Jim Grant: “From Bear to Bull” – WSJ 9/19/09

[4plexowner]

Jim Grant: Ringing the Bell at the Top?
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/09/jim-grant-ringing-the-bell-at-the-top/

Barry Ritholtz’s commentary on Jim Grant’s missive:

“Unfortunately, his rationale is weak, if not totally wrong. For the most part, his argument rests on the premise that, historically at least, strong recoveries have followed severe contractions.

Aside from discounting the fact that there are aspects to the current unraveling that are historically unique and extraordinarily unsettling (e.g., total credit market debt relative to gross domestic product is well beyond anything this country has ever witnessed), Mr. Grant makes a number of curious assertions.

For one thing, he assumes that the current downturn is near its nadir, instead of a temporary floor built on a massive stimulus injection and a knee-jerk bout of inventory restocking. ”

…

“As I’m sure Mr. Grant is aware, Professors Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff have published a research paper, “The Aftermath of Financial Crises,” based on data going back more than a century, which concluded that post-crisis downturns tend to be “protracted affairs.””

[Arraya]

Given what Mr. Grant has just written, I can only ask: Did one of the world’s best known bears just ring the bell at the top of the great dead cat bounce?

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
There’s a theory that one way to tell when a market rally may end is to look at how many pessimists have turned optimist (it works in reverse as well). At the rally’s peak, many will have turned that would never be expected to. Investor Jim Grant is seen as a real bear, and he’s just turned bullish. Does that mean the really is over? Well, it’s not that simple of course, it’s just a theory after all, but it’s getting interesting. And there’s no doubt that markets often turn when just about everyone has started donning a party-hat first thing in the morning. The larger the herd is, the more it behaves like one.

Michael Panzner says this about Jim Grant’s “rebirth”, which sums up my reservations as well:
Jim Grant: Ringing the Bell at the Top?
Aside from discounting the fact that there are aspects to the current unraveling that are historically unique and extraordinarily unsettling (e.g., total credit market debt relative to gross domestic product is well beyond anything this country has ever witnessed), Mr. Grant makes a number of curious assertions.

For one thing, he assumes that the current downturn is near its nadir, instead of a temporary floor built on a massive stimulus injection and a knee-jerk bout of inventory restocking. Among logicians, such an analytical approach might be described as “begging the question.”

As you may have gathered by now, I’m way behind the curve on this one. I’m even still trying to figure out what on earth there is to be bullish about. Now, there is of course little or nothing rational about herd behavior. But those inside the herd will try to rationalize their way into their new-found position regardless, so let’s see if we can reason ourselves into some sense of it all.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept09/propaganda09-09.html

Now the Fed and Treasury have thrown their last best assets–trillions of dollars in newly created money, new Treasury bonds and trillions more in guarantees–in a last-ditch offensive against debt/credit destruction.
They are also waging a relentless propaganda war on the American public, trying to convince them that the last decade of exponential-credit-expansion “prosperity” is sustainable. One of their chief weapons is the stock market “rally” which is being supported by their Financial Dictatorship allies in China, Japan and Europe, all of whom have similarly thrown their last best assets into the “final battle” for victory.
Thus global stock markets are moving upward in a manufactured perfect unison.
Beneath the screaming propaganda campaign declaring victory, the financial casualties mount: 5 million homes in the foreclosure pipeline, 16% unemployment, household wealth down a third, credit card write-offs are surging and not a single driver of future growth in sight….
Sorry, Financial Dictatorship: the weather has turned, and reality is preparing a counterattack on your magical thinking propaganda offensive. Reality is gathering its forces and your pathetic “charm offensive” will be revealed for what it is–blatant propaganda–within the next 12 months.

[Arraya]

Given what Mr. Grant has just written, I can only ask: Did one of the world’s best known bears just ring the bell at the top of the great dead cat bounce?

