Economic pressures

[Danny B]

Armstrong on banking

Armstrong has an excellent article comparing the traditional relationship banking model to the transactional banking model. This changeover meant that the banker didn't care whether or not you paid your loan. Is it any surprise that they made bad loans?
Musical Chair Banking | Armstrong EconomicsCapital Flows Are Obviously Not Understood By Many | Armstrong Economics

Understand that Armstrong was thrown in prison for refusing to turn over his program to GOV. He thought that he would get out after his 7 years. They threw him back in prison on a trumped up securities fraud charge. They served notice to him that he wouldn't see the light of day as a free man for as long as they desired.
What price freedom?

Since then, Armstrong has avoided saying anything bad about the FED. He has avoided saying anything good about gold.
As brilliant as he and Socrates are, I find it easy to disagree. I'm not yet wearing a leash. He is.
He makes it clear that the massive bubble is in GOV securities.
"for the next 4 years. It will not even be a one day event "
He wants to keep his freedom. How can U.S. GOV bonds collapse without affecting all the funds, States and countries holding them. How can the bond market collapse without a resulting bank closure? What happens if/when the credit markets collapse?
"Major General: Why Are Domestic Government Agencies Purchasing Enough Lethal Ammunition to Put 5 Rounds In Every American?"
Major General: Why Are Domestic Government Agencies Purchasing Enough Lethal Ammunition to Put 5 Rounds In Every American? Washington's Blog

[Danny B]

As I posted twice, Iceland is planning to get rid of private banks and just use the central bank to print money as needed by the economy. 95% of those in the economic profession are talking about how STUPID this plan is. EVERYBODY knows that it won't work.
In our current arrangement, the central bank prints a small amount of money to adjust the system. The private banks create the main body of new money in the form of loans. ALL their money is created as debt and the interest flows into the coffers of the bank.
Iceland plans to do away with private banks. The CB would create all new money that is needed. The interest would flow into the GOV general fund.
The financial community (pack) is claiming that the CB would always create too much money. I haven't heard a single one of them claiming that the FED has NOT created too much money.
50% of the cost of everything that you buy is for interest.Chinese Economy in Free FallViews and Previews

[Danny B]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-05/richard-duncan-real-risk-coming-multi-decade-global-depression

[Danny B]

Meet The New Recession Cycle——Its Triggered By Bursting Bubbles, Not Surging Inflation | David Stockman's Contra Corner

Here is a TV economic report that everybody should watch.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-04/only-tv-news-report-economy-youll-ever-need

The bond market seems to be conforming to the expectations of Martin Armstrong.
"3 Sigma Extremes In the Bond Market" "US T-Bond futures closed Friday, March 27 up nearly 12% from the February close. That was the 3rd largest monthly percent move since 1977 when my data begins and created a 3.61 standard deviation change. "
3 Sigma Extremes In the Bond Market | The Deviant Investor

Beppe Grillo lays it all out how Italy is going back to a New Lira.
Beppe Grillo's Blog

[Danny B]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-06/hedge-fund-legend-julian-robertson-warns-complete-explosion-unless-fed-contains-boil

Maybe now isn't the time to buy stocks.
"profound event in market to that day alone." Maybe we will have profound events on several days.

There are many places where ZIRP has morphed into negative interest rates The banks charge you to hold your money. All this is an effort to force money off the sidelines and into the economy. A market crash will necessitate a bank closure. Bummer

[Danny B]

Hussman Funds - Weekly Market Comment: Stock-Flow Accounting and the Coming $10 Trillion Loss in Paper Wealth - April 6, 2015
"overvalued paper masquerading as something durable."FOFOA: Confessions of an Erratic Marxist

[Danny B]

And, how did it get down there?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-07/scathing-assessment-uk-economy-ticking-time-bomb

"The US now sports a Debt to GDP of over 100%. The Fed's balance sheet is over $4 trillion with no possible way of exiting "
Bernanke's True Legacy | Zero Hedge

[Danny B]

Odious debt and neo feudalism.

"Another Crisis Is Coming": Jamie Dimon Warns Of The Next Market Crash"

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-09/jamie-dimon-warns-broken-markets-will-lead-more-flash-crashes

Treasuries are in trouble4.

