Global economic situation for liveaboard cruising yachties

Return of the living dead? - They did not see the resurrection of Goldman Sachs :?: To be very un-PC, if the US-FED was God then GS is the, , 'Holy ****:!:' the instrument that cannot die as it still has "work" to do... - - That is the nearest I can find that is not a 'motherhood statement' (I like my alfoil armour - - an effective 'faraday net' when earthed)... Nevertheless, good background that will placate the usanians and may induce some to invest here:?:

I had to try at some sort of 'come-back' seeing how I got a couple of good kicks in the balls... Thanks... I am still reading them all...

Now a question? Hypothetically "I borrow cheap US$500,000.00 for say 2 years and purchase gold & silver bullion" - what are the downside risks?

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roub...n_of_the_financial_crisis_to_emerging_markets - - These folk need and deserve a good 30minutes each or a substantial essay to present their feelings and views fully (well at least flesh them out better than a 30 second grab and a summary of the words said off camera)... They have something worthwhile listening to and need to be heard... Don your tin hat - - this info is needed and should be in the public domain... Please:!::!::!:

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/willie/2009/1015.html - - - has better analysis - Not all may agree with the views but views are made and evaluated for impact and can be accepted or put in "wait and see"

 

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/laird/2009/1015.html - - - - from anecdotal information I am inclined toward the figure of "More than 21% unemployed in USA" and other "official figures" are likewise discounted...

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/brewer/2009/1015.html - - - - - I still feel the DOW needs to test 4000 or lower... but that is just my personal view

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/2009/1015.html "Gold’s New Friends" - :?: not sure if the intention was that...

http://financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm "IPO Nos - - Part 1 - - - by Richard A. Eckert, cfa | OCTOBER 15, 2009" - - WOW factor...

 

My Mexican family calls it "that German Disease" and Mas, I hate to tell you but you've got it (Alzheimer's). Sorry it took so long for me to catch on. Good luck with that one, buddy.

 

Just thought this might be of interest.
Some pretty level headed talk on where to invest, to safeguard one's assets.
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticke...DaGVyZQ--?tickers=rji,rjz,gld,moo,xli,rja,rjn

 

This is bound to get someone worked up;

 

Ahhheeemmm - - on the cartoon, - - "too big to fail" bailouts - do they register:?::?: or is that the disease?

http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/3163 - - This, in my view, is something with great potential
http://www.theaureport.com/cs/user/print/quote/5374?x-t=pub.view
http://www.theaureport.com/cs/user/print/quote/5378?x-t=pub.view

http://www.gata.org/node/7906 "Is gold market an accident waiting to happen or a crime scene?" (download the pdf)

http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayGsd.php - - I like the links near the end of the essay and the cartoon.... Is it fair to target the "runners" as they flee wallstreet? sort of like a duckshoot at a sideshow without the "cupie doll" but potentially with much satisfaction - sort of like seeing the nasty school bully hit by a passing truck:?::!::?:

http://financialsense.com/index.html some 15 essays for you to read, and later, (in less than 8 hours), the audio podcasts of some 3 or more hours of listening pleasure aveagoodweekend...

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/deepcaster/2009/1016.html - - - - - - Ooooo the pain is getting more intense for some:!:... time for tin-hats & alfoil:?: - but then the truth is often carried by people who are ascribed the description of "nutter" - do your own analysis and research.... :!::!: - Deepcaster is not often wrong....

 

http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,28323,26217394-5013953,00.html

 

ya can't eat gold
and if things really get ugly
thats what it boils down to

I havn't day traded in a while since Ive been back at work
but at the end of each day
I want my money back
cause I just might need to buy supplies for the long term
.

 

sabahcat, that just indicates the devaluation of the US$ against Gold and the level of that manipulation to keep the US$ from falling off the cliff which it will do soon if you look at the US$index http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?c=$usd,uu[m,a]daolnyay[dd][pb50!b200][vc60][ilb14!lh14,3!la12,26,9] which is determined and explained here http://www.akmos.com/forex/usdx/

The strength of the Au$ against the US$ is part US$ (not necessarily USA) investment in AU$ & Au stock & real markets and part US$ collapse as shown in the USDX...
The DOW breaking 10K is part of the fantasyland that is presented by 'main-stream-media' and the banking consortium controlling the US FED -

No conspiracy theory here, just do your reading of those who have been making the correct calls, - - like; Gerald Celente "The Trends Journal", (who writes like he talks with enthusiasm, charisma and credibility on his side), and the other two scholarly reports compiled for commercial interests... A reasonable reader cannot deny their voracity, and I feel should be able to conclude in acquiescence, as to the plausibility of the postulations presented...

