Marc Faber: "Fed Will Destroy The World"

"Everything will collapse" is the consequence Gloom, Boom, & Doom's Marc Faber sees from the Fed's latest 'stimulus' (and the fallacy and misconception of how money-printing can help employment). In a wondrously clarifying interview on Bloomberg TV this morning, Faber explained why he was 'happy', since "the asset values of his holdings will go up" but as a responsible citizen he is worried because "the monetary policies of the US will destroy the world." It truly is class warfare under a veil of 'its good for you' as he notes: "the fallacy of monetary policy in the U.S. is to believe this money will go to the man on the street. It won't. It goes to the Mayfair economy of the well-to-do people and boosts asset prices of Warhols." Congratulations, Mr. Bernanke.

Bill Gross:"Buy Real Assets... Gold... A House!"

Gross: #Fed to buy mortgages ‘til the cows come home. Think 7% unemployment, 2.5% inflation targets. Buy real assets…gold…a house!
— PIMCO (@PIMCO) September 14, 2012

Mortgages 28 bps Away From Being Safer Than Treasurys

  The open-ended awesomeness of Bernanke's bluster has crushed the spread between mortgages and Treasuries. While the spread had been tumbling in anticipation of Ben's great save, the move from yesterday's announcement is stunning as the already record-low levels have been halved leaving mortgages now under 28bps from being 'as safe as Treasuries'.

Europe and US Un-Decoupling

  The US is no longer the cleanest dirty shirt, or least syphilitic hooker in the whorehouse as we so responsibly noted previously. Year-to-date, the US Dow Jones Industrials 30 and Europe's EuroStoxx 50 - the two major blue-chip indices of the beleaguered regions - are now equally awesome at +11.35%. Of course, Gold and Silver are outperforming both of these (and the long-bond is unchanged) but nevertheless, even with EURUSD now up over 200 pips on the year, 2Y Spain yields are unchanged and 10Y Spain yields up 70bps. Context is king here, especially when we just keep anchoring to the latest 5 minute trend.

Industrial Production Plunges Most Since March 2009

  In one more example of why we are going to need more-er and open-ended-er QE from the Fed, today's dismal data rolls on. Industrial Production dropped 1.2% MoM - its largest drop since March 2009 - and missed expectations by the most since December 2008. The market (expectedly) is unimpressed and stable - fully aware that the Fed's new infinite QE will simply be expanded to an infinte-er QE should things go from worse to worse-er. To add more salt to the wound, Capacity Utilization dropped to its lowest of the year and missed expectations by its most in 16 months. 15x P/E multiples here we come - all supported by moar hockey-stick growth trajectories, infinity +1 printing, and a status quo who needs moar commissions. So much for cleanest dirty shirt, eh? It seems 'they won't come' in our 'if we build it' economy - as factories go quiet from the over-exuberant mal-investment of channel-stuffers.

Consumer Confidence Soars On Inflation Expectations... Dropping

There was a time when it took at least some digging to cut through the manipulated headline data. Not so much any more. The latest UMichicagn consumer confidence data point is out, and it being an election year and all, and there needing to be some immediate validation of the massive stock surge in the aftermath of our own Gideon Gono going full retard, posted the biggest positive surprise to expectations in well... ever, printing at 79.2, on expectations of 74.0, up from 74.3. This was the highest print since May, which occurted not on the conditions component, but the expectations, which soared from 65.1 to 73.4. And here is the punchline: why did consumers get more confident? Because in the period from the last month they priced in more... drumroll... deflation! 1 and 5 year inflation expectations declined from 3.6% and 3.0%, to 3.5% and 2.8%. And that's how we know they don't even bother to mask the lies any more.

Fed 'Currency Debasement 3' Sees Gold And Silver Surge 2% And 4.3%

Bernanke took the plunge yesterday by embarking on QE3 or what would be better described as “Currency Debasement 3”. Improving the U.S. job market and therefore economy was the reason given for the extremely radical measures. However, the scale of the open ended monetary commitments suggests the Fed is worried about another Great Depression and an economic collapse. The move was described as "stunningly bold" by some analysts as it is "open ended" with Bernanke pledging to print or electronically create, with no time limit, an extra $40 billion every single month until the labour market improves. This is the frightening vista we have been warning of for some time. It means that should the US economy enter a recession and or depression, which still seems very likely, that the Fed will continue printing money and debasing the dollar thereby leading to dollar devaluation and inflation - potentially virulent inflation on a par with or worse than that seen in the 1970's. We had long said that QE3 was inevitable - the question was when rather than if. Indeed, we had said that given Bernanke's closeness to Wall Street we expected that QE4, QE5 etc.  were likely.  The "open ended" nature of this new round of QE as enunciated yesterday means that the Fed could if it wished or believes it is necessary print unlimited quantities of dollars.