This is about "odious debt" that I wrote about previously.
"Odious Debt" Has Finally Arrived: Greece To Write Off "Illegal" Debt

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-08/odious-debt-has-finally-arrived-greece-write-illegal-debt

Neofeudalism 101: Strip-Mining the Upper Middle Class
2 out of 3 taxpayers pay more in payroll taxes than income taxes:
oftwominds-Charles Hugh Smith: Neofeudalism 101: Strip-Mining the Upper Middle Class

Globalization is very expensive and reaches a point where it isn't very efficient. Various groups are pushing globalization but, the future seems to offer fragmentation.
"The purchasing power of the average salary in the U.S. is at the level of 1958, all the rest - is induced demand due to the growth of private and public debt, said Khazin.
"The global economy harbors a potential recession, exceeding the scale of the Great Depression by 2.5 times," - said the economist."
Khazin: The global recession will exceed the Great Depression by 2.5 times - Fort Russ

[Ruphus]

Debt payment options

So I looked up 401k participation. The latest data from 2013 shows approximately $10 trillion in these retirement funds (401k, IRA's, ect). Participation is at a record high with 80% of eligible employees contributing.

This must be the biggest ponzi scam ever! The banks have bought into the stock market since FED money is record cheap but the average American is carrying to much debt to be a safe bet to lend to. The banks make an average 4-7% in the stock market on money that costs them next to nothing.

If the FED raises interest rates the banks pull out of the market. In order to sell their holdings there needs to be a buyer. This is why the 401k's and various retirement funds are in place. They are deliberately set with rules that make it damn near impossible to get your money out of once in the fund. These retirement funds are the sucker that remains in the "game" after the play clock has run out. The funds buy the junk the banks sells in order to cash out. These funds, the hard working men and women, the retirees, lose trillions in wealth.

Amazingly people don't riot in the streets, or try to overthrow the banks. Why? Because all of this is thought to be because of a free market system. It just happens and everyone loses. No one pays attention to where the money goes, they just think it's lost.

[Danny B]

The Fiscal Gap: Why We're the Most Insolvent of Developed Nations

[aljhoa]

The Fiscal Gap: Why We're the Most Insolvent of Developed Nations

U.S. DEBT - A Visual Perspective


Al

[Danny B]

oil and the dollar crash together

As everybody knows, the dollar is going up,up,up. Why?
There were $ trillions of derivatives written on energy contracts. The financial industry bought $ billions of oil to re-sell later back to the oil companies for a profit.
You have to read the history connected to the oil barons as published by Lindsey Williams.
Lindsey Williams
A few years ago, they told him that they were going to drive down the price of crude to $ 25. Nobody believed him but, they did indeed drive down the price to $ 25. Not too long ago, they told him that they were going to crash the system. Exxon earns 5.5 cents per gallon of refined products,,, $ 2.31 per barrel. The speculators "earn" about $ 27 per barrel.
They waited until the speculators were heavily invested.
"Investors were borrowing physical oil, which made them feel safe, and knew that the oil companies would eventually repurchase the physical oil from them in due time. With the fall of the price of oil, all of this purely investment demand vanished, and the price dropped further."

So, not only did the price of their oil crash, the derivatives were called on to compensate for the losses. There were about $ 2.5 trillion of derivatives written against energy prices. The price hasn't recovered and the derivatives HAVE to be settled. There is great demand for dollars to settle these accounts. That is where the demand for dollars is coming from to drive up the dollar.
Expert: Oil Price Wars Fatally Wounded the Petrodollar

Previously, the carbon industry provided about $ 450 billion a year of liquidity to Wall st. NOW;
"For the first time, too, we see the end of the petro-dollar as a system for recirculating oil revenues to Wall Street.

