New Jersey’s Debt is Downgraded by Fitch as Chris Christie Funnels Pension Money to Private Equity and Hedge Funds

Chris Christie

New Jersey’s Debt is Downgraded by Fitch as Chris Christie Funnels Pension Money to Private Equity and Hedge Funds (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Sep 8, 2014):

David Sirota must be commended for his incredible work this year exposing the insidious relationship between public pension funds and “alternative asset managers,” namely private equity firms and hedge funds. It is the private equity component that has captured my attention the most due to the industry’s notoriously opaque and seemingly illegal fees.

One example I highlighted earlier this year was: Leaked Documents Show How Blackstone Fleeces Taxpayers via Public Pension Funds. The reason this relationship between public pension money and private equity is so incredibly important is because so many in the private equity world are so incredibly shady. Let’s not forget what SEC official Drew Bowden said back in May:

Read moreNew Jersey’s Debt is Downgraded by Fitch as Chris Christie Funnels Pension Money to Private Equity and Hedge Funds

37 Lies Americans Tell Themselves To Avoid Confronting Reality

37 lies Americans tell themselves to avoid confronting reality (Natural news, Sep 7, 2014):

Have you noticed the incredible detachment from reality exhibited by the masses these days? The continued operation of modern society, it seems, depends on people making sure they don’t acknowledge reality (or try to deal with it). “Denial” is what keeps every sector of civilization humming along: medicine, finance, government, agriculture and more.

The trouble with the denial approach is that eventually the lies collide with reality. Until that day comes, however, happy-go-lucky Americans are merrily enjoying their courtship with self delusion, repeating the following 37 lies to themselves as if they were true:

Read more37 Lies Americans Tell Themselves To Avoid Confronting Reality

Farmers go Hungry As Russian Agricultural Import Ban Begins To Bite

–  Farmers go hungry as Russian agricultural import ban begins to bite (euronews, Sep 5, 2014):

The tit-for-tat sanctions between Russia and the EU and US is beginning to hurt farmers and the fishing industry.

Russia’s ban on most agricultural imports is having knock on effects across Europe.

Read moreFarmers go Hungry As Russian Agricultural Import Ban Begins To Bite

‘This Will Be A Literal Collapse Of The Entire Global Monetary System’

Physical gold and silver (stored outside the banking system!) will protect your financial assets.

Even more important will be water, food, …, etc.


On The Brink Of A Major Crisis: “This Will Be A Literal Collapse of the Entire Global Monetary System” (SHFTplan, Sep 6, 2014):

Discussions of the possible collapse of the U.S. dollar often center around how such an event will affect the domestic economy. But the dollar doesn’t just operate inside of a bubble. It is the world’s reserve currency for a reason. Some sixty-six countries world-wide either utilize it as their primary currency or peg their own currencies to its exchange rate. What this means, as noted by Future Money Trends in the micro documentary below, is that if and when the dollar does come under attack the fallout will be everywhere. The collapse will happen simultaneously and affect billions of people worldwide.

This is 33% of the nations of the world all submitting their currency sovereignty to the US Federal Reserve.

If and when the U.S. loses its currency status this will be a literal collapse of the entire global monetary system… A system that is built on lies, fraud and theft.


(Watch at Youtube)

As you might have guessed, when the game is finally up it will wreak havoc across global economies, financial markets and monetary systems. Should that ever happen, those who have failed to exchange their fiat currencies for physical goods of some sort are going to have a rude awakening.

Read more‘This Will Be A Literal Collapse Of The Entire Global Monetary System’

A Lie That Serves The Rich – The Truth About The American Economy (Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, John Titus, And Dave Kranzler)

From the article:

“The clear hard fact is that the US economy is being run for the sole benefit of a few rich people.”


Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

A Lie that serves the rich — Roberts, Titus, Kranzler (Paul Craig Roberts, Sep 4, 2014):

The labor force participation rate has declined from 66.5% in 2007 prior to the last downturn to 62.7% today. This decline in the participation rate is difficult to reconcile with the alleged economic recovery that began in June 2009 and supposedly continues today. Normally a recovery from recession results in a rise in the labor force participation rate.

