WikiLeaks – The Truth About The Rape Charges

December 18, 2010 · Posted in Foreign Policy · Comment

Invincible Ignorance?

December 17, 2010 · Posted in General Economics · Comment

Are we saying that Fannie and Freddie are the only root cause of the GLOBAL financial crisis?

No, we’re not. And everyone who claims that that is the substance of our argument is a pathetic and petty little liar who has to make up ridiculous arguments on part of those he’s trying to oppose, because he’s incapable of dealing with their actual arguments … ugh!

Tags: financial crisis, paul krugman

Total US Credit – December 2010 Update

December 10, 2010 · Posted in General Economics · 4 Comments

The latest flow of funds report was released today by the Fed (values are in $billions):

As we can see, the overall credit contraction has taken a break through 2010, at least on the books. This has been due to noticeable credit expansion on the governmental level which will not be sustainable.

Meanwhile, private credit has continued its ongoing uninterrupted contraction even in 2010.

Tags: total credit

California Budget Shortfall May Hit 28 Billion; Expect More Gridlock and IOUs

December 10, 2010 · Posted in Government · 2 Comments

Bloomberg writes California Deficit May Reach $28 Billion as IOUs Loom:

California’s budget gap may widen to $28.1 billion over 18 months, according to Governor-elect Jerry Brown, who takes charge of the most-populous U.S. state next month. A cash shortage may force the use of IOUs by July, Controller John Chiang said.

The deficit estimate takes into account a $2.7 billion drop in projected estate-tax receipts, and compares with the most recent forecast of a $25 billion gap for the period, Brown said today at a public meeting of state officials. The cash accounts may be short by $2.3 billion within eight months, Chiang said at the meeting in Sacramento.

“I don’t want to say it, but this could mean IOUs and more tax-refund deferrals,” Chiang said.

Every year it’s the same spiel in California. Political gridlock, delayed budgets, IOUs, and deferred tax refunds. It’s the political class trying to figure out how to screw the taxpayer in the most propitious and palatable manner.

When a system lacks logic and reasoning from first principle in its conceptualization, then chaos will always arise in the long run.

Tags: california budget

Budget Deficits & Bullies

December 9, 2010 · Posted in Government · Comment

Tags: no tags

Celebrity Memorabilia Auction in Beverly Hills Achieves Record Prices

December 6, 2010 · Posted in Business · 1 Comment

Once again I spent a weekend with one of our clients, Julien’s Auctions, supporting our auction software during the Icons & Idols sale in Beverly Hills, California.

You can look up the results for Icons and Idols (Fri,Sa) and the Johnny Cash sale (Sun) online.

Here are some press statements about this weekend’s sale:

From Rolling Stone:

A single glove worn by Michael Jackson on his Bad tour sold for $330,000 on Saturday.

The glove drew the highest price at the “Icons and Idols” auction, held at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. Other Jackson items that were sold include a signed jacket and a fedora he wore onstage, which went for $96,000 and $72,000 respectively. A costume made for Jackson’s pet chimp Bubbles was also reportedly up for auction, but it is unknown whether it sold.

… actually, it is known. It sold for $11,250.

Th AP writes Johnny Cash jumpsuit brings $50,000 at auction:

“The Man in Black” was dressed in blue as he rehearsed for a 1969 concert at San Quentin.

The embroidered blue jumpsuit that Johnny Cash wore to practice caused a bidding war during a memorabilia auction Sunday, bringing in nearly 10 times what was expected.

The suit was expected to sell for $5,000, but was eventually claimed for $50,000 by a collector from Belgium, said Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. He would not name the buyer.

The auction of 321 lots sold for over $700,000, nearly twice what was expected, Julien said Monday.

The late country singer was photographed in the suit giving a concert photographer “The Finger.”

That photo was used in a 1998 Billboard magazine ad purchased by Cash’s record company to sarcastically thank Nashville and country radio after he received a best country album Grammy for “Unchained.”

“Johnny Cash is highly collectible. He’s got global appeal, especially for a country artist. He was the first country music artist who was collectible. He set the standard,” Julien said.

