by John Galt May 22, 2012 17:45 ET In a not so subtle article from the newspaper Adnkronos, the crisis in Italy is far from over and might indeed be accelerating: Businesses suffering ‘credit crunch,’ report says This excerpt from the story tells of a tale of woe growing month by month: Italian businesses are facing a credit crunch,” according to a report by the national statistics agency. Last year “modest investment activity was accompanied by a growth in...
by John Galt May 22, 2012 17:05 ET Due to some technical difficulties on my end as I conducted the website redesign and with one of my email addresses I have been unable to update CalOkie’s bank failure charts but now the snags are fixed and the charts are now up to date as of last Friday’s only closing, as pictured by the header from the FDIC’s takeover of Alabama Trust Bank in Sylacauga, AL. Even though bank failures are slow this year,...
by John Galt May 22, 2012 05:20 ET The other elephant in the room, the Japanese economy and debt disaster, received a major blow this morning while the rest of the world slept as Fitch downgraded Japan to A+ with a Negative Outlook. The reasons outlined should sound familiar to any European government or even the casual U.S. observer: “The downgrades and Negative Outlooks reflect growing risks for Japan’s sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios,”...
by John Galt May 21, 2012 15:00 ET A sneak peek into America’s future perhaps? Imagine your son or daughter working a part time job at a local restaurant as a cashier. The customers usually don’t ask for a copy of their receipts so the habit has been to throw them away. Suddenly, your son or daughter is arrested by one of the customers who identifies himself as an undercover officer for the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Police. Crazy sounding isn’t...
by John Galt May 20, 2012 23:59 ET But, butt, butt, butttttt, butttttttt, I was told on the teevee that Mr. Obama had saved the day according to the Vice-President, Mrs. Biden. Oopsies, again! Tonight’s editorial/commentary from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard sums up the ultimate definition of “critical mass” if and when the American economy collapses in this article: Again; do what? I thought Obamanomics cured cancer, AIDS, divorce, unwanted pregnancy, herpes, and common toe nail fungus. Apparently, according to the...
by John Galt May 20, 2012 22:50 ET As America parties, the world burns. Unfortunately for some futures contract holders and those who think they can sell anything to the, ahem, “COMMUNIST” Chinese government, er, companies, this rude awakening has hit them in the face with a two by four: China buyers defer raw material cargos (click on the link to read the story in full- Subscription required) In this story from the UK’s Financial Times, the story by Javier...
by John Galt May 20, 2012 22:00 ET No comment is necessary. This excerpt from the latest editorial from the Mogambo Guru should provide a clue for those who are ignoring reality: Of course, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, so famously said that inflation is only a problem for people who buy things or put the money under their mattress to save it instead of putting the money into investments that will, hopefully, grow as fast as inflation, to...
by John Galt May 20, 2012 08:20 ET Finally, at least one of the banksters of the world has provided some degree of honesty about this mess over in Greece. The threat of the Grexit was enough to turn the debut of Facebook on the NASDAQ into FacePalm creating a concern that the entire world economy is teetering on disaster. From an article in the Athens News yesterday: If Greece leaves the euro zone it could detonate a global financial crisis even...
by John Galt May 16, 2012 22:00 ET This afternoon on CNBC, a young lady whose name is irrelevant representing a heretofore never heard of group called “Ultraviolet” made the case to demand a seat on the board of directors for a private corporation, Facebook, because they had no female board members. Not one female venture capitalist put up any money to deserve a seat on the board. Not one single reason financially or qualification was put forth for such a...
by John Galt May 16, 2012 16:55 ET What can I say? Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is on a roll this week with his columns in the U.K. Telegraph and this one protion from today’s piece sums up the disaster we are facing quite nicely: The crisis is replicating the pattern of fixed-exchange ruptures through history. Britain was forced off the Gold Standard in 1931 after pay-cut protests in the navy triggered capital flight. Greek banks have lost 30pc of their deposits since...
