This is the month when the future of the eurozone will be decided. This week, Greek leaders will meet with European officials to discuss what comes next for Greece. The new prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, has already stated that he will not accept an extension of the current bailout. Officials from other eurozone […]
LATEST NEWS : We Are So Not Prepared For Another Oil Shock
In one sense, energy doesn’t matter all that much to what’s coming. Once debt reaches a certain level, oil can be $10 a barrel or $200, and either way we’re in trouble. But the cost of energy can still play a role in the timing and shape of the next financial crisis. The housing/derivatives bubble […]
What Is Goldman Sachs Doing With Venezuela's Gold?
A while back Greece had a problem. The problem was that it wanted to borrow more money, but didn’t want to increase its debt. (Because the European Union would frown on it having more debt.) So it went to Goldman Sachs, and Goldman told Greece, well, what you can do is borrow some money from […]
China to Start Gold Swaps Trading to Further Liberalize Market
China, on track to overtake India as the world’s largest gold consumer this year, will start interbank swaps trading next week in a move to further open up the domestic precious metals market. Trading will start Nov. 25 on the Shanghai-based China Foreign Exchange Trade System, according to a statement by the National Interbank Funding Center today. The Shanghai […]
Fed Seen Avoiding Historic Loss by Holding Mortgage Debt
“The Federal Reserve can avoid unprecedented losses by never selling mortgage-backed securities from its record $3.84 trillion balance sheet, according to updated estimates by Fed economists in Washington. The Fed every month is purchasing $85 billion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in a program aimed at fueling economic growth and combating unemployment, which was 7.2 percent in September.” […]
A U.S. Default Seen as Catastrophe Dwarfing Lehman’s Fall
“Anyone who remembers the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. little more than five years ago knows what a global financial disaster is. A U.S. government default, just weeks away if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling as it now threatens to do, will be an economic calamity like none the world has ever […]
Derivatives Centralized Enshrines Systemic Bailout Threat
“Derivatives are commonly derided as the enemy of stability, with Warren Buffett famously calling them weapons of mass destruction (before heavily investing Berkshire in them). Now there are efforts under way to restrict the types of derivatives allowed and what role financial institutions can play in issuing derivatives. Unfortunately, the result of such restrictions would […]
Americans are hostages of the 'terrorists' of Wall Street
“When are America’s leaders going to step up and protect us from the most threatening terrorists, hedge fund managers? Sure, some Islamist nutcase might be able to set off a bomb on a bus or in a building, but, horrific as that may be, the damage to our society is not nearly as great as […]