Economic pressures

[Danny B]

Too, too big,,, punishing the productive

Too much centralization must fail. Repost; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpXVoSZyHXM&t=30sWe Got Too Big For the World | Literary HubGood article;

https://mises.org/blog/put-your-hope-radical-decentralization

Europe's Banking Dysfunction Worsens | Zero Hedge
European socialism will crash before American socialism.

[Danny B]

Crony capitalism scalping the productive economy

Over the last several years, the finance industry went from 5% of the economy to about 20% of the economy. How did it do that?
Many years ago, your deposit in the bank was "call money". It was yours. Over the years, the banks needed more and more money. Your deposit became an "unsecured loan to the bank". The banking industry refused to contract when the economy contracted. Your deposit is now called, "an investment in the bank".
The State, for it's part, started confiscating cash where ever they found it. Obviously, your cash is the proceeds of criminal activity. The war on cash is in full stride. The banks are screaming if anybody has cash outside the banks. YOU are the problem if you hide away your cash for yourself.
Aussie 'War On Cash' Tsar: "Consumers Are Part Of The Problem" | Zero Hedge

So, what do the banks want your cash for? In a shrinking economy, the bankers are having a hard time trying to generate fees.
"Mega-Banks Blow 100% of Earnings on Share-Buybacks & Dividends, Crimp Lending, Constrain Economy "
Mega-Banks Blow 100% of Earnings on Share-Buybacks & Dividends, Crimp Lending, Constrain Economy | Wolf Street
The banks don't want to lend money into a shrinking economy so, they use the money to jack up their bonuses. Even during the big 2008 crash, their bonuses didn't shrink.

The pension system in a nutshell, What Ponzi Scheme? Public Pensions Average 0.6% Return In 2016 Despite 7.6% Assumption | Zero Hedge
A note for all you preppers, Forbes Says Self-Reliant Homesteaders Are "Delusional" And "Mooching" Off "Civil Society" | Zero Hedge

https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/be-prepared-for-preppers/Content?oid=2657786

The pension gap, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...n-pension-hole

Maybe because we don't have any money.

https://dailyreckoning.com/fed-enabled-corporate-kingpins-scalp-billions/

"That is, negative cash flows are signaling a need for tsunami of bankruptcies, job-layoffs and store liquidations that significantly exceed the fundamentals of the sector.

Finally, the scramble for yield among money managers has fostered the financial liquidation of retail sector equity for the sole purpose of redistributing windfalls to the top of the economic ladder."

[Danny B]

No mention that 102 million Americans of working age are not in the labor force.
"In other words, we have seen a progressive (pun intended) weakening of the US economy from the 1970s and the reason is simple enough when we know that monetary policy broken down to its most basic is a transaction of nothing (fiat money) for something (real production of goods and services). Modern monetary policy thereby violates the most sacred principle in a market based economy; "
"The central bank does not need to worry about such trivial things. They can manufacture the medium of exchange at zero cost and express purchasing power on the same level as the producer. However, consumption of real goods and services paid for with zero cost money must by definition be pure capital consumption."
Yep, debt creation just so that the parasites don't go hungry. They can create lots of tokens without doing anything productive.Ah yes, create debt-free money just for production. don't hold your breath.

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2017/08/productivity-and-debt/

Don't waste your time going to college, Only Employment Gains In The Past Year: Those With A High School Diploma Or Lower | Zero Hedge
Japan is hard at work to disprove the economic theories that haven't already been disproven.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-08-03/japan-buries-our-most-cherished-economic-ideas

No currency union has ever worked if it didn't also have a debt union. The IMF listened to the siren-song of world socialism and ignored long history. They have come out and admitted that they completely screwed up. Almost all the economic theories have proved to be just worthless theories. Not to worry though. They still teach them worldwide.
IMF admits disastrous love affair with the euro & apologises for the immolation of Greece! ? dailyhellas.compolitical appointees to run the oil industry.
"If the current government stays in power, Venezuela could end up like Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe is still dictator at age 93 and steers the country from one economic crisis to another."
How to Crash an Economy