The Obama regime, economists, and the financial presstitutes have explained this decline in the participation rate as the result of retirements by the baby boomers, those 55 and older. In this five to six minute video, John Titus shows that in actual fact the government’s own employment data show that baby boomers have been entering the work force at record rates and are responsible for raising the labor force participation rate above where it would otherwise be. http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3544087

Read moreA Lie That Serves The Rich – The Truth About The American Economy (Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, John Titus, And Dave Kranzler)

Scottish Independence Referendum: The Complete Summary

breaveheart

Scottish Independence Referendum: The Complete Summary (ZeroHedge, Sep 8, 2014):

For those just catching up on the main news event of the weekend, namely the sudden surge in Scotland “Yes” vote polling surpassing 50% for the first time, here is a complete round up of the background, updates and expert reactions from RanSquawk, Bloomberg and AFP.

ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

  • Recent polling shows the ‘Yes’ campaign overtaking the unionists for the first time, just 10 days ahead of the final vote on September 18th
  • Independent Scotland runs the risk of limited currency options and fiscal uncertainty
  • UK debt ratings hang in the balance as worst-case scenario sees Westminster shouldering an estimated extra GBP 140bln in former Scottish debt

BACKGROUND

Read moreScottish Independence Referendum: The Complete Summary

Europe Goes ‘All In’: Will Sanction Gazprom, Rosneft And Transneft

SUICIDE-GUN

Europe Goes “All In”: Will Sanction Rosneft, Gazprom Neft And Transneft (ZeroHedge, Sep 7, 2014):

Until this moment, the main reason why everyone mostly dismissed Europe’s sanctions against Russia is that despite all its pompous rhetoric, Europe consistently refused to hit Russia where it would hurt: its energy titans Gazprom, Rosneft And Transfneft. The reason is simple: by imposing sanctions on these core energy exporters, Europe would directly threaten the stability of its own energy imports (Russia accounts for up to 30% of German gas imports), and as winter approaches with every passing day, playing with the energy status quo would seem like economic suicide. This all appears to have changed last Friday, when as the FT reports from a leaked copy, Europe’s latest sanctions round will boldly go where Europe has never dared to go before, and impose sanctions on the big three: Rosneft, Gazprom Neft and Transneft.

This is what is known in game theory terms as a major defection round.

Read moreEurope Goes ‘All In’: Will Sanction Gazprom, Rosneft And Transneft

Russia’s Gazprom To Fall Under New EU Capital Ban – Sources

Obama-Sanctions-Costs

– Russia’s Gazprom to fall under new EU capital ban – sources (RT, Sep 7, 2014):

Russia’s Gazprom Bank and oil producer Gazprom Neft will fall under new sanctions approved by the European Union on Friday, Reuters cited an EU diplomat as saying. The sanctions reportedly include a new ban on raising capital in the 28-nation bloc.

The sanctions were agreed against Russia for its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis, the diplomatic source said.

Read moreRussia’s Gazprom To Fall Under New EU Capital Ban – Sources

Feel Like Betting On Life Expectancy? There’s A Derivative For That

Feel Like Betting On Life Expectancy? There’s A Derivative For That (ZeroHedge, Sep 6, 2014):

Think CDS were the scourge of humanity, think again. As Pension360 reports, several Wall Street firms are selling securities backed by longevity riskthe risk that retirees receiving benefits will live longer than expected (and thus incur a higher cost on their retirement plan). As Ted Ballantine notes, ‘no one ever said Wall Street wasn’t creative’; but one wonders just how the banks are mitigating this risk…

Read moreFeel Like Betting On Life Expectancy? There’s A Derivative For That

Idiocy On An Epic Scale … How Congress Will Create The Next Financial Crisis: H.R. 5148: Access To Affordable Mortgages Act

Obama_Health_Care_Speech_to_Joint_Session_of_Congress

New bill: Congress engineering yet another financial crisis (Sovereign Man, Sep 6, 2014):

Say hello to the next financial crisis, brought to you courtesy of the dumbest new bill of the week: H.R. 5148: Access to Affordable Mortgages Act.