Boston, Neither can one eat US$ - - greenbacks or coins, and if they get to Zimbabwean levels there will be no other choice... - - Gold is just a hedge against uncertainty and is as good as cash (why do the USA combat pilots have gold and silver coins in their survival kits?) and in many countries can be redeemed quite readily... I have had no difficulty in "en-cashing" volumes of 5 to 20 oz... and quite a few specialised shops, (pawn-brokers, jewellery shops who 'manufacture', numismatic dealers some money-changers etc.), would probably exchange gold coins for the fiat currency of the realm, regardless of origin...

 

http://www.gata.org/node/7907 "GATA's Ed Steer interviewed by King World News" http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast_Gold /Entries/2009/10/16_GATA.html?812a9150

http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayCdd.php?id=252 "Drumbeats for the Dollar"

 

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingwo...09/10/16_Ted_Butler_on_the_Metals_Market.html

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=8026

http://www.gata.org/node/7908 "Adrian Douglas: How much imaginary gold has been sold?" - - worrying state of affairs, wars have been started on less than this... These commitments are binding...

 

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/ash/2009/1016.html "And the Moon's Made of Cheese"

http://financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/bloom/2009/1016.html "Primary Bear Trend about to resume?"

 

Bailout Helps Fuel a New Era of Wall Street Wealth

Many Americans wonder how this can possibly be. How can some banks be prospering so soon after a financial collapse, even as legions of people worry about losing their jobs and their homes?

It may come as a surprise that one of the most powerful forces driving the resurgence on Wall Street is not the banks but Washington. Many of the steps that policy makers took last year to stabilize the financial system — reducing interest rates to near zero, bolstering big banks with taxpayer money, guaranteeing billions of dollars of financial institutions’ debts — helped set the stage for this new era of Wall Street wealth.

Titans like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are making fortunes in hot areas like trading stocks and bonds, rather than in the ho-hum business of lending people money. They also are profiting by taking risks that weaker rivals are unable or unwilling to shoulder — a benefit of less competition after the failure of some investment firms last year.

So even as big banks fight efforts in Congress to subject their industry to greater regulation — and to impose some restrictions on executive pay — Wall Street has Washington to thank in part for its latest bonanza.

“All of this is facilitated by the Federal Reserve and the government, who really want financial institutions to get back to lending,” said Gary Richardson, a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. “But we have just shown them that they can have the most frightening things happen to them, and we will throw trillions of dollars to protect them. I have big concerns about that.”

Not all banks are doing so well. Giants like Citigroup and Bank of America, whose fortunes are tied to the ups-and-downs of ordinary consumers, are struggling to turn themselves around, as are many regional banks.

But the decline of certain institutions, along with the outright collapse of once-vigorous competitors like Lehman Brothers, has consolidated the nation’s financial power in fewer hands. The strong are now able to wring more profits from the financial markets and charge higher fees for a wide range of banking services.

“They are able to charge more for all kinds of services because companies need banks and investment banks more now, and there are fewer strong ones to help them,” said Douglas J. Elliott of the Brookings Institution.

A year after the crisis struck, many of the industry’s behemoths — those institutions deemed too big to fail — are, in fact, getting bigger, not smaller. For many of them, it is business as usual. Over the last decade the financial sector was the fastest-growing part of the economy, with two-thirds of growth in gross domestic product attributable to incomes of workers in finance.

Now, the industry has new tools at its disposal, courtesy of the government.

With interest rates so low, banks can borrow money cheaply and put those funds to work in lucrative ways, whether using the money to make loans to companies at higher rates, or to speculate in the markets. Fixed-income trading — an area that includes bonds and currencies — has been particularly profitable.

“Robust trading results led the way,” said Howard Chen, a banking analyst at Credit Suisse, describing the latest profits.

To prevent a catastrophic financial collapse that would have sent shock waves through the economy, the government injected billions of dollars into banks. Some large institutions, like Goldman and Morgan, have since repaid their bailout money. But most of the industry still enjoys other forms of government support, which is helping to stoke profits.

Goldman Sachs and its perennial rival Morgan Stanley were allowed to transform themselves into old-fashioned bank holding companies. That switch gave them access to cheap funding from the Federal Reserve, which had been unavailable to them.

Those two banks and others like JPMorgan were also allowed to issue tens of billions of dollars of bonds that are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures bank deposits. With the F.D.I.C. standing behind them, the banks could borrow the money on highly advantageous terms. While some have since issued bonds on their own, they nonetheless enjoy the benefits of their cheap financing.

