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 …

Joseph Stiglitz – Globalization and its New Discontents

NEW YORK – Fifteen years ago, I wrote a little book, entitled Globalization and its Discontents, describing growing opposition in the developing world to globalizing reforms. It seemed a mystery: people in developing countries had been told that globalization would increase overall wellbeing. So why had so many people become so hostile to it? Now, globalization’s opponents in the emerging markets and …

Every Single Bloody Market Is Manipulated!

The Credit Market Is Manipulated Giant American banks said they had to be bailed out or else the American economy would crash. It wasn’t just the $700 billion “Tarp” bailout in 2008. In reality, a large portion of the big banks’ profitscome from taxpayer bailouts and subsidies (see this, this and this). At the same time, the big banks have sat on the money the government threw at them – with …

World’s Banks Driving Climate Chaos with Hundreds of Billions in Extreme Energy Financing

Turning their backs on climate science and the consensus of governments and civil society across the globe, the world’s biggest banks are dangerously advancing the climate crisis by pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the world’s most polluting fossil fuel industries, according to a new report published Tuesday. The report, $horting the Climate: Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card 2016 (pdf), put …

Graham Vanbergen – Food speculation – The return of the global hunger games

The leading expert on food at the United Nations says sharp price fluctuations in the price of food has little to do with actual supply. Nowadays, rapacious out-of-control investment backs such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital now dominate food speculation through the commodities markets. They dwarf the amount traded by actual food producers and buyers needlessly tipping millions into …

It is worse than anyone thought on Wall Street

Daniel Pinto, CEO of JPMorgan’s corporate and investment bank, just made a gloomy prediction for Wall Street. He said that the firm’s investment-banking revenues are forecast to be down 25% in the first quarter. Markets revenues are down 20% year-on-year, Pinto said, speaking at JPMorgan’s Investor Day conference. Importantly, Pinto noted, the start to 2015 is a tough comparison period for markets revenues because …

Ben White – What Clinton said in her paid speechesd

NEW YORK — When Hillary Clinton spoke to Goldman Sachs executives and technology titans at a summit in Arizona in October of 2013, she spoke glowingly of the work the bank was doing raising capital and helping create jobs, according to people who saw her remarks. Clinton, who received $225,000 for her appearance, praised the diversity of Goldman’s workforce and …

Goldman Sachs Chief Threatened by ‘Dangerous’ Criticism from Sanders

Just days after a Bernie Sanders campaign ad singled out Goldman Sachs as “one of the Wall Street banks that triggered the financial meltdown,” the head of the global investment banking firm said such criticism is “dangerous.” According to The Hill: Sanders has railed against Wall Street throughout his populist campaign, accusing the sector of ruining the economy and holding down the middle class. …

RALPH NADER – Hillary Clinton should tell the people what she said in her private speeches

Last month as Hillary Clinton was leaving a town meeting in Manchester, Lee Fang of the Intercept asked her if she would release the transcripts of her paid, and very private speeches to Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street powerhouse historically deep in Washington, D.C., influence-peddling. Mrs. Clinton just laughed. It is probably a good bet that her laugh was masking …

Ariel Noyola Rodríguez – Where will the Next Global Economic Crisis Explode? Colossal Stock Market Losses in 2016

The year 2016 has hardly begun and the losses in different stock markets around the world care colossal: nearly 8 trillion US dollars during the first three weeks of January according to the calculations of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The Government of the United States made addicts of investment banks of policies of cheap credit. And now that …