Forget black swans, Nigel Farage is rapidly turning himself into the black sheep of the EU Parliament with his constant stream of truthiness and honest pragmatism.
It seems the broadly nodding-donkeys that fill the chamber remain
cognitively dissonant to any and everything in the real world - hanging
instead on the next soundbite from Van Rompuy or Barroso on how well
things are going, or how the crisis is 'almost' over. If only the
Germans would bless them all with their money. In one his
plainest-speaking rants, Farage provides clarity to his 'peers' on just
exactly what the bailouts of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and soon to be
Spain and Italy are actually about - the "total subjugation of the states to a completely undemocratic structure in Brussels."
Is it any wonder Samaras and crew - while happy to accept cash and make
promises - are pulling away from yet another (this time is the last
time) Troika-driven austerity push? "The euro-zone is in a very dark place; economically, socially, and politically."
from KingWorldNews:
On the heels of renewed discussion about a global ‘debt jubilee,’ today Michael Pento spoke with King World News about, “… why this could never happen today without unbelievably painful consequences.” Pento predicted, “You would see a huge cascading effect, where all asset prices would crumble.”
Pento has been incredibly accurate regarding his predictions of moves by the central planners. But regarding a debt jubilee he warned, “We have quite simply past the point of no return, and there is no way this will ever be done voluntarily.”
Here is what Pento had to say: “The ‘debt jubilee’ is a Biblical premise that every 50 years all debts would be purged. It’s a wonderful idea because without such debt forgiveness it meant that if you had inexorably rising levels of debt, eventually it would lead to an involuntary purging of that debt which would wipe out the entire economy.”
Michael Pento continues @ KingWorldNews.com
On the heels of renewed discussion about a global ‘debt jubilee,’ today Michael Pento spoke with King World News about, “… why this could never happen today without unbelievably painful consequences.” Pento predicted, “You would see a huge cascading effect, where all asset prices would crumble.”
Pento has been incredibly accurate regarding his predictions of moves by the central planners. But regarding a debt jubilee he warned, “We have quite simply past the point of no return, and there is no way this will ever be done voluntarily.”
Here is what Pento had to say: “The ‘debt jubilee’ is a Biblical premise that every 50 years all debts would be purged. It’s a wonderful idea because without such debt forgiveness it meant that if you had inexorably rising levels of debt, eventually it would lead to an involuntary purging of that debt which would wipe out the entire economy.”
Michael Pento continues @ KingWorldNews.com
Eyes Wide Shut - "We Are In A Bad Spot"
We cannot escape the conclusion that things remain hopelessly off track. Whatever form of 'recovery' is being sought here simply will not arrive. The core of our views is shaped by the idea that the very thing being sought, more economic growth (and exponential growth, at that), is exactly the root of the problem. We suppose we would take a similarly dim view of an alcoholic trying to drink their way back to health as we do the increasingly interventionist central bank and associated political policies the world over. We are losing hope that we will navigate towards anything other than a hard landing at some point because even with copious amounts of data accumulating suggesting that the old ways are not working, we cannot detect even the slightest hint of original thinking or new thoughts coming out of the marbled halls of power. Business-as-usual and more-of-the-same seem to be the only operative ideas right now. But what is a bit startling to me is the number of individuals that have not yet caught onto the idea that things have permanently and irrevocably changed.
Greece Kills Bond Buyback Proposal
One
of the zanier proposals floated in the past few weeks, yet sufficient
to send Greek bonds soaring to post-restructuring highs on hopes of a
take out, was the suggestion that Greece would repurchase its
fresh-start bonds in the open market, which recently traded in the
teens, and have since virtually doubled, at a price ~25 cents of par.
Obviously since the price of the bonds had been much lower, even the
mere possibility of what is termed in the industry as a distressed
buyback, sent everyone scurrying to purchase the paper, as if it had any
intrinsic economic value (it did not), instead of mere hopes that
Greece would throw even more good money after bad (especially since the
fresh start bonds have a meaningless cash coupon and nobody expects
them to be repaid at maturity). There is also the detail that a
distressed buyback is, for the rating agencies, equivalent to an Event
of Default, but knowledge of that small fact would be demanding too
much out of those who scrambled in the latest chase for yield. Anyway,
with all that said, it now appears that the whole idea is over, with
Greek Kathimerini reporting moments ago that Greece has scuttled the
proposal for a bond buyback.Your support is needed...
