Paul Davidson: What Makes Economists So Sure of Themselves, Anyway? ♦♦ Author: Philip Pilkington ♦♦ Naked Capitalism 01/19/2012
In a recent interview I asked the US’s leading post-Keynesian economist and founder of the Journal of Post-Keynesian Economics, Paul Davidson to discuss what is known as the ‘ergodic axiom’ in economics. This is a particularly important axiom as it allows mainstream economists (including left-wing Keynesians like Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz) to claim that they can essentially know the future in a very tangible way. It does this by assuming that the future can be known by examining the past
Obama to Make Recess Appointment of Richard Cordray to Head Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ♦♦ Author: Yves Smith ♦♦ Naked Capitalism 01/04/2012
I have not seen this hit the news wires, but got this via Lisa Epstein, in turn from Our Financial Security, which is part of the Center for American Progress, which is a heavyweight Democrat think tank (with of course a whole list of talking points to rebut Republican kvetching about the use of a recess appointment).
This move raises the obvious question: why didn’t Obama make a recess appointment of Elizabeth Warren?
Marginalizing Ron Paul ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Truthdig 12/30/2011
Paul is being denigrated as a presidential contender even though on the vital issues of the economy, war and peace, and civil liberties, he has made the most sense of the Republican candidates. And by what standard of logic is it “claptrap” for Paul to attempt to hold the Fed accountable for its destructive policies? That’s the giveaway reference to the raw nerve that his favorable prospects in the Iowa caucuses have exposed. Too much anti-Wall Street populism in the heartland can be a truly sc
Congress Sics IRS on “Enemies” ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 12/29/2011
I was thinking of writing a book. “The Coming Age Warfare”. If I did get around to it, the following story might be the first chapter. Like most wars, the one I see coming between young and old will simmer for years. Along the way there will be skirmishes that result in injury and bad feelings. I find this example comical. But there is nothing funny about it.
Throw the bums out! ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 12/19/2011
You want change? Then you are going to have to force change. How? By voting against every incumbent ... even if the incumbent might appear to be the lesser of two evils. He/she isn't. The Powers That Be (TPTB) must be stopped. The only way to do that is to vote them out.
The Fed, MFG and Reg. T ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 12/13/2011
The Fed made a bobo when it said it was OK to use customer money as collateral. You see ... if "they" get to do that ... it really isn't the customers' money any more. So ... Mr. Customer ... do you want to give your money to a Bankster? This is a naked short backed by deposits. No wonder they like naked shorts so much.
Quelle Surprise! Banks Lied About Bailout Funds and Got $13 Billion in Profit from Them ♦♦ Author: Yves Smith ♦♦ Naked Capitalism 11/28/2011
The Banksters, the Fed and Washington all lied to the American People. Will they get in trouble for lying? Nope. They had to do it. Americans aren't smart enough ... or so they say. Are Americans smart enough to throw Washington and their Wall Street campaign backers out of office. Especially since bought and paid for Main Stream Media is going along with it?
The Best of the Bozeman Police Reports ♦♦ Author: Tim Iacono ♦♦ The Mess That Greenspan Made 11/27/2011
With a drop in the temperature at this time of year, things seem to be quieting down around here after a busy summer and fall for law enforcement. The batch of reports below, while providing a bit of levity this Saturday afternoon, show a clear tendency for people to be staying home more, away from the bars downtown that seem to be the focal point for many of the incidents reported during the summer months.
The Fed makes a weird move ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 11/17/2011
When the Fed does something ... everybody should be listening and watching for how it is going to hit them in the pocketbook
Bank of America's Socialize the Risk and Reap the Reward Business Model ♦♦ Author: Robert Oak ♦♦ Economic Populist 10/19/2011
Bank of America and Bernanke have decided to go ahead and hit the American Tax payer another time. This time though ... the hit will come when the FDIC is forced to protect those who the Bank of America and the Fed don't care about ... American savers. When and if this goes bad ... the Bank of America and the Fed will be shocked. The question is will the go to jail?
