Monday, September 24, 2012

Kaminsky: "The Bernank Is Now A Kamikaze Pilot"


In a little under four minutes, CNBC's Gary Kaminsky provides a voice of reason amid the 'Gold-and-Bonds-are-in-a-bubble-but-Apple-is-awesome' meme. Reflecting on some of the mind-blowingly crazy statistics of this market's recent inexorable rise, central bank balance sheet eruptions, and valuations; Kaminsky (an ex-PM as opposed to 'reporter') provides six clarifying words: "We know this will end ugly!" From the lack of credibility of any Fed exit, to the explosion of the monetary base, Gary moves back and forth from Japan as an ever-more-obvious template for our path past the Keynesian endpoint. Finally, he concludes that: "Bernanke is a kamikaze pilot... experimenting [in monetary policy] and is destined to fail."

U.S. Monetary Policy: Good News for Gold Investors

By: Jeffrey Nichols, Priceless Gold and Silver:
We have long expected further monetary easing by the U.S. central bank . . . but this past Thursday’s news from the Fed was more than most gold investors could have imagined or hoped for. In reaction to persistent recession-like conditions and continued high unemployment in the U.S. economy, the Fed is now embarking on even more reflationary – and ultimately inflationary – monetary policies.
In a statement following Thursday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Fed said “If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the committee will continue its purchase of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate until such improvement is achieved in the context of price stability.”
More specifically, the Fed said it will buy $40 billion of mortgage-related debt each and every month until the outlook for employment improves significantly. At the same time, the Fed will continue its “Operation Twist” program in which it sells short-term securities and buys longer-term Treasury debt. And, in addition, the Fed stated it is unlikely to raise interest rates from their current near-zero levels at least until mid-2015.
Read More @ Priceless Gold and Silver

Full Geopolitical Update In Under 30 Seconds With Art Cashin

Curious what geopolitical developments traders are looking at? Here is a complete summary, in under 30 seconds, courtesy of the Chairman of the Fermentation committee.






America's Deadliest And Poorest City Set To Disband Its Entire Police Force Over Budget Crisis

Gone: Camden police officers will lose their jobs at the end of the year when the department is disbanded
While the stock market in the US continues to surge (if not so much in China where the composite is back to 2009 lows) as the relentless liquidity tsunami makes its way into stocks, and other Fed frontrunning instruments, and only there, reality for everyone else refuses to wait. Last week we saw reality striking in Greece, where a section of Athens literally shut down after it ran out of all cash. Today, reality comes to the US, and specifically its poorest city, Camden, which is a twofer, doubling down also as America's deadliest city. It turns out Camden is about to become even deadliest-er, as its police force is set to be disbanded following a budget crisis in this effectively insolvent city.


It`s Easier To Get Rich In Asia

Admin at Jim Rogers Blog - 52 minutes ago
It's easier to get rich in Asia than it is in America now. The wind is in your face. The United States is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. - *in CNN* *Jim Rogers is an author, financial commentator and successful international investor. He has been frequently featured in Time, The New York Times, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and is a regular guest on Bloomberg and CNBC.* 
 

QE Boosts The Price Of Warhols

Admin at Marc Faber Blog - 1 hour ago
The fallacy of monetary policy in the US is to believe this money will go to the man on the street. It goes to the Mayfair economy of the well-to-do people and boosts asset prices of Warhols. - *in CNBC* * * *Marc Faber is an international investor known for his uncanny predictions of the stock market and futures markets around the world.*



There's No Engine for Global Growth Pt 2 (Europe)
Phoenix Capital...
09/24/2012 - 10:55
  Meanwhile, pretty much all of Europe is in recession now, including Germany. True, the ESM bailout fund has been ratified… but the question remains who actually has funds to...

