Economy

Moscow Says Massive ‘Holy Grail’ Gas Deal With China Is 98% Ready

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– Moscow Says Massive “Holy Grail” Gas Deal With China Is 98% Ready (ZeroHedge, May 16, 2014):

We have previously profiled the “holy grail” gas deal between Russia and China on several occasions, and with its announcement scheduled for next week (barring some unmitigated disaster) during Putin’s first visit to China since Xi’s appointment as president last March, it is time to do a status update on where it stands even if according to SCMP, at this point finding the “holy grail” is merely a formality.

The Hong Kong publication reports that China and Russia hope to sign a massive deal for natural gas supply when their leaders meet in a regional summit in Shanghai next week, a senior diplomat has said. Under the deal, Russia will supply 38 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually to China for 30 years. Deputy Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told reporters yesterday that President Xi Jinping would discuss the deal and other points of co-operation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who will visit Shanghai on Tuesday.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said on Monday that the deal was “98 per cent ready”. Supply would begin no later than the end of 2018.

Putin and Xi

Indicating just how important China now is to Russia, Bloomberg adds that traveling with Putin will be the who-is-who of Russian politics and business:

Read moreMoscow Says Massive ‘Holy Grail’ Gas Deal With China Is 98% Ready

US Unemployment Rate Hits 37.2%

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Related Info:

– RECOVERY: The Number Of Working Age Americans Without A Job Has Risen By 27 MILLION Since 2000

– Another Million People Drop Out Of Labor Force – Now An All Time High 92 Million People Are Out Of The Labor Force

– Wall Street Adviser: Actual Unemployment Is 37.2%, ‘Misery Index’ Worst In 40 Years

–  US Unemployment Rate Hits 37.2% (Wealthy Debates, May 14, 2014):

Don’t believe the happy talk coming out of the White House, Federal Reserve and Treasury Department when it comes to the real unemployment rate and the true “Misery Index.” Because, according to an influential Wall Street advisor, the figures are a fraud.

In a memo to clients provided to Secrets, David John Marotta calculates the actual unemployment rate of those not working at a sky-high 37.2 percent, not the 6.7 percent advertised by the Fed, and the Misery Index at over 14, not the 8 claimed by the government.

Read moreUS Unemployment Rate Hits 37.2%

Ukraine’s Richest Man Mobilizes Private ‘Army’ After Assets Threatened

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– Ukraine’s Richest Man Mobilizes Private ‘Army’ After Assets Threatened (ZeroHedge, May 16, 2014):

Rinat Akhmetov – Ukraine’s richest man with an estimated worth of $11.4 billion – has, as Reuters reports, acquired almost feudal status in the industrial hub of Donetsk in the past 20 years – but the separatist rebellions there have altered the dynamics of power. This is not acceptable to the billionaire and so he has demanded his miners and metalworkers join police on patrol on Mariupol. As pro-Russian rebels declaring independence seized public buildings across the steel and coal belt which is the basis of his colossal fortune, he issued repeated written statements in support of a united Ukraine… but the media-shy 47-year-old, who has a workforce of 300,000 people on his payroll in the Donbass, has to tread carefully around local sensitivities and has avoided specifically condemning the action of the separatists.

Bloomberg summarizes his wealth…

Read moreUkraine’s Richest Man Mobilizes Private ‘Army’ After Assets Threatened

Food Prices Skyrocket: ‘We’re Going To Have A Major Problem Coming Into The Fall’

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Related info:

– The Beginning Of The End Of Precious Metals Manipulation: The London Silver Fix Is Officially Dead:

The London Silver Market Fixing Limited (the ‘Company’) announces that it will cease to administer the London Silver Fixing with effect from close of business on 14 August 2014.

– Report: Food Prices Skyrocket: “We’re Going to Have a Major Problem Coming Into the Fall” (SHFTplan, May 15, 2014):

While government statisticians claim robust growth, recent data points suggest otherwise. Consumers are quickly running out of money, home sales have collapsed and hit their biggest drop in three years, there are more Americans out of the labor force than ever before, and one third of adults under the age of 35 are living with their parents because they can no longer afford to pay their own mortgage.

By all accounts, the reality is that we are now factually in a recession, a point further emphasized by the recent revelation that American companies are experiencing near zero percent earnings growth.