Zimbabwe has money for GOV officials but, none for the people. http://www.rense.com/general96/Zimbabdarelook.html

[Danny B]

Neocons,,, no bubbles in sight

"still think, that confidence in central banks and policymakers has been unjustified and thus could erode or collapse at any time. Since the major financial institutions which comprise the financial system are still way overleveraged and opaque (in fact with record amounts of debt and derivatives at present), such a break in confidence could happen abruptly and without warning.
Investors should come to grips, intellectually and viscerally, with the likelihood that most fiscal and monetary policymakers' knowlege of the world is somewhere between "close to nothing" and "way less than zero," and that their pronouncements and policies usually range from "silly but harmless" to "dumb and dangerous."
In Epic Letter, Elliott's Singer Rages Against Everything From Passive Investing To "Safe Spaces" | Zero Hedge

Trump signed the sanctions bill while admitting that it was unconstitutional. It specifically limits the power of the president, which is absolutely against the separation of powers.
Text of signing statement Trump issued alongside the Russian sanctions bill - MarketWatch
What will happen at budget time?

"These are the folks who in spite of their 100% ironclad control of the media and Congress lost the Presidential election to Donald Trump and who are now dead set to impeach him. "
"Keep in mind that the historical record shows that while the Neocons are fantastically driven, they are not particularly smart. Yes, they do have the kind of rabid ideological determination which allows them to achieve a totally disproportionate influence over US policies, but when you actually read what they write and listen to what they say you immediately realize that these are rather mediocre individuals with a rather parochial mindset"

"Even the 100% russophobic Bloomberg is beginning to realize that, if anything, all these sanctions have made both Putin and Russia stronger."
Sanctions, smoke and mirrors from a kindergarten on LSD | The Vineyard of the Saker

https://mishtalk.com/2017/08/04/bubblicious-debate-irrational-exuberance-deja-view/

Here is a very deep article from Hugo Salinas Price, .:Plata:.


If it isn't physical,,, it isn't safe.

[Danny B]

"The authors of the study are not sure what accounts for the unequal distribution of liquidity."
"The fact that this liquidity ends up in wealthy states within the Eurozone instead of in states where it is badly needed is contrary to the goals of the ECB." Feces for brains politicians can't understand that; anybody that desperately needs money,,,, is always a credit risk.
Explaining the Uneven Distribution of Liquidity in the Eurozone - The Market Mogul

Armstrong, "ANSWER: No. Even FDR closed the banks. While bailouts have ceased, the government will simply now expropriate depositors money to save the banks. Keep in mind that the big banks sell the government debt known as the primary dealers. So no matter what they say, they will protect the banks before the people. The risk is greater in the EU than in the USA."

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/banking-crisis/keeping-30-days-worth-of-cash-applies-worldwide/

Russiatosis - Kunstler
The MSM and neocons are so focused on destroying Trump that they are oblivious to all the financial dangers that they create.

[Danny B]

paper money, delusion,, fees & bonuses

This is a repost of the South park vid, "poof, it's gone". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmFo-LKHGY0
The money is gone because the bank SAYS it's gone. The depositor agreement has been changed. Now, you are an investor in the bank. If they SAY that your investment is gone, well,,, then it is.
A bank is just a consumer. They don't produce anything. They depend on constant growth so, they are also a Ponzi scheme. When there is a bank closure, they close the doors and figure out how much of the money they need to steal to stay in business,,, if possible. In the '29 crash, 9400 banks closed. They look at the funds of the bondholders, stockholders and depositors. Always looking out for themselves, they try to preserve the senior bondholders.

"Mega-Banks Blow 100% of Earnings on Share-Buybacks & Dividends, Crimp Lending, Constrain Economy "
The banks see no point in lending into a shrinking economy. It is far less risky to put the free money into markets that the FED is backstopping.
Meanwhile, the fees, bonuses and dividends just keep rolling in.