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
There’s a theory that one way to tell when a market rally may end is to look at how many pessimists have turned optimist (it works in reverse as well). At the rally’s peak, many will have turned that would never be expected to. Investor Jim Grant is seen as a real bear, and he’s just turned bullish. Does that mean the really is over? Well, it’s not that simple of course, it’s just a theory after all, but it’s getting interesting. And there’s no doubt that markets often turn when just about everyone has started donning a party-hat first thing in the morning. The larger the herd is, the more it behaves like one.

Michael Panzner says this about Jim Grant’s “rebirth”, which sums up my reservations as well:
Jim Grant: Ringing the Bell at the Top?
Aside from discounting the fact that there are aspects to the current unraveling that are historically unique and extraordinarily unsettling (e.g., total credit market debt relative to gross domestic product is well beyond anything this country has ever witnessed), Mr. Grant makes a number of curious assertions.

For one thing, he assumes that the current downturn is near its nadir, instead of a temporary floor built on a massive stimulus injection and a knee-jerk bout of inventory restocking. Among logicians, such an analytical approach might be described as “begging the question.”

As you may have gathered by now, I’m way behind the curve on this one. I’m even still trying to figure out what on earth there is to be bullish about. Now, there is of course little or nothing rational about herd behavior. But those inside the herd will try to rationalize their way into their new-found position regardless, so let’s see if we can reason ourselves into some sense of it all.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept09/propaganda09-09.html

Now the Fed and Treasury have thrown their last best assets–trillions of dollars in newly created money, new Treasury bonds and trillions more in guarantees–in a last-ditch offensive against debt/credit destruction.
They are also waging a relentless propaganda war on the American public, trying to convince them that the last decade of exponential-credit-expansion “prosperity” is sustainable. One of their chief weapons is the stock market “rally” which is being supported by their Financial Dictatorship allies in China, Japan and Europe, all of whom have similarly thrown their last best assets into the “final battle” for victory.
Thus global stock markets are moving upward in a manufactured perfect unison.
Beneath the screaming propaganda campaign declaring victory, the financial casualties mount: 5 million homes in the foreclosure pipeline, 16% unemployment, household wealth down a third, credit card write-offs are surging and not a single driver of future growth in sight….
Sorry, Financial Dictatorship: the weather has turned, and reality is preparing a counterattack on your magical thinking propaganda offensive. Reality is gathering its forces and your pathetic “charm offensive” will be revealed for what it is–blatant propaganda–within the next 12 months.

[Arraya]

Given what Mr. Grant has just written, I can only ask: Did one of the world’s best known bears just ring the bell at the top of the great dead cat bounce?

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
There’s a theory that one way to tell when a market rally may end is to look at how many pessimists have turned optimist (it works in reverse as well). At the rally’s peak, many will have turned that would never be expected to. Investor Jim Grant is seen as a real bear, and he’s just turned bullish. Does that mean the really is over? Well, it’s not that simple of course, it’s just a theory after all, but it’s getting interesting. And there’s no doubt that markets often turn when just about everyone has started donning a party-hat first thing in the morning. The larger the herd is, the more it behaves like one.

Michael Panzner says this about Jim Grant’s “rebirth”, which sums up my reservations as well:
Jim Grant: Ringing the Bell at the Top?
Aside from discounting the fact that there are aspects to the current unraveling that are historically unique and extraordinarily unsettling (e.g., total credit market debt relative to gross domestic product is well beyond anything this country has ever witnessed), Mr. Grant makes a number of curious assertions.

For one thing, he assumes that the current downturn is near its nadir, instead of a temporary floor built on a massive stimulus injection and a knee-jerk bout of inventory restocking. Among logicians, such an analytical approach might be described as “begging the question.”

