Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Eurozone Debt Crisis, The Euro Debate Gets Philosophical / Politics / Euro-Zone
By: John_Mauldin
Europe is rapidly approaching the denouement, the Endgame, of its currency experiment. The outcome is not clear, at least to your humble analyst, as the debates rage and there are huge pluses and minuses the 17 nations must decide upon. But the proverbial road down which the can is tumbling and clattering, kicked along haphazardly, is coming to its end, and soon a rather sharp turn, either to the left or to the right, will be required. Let us hope they choose wisely.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The US's Education Bubble / Politics / Education
By: Doug_Horning
Doug Hornig and Alex Daley, Casey Research writes: In the world of finance, there is always talk of bubbles – mortgage bubbles, tech stock bubbles, junk bond bubbles. But bubbles don’t develop only in financial markets. In recent years, there's been another one quietly inflating, not capturing the attention of most observers.
It's an education bubble – just not the one of student debt that has graced the pages of the New York Times and so many other publications in recent months.
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Monday, December 05, 2011
Euro Crisis Destabilizing the U.S. Dollar / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
In response to pressure from Wall Street, the White House and central banks in Europe, the Federal Reserve last week drastically cut interest rates for currency swaps to benefit troubled European banks. This will flood world markets with more dollars and will soon mean rising prices for every American at the grocery store. This extra liquidity will temporarily ease the cash crunch for irresponsible bankers, but in the long run it will make the situation much worse for consumers all over the world. Equities markets registered big gains at the news, but only for a day. Make no mistake - this is not capitalism, and this is not how a free market operates. In a free market, bankruptcies happen, even to large banks. We must remember, free markets are the true and best regulators of financial mismanagement.
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Monday, December 05, 2011
The Evil that is Democratic Thought / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
By: BATR
The mantra that democratic rule exists in the realm of governmental affairs has proven false. The fact that deficit spending is commonplace and acceptable to their populace links the social democracies in a feudal structure that most are unwilling to acknowledge. The practice of debt created bank money underlies every social policy and expenditure. The notion that paying for public projects, based upon popular support and taxes, is extinct. Destroying domestic currencies and obligating future generations to the debt slavery of past failed projects, has replaced the work ethic. Democracies pledge subsidies without labor and security absent of personal freedom.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Congress Finds One Thing It Can Agree On – Spending Your Money / Politics / Government Spending
By: Money_Morning
David Zeiler writes:
Time and time again, a divided Congress has failed to come up with desperately needed solutions to America's debt and budget deficit problems.
But when a major spending bill came along last week, members from all across the political spectrum suddenly found themselves in agreement.
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Monday, December 05, 2011
Finally, Someone Stands Up to Wall Street / Politics / US Politics
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
One of the biggest problems with Wall Street's malfeasance is how the ruling elite view legal settlements - as little more than an acceptable cost of doing business.
Well, no more.
Thanks to Judge Jed Rakoff we may see some real regulatory action leading to good old-fashioned investigations, perp walks, and even jail for the guilty.
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Monday, December 05, 2011
Who Is Winning The War on Wall Street? / Politics / US Politics
By: Danny_Schechter
Wall Street has become a battleground, defended by a battalion of New York Cops, and under surveillance around the clock. There’s a war under way after months of protests and assaults by the non-violent warriors of Occupy Wall Street.
So, who’s winning?
On the surface, despite major layoffs and economic setbacks, you would have to say that the epicenter of our financial markets is alive, if not well. The exchanges and banks remain open for business, even if their costs for security are up, and their long-term optimism is way down.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Is Germany Playing a Saving the Euro-zone Double Game? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: DK_Matai
German chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Europe to “take one big step towards fiscal union” as the price for the European Central Bank's intervention to rescue the weaker member nations. Each Eurozone member has to decide "Yes" or "No" swiftly, whether it considers Germany's terms acceptable. Given the difficulty of complying at short notice, some distinguished ATCA 5000 members wonder privately if Dr Merkel is suggesting one way forward to the Eurozone members, whilst preparing vigorously for Germany's exit on the other hand?
Sunday, December 04, 2011
The Real Reason Why U.S. Unemployment Will Remain High / Politics / Unemployment
By: Mike_Stathis
It took quite a long time for Washington to finally concede something that was apparent; the nation’s excessively high unemployment rate would remain elevated for several years. But their admission has come with a twist.
Instead of pointing to the true reason for this demoralizing reality, establishment economists have offered some ridiculous excuses to account for America’s persistently high unemployment rate. The purpose of this propaganda campaign is to place blame on unemployed workers, rather than address the misguided economic policies established by America’s fascist government.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Is Crony Capitalism Wrong? / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: Janet_Tavakoli
n November 29, 2011, Bloomberg Magazine’s Richard Teitelbaum published an article revealing a secret meeting on July 21, 2008, with then Secretary of the Treasury and former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson and around a dozen hedge-fund managers and Wall Street executives.
Five of the hedge fund managers were former Goldman Sachs employees. The meeting was held at the offices of the founder of hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management, Eric Mindich, a former 15-year employee of Goldman Sachs who rose to be the senior strategy officer of Goldman’s Executive Office. He is also current Chair of the Asset Managers’ Committee of the President’s Working Group on Capital Markets.