"Using public data to analyze the 10 largest bank holding companies, Hoenig found they will distribute more than 100 percent of the current year's earnings to investors, which could have supported to $537 billion in new loans.
On an annualized basis they will distribute 99 percent of net income, he added." "Since Bank managers are personally heavily rewarded on the share price of the Banks through bonuses and share options, the cause of this is clear."
"This problem was addressed by Glass-Steagall and functioned very well, keeping the banking system essentially sound for almost seventy years, until it was repealed under the Clinton Administration in conjunction with a Congress all too willing to sacrifice the interests of their voters to Big Money."
Don't blame me. It takes LOTS of money to get elected,,, to be a public servant.
"If at times his [Andrew Jackson's] passionate devotion to this cause of the average citizen lent an amazing zeal to his thoughts, to his speech and to his actions, the people loved him for it the more. They realized the intensity of the attacks made by his enemies, by those who, thrust from power and position, pursued him with relentless hatred. The beneficiaries of the abuses to which he put an end pursued him with all the violence that political passions can generate. But the people of his day were not deceived. They loved him for the enemies he had made."
Sounds familiar.

"An overwhelming proportion of the material power of the Nation was arrayed against him. The great media for the dissemination of information and the molding of public opinion fought him. Haughty and sterile intellectualism opposed him." Check.

https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2017/08/only-ten-year-after-last-financial.html

Your receipt for a deposit is just a piece of paper that can become worthless at the whim of the bankers. Your dollar bill is a different story altogether. Your deposit receipt is only tradable in your bank. Your dollar bill is tradable everywhere.
"Keep in mind that the big banks sell the government debt known as the primary dealers. So no matter what they say, they will protect the banks before the people."
The banks and State are desperate to get those dollar bills OUT of the hands of the general public. The dollar bill is a bearer-bond and a demand note. Neither the banks, nor the State can make that bill in your pocket vanish. The open markethttp://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...805_dead_0.jpg
Dead.Market.Walking | Zero Hedge

The stock market has ZERO connection to the real economy. The stock market is ONLY a money laundering mechanism for the bankers.
The bankers could print trillions at will. But they're afraid to do all of it out in the open. So this is what they do, for example: Banks A and B set up a private bank C with non-publicly traded stock in the Cayman islands, which thus doesn't have to disclose who owns it because its shares are not publicly traded. Bank A sells short an S&P 500 Futures contract to Bank B. Bank C buys call options on Bank A stock and put options on Bank B stock. S&P 500 index goes up. Bank B makes money. Bank A loses money (and writes off much of it as losses lowering the amount of tax due). Bank C makes lots of money and extends loans at low or inflation-adjusted inexistent interest rates to Bank A and Bank B. Bank A and Bank B buy Bank B's stock at significantly lower prices than they were before above operation was booked. Next round, Bank A and Bank B trade places. When it gets boring after a while, Bank C declares bankruptcy. Its receivership who is an attorney who also works for Banks A and B writes off loans made to Banks A and Bank B as nonrecoverable. Shareholders of Bank C do not object to the total loss on their bond portfolio that ensues.

The S&L crash was an egregious example of bankers making bad loans to other bankers and waiting for the whole thing to blow up,,, and be bailed out.
"Communism was not created by the masses to overthrow the bankers, Communism was created by the bankers to overthrow and enslave the masses. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4W1ph9j_7c&t=37s

Here is an article from the brightest of the bright. It is a good study in delusion and confusion. I won't take time to dissect and rebut it.

https://pro.dailyreckoning.today/p/AWN_dollarreboot_0717/LAWNT810/?h=true

Here is another BIG dose of delusion.
"Unemployment bottomed at 4.4% "
"The labor participation rate remains a dismal 62.9%."

http://creditbubblebulletin.blogspot.com/2017/08/weekly-commentary-data-and-carefree.html