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AB Transition In Gold
Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 1 hour ago
The highest price after the D-wave bottom marks the end of the A-wave
rally. Usually this high is registered after three counts of ebb and flo.
The transition from A-wave rally to B-wave "decline", if viewed in terms of
price only, can be down, sideways, or up. Price, however, is NOT the focus
of this AB transition. The AB transition is all about paper control and
time. ...
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content, and more! ]]
What's Real?
Dave in Denver at The Golden Truth - 2 hours ago
*I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution.
I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the
administration of our government to the genuine principles of its
Constitution; I mean an additional article, taking from the federal
government the power of borrowing.* - Thomas Jefferson (source link below)
I wasn't going to post anything today but after last night's pathetic
"showdown" between Obama and Romney, I wanted to share a few thoughts and
then link a commentary that is a must-read. I was discussing the political
situation with ... more »
From NetFlix: "The Biggest Issue Holding Back Much Stronger Growth Is Payments"
Everyone's favorite Whitney Tilson repeat-endorsed, slow motion trainwreck, NetFlix, has reported results after hours. They are, as expected, terrible with lots of cash burn, declining margins and excuses, and as a result the short squeeze is over and the stock is imploding after hours. Among the details:- Q3 Gross profit declined to 26.8% from 27.6% in Q2 and 34.7% in Q3 2011.
- Total cash declined by $32 million
- Free cash flow was -$20 million, despite positive "net income"
- Q3 Streaming content obligations were flat at a whopping $5 billion. $2.1 billion is due in the next year. The brilliance strikes here first. These obligations "not include obligations that we cannot quantify but could be significant." Uh... What?
Priceless."The biggest issue holding back much stronger growth is payments."
Size Doesn't Matter As AAPL's New 8-Incher Underwhelms And Bipolar Market Resumes
UPDATE: NFLX Tilson'd -14% AH
Yesterday's late-day rampapalooza seemed like just the confidence-inspiring rally that was needed to enable sellers out at better prices. The absolute schizophrenia (debate-day shenanigans?) remains remarkable - and today the silver-lining appears to be the Dow Transports - which end green. But as always context is key - the rest of the US equity market is converging down to the Trannies measly 0.8% YTD gain in a hurry. Stocks and broad risk-assets were once again highly correlated as systemic weakness dragged an exuberant overnight equity market back down to reality. Today's higher-beta weakness was widespread but AAPL's crashtastic 3.25% plunge on an underwhelming sales and over-expensive product seems as good a catalyst as any (and if anyone on TV tells you its all the shorts driving it - just think about the dominance of this stock in all those long-only manager's books that are now underperforming - long sales at VWAP!!!). USD strength dragged commodities lower - Oil underperforming, Gold outperforming (though lower); Treasury yields cracked lower (down 6-7bps from high to low); and credit modestly underperformed as VIX also rose more than implied by stocks as protection was bid. The S&P has lost the Bernanke Floor and thanks to some late VWAP support is holding at Draghi's Dike.
Corzine Tells Judge That Due To Purchase Of 50,000 MF Global Shares Before Bankruptcy, He Must Acquit
That
former Goldman, New Jersey and MF Global head Jon Corzine is
absolutely convinced he is innocent of any client money vaporization or
wrongdoing, and that the definition of the phrase "to Corzine (verb- to trust your money to a prominent individual and to find it has mysteriously disappeared)"
is absolutely arbitrary, is not news to anyone. And if not convinced
then at least at a complete loss to what actually happened. One just had
to recall all the "I don't recalls" the Honorable Corzine told congress during the makeshift kangaroo court hearing on MF Global's collapse (even if the final outcome was less than desired).
So it's only logical that the Honorable Corzine asked a federal judge
to "toss a civil fraud lawsuit accusing him of misleading investors
about the risky bets the futures firm was taking before its collapse a
year ago." The WSJ reports that "Corzine's lawyers blasted the
investors' suit as a "jumble of assertions and accusations"
that makes "no sense" that should be dismissed in a filing Friday in
U.S. District Court in New York." But here is the kicker: MF Global may
have mismanaged trades, Corzine's lawyers admit, but he sure didn't
hide the risks or mislead investors about the firm's risk appetite or
liquidity. Why? Because he was so convinced in the
profitability of MFG he bought a whopping 50,000 MF Global shares in
the open market two months before the firm collapsed. So let's get this
straight: Corzine invested a whopping
$225,000 (as a reminder, Corzine was CEO of Goldman Sachs for years)
because he believed in the firm and not to give the impression that the
firm was "safe" in order to avoid a full blown panic once the
realization its was insolvent could no longer be hidden, and be wiped
out on all of his stock, option and other MFG holdings? And this is what sophisticated lawyers use as evidence of his innocence? Seriously?Merkollande Becomes Merde
The most
important alliance within the EU, the one that has ultimately defined
the union's course over the past few decades, is the French-German axis.
