Couldn't hold back on this one:
Analysts expect the government would waive any antitrust concerns related to Lloyds and HBOS. “In more normal times, a tie-up … wouldn't have even been considered because of the competition issues,” CreditInsights analyst Simon Adamson told Bloomberg. “These aren't normal times.”
At the same time:
World banks, led by the US Federal Reserve, are pumping $US360 billion into global markets in a coordinated effort to avert a lock-up of the financial system.
Isn't that interesting? Forgive the logic, if it is faulty but it looks a little like this to me:
Sub-prime lending, billionaire boys' club type speculation with people's funds, hedge funds et al, egged on by advertising, created both unreal expectations of what constitutes the good life and gave a pie-in-the-sky way to get it - credit and mortgages, together with essentially bad financial advice.
The bottom dropped out and who is poised to 'help'? Why the big finance of course and governments gratefully step to one side and waive financial regulations, e.g. anti-trust laws, in these 'abnormal times'.
Wonderful. Net effect?
Well, given that the average citizen has been effectively owned by his/her bank since the late 60s and given that those banks are now effectively owned by the big money e.g. the Fed regulated, in effect, by the FOMC, then the big money now, in real terms, directly controls the average cit and can leverage governments worldwide.
So, in the case of the Fed, this means New York and this in turn means Morgan etc. Take a quick look at their history.
Now, given that it was the actions of the finance, in the first place, which got the world into trouble, [yes, of course it was technically our aspirations and ambitions but the finance was surely playing on our human folly and vulnerability in the most cynical manner, e.g. sub-prime lending], then again and again we come back to the same question - was all this the result of incompetence or design?
Either way, 'short and curlies' is the phrase hovering over my mind just now.
Those in the business are talking up the economy - that we've now bottomed out and are looking at a jittery return of confidence in the next few years and it may well be so but the difference is who will be in the driving seat once that happens and where will we all be?
UPDATE: Courtesy of Anon. It's on the edge, with lots of underlining for emphasis but watch the vid anyway and chew it over.
James.
ReplyDeleteTake some time looking through this blog.
Watch the videos.
Here
I mentioned previously a mathematical line, that once crossed, overwhelms the economy.
That is now in danger of being crossed!!
The four horsemen are now riding!
On another note
Barclays : A strong matri-linear line in ownership to the Rothschilds. :-)
And within a kondratieff winter comes war
ReplyDeleteConcentrating on one at a time [I'll come back to the Russian one later] the Denninger take is dire.
ReplyDeleteJames
ReplyDeleteI'm fucked. No broadband and so can't watch videos.
Is this just pure greed. The opportunity is there; the need to do as all others are doing is there; therer's mega-mega bucks in this for me; licence to print money.
Fits in with human nature ..... but I have a niggle that shouts "PLAN".
As I was teasing my colleagues this morning… In a game of Cluedo it gets easier to figure out who is the murderer as the game progresses because there are fewer players left. Looking at the BBC "have your say" site area it looks like the guilty are quite safe as all intelligence has been bred out of the population.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteRussia: You put all your money in oil, if the bottom drops, you lose... they'll come out of it (lower) and hopefully diversify their positions.
ReplyDeleteI notice you didn't place any blame on the people that got the sub-primes, you know the ones that got loans they had no way to pay for (because Congress [in the US] declared that those people had to get those loans); it's a cyclic mess, but will straighten shortly, just watch
Thinking!
ReplyDeleteHere
Note Barclays is doing some picking
ReplyDeleteLord N
ReplyDeleteSaudi is pumping more oil, against OPEC, to reduce the price to help a dollar rally.
The US guarantees Saudi and Gulf States protection against Iran/Syria + a few others, - axis. And they emphasised this personally in visits in the last month.
Futures shorts on COMEX held by US Banks deflated PMs.
Helps the above illusion.
Every bail-out is being done, ultimately on the back of US Tax payer, and in theory should debase the currency. Credit rating agencies are considering down grading the status of the $. This will trigger higher borrowing costs and insurance premiums.
$ SHOULD decline, thereby increasing PMs.
Notice how they were taken down in the last few hours, when PPT elevated the indexes. No rational markets would rally in these circumstances.