As you may have gathered by now, I’m way behind the curve on this one. I’m even still trying to figure out what on earth there is to be bullish about. Now, there is of course little or nothing rational about herd behavior. But those inside the herd will try to rationalize their way into their new-found position regardless, so let’s see if we can reason ourselves into some sense of it all.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept09/propaganda09-09.html

Now the Fed and Treasury have thrown their last best assets–trillions of dollars in newly created money, new Treasury bonds and trillions more in guarantees–in a last-ditch offensive against debt/credit destruction.
They are also waging a relentless propaganda war on the American public, trying to convince them that the last decade of exponential-credit-expansion “prosperity” is sustainable. One of their chief weapons is the stock market “rally” which is being supported by their Financial Dictatorship allies in China, Japan and Europe, all of whom have similarly thrown their last best assets into the “final battle” for victory.
Thus global stock markets are moving upward in a manufactured perfect unison.
Beneath the screaming propaganda campaign declaring victory, the financial casualties mount: 5 million homes in the foreclosure pipeline, 16% unemployment, household wealth down a third, credit card write-offs are surging and not a single driver of future growth in sight….
Sorry, Financial Dictatorship: the weather has turned, and reality is preparing a counterattack on your magical thinking propaganda offensive. Reality is gathering its forces and your pathetic “charm offensive” will be revealed for what it is–blatant propaganda–within the next 12 months.

[Arraya]

Given what Mr. Grant has just written, I can only ask: Did one of the world’s best known bears just ring the bell at the top of the great dead cat bounce?

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
There’s a theory that one way to tell when a market rally may end is to look at how many pessimists have turned optimist (it works in reverse as well). At the rally’s peak, many will have turned that would never be expected to. Investor Jim Grant is seen as a real bear, and he’s just turned bullish. Does that mean the really is over? Well, it’s not that simple of course, it’s just a theory after all, but it’s getting interesting. And there’s no doubt that markets often turn when just about everyone has started donning a party-hat first thing in the morning. The larger the herd is, the more it behaves like one.

Michael Panzner says this about Jim Grant’s “rebirth”, which sums up my reservations as well:
Jim Grant: Ringing the Bell at the Top?
Aside from discounting the fact that there are aspects to the current unraveling that are historically unique and extraordinarily unsettling (e.g., total credit market debt relative to gross domestic product is well beyond anything this country has ever witnessed), Mr. Grant makes a number of curious assertions.

For one thing, he assumes that the current downturn is near its nadir, instead of a temporary floor built on a massive stimulus injection and a knee-jerk bout of inventory restocking. Among logicians, such an analytical approach might be described as “begging the question.”

As you may have gathered by now, I’m way behind the curve on this one. I’m even still trying to figure out what on earth there is to be bullish about. Now, there is of course little or nothing rational about herd behavior. But those inside the herd will try to rationalize their way into their new-found position regardless, so let’s see if we can reason ourselves into some sense of it all.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept09/propaganda09-09.html

Now the Fed and Treasury have thrown their last best assets–trillions of dollars in newly created money, new Treasury bonds and trillions more in guarantees–in a last-ditch offensive against debt/credit destruction.
They are also waging a relentless propaganda war on the American public, trying to convince them that the last decade of exponential-credit-expansion “prosperity” is sustainable. One of their chief weapons is the stock market “rally” which is being supported by their Financial Dictatorship allies in China, Japan and Europe, all of whom have similarly thrown their last best assets into the “final battle” for victory.
Thus global stock markets are moving upward in a manufactured perfect unison.
Beneath the screaming propaganda campaign declaring victory, the financial casualties mount: 5 million homes in the foreclosure pipeline, 16% unemployment, household wealth down a third, credit card write-offs are surging and not a single driver of future growth in sight….
Sorry, Financial Dictatorship: the weather has turned, and reality is preparing a counterattack on your magical thinking propaganda offensive. Reality is gathering its forces and your pathetic “charm offensive” will be revealed for what it is–blatant propaganda–within the next 12 months.

[Arraya]

Given what Mr. Grant has just written, I can only ask: Did one of the world’s best known bears just ring the bell at the top of the great dead cat bounce?

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/
There’s a theory that one way to tell when a market rally may end is to look at how many pessimists have turned optimist (it works in reverse as well). At the rally’s peak, many will have turned that would never be expected to. Investor Jim Grant is seen as a real bear, and he’s just turned bullish. Does that mean the really is over? Well, it’s not that simple of course, it’s just a theory after all, but it’s getting interesting. And there’s no doubt that markets often turn when just about everyone has started donning a party-hat first thing in the morning. The larger the herd is, the more it behaves like one.