It appears that this is no longer the case. The once so strong
friendship is in danger of fraying ever since the socialist Francois
Hollande has become president of France. Not only was he elected on an
'anti austerity' platform (disguised as a 'pro growth' agenda, which is
of course one of the most laughable misrepresentations ever), it has
turned out that his big-brother, anti-free market socialist
agenda wasn't merely an electoral ploy to differentiate himself from
Sarkozy. He actually means it. One thing is certain: the markets have not yet fully assimilated what is going on here. Record Direct Bidder Scramble For Safety Of Today's 2 Year Bond Auction
They may yield nothing (technically 0.295% nominal yield), and they may be still sold by the Fed, but today's 2 Year bond auction had a blistering metric that showed that something is very much unwell with the market. Coming at a Bid to Cover of 4.02, broad demand for today's $35 billion in 2 years was the second highest only below November 2011's 4.07. What happened on November 21, 2011? Well, the world was ending for one, or if not the entire world, then certainly Europe which for those who remember, had to be rescued one short week later courtesy of a coordinated global central bank intervention when the Fed and Europe not only renewed their FX swaps, but lowered the rate paid to OIS+50. So do the bondholders know something about today's market plunge that is not being said? We will find out soon.
How Iran Evades The Western Blockade: The Turkey-Dubai-Iran PetroGold Triangle
In recent months there has been a lot of incorrect speculation that because Iran has been shut off from the petrodollar, SWIFT-mediated regime, its economy will implode as the country has no access to the all important greenback and can thus not conduct international trade - the driving factor behind the international sanctions that seek to topple the local government as Iran dies an economic death. And while there have been bouts of substantial inflation, which so far the local government appears to have managed to put a lid on by curbing gray market speculation, Iran continues to more or less operate on its merry ways with international trade most certainly taking place, especially with China, Russia and India as main trading partners. "How is this possible" those who support the Western-led embargo of all Iranian trade will ask? Simple - gold. Because while Iran may have no access to dollars, it has ample access to gold. This in itself is not new - we have reported in the past that Iran has imported substantial amounts of gold from Turkey, despite the Turkish government's stern denials. Today, courtesy of Reuters, we learn precisely what the 21st century equivalent of the Great Silk Road looks like, and just how effective Iran has been as a lab rat in escaping the great petrodollar experiment, from which conventional wisdom tells us there is no escape. Presenting: petrogold.
Last night Barack Obama and Mitt Romney faced off in a debate on
foreign policy, but foreign tax policy was not ever brought up. Today,
we examine the unintended consequences of attempts to control foreign
tax evasion, as we speak with The Daily Reckoning’s Joel Bowman. He
explains why the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), slated to
go into effect in 2013, may prompt some investors to renounce their U.S.
citizenship. An aide to Sen. Max Baucus (D, Mont.), the Senate Finance
Committee chairman who sponsored the 2009 FATCA bill, said, “Foreign tax
evasion is a drain on the federal budget worth tens of billions of
dollars, and it puts an unfair burden on law-abiding American taxpayers
to fill that gap.”
On the other hand, FATCA arguably puts a costly compliance burden on banks all over the world. Forbes reports it could cost financial institutions $100 million in compliance and, according to the Wall Street Journal, a bank risks a penalty equivalent to 30% of its U.S. income if even one account is overlooked. Of course, the smaller the bank the harder it’s hit. The unintended consequence is that many foreign banks are now reluctant to deal with US citizens; according to recent reports, expats are finding themselves unable to open accounts or finding their accounts closed. We talk to Daily Reckoning Managing Editor Joel Bowman about the impact of the IRS’s mission creep abroad.
To compound the threat of the fiscal cliff crisis, January 2013 is when the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is slated to take effect. Banks all over the world will be required to report back to the IRS on their U.S. account holders.
