Finance Geek

The Atomic Bomb that is About to Explode at the Federal Reserve

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:28:07 -0400

The Atomic Bomb that is About to Explode at the Federal Reserve:

If the courts stepped in and decided these interest payments were illegal, that would certainly be a whole lotta money flying out of the Federal Reserve at once.

I’m not sold on the logic that this would necessarily lead to hyperinflation. The money might fly right back into the Federal Reserve as Treasury Bills, especially if they bumped interest rates a bit.

Still, an interesting story that isn’t getting coverage in the MSM.

(via Tommy Humphreys) My friend Tommy has been crushing it...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:02:55 -0400

(via Tommy Humphreys)

My friend Tommy has been crushing it covering the financial sector. Check out his interview with uber-libertarian Doug Casey. My favourite part is his hypothetical first day in office as the US President: abolish the federal reserve, disband 80% of the Army and the entire CIA & NSA, and default on the debt.

"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit..."

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:23:37 -0400

““I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection.””

- Warren Buffett

The Saga of QE and The Ben Bernank | The Daily Capitalist

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:56:47 -0500

The Saga of QE and The Ben Bernank | The Daily Capitalist

Nobel Prize Winner Joseph Stiglitz Calls for Jail Time for Corporate Crooks - DailyFinance

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 02:08:58 -0400

Nobel Prize Winner Joseph Stiglitz Calls for Jail Time for Corporate Crooks - DailyFinance

Holy Crap (via latoyaegwuekwe) Unemployment by county over the...

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:29:39 -0400

Holy Crap (via latoyaegwuekwe)

Unemployment by county over the last 3 years.

"If developers were allowed to face directly the high land costs of providing so much parking, the..."

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:30:01 -0400

“If developers were allowed to face directly the high land costs of providing so much parking, the number of spaces would be a result of a careful economic calculation rather than a matter of satisfying a legal requirement. Parking would be scarcer, and more likely to have a price — or a higher one than it does now — and people would be more careful about when and where they drove.”

- Economic View - Why Free Parking Comes at a Price - NYTimes.com

"Singapore, I think, has the closest thing to the sort of system Hayek had in mind. Among wealthy..."

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:08:08 -0400

“Singapore, I think, has the closest thing to the sort of system Hayek had in mind. Among wealthy countries, it spends the smallest percentage of GDP on health care, and it gets about the best results. You know what that’s called? Efficiency. How do you get it? Competitive markets with freely moving prices under the rule of law! It’s the sort of thing you’re in favor of if you want everybody to have access to really good health care and money to spend on things other than health care.”

- So Hayek Basically Had Ezra Klein’s Views on Health Care, Right? (via jimdew) (via continuum)

Great article on free markets, libertarianism, and how it is possible for governments to take care of all their constituents without completely screwing up the market for healthcare.

unsolicitedanalysis: crazynutjob: The change in ECRI’s Weekly...

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:03:38 -0400

unsolicitedanalysis:

crazynutjob:

The change in ECRI’s Weekly Leading Index is close to levels they claim reliably predicts a recession.

"How could we have gone back to business as usual and petty political gridlocks with all those black..."

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:05:52 -0400

“How could we have gone back to business as usual and petty political gridlocks with all those black swans circling around us? Then we will really kick ourselves.”

- Thomas Friedman - This Time Is Different

"A true measure of economic vitality is measured by wealth. We can look at incomes or other measures..."

Mon, 24 May 2010 17:55:00 -0400

“A true measure of economic vitality is measured by wealth. We can look at incomes or other measures of productivity but real wealth is measured by net worth. Who controls wealth in the U.S.? According to a study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies the top 25% of U.S. households control 87% of all wealth in the country.”

- America’s wealthiest 25 percent of households own 87 percent of all U.S. wealth. How the middle class face growing income inequality in the new era of the psychopath corporatocracy.

"These days, trading isn’t risky at all. In fact, it’s safer than walking down the..."

Mon, 24 May 2010 17:39:28 -0400

“These days, trading isn’t risky at all. In fact, it’s safer than walking down the street.
Why?
Because the US government is lending money to the big banks at near-zero interest rates. And the banks are then turning around and lending that money back to the US government at 3%-4% interest rates, making 3%+ on the spread. What’s more, the banks are leveraging this trade, borrowing at least $10 for every $1 of equity capital they have, to increase the size of their bets. Which means the banks can turn relatively small amounts of equity into huge profits—by borrowing from the taxpayer and then lending back to the taxpayer.”

- God It’s Great To Be A Banker

"Deep recovery for the global economy depends on the American consumer becoming the American saver,..."

Wed, 19 May 2010 10:14:47 -0400

“Deep recovery for the global economy depends on the American consumer becoming the American saver, investor, and builder. That, in turn, depends on a new generation of businesses, that lay the foundations for tomorrow’s industries, sectors, and markets. Those businesses - Constructive Capitalists - are what fuel meaningful investment in people, communities, and society, not just naked consumption by them.”

- Umair Haque / Bubblegeneration

Will BP be nationalized to pay for the exploding estimated cost of the Gulf disaster?

Thu, 06 May 2010 18:42:12 -0400

Will BP be nationalized to pay for the exploding estimated cost of the Gulf disaster?:

(via unsolicitedanalysis)

I’m not normally for nationalisation, but this one seems to make sense. There is an astounding amount of money to recoup.

Crazy Nut Job: You Know Your Bank Sucks When...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:02:04 -0500

Crazy Nut Job: You Know Your Bank Sucks When...:

… The FDIC closes it on a Thursday. LibertyPointe Bank of New York, NY just failed. The bank had $209.5 million in total deposits and will have an estimated hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund of $24.8 million. The FDIC entered into a loss-share agreement with Valley National Bank on $181.5…

U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:56:25 -0500

U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion:

hilker:

“WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact, just a meaningless and intangible social construct.

See: Fiat currency

"One in five men in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 54 is not working right now…"

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:52 -0500

“One in five men in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 54 is not working right now…”

- Lawrence Summers (via azspot) (via quotingthecrisis)

azspot: The Bush tax cuts

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:15:00 -0500

azspot:

The Bush tax cuts

Be Here Now...by writing about it later. How to cure the apathy and distractedness of social media

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:11:32 -0500

Be Here Now...by writing about it later. How to cure the apathy and distractedness of social media

"What are your top three trend predictions for the virtual goods sector in 2010? More people wake..."

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:26:05 -0500

“

What are your top three trend predictions for the virtual goods sector in 2010?

More people wake up to the fact that selling 100% replicable pixels for dollars is more profitable than selling black sugar water.

Global virtual goods market over USD 10 billion: the US market was about $1B in 2009 and our estimated for Asia was a conservative $7B. Factor in growth in US (maybe $2B next year) + Asia ($9B?) + rest of the world and we’re there easily.

”

- Our Views Along 30 Experts on the Virtual Goods Market 2010

$KO takes in ~$30B a year, so it definitely isn’t true today. I do think that the turning point is coming, though.