BP is calling in the big guns for help mitigating claims tied to the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The company wants British Prime Minister David Cameron to talk with U.S. officials regarding escalating payment claims, some of which BP says are "fictitious" and increasingly "absurd." The company has set aside more than $8B to cover so-called business economic losses. [View news story]
Obama HATES the Brits & hates the law. (He didn't return the Churchill Bust as a decor statement) Cameron should make a BIG stink out of this. Public shame is the only thing that moves current U.S. leadership.
Mortgage REITs (MORT) catch the eye of D.C., with the Financial Stability Oversight Council reportedly set to cite the industry as a potential source of market vulnerability. The companies have seen assets quadruple to over $400B since 2009, but Annaly (NLY) CEO Wellington Denahan notes their capital bases have risen as well. A Two Harbors (TWO) presentation (page 8) shows mREITs are relatively small players in the MBS market. Maybe the Fed and the GSEs just don't like the competition. Annaly and American Capital (AGNC) are the 2 biggest mREITs, with Two Harbors a distant 3rd. [View news story]
See any elected officials on the FSOC roster?" (from FSOC/Treasury website)
Secretary of the Treasury, who serves as the Chairperson of the Council; Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Comptroller of the Currency (OCC); Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB); Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA); Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); and an independent member with insurance expertise who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term.
The nonvoting members, who serve in an advisory capacity, are:
The Director of the Federal Insurance Office; A state insurance commissioner designated by the state insurance commissioners; A state banking supervisor designated by the state banking supervisors; and A state securities commissioner (or officer performing like functions) designated by the state securities commissioners.
Labor Force Participation Rate Since 1987: Some Eerie Demographic Trends [View article]
70 years ago, you needed a plot, a big family and a tractor to be a "farmer." Farming is now completely capital/science intensive: To survive & compete as a professional farmer you need access to land, science and a load of capital. The moral/spiritual/character shift forced onto people from the (tech) advances we applied starting in the '90 are just now being digested/processed. What happens when medicine says "...if you'd like we can add another 25 years to your life?" It happens gradually, but it's happening today! What are we going to do with those extra 25 years? What makes life worth living? Answer those questions and you'll have investment opportunities for the next generation!
Here's What Happened The Last Time The Fed Owned All Outstanding Treasuries [View article]
Helpful writing Matthew! Fun to note that for all the math and science of economics, much of its impact comes from "communication" and "belief" (sic: perception & PR).
It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned For U.S. And U.K. Depositors [View article]
Yes they will: They have in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal and now Cypress.
They have in America too: GM bondholders; Chrystler bondholders; Leahman investors; robosigning victims....
Just for fun: Find the most rabid-conservative-gun... libertarian you know, and ask them to name the top five people on their "target list" when "things fall apart."
My bet is that they are full of anger and bluster, but can't name off the people responsible for "the decline."
Pretty hard to foment a "revolt" when you can't name your enemy!
It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned For U.S. And U.K. Depositors [View article]
The mistake in all of this is thinking that any leader will follow the 200 years of precedence established in this, or any area of the law. We are now, certainly at the federal level, a facist state, evidenced by the non-use of law (by both republicans and dems alike) in:
Banking meltdown---no convictions/punishment of wrongdoers. Chrystler failure---bondholders hit; pensions made good. GM Failure---shakedown of bondholders. BP ---shakedown of company---no convictions. Robosigning/housing fraud---no convictions. Corzine fraud---no prosecution/everyone "made whole..." Mexican Gun running---no investigation. Bengazi/Syria gun running---no investigation.
The law is now meaningless when everything is a "crisis" where the govt can intervene and do whatever "feels right/fair at the time" So, talk about "the law" fools oneself into believing that laws will apply.
It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned For U.S. And U.K. Depositors [View article]
Brother Tack: It starts in public schools: If they can teach kids social justice rather than math and accounting, you can fire them up with debates about race, fairness, abortion and gun control---while picking their pockets. When you fail to teach values to children your children will not know what to value.
BP asks a federal judge to temporarily halt its ~$8.5B settlement with plaintiffs over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, saying the claims administrator's decisions could give the claimants "windfalls" and that the company could be "irreparably harmed." A judge ruled March 5 that BP must keep paying some compensation in larger amounts and to more parties than the company had anticipated. [View news story]
We have a legal system. Obama bypassed "the law" and turned BP into an endless shakedown via "administrators" and "regulators." No courts, no law, just lots of studies and reviews and payoffs. A new level of American fascism, rivaled only by the bank crisis. (anyone on trial there?)
Australia faces a "massive hit to government revenues" that "will inevitably continue to impact beyond the current year," says Treasurer Wayne Swan. The deficit increased a further A$4.6B ($4.8B) in the first four weeks of 2013 - above Swan's February estimate of A$2B - taking the total shortfall for the first seven months of the fiscal year to A$26.8B. [View news story]
"The markets" meaning USA? On a Monday like this, would you rather "flee" to Shanghai, CAC or NYSE? This might launch "markets" in the USA higher.
"This is a nuclear war on savings and wealth," writes Jefferies' David Zervos of the Cyprus bailout. "This is a policy move you expect from a dictatorial regime ... not in an EU member state. If the EU governments can clandestinely expropriate 7-10% of their (citizens' savings) after the close of business on Friday night, what else are they capable of doing ... Why keep your money at a Spanish or Italian bank when you can jump to Germany or France ... Why even keep money in the EU banking system at all." [View news story]
Does this make, ironically, the USA a "safe haven?"
