Central Banking As An Engine Of Corruption April 3, 2021
Thomas J. DiLorenzo
Much has been written about the famous debate between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton over the constitutionality of America’s first central bank, the Bank of the United States (BUS). This was where Jefferson, as secretary of state, enunciated his “strict constructionist” view of the Constitution, making his case to President George Washington that since a central bank was not one of the powers specifically delegated by the states to the central government, and since the idea was explicitly rejected by the constitutional convention, a central bank is unconstitutional.
Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton notoriously responded by inventing the notion of “implied” as opposed to enumerated powers of the Constitution.
George Washington signed legislation creating the BUS not because of the strength of Hamilton’s argument but because of a shady political deal. The nation’s capital was being relocated from New York to Virginia, and Washington wanted the border of the new District of Columbia to abut his property at Mount Vernon. In return for a redrawing of the district’s border, Washington signed the Federalist’s legislation creating the BUS.
Bill Holter’s Commentary As the saying goes…”you have been warned!”
Feds Warn Mortgage Firms: “Tidal Wave Of Distress” Coming As Forbearance Programs Set To Lapse
April 3, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned mortgage firms Thursday “to take all necessary steps now to prevent a wave of avoidable foreclosures this fall.”
As of March 30, approximately 2.54 million homeowners remain in forbearance or about 4.8% of all mortgages, according to the latest data from Black Knight’s McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker.
Is this “collateral” down 60% in value over the last year? Use your head people!
NJ Mall Didn’t Pay Electric Bill, May Lose Power: Reports March 23, 2021
NEW JERSEY — A New Jersey mall reportedly could lose power because it didn’t pay its electric bill.
Atlantic City Electric posted a notice to the entrance of Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing this week notifying the owners that electric service will be disconnected April 7 unless overdue bills are paid, according to NJ Advance Media and The Press of Atlantic City.
Sitrep: The Unipolar Moment Is Over; The Multipolar Moment Is Here March 22, 2021
By Chris Faure for the Saker Blog
Shortly after Mr.Biden characterising Mr.Putin as a killer and more, Mr.Putin invited Biden for a public and live online discussion, saying that it would be beneficial for both the N.American as well as the Russian people.
This morning we find this bluntly devastating shot across the bows from the Russian Foreign Affairs ministry.
The final sentence, not included in the image, reads as follows: “Responsibility for this lies entirely with the United States.”
Setting this in context, the contrast between Mr.Lavov’s ongoing visit to China, and the so-called ‘strategic’ meeting between the United States and China at the end of last week, cannot be more stark.
What Is The Shipping Container Shortage Telling Us About The Economy? March 18, 2021
Via SchiffGold.com,
As Peter Schiff pointed out during a recent interview with NTD News, America has never done worse on trade. He called it a sign that we don’t have a recovering economy. In fact, we have a phony economy in danger of collapse.
The annual trade deficit for goods came in at an all-time high in January, increasing $3.4 billion to a record $221.1 billion. In another sign of the massive trade imbalance, there is a shortage of shipping containers to bring things into the US.
In a nutshell, the Federal Reserve is printing money and the US government is giving it to unemployed people who aren’t producing anything. As Peter pointed out, “They’re buying the stuff that people in other countries are employed making.”
So, it’s the productivity of the rest of the world that Americans are living off of, and the trade deficit evidences that and shows you that our whole economy, our whole recovery, is a fraud.”
Economic research assistant Weimin Chen says stresses on the world’s shipping infrastructure uncover additional clues about the economic outlook in the US.
Sadly, everything financial sits upon a foundation of “credit”.
Repo Chaos Continues: “Market Just Doesn’t Know Where To Price The 10-Year” March 8, 2021
The Federal Reserve and Jay Powell want to pretend that all is well with the repo market, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Last Thursday, we presented to our readers the latest repo market data showing just how broken and inverted the traditional fund flows surrounding the world’s “most liquid” and important security had become in “Historic Repo Market Insanity: 10Y Treasury Trades At -4% In Repo Ahead Of Monster Short Squeeze.” One day later, the chaos got even worse as discussed in “10Y Treasury Hits A Stunning -4.25% In Repo As Yields Blow Out.” Very simply, this meant that an investor in the repo market lending money so others could short the 10Y would end up paying rather than getting paid. As we explained said “this is a clear breach of one of the most fundamental relationships in the repo market, where lenders of cash always get paid – however little – in order to make a more liquid and efficient market.”