by John Galt May 16, 2012 16:30 ET While the mainstream media engages in P.L.O.P.O.O. (Putting Lipstick on Pig of Obamanomics), the reality of today’s housing numbers are still so bad, they would even embarrass Lyndon Baines Johnson; hell, maybe even Harry Truman! The Media’s PLOPOO updates look like this: Rebound in Housing Starts Housing market posts best stretch of growth in nearly four years Housing starts, single-family building permits jump in April Builders start construction on more...
by John Galt May 15, 2012 22:30 ET The usual suspects are at their propaganda inspired best with the monthly BLS report on consumer prices. The mainstream media has the usual headlines:May 15, 2012 22:30 ET US Consumer-Price Index Unchanged; Core Rate Climbs 0.2% US April consumer prices flat as gasoline drops US consumer prices flat as gas costs fall In other words, gas distorted reality as the reality is that the impacts on things the average American need or use...
by John Galt May 15, 2012 18:45 ET Appetiser cost of Greek exit is €155bn for Germany, France: trillions for meat course My fellow internet wanderers, no, your eyes do not deceive you. The costs are almost incalculable because the world has never experienced anything like what we will witness occurring in Greece as their exit from the European Monetary Union seems almost certain now. In tonight’s article from the U.K. Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard makes the following, terrifying statement: Needless...
by John Galt May 15, 2012 16:25 ET Does the sock puppet from Pets.com bring back any flashbacks of reality? How about these old internet dynamos and how they are doing these days: The list of companies could fill pages but the reality is that a profitable model must be in place or demand for the product to justify expenses for investment, product purchase, or advertising expenditures. The highlights above...
by John Galt May 15, 2012 15:55 ET The Greek crisis took another turn for the worse as the middle class began to realize that no deal would be struck to form a new government and the European Central Bank would never seriously consider any relief for the stricken nation. As the electoral politics spiraled out of control over the weekend, on Monday Greek citizens withdrew approximately $1,024,000,000 aka €800 million from the nation’s banks. This means that the middle class has...
by John Galt May 15, 2012 05:30 ET After several days of just horrid technical destruction and weak trading action, look for equities to start their Facebook dead cat bounce phase. Today, if it plays out as most bear market moves do, should see a rise in prices in the morning, fade after lunch, and then it is a coin toss if the markets finish flat or lower. If there is major selling into the morning rally then that is a very ominous...
by John Galt May 14, 2012 17:35 ET Moody’s unleashed a firestorm with this release today piling on top of the Greece fire: Moody’s downgrades Italian banks; outlooks remain negative Excerpt from the official statement at the link above: The ratings for Italian banks are now amongst the lowest within advanced European countries, reflecting these banks’ susceptibility to the adverse operating environments in Italy and Europe. Today’s rating actions reflect, to differing degrees for each affected bank, the following key...
by John Galt May 13, 2012 19:300 ET The warning I posted about the gold market signalling something bad was happening (see: Gold is Sending a Dire Economic Warning) in the world’s economy very prescient appears to have been validated to date by the data coming from Communist China. The deflationary warning signal precious metals and commodities are sending is unmistakable and in tonight’s commentary by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, that clarion is screaming a deafening alarm: World edges closer to deflationary slump as...
by John Galt May 13, 2012 14:40 ET As nations and empires decline into economic chaos, one of the major signs of civilian defiance is a refusal to participate in the “normal” or above ground economy and to engage in open acts of defiance towards the tax authorities. The nation of Italy has made finding alternatives to paying some of the most oppressive taxation policies an art form. The defiance however, has been moderated by the European Central Bank’s insistence on usurping the...
by John Galt May 12, 2012 08:00 ET Much to the chagrin of the PPP (Perpetual Polly Pumpers) of CNBC, China has all but verified that the entire world economy has hit just a wee bit more than a speed bump as it made the following announcement this morning (via Bloomberg): The People’s Bank of China said it is cutting the reserve ratio requirement for banks by 50 basis points starting from May 18, according to a statement on its website today....
