Can 'Too-Big-To-Fail' Finally Fail? [View article]
Too Big to Fail is a lie. Period. The proper procedure is called Chapter 11 whereby responsible Banks buy the good assets of the Failed Banks. Bad assets will never be anything other than bad. So why should the American middle class primarily buy this garbage which they had no responsibility for in the first place? Remember you can't shine....well you know what. Let the people who created the toxic assets go down with them, not those who had nothing to do with their creation or even trading them. Failure is part of honest capitalism, which the bad banks cannot claim ignorance of understanding. If they actually marked their derivative assets to Market instead of to Model as they fraudulently do, they'd be done. It's over for whoever gets stuck with the toxic assets they've created. Unfortunately, with our out-of-control lobbyist system, aka legalized bribery of congress, we know who is going get stuck holding the bad: the innocent public, who do not possess lobbyists. Excuse the pun, but it's all Greek to me.
I've been wating for the liquified coal division of HW to take off for years. Unfortunately, HW is dragged down by their construction materials unit, and lets face it, the oil industry's lobbying (leagalized congressional bribery) can't be beat, thereby keeping competition out of the game.
Thus, it will take crisis and/or resource exhaustion to change anything regarding energy policy in the U.S. in a meaningful way, and signal a true buy in alternative energy. However, crisis and resource exhaustion, or resource control by other countries, may not be that far off. As such, alternative energy should be on everyone's radar, but for now I'd keep the safety on.
Should Sovereign Nations Pursue the Iceland Solution or the Irish Solution? [View article]
Fine piece. The banksters understand risk/reward fluently, but since they own the politicians they are able to play sans risk. Who wouldn't like that? However, in honest capitalism there is no such thing as 'too big to fail'. Big is a representation of size. Failure is a representation of quality, which determines price and sometimes solvency.
Fear mongering lies about 'too big to fail' is all there is behind any of the bailouts, CE, etc. If Goldman for example went under, 99+% of the American public would feel nothing, as Goldman requires a $5 million minimum account balance. Guess who would feel something?
Our system of capitalism is sick because the big players get to socialize their bad bets on the backs of the American people, who are now collapsing from the weight or carrying them. It is vitally necessary for failures to indeed fail. This is what keeps the system healthy in a Darwinian way. All nations should be looking towards the Icelandic structured bankruptcy model, which by the way is the model that most people are legally bound by. Let the responsible banks pick the bones of the irresponsible, bankrupt ones, bury what's left of the cadavers and get things going in the right direction finally.
A Closer Look at the Banking Industry's Lobbying Efforts [View article]
Fine piece.
Can any president break the death grip of the lobbyists? Not without a major overhaul of the laws regulating them. However, that is nearly impossible to accomplish as congress and their lobbyist pay masters write and control the laws of the land.
Until the American people ACTIVELY DEMAND that their congressional representatives sever their venal relationship with lobbyists, the average citizen will not be served by this government. This is an issue that should unite every worthy political party. But it does not.
If lobbyists can't be banned outright a law should be passed making it illegal for any congressperson to EVER become a lobbyist. This would remove a lot of the conflict of interest between the two groups, as many members of congress use their congressional experience as their training for becoming lobbyists themselves - to make the 'real money', plus what they suck off the lobbyists while in office.
Similarly, all military personnel should be banned from working as lobbyists for military contractors for the same conflicts of interest. Come on, look at the size of our military budget compared to any other country, ever. It's obvious how that happened. Fear mongering translated into non-competitive bids into weapons sales and finally bookoo cash for lobbyists, military contractors and their subordinates (congress/generals/etc.)
Congress is supposed to represent 'the people'. Yet it is clear to all who will look that this is not being done. Ending the control of lobbyists may be the most important thing this country ever does since the constitution was written, unless it is to remain in its present wrongful incarnation of 'By, Of and For The Few'.