The repo rate sliding far below the “fails charge” of 3.00% which is viewed as the lowest theoretical level where dealers are punished for not delivering a 10Y Treasury i.e., there is a delivery “fail”, was striking but what was even more striking is that the recent repo crunch has been surpassed just once in history: when the 10Y hit a record low repo print of -5.75% during the fear and loathing of the covid crash chaos on 3/13/20, when the Treasury bond market essentially broke down for several hours.
Always remember, one man’s asset…is someone else’s liability!
Calling The Holdings Of Central Banks “Assets” Is A Travesty February 17, 2021
Akhlys, the Greek goddess of Misery and Poison, is exerting a major influence on the world currently. And sadly the dosage of misery and poison will increase in coming months and years.
What is now crystal clear is that this excess dose of fake assets and fake liabilities will totally poison the financial system and the world economy.
As Paracelsus, the renowned 16th century Swiss physician said; “all things are poison, it is the dosage that makes it either a poison or a remedy.”
When a world already in trouble was hit by a severe financial crisis in September 2019, the dose of debt was already excessive. But as the Fed and the ECB opened the money spigots fully, they filled the world with poisoned or fake money. The BY team (Biden & Yellen) will now be certain to finish this process with their profligate spending plans.
MAJOR CENTRAL BANKS BALANCE SHEETS UP 6X SINCE 2006
The financial system has been poisoned for decades by governments’ excess spending and central banks’ prodigal printing of toxic and worthless money.
And now, with Covid, they have the perfect excuse to senselessly create trillions of dollars, euros, yuan or yen. The world doesn’t realise that this money, fabricated by pressing a button, is no different from the Monopoly board game money.
This article explains why the successor money to failing fiat is gold, not cryptocurrencies. Cryptos can only act as stores of value so long as fiat exists. I describe how a world transacting with monetary gold and properly constituted gold substitutes works. It explains how and why unbacked bank credit expansion, which in natural Roman law was ruled to be fraudulent 1,800 years ago, can and should be eliminated in a post-fiat world, thereby ending destructive credit cycles.
Gold exchange standards, which are comprised of gold-backed money administered by the state, worked extremely well when properly implemented, and it is the siren songs of inflationism that are at the root of the current crisis. If the transition from worthless fiat back to gold standards is handled properly, an initial recovery to fully functioning economies need not take more than a year or so.
The pressure on future governments to reject inflationism in favour of free markets and sound money should not be underestimated. It is not rocket science. All we need are politicians in whose interests it is to see the light and have the determination to take their electorates with them. It will require them to hand back to individuals the responsibility for their own actions, enabling the requisite cuts in government responsibilities and expenditures to be made.
The Buffett Indicator at All-Time Highs: Is This Cause for Concern? February 17, 2021
Buffett Indicator at All-Time Highs: A Cause for Concern?
In 2001, Warren Buffett famously described the stock market capitalization-to-GDP ratio as “the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment.”
This ratio, now commonly known as the Buffett Indicator, compares the size of the stock market to that of the economy. A high ratio indicates an overvalued market—and as of February 11, 2021, the ratio has reached all-time highs, indicating that the U.S. stock market is currently strongly overvalued.
Today’s graphic by Current Market Valuation (CMV) provides an overview of how the Buffett Indicator has changed since 1950. We’ll also explain how the ratio is calculated, and why things might not be as dire as seem.
The Buffet Indicator, Explained
Before diving into the data, let’s cover the basics—what is the Buffett Indicator, and how is its value calculated?
The Buffett Indicator is a ratio used by investors to gauge whether the market is undervalued, fair valued, or overvalued. The ratio is measured by dividing the collective value of a country’s stock market by the nation’s GDP.
