debt

Looking ahead September 12th could be pivotal day for two reasons

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One thing we talk about in our Investment Survival Workshops is learning to develop a horizon further out than tomorrow.  I know that sounds obvious but it’s harder to do than you think.  Most people including myself, hesitate for a moment to recall what they did yesterday and most of us wake up and think about what we are going to do that day, not the next day or the following week.  When I moved from Eastern Standard time to Mountain Standard time zone, I dreaded getting up two hours earlier in the predawn to read the papers and analyst … Read more

Greece A Result Of A Greedy Goldman? Nahhhh…

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Back in 2001, Greece had a problem.  The struggling country’s debt levels were simply too high to qualify for admittance to the European Union.  While these regulations were in place to protect the structure of the European economy, Goldman Sachs was more than willing to step in with a timely loan which provided the necessary liquidity to hide the nation’s accumulated debt load.  Essentially a perfect solution for both Greece and Goldman, here is the situation illustrated by Bloomberg: “The Goldman Sachs transaction swapped debt issued by Greece in dollars and yen for euros using an historical exchange rate, a mechanism … Read more

“‘d Be A Fool To Hold Anything But Cash Now”

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Interesting interview with David Stockman the other day.  The Ex-White House budget director expresses some extremely strong feelings about the direction this country is headed in the upcoming months.  Considering his prediction of an event of epic proportions, wouldn’t you rather be on the right side of the trade than out of the market entirely..? Now 65 and gray, but still wearing his trademark owlish glasses, Stockman took time from writing his book about the financial collapse, “The Triumph of Crony Capitalism,” to talk to The Associated Press at his book-lined home in Greenwich, Conn: Q: You sound as if … Read more

The Roof Has Been Raised: $16.4 Trillion Debt Ceiling

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Well, it’s looking like  the Senate was unable to muster enough votes to reject the newest debt ceiling hike in a 52 to 44 vote.  Due to take effect this Friday, we will be looking at a new ceiling of $16.4 trillion with our current levels reaching the $15.4 trillion mark. From Zerohedge: “Since roughly $100 billion was plundered from Pension Funds in the past month, The US will have about $15.4 trillion in debt with the Monday DTS. The question then is how long will the $1 trillion in debt capacity last: at $125 billion/month it won’t be enough … Read more

Six Reasons to Avoid Japan In 2012

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Guest post: Ron Rowland One of the best ways to make money in ETFs is to not lose money.  I know it sounds obvious, but I can assure you that many people don’t get this key point.  So if I can help you do that, then I count it as a success.  And today I’ll talk about an ETF category I think you should avoid in 2012: Japan. What’s Wrong with Japan? I’ve been to Japan many times.  I love the country and the people.  Yet I have to tell you that now is not the time to invest in … Read more

Warren Buffett calls Tea Party Insane

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Charlie Rose – Warren Buffett.   As always Buffett is illuminating and comforting.  He is the nation’s economic compass and a person we can consider a  genuine national treasure if there ever was one.   In this great interview with Charlie Rose he likens the budget debate as a game of chicken with two cars lined up heading  toward one another.  Both parties think the other will turn away before mutual self destruction except suddenly one party throw the steering wheel out the window.  Suddenly the other driver realizes he is dealing with an insane person, aka the Tea Party.

Beyond debt woes, a wider crisis of globalization?

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(Reuters) – The crises at the heart of the international financial and political system go beyond the debt woes currently gripping the Western world and to the heart of the way the global economy has been run for over two decades. After relying on it to deliver years of growth, lift millions from poverty, keep living standards rising and citizens happy, nation states look to have lost control of globalization. In the short term, that leaves policymakers looking impotent in the face of fast-moving markets and other uncontrolled and perhaps uncontrollable systems — undermining their authority and potentially helping fuel a wider backlash and … Read more

Berlusconi under pressure as markets lose patience

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(Reuters) – Bond markets may be succeeding where political opponents have failed, pushing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi closer to the exit and opening up fresh uncertainties as Italystruggles to avoid financial disaster. The spread between yields on 10-year Italian bonds over German Bunds briefly climbed past the equivalent Spanish/German spread on Friday morning, underlining the perception that Italy now poses the major threat to euro zone stability. Berlusconi’s response to the crisis, blaming international conditions and pledging unspecified measures to boost growth, has fallen flat with markets suddenly focusing on his divided government and longstanding weaknesses in the Italian economy. … Read more

Congress averts default, downgrade fears haunt

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress buried the specter of a debt default by finally passing a deficit-cutting package on Tuesday, but the shadow lingered of a possible painful downgrade of the top-notch American credit rating. Just hours before the Treasury’s authority to borrow funds ran out, the Senate voted 74 to 26 to pass a hard-won compromise to lift the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling enough to last beyond the November 2012 elections. President Barack Obama, who will seek a second term next year, was expected to immediately sign the deal into law, although without any White House ceremony. His signature … Read more

Will The U.S. Default Before Greece?

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    Will The U.S. Default Before Greece? By Dirk Van Dijk on July 18, 2011 | More Posts By Dirk Van Dijk | Zacks.com    I thought this was an interesting article on default and earnings by Van Dijk “The fundamental backing for the market continues to be solid. It is important to keep your eyes on the prize. There’s lots of news out there, and much of it is more dramatic than earnings results, but rarely does it have more significance for your portfolio. Earnings are, and are going to remain, the single most important thing for the … Read more

S&’s yell ,”shark!”, and everyone runs into the water instead of out of it

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These days the headlines ‘calamity’, the ‘disaster”, ‘financial Armageddon’, and the”Titanic sinking” are used to describe what will happen if Congress refuses to pass the debt ceiling authorization in a timely manner.   If the U.S. government defaults on its sovereign debt obligations and other payment obligations, there will be an immediate downgrade of our trillions of dollars of debt to something less than AAA.  This will cause enormous upheaval and increased interest costs, thus exacerbating the already enormous burden of debt the country shoulders.  These events could lead to an uncertain chain reaction of cascading financial upheavals around the world; … Read more

Debt Limit and Wall St.

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Last Update: July 15, 2011 04:08 ET   Debt Limit and Wall St Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr.     Wall Street not concerned about US debt ceiling hassle or default In Washington DC, the fight over to raise or not to raise the US federal debt limit grows stranger by the day. The White House says the limit must be raised by August 2nd, or the government will not be able to pay its bills, possibly including US bonds held around the World. But as the deadline nears, US stocks and bonds, if they could talk, are saying So What! … Read more