tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post6783088020846720359..comments2024-02-28T22:03:57.237-05:00Comments on The Automatic Earth: Debt Rattle, December 17 2008: Your lives at zero percentIlargihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-44441479200097463702008-12-18T03:18:00.000-05:002008-12-18T03:18:00.000-05:00Yes, the Treasury is gambling with our money. But ...Yes, the Treasury is gambling with our money. <BR/><BR/>But let's be specific about its scheme.<BR/><BR/>The Feds lent trillions to the banks. The banks lent the loans to the Feds. And to top it off, the Feds leveraged the loans and lent more to the banks.<BR/><BR/>Interestingly, there are brief mentions on the financial news that foreigners have drawn down their purchases of American bonds. Pennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708171159556556875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-25256791107086829562008-12-18T01:55:00.000-05:002008-12-18T01:55:00.000-05:00Ilargi: Right now, I don't trust the post office ...Ilargi: Right now, I don't trust the post office to take a crap and tell me it's not -- crap...<BR/><BR/>We're getting to the point where things are truly unravelling. The only real question left is how far it can go before it goes splat. I guess what you're supposing is that the government can just take over the money supply more completely, but what stops anyone from saying: "I don't trust Starcadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-28188229075504937452008-12-18T00:29:00.000-05:002008-12-18T00:29:00.000-05:00Great post there dude; I enjoy your thoughts!I'm j...Great post there dude; I enjoy your thoughts!<BR/><BR/>I'm just playing with the yield curve these days and it looks like the patient is dead:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGn1SeD1-m0" REL="nofollow">Deadman's Curve</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-8658033200727841542008-12-18T00:03:00.000-05:002008-12-18T00:03:00.000-05:00I have a job and my money is automatically deposit...I have a job and my money is automatically deposited into my account. But I really despise banks. I am nickled and dimed on everything i do with the bank. I don't know of any way getting around without a bank. It's like I must use one. the company doesn't pay in cash, and many places want a %1 charge on cashing a check. so I am caught in a rock and a hard place. I'd prefer not to use a bank, but Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-19581714925558231742008-12-17T23:19:00.000-05:002008-12-17T23:19:00.000-05:00Talbott's speaking the absolute truth about the ch...Talbott's speaking the absolute truth about the character of the American people, though.Chaoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14511045883879753073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-43894870616143191132008-12-17T22:58:00.000-05:002008-12-17T22:58:00.000-05:00"If this person is speaking for Obama in any way, ...<I>"If this person is speaking for Obama in any way, I've lost all hope."</I><BR/><BR/>Well he's not. As far as I'm aware, there's no evidence, that Strobe Talbott has ever even spoken to Obama, although I would guess he probably has, in passing. And there is a possibility that Talbott, who is a long-term Friend of Bill, will have a role in the administration somewhere. But he has no role at the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-34764698134734432322008-12-17T22:28:00.000-05:002008-12-17T22:28:00.000-05:00TALBOTT: He [Obama] will not, however, come at eve...<I>TALBOTT: He [Obama] will not, however, come at everyone with the grim message that we all have to change our way of life, that we need to take the metro, for instance, or buy small cars. ... America does not simply want to be green. America wants to make money off being green.</I><BR/><BR/>If this person is speaking for Obama in any way, I've lost all hope.DJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02268326234560351295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-76745511193866767882008-12-17T21:01:00.000-05:002008-12-17T21:01:00.000-05:00Re: Executive Pay Limits May Prove Toothless Time...Re: Executive Pay Limits May Prove Toothless <BR/><BR/>Time for the pitchforks certainly!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-19045301757207636152008-12-17T20:11:00.000-05:002008-12-17T20:11:00.000-05:00Bets in the London casino are certainly high -all ...Bets in the London casino are certainly high -all to red. Pound down from 1.10 euros to 1.07; deflation may be inevitable but some stupid politicians will make sure some pockets of hyper-inflation exist by destroying their own currencies. The debate is already hot on the BBC blogs (intersting posts: #5, #13, #25, #28, #37):<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-44202658284394276522008-12-17T19:49:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:49:00.000-05:00Oh Canada, Please wake up!Oh never mind, go back t...Oh Canada, Please wake up!<BR/>Oh never mind, go back to sleep. It's too late...and you'll need your rest.scandiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07924260428840006237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-9607962727880089962008-12-17T19:41:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:41:00.000-05:00Excellent intro today Ilargi. One of your best.No...Excellent intro today Ilargi. One of your best.<BR/><BR/>Not directly related to today's news (although really as you have pointed out, *all* of this is inexorably intertwined) I though your readers would be interested to know that I have started to see shortages here in the Los Angeles area. The stores do a clever job of covering it up by moving surplus nonsense merchandise in place of the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-64195914191756375092008-12-17T19:22:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:22:00.000-05:00Steve Keen in his podcast a couple of months ago m...Steve Keen in his podcast a couple of months ago made a great statement.<BR/><BR/>"What they are doing with bailouts is moving private debt into public debt, because the government can't default on the debt. However that doesn't change the problem which is the extremely high debt to GDP."<I>(paraphrased)</I><BR/><BR/>All the lenders are doing is reducing their risk, without reducing their level Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10318309864441672787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-52545378107502289212008-12-17T19:21:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:21:00.000-05:00Wasn't it LeapEU2020 that posted Obama would/could...Wasn't it LeapEU2020 that posted Obama would/could not win the presidency...that his 'purpose' was to knock Hillary out of the running?~J~https://www.blogger.com/profile/13373318721374198331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-366476943283773272008-12-17T19:19:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:19:00.000-05:00Bernanke:” The sales are going well. What can I s...Bernanke:” The sales are going well. What can I say; it’s going to be a very merry holiday.”