali and Mechel . Russia had a net capital outflow of $50 billion in October, the biggest on record, and more than $100 billion has been shaved off gold and forex reserves in three months. The turnaround in Russia's fortunes could not be sharper: in July Medvedev told an investor conference that the rouble should
be a reserve currency and Moscow a financial capital. Russia has hoarded the third largest gold and forex reserves in the world during the bull market for oil but all eyes are now on the rouble .
Dollars were on sale in Moscow at exchange offices on Thursday at 28.25 roubles. In May, the dollar cost about 24 roubles. "The population has seen its savings destroyed several times
in the last twenty years, and will not take any chances," Beadle said. "Popular as Russia's current leaders are, citizens have learned to be cautious with their savings."
Friday, November 7, 2008
God bless America
The country is is trouble anyway and no one including McCain's Mcplan and Obama's no-plan can bail things in 4 years..it's too deep of a crap hole, too screwed up. So on a lighter note, from a travel agent's point of view, THE COUNTRY IS IN TROUBLE:
Why our Country is in Trouble according to a DC airport ticket agent who offers some examples of 'why' U.S.A. is in trouble:
1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then she interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts .''
Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Capetown is in Africa ''. Her response - click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, 'don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!'' (OMG)
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?''
I said, ''No.'' She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)
5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)
6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones...Finally, I told her the plane went very very fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?'
She replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!'' ...After putting her on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno , C A is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California , and then take the train to Hawaii ?''
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?'' I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''
10. A lady Senator called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?'' I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane. She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''
11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.'' I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, ''Look, I've been to China four times. and every time they have accepted my American Express!''
12. A New Mexico Congress woman called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .'' I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'' ' 'Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere.' ''The lady retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!'' So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo , do you?'' The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''
Why our Country is in Trouble according to a DC airport ticket agent who offers some examples of 'why' U.S.A. is in trouble:
1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then she interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts .''
Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Capetown is in Africa ''. Her response - click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, 'don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!'' (OMG)
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?''
I said, ''No.'' She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)
5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)
6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones...Finally, I told her the plane went very very fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?'
She replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!'' ...After putting her on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno , C A is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California , and then take the train to Hawaii ?''
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?'' I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''
10. A lady Senator called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?'' I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane. She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''
11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.'' I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, ''Look, I've been to China four times. and every time they have accepted my American Express!''
12. A New Mexico Congress woman called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .'' I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'' ' 'Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere.' ''The lady retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!'' So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo , do you?'' The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Don't worry, be happy
Investment analyst and entrepreneur Dr. Marc Faber concluded his monthly bulletin (June 2008) with the following:
''The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China.
If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs.
If we buy a computer it will go to India.
If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany.
If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy.
The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US".
and you?"
''The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China.
If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs.
If we buy a computer it will go to India.
If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany.
If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy.
The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US".
and you?"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pakistan's military to fire on US troops
Pakistan's military said today its forces had received orders to fire on US troops if they entered Pakistani territory, after a cross-border raid inflamed public opinion.
The country's civilian leaders, who have taken a tough line against militants, have insisted Pakistan must resolve the dispute with the US through diplomatic channels. But the military has taken a more robust line.
General Athar Abbas, an army spokesman, told the Associated Press that after a cross-border assault in the south Waziristan region earlier this month, the military told its field commanders to take action to prevent any similar raids.
"The orders are clear," Abbas said in an interview. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire."
Friday, September 12, 2008
Barack Obama : "You can put lipstick on a pig"
- a reference the Republican campaign claim to their Sarah Palin. "You can wrap an old fish in a pieceof paper called change. It's still going to stink."
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Americans dont need a coach to win
In the days since a knifing attack at a Beijing tourist attraction, the coach of the U.S. men's volleyball team said his family has been consumed with the shock of his father-in-law's death and with arranging care for his severely wounded mother-in-law. Hugh McCutcheon said he has been helping his wife Elisabeth Bachman, a former Olympian, "talk through" the grief. Beyond that, he said he realized the attack has affected his men's team, which worked hard to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and the women's team, including teammates of Elisabeth at the 2004 Athens Games.
USA - Venezuela 3-2 USA -Italy 3-1. I suspect the Americans are main challengers of the Gold in Beijing.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Is the ECB chasing its own tail?
Should they shock oil speculators by leaving
rates unchanged tomorrow?
Over the last week a few analysts have argued that the European Central Bank
is chasing its own tail. The argument goes like this: The ECB hikes interest
rates to fight inflation, a higher interest rate in Europe pushes EUR/USD
higher, a rising EUR/USD pushes oil prices higher, record oil prices increase
inflation pressures, and we're back at square one. These analysts argue that
the ECB is actually fueling inflation by raising interest rates
rates unchanged tomorrow?
Over the last week a few analysts have argued that the European Central Bank
is chasing its own tail. The argument goes like this: The ECB hikes interest
rates to fight inflation, a higher interest rate in Europe pushes EUR/USD
higher, a rising EUR/USD pushes oil prices higher, record oil prices increase
inflation pressures, and we're back at square one. These analysts argue that
the ECB is actually fueling inflation by raising interest rates
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Will americans get out
of the tight china-russian grip? In this Wimbledon experts wait for repetition of Williams sisters final. Here are the probabilities: link
| Jie Zheng/ S.Williams | 1/6 |
| E.Demetieva/V.Williams | 1/3 |
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Iran to dig thousands of graves for enemy soldiers
IRAN is to dig 320,000 graves in border districts to allow for the burial of enemy soldiers in the event of any attack on its territory, a top commander said today.
