Economic pressures

[Danny B]

The EU said that Britain must pay a huge settlement to leave the union. The house of Lords told them to "shove it"

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/04/uk-could-quit-eu-without-paying-a-penny-say-lords

"The European 'Story' Is Broken" | Zero HedgeThe Economic Numbers ConundrumMANY times.
"by the end of 2017, China's banking syste, will be roughly $37 trillion and rising precipitously."
China's Banking System Hits $33 Trillion, Overtaking The Eurozone As World's Largest | Zero HedgeIn WSJ Op-Ed, Peter Navarro Writes Deficits "Could Put US National Security In Jeopardy" | Zero Hedge

Rhodesia destroyed itself when it killed and persecuted the White Boers. Now, Zuma of South Africa is proposing that they do the same thing, http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-0...ion-white-land

[Danny B]

Floating on a sea of red ink,,, until the plug is pulled

The State pumps out lots of sovereign bonds and injects the money into the upper loop of the economy,,,, hoping for a trickle-down effect. BUT, the bonds must be repaid by productive workers. Their future wages are handed out to the rich. It is actually a trickle-up scheme. The rich aren't actually producing anything. As more and more of production is done by machines, there is a lower and lower wage base to repay the sovereign bonds. The State responds by creating ever-more debt.
As the productive sector of the economy tries to cope with the ever-lower wages, it utilises more and more automatic machines.

The price deflation promised by automation was stillborn and never allowed to compensate for the lower wages brought by automation.
The finance sector is growing ever-larger as wealth production and consumption continue to shrink. The sovereign bonds can never be repaid by the productive sector. The stock market no longer serves any useful function and must rely on cash infusions from the State. These infusions aren't adequate to make "normal" dividend payments even though the state has pumped in $trillions.

In 1913, we got the FED and the economy crashed 16 years later. In 1999, we got the repeal of Glass-Stegal and the 2008 crash 9 years later.
There has NEVER been enough money in the system to support the huge overload of bankers.
"when Bill Clinton defends repeal of Glass-Steagall, you get a hindsight rationalization of his action to let the banking street to go wild. Surely he or his Fed toadies would never admit that tearing up Glass-Steagall separation had anything to do with the 2008 crash. "
"Understanding How Glass-Steagall Act Impacts Investment Banking and the Role of Commercial Banks, explains the principle. Goldman Sachs had the crucial need for the infusion of major capital to keep itself afloat. With the conversion from a partnership to a public company Goldman gained access to Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks $13 Billion Undisclosed to Congress.

" Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year."
"The ultimate day of reckoning and economic collapse from the next panic cannot be prevented. The scope of a future financial apocalypse will make a $7.77 trillion bail out look like chump change. Wall Street is never held accountable for their uncontrolled greed and criminal practices. Glass-Steagall was one of the few regulatory interventions that served the country well. For that reason alone it was destined for oblivion. The central banksters have proven that they are the definitive parasites in all money matters."
Glass-Steagall Essential Banking Regulation"The Reality Is, Half Of Americans Can?t Afford To Write A $500 Check" | Zero HedgeGordon Chang: 'China Is Going to Go Into Free Fall'
After the Party congress, China is going to go into free fall."
"China Accounts For Half Of All Global Debt Created Since 2005." So, what happens to global liquidity when China hits the wall at mach7 ?

[Danny B]

NO zombies to be seen

Kunstler deserves special mention for his writing style,
Great Expectations (Not) - KUNSTLER

[Danny B]

before the release of Vault 7. What will happen when the hackers get the best tools to be had?

https://www.softwar.net/firesale.html

Margin debt is back up to nosebleed territory; https://www.advisorperspectives.com/...277b47d2a6.png
The FED backstopped the investors somehow believing that it would only be a temporary measure. BUT, trickle-up economics can't work when too few people are working.

https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2017/03/01/a-new-look-at-nyse-margin-debt-and-the-market

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...01_spend_0.jpg

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/03/07/what-the-hell-is-going-on

https://dailyreckoning.com/deep-state-attempts-decapitate-donald-trump/

Sooner or later, the fallout from automation will have to be addressed. Until then, we will drag along the bottom with falling spending and falling consumption.

https://medium.com/basic-income/self-driving-trucks-are-going-to-hit-us-like-a-human-driven-truck-b8507d9c5961#.xk0b4vpoj

https://hackernoon.com/a-history-and-future-of-the-rise-of-the-robots-cce0fe222a71#.uxldxfv5q

http://www.financialsense.com/theconversation/survival-guide-coming-ai-revolution?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fso+%28Financial+Sense%29&utm_term=FSO

There is SO LITTLE appreciation for the fact that the working man has been replaced by the machine. We invented machines to take away the physical burden of heavy labor. Now, we have machines to take away most of the burden of mental work. The owners of the machines insist on being paid as if it were a human doing the labor.
Bankruptcies are done by machines now. They still charge ~ $3,000. They should charge 5 bucks plus filing fees. Our economic system just doesn't work when the parasites outgrow the host.