Granted, banks are also benefiting from a stabilizing economy. The fear that gripped the markets earlier this year, when doomsayers predicted a second Great Depression, has largely dissipated. Stocks, corporate bonds, even risky corporate i.o.u.’s — have all rallied from their bear market lows, some spectacularly so. The Dow Jones industrial average has soared 50 percent this year, and touched 10,000 this week for the first time since the crisis.

Banks that had marked down the value of the assets on their books during the dark days of the crisis are now enjoying a rebound in the value of many of those assets.

“Confidence has returned,” said Shubh Saumya, a financial services specialist at the Boston Consulting Group. “Some of the assets that bankers wrote down last year in the midst of the crisis, now they have got some of that back.”

As the number of banks has dwindled, the survivors are moving into the void left by rivals that are either dead or limping and unwilling to take risks.

A big reason for Goldman Sachs’s blowout profits this year has been the willingness of its traders to take big risks — they have put more money on the line while other banks that suffered last year have reined in such moves. Executives say there are big strategic gaps opening up between banks on Wall Street that are taking on more risks, and those that are treading a safer path.

Banks that have waded back into the markets have been able to exploit large gaps in the prices of various investments, a feature of the postcrisis financial markets. The so-called bid-ask spreads — the difference between the price at which banks are willing to buy things like bonds, and the price at which they are willing to sell — are roughly twice what they were two years ago.

Still, the newfound success is largely limited to the big securities houses on Wall Street. This week, Citigroup and Bank of America reported losses from credit card delinquencies and mortgage defaults — a sign of the lingering pain on Main Street.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/business/economy/17wall.html?_r=1&em

 

Bamby, a nice summery of the issues but in "tame" language, the pdf by Gerald Cilente http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/at...liveaboard-cruising-yachties-tj-autumn-09.pdf puts it in a more "spade is a spade" wording and names the culprits in the criminal and immoral/unethical activity... The big to-big-to-fail bailed out banks are "associated" with the FED, and the bailout virtually indemnifies them against loss, so these "banks" have an extra privileged position which allows them to take risks that would be imprudent for any normal bank to even contemplate... Their, (the Goldman Sachs' group), moneymaking has NOTHING to do with the recovery of the banking or business sector, in fact the reverse, because the funds that could have been available to help/facilitate normal businesses functions in America, IS NOT NOW AVAILABLE to be used by business - even in their NORMAL operational activities... http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN1528622420091015

It is easy to use language that makes it seem that these profiteering banks are "really not very bad", when to a reasonable mind, when exposed for what they are, they would make any excesses by the Mafia seem like the best intended social services operation... USA citizenry are being SCREWED as no entity has been able to screw, steal, ****, pillage ever in recorded history, with government support and acquiescence because they, (bureaucrats and politicians), have been bought out and are controlled by the "money-manager" cartel... ONLY 2 people have opened Gerald Cilenties essay... He was the main man who called the current recession well in advance and has got it right so far.... do read it, I would be preparing for what he says if I was in North America.... I expect some fallout even in the "land down under"

The next USA housing loans reset is taking place NOW, (extending over the next 12 months), and is currently showing significant payment defaults, so when the new interest rates kick in, the loan foreclosures and bankruptcy levels will be bigger than sub-prime, which started all this economic instability when that bubble burst, helping to create lots of "toxic-debt"... Alt A and another category (I forget the name ascribed) http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/15/real_estate/foreclosure_crisis_deepens/ , as well as the undocumented, (because it is spread out in lots of regional banks and from this distance I can not readily quantify as a sector), - Business lease facilities such as shopping malls and other commercial property, because access to normal working capital is not available, many will be forced to fail...

The original toxic debt is still on the books ready to bite, as all those "instruments" are still alive and waiting to do more damage, as they surely will, and they still hold S&P AAA rating as assets, with a total book value that could devastate the world... (An accounting trick has been allowed to hide this problem...)

If there had been NO bailout, and all the banks allowed to fail, America could have well been on the road to recovery internally by now, but the watchdogs & corporate policing structures failed, by allowing the corruption to flourish, conned politicians to give bailouts, failed to enforce legal obligations and existing rules and laws, and the puppet-politicians had lost any sense of courage to fix the corruption, and do their elected duty for their country... Now nothing short of a coup will save the USA... Where are the leaders who have no current political affiliation:?: as nothing short of a CLEAN START will work...:!::!: The "Return to the Constitution Party" needs reform and lacks leadership, as does the group Gerald suggests (Ron Paul's group?) Where are the committed leaders in USA? - - the "clean-skins" who are not tainted by existing major party affiliations:?::?::?:

 

http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayGsd.php - Is JP Morgan Nuckin Futs:?: or obeying a greater power (the FED?) serving what purpose except to depress a market by putting fear into the small punter...

http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayCdd.php?id=251 - - - a little cheeky humour on a depressing topic?