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Consumer Prices Soar By Most Since June 2009, Retail Sales Ex-Autos And Gas Expose Lethargic Consumer

Following yesterday's producer price shock, when PPI soared by the most since June 2009, today's CPI follows suit, with the largest jump in over 2 years, printing up 0.6%, in line with expectations, up from an unchanged print in July. In other words, the food inflation which is already spreading through the economy courtesy of the record drought, is about to be supported by some brand new Fed-generated inflation. Luckily, as yesterday, nobody uses gas or food. And in other news, retail sales posted yet another very disappointing print, when despite a better than expected headline print of 0.9% in August advance retail sales, a number which included gas and auto sales, retail sales excluding these very volatile components, rose by only 0.1%, on expectations of a 0.4% rise, and a downward revision from 0.9% to 0.8%. This was the 5th miss in 6 months, and ugly all around. In other words, the US consumer, revised consumer credit data notwithstanding, is levering up and not generating any real new sales. Expect yet another round of GDP revisions. However, in light of yesterday's Bernanke announcement, it is pretty obvious that no macro economic data for public consumption does the disaster that is the economy in the Fed's eyes, justice, and makes us wonder just how ugly the underlying reality must be. All that said: with inflation spiking, and consumers lethargic, it certainly appears that Bernanke picked the perfect time for more monetary paper dilution

Dr Kevin And Mr Warsh: A Former Fed Governor Exposes The Fed

Ex-Fed Governor Kevin Warsh provided much food for thought during his appearance on CNBC this morning. Over the course of the following clip, he addresses concerns from just how bad the reality of the global economy must have been for Bernanke and his merry men to have gone "all-in" aggressive - reflecting on this as a panic-like reaction during times now where we are not panicking, the ineffectiveness of QE3 "iPhone 5 will do more for the real economy than QE3", fears over how bad this could get as "there is a reason 'exit' is a four-letter word." Warsh notes the paradox of Bernanke "trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat' each time the economy loses control while calling for Washington to do more - as the politicians know "there's not much we need to do, Bernanke has our back." When asset prices are driven less by fundamentals and more by speeches and policies coming out of Washington, you're taking risks. "Risks are highest in the economy when measures of risk are he lowest"

Meanwhile In Sudan

... A man celebrates QE3...

Follow The Latest In Anti-American Sentiment: Al Jazeera Live Webcast

 
The market may no longer reflect any actual events or newsflow as it quietly levitates on what is a now certain avalanche of fiat dilution and wheelbarrow blue light specials, and it may thus be forgiven to ignore the dramatic developments abroad, but that does not mean you should. As country after country storms and burns down US embassies in futile searches for foodstamps and to express other pent up forms of soaring dissatisfaction with Pax Americana, follow the latest developments live courtesy of this Al Jazeera webcast with constant updates from around the world.

CNBC Video: Bullish On The Swedish Krona

Admin at Jim Rogers Blog - 1 hour ago

Topics: Currencies, Forex, Swedish Krona, Canadian Dollar; * **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.* 

 

Sugary drinks over 16-ounces banned in New York City, Board of Health votes

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 2 hours ago

More "joy sticking" of society by controllers through the long arm of regulation rather than education. Does this new rule mark the return of speakeasies and the Cosa Nostra into the super sized soft drink market? Santanya once wrote, those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. He may have also wrote, what a bunch of dumb asses, but I cannot verify... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 

 

Video: Be Very Worried

Admin at Jim Rogers Blog - 3 hours ago

Topics: US elections, Republicans, Democrats *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.* 

 

US Budget Deficit Hits $1.16 Trillion Through Aug

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 4 hours ago

Surplus or deficit as a % GDP (S/D%GDP) continues to deteriorate through August 2012. While Bernanke's attempt to kick the can down the road through open-ended, monthly purchases of MBS, presumably buying toxic assets buried within the banking system rather than the open market, 'buys' a little more time, it will not reverse the trend below as important... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 

