U.S. and Iran are already at war, Rickards tells King World News
Thawing The Cold War: Russia Found To Be Supplying Syria With Weapons, US Not Amused
Remember the cold war: evil Empire, 5 year plans, Lada cars, etc? It may very well be back, this time over the simple matter of a few million barrels of crude per day, after Russia was found to be quietly supplying an embargoed Syria with ammunition, in violation of a weapons embargo. Reuters reports: "A Russian-operated ship carrying a cargo of ammunition has reached conflict-torn Syria after being temporarily halted during a refuelling stop in Cyprus, sources in Russia and Cyprus said on Friday. A source in Cyprus, where the ship made an unscheduled stop for refuelling late on Tuesday, said the ship had given written assurances to authorities its destination would not be Syria but Turkey. It was allowed to sail a day later, whereupon it dropped off conventional tracking systems, switched course and reached Syria on Thursday. "It had bullets. There were four containers on board," a Cypriot official told Reuters." And here the plot thickens: we now have some war mongering deepthroat somewhere in Leningrad, pardon, St. Petersburg: "The ship was carrying a dangerous cargo," the source at St. Petersburg-based Westberg Ltd. said by telephone on condition of anonymity. "It reached Syria on Jan. 11th." Needless to say, the US is not very happy that Russia is doing precisely what it warned a few months ago it would do: namely protect its sphere of influence especially in light of the ever-encroaching NATO aspirations (yes, provocations go both ways as Ron Paul has long been warning): "The United States said on Friday it had raised concerns with Moscow over a Russian-operated ship that has arrived in Syria and which sources said contained a cargo of bullets. "With regard to the ship we have raised our concerns about this both with Russia and with Cyprus, which was the last port of call for the ship, and we are continuing to seek clarification as to what went down here," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said." Looks like the escalation in the Straits of Hormuz is about to shift to the backburner as we finally go back to where the real tension is and always has been: between West and East.
by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com:
President
Barack Obama has been increasing the national debt during his
presidency by an average of $4.24 billion per day ($4,240,506,004.34)
putting him on a pace to increase the national debt by $6.2 trillion
($6,195,379,272,340.74) by the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2013,
according to the debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.
That $6.2 trillion is more debt than was accumulated by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined.
In fact, the U.S. national debt did not eclipse the $6.195 trillion level—the amount Obama is on pace to increase it in one term—until August 19, 2002, during President George W. Bush’s second year of office.
Read More @ CNSNews.com
President
Barack Obama has been increasing the national debt during his
presidency by an average of $4.24 billion per day ($4,240,506,004.34)
putting him on a pace to increase the national debt by $6.2 trillion
($6,195,379,272,340.74) by the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2013,
according to the debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.That $6.2 trillion is more debt than was accumulated by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined.
In fact, the U.S. national debt did not eclipse the $6.195 trillion level—the amount Obama is on pace to increase it in one term—until August 19, 2002, during President George W. Bush’s second year of office.
Read More @ CNSNews.com
Fed blew the housing bubble, then sought to pop it, transcripts show
Submitted by cpowell on Fri, 2012-01-13 01:04. Section: Daily Dispatches
"Market intervention is why central banking was invented. Intervening in markets is what central banks do. They have no other purpose.
...And so we have come to an era of daily market interventions by
central banks -- so much so that the main purpose of central banking now
is to prevent ordinary markets from happening at all."
Theft, RICO lawsuit targets MF Global, CME Group, MorganChase
by Paul Joseph Watson, InfoWars.com:
Ron Paul has surged past Rick Santorum into the top tier in South Carolina, gaining a staggering 11 per cent in the last week alone to climb to third with a total of 20 per cent, with Mitt Romney’s first place position at 29 per cent looking increasingly vulnerable.
A new American Research Group poll released today illustrates how Paul’s second place finish in New Hampshire has catapulted him to onto the heels of frontrunners Romney and Newt Gingrich, who is in second with 25 per cent.
“Paul has climbed 11 percent in the last week and Perry has gained seven percent. Santorum, who was tied for second in last week’s poll at 24 percent, plummeted into fifth place in the current poll,” reports the Hill.
Read More @ InfoWars.com
Ron Paul has surged past Rick Santorum into the top tier in South Carolina, gaining a staggering 11 per cent in the last week alone to climb to third with a total of 20 per cent, with Mitt Romney’s first place position at 29 per cent looking increasingly vulnerable.