On the other hand, FATCA arguably puts a costly compliance burden on banks all over the world. Forbes reports it could cost financial institutions $100 million in compliance and, according to the Wall Street Journal, a bank risks a penalty equivalent to 30% of its U.S. income if even one account is overlooked. Of course, the smaller the bank the harder it’s hit. The unintended consequence is that many foreign banks are now reluctant to deal with US citizens; according to recent reports, expats are finding themselves unable to open accounts or finding their accounts closed. We talk to Daily Reckoning Managing Editor Joel Bowman about the impact of the IRS’s mission creep abroad.
To compound the threat of the fiscal cliff crisis, January 2013 is when the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is slated to take effect. Banks all over the world will be required to report back to the IRS on their U.S. account holders.
from Off Grid Survival:
A reader wrote in asking: I’m just getting into prepping and wanted to know how often I should inspect and go through my gear?
Preparedness is something that you can never forget about. Even after you’ve an established a good supply of emergency preparations, you still need to periodically reassess your situation and your supplies. In fact, we advise going through your supplies at least once every 3-6 months. This will ensure everything is in good working order and ready to go should you need it.
Rotation
If at all possible you should be rotating your supplies into your normal everyday life. For instance, if you’re storing emergency food and water, they should be rotated into your normal eating patterns.
Read More @ OffGridSurvival.com
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A reader wrote in asking: I’m just getting into prepping and wanted to know how often I should inspect and go through my gear?
Preparedness is something that you can never forget about. Even after you’ve an established a good supply of emergency preparations, you still need to periodically reassess your situation and your supplies. In fact, we advise going through your supplies at least once every 3-6 months. This will ensure everything is in good working order and ready to go should you need it.
Rotation
If at all possible you should be rotating your supplies into your normal everyday life. For instance, if you’re storing emergency food and water, they should be rotated into your normal eating patterns.
Read More @ OffGridSurvival.com
from Reuters, via BusinessInsider:
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he
probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if
President Barack Obama wins the Nov. 6 election, the New York Times
reported.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has already said he would not re-nominate Bernanke if he wins the presidency. Bernanke’s term as chairman ends in January 2014.
The Fed’s unconventional efforts to spur growth have been criticized by many who argue that they threaten future inflation and abet profligate spending in Washington.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has already made it clear he wants to leave by the end of the year.
Read More @ BusinessInsider.com
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U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he
probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if
President Barack Obama wins the Nov. 6 election, the New York Times
reported.Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has already said he would not re-nominate Bernanke if he wins the presidency. Bernanke’s term as chairman ends in January 2014.
The Fed’s unconventional efforts to spur growth have been criticized by many who argue that they threaten future inflation and abet profligate spending in Washington.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has already made it clear he wants to leave by the end of the year.
Read More @ BusinessInsider.com
by Graham Summers, Gains Pains & Capital:
As noted earlier in yesterday’s article, the entire European banking and corporate system is over-burdened with debt.
Germany sports a real Debt to GDP of over 200% (this from the former head of the Bundesbank), and the rest of Europe is in even worse shape.
Indeed, Jagadeesh Gokhale of the Cato Institute puts the situation as the following, “The average EU country would need to have more than four times (434 percent) its current annual gross domestic product (GDP) in the bank today, earning interest at the government’s borrowing rate, in order to fund current policies indefinitely.”
Suffice to say, no EU country has that kind of money lying around.
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
As noted earlier in yesterday’s article, the entire European banking and corporate system is over-burdened with debt.
Germany sports a real Debt to GDP of over 200% (this from the former head of the Bundesbank), and the rest of Europe is in even worse shape.
Indeed, Jagadeesh Gokhale of the Cato Institute puts the situation as the following, “The average EU country would need to have more than four times (434 percent) its current annual gross domestic product (GDP) in the bank today, earning interest at the government’s borrowing rate, in order to fund current policies indefinitely.”
Suffice to say, no EU country has that kind of money lying around.
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
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by Simon Black, Sovereign Man :
I never thought I’d see the day. Two years since the HIRE Act, FATCA, and Dodd-Frank became law and threw global finance into a tailspin, two foreign banks have finally stood up to Uncle Sam. Let’s review briefly.
The HIRE Act was originally drafted in the early days of the post-Lehman crisis. Official unemployment (before they just stopped counting people) was the highest in decades, and politicians had to ‘do something’ to get the economy moving.