The minute our "Nobel Peace Prize Winner" launches at Iran, all BHO's "green energy" crap will be out the window. We're in a war, dammit, and we need energy from "all the above!" I'm not sure I'd be selling ANY fossil fuel stocks right now. His "debt crisis" got zero traction, so now he and Biden decide to ratchet up the Iran bogey-man.
BP is calling in the big guns for help mitigating claims tied to the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The company wants British Prime Minister David Cameron to talk with U.S. officials regarding escalating payment claims, some of which BP says are "fictitious" and increasingly "absurd." The company has set aside more than $8B to cover so-called business economic losses. [View news story]
(He didn't return the Churchill Bust as a decor statement)
Cameron should make a BIG stink out of this. Public
shame is the only thing that moves current U.S. leadership.
Mortgage REITs (MORT) catch the eye of D.C., with the Financial Stability Oversight Council reportedly set to cite the industry as a potential source of market vulnerability. The companies have seen assets quadruple to over $400B since 2009, but Annaly (NLY) CEO Wellington Denahan notes their capital bases have risen as well. A Two Harbors (TWO) presentation (page 8) shows mREITs are relatively small players in the MBS market. Maybe the Fed and the GSEs just don't like the competition. Annaly and American Capital (AGNC) are the 2 biggest mREITs, with Two Harbors a distant 3rd. [View news story]
(from FSOC/Treasury website)
Secretary of the Treasury, who serves as the Chairperson of the Council;
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC);
Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB);
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC);
Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC);
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA);
Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); and
an independent member with insurance expertise who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term.
The nonvoting members, who serve in an advisory capacity, are:
The Director of the Federal Insurance Office;
A state insurance commissioner designated by the state insurance commissioners;
A state banking supervisor designated by the state banking supervisors; and
A state securities commissioner (or officer performing like functions) designated by the state securities commissioners.
Can you smell shakedown?
Buying Brand Names In A Bear Market Can Make You Rich [View article]
And it's not "guts" or "stones" or brass.
It's a plan, patience and discipline.
Labor Force Participation Rate Since 1987: Some Eerie Demographic Trends [View article]
Forcing younger workers to compete at a higher level.
Transferring knowledge/experience/v... to younger workers on the job.
Labor Force Participation Rate Since 1987: Some Eerie Demographic Trends [View article]
The moral/spiritual/character shift forced onto people from the (tech) advances we applied starting in the '90 are just now being digested/processed.
What happens when medicine says "...if you'd like we can add another 25 years to your life?" It happens gradually, but it's happening today!
What are we going to do with those extra 25 years?
What makes life worth living?
Answer those questions and you'll have investment opportunities for the next generation!
Here's What Happened The Last Time The Fed Owned All Outstanding Treasuries [View article]
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Elizabeth?
Senator?
It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned For U.S. And U.K. Depositors [View article]
They have in America too: GM bondholders; Chrystler bondholders; Leahman investors; robosigning victims....
Just for fun: Find the most rabid-conservative-gun... libertarian you know, and ask them to name the top five people on their "target list" when "things fall apart."
My bet is that they are full of anger and bluster, but can't name off the people responsible for "the decline."
Pretty hard to foment a "revolt" when you can't name your enemy!
It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned For U.S. And U.K. Depositors [View article]
any leader will follow the 200 years of precedence
established in this, or any area of the law. We are
now, certainly at the federal level, a facist state,
evidenced by the non-use of law (by both republicans and dems alike) in:
Banking meltdown---no convictions/punishment of wrongdoers.
Chrystler failure---bondholders hit; pensions made good.
GM Failure---shakedown of bondholders.
BP ---shakedown of company---no convictions.
Robosigning/housing fraud---no convictions.
Corzine fraud---no prosecution/everyone "made whole..."
Mexican Gun running---no investigation.
Bengazi/Syria gun running---no investigation.
The law is now meaningless when everything is
a "crisis" where the govt can intervene and do whatever
"feels right/fair at the time" So, talk about "the law" fools oneself
into believing that laws will apply.
It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned For U.S. And U.K. Depositors [View article]
It starts in public schools:
If they can teach kids social justice rather than
math and accounting, you can fire them up
with debates about race, fairness, abortion
and gun control---while picking their pockets.
When you fail to teach values to children
your children will not know what to value.
General Electric Shareholders Should Revolt [View article]
Sell the stock!
BP asks a federal judge to temporarily halt its ~$8.5B settlement with plaintiffs over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, saying the claims administrator's decisions could give the claimants "windfalls" and that the company could be "irreparably harmed." A judge ruled March 5 that BP must keep paying some compensation in larger amounts and to more parties than the company had anticipated. [View news story]
Obama bypassed "the law" and turned BP into an endless shakedown via "administrators" and "regulators."
No courts, no law, just lots of studies and reviews and payoffs.
A new level of American fascism, rivaled only by the bank crisis.
(anyone on trial there?)
Australia faces a "massive hit to government revenues" that "will inevitably continue to impact beyond the current year," says Treasurer Wayne Swan. The deficit increased a further A$4.6B ($4.8B) in the first four weeks of 2013 - above Swan's February estimate of A$2B - taking the total shortfall for the first seven months of the fiscal year to A$26.8B. [View news story]
On a Monday like this, would you rather "flee" to
Shanghai, CAC or NYSE?
This might launch "markets" in the USA higher.
"This is a nuclear war on savings and wealth," writes Jefferies' David Zervos of the Cyprus bailout. "This is a policy move you expect from a dictatorial regime ... not in an EU member state. If the EU governments can clandestinely expropriate 7-10% of their (citizens' savings) after the close of business on Friday night, what else are they capable of doing ... Why keep your money at a Spanish or Italian bank when you can jump to Germany or France ... Why even keep money in the EU banking system at all." [View news story]
Coal Is Dead [View article]