A new American Research Group poll released today illustrates how Paul’s second place finish in New Hampshire has catapulted him to onto the heels of frontrunners Romney and Newt Gingrich, who is in second with 25 per cent.
“Paul has climbed 11 percent in the last week and Perry has gained seven percent. Santorum, who was tied for second in last week’s poll at 24 percent, plummeted into fifth place in the current poll,” reports the Hill.
Read More @ InfoWars.com
It's Broncos/Tebow Time (see below); But First, Don't Believe The Hype
Dave in Denver at The Golden Truth - 53 minutes ago
about housing. Despite the ebullience and bullishness surrounding the real
estate/mortgage sector, the facts belie the spin. There is a lot of
yield-starved hedge fund money flowing into distressed mortgage securities
- there was an article on Bloomberg News today about how the (in)famous
John Paulson is pouring money into and doubling down on his big
mortgage/real estate bet. Judging by the ass-kicking his funds took in
2011, and observing the facts, I would continue to bet against him. I know
someone in Denver who runs a commercial real estate investment firm who's
been sellin... more »
Sachs: The Price of Civilization
A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'Hi-yo, Silver! Away!'
Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2012-01-12 22:40. Section: Daily Dispatches
5:20p ET Thursday, January 12, 2012
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):
Sprott Asset Management's John Embry today jumps on to silver's saddle and rides off into the sunset, if not shouting, "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!," then at least muttering, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Five years on, the powers that be have just released the transcripts of the Fed's FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meetings from 2006. Putting hindsight economic analysis aside, you quickly realize more than anything else: the committee is full of burgeoning comedians! Commentators have already highlighted the "humor" of the FOMC meetings, but it is really over the top at times. There are periods where Greenspan seems only capable of speaking in witty quips. That's right, the FOMC was laughing all the way to the top!
by Graham Summers, GainsPainsCapital.com:
I’ve received a number of emails regarding the fact that stocks continue to rally despite Europe being on the verge of Collapse. Once again, investors are forgetting that stocks are the most clueless asset class on the planet.
Indeed, here are three reasons why this latest stock market rally isn’t to be trusted.
1) Volume has fallen from awful to absolutely horrendous.
Stocks traded roughly nine billion shares on the second trading session of 2012. This marks a 36% decrease from trading volume for the second day of 2011 (nearly 14 billion shares).
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):
Sprott Asset Management's John Embry today jumps on to silver's saddle and rides off into the sunset, if not shouting, "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!," then at least muttering, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The Correlation Of Laughter At FOMC Meetings
Five years on, the powers that be have just released the transcripts of the Fed's FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meetings from 2006. Putting hindsight economic analysis aside, you quickly realize more than anything else: the committee is full of burgeoning comedians! Commentators have already highlighted the "humor" of the FOMC meetings, but it is really over the top at times. There are periods where Greenspan seems only capable of speaking in witty quips. That's right, the FOMC was laughing all the way to the top!
Hello ItBBB+ly
It only took a few years, but we can finally move from A to B:- ITALY CUT TWO LEVELS TO BBB+ BY S&P, EU OFFICIAL SAYS
Here Are The First Official Responses By French Politicians To S&P Downgrade
Just like in the US, where we had our very own Treasury Secretary telling us there is "no risk" the US would get downgraded, about 3 months before America did in fact get downgraded, the cognitive dissonance between reality and fantasy is fully exposed today, this time in Europe. And whereas patriotic chauvinism has its good and bad sides, listening to politicians explain away how the impossible has just happened is always very amusing. Especially when translated by Google. Such as in this case, where we have grabbed the following article from Les Echos and dumped it into the modern version of the babel fish.France Downgrade Well-Deserved Disaster for Sarkozy
I’ve received a number of emails regarding the fact that stocks continue to rally despite Europe being on the verge of Collapse. Once again, investors are forgetting that stocks are the most clueless asset class on the planet.
Indeed, here are three reasons why this latest stock market rally isn’t to be trusted.
1) Volume has fallen from awful to absolutely horrendous.
Stocks traded roughly nine billion shares on the second trading session of 2012. This marks a 36% decrease from trading volume for the second day of 2011 (nearly 14 billion shares).