An international group of fans, collectors and investors took part in the auction, by phone or in person, he said.

A poster announcing Cash’s performance at the prison sold for $25,000, a 1968 passport for $21,875 and a Martin guitar for $50,000.

A shirt made by Nudie Cohn and worn by Cash when he was grand marshal of the American Bicentennial Grand Parade in 1976 brought in $31,250 and a pair of Cash’s knee-high boots sold for $21,875.

Cash died in 2003 of complications from diabetes.

Because he performed at prison so often and led a rather rowdy life early in his career, many people believed he served time in prison. He did not, although he battled drug addiction over the years and received a suspended jail sentence in 1965 on a misdemeanor narcotics charge in Texas.

Here are some details on the lot, in case you are interested.

Well, why am I writing all this? To show you that one thing’s for sure: The one group of people who are well and alive and thriving in this financial crisis are the super-duper rich. And they are surely doing their part in driving up prices in investments left and right, be it commodities or be it celebrity memorabilia.

Tags: celebrity auction

Arab Opinion Polls: US and Isreaeli Governments Pose the Biggest Threats to the Middle East

December 1, 2010 · Posted in Foreign Policy · Comment

The predictable hypocrisy about WikiLeaks on the part of US neoconservatives is as pathetic as it is hilarious:

Noam Chomsky is always a great resource on objective evidence, logic, and facts in the realm of foreign policy.

Tags: noam chomsky, wikileaks

Irish People Say: Default! Other Governments Go MAD – Screwing the Future

December 1, 2010 · Posted in Global Economics · 4 Comments

The Independent writes:

A SUBSTANTIAL majority of the Irish people wants the State to default on debts to bondholders in the country’s stricken banks, according to a Sunday Independent/Quantum Research poll.

The finding that 57 per cent favour and 43 per cent oppose default reflects a growing view among policymakers and opinion formers that the State simply cannot support the debt burden it has taken on.

The telephone poll of 500 people nationwide has also found that a majority of around two-thirds opposes the headline measures in the Government’s four-year plan.

Following Fianna Fail’s loss of the by-election in Donegal last week, the findings will add to political uncertainty as an austerity Budget approaches on December 7.

As Ireland awaited the fine details of the international bailout, which are expected tonight, it was learned last night that the Irish delegation negotiating with the EU-IMF last week raised the issue of default.

“The Europeans went completely mad,” a senior government source said.

Mad? Why? Because it’s THEIR ass that’s on the line, not the Irish’s:

Total foreign bank exposure to Ireland’s economy is $844bn, or five times the value of Ireland’s GDP or economic output. Of that, German and UK banks are Ireland’s biggest creditors, with €206bn and €224bn of exposure respectively.

To put it another way, German and British banks on their own have each extended credit to Ireland greater than Irish GDP. Which doesn’t sound altogether prudent, does it?

As for direct bank-to-bank lending, overseas banks have provided Ireland’s banks with €169bn of loans, which is also greater than Irish GDP.

Here is another illustration on Germany’s banks’ exposure to Irish and other gambles:

Screwing the Future

It is important to understand that government debt is always about screwing the future to enrich connected people in the present:

Ironically, when you look at the political stage, all you will hear in regards to “solutions” to deficits in the end, will be tax hikes. These are not solutions. They are the ultimate manifestation of the very problem at hand. They are, in fact, the precise opposite of a solution. Keep this in mind whenever you hear politicians talk about deficit solutions. Raising taxes to reduce deficits is absolutely and 100% an admission that one has completely failed to solve this deficit problem, and in fact laid the final brick that was missing in the very process of the public’s depredation via deficit spending.

Thus European governments will fight tooth and nail to raise as much money as they possibly can in exchange for promising their lenders and increased loot from increased future theft.

In this particular case it will be Irish taxpayers in the future who will foot the bill.

So long as people cling on to the fantasy of the necessity governments, all this stuff will be so completely predictable that it’s almost boring, and it will continue to go on as I have been pointing out from the very beginning of when this financial crisis started hitting Europe.

Tags: europe, ireland, sovereign debt

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