[Danny B]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY

[Danny B]

0000000000000000 everywhere,,, Hacker noon

"Your receipt for a deposit is just a piece of paper that can become worthless at the whim of the bankers."
"Since the global debt position, including unfunded liabilities and derivatives, amount to over $2 quadrillion, so should global assets. But global assets are not even a fraction of that. Supposedly, global assets are $250 trillion, but these are all bubble valuations that will implode as the debts and liabilities implode"
"Nobody realises that their money is just an electronic entry that can be turned off in a second by the government. "

https://www.goldbroker.com/news/bank-assets-are-ephemeral-here-today-gone-tomorrow-1162

"Three large (G-20) countries are flashing warning signals today for impending banking crises based on such imbalances:China, Canada, and Australia. No mention of Italy,,, the third largest bond market?
Great article but, it doesn't copy right. https://www.crescat.net/wp-content/u...rly-Letter.pdf

https://hackernoon.com/why-everyone-missed-the-most-mind-blowing-feature-of-cryptocurrency-860c3f25f1fb

Mish lays out a list of the main BS monetary theories.

https://mishtalk.com/2017/08/05/debunking-mmt-keynesianism-monetarism/

Keep in mind that these theories are the only justification for printing money for the parasites.
The State convinced us that it would take care of us in our old age. That was a good thing because emerging socialism had destroyed the family. The unfunded liabilities of the FED GOV are reckoned at $212 trillion. BUT, the State isn't the only entity that is running short on money.
Legg Mason Survey Finds Baby Boomers Are Roughly $30 Trillion Short On Retirement Savings | Zero Hedge

[Danny B]

Hussman, Kunstler & BTC

I noticed in 2005 that the economy was headed down. Since then, I've read everybody. After a while , you learn to skip the people who make no sense. When you read the people who make sense, you learn to anticipate their "slant".
John Hussman does excellent work with historical stock values. Based on this, he claims that the fall will be about 87%. BUT, historically, there is no precedence for the CB pumping in so much liquidity. This doesn't necessarily make his models and projections incorrect.
Hussman Funds - Weekly Market Comment: Estimating Market Losses at a Speculative Extreme - August 7, 2017

Kunstler is another story. I won't excerpt.
Just Wait a Little While - Kunstler
Pox Americana has made so many enemies that I expect the worst.


You already know that the state is the originator of much malware like Stuxnet.
The State / banks have started to catch on to just how dangerous the blockchain is.

"They" need to induce as much volatility into crypto as possible to prevent it from catching on.

The Central Banks are spoofing the snot out of BTC.
Mysterious Trader With "Nearly Unlimited Bankroll" Said To Manipulate, Dominate Price Of Bitcoin | Zero Hedge
If BTC catches on well enough, they will no longer be able to spoof it. BTC is not a futures market so, it doesn't lend itself to the usual manipulations. You can bet that much of the hacking of BTC is done by it's enemies.

[Danny B]

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/training-tools/us-share-market-broad-overvaluation-index-one-of-the-best-leading-indicators-we-have-ever-created/

Man is hard-wired to support his genetic lineage. Socialism requires you to support those who are NOT your genetic lineage.
" So under socialism, you are not allowed to be charitable with your own family. This is what the new hunt for taxes in Canada is all about. Take this with the other two proposals for tax increases and the combination will send taxation on small business to potentially as high as 93%. Government never really cares about the impact of their proposals. It is always just about them"

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/canada/canada-looking-to-tax-small-business-93/

A STARK look at obamacare, https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/i...-retail-sales/

Living on plastic, Americans now have the highest credit-card debt in U.S. history - MarketWatch
Financial Presstitutes Cover Up for the Big Banks - PaulCraigRoberts.org
The various regulatory changes have allowed the banks to change their motivation and purpose from lending to,,, churning for fees and bonuses.