Ordinarily whenever an individual wants to borrow money for a mortgage, the bank conducts due diligence… both on the borrower as well as the property.

It’s in the banks’ interest (as well as the banks’ depositors) to ensure that the property is at least worth as much as the amount being borrowed. Duh.

Congress doesn’t agree. Apparently when banks conduct property appraisals, that seems to unfairly discriminate against some segment of the population trying to buy crap properties.

And we certainly can’t have that going on in the Land of the Free.

So with HR 5148, Congress aims to exempt certain ‘higher-risk mortgages’ from property appraisal requirements.

Read moreIdiocy On An Epic Scale … How Congress Will Create The Next Financial Crisis: H.R. 5148: Access To Affordable Mortgages Act

Nevada, Tesla Announce Huge ‘Gigafactory’ Deal

Nevada, Tesla announce huge ‘Gigafactory’ deal (USA Today, Sep 5, 2014):

Tesla Motors and Nevada made it official on Thursday evening: the electric car company’s highly sought battery “Gigafactory” and its projected 6,500 jobs are coming to the Reno area.

Mutual congratulations between the electric-car maker and Silver State officials aside, the news of the announcement event in Carson City was the huge incentives the state will have to contribute to seal its end of the proposed deal: a package estimated to be worth $1.25 billion over 20 years.

Read moreNevada, Tesla Announce Huge ‘Gigafactory’ Deal

Barclays Is Launching Finger Scanner That Scans A Person’s Blood Flow To Access Account

Banksters - Get Out Of Jail Free Card

Barclays is Launching Finger Scanner that Scans a Person’s Blood Flow to Access Account (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Sep 5, 2014):

It’s hard for an article to be simultaneously disturbing and amusing, but this morning’s article in the UK Telegraph about Barclays’ new blood vein finger scanner does just that.

What’s truly incredible about the article is Ashok Vaswani’s (chief executive of Barclays personal and corporate banking) purported obsession with fighting criminality, when in reality there appear to be few bigger criminal enterprises on earth than Barclays itself.

We are told the following about Barclays’ ostensible commitment to the rule of law:

Read moreBarclays Is Launching Finger Scanner That Scans A Person’s Blood Flow To Access Account

53 MILLION Temps: All You Need To Know About The U.S. ‘Jobs Recovery’

53 Million Temps: All You Need To Know About The “Jobs Recovery” (ZeroHedge, Sep 5, 2014):

After years of ignoring the obvious, the Federal Reserve has been finally forced to admit that the labor force participation rate matters, and in fact has started to point it out as a clear negative when it comes to Yellen’s “dashboard” of thresholds which will allow the Fed to raise rates (for the obvious reason that the Fed is desperate to delay ZIRP as long as possible and is now highlighting all that is wrong with the economy, contrary to Obama who is still focusing on all the rigged greatness of the US recovery) and to do so is going through Zero Hedge archives to note all those things which everyone had ignored for years and which we have pointed out as structural failures of the so-called recovery.

So while we are happy to oblige the Fed with our tens of thousands of articles summarizing what is broken with the US economy thanks to, well, the Fed, here is another one: one which the Fed can use next year when the time to hike rates has come and gone, and when the Fed is once again scratching its head what to blame it on.

The chart below shows the civilian employment to population ratio: a convenient indicator of the real state of the US labor market which does away with the labor force entirely, and the associated rhetoric of why it may or may not be plunging, and merely focuses on two simple things: total population and the total civilian population of the US. One thing is clear: the ratio crashed when the depression started and has flatlined since. Which, incidentally, may be all you, and the Fed, needs to know about the recovery.