The wise Charlie Munger never invests in businesses with conflicts of interest. America won't be a good investment until the gross conflict interest of the lobbying system is abolished and the true competitive environment that made the nation great is restored.
Existing Home Sales Plunge, Despite Government's Help [View article]
I respectfully take your dare, sir.
Stop tax crediting the oil companies and tax credit alternative energy instead. Logic = Oil running out, dangerous and in hostile hands / Alt energy is perpetual, not dangerous and domestically located. Then use the tax credits to train and put people to work in the alternative energy industry, including producing products for export.
Bring jobs back to our shores with SOME kind of tax on imported goods and/or sign an international minimum wage agreement (The int min wage concept always gets some bullets fired at me; so fire away if you must. Although it will be redundant.).
End the war on drugs, including warehousing people in prison more than any other nation, end the DEA, etc. It's too expensive and doesn't stop drugs - hello. Instead regulate and tax the products. Prohibition didn't work and neither is the drug war working, except for gangsters, especially the ones on the Forbes list.
Bring the military home from each of the 130+ foreign countries they are in at great taxpayer expense for the benefit of military contractors whose lobbyists have fear-mongered us into these places where we have no right being, and bring the military budget down by 2/3. If Korea or anyone else wants mercenaries let them pay an American mercenary provider for the service - that's an industry we're good at - and again tax revenues are produced rather than expenditures. The U.S. taxpayer can no longer and should no longer foot the bill for foreign military ventures. We've got oceans on either side of us and with the troops home we can truly guard the two borders we have. As Jefferson and Washington implored, never engage in foreign conflicts, but trade with all. It is called the defense department, not the offense department. Another benefit of pulling our flag out of the ground of other countries is less terrorism aimed at the U.S. and better relations abroad, including a better business environment.
One way or the other, we must go back to producing products or we will die as a nation. Consumption is NOT a perpetual growth engine. The unintelligent logic of that concept is failing before our eyes. Lack of production is not an option.
We need to stop putting so much emphasis on housing starts. There are more than enough houses now and maybe forever in the U.S. unless we overbreed. The metric should be production of goods for sale domestically and abroad as with the German high-tech production model.
In conclusion, we get the money to re-tool the country by cutting failed government programs that only benefited a small percentage of the population. And in the spirit of Eisenhower, we don't build a tank, but instead build schools, factories or and other productive assets.
3 Reasons Why the Treasury Should Borrow Now to Restructure and Rebuild [View article]
I like your thinking, and I'd add to it that the war on drugs (prohibition) should be ended, which has been proven to not work and cost trillions of dollars between enforcement, incarceration and lost tax revenue. Also, the constitution doesn't have the authority to tell people what to put into their bodies.
How Will China's Yuan Move Affect the World? [View article]
The best economic stimulus, energy survival and environmental survival tool would be for the government to offer large, open-ended tax incentives to the alternative energy sector so that the U.S. can become the number one inventor, manufacturer and user of this technology. If and when such companies reached healthy prescribed profit thresholds those tax incentives would be scaled back accordingly. As Dr. Leeb points out, we ignore alternative energy at our future peril.
Greed guides the search for labor. Without a global minimum wage, which should have accompanied global trade agreements, that will always be the case. Essentially, unregulated labor is slavery.
However, when oil goes north of $100/barrel shipping costs begin to tack on more expense than labor and local production thereby becomes advantageous despite higher labor costs.
When Europe, Japan & the U.S. recover, which is not happening now in their current deterioration cycles, the cost of shipping expenses will work to level out the labor market, but for now, besides for exceptional people who can transcend their disadvantaged circumstances, who a person is born to dictates much of their prospects, especially in places where education is difficult to come by.
Betting Against Inflation With TIPS ETFs [View article]
Investors should be careful about funds and ETFs holding baskets of TIPS with long average maturities such as VIPSX, where the average maturity date is over eight years, because in a likely bond sell off in the next year or so such instruments could get hurt swiftly. From the examples above, STPZ is the safest instrument from the average maturity standpoint.