Read moreFood Prices Skyrocket: ‘We’re Going To Have A Major Problem Coming Into The Fall’

European Bonds Tumble Most In 15 Months, Stocks Slammed

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– European Bonds Tumble Most In 15 Months, Stocks Slammed (ZeroHedge, May 15, 2014):

The one-way street in European peripheral bond yields/spreads… is over. Today saw Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese bond spreads smashed higher by the most in over 15 months. European stock markets all tumbled too with the FTSE-100 down over 3.5% and Portugal down 2.8%. Greece’s retroactive tax idea (quickly denied) drove Greek stocks into the red for the year and slammed the new GGB issue lower. Europe’s credit markets cratered wider and Europe’s VIX burst back over 17.

…

 

 

Russia Dumps 20% Of Its Treasury Holdings As Mystery ‘Belgium’ Buyer Adds Another Whopping $40 Billion

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Putin chess

– Russia Dumps 20% Of Its Treasury Holdings As Mystery “Belgium” Buyer Adds Another Whopping $40 Billion (ZeroHedge, May 15, 2014):

Back in mid-March, there was a brief scare after the start of the Ukraine conflict, when Fed custody holdings plunged by a record $104.5 billion (if promptly bouncing back the following week), leading many to believe that Russia may have dumped its Treasurys, or at least change its bond custodian. We noted that we wouldn’t have a definitive answer until the May TIC number came out to know for sure how much Russia had sold, or if indeed, anything. Moments ago the May TIC numbers did come out, and as expected, Russia indeed dumped a record $26 billion, or some 20% of all of its holdings, bringing its post-March total to just over $100 billion – the lowest since the Lehman crisis.

Russia TSY March

20140515_TIC1

But as shocking as this largely pre-telegraphed dump was, it pales in comparison with what Zero Hedge first observed, is the country that has quietly and quite rapidly become the third largest holder of US paper: Belgium. Or rather, “Belgium” because it is quite clear that it is not the country of Begium who is engaging in this unprecedented buying spree of US paper, but some account acting through Belgian custody.

This is how we explained it last month:

Read moreRussia Dumps 20% Of Its Treasury Holdings As Mystery ‘Belgium’ Buyer Adds Another Whopping $40 Billion

Geithner Confirms Mafia-Linked Berlusconi’s Forced Ouster, But Says US Did Not ‘Have Blood On Our Hands’

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– Geithner Confirms Mafia-Linked Berlusconi’s Forced Ouster, But Says US Did Not “Have Blood On Our Hands” (ZeroHedge, May 14, 2014):

Silvio Berlusconi – ironically nicknamed “The Teflon Don” – has been found to have done business with the Sicilian Mafia for nearly two decades, according to Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome. Having attacked the “biased judges” who called his actions “a continuous crime,” Berlusconi wriggled out from under this result since the link to the Cosa Nostra was, as The Independent reports, via his conduit and former senator Marcello Dell’Utri who was sentenced to 7 years for mafia association. While this confirms as fact yet another conspiracy theory, the bigger story was the confirmation of a broad-based bloodless coup to ouster the Italian Prime Minister at the peak of the credit crisis. “At one point that fall, a few European officials approached us with a scheme to try to force Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi out of power,” Tim Geithner writes in his new book, and after telling the President about “this surprising invitation,” they decided not to get involved (publicly): “We can’t have his blood on our hands.”

Conpsiracy “Fact” #1: Berlusconi linked to the Mafia

As The Independent reports,

Silvio Berlusconi – Italy’s former Prime Minister and one of the world’s most recognisable politicians – did business with the mafia for nearly two decades.

Read moreGeithner Confirms Mafia-Linked Berlusconi’s Forced Ouster, But Says US Did Not ‘Have Blood On Our Hands’

Vietnamese Mob Burns Foreign Factories In Anti-China Riots (21 Dead, 90 Injured)

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– Vietnamese Mob Burns Foreign Factories In Anti-China Riots (21 Dead, 90 Injured) (ZeroHedge, May 14, 2014):

UPDATE 2: Reuters reports  – citing a doctor at Ha Tinh Hopsital – 21 dead (5 Vietnamese, 16 “described as Chinese”)

UPDATE 1: The Standard reports Anti-chinese riot leaves 1 dead, 90 injured in Vietnam

A top Taiwanese diplomat says rioters have stormed a large Taiwanese steel mill in Vietnam, killing at least one Chinese worker and injuring 90 more.

Ambassador to Vietnam Huang Chih-peng said the violence took place late Wednesday and early Thursday at the Formosa steel mill in central Vietnam.

