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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Understanding Hyperinflation in the Weimer Republic


"The permanent economic crisis was a result of lost pre-war industrial exports, the loss of supplies in raw materials and foodstuffs from Alsace-Lorraine, Polish districts and the colonies, along with worsening debt balances and reparations payments. Military-industrial activity had almost ceased, although controlled demobilisation kept unemployment at around one million. The fact that the Allies continued to blockade Germany until after the Treaty of Versailles did not help matters, either.

The allies permitted only low import levels of goods that most Germans could not afford. After four years of war and famine, many German workers were exhausted, physically impaired and discouraged. Millions were disenchanted with capitalism and hoping for a new era. Meanwhile the currency depreciated."
Read More at WIKI.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Steve Wynn says Chinese government is more stable than USA's

Steve Wynn Bio
As of 2009, Wynn is the 468th richest man in the world (down from 277th) with a net worth of $1.5 billion (down from $3.9 billion).[1] He made his debut in the Forbes 400 at #377 with a net worth of $650 million in September 2003, but was reported to be worth $1.1 billion only six months later in Forbes' list of world billionaires published in March 2004.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Short Selling/Naked Short Selling - What is it?

**On the NEWS**: Merkel introduces ban on naked short selling from midnight tonight  
**On the NEWS**:  There are $250 billion in naked CDS outstanding; they have 4 hours to unwind . . .





There was a great explanation on short selling by mikla on ZeroHedge on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 13:14
#358589

Shorting (good) and "naked shorting" (bad) are different.

Shorting:  (example), A stock's current market price is $100.  I think it should sell for $80, so I won't buy it.  However, I'll sell it for $100, because I think the market will soon figure out it should be priced at $80 (and I'm willing to incur risk while I wait):

Monday, May 10, 2010

Charlemagne and Currency: The King Father of Europe

In 787 Charlemagne established a new system of currency, higher standard. England’s King Offa adopted this system. It was so sound that it was continued to be used until it was dropped by the United Kingdom in 1971.
http://books.google.de/books?id=bQlJP9O9hKkC&lpg=PA97&ots=Rifs9N_c1b&dq=John%20J.%20Butt%20charlemagne%20mint&hl=en&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false

Friday, May 7, 2010

Currency Crisis

Here is the "apt" Ron Paul talking about how Ben Bernanke (FED) is creating something far worse… a currency crisis.

apt:  unusually intelligent; able to learn quickly and easily, suited to the purpose or occasion

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

May 2010 update on Europe and Asia

Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, talks with Bloomberg's Haslinda Amin about the outlook for China's economy. Faber, speaking from Hong Kong, also discusses Greece's debt crisis and the euro, the commodities market, and the implications of political unrest in Thailand for the nation's economy and stock market.

 

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle

Ludwig von Mises wrote about the Trade Cycle

Presented by Roger W. Garrison at the 2009 Mises University. Recorded 27 July 2009 at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama. Category:

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Check Kiting

WIKI:  Check kiting is the illegal act of taking advantage of the float to make use of non-existent funds in a checking or other bank account. It is commonly defined as writing a check from one bank knowingly with non-sufficient funds, then writing a check to another bank, also with non-sufficient funds, in order to cover the absence.[1] The purpose of check kiting is to falsely inflate the balance of a checking account in order to allow checks that have been written that would otherwise bounce to clear.[2]
Some forms of cheque fraud involve the use of a second bank or a third party, usually a place of retail, in order to delay the absence of funds in a transactional account on the day the cheque is due to clear at the bank, essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. Such acts are frequently committed by broke or temporarily unemployed individuals or small businesses seeking emergency loans, by start-up businesses or other struggling businesses seeking interest-free financing while intending to make good on their balances, or by pathological gamblers who have the expectation of depositing funds upon winning. It has also been used by those who have some genuine funds in interest-bearing accounts, but who artificially inflate their balances in order to increase the interest paid by their banks.


Treasury Redeems A Gargantuan $643 Billion In Treasuries In April

 

Saturday, April 24, 2010

China is the highest-risk economy on earth.

Here is a PowerPoint presentation, 20 pages worth reading. 

China - The Mother of All Black Swans - By Vitaliy Katsenelson                                                                   

Thursday, April 22, 2010

What is Fraud?

Wiki:  In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

What is a Banana Republic?

