Does anyone seriously think the feds can do a better job? These are the people who run the Post Office…and Amtrak, for Pete’s sake. Even with monopolies, they can’t make money. Now they’re the majority owners of auto companies, insurance giants and mortgage firms. Hardly anyone buys a house in America anymore without the help of a government-owned mortgage business. And soon, you won’t be able to get a doctor to take your temperature – assuming they still do that – without getting a bureaucrat’s approval.
[Read more...]Private Debt Decline: Good For US Bad for the Economy
March 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment
I got a disturbing email from Bianco Research which showed a chart of “Private Credit Market Debt” which they say shows “Total credit market creation not including Treasury Debt, Municipal Debt and Agency Debt”.
It is actually a horror that the level of private debt peaked last year at about $36 trillion, which is certainly a lot of money, especially since total GDP of the Whole Freaking Country (WFC) is only $14 trillion (and falling!).
[Read more...]Zombieland
March 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment
“The world’s largest shopping mall is almost entirely empty,” says a headline now making its way around the Internet. The mall is not one of America’s consumer emporia. It is not in the US at all. Instead, it is in the Middle Kingdom…and twice as large as the “Mall of the Americas.”
[Read more...]Greek Spending Cuts Lead to Civil Unrest
March 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment
What a day the currencies had yesterday! The euro (EUR) gained ground all the way back to 1.3730 (but saw some profit taking at the end of the day) and all the other currencies followed in step… Now… There’s two ways to look at this… Either the euro is like a star that’s getting ready to burn out… (It always shines brightest before it burns out), or… It’s like a star that had been covered up by another planet, and is coming back into view!
[Read more...]“Fear Gauge” at its Lowest in Over a Year
December 24, 2009 by Leave a Comment
1) As we approach the end of the decade, we take stock of The Daily Reckoning’s beloved “Trade of the Decade.” You know it by heart, right? “Buy gold on dips, sell stocks on rallies.” Bloomberg News has tallied up and reported the satisfying results…
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When Consumer Sentiment Declines in a Consumer-Based Economy
Your editor’s father passed through town last weekend to share a few moments with his son, and to take a shift at the front door dispensing Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters.
During the course of the visit, your editor’s father also dispensed an amusing array of anecdotes and old jokes. One of those old jokes described the difference between an optimist and a pessimist:
[Read more...]Click for detailed story