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Saturday, December 03, 2011
America's War on Pakistan, Anti-NATO Protests across Pakistan / Politics / Pakistan
By: Rick_Rozoff
Countrywide protests continue against Nato attack
LAHORE: Thousands of people turned out in the streets of Pakistan Friday to denounce the unprovoked Nato attacks of last Saturday that resulted in the deaths of over two dozen Pakistani soldiers.
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Saturday, December 03, 2011
The Fed's 16 Trillion Dollar Bailout of the Too Big To Fail Banks / Politics / Credit Crisis Bailouts
By: LewRockwell
What you are about to read should absolutely astound you. During the last financial crisis, the Federal Reserve secretly conducted the biggest bailout in the history of the world, and the Fed fought in court for several years to keep it a secret. Do you remember the TARP bailout? The American people were absolutely outraged that the federal government spent 700 billion dollars bailing out the "too big to fail" banks. Well, that bailout was pocket change compared to what the Federal Reserve did. As you will see documented below, the Federal Reserve actually handed more than 16 trillion dollars in nearly interest-free money to the "too big to fail" banks between 2007 and 2010. So have you heard about this on the nightly news? Probably not. Lately Bloomberg has been reporting on some of this, but even they are not giving people the whole picture. The American people need to be told about this 16 trillion dollar bailout, because it is a perfect example of why the Federal Reserve needs to be shut down. The Federal Reserve has been actively picking "winners" and "losers" in the financial system, and it turns out that the "friends" of the Fed always get bailed out and always end up among the "winners". This is not how a free market system is supposed to work.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
One Bank to Rule Them All / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mike_Whitney
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve and the central banks of Canada, England, Japan, Switzerland, and Europe launched a coordinated monetary intervention aimed at easing interbank lending in the eurozone. While the emergency action sent stocks into the stratosphere, it did not relieve tensions in the markets or increase trust between the banks. In fact, on Thursday, banks stashed €313.763 billion at the European Central Bank’s overnight deposit facility, a new high for the year. Banks leave money with the ECB overnight when they are too worried about counterparty risk to lend to other banks. At the same time, the amount of money that EU banks are borrowing from the ECB, continues to rise, indicating their inability to raise money in the capital markets. These signs of growing distress show that the hoopla surrounding the central bank action are unwarranted. Conditions in the eurozone continue to deteriorate.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Europe's Crisis is a Bit Perverse / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Andrew_McKillop
The supposedly dominant, supposedly sole possible ideology of market fundamentalism assumes that the most extensive possible use of markets, through inventing or "marketizing" previously non-traded assets, the privatization of publicly owned assets, and the shrinking of public services can only unleash maximal competition. This in turn is assumed to result in and deliver the greatest public good.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Ron Paul on the Origins of the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
The Federal Reserve cartelizes the banking industry, allowing individual banks to inflate together, earning them and the government enormous profits, while making sure that they are never held accountable for their fraudulent practices.
Friday, December 02, 2011
America’s Lost Half Century and the Loss of Values / Politics / US Politics
By: Barry_Elias
Real economic growth in the United States fell precipitously during the last half century.
The reason: A severe values deficit.
During this period, society valued the acquisition of materials in lieu of knowledge and wisdom. The values deficit triggered economic turmoil and the subsequent financial implosion.
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Friday, December 02, 2011
Euro Zone System Crisis Wall Street Backlash? / Politics / Credit Crisis 2011
By: Bob_Chapman
Except for the MF Global scandal Europe still stands at the forefront of world debt problems. Up until now little has been accomplished toward solving these problems and the traditional Christmas season is upon us, which stretches from December 7th, to January 10th, a period in which very little will be accomplished.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Will Higher Oil Prices Save Kyoto? / Politics / Climate Change
By: Andrew_McKillop
If the goal of the Kyoto Treaty was to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, its near-15 year life span of shuffling diplomats, journalists and climate "experts" around the globe in CO2-spewing jetliners for talks, and talks about talks has been a total failure. As a 'Scientific American' blog of November 29 put it: "Japan (is) buying its way out of emissions reductions in 2011—and refusing to sign up for more. The European Union will trade its way into greenhouse gas cuts, whereas Canada—among the globe’s worst emitters on a per capita basis—has decided to break its pledge to reduce. The U.S., the world’s largest (per capita) emitter, has never accepted legally binding targets under international climate treaties. Nor has China, which has gone from being a developing nation to the planet’s biggest source of human-made greenhouse gases in that same time span".
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
It's Time to Overhaul the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: The average American has no idea how protected the big banks in this country really are.
For the most part we don't even blink when we are lied to publicly by their CEOs.
Maybe that's because the biggest bank in the world, the U.S. Federal Reserve, which happens to be a creation of and 100% beholden to the banks that it is a master shill for, also lies to us and covers up Wall Street's misdeeds.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Debunking the Myth that China is Selling U.S. Treasury Securities / Politics / US Bonds
By: Mike_Stathis
For a couple of years now, the extremists, gold bugs, perpetual doomers and others who know more about marketing than economics and investments have used numerous scare tactics as a manner by which to manipulate gold. These individuals like to mention gold manipulation by banks to explain the selloff, but never mention that the manipulation of gold by banks is a normal situation.
In contrast, they never admit that they are manipulation gold pricing through the use of propaganda, scare tactics, myths and even bold-faced lies. This later type of manipulation borders on securities fraud. It is an issue that the SEC must address.
Regardless which one of these prophets of doom you give your attention to, you are likely to hear 10% fact and 90% fiction; if you’re lucky.
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