Social Security to Bernanke – “You’re Killing Us!” ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 10/16/2011
There's Bernanke's low interest rates for banks and then there's what everybody else pays. It adds up to save the banks and throw granny under the bus.
Discontent with Washington could spell trouble for incumbents ♦♦ Author: John Lyon ♦♦ Arkansas News Bureau 10/16/2011
At rallies and protests in Arkansas and elsewhere, many are saying their voices have not been heard in Washington — a possible sign of trouble for incumbents heading into a new election cycle. This weekend the Occupy Wall Street movement reached Arkansas, with protests held in Little Rock and other cities in solidarity with the protests going on in New York against government and corporate policies that protesters say favor the super rich at the expense of everyone else.
OWS – Coming to a Town Near You ♦♦ Author: Tim Iacono ♦♦ The Mess That Greenspan Made 10/14/2011
There's one in Fayetteville this Saturday, Oct 15th on the square.
What Do You Call a Jobs Bill That Begets No Jobs?: Caroline Baum ♦♦ Author: Caroline Baum ♦♦ Bloomberg 10/14/2011
When President Barack Obama “pivoted” to jobs a few months back (from what, the White House didn’t say), he said he was going to take his plan to rebuild the U.S. economy directly to the American people.
It’s a good thing, too, because Congress isn’t interested. Obama’s $447 billion American Jobs Act of 2011 was never going to see the light of day in the Republican-controlled House. The Senate gave it the thumbs-down this week, voting 50-49 to block the bill, well shy of the 60 votes needed
You Know Things Are Bad When Doctor Visits Plunge 8% Year-Over Year ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Business Insider 10/13/2011
A lot fewer people are going to the doctor this year, and no, that's not a good thing.
Here's JP Morgan's John Rex: Sept ’11 office visit volumes down 8% y/y, while the sequential throughput measure increases 6% from August.... Primary care trends still running weaker... Med utilization still trending lower. At least there’s still some seasonal impact. At this point, we believe it’s well understood that 3Q medical utilization persisted weak, even biasing lower, and perhaps observing none of
How To Guarantee the Protests Will Succeed ♦♦ Author: George Washington ♦♦ Washington's Blog 10/12/2011
Conservatives and Liberals Agree: End the Malignant, Symbiotic Relationship Between Big Government and Big Corporations. While many pretend that liberals and conservatives are too far apart to work together, there are actually many issues on which everyone can agree.
New bankruptcy ripples may emerge in tough economy ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Reuters 10/11/2011
Three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers touched off a tidal wave of bankruptcy filings, corporate failures may be about to pick up again, with some big-name companies among those struggling for survival.
Companies in a range of businesses, including hair salons, restaurants, renewable energy, and the paper industry, have tumbled into Chapter 11 in the past few months.
'Zombie' in the budget: long-term health care plan ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ MSNBC 10/09/2011
"That money should have never been counted as deficit reduction because it was supposed to be set aside to pay for benefits," Bixby added. "The fact that they're not actually doing anything with the program sort of compounds the gimmick."
The program was created under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, and arguably provided much of the 10-year, $143 billion in savings claimed under the law. But now some Capitol Hill aides have dubbed CLASS a "budget zombie."
Politics, Money and OWS ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 10/09/2011
Will Americans sit still why Obama and Geithner give American dollars to Europe? Will Europe eat dirt to save the banksters? The next few weeks will be full of risks as covert becomes overt. Jawboning is scheduled to be replaced with put up or shut up. The trouble is shut up might results in riots in America.
What Happened in September? ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 10/07/2011
Sometimes ... OK ... usually ... statistics don't tell the whole story. September had 5 weeks in it. This is a skew.
The Fed Twists, the Market Shouts ♦♦ Author: RON PAUL ♦♦ Lew Rockwell 10/06/2011
The economy is getting worse ... how bad is it? The Fed is about to start printing a lot of money. This will not end well.