Anti-Chinese sentiment has been running high in Vietnam ever since Beijing deployed an oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea on May 1.

Read moreVietnamese Mob Burns Foreign Factories In Anti-China Riots (21 Dead, 90 Injured)

From Rothschild To Koch Industries: Meet The People Who ‘Fix’ The Price Of Gold

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Gold fix teaser_0

–  From Rothschild To Koch Industries: Meet The People Who “Fix” The Price Of Gold (ZeroHedge, May 14, 2014):

Earlier today many were stunned when the historic, 117-year old, London Silver Fix announced that in three months it would no longer exist. However, silver is only one half of the world’s two best known precious metals. Which is why we decided to take a long, hard look at that other fix: gold.

The reason for this particular inquiry is because in the aftermath of the rapid and dramatic departure of the world’s largest bank by outstanding notional derivatives, and Europe’s biggest bank by any metric, Deutsche Bank, from the precious metal fix, something felt out of place: almost as if the participants of the “fixing” process which for so many years took place in the office of none other than Rothschild on St. Swithin’s Lane in London, were suddenly scrambling to disappear without a trace.

In conducting our research we hope to not only memorialize just who are these particular individuals who “fix” gold using nothing but publicly available information of course – because after all it is not as if they have anything to hide or fear – but to connect some of the very peculiar dots behind the scenes of what to some, is the original, and most manipulated market in history – that of gold.

Read moreFrom Rothschild To Koch Industries: Meet The People Who ‘Fix’ The Price Of Gold

Here’s Why The Baltic Dry Index Is Collapsing (In 1 Image)

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–  Here’s Why The Baltic Dry Index Is Collapsing (In 1 Image) (ZeroHedge, May 14, 2014):

If ever there was a better indication of the mal-investment boom created by an interfering Fed, this is it. As demand for shipping collapses on real slowing in the global economy – markets have “told” shipbuilders to “build it and they will come”… here is a ship-shipping ship, shipping shipping ships…

Here's Why The Baltic Dry Index Is Collapsing

The Beginning Of The End Of Precious Metals Manipulation: The London Silver Fix Is Officially Dead

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silver-coins

– The Beginning Of The End Of Precious Metals Manipulation: The London Silver Fix Is Officially Dead (ZeroHedge, May 13, 2014):

Following a crackdown on precious metal manipulation by various European regulators (mostly Germany’s BaFin, recall “Precious Metals Manipulation Worse Than Libor Scandal, German Regulator Says“), which led to the shocking outcome that Deutsche Bank would pull out of the London gold and silver fixing committees, the London Silver Market Fixing company ended up with a most curious outcome: it would have just two members: HSBC and Bank of Nova Scotia. And, as an even more shocking result, overnight the London Silver Fix announced that after August 14, 2014 it will no longer exist – the first of many victories for all those who have fought for fair and unmanipulated precious metal markets.

From the press release:

The London Silver Market Fixing Limited (the ‘Company’) announces that it will cease to administer the London Silver Fixing with effect from close of business on 14 August 2014. Until then, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Bank USA N.A. and The Bank of Nova Scotia will remain members of the Company and the Company will administer the London Silver Fixing and continue to liaise with the FCA and other stakeholders.

The period to 14 August 2014 will provide an opportunity for market-led adjustment with consultation between clients and market participants.

Read moreThe Beginning Of The End Of Precious Metals Manipulation: The London Silver Fix Is Officially Dead

White House On Biden’s Son Joining Ukraine Gas Giant – No Ethical Issues Here (Video)

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In case you want to see more of Jen Psaki:

– U.S. State Department Confirms Authenticity Of Intercepted Ukraine ‘FUCK THE EU’ Phone Call, Accuses Russia Of Dirty Tricks (Video)

Reader squodgy commented:

“Awesome. Lovely to see slimeball wriggle and dodge and duck and dive.
Glad you kept it at the top, the irony after the Snowden NSA revelations is heartwarming.”

Couldn’t have said it better.

rofl

And now …

– White House On Biden’s Son Joining Ukraine Gas Giant – No Ethical Issues Here (ZeroHedge, May 14, 2014):

Yesterday we were the first to report that none other than Vice President Joe Biden’s son was joining the board of Ukraine’s largest gas producer. It appears to have signaled peak crony capitalist as the new went viral with almost complete disdain. There was one defender though… as The Washington Examiner reports, The White House brushed off questions about any ethical issues as Jay Carney snapped “Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family are obviously private citizens, and where they work does not reflect an endorsement by the administration or by the vice-president or president.”