"In implementation of the Geneva Conventions ... the necessary measures are being taken to provide for the burial of enemy soldiers,'' the Mehr news agency quoted General Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh as saying."We have plans to dig 15,000 to 20,000 graves in each of the border provinces or a total of 320,000,'' the general said, adding that some of them would be mass graves if necessary.
Mr Bagherzadeh said Iran was keen to "reduce the suffering of the families of the fallen in any attack against our country ... and prevent any repetition of the long and bitter experience of the Vietnam War''.
His comments came as the United States continued to refuse to rule out an eventual resort to force against Iran over its contested nuclear program, which the West fears is cover for a drive to build an atomic weapon.
P.S. WTI 141.63
Iran Gen Warns Would Use Control Of Strait If Attacked
TEHRAN (AFP)--The chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran
would use its control of the Strait of Hormuz in response to an attack, a
newspaper reported on Saturday.
"It is natural that when a country is attacked it uses all of its
capabilities against the enemy, and definitely our control of the Persian
Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would be one of our actions," General Mohammad
Ali Jafari told the conservative daily Jam-e Jam.
The strait is a vital conduit for energy supplies, with about 20%-25% of the
world's crude oil from Gulf oil producers passing through the waterway.
"Certainly if there is fighting... the scope will be extended to oil, meaning
its price will increase drastically. This will deter our enemies from taking
action against Iran."
His comments came after U.S. media reported that more than 100 Israeli
warplanes staged a training exercise with Greece earlier this month to
prepare for a possible long-distance strike - a maneuver seen as a warning to
Tehran.
would use its control of the Strait of Hormuz in response to an attack, a
newspaper reported on Saturday.
"It is natural that when a country is attacked it uses all of its
capabilities against the enemy, and definitely our control of the Persian
Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would be one of our actions," General Mohammad
Ali Jafari told the conservative daily Jam-e Jam.
The strait is a vital conduit for energy supplies, with about 20%-25% of the
world's crude oil from Gulf oil producers passing through the waterway.
"Certainly if there is fighting... the scope will be extended to oil, meaning
its price will increase drastically. This will deter our enemies from taking
action against Iran."
His comments came after U.S. media reported that more than 100 Israeli
warplanes staged a training exercise with Greece earlier this month to
prepare for a possible long-distance strike - a maneuver seen as a warning to
Tehran.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Lukoil opened America.
06.09.2008 Lukoil shipped first 70,000 mt of crude oil from its new Barents Sea Varandey terminal to canadian port Come By Chance. Link
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
What drives oil prices up if market is well supplied?
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--The United Arab Emirates, the fourth-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will be ready to pump more crude if demand increases, an official said Thursday.
"The U.A.E. is ready to supply the market with more oil if needed," Ali Obaid Al Yabhouni, the emirates' OPEC governor told reporters in Dubai. "But our markets are satisfied and they have not asked for more."
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $130.37 a barrel at 0645 GMT, losing 66 cents in the Globex electronic session.
OPEC nations are coming under relentless pressure from consumers in Europe and the U.S. where there is rising concern that high fuel costs may lead to a steep economic downturn.
Al Yabhouni added "these current prices are moving too fast, too high." The U.A.E. pumps about 2.6 million barrels a day of crude and ranks behind Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela in OPEC's output hierarchy.
The International Energy Agency predicts world oil demand will increase by 1 million barrels a day to 86.8 million barrels a day this year as oil use grows in emerging economies such as China.
In the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer, demand has been wilting amid record high prices and a faltering economy. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported U.S. oil demand fell by 4.3%, or nearly 900,000 barrels a day, in the first quarter, to 19.9 million barrels a day. That's the lowest level of consumption for any quarter since mid-2003.
Hasan Qabazard, head of research at OPEC, which pumps about 40% of the world's oil, said Thursday that oil stocks had gained in the second-quarter.
Qabazard, who advises OPEC's 13 ministerial delegations, told reporters in Dubai that he expects stocks to build "even higher" this year dampening expectations that the cartel may cave into political pressure and hold an impromptu emergency meeting ahead of its next scheduled gathering in September.
"The U.A.E. is ready to supply the market with more oil if needed," Ali Obaid Al Yabhouni, the emirates' OPEC governor told reporters in Dubai. "But our markets are satisfied and they have not asked for more."
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded at $130.37 a barrel at 0645 GMT, losing 66 cents in the Globex electronic session.
OPEC nations are coming under relentless pressure from consumers in Europe and the U.S. where there is rising concern that high fuel costs may lead to a steep economic downturn.
Al Yabhouni added "these current prices are moving too fast, too high." The U.A.E. pumps about 2.6 million barrels a day of crude and ranks behind Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela in OPEC's output hierarchy.
The International Energy Agency predicts world oil demand will increase by 1 million barrels a day to 86.8 million barrels a day this year as oil use grows in emerging economies such as China.
In the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer, demand has been wilting amid record high prices and a faltering economy. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported U.S. oil demand fell by 4.3%, or nearly 900,000 barrels a day, in the first quarter, to 19.9 million barrels a day. That's the lowest level of consumption for any quarter since mid-2003.
Hasan Qabazard, head of research at OPEC, which pumps about 40% of the world's oil, said Thursday that oil stocks had gained in the second-quarter.
Qabazard, who advises OPEC's 13 ministerial delegations, told reporters in Dubai that he expects stocks to build "even higher" this year dampening expectations that the cartel may cave into political pressure and hold an impromptu emergency meeting ahead of its next scheduled gathering in September.
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