 

Census: Middle class shrinks to an all-time low

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 4 hours ago

Let’s not politicize the description of what’s taking place here. The middle class will continue taking an economic and financial beating until the cycle lows are reached (chart). If asked today why such a sharp divide between rich and poor (middle class) exists today, Grover Cleveland would have said, At times like the present, when the evils of unsound finance... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 

 

Temporary Boost Followed By A Crash

Admin at Marc Faber Blog - 4 hours ago

If I had messed up as badly as Bernanke I would for sure resign. The mandate of the Fed to boost asset prices and thereby create wealth is ludicrous — it doesn’t work that way. It’s a temporary boost followed by a crash. - *in CNBC * Related: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) *Marc Faber is an international investor known for his uncanny predictions of the stock market and futures markets around the world.*

Anti-US Protests Spread To India, Bangladesh, Indonesia

Did we say Arab Fall? We meant global fall. From the Star Tribune: "Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims protested Friday against an anti-Islam film, burning U.S. flags and calling President Barack Obama a "terrorist," while the top government cleric here reportedly demanded Americans leave the volatile Indian-controlled region immediately. In the southern Indian city of Chennai, protesters threw stones at the U.S. Consulate, shattering some windows and burning Obama in effigy. Police quickly cleared the area, arresting more than 100 protesters. U.S. Embassy officials in Delhi did not immediately comment." And elsewhere: "In Bangladesh, about 5,000 hardline Muslims marched in Dhaka's streets after Friday prayers, burning U.S. and Israeli flags and calling for the death of the filmmaker. Police prevented them from marching toward the U.S. Embassy several miles away." And elsewhere: "In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, about 200 protesters chanted slogans and held up signs in a largely peaceful protest outside the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. American diplomatic outposts increased security worldwide this week after clips of the film went viral online and sparked violent protests in the Middle East. About 20 protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, shouted "Allahu akbar!" and handed reporters a letter addressed to the U.S. ambassador expressing their anger over the movie and calling for greater respect for religions."

The Bernank's Koolaid Steals Draghi Punch - Spanish Bonds Slide

As the Eurogroup meets today and tomorrow, a funny thing is happening to Spanish bonds; they are selling off. Today is the worst day for the no sacrasanct 2Y Spanish bond yields in over 5 weeks and 10Y yields are not pretty at all. The 'sync' between risk-on around the world as Bernanke's bubble was re-blown yesterday seems to have drawn all that fast money flooding back to the S&P 500 leaving the forelorn Spaniards to ponder whether a bailout wouldn't be so bad. Just for one second, consider this - why did Bernanke go full retard yesterday? Data didn't exactly scream 'panic' mode. Perhaps he knows something about this weekend in Europe and wanted to get out in front of it? Certainly, the shift in Spanish bonds is idiosyncratic and extreme given all the 'Draghi-support' it has. For now though, it seems fast money is playing high-beta US equities, not high-beta European debt - but for how long?

Meanwhile In Lebanon And Tunisia

  Celebrations of QEnfinity are now officially sweeping the globe.

Quote Of The Day: QE3 Should Have Been "More Stronger"

A $4 trillion Fed balance sheet in 15 months (40% increase) and guess who is not happy. Yup, you got it.

Arabian Fall Update: Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Morrocco, Tunisia, Sudan And Now Lebanon

From the Arabian Spring of hope (although technically protesting soaring food prices, something which is about to happen all over again) to the Arabian Fall of anti-American revulsion in under two years: has to be a blowback record. The latest casualty: the German embassy in Sudan:

• Protestors now inside German Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan - RTRS
• Protesters pull down emblem at German embassy in Sudan, raise Islamic flag, Reuters witness says - RTRS
• Protesters set KFC restaurant on fire in Lebanon over pope's visit, anti-Islam film -RTRS

So: Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Morrocco, Tunisia, Sudan and now Lebanon. Did we miss anyone?

Shall We Not Revenge?