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
Newt Gingrich: “Let’s allow terrorist attacks to happen.”
by Graham Summers, GainsPainsCapital.com:
Greece is in big trouble.
I realize that 99% of commentators have completely missed this fact. After all throughout 2011 the mainstream financial media published stories claiming that the Greek Crisis was solved.
However, the reality is that Greece remains in Crisis mode. The country has only 37 billion Euros left from its first bailout package. And the second bailout package is anything but guaranteed.
Indeed, as the below story reveals, the two financial backstops for Greece (the IMF and Germany) are in no place to pony up more cash.
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
Greece is in big trouble.
I realize that 99% of commentators have completely missed this fact. After all throughout 2011 the mainstream financial media published stories claiming that the Greek Crisis was solved.
However, the reality is that Greece remains in Crisis mode. The country has only 37 billion Euros left from its first bailout package. And the second bailout package is anything but guaranteed.
Indeed, as the below story reveals, the two financial backstops for Greece (the IMF and Germany) are in no place to pony up more cash.
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
from The Daily Bell:
Inside the Fed in 2006: A Coming Crisis, and Banter … As the housing bubble entered its waning hours in 2006, top Federal Reserve officials marveled at the desperate antics of home builders seeking to lure buyers. The officials laughed about the cars that builders were offering as signing bonuses, and about efforts to make empty homes look occupied. They joked about one builder who said that inventory was “rising through the roof.” But the officials, meeting every six weeks to discuss the health of the nation’s economy, gave little credence to the possibility that the faltering housing market would weigh on the broader economy, according to transcripts that the Fed released Thursday. Instead they continued to tell one another throughout 2006 that the greatest danger was inflation — the possibility that the economy would grow too fast. – New York Times
Dominant Social Theme: The Fed gets it right … eventually.
Free-Market Analysis: Wow, what an article. At a time when many in the alternative media were shouting out loud about an impending financial crisis, many of the top men at the US Federal Reserve could only make jokes about desperate discounts being given out by house-builders that found themselves saddled with an ever-growing inventory they literally couldn’t give away.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com
Inside the Fed in 2006: A Coming Crisis, and Banter … As the housing bubble entered its waning hours in 2006, top Federal Reserve officials marveled at the desperate antics of home builders seeking to lure buyers. The officials laughed about the cars that builders were offering as signing bonuses, and about efforts to make empty homes look occupied. They joked about one builder who said that inventory was “rising through the roof.” But the officials, meeting every six weeks to discuss the health of the nation’s economy, gave little credence to the possibility that the faltering housing market would weigh on the broader economy, according to transcripts that the Fed released Thursday. Instead they continued to tell one another throughout 2006 that the greatest danger was inflation — the possibility that the economy would grow too fast. – New York Times
Dominant Social Theme: The Fed gets it right … eventually.
Free-Market Analysis: Wow, what an article. At a time when many in the alternative media were shouting out loud about an impending financial crisis, many of the top men at the US Federal Reserve could only make jokes about desperate discounts being given out by house-builders that found themselves saddled with an ever-growing inventory they literally couldn’t give away.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com
Banks
are getting more aggressive with the 3.5 million U.S. homes with
seriously delinquent mortgages, setting the stage for a big wave of
foreclosure action this year.
by E. Scott Reckard, LATimes.com:
California and other states are likely to see an enormous wave of long-delayed foreclosure action in the coming year as banks deal more aggressively with 3.5 million seriously delinquent mortgages.
And experts said that dealing with the foreclosure process, from issuing notices of default to selling repossessed homes, is likely to push housing prices lower this year before the real estate market has a chance to recover.
A report from RealtyTrac, an Irvine data firm, said about 1.9 million U.S. homes were hit with default notices, foreclosures and other actions last year. That is down from 2.9 million in 2010. Seriously delinquent loans are defined as being four months in arrears.
Read More @ LATimes.com
by E. Scott Reckard, LATimes.com:
California and other states are likely to see an enormous wave of long-delayed foreclosure action in the coming year as banks deal more aggressively with 3.5 million seriously delinquent mortgages.
And experts said that dealing with the foreclosure process, from issuing notices of default to selling repossessed homes, is likely to push housing prices lower this year before the real estate market has a chance to recover.