Short Selling Rules: When Will Analysis Replace Rhetoric? [View article]
There should be no restriction on shorting any stock as long as the short is not a naked position. This simply requires strict and effective enforcement that shorted stocks are properly borrowed and properly delivered to the counter party buyers of those shorted positions. If not, such fail to deliver positions must be immediately unwound and meaningful penalties assessed for failing to deliver the shorted securities.
The uptick rule is passe in our penny and sub-penny trading environment for obvious reasons.
Companies afraid of the legitimate shorting of their stock very likely have deep problems. Otherwise, they would welcome short sellers for giving them good prices to buy back their company stock, which quality companies like to do.
Someone calm the redtards. Ok, no taxes, you prefer undeclared deficit spending plus massive interest on top of it. Drill baby, drill! And when the drilling holes are empty, scramble to find an energy alternative at that too late hour. Enter The End (of days).
Some sort of proactive action is our only hope: "The hunter must hunt before he is hungry." - Chinese Proverb
Mr. Davis does not have a monopoly on proactive ideas, but at least he has one.
Fraud: The Western Banking Industry's Fastest Growing Export [View article]
Read the book, The Creature from Jekyll Island, and you will understand the fraud of fiat currency and fractional reserve banking. Booms, busts and bailouts have been an officially sponsored government fraud since the creation of the Federal Reserve.
Billionaire Ken Fisher's Stock Picks With The Highest Upside Potential [View article]
Can 'Too-Big-To-Fail' Finally Fail? [View article]
The Alternative Energy Breakout? [View article]
Thus, it will take crisis and/or resource exhaustion to change anything regarding energy policy in the U.S. in a meaningful way, and signal a true buy in alternative energy. However, crisis and resource exhaustion, or resource control by other countries, may not be that far off. As such, alternative energy should be on everyone's radar, but for now I'd keep the safety on.
Should Sovereign Nations Pursue the Iceland Solution or the Irish Solution? [View article]
Fear mongering lies about 'too big to fail' is all there is behind any of the bailouts, CE, etc. If Goldman for example went under, 99+% of the American public would feel nothing, as Goldman requires a $5 million minimum account balance. Guess who would feel something?
Our system of capitalism is sick because the big players get to socialize their bad bets on the backs of the American people, who are now collapsing from the weight or carrying them. It is vitally necessary for failures to indeed fail. This is what keeps the system healthy in a Darwinian way. All nations should be looking towards the Icelandic structured bankruptcy model, which by the way is the model that most people are legally bound by. Let the responsible banks pick the bones of the irresponsible, bankrupt ones, bury what's left of the cadavers and get things going in the right direction finally.
A Closer Look at the Banking Industry's Lobbying Efforts [View article]
Can any president break the death grip of the lobbyists? Not without a major overhaul of the laws regulating them. However, that is nearly impossible to accomplish as congress and their lobbyist pay masters write and control the laws of the land.
Until the American people ACTIVELY DEMAND that their congressional representatives sever their venal relationship with lobbyists, the average citizen will not be served by this government. This is an issue that should unite every worthy political party. But it does not.
If lobbyists can't be banned outright a law should be passed making it illegal for any congressperson to EVER become a lobbyist. This would remove a lot of the conflict of interest between the two groups, as many members of congress use their congressional experience as their training for becoming lobbyists themselves - to make the 'real money', plus what they suck off the lobbyists while in office.
Similarly, all military personnel should be banned from working as lobbyists for military contractors for the same conflicts of interest. Come on, look at the size of our military budget compared to any other country, ever. It's obvious how that happened. Fear mongering translated into non-competitive bids into weapons sales and finally bookoo cash for lobbyists, military contractors and their subordinates (congress/generals/etc.)
Congress is supposed to represent 'the people'. Yet it is clear to all who will look that this is not being done. Ending the control of lobbyists may be the most important thing this country ever does since the constitution was written, unless it is to remain in its present wrongful incarnation of 'By, Of and For The Few'.