[Danny B]

Coming attractions,,, NY Times

Coming attractions; Are We Witnessing The Weirdest Moment In Economic History? | Zero Hedge
It's 1994 Again: Why Albert Edwards Expects An Imminent "Bond Market Bloodbath" | Zero Hedge
Marine Le Pen is getting a reality check; Marine Le Pen: "I Will Introduce The New Franc At A Rate Of One-To-One To The Euro" | Zero Hedge

More coming attractions; https://dailyreckoning.com/four-economic-triggers-2017/state-wrecked

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/opinion/sunday/sundown-in-america.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&

[Danny B]

Creeping parasitism,,,, creeping socialism,,,killing the family

When money/capital is invested, it becomes ill-liquid. It goes into tangible things and can't be readily paid back as money. There have always been periodic bank runs for one reason or another. The bank isn't a storehouse of all the depositor's money. In a panic, they simply run out of cash. The original charter of the FED allowed it to make overnight loans from it's discount window for good collateral only. This is a perfectly logical way to deal with human emotions that cause bank runs. The original charter of the FED was a good idea. It brought enough confidence and stability that bank runs became very infrequent. Subsequent changes to the FED charter have made it a completely different beast.

The FED now follows a mantra of constant 2% inflation as being GOOD for the economy. 50% of the cost of everything that you buy is for finance costs. BUT, this isn't so much for actual finance, it is for speculation.The Fed Then And Now ? Remembering William McChesney Martin, Jr. | Zero Hedge
These brilliant academic credentials are worthless in the real world of business.

Pox Americana has managed to unite much of the world against it. This will be a big deal going forward.
Washington Makes Biggest Geopolitical Blunder Since 1776
Even, that insane criminal Netanayahooo has figured that the winds of change are blowing against him,,, and the West.
Netanyahu Demands Summit With Putin After Russia and Iran Ruin Israel’s Plan For Syria

"Socialism has necessitated equal rights because politics have also targeted the individual for regulation and taxes. If there was nothing government could do to a woman, then we would return to the ancient days of Athens. Once you imposed income taxes (direct taxation), which the Founding Fathers prohibited, then everything changed. Today, women have lost the right to stay home and raise the children in the average home because it takes two incomes to pay the taxes that in 1950 were paid by just one salary. The issues of equality in the work force have been more important ONLY because of socialism."

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/a-womans-right-to-equality-has-changed-due-to-socialism/

OK, then,, you force the women out of the house so that they can pay taxes. The tax money is used to finance socialism and BIG government. Socialism focuses on consumption only and leaves productivity to blow in the wind. Socialism has always been extremely short-sighted and always crashes.
ALL MANNER of productivity crashes; US Fertility Rate At Lowest Point Since Records Began In 1909 | Zero Hedge

We just aren't going to win on this one; https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/a...ily-structure/

https://mises.org/library/what-has-government-done-our-families

[Danny B]

Reality slowly coming into view

Nothing much new going on. The big boys are pulling OUT of the stock markets because they see that valuations are WAY too high. The private investors just seem to miss ALL the obvious signs.
Investors cash out of U.S.-based junk bond funds | Reuters
The Smartest Money In Finance Isn't Buying This Rally. | Zero Hedge
When California got into a financial tight squeeze, it sold revenue anticipation bonds.
The entire Eurozone is crashing badly and they want to offer floating rate bonds. NOBODY will buy them. The Eurozone is shrinking but, the bonds would be linked to growth.
"Global efforts to create a market for growth-linked bonds that could help avert debt crises have stalled because none of the wealthy economies backing the drive are willing to take the lead and be the first to issue, sources told Reuters."
"They were told that the main obstacles to the project was a lack of investor demand and the stigma attached to such instruments, according to two sources close to the discussions. These kind of bonds have so far only emerged from debt restructurings as a way to coax creditors to accept writedowns. "
They're trying to kick the can just a bit further down the road. G20 plan to stave off debt crises stalls as no country takes lead | Reuters

Maybe they will all go and run off a cliff.
No kidding,,, maybe it is all those liar-loans. Whuda thunk?
They pulled that "data" right out of their culo.

What a surprise.
No kidding,,, you mean that there is a connection between politics and the economy?
That "zombie creed" comes straight from academia.