<BR/>Paulson: “Of course they are, we’ve got the strongest military in the world. So, of course our currency is in demand. “<BR/>B: “I just love it when things work together like that. Money for nothing is my motto. What’s the latest on the Detroit rat hole?”<BR/>P: ” Don’t get me started. Mr. “Wyotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639946106031416118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-10502078142740292672008-12-17T19:18:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:18:00.000-05:00Anon 1237: What entrepreneurial men and women in ...Anon 1237: What entrepreneurial men and women in the US will be left after this "correction" is over?<BR/><BR/>Anon 1342: They've cast their lots at the deflation of a whole lot of things -- prices for the rich, population of the poor, what have you... This can't end well unless everyone plays along, and there is no benefit for the better number of the rank and file to do so, since they are Starcadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-18252098045056630912008-12-17T19:14:00.000-05:002008-12-17T19:14:00.000-05:00It's still quite hard to imagine what a different ...It's still quite hard to imagine what a different world we will live in, in a few years time. Was out and about in Melbourne CBD today. People shopping, mums with their kids, live bands outside stores and people going on about their daily lives. <BR/><BR/>It all seems so...Normal. The weather's nice and cool. Maybe i'll go grab a sandwich, sit by the river. Watch the world pass by. <BR/><BR/>I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-51105997077005631442008-12-17T19:04:00.001-05:002008-12-17T19:04:00.001-05:00StarThe government(s), if they get their heads out...Star<BR/><BR/>The government(s), if they get their heads out of the bankers asses, can seize and guarantee deposits for citizens, and make them available, albeit likely in a crudish manner. We don't need GS, MS or CITI. We just need access to our money. They only use it to try and make good on their losses. They do so by betting ever more as we speak. The government can allow you access to your Ilargihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-38457082743538901882008-12-17T18:42:00.000-05:002008-12-17T18:42:00.000-05:00Two down, one to go. GM is already doing the same...Two down, one to go. GM is already doing the same thing -- different time frame. But that's two of the Big Three now gone.<BR/><BR/>(And, no, they are NOT coming back. There is no smart thought which can give any indication as to how anyone can believe otherwise.)<BR/><BR/>I do have one bone to pick, Ilargi, with today's open:<BR/><BR/>How can you be sure that, when the failed banks finally doStarcadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09226367306835781483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-7957042918875260602008-12-17T18:40:00.000-05:002008-12-17T18:40:00.000-05:00We've down LeapEU2020 extensively (check our histo...We've down LeapEU2020 extensively (check our history), even translated a French piece early 2008, after which they now do simultaneous releases. Interesting but vague in -too- many ways.Ilargihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-81441581394135885632008-12-17T18:07:00.000-05:002008-12-17T18:07:00.000-05:00Interview of LEAP2020's Director:http://www.kpfa.o...Interview of LEAP2020's Director:<BR/>http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=29853<BR/>"Understanding the Next Phase of the Global Systemic Crisis" with Director of Research for the GlobalEurope Anticipation Bulletin, Franck Biancheri. We discuss the global systemic crisis leading to a Very Great Depression in the United States. Each month, the Bulletin brings its unique analyses of the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-28147702257293080602008-12-17T16:13:00.000-05:002008-12-17T16:13:00.000-05:00Abraham Lincoln was misquoted. They cut him off be...Abraham Lincoln was misquoted. They cut him off before he could finish up with the line, "Of course, you CAN fool all of the people MOST of the time."<BR/><BR/>However, I don't think it is going to work THIS time.<BR/><BR/>For one thing, he said it before there was an Internet.<BR/><BR/>Regardless of the propaganda pumps running at maximum folks can still understand something as simple as being D. Benton Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09505763959328162067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-84732126728112046262008-12-17T15:53:00.000-05:002008-12-17T15:53:00.000-05:00'It's your lives that are being gambled away.' Pu...'It's your lives that are being gambled away.'<BR/><BR/> Put on your old red bustle<BR/> Get your tail out and hustle,<BR/> For tomorrow the room rent is due;<BR/><BR/> Lay it out in the clover,<BR/> Let the boys look it over,<BR/> If you can't get five, take two.<BR/><BR/>In the past I used to rage and sometimes foam at the mouth after learning of some politician, gov official, or Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-91515371159280265332008-12-17T15:43:00.000-05:002008-12-17T15:43:00.000-05:00Gravity said...If it is generally unproductive to ...Gravity said...<BR/><BR/><I>If it is generally unproductive to discuss GW here, why invite more deniers by placing an article referencing ice thickness?</I><BR/><BR/>Why not? The point isn’t to discuss the issue itself, but rather to press home the very simple point, we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. Regardless of one’s position on the issue itself, the allegory is simple, “Welcome children, thegoritsashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09767556060065779629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-86208159107560839822008-12-17T15:14:00.000-05:002008-12-17T15:14:00.000-05:00Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange to...<B>Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange to Remain Closed for December 17, 2008</B><BR/><BR/>Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange will not resume trading today due to continuing technical issues with its data feeds. The market will be put into a Pre-Open state from 3:00PM to 5:00PM to allow participants the option of cancelling, adding or changing orders. The company intends Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-20040470623204040322008-12-17T14:53:00.000-05:002008-12-17T14:53:00.000-05:00One small datapoint on the ferocity of the downtur...One small datapoint on the ferocity of the downturn: our little, high-tech family-run company had flat sales months following the dot com bubble bursting. That was as bad as it got then. However, the word here is that this November's sales totals are down 25% relative to last November - incredible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com