Of course, what better way to boost the economy than to pass more laws? It’s genius!
Read More @ SovereignMan.com
I never thought I’d see the day. Two years since the HIRE Act, FATCA, and Dodd-Frank became law and threw global finance into a tailspin, two foreign banks have finally stood up to Uncle Sam. Let’s review briefly.
The HIRE Act was originally drafted in the early days of the post-Lehman crisis. Official unemployment (before they just stopped counting people) was the highest in decades, and politicians had to ‘do something’ to get the economy moving.
Of course, what better way to boost the economy than to pass more laws? It’s genius!
Read More @ SovereignMan.com
Should threatening to shoot a presidential candidate in the face earn you a Secret Service visit?
by Paul Joseph Watson, Prison Planet:
This morning, I compiled a list of Tweets
from Obama supporters threatening to assassinate Mitt Romney and
provoke riots if Obama loses the election. The article has since been
picked up by the Drudge Report, but I subsequently came across a number
of tweets even more violent and offensive than the ones featured in my article.
by Paul Joseph Watson, Prison Planet:
This morning, I compiled a list of Tweets
from Obama supporters threatening to assassinate Mitt Romney and
provoke riots if Obama loses the election. The article has since been
picked up by the Drudge Report, but I subsequently came across a number
of tweets even more violent and offensive than the ones featured in my article.
Twitchy has discovered yet more tweets from Obama supporters threatening to violently murder Romney. They include the following;
Read More @ PrisonPlanet.com
from The Daily Bell:
U.N. calls for ‘anti-terror’ Internet surveillance … United Nations report calls for Internet surveillance, saying lack of “internationally agreed framework for retention of data” is a problem, as are open Wi-Fi networks in airports, cafes, and libraries. The United Nations is calling for more surveillance of Internet users, saying it would help to investigate and prosecute terrorists. – CNET
Dominant Social Theme: It is very important to provide the UN with weapons to go after terrorists.
Free-Market Analysis: So here it comes. The powers-that-be have decided that they need to track user details on the Internet to prevent crime.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com
U.N. calls for ‘anti-terror’ Internet surveillance … United Nations report calls for Internet surveillance, saying lack of “internationally agreed framework for retention of data” is a problem, as are open Wi-Fi networks in airports, cafes, and libraries. The United Nations is calling for more surveillance of Internet users, saying it would help to investigate and prosecute terrorists. – CNET
Dominant Social Theme: It is very important to provide the UN with weapons to go after terrorists.
Free-Market Analysis: So here it comes. The powers-that-be have decided that they need to track user details on the Internet to prevent crime.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com
by Bill Holter, Miles Franklin:
This video was re posted on Zero Hedge yesterday, it originally came out last year and is “less funny” now that we have an election coming up. Please watch (listen to) the clip before reading my post any further…
OK, my first thought was that surely this woman “Donna” was just trolling the radio station to see how far she could push them before they broke out into laughter.
Sadly, I was wrong! Here is another clip (viewed only 2% as much as the original clip) where she calls back to the radio station to “mea culpa” in her own words, “her stupidity”.
After realizing that the original call was real, I started to feel really queasy. This woman is a voter! It made me realize that there are people out there in total oblivion that wonder why the government “allowed” a hurricane to hit the coast or an earthquake to decimate a city. Why don’t they make it rain? We need rain! I could go on and on but the point is, people have been so dumbed down and so used to relying on the government that the word “pathetic” cannot describe.
Read More @ Miles Franklin
This video was re posted on Zero Hedge yesterday, it originally came out last year and is “less funny” now that we have an election coming up. Please watch (listen to) the clip before reading my post any further…
OK, my first thought was that surely this woman “Donna” was just trolling the radio station to see how far she could push them before they broke out into laughter.
Sadly, I was wrong! Here is another clip (viewed only 2% as much as the original clip) where she calls back to the radio station to “mea culpa” in her own words, “her stupidity”.
After realizing that the original call was real, I started to feel really queasy. This woman is a voter! It made me realize that there are people out there in total oblivion that wonder why the government “allowed” a hurricane to hit the coast or an earthquake to decimate a city. Why don’t they make it rain? We need rain! I could go on and on but the point is, people have been so dumbed down and so used to relying on the government that the word “pathetic” cannot describe.
Read More @ Miles Franklin
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