Michael Panzner says this about Jim Grant’s “rebirth”, which sums up my reservations as well:
Jim Grant: Ringing the Bell at the Top?
Aside from discounting the fact that there are aspects to the current unraveling that are historically unique and extraordinarily unsettling (e.g., total credit market debt relative to gross domestic product is well beyond anything this country has ever witnessed), Mr. Grant makes a number of curious assertions.

For one thing, he assumes that the current downturn is near its nadir, instead of a temporary floor built on a massive stimulus injection and a knee-jerk bout of inventory restocking. Among logicians, such an analytical approach might be described as “begging the question.”

As you may have gathered by now, I’m way behind the curve on this one. I’m even still trying to figure out what on earth there is to be bullish about. Now, there is of course little or nothing rational about herd behavior. But those inside the herd will try to rationalize their way into their new-found position regardless, so let’s see if we can reason ourselves into some sense of it all.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept09/propaganda09-09.html

Now the Fed and Treasury have thrown their last best assets–trillions of dollars in newly created money, new Treasury bonds and trillions more in guarantees–in a last-ditch offensive against debt/credit destruction.
They are also waging a relentless propaganda war on the American public, trying to convince them that the last decade of exponential-credit-expansion “prosperity” is sustainable. One of their chief weapons is the stock market “rally” which is being supported by their Financial Dictatorship allies in China, Japan and Europe, all of whom have similarly thrown their last best assets into the “final battle” for victory.
Thus global stock markets are moving upward in a manufactured perfect unison.
Beneath the screaming propaganda campaign declaring victory, the financial casualties mount: 5 million homes in the foreclosure pipeline, 16% unemployment, household wealth down a third, credit card write-offs are surging and not a single driver of future growth in sight….
Sorry, Financial Dictatorship: the weather has turned, and reality is preparing a counterattack on your magical thinking propaganda offensive. Reality is gathering its forces and your pathetic “charm offensive” will be revealed for what it is–blatant propaganda–within the next 12 months.

[Eugene]

[quote=davelj]
As you know, EconProf, GDP=C+I+G+netX. As we’re paying down the mountain of debt we’ve got, C & I must, by mathematical definition, suffer. And eventually G will suffer too. [/quote]

By definition, imports contribute negatively to GDP. So we could reduce our imports, use dollars we save to pay off foreign creditors, and reduce debt while rasing GDP. There’s no law that says that debt can’t be paid off without a significant negative impact on GDP.

Secondly, there’s no law that says that our current level of debt is so unsustainable that it must be paid off ASAP. Including latest stimulus borrowing, federal debt is something like 10 months of GDP, if I’m not mistaken. Many foreign countries are far higher than that.

Ultimately, GDP growth is all about efficiency and full utilization rather than green paper and electronic transfers. C+I+G+… is just an accounting identity. 10 million working-age adults sitting on their asses watching TV all day = bad. Learning to staff each Burger King with one fewer employee, managing to serve the same number of customers = good. There’s no reason why we can’t achieve full utilization of human resources (5% unemployment) and continue rising efficiency (output per hour of labor), all the while paying off debt. At the present time we have a big “output gap” due to the fact that unemployment is about 5% higher than normal, and many people are idle when they could have been working on useful stuff and contributing to GDP. One of Grant’s points is that, after the end of the recession, this gap will likely contract (there’s always demand for willing & able workers in a normal economy) and its contraction will lead to above-average GDP growth rate in the short run. Cumulative growth of 6% in the next 12 months is a reasonable prospect.

Beyond that, we’re back in the usual efficiency game, where 2%/year growth, give or take, can be expected. That’s where government policies come in. Generally speaking, you can expect higher efficiency from healthier and more educated population. For some, that would be a good argument in favor of universal healthcare and taxpayer-assisted free higher education.