Wikipedia's description of the four bullets which make up a banana republic:
Profits Privatized and Debts Socialized
"A collusion between the overweening state and certain favored monopolistic concerns, whereby the profits can be privatized and the debts socialized."


Devalued Paper Currency
"Devalued paper currency in the international community."

Politicians Use Time in Office to Maximize Their Own Gains
 
"Kleptocracy -- those in positions of influence use their time in office to maximize their own gains, always ensuring that any shortfall is made up by those unfortunates whose daily life involves earning money rather than making it." 

Corruption Remains Unchecked, Politicians Are Only for Show 
"There must be no principle of accountability within the government so that the political corruption by which the banana republic operates is left unchecked. The members of the national legislature will be (a) largely for sale and (b) consulted only for ceremonial and rubber-stamp purposes some time after all the truly important decisions have already been made elsewhere."



A Banana Republic With No Bananas


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Disastrous Economic Fallacies - Terror as Stimulus?



Have you ever witnessed the anger of the good shopkeeper, James Goodfellow, when his careless son happened to break a pane of glass? If you have been present at such a scene, you will most assuredly bear witness to the fact that every one of the spectators, were there even thirty of them, by common consent apparently, offered the unfortunate owner this invariable consolation—"It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Everybody must live, and what would become of the glaziers if panes of glass were never broken?"
Now, this form of condolence contains an entire theory, which it will be well to show up in this simple case, seeing that it is precisely the same as that which, unhappily, regulates the greater part of our economical institutions.
Suppose it cost six francs to repair the damage, and you say that the accident brings six francs to the glazier's trade—that it encourages that trade to the amount of six francs—I grant it; I have not a word to say against it; you reason justly. The glazier comes, performs his task, receives his six francs, rubs his hands, and, in his heart, blesses the careless child. All this is that which is seen.
But if, on the other hand, you come to the conclusion, as is too often the case, that it is a good thing to break windows, that it causes money to circulate, and that the encouragement of industry in general will be the result of it, you will oblige me to call out, "Stop there! Your theory is confined to that which is seen; it takes no account of that which is not seen."
It is not seen that as our shopkeeper has spent six francs upon one thing, he cannot spend them upon another. It is not seen that if he had not had a window to replace, he would, perhaps, have replaced his old shoes, or added another book to his library. In short, he would have employed his six francs in some way, which this accident has prevented.[1][2]

Frédéric Bastiat

Saturday, April 3, 2010

The blame for this debt monstrosity?

All coercive taxes except for about 8 ounces/year silver from ever male 20+ are unauthorized. Get rid of them and tax funded schools (most schools are archaic and brain-washers for the banks). Then families will be able to freely choose where to give and spend there wealth and how to educate their children.

The blame for this debt monstrosity squarely goes to the big banks, state, religious leaders and to a smaller degree family leaders (because they have been deceived like Eve in Eden).

ie: When my children are brats I am responsible for correcting them. When members in a congregation are brats the priest is responsible…. When priests are brats the bishop is responsible…. the pope is responsible… the representatives are responsible… the judges are responsible… the president is responsible… but they are all corrupted by the reserve banks that have been given the right to counterfeit wealth and control economic directions.

If all unauthorized taxes and fractional reserve banking were abolished these powers would not be profitable positions. They would have very little power. The power would be with families. (This is why families, schools, inheritance and private property have been made dysfunctional by the brain-washing banks, state and “church”.) This would restrain corruption and release liberty. It will not make a totally Utopian world because people’s hearts are corrupt but it would make it “more perfect” (growing in maturity and justice).

Friday, March 26, 2010

Philip Manduca, Head of Investment of the ECU Group

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Philip Manduca, Head of Investment of the ECU Group


Friday, March 5, 2010

What new crisis

... will the federal government manufacture in order to acquire more power over individuals? What new lies will it tell?
Throughout our history, the federal government has lied to send our children off to war, lied to take our money, lied to steal our property, lied to gain our trust, and lied to enhance its power over us. Not only does the government lie to us, we lie to ourselves. We won't admit that each time we let the government get away with misleading us, we are allowing it to increase in size and power and decrease our personal liberty.
In acquiescing to the government's continuous fraudulent behavior, we bear partial responsibility for the erosion of our individual liberties and the ever-expanding federal regulation of private behavior. This book attacks the culture in government that facilitates lying, and it challenges readers to recognize that culture, to confront it, and to be rid of it.

