Daily Digest
Daily Digest 3/20 - Asleep At The Wheel, U.S. Cruises Towards 2013 Fiscal Cliff, Firefight Erupts In Damascus, Syria
by Daily Digest
Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 10:52 AM
- Asleep At The Wheel
- A Wall Street Insider's Response To Greg Smith
- The U.S. Cruises Toward a 2013 Fiscal Cliff
- Was MF Global Worth More As A Carcass?
- The U.S. Economy Is Running On Borrowed Money And On Borrowed Time
- There Is No Such Thing As Harmless Price Inflation
- Grime Wave
- Syria unrest: Fierce firefight erupts in Damascus
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Economy
Asleep At The Wheel (JimQ)
The 2008 cataclysm was created by the voracious greed and avarice of Wall Street, sustained by corrupt politicians in Washington, non-existent regulation by banking regulators, Federal Reserve easy money policies, unspoken guarantees of Fed bailouts if Wall Street excess risk taking blew up, and millions of delusional Americans with an unlimited credit line. Excessive debt created the problem. Adding debt is the present solution to the problem. And the accumulation of debt will lead to a tipping point that destroys the U.S. dollar and topples the Great American Empire.
A Wall Street Insider's Response To Greg Smith (June C.)
But away from the advertising sets, Wall Street always has been a kill-or-be-killed pit of near-violent wills set against each other. Perhaps a bit less so in the retail businesses that sell to Moms and Pops (though “broker production” is a hotly competitive racket, to be sure), but certainly in the institutional businesses where Greg Smith operated. In these businesses, in which the banks trade with professional, accredited investors, the customers are often as bloodthirsty as the banks. Yes, many could use a good salesman’s hand in furthering their interests, but as many – so many – seek the desk that’s sleeping that day and exact a predatory price. Many I’ve traded against gleefully relished it.
The U.S. Cruises Toward a 2013 Fiscal Cliff (Jeff B.)
The result of all this can kicking is that Congress must make all those decisions by January 2013—or defer them yet again. If the House and Senate don't act in time, a list of things will happen that are anathema either to Republicans or Democrats or both. The Bush tax cuts will expire. The temporary payroll tax cut will end. Unemployment benefits will be severely curtailed. And all on Jan. 1, 2013. Happy New Year!
Was MF Global Worth More As A Carcass? (June C.)
Some say Mr. Freeh is rewarding JP Morgan by soft-peddling a fraud investigation despite his role as a federally appointed trustee and the apparent nod by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that anointed Mr. Freeh status as the DOJ’s eyes and ears on the case. Falsification of documents given by MF Global to regulators in the final days of the firm’s survival was alleged in Congressional Testimony by CMEGroup Chairman Terry Duffy, and knowledgeable industry sources speculate a web of fraudulent activity lies underneath the surface. The key to uncovering this evidence could be the MF Global back office, members of which are currently requesting immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony.
The U.S. Economy Is Running On Borrowed Money And On Borrowed Time (David B.)
Businesses generally only want to hire people if they can make a profit by doing so. When our politicians keep piling on the taxes and the regulations and the paperwork, that creates a tremendous incentive not to hire workers.
Michael Fleischer, the President of Bogen Communications, once wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Why I’m Not Hiring”. The following is how Paul Hollrah of Family Security Matters summarized the nightmarish taxes that are imposed on his company when Fleischer hires a new worker….
There Is No Such Thing As Harmless Price Inflation (David B.)
There is much criticism about the CPI indicators. But, you can pick other measures. In fact inflation can be whatever you want it to be.
For example, if you are wary of the BLS measures, then there is John Williams of Shadowstats who has two measures. One is based on the same methodology that the BLS used in 1990:
Grime Wave (Chris M.)
Why Tide and not, say, Wisk or All? Police say it’s simply because the Procter & Gamble detergent is the most popular and, with its Day-Glo orange logo, most recognizable of brands.
George Cohen, spokesman for Philadelphia-based Checkpoint Systems, which produces alarms being tested on Tide in CVS stores, said: “Name brands are easier to resell.
Syria unrest: Fierce firefight erupts in Damascus (jdargis)
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called the fighting "the most violent of its kind and closest to security centres in Damascus since the revolution began", adding that 18 government troops had been injured.
It said a cell of rebel fighters had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the home of a leading army officer, but this has not been confirmed.
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