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Thought For The Day

The cost for a Greek bailout to the citizens of the US via the IMF will be $100 billion.

Now there is a nice addition to the Federal Budget Deficit.

 

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Are you joining me on the non-corporate delegation to Tanzania to examine investment opportunities?

AFDB predicts fastest recovery of Tanzanian economy in East Africa
REGIONAL BANK BELIEVES THAT POLICY CHANGES IN MANY COUNTRIES HAVE CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT FAVORABLE TO MORE INTERNAL AND FOREIGN PRIVATE INVESTMENT
SPECIAL REPORT BY XINHUA CORRESPONDENT GUO CHUNJU

DAR ES SALAAM (Xinhua) — Tanzania is expected to experience the biggest economy expansion in East Africa this year, the African Development Bank (AFDB) has projected.

The second largest economy in East Africa’s economy is forecast to grow at 5.7 per cent, while Uganda and Rwanda to expand by 5.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively, the local media on Thursday quoted the AFDB projections as saying.

Kenya, the regional largest economy, is expected to grow by 4.3 per cent while Burundi’s economy will accelerate by 3.2 per cent, the AFDB said.

The regional bank believes that policy changes in many countries have created an environment favorable to more internal and foreign private investment.

AFDB President Donald Kaberuka said that the outlook for continuing growth in 2010 is extremely promising if the world economy and world trade continue to recover, and oil and non-oil commodity prices remain close to current levels, with a projected almost 6 percent rate of the pre-crisis period.

He noted the similarities of contemporary African landscape with that of Asia a few decades ago with an increasing number of investors willing to take advantage of countless opportunities in Africa and a fast-growing middle class.

The AFDB projected that the picking up of Tanzania’s growth in the aftermath of the global economic crisis would steer back the country into the unprecedented growth of the past decade that averaged seven percent.

Commenting on the AFDB’s estimates, Tanzania Private Sector Foundation Executive Director Evans Rweikiza said Tanzania needed to bank on agriculture for sustainable growth.

He pointed out that improving agriculture would mean a better life for the majority of Tanzanians, whose livelihoods are closely tied to farming, calling for the extending of the free market principles to agriculture.

More… ^[2]

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

John Williams is correct. Consider subscribing.

- GDP Growth Lacks Sustainability 
- Economic and Systemic Risks Intensify

"No. 294: First-Quarter GDP, Mounting Systemic Risks"
http://www.shadowstats.com ^[3]

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

These are as scary as Friday’s bankruptcies. Thanks to JB Slear, our "Bullion Delivery Man."

Enforcement Actions
Legal actions by the Board and written agreements approved by the Federal Reserve Banks

April 29, 2010 ^[4]
Written agreement with Coast Bancorp

April 29, 2010 ^[5]
Written agreement with FMB Equibanc

April 27, 2010 ^[6]
Written agreement with Liberty Financial Group, Inc.

April 27, 2010 ^[7]
Written agreement with Sun West Capital Corporation

April 26, 2010 ^[8]
Written agreement with East Dubuque Bancshares and East Dubuque Savings Bank

More… ^[9]

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Lets here a round of applause for the accomplishments of those that recently said "We are doing the work of God."

Chicago-area foreclosure auctions hit new high

More than 9,300 homeowners lost properties last quarter
By Mary Ellen Podmolik, Tribune reporter
April 29, 2010

More Chicago-area homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure in the first three months of the year than in any quarter in the past five years. This disturbing statistic raises doubts about the effectiveness of mortgage loan modification efforts and could put more downward pressure on property values.

Within the six-county Chicago region during the first quarter, 9,302 homes went through a court-ordered auction, the last step in the foreclosure process, and 95 percent of those properties were taken back by lenders. Within the city of Chicago, almost 3,500 homes went to auction, and 95 percent of those also became bank-owned, according to data to be released Thursday by Woodstock Institute, a Chicago-based think tank.

A portion of the increase in auctions can be attributed to various moratoriums lenders put in place during the holiday season and while they evaluated homeowners either for the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program or their own internal programs. However, it appears clear lenders are now stepping up efforts to push properties through the foreclosure system as homeowners fail to qualify for loan modifications or default again.

More than half of all loan modifications fell 60 days or more past due by nine months after the initial modification, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in a report last month on fourth-quarter mortgage performance.

Lenders "put a halt on the process, but did it help [borrowers] in the end?" said Geoff Smith, Woodstock Institute’s senior vice president. "Are these foreclosure prevention programs working? If HAMP was working, you’d have less completed foreclosures. More people lost their homes. That’s undisputed."

More… ^[10]

Down with ‘Too Big to Fail’: Angry Americans march on Wall Street..

 

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Roubini is everywhere every day, however this is so correct it had to be posted.

U.S is in worst shape than Greece! Nouriel Roubini Discusses U.S.. Government Deficits-

 

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Remember "We are doing the work of God?"