For the first time, it has turned negative: It is sucking liquidity out from Wall Street, not putting it in. The fall in the price of oil has suddenly created huge financial turbulence, which is endangering the global financial system."
The financials bought gobs of oil that they can't sell even for a loss. We're running out of storage space. The "elites" of Pastor Williams acquaintance are pumping oil as fast as possible to complete the destruction of the "vampire squid."
America threatened to throw Russia out of the SWIFT system as they did with Iran. SWIFT was quick to say that they had no intention of ever doing this. Russia, China and many others created an alternative to SWIFT and the World Bank and the IMF,,,, possibly, even the BIS.
Now, SWIFT is in talks to bring Iran back in the system.
PressTV-SWIFT in talks to revive services to Iran

Almost every country has signed up with the Asian Infrastructure Bank. This is a clear recognition that Pox Americana is coming to an end. The American nutjobs are trying to herd everyone back into the fold. It isn't working. I believe that Europe will avoid a war for the neocons when push comes to shove. No matter how many planes we crash as revenge for signing, the R.O.W. knows that America is poison.

The R.O.W. can't clip our military wings directly. They can let us fall into the dirt economically and let internal strife occupy the military. It will have to get very bad for the nutjobs to finally abandon the empire.

With the soothing assurances from GOV, Americans forgot to save for a rainy day. That rainy day is here and nobody has any savings.
19 Signs That American Families Are Being Economically Destroyed

[Danny B]

Darryl Robert Schoon

In 2007 Darryl Robert Schoon predicted an economic crisis that would trigger another great depression. In this episode he makes another prediction of similar consequence. This show aired March 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZJCTCO36DM&feature=youtu.be

Darryl Robert Schoon is an old-school kind of guy. Like many others, he is trying to warn people to get prepared. He knows his stuff.
Gold, Greece, The Death Of Paper Money And The Modern State | Gold Silver WorldsThe Fatal Flaw Of Centrally-Issued Money | Peak Prosperity

[Danny B]

currently trying to get onboard with the SDR and become another slave nation. China has been screwed by the West for centuries. Why would they kowtow now? Why would they buy all that gold if they were going to use the SDR for storage of reserves?
Why is japan beating the drums of war against China at the same time that they signed on to the Chinese AIIB bank?
International exchange of fiat currencies demands trust. When the bond collapse hits, all trust will be gone and only gold will remain standing. In the meantime, the East will entertain the West with kabuki theater.
One Last Look At The Real Economy Before It Implodes - Part 4

[Danny B]

Greece's austerity doesn't extend to its arms budget | Paul Haydon | Comment is free | The Guardian

Germany says that they will raise defence spending but,,, later.
2015 – Media, finance, oil system, military-industrial complex, QE : the narratives war | GEAB

Pretty funny that Greece has to buy tons of arms to counter the Turkish threat when Turkey is a NATO country. Russia is now routing their gas pipeline through Turkey to the border of Greece. The pipeline specs have been published so that Europeans can build a connecting pipeline.
The arms manufacturers are deathly afraid that the Iran war won't come off as planned. The House of Saud has nurtured myriad enemies for decades and faces a fair chance that they won't survive. That would stop arms imports.

The F-35 is a turkey BUT, it is an expensive turkey and that is all that matters.
The old A-10 is an extremely effect offensive weapon. The generals are all beholden to the arms industry and do not like to see a low cost weapon prevent a high-cost weapon from being bought.
Air Force general loses job for telling airmen lobbying to keep A-10 ‘is committing treason’ — RT USA
A very expensive B2 crashed in Guam due to moisture in one sensor. I'm sure that this made some contractor very happy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZCp5h1gK2Q

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/11/13/aegis-fail-in-black-sea-ruskies-burn-down-uss-donald-duck/

Aircraft carriers don't look too good but, they are expensive so, the navy wants to build more.

http://beforeitsnews.com/war-and-conflict/2015/03/carrier-roosevelt-and-fleet-disabled-by-russian-submarine-2456402.html

"Back in the 70s, Admiral Rickover, the "father of nuclear navy," had to answer the question before the U.S. Senate: "How long would our aircraft carriers survive in a battle against the Russian Navy?" His response caused disillusionment: "Two or three days before they sink, maybe a week if they stay in the harbor."

http://www.unit587.com/bbs/leaked/103366-u-s-navy-would-last-about-3-days-in-a-shooting-war-with-russia-maybe-a-week-if-they-hide-in-port

http://www.stopthecrime.net/docs/Report_from_Iron_Mountain.pdf

Should peace break out, there would be little to hold the union together. Without a union centered in D.C. it would be very difficult to skim off the wealth.