[Eugene]

[quote=davelj]
As you know, EconProf, GDP=C+I+G+netX. As we’re paying down the mountain of debt we’ve got, C & I must, by mathematical definition, suffer. And eventually G will suffer too. [/quote]

By definition, imports contribute negatively to GDP. So we could reduce our imports, use dollars we save to pay off foreign creditors, and reduce debt while rasing GDP. There’s no law that says that debt can’t be paid off without a significant negative impact on GDP.

Secondly, there’s no law that says that our current level of debt is so unsustainable that it must be paid off ASAP. Including latest stimulus borrowing, federal debt is something like 10 months of GDP, if I’m not mistaken. Many foreign countries are far higher than that.

Ultimately, GDP growth is all about efficiency and full utilization rather than green paper and electronic transfers. C+I+G+… is just an accounting identity. 10 million working-age adults sitting on their asses watching TV all day = bad. Learning to staff each Burger King with one fewer employee, managing to serve the same number of customers = good. There’s no reason why we can’t achieve full utilization of human resources (5% unemployment) and continue rising efficiency (output per hour of labor), all the while paying off debt. At the present time we have a big “output gap” due to the fact that unemployment is about 5% higher than normal, and many people are idle when they could have been working on useful stuff and contributing to GDP. One of Grant’s points is that, after the end of the recession, this gap will likely contract (there’s always demand for willing & able workers in a normal economy) and its contraction will lead to above-average GDP growth rate in the short run. Cumulative growth of 6% in the next 12 months is a reasonable prospect.

Beyond that, we’re back in the usual efficiency game, where 2%/year growth, give or take, can be expected. That’s where government policies come in. Generally speaking, you can expect higher efficiency from healthier and more educated population. For some, that would be a good argument in favor of universal healthcare and taxpayer-assisted free higher education.

[Eugene]

[quote=davelj]
As you know, EconProf, GDP=C+I+G+netX. As we’re paying down the mountain of debt we’ve got, C & I must, by mathematical definition, suffer. And eventually G will suffer too. [/quote]

By definition, imports contribute negatively to GDP. So we could reduce our imports, use dollars we save to pay off foreign creditors, and reduce debt while rasing GDP. There’s no law that says that debt can’t be paid off without a significant negative impact on GDP.

Secondly, there’s no law that says that our current level of debt is so unsustainable that it must be paid off ASAP. Including latest stimulus borrowing, federal debt is something like 10 months of GDP, if I’m not mistaken. Many foreign countries are far higher than that.

Ultimately, GDP growth is all about efficiency and full utilization rather than green paper and electronic transfers. C+I+G+… is just an accounting identity. 10 million working-age adults sitting on their asses watching TV all day = bad. Learning to staff each Burger King with one fewer employee, managing to serve the same number of customers = good. There’s no reason why we can’t achieve full utilization of human resources (5% unemployment) and continue rising efficiency (output per hour of labor), all the while paying off debt. At the present time we have a big “output gap” due to the fact that unemployment is about 5% higher than normal, and many people are idle when they could have been working on useful stuff and contributing to GDP. One of Grant’s points is that, after the end of the recession, this gap will likely contract (there’s always demand for willing & able workers in a normal economy) and its contraction will lead to above-average GDP growth rate in the short run. Cumulative growth of 6% in the next 12 months is a reasonable prospect.

Beyond that, we’re back in the usual efficiency game, where 2%/year growth, give or take, can be expected. That’s where government policies come in. Generally speaking, you can expect higher efficiency from healthier and more educated population. For some, that would be a good argument in favor of universal healthcare and taxpayer-assisted free higher education.

[Eugene]

[quote=davelj]
As you know, EconProf, GDP=C+I+G+netX. As we’re paying down the mountain of debt we’ve got, C & I must, by mathematical definition, suffer. And eventually G will suffer too. [/quote]

By definition, imports contribute negatively to GDP. So we could reduce our imports, use dollars we save to pay off foreign creditors, and reduce debt while rasing GDP. There’s no law that says that debt can’t be paid off without a significant negative impact on GDP.