David Rosenberg On The 'One-Trick Pony Market'

Global economic fundamentals are awful, bearish divergences are occurring everywhere, investor sentiment is nearing bullish extremes, political risks remain high and last week's market performance can be summed up in four words - 'lack of follow through'. As Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg explains, more than two-thirds of the rally points the stock market has enjoyed since the summer-time lows occurred around central bank policy announcements. So the market is really a one-trick pony here, breathing in the fumes of central bank liquidity. What was supposed to happen, as the elites told us, was that the lagging hedge funds were going to throw in the towel and chase this market. Everyone expects this to be a major source of buying power. At the same time, what if the bulls who lucked out this year because they hung onto Ben Bernanke's arm decide to take profits or at the least lock in their gains? CRitically, as Rosie details, QE3 is occurring at a different point in the cycle this time and insomuch as it helps invogorate already rising 'animal spirits' we suspect it has missed the boat.



Following QE8, Japanese Teachers' Pension Fund Goes All-In: Focus on 'Return' Not 'Risk'

"We have decided to focus on return... we need a certain level of return no matter how the market condition is" is how the general manager of Japan's Teachers' Mutual Aid pension fund justifies their plan to push JPY100bn (of their JPY600bn) into riskier assets from J-REITs to hedge funds. As Bloomberg notes, the firm is adopting a new strategy designed to counter a decline in the value of traditional equity and bond asset classes. Notably, following last week's Illinois pension-fund target return markdown, the Japanese fund targets only 3-5% thanks to QE8 and two decades of repression and stumble through. Even achieving these targets means throwing out the 'risk' side of the equation as they push into foreign bonds (cue next European sovereign bond rumor) and chase momentum in Tokyo real estate (TSEREIT up 19% YTD). Haven't we seen this picture before - and it didn't end well?



QE For the People - What Else Could We Buy With $29 Trillion?

In a system that depends on lies and the credulity of the citizenry, the greatest lie is that the Federal Reserve's "quantitative easing" bailouts of the banks somehow help our citizens and communities. To clarify this, ask yourself this question: what else could we have bought with the $29 trillion the Fed loaned or backstopped to the banks?  If you enjoy quibbling about the total sum of Fed support, be my guest; the Levy Institute came up with $29 trillion after poring over all the data, while the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) tally topped $16 trillion. That's 100% of the nation's GDP and roughly 100% of the $16 trillion national debt. While we're asking about opportunity costs, let's ask what else we could have bought with the $10 trillion that the Federal government has borrowed and blown in the past 11.7 years. The national debt was $5.727 trillion when G.W. Bush was sworn into office on January 20, 2001. It had risen to $10.626 trillion when President Obama was sworn into office in January, 2009. It is now $16.016 trillion, an increase of $5 trillion in less than four years in "debt held by the public" (i.e. the Chinese central bank, the Japanese central bank, the Federal Reserve, etc.)


Preparing For The Revelation

In the spirit of the European Bank Stress Tests and in the continuum of the Ring around the Rosie concocted by Brussels we are about to be handed another slew of numbers that will show that Spain is fine, prospering and running along just with no difficulties at all; thank you. This data is being prepared by the German firm Oliver Wyman, the German consulting firm. You may recall that we were supposed to have audited financials by the end of September, which was promised by Spain, however that was apparently canceled and there is no such audit underway. So much for the promises of Spain. We can tell you now, with surety, that the evaluation that we will be handed by Oliver Wyman will have all of the value of the paper found in the 'banos' of any restaurant in Madrid.




Chart Of The Day: Global Household Assets


Shortly after posting the latest "balance sheet" of the US consumer we received requests to show how this looks in a global context, in other words, what do the balance sheets of the global households outside of the US look like. We show what this look like below, courtesy of the Bank of Japan, which presents the distribution of household financial assets in context then (5 years ago) and now. It also shows why whereas to Joe Sixpack the level of the S&P is the most important, with 32% of total assets in stocks, in Japan and in Europe, the average person could not care less where the stock market is, with just 6.5% and 14.7% of assets held in equities. The US E-Trade baby: keeping the Ponzi dream alive.




