Friday 22 June 2012

Do you get the feeling something bad is about to happen?

Fifteen of the biggest global banks were downgraded on Thursday by Moody’s Investors Service, adding to pressure on their borrowing costs and questions over their business models.
Financial Times

Italy's prime minister, Mario Monti, has warned of the apocalyptic consequences of failure at next week's summit of EU leaders, outlining a potential death spiral whose consequences would become more political than economic.
Guardian

Spain’s troubled banks could need as much as €62 billion ($78.6 billion) in new capital to protect themselves from economic shocks, according to independent auditors hired by the government to assess the country’s struggling financial sector, officials said Thursday.
Washington Post

The latest relief rally in European financial markets was over almost before it began.The market’s tepid response on Monday to Greece’s supposedly momentous election of a pro-bailout party points to a hard truth. Investors will not stop punishing Europe until its leaders devise a comprehensive program with a lot more money to backstop the Continent’s banks and governments.
New York Times

Stocks and bond yields fell as the data reinforced concerns the recovery is faltering after Fed policy makers yesterday cut their growth forecasts and extended a program to keep long-term interest rates low. Another report today showed sales of existing homes fell in May, indicating that tight credit and the weakest employment gains in a year are holding back residential real estate.
Bloomberg

The whales of our current economic society swim mainly in financial market oceans. Innovators such as Jobs and Gates are as rare within the privileged 1% as giant squid are to sharks, because the 1% feed primarily off of money, not invention. They would have you believe that stocks, bonds and real estate move higher because of their wisdom, when in fact, prices float on an ocean of credit, a sea in which all fish and mammals are now increasingly at risk because of high debt and its delevering consequences. Still, as the system delevers, there are winners and losers, a Wall Street food chain in effect.
Bill Gross, PIMCO

5 comments:

Electro-Kevin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stevie b. said...

Gold tumbling with QE ad nauseam = pushing on a string = global depression?

craigs clock said...

Don't worry about it because somebody's completed diablo III on it's hardest setting!

ernie said...

The important thing is to focus your attention on the real economic news - not the endless central bank b.s. Real economic indicators (oil is a good example) are clearly signalling a world recession/depression. Add to that the fact that the qe types have now even stopped trying to pretend - the lies about what money is needed or what quality the collateral is are now flagrant. Indeed they are encouraged (e.g. abolish ratings and make our own up), Tells you all you need to know really.
There is no solution to this - it will collapse

Jayarava said...

Steve Keen - "The UK is headed for a credit crunch on the scale of Lehman Brothers."