As The Washington Examiner reports,

Asked about the hiring by a reporter Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Jay Carney referred questions about it to the vice president’s office and noted that it did not indicate that Obama was involved or approved of it.

“Hunter Biden and other members of the family are obviously private citizens and where they work is not an endorsement by the president or vice president,” he said.

Read moreWhite House On Biden’s Son Joining Ukraine Gas Giant – No Ethical Issues Here (Video)

What Can Possibly Go Wrong: In China Homes Are Offered ‘Zero Money Down’

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– What Can Possibly Go Wrong: In China Homes Are Offered “Zero Money Down” (ZeroHedge, May 14, 2014):

How is China, which as we explained yesterday just completed a very bearish “head-and-mutated-shoulders” formation in its “gloomy” housing market and where the entire economy is threatened with imploding into a hollow house of cards (built in one of the Chinese ghost cities no less) because according to SocGen “the aggregate exposure of China’s financial system to the property market is likely to be as much as 80% of GDP“, dealing with the threat of a housing market, and thus economic, and thus global depression? Here’s how.

From Global Times:

Read moreWhat Can Possibly Go Wrong: In China Homes Are Offered ‘Zero Money Down’

Russia Holds ‘De-Dollarization Meeting’: China, Iran Willing To Drop USD From Bilateral Trade

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crash-dollar

– Russia Holds “De-Dollarization Meeting”: China, Iran Willing To Drop USD From Bilateral Trade (ZeroHedge, May 13, 2014):

That Russia has been pushing for trade arrangements that minimize the participation (and influence) of the US dollar ever since the onset of the Ukraine crisis (and before) is no secret: this has been covered extensively on these pages before (see Gazprom Prepares “Symbolic” Bond Issue In Chinese Yuan; Petrodollar Alert: Putin Prepares To Announce “Holy Grail” Gas Deal With China; Russia And China About To Sign “Holy Grail” Gas Deal; 40 Central Banks Are Betting This Will Be The Next Reserve Currency; From the Petrodollar to the Gas-o-yuan and so on).

But until now much of this was in the realm of hearsay and general wishful thinking. After all, surely it is “ridiculous” that a country can seriously contemplate to exist outside the ideological and religious confines of the Petrodollar… because if one can do it, all can do it, and next thing you know the US has hyperinflation, social collapse, civil war and all those other features prominently featured in other socialist banana republics like Venezuela which alas do not have a global reserve currency to kick around.

Or so the Keynesian economists, aka tenured priests of said Petrodollar religion, would demand that the world believe.

However, as much as it may trouble the statists to read, Russia is actively pushing on with plans to put the US dollar in the rearview mirror and replace it with a dollar-free system. Or, as it is called in Russia, a “de-dollarized” world.

Read moreRussia Holds ‘De-Dollarization Meeting’: China, Iran Willing To Drop USD From Bilateral Trade

The Eight Families’ Rigged Oil Game

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– The Eight Families’ Rigged Oil Game (Veterans Today, May 13,  2014):

After World War II – during which Royal Dutch Shell Chairman Sir Henry Deterding loudly supported the Nazis, while Exxon and Texaco collaborated with the Nazi I.G. Farben combine – the Four Horsemen turned their full attention to the Middle East. There the cartel operated under names like Iranian Consortium, Iraqi Petroleum Company and ARAMCO.With the rise of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a producer cartel, the companies devised increasingly sophisticated ways to diminish OPEC’s collective bargaining ability.

Nationalistic governments were destabilized, discredited and overthrown by the CIA at the behest of Big Oil.  Henry Kissinger set up his International Energy Agency (IEA), which the French called a machine de guerre.

Read moreThe Eight Families’ Rigged Oil Game

Shareholders question Lonmin over Marikana massacre

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– Shareholders question Lonmin over Marikana massacre (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Jan 30, 2014):

Shareholders of British platinum mining company Lonmin used the company’s Annual General Meeting today to ask questions about inquiries into the Marikana massacre of August 2012, when 34 striking miners were killed at the company’s South African mine.

The FTSE 250 company held its AGM in London and presented figures from its annual accounts showing an increase in profit. It also noted that it had exceeded production targets and moved from a debt of $421m at September 2012 to net cash of $201m.