About the Author

Andrew P. Napolitano graduated from Princeton University and the University of Notre Dame Law School and is the youngest life-tenured Superior Court judge in the history of the State of New Jersey. Judge Napolitano returned to private practice in 1995 and has been the Senior Judicial Analyst for Fox News since 1998. He broadcasts nationwide on “The Big Story”, he co-hosts “Fox & Friends”, is a regular on “The O’Reilly Factor” and co-hosts “Brian and the Judge”. Napolitano also lectures nationally, and has been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many more. He is the author of Constitutional Chaos, the New York Times bestseller The Constitution in ExileA Nation of Sheep, and Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom.

Visit his site at:
http://www.judgenap.com/

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The FED is inflating

Economagic site:


  

The Decline: The Geography of a Recession

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html
According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly 30 million people currently unemployed -- that's including those involuntarily working parttime and those who want a job, but have given up on trying to find one. In the face of the worst economic upheaval since the Great Depression, millions of Americans are hurting. "The Decline: The Geography of a Recession," as created by labor writer LaToya Egwuekwe, serves as a vivid representation of just how much. Watch the deteriorating transformation of the U.S. economy from January 2007 -- approximately one year before the start of the recession -- to the most recent unemployment data available today. Original link: www.latoyaegwuekwe.com/geographyofareces sion.html. For more information, email latoya.egwuekwe@yahoo.com 


Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Country Boy Can Survive


"stock markets down", sings Hank Williams and he manages to capture the sentiment of our current economy.  As times get tougher and tougher, and the bad news keeps coming in bushels, many folks out there are asking themselves the question, "how to prepare for what's to come"...





Friday, February 26, 2010

Economic word of the day:

AUSTERITY
WIKI:  In economics, austerity is when a government reduces its spending and/or increases user fees to pay back creditors. Austerity is usually required when a government's fiscal deficit spending is felt to be unsustainable.

Main Entry: aus·ter·i·ty 
Pronunciation: \-ˈster-ə-tē, -ˈste-rə- also -ˈstir-ə-\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural aus·ter·i·ties
Date: 14th century
1 : the quality or state of being austere
2 a : an austere act, manner, or attitude b : an ascetic practice
3 : enforced or extreme economy
a.  reduced availability of luxuries and consumer goods, esp when brought about by government policy
b.  (as modifier) an austerity budget
 
Thousands of civil servants have marched through Athens, the Greek capital, as they went on a 24-hour strike in protest against the government's plans to freeze wages, gather more taxes and reform pensions.

The action left flights grounded and many schools and government offices closed, while public hospitals were expected to only take emergency cases.

Barnaby Phillips reports from Athens.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Deathbed of Keynesian Economics


 WIKI:  Keynesian economics has developed from the work of John Maynard Keynes and focused on macroeconomics in the short-run, particularly the rigidities caused when prices are fixed. It has two successors. Post-Keynesian economics is an alternative school - one of the successors to the Keynesian tradition with a focus on macroeconomics. They concentrate on macroeconomic rigidities and adjustment processes, and research micro foundations for their models based on real-life practices rather than simple optimizing models. Generally associated with Cambridge, England and the work of Joan Robinson (see Post-Keynesian economics). New-Keynesian economics is the other school associated with developments in the Keynesian fashion. These researchers tend to share with other Neoclassical economists the emphasis on models based on micro foundations and optimizing behavior, but focus more narrowly on standard Keynesian themes such as price and wage rigidity. These are usually made to be endogenous features of these models, rather than simply assumed as in older style Keynesian ones (see New-Keynesian economics).

Sunday, February 21, 2010

and more on the PIIGS... and pork

From Stacy on Max Keiser's site:  ...it is American banking analysts and Bloomberg that first called them Piigs; but I might also add that the usage of the term Pork in the US is very well established and still used to this day to describe the act of feeding from the government trough . . . So, if you find the term so offensive, why don’t you focus on your own backyard and try to get the use of the phrase ‘pork’ banned in the US? Wiki on Pork Barrel
“Typically, “pork” involves funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers.”
Sounds like it is a definition that could apply to a ECB bailout of Greece, which is perhaps why American banking analysts favor using the term, PIIGS?
The usage originated in American English.
And here is the cover art of the annual report from the Citizens Against Government Waste, they call their report, “The Pig Book”: http://www.cagw.org/reports/pig-book/2009/

Friday, February 19, 2010

Currency Devaluation:

Devaluation ..., it specifically implies an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange rate system, by which the monetary authority formally sets a new fixed rate with respect to a foreign reference currency. In contrast, depreciation is used for the unofficial decrease in the exchange rate in a floating exchange rate system. The opposite of devaluation is called revaluation.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Crony Capitalism

 Economics is about Human Action.