Can … Should … there be another bank bailout? ♦♦ Author: Angie Pratt ♦♦ PoliticalPosts.com 10/05/2011
The answer that the global bankers keep coming to is that they want the US taxpayer to save the world. And ... of course ... my world they mean their world. The one which has them on top. Another bailout is what they want. Will they get it?
House Republicans Request Special Counsel to Probe Holder on 'Fast and Furious' ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Fox News 10/04/2011
House Republicans are calling for a special counsel to determine whether Attorney General Holder perjured himself during his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Operation Fast and Furious, Fox News has learned.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, was sending a letter to President Obama on Tuesday arguing that Holder cannot investigate himself, and requesting the president instruct the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel.
Just 22% Support Government-Assisted Mortgage Payments ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Rasmussen Reports 09/26/2011
Most Americans still don’t believe the government should help those who can’t afford to make their mortgage payments.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of American Adults think if someone can’t afford to make increased mortgage payments, they should sell their home and find a less expensive one. Twenty-two percent (22%) feel the government should assist them in making their payments, while another 13% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.
Time to end the Keynesian pretense about fiscal stimulus ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Reuters 09/20/2011
Deflation does hurt debtors and lenders, but it also advantages savers and institutions with cash to buy assets cheaply. The buyers of dead banks and bad assets generate real growth and jobs. When Roubini, Posen and other mainstream economists call for measures to avoid deflation, they actually cut off one of the few ways that consumers and private business have to offset the ill-effects of secular inflation — the real culprit behind the financial crisis.
Bernanke to Preempt Accusations of Do-Nothing Fed: Caroline Baum ♦♦ Author: Caroline Baum ♦♦ Bloomberg 09/20/2011
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee meet this week to consider a range of unconventional tools for additional monetary stimulus.
One such tool, “forward guidance,” was unveiled at the Aug. 8-9 meeting: The Fed pledged to hold the benchmark rate near zero at least through mid-2013.
The odds-on favorite to debut at the conclusion of the two- day meeting is an effort to extend the maturity of the Fed’s portfolio, with the goal of lowering long-term interest rates.
The Market is On the Edge of a Cliff ♦♦ Author: Graham Summers ♦♦ Gains, Pains, & Capital 09/20/2011
Summers put meat on the bones that Tim Duy reports ... the Fed will not announce QE3. The reason? Politics and a run for cover. The result is, if true, a market crash. Why? Simple. Wall Street has bet the farm that the Fed will do anything to prevent a crash. In the mean while, Democrats and Republicans play head games.
The $2 Billion UBS Incident: 'Rogue Trader' My Ass ♦♦ Author: Matt Taibbi ♦♦ Rolling Stone 09/17/2011
The news that a "rogue trader" (I hate that term – more on that in a moment) has soaked the Swiss banking giant UBS for $2 billion has rocked the international financial community and threatened to drive a stake through any chance Europe had of averting economic disaster. There is much hand-wringing in the financial press today as the UBS incident has reminded the whole world that all of the banks were almost certainly lying their asses off over the last three years, when they all pledged to pu
BofA Said to Keep Bankruptcy as Option for Countrywide Unit ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Bloomberg 09/16/2011
Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the lender burdened by its Countrywide Financial Corp. takeover, would consider putting the unit into bankruptcy if litigation losses threaten to cripple the parent, said four people with knowledge of the firm’s strategy.
The option of seeking court protection exists because the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank maintained a separate legal identity for the subprime lender after the 2008 acquisition, said the people, who declined to be identified because the p
Massive default is best way to fix the economy ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Market Watch 09/13/2011
You want to fix this economic crisis? You want to put people back to work? You want to light a fire under the economy?
There’s a way to do it. Fast. And relatively simple.
But you’re not going to like it. You’re not going to like it at all.
Default. A national Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Just Another Day at the Office for Gold ♦♦ Author: Tim Iacono ♦♦ The Mess That Greenspan Made 09/07/2011
Who has physical gold and who has paper? Those who have some want more. Those that don't ... well ... too bad.
On the Swiss Move ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 09/06/2011
What in the world did the Swiss think they were doing? Are they all in now. Sure hope bad things don't happen.
