Nafeez Ahmed – Is an Economic Oil Crash Around the Corner?

A report by HSBC shows that contrary to industry mythology, even amidst the glut of unconventional oil and gas, the vast bulk of the world’s oil production has already peaked and is now in decline, while European government scientists show that the value of energy produced by oil has declined by half within the first 15 years of the 21st century. …

The Hot New Millennial Housing Trend Is a Repeat of the Middle Ages

For most of human history, people were hunter-gatherers. They lived in large camps, depending on one another for food, childcare, and everything else—all without walls, doors, or picket fences. In comparison, the number of people living in most households in today’s developed countries is quite small. According to the Census Bureau, fewer than three people lived in the average American household in …

Michael Snyder – Undeniable Evidence That The Real Economy Is Already In Recession Mode

You are about to see a chart that is undeniable evidence that we have already entered a major economic slowdown.  In the “real economy”, stuff is bought and sold and shipped around the country by trucks, railroads and planes.  When more stuff is being bought and sold and shipped around the country, the “real economy” is growing, and when less …

Alternative Visions – Growing ‘System Fragility’ in the Global Economy, Part 1: The Dead Cat Bounce Recover – 12.11.15

Jack takes a look at the key economic developments of the past week, and then provides the first of a several part analysis this month of the global economy explaining why it is becoming more unstable, both financially and economically—i.e. more ‘systemically fragile’. The analysis of the global economy is based on his just released new book, ‘Systemic Fragility in the Global Economy’ by Clarity Press. (see Jack’s blog, jackrasmus.com, where and how to order). Part 1 on today’s show identifies nine major anomalies that have appeared in the global economy today that mainstream economists can’t or don’t answer—which the new book attempts to explain. Jack reviews chapters 1 and 2, on the topic of the ‘dead cat bounce’ temporary recovery that began 2010-2013 in China and emerging market economies, which has been in decline once again since 2014. Stagnation in Europe and Japan, slow growth in the US, and ‘hard landings’ coming in China and emerging markets are now the prospect, after the ‘dead cat’ global economy has had its bounce. The ‘week in review’ commentary on the show addresses the renewed global oil price decline, junk bond fund defaults, China’s Yuan as global currency, Japan’s falsified GDP revisions, Yahoo’s effort to avoid paying $10 billion in US taxes, and the US Senate’s posturing about pharmaceutical drug company price rip-offs.

Listeners interested in enrolling in an online 8-week course starting in January on Jack’s new book, provided by the progressive-left ‘World Institute for Social Change’ (WISC) ‘Z School’, should check out the WISC website at:https://zcomm.org/zschool/moodle/ for more information. Free copies of the first two chapters of the book are available at the site.

James Howard Kunstler – Say Goodbye to Normal

The  tremors rattling markets are not exactly what they seem to be. A meme prevails that these movements represent a kind of financial peristalsis — regular wavelike workings of eternal progress toward an epic more of everything, especially profits! You can forget the supposedly “normal” cycles of the techno-industrial arrangement, which means, in particular, the business cycle of the standard economics textbooks. …

Lauren McCauley – Greece for Sale: First Wave of Privatization Begins with Airport Buyout

Germany’s approval of Greece’s third bailout of €86 billion on Wednesday marked what critics of austerity warn is a new phase in the ongoing economic crisis: the privatization of the country’s most valuable assets. Under the terms of this latest agreement, Greece’s Syriza government—backtracking on some of its key campaign promises—agreed to sell-off €50 billion in state property. In a …

Sydney Morning Herald – Why Italy is the most likely country to leave the euro

What do you call a country that has grown 4.6 per cent – in total – since it joined the euro 16 years ago? Well, probably the one most likely to leave the common currency. Or Italy, for short. It’s hard to say what went wrong with Italy, because nothing ever went right. It grew 4 per cent its first year …

US home ownership rate hits lowest level in two decades By Andre Damon

The economic recession that began with the collapse of the housing market in 2007 officially came to an end in June 2009—more than six years ago. But by most indications, American households are significantly worse off than they were at the depth of the downturn. Despite the drop in the official unemployment rate, household incomes have fallen, wages have stagnated …

US Economy Collapses Again – JACK RASMUS

Data released last week by the U.S. government showed the U.S. economy came to a near halt in the first three months of 2015, falling to nearly zero – i.e. a mere 0.2 percent annual growth rate for the January-March quarter. The collapse was the fourth time that the U.S. economy in the past four years either came to a …

Chief Economist for One of the World’s Largest Banks: “The World Economy Is Like An Ocean Liner Without Lifeboats. If Another Recession Hits, It Could Be A Truly Titanic Struggle For Policymakers”

HSBC is the world’s largest bank outside of the U.S. and China, the largest in the UK, and the 9th largest bank in the world overall. HSBC’s chief economist Stephen King wrote today in a note to clients: The world economy is like an ocean liner without lifeboats. If another recession hits, it could be a truly titanic struggle for policymakers. King notes: …