A report from RealtyTrac, an Irvine data firm, said about 1.9 million U.S. homes were hit with default notices, foreclosures and other actions last year. That is down from 2.9 million in 2010. Seriously delinquent loans are defined as being four months in arrears.
Read More @ LATimes.com
by Rob Kirby, GoldSeek.com:
The term “derivative” has become a dirty, if not evil word. So much of what ails our global financial system has been laid-at-the-feet of this misunderstood, mischaracterized term – derivatives. The purpose of this paper is to outline the origin, growth and ultimately the corruption of the derivatives market – and explain how something originally designed to provide economic utility has morphed into a tool of abusive, manipulative economic tyranny.
Definition of Derivatives
Derivatives are financial instruments whose values depend on the value of other underlying financial instruments or objects. The main types of derivatives are futures, forwards, options and swaps.
The original intended use of derivatives was to manage risk [hedge]; however, now they are often traded as investments whether hedged, un-hedged or as component of a spread trading strategy. The diverse range of potential underlying assets and pay-off alternatives leads to a wide range of derivatives contracts available to be traded in the market. Derivatives can be based on different types of assets such as commodities, equities (stocks), residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans, bonds, interest rates, exchange rates, or indices (such as a stock market index, consumer price index (CPI) — see inflation derivatives — or even an index of weather conditions, or other derivatives). In recent years, much has been written about credit derivatives – which have become an increasingly visible part of the derivatives complex. However, the largest component of the derivatives complex remains interest rate products which the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency tells us constitute more than 82 % of all outstanding bank held notionals. Interest rate derivatives have a great effect on interest rates as will be discussed later.
Read More @ GoldSeek.com
The term “derivative” has become a dirty, if not evil word. So much of what ails our global financial system has been laid-at-the-feet of this misunderstood, mischaracterized term – derivatives. The purpose of this paper is to outline the origin, growth and ultimately the corruption of the derivatives market – and explain how something originally designed to provide economic utility has morphed into a tool of abusive, manipulative economic tyranny.
Definition of Derivatives
Derivatives are financial instruments whose values depend on the value of other underlying financial instruments or objects. The main types of derivatives are futures, forwards, options and swaps.
The original intended use of derivatives was to manage risk [hedge]; however, now they are often traded as investments whether hedged, un-hedged or as component of a spread trading strategy. The diverse range of potential underlying assets and pay-off alternatives leads to a wide range of derivatives contracts available to be traded in the market. Derivatives can be based on different types of assets such as commodities, equities (stocks), residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans, bonds, interest rates, exchange rates, or indices (such as a stock market index, consumer price index (CPI) — see inflation derivatives — or even an index of weather conditions, or other derivatives). In recent years, much has been written about credit derivatives – which have become an increasingly visible part of the derivatives complex. However, the largest component of the derivatives complex remains interest rate products which the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency tells us constitute more than 82 % of all outstanding bank held notionals. Interest rate derivatives have a great effect on interest rates as will be discussed later.
Read More @ GoldSeek.com
by Ryan Puplava, FinancialSense.com:
The
European Central Bank met today to discuss policy and economic results.
At the same time, we got the results from a Spanish and Italian bond
auction that many were watching as a barometer for things to come. Mario
Draghi gave himself a subtle pat on the back in his statement today
saying, “There are tentative signs of a stabilization in activity at low
levels.” However, due to an economic outlook that “remains subject to
high uncertainty and substantial risk…the provision of liquidity and the
allotment modes for refinancing operations will continue to support
euro area banks, and thus the financing of the real economy”. We’ve seen
a lot of action by central banks in the past six months. They are
obviously hard at work to stave off market weakness and uncertainty.
Read More @ FinancialSense.com
The
European Central Bank met today to discuss policy and economic results.
At the same time, we got the results from a Spanish and Italian bond
auction that many were watching as a barometer for things to come. Mario
Draghi gave himself a subtle pat on the back in his statement today
saying, “There are tentative signs of a stabilization in activity at low
levels.” However, due to an economic outlook that “remains subject to
high uncertainty and substantial risk…the provision of liquidity and the
allotment modes for refinancing operations will continue to support
euro area banks, and thus the financing of the real economy”. We’ve seen
a lot of action by central banks in the past six months. They are
obviously hard at work to stave off market weakness and uncertainty.Read More @ FinancialSense.com
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