Secondly, there’s no law that says that our current level of debt is so unsustainable that it must be paid off ASAP. Including latest stimulus borrowing, federal debt is something like 10 months of GDP, if I’m not mistaken. Many foreign countries are far higher than that.

Ultimately, GDP growth is all about efficiency and full utilization rather than green paper and electronic transfers. C+I+G+… is just an accounting identity. 10 million working-age adults sitting on their asses watching TV all day = bad. Learning to staff each Burger King with one fewer employee, managing to serve the same number of customers = good. There’s no reason why we can’t achieve full utilization of human resources (5% unemployment) and continue rising efficiency (output per hour of labor), all the while paying off debt. At the present time we have a big “output gap” due to the fact that unemployment is about 5% higher than normal, and many people are idle when they could have been working on useful stuff and contributing to GDP. One of Grant’s points is that, after the end of the recession, this gap will likely contract (there’s always demand for willing & able workers in a normal economy) and its contraction will lead to above-average GDP growth rate in the short run. Cumulative growth of 6% in the next 12 months is a reasonable prospect.

Beyond that, we’re back in the usual efficiency game, where 2%/year growth, give or take, can be expected. That’s where government policies come in. Generally speaking, you can expect higher efficiency from healthier and more educated population. For some, that would be a good argument in favor of universal healthcare and taxpayer-assisted free higher education.

[Eugene]

[quote=davelj]
As you know, EconProf, GDP=C+I+G+netX. As we’re paying down the mountain of debt we’ve got, C & I must, by mathematical definition, suffer. And eventually G will suffer too. [/quote]

By definition, imports contribute negatively to GDP. So we could reduce our imports, use dollars we save to pay off foreign creditors, and reduce debt while rasing GDP. There’s no law that says that debt can’t be paid off without a significant negative impact on GDP.

Secondly, there’s no law that says that our current level of debt is so unsustainable that it must be paid off ASAP. Including latest stimulus borrowing, federal debt is something like 10 months of GDP, if I’m not mistaken. Many foreign countries are far higher than that.

Ultimately, GDP growth is all about efficiency and full utilization rather than green paper and electronic transfers. C+I+G+… is just an accounting identity. 10 million working-age adults sitting on their asses watching TV all day = bad. Learning to staff each Burger King with one fewer employee, managing to serve the same number of customers = good. There’s no reason why we can’t achieve full utilization of human resources (5% unemployment) and continue rising efficiency (output per hour of labor), all the while paying off debt. At the present time we have a big “output gap” due to the fact that unemployment is about 5% higher than normal, and many people are idle when they could have been working on useful stuff and contributing to GDP. One of Grant’s points is that, after the end of the recession, this gap will likely contract (there’s always demand for willing & able workers in a normal economy) and its contraction will lead to above-average GDP growth rate in the short run. Cumulative growth of 6% in the next 12 months is a reasonable prospect.

Beyond that, we’re back in the usual efficiency game, where 2%/year growth, give or take, can be expected. That’s where government policies come in. Generally speaking, you can expect higher efficiency from healthier and more educated population. For some, that would be a good argument in favor of universal healthcare and taxpayer-assisted free higher education.

[4plexowner]

International Forecaster
http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1253516400.php

“Apparently, we are just supposed to ignore our tanking dollar, rising unemployment, ever-weakening consumer spending (which only accounts for 70% of our GDP), a moribund real estate market, trillions in losses lying dormant in the zombie bank mark-to-model scam, not to mention all the off-the-books losses in derivatives pawned off on bank customers after Glass-Steagall was repealed as well as a glowing, smoking Quadrillion Dollar Derivative Death Star waiting to go supernova to the tune of tens of trillions in losses that will vaporize the entire world banking system thanks to the total deregulation of OTC derivatives courtesy of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act. Then there are the ongoing multi-trillion dollar money siphons in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of banks, including all the “anointed” legacy banks, that are buried in derivatives and about to fail, a bankrupt Social Security System, a totally naked FDIC, a Fed printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, in secret, without any accountability, and future multi-trillion dollar budget deficits being incurred to keep a totally comatose economy on artificial, taxpayer-sponsored life support. If that sounds like the end of a recession to the people on planet earth, then beam us up Scotty, we’re on a planet full of psychopaths suffering from hallucinations and delusions of grandeur. Oh, and Scotty, make sure you remember to beam our gold and silver up with us.”