[Danny B]

Oil and Gull Island

Lindsey Williams is intimately connected to the oil business in Alaska. He wrote a book, "The Energy Non-Crisis".
The Energy Non-Crisis by Lindsey Williams
20+ years ago he wrote about a place called Gull Island. He said that test wells showed that they had found enough oil to last 100 yeas. It was all capped. Move forward 20 years and they are now going to tap Gull Island.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDioUCukACQ

There is a LOT of oil in Alaska; Repsol Announces Largest U.S. Onshore Conventional Discovery In 30 Years | OilPrice.com
FAR more than is let on to the public. The reserves are generally hidden to preserve price support. While fracking is getting more cost effective, it still doesn't have a long-term future. The Saudi national oil company is up for sale but, it is only believed to be worth 10% of the asking price. One would guess that they are running out of oil.
As the dollar crashes, we won't be able to pay for imports and will have to rely on domestic supplies. The problem comes in that the original ALYESKA pipeline is abrading from the sand in the oil. The diminished flow from the Prudhoe field is causing it's own set of problems.
Alyeska Pipeline - TAPS - Pipeline Operations - Low Flow Impact Study
The Alaska oil may stay in Alaska.

Gasoline consumption is falling and the consumer is broke.

[Danny B]

A cluster bomb in Europe

Well, it looks like the race to crash will be won by the Europeans. The mileposts in the race track are, bad banks that are saved by the State. The G-20 tried to offer bonds that are tied to growth. Nobody would buy.
Jean Claude Junker youtube headlines;
Nigel Farage; Jean Claude Juncker EU President Drunk drinks Cognac for breakfast?
Jean-Claude Juncker : " I have met several leaders of other planets "
Jean-Claude Juncker - Some Alien Species Are Worried About the EU ?!?! [CC
Jean Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission drunk and ***** slaps leaders
A week ago; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MOrGI9jOFE

Evidently, he never got the memo; the Eurozone was designed/destined to crash. After the crash, the corporatocracy will take over everything.
The article 50 process for a Brexit is supposed to commence by next week. The EU says that there has to be a cash settlement BEFORE the divorce. The House of Lords said,,, piss off!

https://mishtalk.com/2017/03/10/uk-likely-to-trigger-article-50-by-tuesday-juncker-hopes-uk-will-re-enter-the-boat/

They created the Euro charter in such a manner that the voters could not escape or materially change things. When it all begins to blow all to hell,,,, they can't materially change things to attempt to save it.

https://mishtalk.com/2017/03/09/massive-cascade-of-eurozone-defaults-coming-up/

The over-riding concern in all of this is the preservation of agriculture
and food distribution. In a default cascade, all trust is gone because you never know who is solvent and who is insolvent. The politicians will be frozen like a deer in the headlights. The politicians are the only ones who can organize a rescue of agriculture and food distribution.

[Danny B]

Robots don't drink Koolaide,,, they're just stupid

Martin Armstrong's program, Socrates runs 21,000 variables and has "all" the financial history of the world for the last 5,000 years. The robo-traders on wall Street have investment algorithms.
"In some ways, Skynet is already here with Alphabet (GOOG) having bought the robot firm Boston Dynamics. Not to mention we have high-frequency trading in which bots account for up to 80% of the daily volume on the stock market Peak robo !

https://dailyreckoning.com/markets-scariest-warning-sign/

https://dailyreckoning.com/stockman-debt-crisis-countdown-begins/

Eric Janszen in 1998 called the Ka-POOM theory.
"This theory rests on the belief that the Federal Reserve along with the other world central banks looked at Japan's several decades of economic stagnation and decided that deflationary recessions are to be avoided at all costs -- even if that means blowing asset bubbles and then cleaning up the destruction left behind in their aftermath." How much destruction?
Eric Janszen wrote VERY good stuff. Haven't seen him in years.
"This stark fact makes the Fed's entire money printing misadventure not just pointless, but dangerously destabilizing from a social and political perspective. The world's central banks, especially the Fed, have done an enormous amount of damage. "

"A credit bubble occurs when the issuance of credit grows faster than income supporting it." http://media.peakprosperity.com/imag...-2-17-2017.jpg

https://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/107796/when-all-blows

The Bag Holder and His Bag - KUNSTLER

If you're still looking for more reading, here is 4 parts of a survival story from Survival Sullivan. He writes about martial law in every burg, no matter how small. It's a bit overblown but, fairly interesting. Part one is at the bottom of the page. http://www.survivalsullivan.com/cate...were-declared/

[Danny B]

Stay in cash, stay out of China

The economic news is all trite or BS or plain false. BUT, I can always fall back on Armstrong. His stuff is always timely.
I previously wrote about Preet Baharara prosecuting LOTS of politicians. Armstrong writes that Preet prosecuted politicians but, let all the bankers off the hook. https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/i...kers-is-fired/

His advice to an old guy with cash, "ANSWER: Right now stay in cash. We will most likely see a change come May."