Read moreShareholders question Lonmin over Marikana massacre

Student Loans Soar To Record $1.111 Trillion, Up 12% In Past Year

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– Student Loans Soar To Record $1.111 Trillion, Up 12% In Past Year (ZeroHedge, May 13, 2014):

We have covered the topic of the student loan bubble extensively in the past so we won’t waste more digital ink on where it comes from or what it means for the troubled US consumer, suffice to report that according to the Fed, in Q1 total Federal student loans rose by another $31 billion to a record $1.11 trillion, and up a whopping $125 billion, or 12% from this time last year.

…

 

The Farce Is Complete: Joe Biden’s Son Joins Board Of Largest Ukraine Gas Producer

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– The Farce Is Complete: Joe Biden’s Son Joins Board Of Largest Ukraine Gas Producer (ZeroHedge, May 13, 2014):

The farce is complete…

Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s largest private gas producer, has expanded its Board of Directors by bringing on Mr. R Hunter Biden as a new director.

Hunter-Biden

R. Hunter Biden will be in charge of the Holdings’ legal unit and will provide support for the Company among international organizations. On his new appointment, he commented: “Burisma’s track record of innovations and industry leadership in the field of natural gas means that it can be a strong driver of a strong economy in Ukraine. As a new member of the Board, I believe that my assistance in consulting the Company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine.”

Read moreThe Farce Is Complete: Joe Biden’s Son Joins Board Of Largest Ukraine Gas Producer

DHS Secretly Allowed Terror Suspects Into Country

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Flashback:

– The CIA’s Muslim ‘Outfit,’ – The Muslim Brotherhood (Veterans Today)

– DHS Secretly Allowed Terror Suspects Into Country (Government Slaves, May 13, 2014):

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretly assembled a terrorist “hands off” list that permitted individuals with terrorist ties unfettered entrance into the United States, according to document released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa).

The existence of a “hands off” list that permitted easy entrance for suspect individuals into the United States has drawn concern from Grassley, who released a cache of internal DHS emails detailing the list’s existence and discussion about permitting an alleged member of the Muslim Brotherhood to enter the United States.

Read moreDHS Secretly Allowed Terror Suspects Into Country

If Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United States

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FYI.

Economic-Cycle

– If Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United States (Economic Collapse, May 13, 2014):

Does the economy move in predictable waves, cycles or patterns?  There are many economists that believe that it does, and if their projections are correct, the rest of this decade is going to be pure hell for the United States.  Many mainstream economists want nothing to do with economic cycle theorists, but it should be noted that economic cycle theories have enabled some analysts to correctly predict the timing of recessions, stock market peaks and stock market crashes over the past couple of decades.  Of course none of the theories discussed below is perfect, but it is very interesting to note that all of them seem to indicate that the U.S. economy is about to enter a major downturn.  So will the period of 2015 to 2020 turn out to be pure hell for the United States?  We will just have to wait and see.

Read moreIf Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United States

Europe’s Luxury Home Bubble: People Are Dying To Own Dracula’s Castle

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Flashback:

– Prince Charles Says His Ancestry Can Be Traced Back To Vlad The Impaler, The Inspiration For Dracula:

The last thing I expected was for Prince Charles to crack a joke about being descended from Dracula.

But when I spoke to him for my new TV show Wild Carpathia, he told me he can trace his ancestry back, through his great-grandmother Queen Mary, to the half-brother of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula. Prince Charles seemed quite amused by his dark lineage.

Dracula's Castle2

– Europe’s Luxury Home Bubble: People Are Dying To Own Dracula’s Castle (ZeroHedge, May 12, 2014):

With 560,000 visitors a year, Dracula’s Castle may not be the ideal seclusion spot for the uber-wealthy European real estate magnate, but, as the realtor notes “n the right hands it has the potential to generate far more revenue than we could ever imagine,” – we suspect followed by an echoing ‘mwuahahahahaha’. Construction on Bran Castle (for it’s not actually Vlad The Impaler’s residence of old but he was imprisoned there briefly) began in 1377 and as HuffPo notes, the 57-room manor on 22 acres has been on the market several times in recent years, with investors at one point hoping to get $135 million. As the firm running the castle noted, “If someone comes in with a reasonable offer, we will seriously entertain the idea.” We suspect people will be dying to buy this and with rates so low, it won’t bleed you dry either...