Obama, not tea party, to blame for economy ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Hattiesburg American 09/02/2011
The tea party has been excoriated by the intellectuals for their members' simplicity and rigidity.
Could this mean the liberals are simpletons and rigid also?
Our president stands near the world's largest personal jet and criticizes corporate jet owners.
Corporations keep large amounts of their profits overseas because the United States has one of the highest taxes in the world on corporations at 35 percent.
Struggling With A Great Contraction ♦♦ Author: John Mason ♦♦ Mase: Economics and Finance 08/31/2011
We are in need of a leader who is willing to scrifice today for tomorrow. Is there one? Anyone?
The Fed's Plan - Rumors of News ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 08/31/2011
Just another bailout. This is a twofer in that homeowners and banksters get bailed. Too bad for the American taxpayer who is current on their mortgage. And ... these yahoos want us to vote for them.
Bernanke's Invisible Bazooka Ploy ♦♦ Author: Mike "Mish" Shedlock ♦♦ Global Economic Trend Analysis 08/26/2011
What's the Fed going to do? What he has done to date hasn't worked. It's time for the secret weapon?
Ron Paul: The Face of Tomorrow's Republican Party? ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Moderate Voice 08/25/2011
A new Gallup Poll released on August 24 in which Republican and Republican-leaning Independents nationwide were asked to choose which candidate they supported for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination showed Rick Perry in the lead with 29% of the votes, followed by Mitt Romney with 17%, Ron Paul with 13%, and Michele Bachmann with 10%. No other candidate managed to poll more than 4%.
This is obviously great news for Rick Perry, who has gone from a 5% decifit to Mitt Romney in July to a 12% l
Markets Could Be Making a Losing Bet on More Fed Easing ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ CBS News 08/23/2011
Investors betting that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is about to come to the rescue with another round of monetary easing could be setting themselves up for a major disappointment. Bernanke's much-awaited speech during the central bank's gathering at Jackson Hole, Wyo., later this week is setting up as a potential lose-lose situation: The chairman may not provide the market's desired signal for a third round of quantitative easing —or QE3—and even if he does it may not help.
Ron Paul: The other Texan running for president ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Houston Chronicle 08/21/2011
You might not know it by the media coverage, but there are two candidates from Texas in the Republican presidential field. One finished sixth in Iowa’s Republican straw poll last week with 4 percent of the vote. The other finished second with 28 percent.
The guy who finished just 1 percentage point behind winner Michele Bachmann was not Rick Perry, the newest entrant in the 2012 White House race.
It was Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian lawmaker from Lake Jackson, Texas, and third-time pre
The answer to the question ♦♦ Author: Angie Pratt ♦♦ PoliticalPosts.com 08/21/2011
While immigration is really just a tried and true political wedgie, it is a source of economic hardship in the US.
On EU banks, Solvency or Liquidity? - Or BOTH? ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 08/20/2011
Bruce is laying it on the line with a prognostication which if proven right will not be good. The Fed isn't a white horse, it's a black swan in slow motion.
Ron Paul and America is getting Screwed by Main Stream Media ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ PoliticalPosts.com 08/16/2011
Why is it that Ron Paul is unelectable? Because the Status Quo needs to make it so. That's the only way they can continue to rape the American people. The daily Show hits it on the nail. Great ... Must watch video.
Fixing the economy: We got it wrong ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Kansas City Star 08/16/2011
In early January 2009 two White House-bound economists - Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein - predicted that if the stimulus bill were passed, unemployment would peak at 8 percent by midyear and then start coming down. If there were no stimulus, they said, joblessness might hit 9 percent and not peak until 2010.
Please Listen: The Problem is Too Much Debt ♦♦ Author: John Mason ♦♦ Mase: Economics and Finance 08/03/2011
Washington doesn't get it ... debt isn't the answer. Of course the only thing between them and the unemployment line is more debt.
Geithner out Corzine in? ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 08/03/2011
Washington's elites are playing musical chairs with themselves again. Geithner to be replaced by? Betcha two bits that they have a TBTF pedigree. More us vs them. Elites vs. everybody else.