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/basic-concepts/where-to-keep-your-money/

NB, Warren Buffet has $ 86 billion in cash on the sidelines.

"While Europe is certainly not turning bullish, what we do see is a bounce due to the fundamental focus of the pending US debt ceiling battle looming on the horizon. Naturally, the press will be blaming Trump so we should be prepared for headlines like US going to default. The press will use this incident created by Obama and Boehner to score as many points against Trump as possible. Facts mean nothing to mainstream press. They have their agenda and that is not going to suddenly change. So we should expect dire headlines about how the USA will default and all this may provide a bounce for the Euro for up to two months until the French elections on May 7th. "
"There is traditionally the false move that get people off-side so we should bounce before we collapse."

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/foreign-exchange/usd/the-euro-the-pending-bounce/

"When we swap to a new currency, then tangible assets will make that transition in value. It is not that you will make a profit, the name of the game is that you just break-even."
This is the FIRST mention of a new currency from Armstrong. Jim Willie had been talking about the new currency for a couple of years. (Scheiss dollar)

"Democrats talk a good game how they are for the poor, but then sell tax loopholes to special interests in return for financing their campaigns. Why would the bankers and hedge funds back Democrats if they were really against them?"
"Plus we have the debt ceiling about to explode and that will hurt the dollar short-term defeating ultimately Trump for the press will turn this around and blame 50 years of spending on him.

What I do support is the people. They elected Trump because they want a change. This is the anti-establishment movement that is growing globally. This is what will bring the whole system crashing down. This is separate and distinct from Trump. "

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/will-trump-succeed-no/

China’s economic miracle is over - MarketWatch
"It now has a political problem: how to manage massive disappointment in an economy that has become simply ordinary. "

[Danny B]

ah yes, price inflation.so they could be taxed.Is Stagflation Stalking? | Gordon Long | Safehaven.com
Don't forget, Plan A is to keep the moneyed class rich.
It's worldwide; CONVERSABLE ECONOMIST: Labor's Falling Share, Everywhere

The FED bet the farm on trickle-down economics saving the system,,,, no matter how stupid that sounds. Well, it did NOT save the system. The price inflation that resulted from the currency inflation is crushing everybody who isn't connected to the free-money spigot. The natives are getting VERY restless.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-10/it-s-not-just-america-the-rent-is-high-everywhere

Jim Willie recounts the major threats that we face; Seven Bowls - Current Threat

https://youtu.be/edCA9wteFqc

[Danny B]

Robo-trading algorithms don't have nose holes.

https://dailyreckoning.com/the-lull-before-the-storm/

Stock traders vacillate between fear & greed. Algos don't know fear.

The sharks are circling the malls; Wall Street has found its next big short in U.S. credit market | Business | stltoday.comThis Region Of The World Is Being Hit By The Worst Economic Collapse It Has Ever ExperiencedBlame the algos

"The careerist politicians are far less fearful of defaulting on the official debt ceiling, because the off budget and total unfunded obligations is so enormous that the entire international monetary system would have to be re-invented to rescue world commerce."
"If the Treasury was serious about creating financial breathing room to the burden of unsustainable current interest payments, the short term national debt should be substituted for 30 or even 50 year bond obligations while interest rates are so low. However, this strategy was never used, because the moneychangers have no intention of even providing a temporary relief to the taxpayer."
"If this is the fate that befalls us, eliminating the debt limit ceiling becomes immaterial. Trump may well have to resort to directly issuing Treasury bonds and by pass the Federal Reserve note legal tender laws."
The economy can't possibly survive on debt money.
Raising the Ides of March Debt Limit

"#3 California has the highest state income tax rates in the entire nation. For many Americans, the difference between what you would have to pay if you lived in California and what you would have to pay if you lived in Texas could literally buy a car every single year."
16 Reasons Why You Shouldn?t Live In California

[Danny B]

The Banking Secret that Neither Economists Nor Laypeople Know ? Which Is Destroying the Real Economy (While Making a Few King) | Zero Hedge

[Danny B]

Part 2 , had to break it up

Wouldn't post in one bite.

From Comments;
"On a systemic basis, once banks start pulling a lot of future money into the present to provide credit for spending that does not maintain or increase economic productivity, the future money they are paying out now does nothing to grow the economy"
"Robert H. Hemphill, Credit Manager of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said:

If all the bank loans were paid, no one could have a bank
deposit, and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in
circulation. This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent
on the commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in
circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money
we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a
permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture,
the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but
there it is. It is the most important subject intelligent persons can
investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present
civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the
defects remedied very soon."