[4plexowner]

International Forecaster
http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1253516400.php

“Apparently, we are just supposed to ignore our tanking dollar, rising unemployment, ever-weakening consumer spending (which only accounts for 70% of our GDP), a moribund real estate market, trillions in losses lying dormant in the zombie bank mark-to-model scam, not to mention all the off-the-books losses in derivatives pawned off on bank customers after Glass-Steagall was repealed as well as a glowing, smoking Quadrillion Dollar Derivative Death Star waiting to go supernova to the tune of tens of trillions in losses that will vaporize the entire world banking system thanks to the total deregulation of OTC derivatives courtesy of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act. Then there are the ongoing multi-trillion dollar money siphons in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of banks, including all the “anointed” legacy banks, that are buried in derivatives and about to fail, a bankrupt Social Security System, a totally naked FDIC, a Fed printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, in secret, without any accountability, and future multi-trillion dollar budget deficits being incurred to keep a totally comatose economy on artificial, taxpayer-sponsored life support. If that sounds like the end of a recession to the people on planet earth, then beam us up Scotty, we’re on a planet full of psychopaths suffering from hallucinations and delusions of grandeur. Oh, and Scotty, make sure you remember to beam our gold and silver up with us.”

[4plexowner]

International Forecaster
http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1253516400.php

“Apparently, we are just supposed to ignore our tanking dollar, rising unemployment, ever-weakening consumer spending (which only accounts for 70% of our GDP), a moribund real estate market, trillions in losses lying dormant in the zombie bank mark-to-model scam, not to mention all the off-the-books losses in derivatives pawned off on bank customers after Glass-Steagall was repealed as well as a glowing, smoking Quadrillion Dollar Derivative Death Star waiting to go supernova to the tune of tens of trillions in losses that will vaporize the entire world banking system thanks to the total deregulation of OTC derivatives courtesy of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act. Then there are the ongoing multi-trillion dollar money siphons in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of banks, including all the “anointed” legacy banks, that are buried in derivatives and about to fail, a bankrupt Social Security System, a totally naked FDIC, a Fed printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, in secret, without any accountability, and future multi-trillion dollar budget deficits being incurred to keep a totally comatose economy on artificial, taxpayer-sponsored life support. If that sounds like the end of a recession to the people on planet earth, then beam us up Scotty, we’re on a planet full of psychopaths suffering from hallucinations and delusions of grandeur. Oh, and Scotty, make sure you remember to beam our gold and silver up with us.”

[4plexowner]

International Forecaster
http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1253516400.php

“Apparently, we are just supposed to ignore our tanking dollar, rising unemployment, ever-weakening consumer spending (which only accounts for 70% of our GDP), a moribund real estate market, trillions in losses lying dormant in the zombie bank mark-to-model scam, not to mention all the off-the-books losses in derivatives pawned off on bank customers after Glass-Steagall was repealed as well as a glowing, smoking Quadrillion Dollar Derivative Death Star waiting to go supernova to the tune of tens of trillions in losses that will vaporize the entire world banking system thanks to the total deregulation of OTC derivatives courtesy of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act. Then there are the ongoing multi-trillion dollar money siphons in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of banks, including all the “anointed” legacy banks, that are buried in derivatives and about to fail, a bankrupt Social Security System, a totally naked FDIC, a Fed printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, in secret, without any accountability, and future multi-trillion dollar budget deficits being incurred to keep a totally comatose economy on artificial, taxpayer-sponsored life support. If that sounds like the end of a recession to the people on planet earth, then beam us up Scotty, we’re on a planet full of psychopaths suffering from hallucinations and delusions of grandeur. Oh, and Scotty, make sure you remember to beam our gold and silver up with us.”

[Author]

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