Janjuah Stopped Out

While Nomura's Bob Janjuah remains 100% correct in his diagnosis and prognosis of the current 'grossest misallocation and mispricing of capital in the history of mankind', his tactical short was stopped out last week. The modest loss on the position though provided clarity on the importance of the 1450 level for the S&P 500 and he remains confident that on a multi-month timeframe he expects 800 to be hit with only a muted 10% possible upside in global equities due to underlying growth, debt and policy-maker concerns. Critically, he suggests it is premature to go aggressively short risk at this precise moment, urges traders to stay nimble, and warns "...risk assets are in a bubble which of course can extend, but which can reverse sharply and suddenly. Up here, 'valuation metrics' are not going to help much... this bubble could extend for maybe a few months and by up to 10%, ...but that we could see global equity markets 10/15% lower in virtually a 'heartbeat'."



Apple Announces First Weekend iPhone 5 Sales Of 5 Million, Half Off Highest Estimate

There was much riding on the Apple update for the first weekend sales from the new iPhone 5 and here they are.

  • APPLE SAYS IPHONE 5 FIRST WEEKEND SALES TOP 5M.
This number would be great if only it wasn't 50% off the highest whisper estimate of up to 10 million sales in the weekend. It is also the reason why the stock is now sliding down well over 2%, threatening to light the AAPL hedge fund hotel on fire.





Who Needs Global Trade When You Have Toner Cartridge

Confirming the dismal picture of advanced economy import and export declines we discussed yesterday, the following chart provides everything you need to know about the world's economic quagmire but were afraid to ask. Of course, all the time the central-printers of the world are willing to debauch themselves there will be momentum-chasing monkeys to maintain the blue-pill illusion of a healthy stock market as indicative of a healthy economy - but should you choose to swallow the red pill, this chart of a plunging global trade volume may raise anxiety levels a little above their current multi-year lows.


"Do You Own Gold?" Ray Dalio At CFR: "Oh Yeah, I Do"


Ray Dalio, founder and co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, L.P. and one of the most successful hedge fund managers of all time told Maria Bartiromo last week that he owns gold and that he sees no “sensible reason not to own gold”. The interview was part of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Corporate Program's CEO Speaker Series, which provides a forum for leading global CEOs to share their priorities and insights before a high-level audience of wealthy and influential CFR members.  The respected hedge fund manager suggested that a depression and not a recession was likely and warned of social unrest and the risk of radical politics as was seen with Hitler and the Nazis in the Depression of the 1930’s. Dalio spoke about how “gold is a currency” and when asked by Bartiromo “do you own gold?”, he smiled and said “Oh yeah, I do.” The admission elicited a laugh from the CFR audience. Dalio’s interview is important as it again indicates how slowly but surely gold is moving from a fringe asset of a few hard money advocates and risk averse individuals to a mainstream asset. Wealthier people and some of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world are slowly realising the importance of gold as financial insurance in an investment portfolio and as money. This will result in sizeable flows into the gold market in the coming months which should push prices above the inflation adjusted high of 1980 - $2,500/oz. The interview section where Dalio is asked about gold by an audience member begins in the 43rd minute and can be seen here.




Spain's Latest Bailout Plan - Lottery Bonds

Just when we thought Europe has already used the kitchen sink and then some in its arsenal of bailout ideas, here comes Spain proving there is always "something else." Bloomberg reports that the insolvent country which is not really insolvent as long as people keep buying its bonds on hopes it is insolvent, is launching "lottery bonds". To wit: Spain to sell bonds through state-run lottery operator to fund regional bailouts, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg’s Esteban Duarte and Ben Sills. The issue is part of €6 billion financing through Sociedad Estatal Loterias & Apuestas del Estado which is raising syndicated loan. Loterias official said financing details haven’t been completed. In other words, the national lottery, which as in Spain so everywhere else, is nothing but an added tax on a country's poor population but one which provides at least a tiny hope of a substantial repayment (which never happens for the vast, vast majority of players) so few actually complain about paying it, is about to shift the bailout cost to the nation's poorest. Who benefits? Why Spiderman towel makers of course. And insolvent banks.