The wise Charlie Munger never invests in businesses with conflicts of interest. America won't be a good investment until the gross conflict interest of the lobbying system is abolished and the true competitive environment that made the nation great is restored.
Existing Home Sales Plunge, Despite Government's Help [View article]
Stop tax crediting the oil companies and tax credit alternative energy instead. Logic = Oil running out, dangerous and in hostile hands / Alt energy is perpetual, not dangerous and domestically located. Then use the tax credits to train and put people to work in the alternative energy industry, including producing products for export.
Bring jobs back to our shores with SOME kind of tax on imported goods and/or sign an international minimum wage agreement (The int min wage concept always gets some bullets fired at me; so fire away if you must. Although it will be redundant.).
End the war on drugs, including warehousing people in prison more than any other nation, end the DEA, etc. It's too expensive and doesn't stop drugs - hello. Instead regulate and tax the products. Prohibition didn't work and neither is the drug war working, except for gangsters, especially the ones on the Forbes list.
Bring the military home from each of the 130+ foreign countries they are in at great taxpayer expense for the benefit of military contractors whose lobbyists have fear-mongered us into these places where we have no right being, and bring the military budget down by 2/3. If Korea or anyone else wants mercenaries let them pay an American mercenary provider for the service - that's an industry we're good at - and again tax revenues are produced rather than expenditures. The U.S. taxpayer can no longer and should no longer foot the bill for foreign military ventures. We've got oceans on either side of us and with the troops home we can truly guard the two borders we have. As Jefferson and Washington implored, never engage in foreign conflicts, but trade with all. It is called the defense department, not the offense department. Another benefit of pulling our flag out of the ground of other countries is less terrorism aimed at the U.S. and better relations abroad, including a better business environment.
One way or the other, we must go back to producing products or we will die as a nation. Consumption is NOT a perpetual growth engine. The unintelligent logic of that concept is failing before our eyes. Lack of production is not an option.
We need to stop putting so much emphasis on housing starts. There are more than enough houses now and maybe forever in the U.S. unless we overbreed. The metric should be production of goods for sale domestically and abroad as with the German high-tech production model.
In conclusion, we get the money to re-tool the country by cutting failed government programs that only benefited a small percentage of the population. And in the spirit of Eisenhower, we don't build a tank, but instead build schools, factories or and other productive assets.
3 Reasons Why the Treasury Should Borrow Now to Restructure and Rebuild [View article]
How Will China's Yuan Move Affect the World? [View article]
The End of Cheap Chinese Labor? [View article]
However, when oil goes north of $100/barrel shipping costs begin to tack on more expense than labor and local production thereby becomes advantageous despite higher labor costs.
When Europe, Japan & the U.S. recover, which is not happening now in their current deterioration cycles, the cost of shipping expenses will work to level out the labor market, but for now, besides for exceptional people who can transcend their disadvantaged circumstances, who a person is born to dictates much of their prospects, especially in places where education is difficult to come by.
Wacky Wednesday: Bangkok Burns While Blankfein Moves Up [View article]
Betting Against Inflation With TIPS ETFs [View article]
Fraud: The Western Banking Industry's Fastest Growing Export [View article]
Short Selling Rules: When Will Analysis Replace Rhetoric? [View article]
The uptick rule is passe in our penny and sub-penny trading environment for obvious reasons.
Companies afraid of the legitimate shorting of their stock very likely have deep problems. Otherwise, they would welcome short sellers for giving them good prices to buy back their company stock, which quality companies like to do.
America's Commodity Crisis, 2010 Edition [View article]
Some sort of proactive action is our only hope: "The hunter must hunt before he is hungry." - Chinese Proverb
Mr. Davis does not have a monopoly on proactive ideas, but at least he has one.
Fraud: The Western Banking Industry's Fastest Growing Export [View article]
Go to hard assets soon or in God you must trust.