Don't worry, be happy
Blame Uber

[Danny B]

Oil subsidies,,, millennials spending habits

The State knows that it must stop BTC from catching on. They are currently thrashing around trying to work out a strategy.
"EU Rules Bitcoin is a Currency, US Says Bitcoin is a Commodity; Which Side is Correct? What About Gold and BitGold?"

https://mishtalk.com/2015/10/27/eu-rules-bitcoin-is-a-currency-us-says-bitcoin-is-a-commodity-which-side-is-correct-what-about-gold-and-bitgold/

The oil industry lost $20 billion last year,,, mostly from the junk bond market. The CB has pumped out so much money that big oil managed to survive well the $20 billion loss. The Journal, World Development claims that there is a worldwide subsidy for carbon energy.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/aug/07/fossil-fuel-subsidies-are-a-staggering-5-tn-per-year

We aren't going to electric cars any time soon because the infrastructure isn't prepared.
We still need a lot of oil. Russia, Iran and Venezuela have a LOT of oil. We are in the process of destroying Venezuela for their oil. We talk about destroying Iran but, it isn't going to happen. The Sino-Russian Bloc would rather stand behind than stand with their backs against the wall.

Kissinger is having a coniption fit because the Wolfowitz doctrine of world domination is soon to blow up if Pox Americana can't control Iran.
Kissinger Fears ISIS Defeat Will Lead To "Iranian Radical Empire;" Russia Rejecting Atlanticist World Order

Here is an excellent article on driverless cars. Apparently, millennials are not bothering to get a drivers license. They don't want to own a car.

https://medium.com/@FedericoPistono/the-driverless-economy-7d8673b9142

A new kosher cryptocurrency has been introduced, https://www.rt.com/business/398940-k...ish-community/
Apparently, the millennials have fallen out of love with satellite TV, https://www.fastcompany.com/40450179...toric-declines
their consumer habits are rocking a lot of markets.

[Danny B]

Politicians for sale,,, European debt

Obama care is in a drastic death spiral, Death Spiral: 6.5 Million People Choose To Pay Tax Rather Than Buy Obamacare | Zero Hedge
It is dragging down everything else, https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/i...-retail-sales/Financial System of U.S. Rests on Health of Just Five Mega Banks

Following the Following Gramm-Leach-Bliley act that killed the Glass-Steagal act, the banks were incentivised to end loans and just speculate.
Federal Bank Regulator Drops a Bombshell as Corporate Media Snoozes

Armstrong claims that stocks are not over-valued. Everybody else disagrees. Earnings are dead.
The CBs are buying all the stocks and have killed volatility.
"Mystery" Central Bank Buyer Revealed: SNB Now Owns A Record $84 Billion In US Stocks | Zero Hedge
Does that necessarily make them safe?

Following Gramm-Leach-Bliley [legislation in 1999]"
This really allowed the finance system to take off. Here are the results.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/07/opinion/leonhardt-income-inequality.html

http://wolfstreet.com/2017/08/08/the-only-thing-keeping-italys-debt-alive-is-the-ecb/

http://www.24hgold.com/english/news-gold-silver-debt-slavery--fake-money--final-collapse.aspx?article=11293874012H11690&redirect=false&contributor=Egon+von+Greyerz&mk=1

Here is a chart of money printing. Notice what happened when Nixon was forced to close the gold window. Mid 1971, http://www.24hgold.com/24hpmdata/art...-08-04-002.png
Surprise, surprise, look at this chart, https://thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-co...25_onwards.png

[Danny B]

Real Value Added, VIX and VEGA,,, lefties going broke

The CBs buy up the stock market to keep valuations up. It seems to have been working up til now.
"Thanks to Jesse Felder, we recently stumbled upon a measure of economic conditions that has reliably signaled every recession since 1948. The data point, Real Value Added, is currently in negative territory and may, therefore, be a harbinger of an economic downturn. If it is a false signal, it would be the first in a 70-year history of observations."
"Of concern, however, is that negative RVA readings have an impeccable pattern of signaling recession as a coincident indicator."