In the next couple of months an international attempt will be made, (absent war of some kind, which is an increasing possibility) to place some sort of strong international oversight on the US financial regulatory activities, and probably the Yen carry trade and the Hedgies that use it. (IMF are currently auditing, but they historically are a tool of US policy, - but who knows?)
Most of the world is heartily sick of US hegemony, of all types.
The US will reject this imposition.
It will then be "every country for itself". And Russia, China, Japan, and a few others are patiently waiting.
Interest on T-Bills will go through the roof. The US economy will crash, and I mean in days.
Previously the status-quo has been maintained as the lesser of all evils.
It is now evident that the status-quo may not be the lesser of all evils.
The EU was formed originally for just such an eventuality.
But that was when there was no economic giant China, or a few others. I do not feel the EU is capable of taking on that mantle.
A "basket" for global trading purposes is my bet.
The GCC states are actively discussing monetary union, and given their oil wealth, it would be a powerful union. Recently they were talking about de-pegging from the $. A few US visitors a few months ago dissuaded them, - for now!
According to bloomy, gold bullion sales in the GCC states are through the roof, - in the order of 10 times usual. COMEX shorts created this gift. Eventually these powerful folks will be pissed at the price suppression.
Oh well!.
The above is all my opinion, and is probably worth exactly what it cost you, - nothing.
Let’s see…what shall we talk about? The boyz were nowhere to be found yesterday. They may have been in the equity markets briefly during the day, but if they were, it was to no avail…and they certainly didn’t show up on the short side of any gold or silver trade during regular Comex hours either.
ReplyDeleteAs the gold and silver prices indicated, there was hardly a soul in sight that wanted to take the short side of any precious metals trade.
However, once regular trading was done, gold and silver flat-lined. But once Globex trading began on Thursday morning in the Far East, gold and silver began rising again, and really took off once Hong Kong opened. At one point, gold was up $30+ and silver almost 50 cents. Then…shortly before 9 p.m. in New York…the not-for-profit sellers showed up and they’ve been hammering away mercilessly ever since.
All those lovely gains have vanished and both metals are in the red as I write this. The boyz show up quite frequently in the thinly-traded Far East market because it’s so much easier to have their way…plus they can set the tone for trading later in the morning when European and British markets open.
Having gold north of $900 when the LBMA opened in London would not be helpful…which is exactly where it was headed until they dropped the hammer. By the time you read this, you’ll know how the made out with their raid. Here’s the Kitco gold chart from yesterday. It’s easy to spot where the boyz showed up last night.
Here
The "TED"spreads in the US are almost the equiv. of LIBOR over here.
ReplyDeleteBoth went through the roof yesterday.
Massive leakage of liquidity and temporary freeze of markets caused $B injections today.
Thats temporary.
Insolvency is the problem.
Liquidity allows continuance of trading.
Continuance of trading exposes more toxic loses, thus destroying more assets, creating more insolvencies.
More insolvencies require more CB liquidity injections to keep the party rolling, and more market manipulations to make the picture look logical.
This all costs the taxpayer, ultimately.
Shall we dance?
Round and round and round........
BOOM
James, just read your update.
ReplyDeleteThe blogger is not on the edge.
The system is.
Well, I have to say, I'm - -
ReplyDeleteROFLMAO
at these announcements.
Here.
And Here
Get real guys, these are the symptoms, not the cause.
The cause is everyone knows the banks are lying through their teeth about the state of their (probably non existent ) assets.
I also notice the name of Chris Cox, member of the PPT.
Hey Chris, how much longer you gonna look the other way when asked about the shorts on PMs on COMEX? and GLOBEX. Their size makes them clearly illegal, under YOUR rules.
You really think banning legal shorts on financials is the answer?
Is that all you got?
You really think the tooth fairy is gonna believe share price valuations obtained under those circumstances, and send a SWF to bail out the Masters of the Universe?
What are you smoking, damn, it must be good?
So you are protecting the very guys who are the ones most guilty of short selling others?
Sounds about right!
So the mighty US economy is reduced to official rampant fraud, and official manipulation.
And to top that we now allow goodwill valuations in M&A involving banks, to be used as acceptable assets when calculating gearing for leveraged lending!
Jesus H Christ, you're all barking mad.
Hey, let me introduce you to my friend, the Mad Hatter. I'm sure you 2 will get along fine.
Just stay down that hole, will you!
Imbecile.
Peak Insanity
ReplyDelete