Crony capitalism is a pejorative term describing an allegedly capitalist economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between businesspeople and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth.
Crony capitalism is believed to arise when political cronyism spills over into the business world; self-serving friendships and family ties between businessmen and the government influence the economy and society to the extent that it corrupts public-serving economic and political ideals.
 
What is the answer to crony capitalism?  You will find that Providence points to limited state powers or you will end up with this:
 


Saturday, February 13, 2010

Eurozone in February 2010 - Part 1: Who is Martin Wolf

The financial crisis of 2009 is morphing into the fiscal anxieties of 2010. This is particularly true inside the eurozone. Spreads between rates of interest on Greek bonds and German bunds touched 3.86 percentage points in late January (see chart). The risk has emerged of a self-fulfilling confidence crisis that would have dire consequences for other vulnerable members. Much attention has focused on what might happen if the crisis were not resolved, with talk of bail-outs, defaults or even exits from the euro. But what would need to be done to resolve the crisis, without such a calamity? It is the demand, stupid.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Who are the PIIGS?

Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains why problems with certain European countries sovereign debt could blow the house down. 

Saturday, January 30, 2010

1/25/10 Jim Rogers on Bloomberg

Jim Rogers and Kirby Daley talk about the prospects of Bernanke being re-nominated and their outlooks for the economy.   Jim Rogers offers his views. He owns gold.  He thinks the U.S. stock market is headed lower.  He thinks the yen is a flawed currency, but he owns it.



Friday, January 29, 2010

The Mint And Coinage Acts Of The United States

Charles Weisman The Mint And Coinage Acts Of The United States                                                    

Vic Lockman's Biblical Economics in Comics.

http://viclockman.com/law.htm

Very Austrian and very much follows Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt.

Teach economics using this book. Kids like it.

Vic Lockman Money Banking And Usury                                                    
Click to enlarge

...

Compare your current purchasing power with yesterdays:
Inflation Calculator

Economics for your Children:

Teach your children not to be debtors.

Look up the laws of economic liberty

Liberty's Dictator, our triune God, tells us His law word needs to be established in every area of life. Economics is one of those areas. The world economy today is doomed because it's two classes, the hosts and the parasites, are morally and religiously corrupt. Instead of being a participant of that fiat law order of economic private property destruction (sooner or later); recognize, learn, and establish the law that is regenerating (to name a few):
  1. Not to steal money stealthily Lev. 19:11
  2. The court must implement punitive measures against the thief Ex. 21:37
  3. Each individual must ensure that his scales and weights are accurate Lev. 19:36
  4. Not to commit injustice with scales and weights Lev. 19:35
  5. Not to possess inaccurate scales and weights even if they are not for use Deut. 25:13
  6. Not to move a boundary marker to steal someone's property Deut. 19:14
  7. Not to kidnap Ex. 20:13
  8. Not to rob openly Lev. 19:13
  9. Not to withhold wages or fail to repay a debt Lev. 19:13
  10. Not to covet and scheme to acquire another's possession Ex. 20:14
  11. Not to desire another's possession Deut. 5:18
  12. Return the robbed object or its value Lev. 5:23
  13. The court must implement laws against the one who assaults another or damages another's property Ex. 21:18
  14. Not to murder Ex. 20:12
  15. Not to accept monetary restitution to atone for the murderer Num. 35:31
  16. The court must send the accidental murderer to a city of refuge Num. 35:25
  17. Not to accept monetary restitution instead of being sent to a city of refuge Num. 35:32
  18. Not to leave others distraught with their burdens (but to help either load or unload) Deut. 22:4
  19. Conduct sales according to biblical law Lev. 25:14
  20. Not to overcharge or underpay for an article Lev. 25:14
  21. Not to insult or harm anybody with words Lev. 25:17
  22. Not to cheat a convert monetarily Ex. 22:20