Daily US Opening News And Market Re-Cap: September 24

Risk-averse sentiment dominated the first half of the session today, as market participants digested yet another disappointing macro economic data release from Europe (German IFO), which fell for a fifth consecutive month. In addition to that, EU’s Van Rompuy said that he sees tendency of losing the sense of urgency, likely pointing the finger at Spain which is yet to request monetary assistance to prevent another speculative attack. It remains unclear when the official request will be made, but there is a risk that the application will only take place after regional elections in late October or even after the Eurogroup meeting in November. Finally, German finance ministry spokesman said that leveraging the ESM to EUR 2trl, as reported by Der Spiegel over the weekend, is not realistic and called the report completely illusionary. As a result, peripheral bond yield spreads are wider, with Italian bonds underperforming as markets prepare for this week’s supply from the Treasury. Heading towards the North American cross over, EUR/USD is seen lower by around 75pips and is trading in close proximity to the 1.2900 level, with bids said to be placed below. Talk of dividend related buying in GBP/USD, as well as EU budget related selling in EUR/GBP by two different UK clearers helped support GBP/USD. Going forward, there are no major economic releases set for the second half of the session, but the BoE will conduct its latest APF and the Fed will buy between USD 1.5-2bln in its latest POMO.



Frontrunning: September 24

  • World on track for record food prices 'within a year' due to US drought (Telegraph)
  • Foxconn halts production at plant after mass brawl (BBC)
  • Germany Losing Patience With Spain as EU Warns on Crisis Effort (Bloomberg)
  • Fed Recovery Doubts Spur Investor Bid for Treasuries (Bloomberg)
  • Japan protests as Chinese ships enter disputed waters (Reuters)
  • In Shark-Infested Waters, Resolve of Two Giants Is Tested (NYT)
  • China jails Wang Lijun for 15 years (FT)
  • China closes in on Bo Xilai after jailing ex-police chief (Reuters)
  • European Leaders Struggle to Overcome Crisis Stalemate (Bloomberg)
  • Politicians 1: Austerity 0 - Portugal Gives Ground on Worker Contributions (WSJ)
  • Obama Controls Most of His Money as Republicans Have More (Bloomberg)
  • Coeure Says Not Clear That Further ECB Interest-Rate Cut Needed (Bloomberg)
  • France Seeks Labour Overhaul (WSJ)


Overnight Sentiment: 'Rumors Regurgitated, Refuted' Redux As German Economy Slips Again

The last time we saw a bevy of regurgitated European rumors shortly refuted was last Friday. Today we get a redux, following a hard push by none other than Spiegel (precisely as we predicted a month ago: "And now, time for Spiegel to cite "unnamed sources" that the EFSF is going to use 3-4x leverage") to imagine a world in which the ESM can be leveraged 4x to €2 trillion. This is merely a replay of last fall when Europe's deus ex for 2 months was clutching at a cobbled up superficial plan of 3-4x EFSF leverage, which ultimately proved futile. Why? Because, just like in 2011, one would need China in on this strategy as there is simply not enough endogenous leverage in either the US or Europe which would make this plan feasible. And China, we are sad to say, has a whole lot of its own problems to worry about right about now, than bailing out the shattered dream of a failed monetary unions still held by a few lifelong European bureaucrats, which this thing is all about. As expected, moments ago Germany refuted everything. Via Reuters: "Germany's finance ministry said on Monday that talk of the euro zone's permanent bailout fund being leveraged to 2 trillion euros via private sector involvement was not realistic, adding that any discussion of precise figures was "purely abstract." This also explains why we devoted precisely zero space to this latest leverage incarnation rumor yesterday: we were merely waiting for the refutation.