by John Galt May 11, 2012 05:15 ET The nation and government of Greece is in total revolt from the street level to the civil service level now with bureaucrats at the Finance Ministry failing to engage in the Troika required tax collections per an article from the Greek newspaper Protothema. The lack of interest in engaging the citizenry for collection of these taxes, be it income, sales, or VAT indicates that the entire system is now in full collapse. The bureaucracy in...
by John Galt May 10, 2012 22:10 ET The Chinese Communist government is now having to deal with a new problem due to its extremely fast economic expansion and the idea of private property being introduced to the population (from Xinhua): 3 dead, 14 injured in Yunnan blast While the media is China is attempting to downplay this story as the Xinhua story linked above indicates, the BBC has a more accurate version with the background behind the attack develops a...
by John Galt May 10, 2012 20:00 ET AND the hits just keep on coming…. Europe, as Ambrose Evans-Pritchard so brilliantly outlines in tonight’s U.K. Telegraph commentary, is playing Fukushima with the world economy. The measurements of Greek unemployment yesterday were beyond horrific and indicative of a nation in complete disintegration economically. The extremists now hold sway over the future and that is a dark prospect for the people as usually the fringes of the political world lead nations into great darkness...
by John Galt May 10, 2012 19:10 ET If Jamie Dimon was having a bad day before the conference call and 10Q release this afternoon, add this story from the Wall Street Journal to the mix: Westin Loan Rattles CMBS Market Again After Nearly Four Years Ouch. The money phrase from the article is what the bankruptcy judge did and the pain inflicted on the banksters which could trigger a wee bit of panic in the supposedly “safe” CMBS market: ...
by John Galt May 10, 2012 18:45 ET As the market appeared to find a footing today, J.P. Morgan Chase (Symbol: JPM) yanked the rug out from the bulls and Bubblevisionistas with an incredible 10Q release and conference call which imploded the market after hours (See Bloomberg News: JPMorgan Reports $2 Billion Loss on Synthetic Positions). the truth though is that before this announcement, enough gasoline was already on the fire to indicate that there is a nasty bear phase approaching which will...
by John Galt May 9, 2012 19:45 ET The latest from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in tonight’s U.K. Telegraph highlights the sense of panic the European credit markets are reflecting behind the scenes: Spain nationalises Bankia as euro crisis escalates How bad is it? Amborse hits the high point in this one portion of the story: “The Spanish have denied until now that there was any need for fresh capital so it comes as a surprise. It wasn’t intended, and that is a worry,”...
by John Galt May 9, 2012 19:00 ET If one is led to believe the usual nonsense on the Bubblevisions, gold, silver, and anything that is considered “real money” will be smoked in the weeks to come. For once, this esteemed, or full of steamed clams, blogger agrees. The markets are indicating the following for long term paper silver bulls (I emphasize PAPER SILVER BULLS) 1. Severe correction. 2. Deliberate price suppression for industrial purposes. 3. A move...
by John Galt May 9, 2012 18:25 ET From Reuters: Equity funds lose most since start of year -ICI How bad was it? From the article: Oops. So much for the CNBC propaganda.
by John Galt May 8, 2012 19:30 ET Finally, some two years after Zero Hedge and these pages warned about the imposition of capital controls in the United States to prevent the flight of wealth out of our nation, Bloomberg News finally realizes that this de facto capital controls are already in effect. Bloomberg published the following story this afternoon about the dilemma FACTA created: U.S. Millionaires Told Go Away as Tax Evasion Rule Looms When I first published the following...
by John Galt May 7, 2012 05:25 ET With the election results indicating a shift of Greek public sentiment away from austerity and their Euro masters, the investing public (aka banksters) are getting the hell out of dodge. The Athens stock market opened up down 8% but has stabilized at just over 6% down at this time: While that might seem ugly, the nation of Cyprus, whose fortunes are tied to the nation of Greece in more ways than economics but as...