But it doesn’t look so scary…

Dracula's Castle1

Actually more bond villain than blood-sucker…

Dracula's Castle2

Not so sunny courtyard…

Dracula's Castle3

Inside is a little more spooky

Dracula's Castle4

Wardrobes are full…

Dracula's Castle5

And a spacious living room…

Dracula's Castle6

The property comes with a long list of previous owners: everyone from Saxons to Hungarians to Teutonic knights. And although the facilities may not be exactly state-of-the-art (the plumbing is reported to require some work), there’s no questioning the detachedness of the property. It stands on top of a hill, and is most definitely not overlooked by neighbours….

And yes, we all know that the bloodsucking vampire Count Dracula was a purely fictional character, invented by the British writer Bram Stoker, and made famous in films starring sharp-fanged Christopher Lee. But the fearsome real-life Vlad “The Impaler” Tepes famously operated in this area in the 15th century. Indeed, he is said to have been imprisoned in Bran Castle for a couple of months. On top of which, Transylvanian legend and folklore are full of characters called strigoi. These ghostly beings leave their corporeal bodies when darkness falls and roam the surrounding valleys searching for sleeping villagers to terrify….

There’s enough land to build a small hotel, he adds. “And we’re also installing a glass elevator that will lead to a tunnel in the mountain, with a light show featuring Dracula and the whole history of the place.

“That’s why we’d like whoever buys the castle to continue running it as a tourist destination. This isn’t just a national monument, it’s the largest and most significant attraction in Romania.”

Obama-Bush-Cheney-heredity

 

EU And Canada To Confiscate Savings When System Collapses! (Video)

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‘
Added: May 8, 2014

Description:

Most Canadians’ deposits not at risk if bank fails — but check CDIC protection
EU agrees banks’ bail-in deal
Banks on verge of collapse will have to tap shareholders before falling back on state-funded rescues in the future
Risk Management Framework for Domestic Systemically Important Banks

Sources:
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2013/11/ri…
http://www.thestar.com/business/perso…
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2…
http://actionplan.gc.ca/en/initiative…

cyprus collapse

How Japan Became Irrelevant, And How China Took Its Place, In One Chart

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– How Japan Became Irrelevant, And How China Took Its Place, In One Chart (ZeroHedge, May 13, 2014):

While Asia in general may be slowing now that China’s epic debt creation machine is starting to break down, when it comes to trends within Asia not everyone is equal. And nowhere is this more visible than when comparing Japan, that dynamo of Asia in the 1980s and 1990s, and China, that other “New Normal” dynamo which carried the world across the Great Depression chasm. For the best representation of Japan’s epic fall from economic relevance and, inversely, China’s superpower ascendancy, here is one chart showing how vastly more relevant to Asia China now is compared to Japan just under 20 years ago.

Japan vs China

From the WSJ:

Read moreHow Japan Became Irrelevant, And How China Took Its Place, In One Chart

Russia Is Dominated By Global Banks, Too

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putin wink

– Russia Is Dominated By Global Banks, Too (ALT-MARKET, April 1, 2014):

Numerous cultures have had holidays dedicated to the celebration of pulling the wool over the eyes of others, from the ancient Romans, to early Muslims, to medieval Christians, to Americans and Europeans today. As April begins, we once again turn a mischievous eye to the concept of the fool and, as always, each person seeks to be the prankster and never the victim.

Unfortunately, even the most vigilant of Americans can sometimes be led astray by a clever ruse, and I believe this is taking place today in the liberty movement’s perception of the rising “tensions” between Russia and the West.

In my article Ukraine Crisis: Just Another Globalist-Engineered Powder Keg, I outlined the history of false paradigms and engineered conflicts between numerous nations, including how these conflicts are exploited by global money interests to consolidate and centralize social and political power. The birth of communist Russia, in particular, was directly funded by Western banks and supported with arms and military aid from the U.S. government itself. These sorts of startling facts are not taught in schools and universities exactly because the continued dominance of the money elite relies on continued misrepresentations of legitimate history.

Many in the liberty movement have studied and are well aware of the central banking cabal and its stranglehold on the U.S. and Europe. But strangely, some people refuse to acknowledge the substantial possibility that global bankers are also in control of Russia and are playing both sides of the burgeoning economic war.

Read moreRussia Is Dominated By Global Banks, Too

Welcome To The European ‘Recovery’: Earnings Growth Expectations Are … Collapsing

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–  Another Snapshot Of The European Recovery (ZeroHedge, May 12, 2014):

What can one say… Europe’s stock markets are booming, bond yields (and spreads) are tumbling… and earnings growth expectations are – collapsing…

What a difference 2 months make… from expectations of over 9% growth to a dismal 2% growth (and falling)…

20140512_EUEPS