Alternative Visions – Debunking the Hype of Rising Wages – 07.28.17

Dr. Rasmus initially comments on the continuing slowdown of prices and the Federal Reserve’s 9 year long phony targeting of 2% inflation.  Rasmus reviews his just published article in the European Financial Review, “The Limits of Central Banks’ Emerging Policy Shift” (available on his blog, jackrasmus.com) and what’s next after the Fed’s Jackson Hole gathering in late August. Next a comment …

Alternative Visions – US Fed Raises Rates Again + Part 3: Central Bankers at the End of their Ropes – 06.16.17

Dr. Rasmus reviews the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike decision this past week, showing how the Fed’s justifications for the rate hike based on ‘data’ are contradictory. How the data show no hike was justified. Rasmus explains how the Fed has been manipulating reporting the data on prices, unemployment and wages in order to justify 8 years of zero rate …

Breaking Up the Big Banks is Easy

Steve Eisman, the hedge fund manager of Big Short fame, argued against breaking up the big banks in a NYT column today. His basic argument is that we now have things under control because the regulators have effectively limited the banks’ ability to leverage themselves. He also says that even if we wanted to break up the banks, we don’t know how to do …

Fed Quietly Revises Total US Debt From 330% To 350% Of GDP, After “Discovering” Another $2.7 Trillion In Debt

Everyone has seen the chart of “Total Credit Market Instruments“, which as of its most recent update on March 31, 2015, was just over $59 trillion, or 330% of US GDP. For those who have not seen it, as well as for those who are familiar with this chart, take a long look, because this is the last update of …

Mike Whitney – Markets Gone Mad

Imagine your doctor put you on a daily dose of oxycontin, phenobarbital and Quaaludes for six years straight. Then he suddenly cancelled your prescription. Do you think your behavior might become a bit erratic? This is what’s going on with the stock market. It’s trying to shake off six years of overmedication brought on by the Fed’s zero rates and …

John Ficene – China currency devaluation signals endgame leaving equity markets free to collapse under the weight of impossible expectations

When the banking crisis crippled global markets seven years ago, central bankers stepped in as lenders of last resort. Profligate private-sector loans were moved on to the public-sector balance sheet and vast money-printing gave the global economy room to heal. Time is now rapidly running out. From China to Brazil, the central banks have lost control and at the same …

OECD report documents growth of financial parasitism By Nick Beams

A report issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last Wednesday is confirmation that the financial crisis of 2008 was not a temporary downturn in the world economy, but arose from fundamental contradictions at the very heart of the global capitalist system. Seven years on, those contradictions are deepening. They have been exacerbated by the policy pursued …