Drunken Ben Bernanke Tells Everyone At Neighborhood Bar How Screwed U.S. Economy Really Is ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ The Onion 08/03/2011
Claiming he wasn't afraid to let everyone in attendance know about "the real mess we're in," Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reportedly got drunk Tuesday and told everyone at Elwood's Corner Tavern about how absolutely fucked the U.S. economy actually is.
Bernanke, who sources confirmed was "totally sloshed," arrived at the drinking establishment at approximately 5:30 p.m., ensconced himself upon a bar stool, and consumed several bottles of Miller High Life and a half-dozen shots of w
Debt Crisis Over, Economic Crisis Returns ♦♦ Author: Tim Iacono ♦♦ The Mess That Greenspan Made 08/01/2011
Well gee ... you mean everything isn't just hinky dory now that Washington has sold out America again. Oh ... if only the green shoots that we were lied to about were true. As they aren't ... the future is dark. But hey ... Washington will at least go on vacation now. They won't spend any money while they are gone.
10 signs the double-dip recession has begun ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ MSNBC 08/01/2011
Friday's news on GDP shows the double dip has arrived — an expansion of only 1.3 percent and consumer spending up 0.1 percent in the second quarter. Astonishingly low by any account. The debt ceiling trouble and lack of a longer term resolution to the deficit will make it worse.
The U.S. has entered a second recession. It may not be as bad as the first. Economists say that the Great Recession began in December 2007 and lasted until July 2009. That may be the way that the economy was seen th
On More QE and the Recession that won’t end ♦♦ Author: Bruce Krasting ♦♦ Bruce Krasting Blog 07/31/2011
Recessions are supposed to have recoveries. We haven't had one yet. The reason is that Washington's deficit spending is an accounting trick ... tricks don't create jobs. Until Washington stops their active support of the banksters and actually helps Main Street there will be no recovery.
Obama and Geithner May Regret Threats of Default: Caroline Baum ♦♦ Author: Caroline Baum ♦♦ Bloomberg 07/29/2011
Obama’s Washington-knows-best attitude was on display Monday night when he said most Americans outside of Washington had probably never heard the term “debt ceiling” before.
The only way Americans could possibly be unfamiliar with the term is if they had tuned out the president for the last few weeks. The president and his Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, have taken every opportunity to fan the default flames, even though such an outcome is highly unlikely.
Default is defined as the fa
Why the US debt crisis is a good thing ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Reuters 07/28/2011
Paul Krugman rightly notes that a reduction in federal spending will result in pain for many Americans. But what he fails to tell these Americans, especially low income working people he pretends to love, is that the cost of the borrow and spend policies advocated by second generation New Dealers is persistent inflation, a diminution of purchasing power that is just as surely killing the hopes and dreams of all Americans.
Why the Tea Party is Right … and Wrong ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Forbes 07/27/2011
So the Tea Party Republicans, elected with the dual mandates of cutting spending and not raising taxes, have only one real tool to address the deficit and keep their campaign promises. That tool is the requirement of Congressional approval of the debt limit.
They already got suckered in last April’s Boehner-Obama supposedly $38 billion spending-cut deal, which actually turned out to be only $350 million.
Analysis: QE3 may do more harm than good ♦♦ Author: AAA Staff ♦♦ Reuters 07/27/2011
A fresh round of U.S. monetary easing may even do more harm than good for long-term investors as another flood of easy money into fast-growing emerging economies risks refueling oil and commodity price inflation, sapping consumption and growth.
Prospects for a third round of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program (QE3) grew this month after Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was prepared to ease further if economic growth and inflation falter again.
Washington Going Nowhere: Dollar Hits New Lows ♦♦ Author: John Mason ♦♦ Mase: Economics and Finance 07/27/2011
Wouldn't it be nice if we fired politicians for failure instead of giving them even more power. Stop the Republicans. Stop the Democrats. Our road to ruin is Washington's doing.