Read more53 MILLION Temps: All You Need To Know About The U.S. ‘Jobs Recovery’

Stocks Close At Record High On Worst Jobs Number Of 2014

Stocks Close At Record High On Worst Jobs Nuimber Of 2014 (ZeroHedge, Sep 5, 2014):

Worst jobs data of the year? BTFATH. For the 9th day in a row, S&P 2,000 was all that mattered. Thanks to the standard Friday v-shaped recovery, the Dow scrambled back to green on the week and S&P 500 hit its Maginot ‘retirement on’ line – all on the back of USDJPY 105.00 pinning. Trannies and S&P hit new record highs and S&P had its best day in 2 weeks (led by exuberant growthy Staples & Utilities this week). Russell ended the week red as the late-day buying-panic sent Nasdaq just green with Dow and S&P. But, away from stocks, US Treasuries had their worst week in a year with 30Y +16bps (but 2Y only +2bps). The US dollar rose to new 14-month highs with its biggest week in 10 months. Despite the USD strength, Copper manage to close marginally higher even as PMs dropped 1.6% and oil plunged almost 3% (WTI under $93) in a very volatile week. High-yield credit markets closed with their worst week in the last 5. Bad news is great news still – just six years into the ‘recovery’.

Britain And The Kings Of Arabia (Documentary)


30.08.2014

Britain’s support of the authoritarian regimes of the Arabian Peninsula is deeply rooted in their vast economic and military interests through often corrupt partnership between the royal families. In this documentary the history of these relations are studied; and it shows how huge amounts of oil revenue is again invested in Britain by Arabian princesses instead of being spent on the people of these nations and where these funds are needed. The torture and murder of an Afghan laborer at the hands of an Abu Dhabi prince with the aid of the police is also depicted.

Everything That’s Wrong With Banking Summed Up In One Bonehead Advertisement

–  Everything That’s Wrong With Banking Summed Up In One Bonehead Advertisement (Sovereign Man, Sep, 4, 2014):

If you’re looking around right now for a new bank account that pays a reasonable rate of return, ANZ bank has a hell of a deal for you: 0%!

That’s right. ANZ is offering its depositors absolutely zero interest.

Now, a bank paying 0% isn’t exactly abnormal in today’s banking environment. But what’s really strange is that ANZ actually took out an ad in an Australian newspaper to advertise this.

Read moreEverything That’s Wrong With Banking Summed Up In One Bonehead Advertisement

Europe Needs A New Source of Oil and Gas, Fast

Europe Needs A New Source of Oil and Gas, Fast (Oil Price, Sep 4, 2014):

Summer is over and many Europeans may have to keep warm this coming winter by thinking about their summer holidays while wrapped in blankets, praying for a short winter or for the world to come to its senses. It both cases, they may well be disappointed.

The never-ending conflicts in the Middle East, mayhem in Libya, uncertainty in the Gulf and a war in Ukraine are all going to take a toll on the energy supplies this winter.

Russia sold 86 billion cubic meters of gas last year, all of which passed through Ukraine. Given what’s happening there now, it is highly unlikely that the Russians would allow their gas to transit a country they are (unofficially) at war with. Just as it is unlikely that Ukrainians would allow Russian gas access through its territory.

Read moreEurope Needs A New Source of Oil and Gas, Fast

Argentina Goes Full-Venezuela – Plans To Regulate Prices, Profits, & Production

argentina

Argentina Goes Full-Venezuela – Plans To Regulate Prices, Profits, & Production (ZeroHedge, Sep 5, 2014):

Just weeks after defaulting (yet again) on its debt (whether technically or not), and shortly after raising the minimum wage by 31% (to $523 a month) amid runaway inflation, it appears Argentina has gone full-Venezuela. As WSJ reports, the great minds that ‘run’ Argentina have decided to pass legislation (dubbed “the supply law”) letting the government regulate private-sector prices, profit margins and production levels. The opposition is up in arms, “this is absolutely ridiculous. It’s part of a very primitive ideology that says government officials should decide what people should make, how much they should make and how much they should charge,” adding that “we already know exactly what it is like to suffer from these kind of interventionist economic policies,” in Venezuela.

As The Wall Street Journal reports,

Read moreArgentina Goes Full-Venezuela – Plans To Regulate Prices, Profits, & Production