The Fed Has Another $3.9 Trillion In QE To Go (At Least)

Some wonder why we have been so convinced that no matter what happens, that the Fed will have no choice but to continue pushing the monetary easing pedal to the metal. It is actually no secret: we explained the logic for the first time back in March of this year with "Here Is Why The Fed Will Have To Do At Least Another $3.6 Trillion In Quantitative Easing." The logic, in a nutshell, is simple: everyone who looks at modern monetary practice (as opposed to theory) through the prism of a 1980s textbook is woefully unprepared for the modern capital markets reality for one simple reason: shadow banking; and when accounting for the ongoing melt of shadow banking credit intermediates, which continues to accelerate, the Fed has a Herculean task ahead of it in restoring consolidated credit growth. Shadow banking, as we have explained many times most recently here, is merely an unregulated, inflationary-buffer (as it has no matched deposits) which provides the conventional banking credit transformations such as maturity, credit and liquidity, in the process generating term liabilities. In yet other words, shadow banking creates credit money which can then flow into monetary conduits such as economic "growth" or capital markets, however without creating the threat of inflation - if anything shadow banks are the biggest systemic deflationary threat, as due to the relatively short-term nature of their duration exposure, they tend to lock up at the first sing of trouble (see Money Markets breaking the buck within hours of the Lehman failure) and lead to utter economic mayhem unless preempted. Well, preempting the collapse in the shadow banking system is precisely what the Fed's primary role has so far been, even more so than pushing the S&P to new all time highs. The problem, however, as we will show today, is that even with the Fed's balance sheet at $2.8 trillion and set to rise to $5 trillion in 2 years, it will not be enough.




Today’s Items:

First…
Former ECB Chief Economist Says ECB Is In Panic
http://www.zerohedge.com
Austrian Die Presse, the former ECB banker says that…    Since 2010, the European Central Bank has been in a panic and has been flooding the market with euros.    We could see, as soon as this December, the collapse of Greece.    We may be seeing that the destruction of Europe’s democracy is in its final phase.

Next…
More Fake Gold
http://www.zerohedge.com
Since the initial discovery of a single 10 oz Tungsten-filled gold bar in Manhattan’s jewelry district, dealers have discovered at least ten more fake 10-ounce “gold bars.”    Four fake bars were purchased from a well-known Russian salesman.    Hmm…    Our investigation has gone over the pond…    And possibly getting closer to HSBC.  In addition, there are ways, using ultrasonics to detect fake gold.

Next…
Shortage of Bonds to Back Derivatives Bets
http://www.businessweek.com
As per the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, starting next year, new rules will force banks, hedge funds, and other traders to back up more of their bets in the $648 trillion derivatives market by posting collateral.    Unfortunately, there is a shortage of Treasury bonds and other top-rated debt to use as collateral.    So, what will banks use?     Why not your IRA’s, 401k’s, checking, and savings accounts?

Next…
Christopher Stevens Diary
http://www.foxnews.com
The US State Department, under Hillary Clinton, is furious at CNN for reporting the contents of the diary of slain American ambassador Christopher Stevens.    Was it because it was reported over objections of the family?    Hell no.    It was because his diary clearly shows that the Obama administration was lying again as his diary described his fears and warnings of a terror threat well before the Benghazi attack on September 11th.

Next…
1oz of Silver for 45 Acres!
http://www.youtube.com
This video, by TruthNeverTold, clearly illustrates, using the Louisiana Purchase that one ounce of silver bought 45 acres of land.    In the post dollar world, your physical silver may not buy you 45 acres of land; however, it may be possible to buy an acre for one ounce; thus, you could buy an acre in the future for a $40 investment today.    Another reason, after preparing, to keep stacking physical.

Next…
Five Reasons Romney is Wishy-Washy
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com
1. Like Obama, he is economically illiterate.
2. Like Obama, he has no principles.
3. Like Obama, he look at matters piecemeal – rather than see connections.
4. Like Obama, he does not think things through.
5. Like Obama, he lies and play it safe.
One way or the other, we all lose.

Next…
More Junk Mail
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com
In an attempt to fill the void of real mail, and to increase revenue, the post office will address its serious budget deficits by increasing the amount of junk mail.    84 billion pieces of junk mail was delivered last year with 60 percent of it being acted upon by the recipients.    So yes, you will be getting more junk mail, or love letters for your money.


Finally, please prepare now for the escalating economic and social unrest.    Good Day!


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