Banks must defend against bid rigging charges. ^[11]
A judge ruled that Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and several other high-profile banks will have to defend themselves against allegations that they conspired to rig bids for municipal investment contracts and derivatives. Fifteen California cities and counties brought the suit against more than 40 corporate defendants. AIG’s (AIG) financial arm and a GE (GE) unit were among several companies that won a dismissal of the civil lawsuits brought in 2008.

Goldman faces criminal probe. ^[12]
Federal prosecutors have reportedly opened a criminal probe into whether Goldman Sachs (GS) or its employees committed securities fraud connected to mortgage trading. The investigation is still in preliminary stages, but raises the legal stakes for Goldman and is said to focus on different evidence than that being used in the SEC’s civil case. Meanwhile, sources said Goldman may soon settle its fraud case with the SEC. The SEC has an "unlimited supply of ammunition" in the form of e-mails and records it could release, and Goldman doesn’t want those documents aired in public.

 

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Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Gold is the only currency with no liability attached to it and is universally acceptable.

Gold has always acted as a storehouse of value and medium of exchange.

Debt misery helps gussy up gold’s appeal
Is investors’ faith in the precious metal justified?
April 30, 2010, 7:00 a.m. EDT

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — As debt problems in Europe intensify, gold’s ready to fly to investors’ rescue, but in a world of uncertainty, those investors want to know if they can safely put their trust in expectations for a significant climb in the metal’s prices.

Gold certainly has the strength and incentive to do what’s expected. Futures prices for the metal have gained around 5% in a month, and they’ve been making a gradual climb since early February toward the record front-month price of more than $1,226 an ounce seen in early December 2009.

"The primary factor likely to lead to higher gold prices is the combination of safe-haven investor demand and pension and central-bank diversification into gold," said Mark O’Byrne, director at GoldCore. And "the real risks of a sovereign debt crisis and an international currency crisis are likely to make this demand remain robust for the foreseeable future."

Those sovereign debt risks multiplied Tuesday when Standard & Poor’s cut its credit rating on Greece to "junk" status and lowered Portugal’s long-term rating by two notches.

More… ^[14]

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

33 states of the USA are headed for bankruptcy.

Ravitch: New York Deficit Could Swell to $15 Billion Next Year
by Bob Hennelly

NEW YORK, NY April 29, 2010 —New York’s $9.2 billion budget deficit is expected to balloon to $15 billion next year, according to Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch.

Speaking to a midtown audience of real estate developers, Ravitch said he does not expect the state to reach a budget deal any time soon, despite the state’s desperate fiscal situation. The budget is nearly one month late and Ravitch says there are no external triggers forcing lawmakers and the governor to act.

"States can’t go into bankruptcy. They are not included in the bankruptcy code," he says.

Today’s outlook is different from the city’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s when the state couldn’t find any lenders. Instead, he says, bankers are circling Albany with tempting offers.

"The financial community is ready to lend the state all kinds of money. They have 20-odd schemes they are suggesting about how the state can borrow money," Ravitch says.

More… ^[15]

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

I am amazed that CNN covered this.

Next thing you know they will be revealing the existence of tea parties.

Protesters descend on Wall Street, New York City banks
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 30, 2010 12:48 a.m. EDT

New York (CNN) — Protesters rallied in downtown New York City Thursday to voice their anger over what they perceive as the roles Wall Street and big banks played in America’s economic crisis.

Marching from City Hall to Wall Street, the protesters chanted "good jobs for all," and held signs with messages including "Hold banks accountable," "Make Wall Street Pay," and "Reclaim America."

Marching from City Hall to Wall Street, the protesters chanted "good jobs for all," and held signs with messages including "Hold banks accountable," "Make Wall Street Pay," and "Reclaim America."

The AFL-CIO organized the rally, and union President Richard Trumka addressed the crowd, saying, "How long will we allow the spirit of greed to continue to drive us into economic holes?"

The National Action Network, a group that was involved in organizing the protest, said in a news release that demonstrators represented unemployed workers, foreclosure victims and community activists.

Protester Gerard Pettine said he just wants Wall Street to be held accountable for its involvement in the economic collapse.

More… ^[16]

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

This is one more low for US corporate culture. GM must think it can fool the public, and then the head honcho advertises it.

We need a Car Fax on anything Motors says.

As goes GM so goes America is once again proven.

GM Under Fire for ‘Misleading’ Bailout Ad
GM CEO Boasts TARP Repayment in TV Commercial; Critics Say Money Came From Other Bailout Funds
By MATTHEW JAFFE and ALICE GOMSTYN
April 30, 2010

The Obama administration is concerned about a new General Motors commercial in which the bailed-out automaker touts last week’s repayment of the remaining $4.7 billion that it owed to the government from funds it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

In the commercial, the automaker’s CEO, Ed Whitacre, boasts that it has repaid its "government loan in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule."

That sounds great, but that’s not exactly true, warned Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Thursday.

At a Senate subcommittee hearing, Collins told Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that the ad seems "very misleading," citing bailout watchdog Neil Barofsky’s comments that GM had simply used one pot of bailout money to repay another.

More… ^[17]