We aren't way negative yet. Wait til February.

http://realinvestmentadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/graph-1.png

An Indicator Of Peril | Zero Hedge

Nasdaq is tumbling and the VIX is exploding, As VIX Explodes, A Painful Warning: The Vega Of VIX ETFs Has Never Been Higher | Zero Hedge
The net Vega of VIX, http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...ga%20etf_0.jpg

Eliminating ALL the middle-men, Great Disaster Looms as Technology Disrupts White Collar Workers - GoldCore Gold Bullion Dealer

https://www.rt.com/uk/399091-financial-crash-steve-keen/

http://www.internationalman.com//articles/this-5-trillion-time-bomb-will-devastate-americans

"The global economy really has suffered some horrible fate, but what? Inflation underwhelms because the economy does and has, but policymakers in 2017 are trying to figure out why in a way that leaves them blameless."

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4096567-center-inflation-debate

http://bonnerandpartners.com/what-went-wrong-with-the-21st-century/

[Danny B]

Blowing out the bond markets,,retail,,hot money in housing

Here are 2 articles from Armstrong where he talks about previous predictions.

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/training-tools/panic-cycles-are-different-from-volatility/

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/understanding-cycles/the-monetary-crisis-cycle-comes-in-two-flavours/

The thing to keep in mind is; he predicts a crash in sovereign (GOV) debt.
Illinois comes to mind in that they can't possibly pay what they owe. California is in the same boat.
In 1985, Armstrong predicted a big change in the confidence model on 2015.75 On that day, Russia entered the war in Syria. Since then, we see various countries moving towards the umbrella of Russian protection or cooperation. Germany being the most notable.
China has now said that it will block an attack on North Korea.

Fear / confidence in Pox Americana is waning. I suppose that this shrinkage of confidence will affect the sovereign bond market at some point.

12 Critical Events That Are Going To Happen Over A 40 Day Period From August 21st To September 30th
I suspect that one of these events will shake confidence.

The CBs pumped in money to save the markets. They have done their share of making bond markets go completely crazy.
An Insane Bond Market In 4 Charts: "Italian Junk Bonds Yield Less Than US Treasurys" | Zero Hedge
Italian banks are so bankrupt that their debt should demand 25---30 % interest. They pay 2.2 %
No doubt.
"Americans had borrowed more than $1.443 trillion in student loans and $1.116 trillion in auto loans through the first quarter of the year. "


America has 5 times the retail space per person that France has. Kunstler says that it is going to shrink drastically.

http://kunstler.com/cluster****-nation/battle-of-the-behemoths/

Charles Huge Smith believes that the elites will shift into BTC to avoid getting vaporised in the meltdown.

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2017/08/what-mainstream-doesnt-get-about-bitcoin.html

Goldman Sachs tells us that the FEDS are going after people who don't pay capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies.

http://fortune.com/2017/08/09/goldman-sachs-bitcoin-client-advice/

I don't see this happening smoothly.

http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2017/07/31/the-next-market-crash-will-not-be-televised/

Hot Chinese money flows into housing and the locals can no longer afford it.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-10/vancouver-housing-on-fire-with-biggest-price-gains-since-1990

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-01/australia-has-worlds-worst-money-laundering-property-market

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-11/aussie-property-bubble-scale-no-other

[Danny B]

Socialism vids

Escapism, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5OA48C3dg4
We currently have an opioid epidemic and an alcoholism epidemic.
Socialism sounds like a good system as long as you don't examine too deeply, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxFonhbVm9g
Our system can only end in one outcome, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7BTTB4tiEU
David Icke weighs in, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKycRuWnnO4&t=202s

The smart contract platform https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1saIWZjTho
Socialism rises,,, everything else falls, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKhfR8WC4Eo&t=165s
With socialism, there is an ever-increasing number of bleating parasites that NEED your money. They don't go away, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TruCIPy79w8&t=4s