by John Galt May 6, 2012 19:15 ET US Equity futures as of a 1/2 hour ago: That was not hard to predict. Neither was the emergence of anti-austerity leftist and extreme right wing parties becoming viable in Europe. As a result of the elections in France, Germany (local), Greece, and Serbia, it would appear the Euro will be punished severely and traders have broken out the chairs and whips tonight: That chart looks good compared to the reaction of...
by John Galt May 6, 2012 15:25 ET Ambrose Evans-Pritchard sounds off in his new commentary in tonight’s U.K. Telegraph with a resounding shot across the bow of continental Europe and what could be an indication that a new wave of capital flight is about to begin. The commentary may well bear some truth sooner than speculated as the investors have been piling monies into the U.S. Treasury market and gold in the face of a slowing U.S. economy. The extract below...
by John Galt May 6, 2012 12:58 ET From the newspaper Protothema: It does not take much imagination to figure out some of the party symbols such as the Communists K.K.E. or the Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn (XP.AYTH) but here is the breakdown of the poll from the newspaper story which is creating a huge stir in the Greek online community: ND, PASOK and SYRIZA head to head! 06/05/2012 19:00 Unprecedented election thriller show the exit polls. ND, PASOK and SYRIZA move...
by John Galt May 6, 2012 12:25 ET There are many people willing to deny basic economic reality or the news that the manipulated government data points from around the world are sending, however gold and the gold ETF (GLD) continues to flash a warning clarion that can not be missed by any observer. Unfortunately for the naysayers, gold is still the final resting place for value and is indeed viewed as the alternative world currency by major economic powers such as China...
by John Galt May 6, 2012 09:50 ET The Israeli TASE Stock Market has followed the Dow and S&P 500 and the downside swoon after Friday’s disappointing NFP numbers with a 1.76% decline of its own today: With the elections in France and Greece along with the instability in U.S. Markets equity trading worldwide could become very volatile as the results are announced tonight. Stay tuned as information begins to fly in from the two European nations in turmoil as election...
by John Galt April 19, 2012 23:40 ET Click on any link below to read the full stories covered on the air tonight along with some news that time did not allow to be read on air: China assisting North Korean missile program: U.S. Defense Secretary China reports bird flu outbreak NATO head calls on China, Russia to help fund Afghan forces Bashir says Sudan to teach South “final lesson by force” Italy tax police seize 20 pct of Premafin capital Forty-nine killed...
by John Galt April 19, 2012 23:00 ET Tonight’s entry from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard contains not one, but two veiled warnings about the potential for another round of deflationary deleveraging which will stall the U.S. economy if not put it into outright recession, albeit brief, and destroy the European Union should it occur. This one excerpt from George Soros’ commentary within the story should be alarming to U.S. government officials because it is a warning shot across the bow: George Soros has launched all-out...
by John Galt April 19, 2012 22:30 ET The economic recovery keeps chugging right a long as Ford announces the building of a new factory to almost double production. Unfortunately for the American worker, this plant is being built in Hangzhou, China to boost the automakers capacity by over 250,000 vehicles annually. Amazingly enough, no UAW workers will be hired to produce these vehicles. To read the full story from the Malaysia Star, click on the story link below: Ford invests US$760m in...
by John Galt April 19, 2012 19:15 ET In 2008, I wrote a piece titled “Municide” (Click on link to read in full) where I outlined the coming collapse of many counties, cities, and other municipal entities due to the implosion of the municipal bond market thanks to the collapse of the real estate market. Data today indicates that the housing market is far from recovering, especially considering that institutions like Bank of America saw a stunning 72% decline from last years mortgage...
by John Galt April 16, 2012 21:55 ET Tonight’s commentary from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard demonstrates the fallacy of central banking during an election season in a nation or continent experiencing economic woe. The ECB has become the target of Nicolas Sarkozy as the Communist candidate, Hollande, is smoking him in every poll and it would appear that the French are refusing to follow Sarkozy’s surrender to Germany and demanding a strong turn to the left. The consequences of France’s hope and change movement are...
Follow JohnGaltFLA
Read all my posts, updates, Tweets, etc.