It is scant days to the election and we cannot help but think that our continuing trip to the “presses of creation” is an act of contrivance to support “him that must be obeyed” while shameless in its purpose serves not the “greater good” but the lesser path of political contrivance. But in the meantime it is to be commodities up, oil up, gold up but what of the citizens; what of the people and no hooray from us for the abuse of power. It is a bill that will have to be paid and a scheme that has a cost and a stroke for the government and a stroke against those that have to pay for it. The dislocation between the governing and the governed could not be greater and we take no pride in watching the machinations of men with no thought for this generation; much less those who will follow. A shameless rout and ill gotten gains and a certain sadness for America.

Spanish Debt, Bank Borrowings Soar To Highest In Decades As Home Prices Fall By Most Ever While GDP Shrinks

If only the Fed or ECB could print another Spain with the same facility that they engage in currency destruction, (and make no mistake: yesterday's "open-ended" Fed easing, is today's ECB "open-ended" intervention, is tomorrow's BOJ, is Sunday's PBOC, etc.), now might be the time. Because things in Spain, no matter what one is told, are getting progressively worse. The reason: on one hand the continuing surge in regions and total debt, both of which jumped in Q2, on the other hand Spanish bank borrowings from the ECB soared to €389 billion in August, a new record, and up from €376 billion, just as TARGET2 liabilities rose to a new record of €429 billion as well, explaining where that surge in German TARGET2 claims went, on the third hand housing prices collapsed by 14.4% in Q2, the most ever, and tying all the hands together was that the Spanish economy contracted. But please ignore the details. Focus on the important things, such as the surge in the Ibex, the S&P, consumer confidence, gold, crude, etc, however long these continue. Because unless there is such a thing as a free lunch, with every incremental injection, all Bernanke proves is that the underlying reality is far worse than what is telegraphed to the people.

Frontrunning: September 14

• Weeks before U.S. election, Mideast gives Obama perfect storm (Reuters)
• Clashes intensify near US embassy in Cairo (Al Jazeera)
• Puppet governments in trouble: Mursi Risks Rift With U.S. or Voters as Islamists Rally (Bloomberg)
• Protests Put Egypt Relations on Edge (WSJ)
• Fed insists politics had no role in decision (FT)
• UBS "rogue trader" fraudulently gambled away $2.3 billion, court told (Reuters)
• Obama Holds Lead in Three Key States (WSJ)
• China's Xi recovering from bad back, could appear soon - sources (Reuters)
•  Japan voices anger over Chinese incursion after vessels entered waters around disputed Senkaku islands  (FT)
• Goldman Scales Back Junior-Analyst Program; No Contracts for College Hires (WSJ)
• China commentary slams Romney's "foolish" China-bashing (Reuters)
• Aging Baby Boomers Face Losing Care as Filipinos Go Home (Bloomberg)

 

Crude Over $100

Crude futures soaring by nearly 2% overnight to over $100 is what all those evil, evil speculators at work looks like. That, or the Federal Reserve's "all in" bubble reflation policy perhaps. No, it has to be the speculators: the margin hiker-in-chief said so. And for those who are surprised by Crude's move into triple digit territory, which in turn will send gas prices to the highest they have ever been for this time of year just in time for the election, wait until the reality of $150 oil is priced in, which as we explained yesterday, is the matched price for a $4 trillion Fed balance sheet.

What Does A $4 Trillion Fed Balance Sheet Mean For Gold And Oil

Earlier we explained why Bernanke's actions today mean that the Fed Balance Sheet will likely grow to over $4 trillion by the end of 2013. Critically this flood of liquidity will raise the nominal price of every asset (from whimsical pieces of stockholder paper to barbarous relics and black gold). Some of these assets, like stock prices and high-yield credit spreads do have point-in-time 'value limits' to their price - though at times it seems a dream that fundamentals would ever matter again; but some have less of a binding constraint - such as gold. Should the Fed proceed, as seems likely, and do its worst/best to blow its balance sheet wad then we estimate Gold will be priced at least $2250 per ounce by the end of 2013 (of course higher if the Fed sees no evidence of recovery). Meanwhile, deeper underground, the world's mainstay source of energy, WTI Crude oil, could jump to record highs over $150 per barrel (which just happens to coincide with the 'pegged' value of oil in gold). It will be interesting indeed to see how the world's socio-economic infrastructure hangs together should that occur - can't happen? Different this time? Indeed it is, now that Ben hit the big red 'panic' button.

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