Politics

Friday Tragicomedy: Former Fed Advisor Urges Fed To Buy More, ‘A Lot More’ … $30 TRILLION More

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ROFL!

– Friday Tragicomedy: Former Fed Advisor Urges Fed To Buy More, “A Lot More” … $30 Trillion More (ZeroHedge, Feb 1, 2013):

While we can only hope the following screed posted in an otherwise serious BusinessWeek, by David Kemper, CEO of Commerce Bankshare, and more importantly, a former president of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve and thus indicative of the kind of “advice” the Fed receives, is a joke we have a very nagging feeling that the text below is actually serious. Which is why instead of Friday humor, we have decided to err on the side of caution and call this segment Friday tragicomedy. Because with a statement such as the following: “Why not expand the Fed balance sheet exponentially, from its current $3 trillion to $33 trillion… Would $30 trillion in extra buying power be inflationary when our entire current GDP is only about $15 trillion? Maybe, maybe not—but we need a game-changer here. First let’s celebrate the Fed’s record profits and its contribution to reducing our deficit. Then let’s seize the moment to do something truly grand: eliminate that stubborn deficit. We have the tools, and I, for one, say let’s give it a try.”… it shows that the idiotic trillion dollar coin, Sheila Bair’s farcical suggestion to let every American borrow $10 million from the Fed at zero rates, or even our suggestion from a year ago that the government build a Death Star, may appear as sheer genius in comparison to what else the Fed may be considering, and implement, before all this is said and done.

From BusinessWeek

QE Cubed: A Modest Proposal for More Fed Buying. A Lot More

by David Kemper, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., and Past President of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve

The ongoing depressing news about the American fiscal situation has obscured the startling and very impressive earnings performance recently announced by the Federal Reserve. The Fed, in its usual understated way, just revealed it will be turning over $90 billion in 2012 profits to the U.S. Treasury, a much-needed contribution that will put a sizable dent in our nation’s current $1 trillion federal deficit.

Read moreFriday Tragicomedy: Former Fed Advisor Urges Fed To Buy More, ‘A Lot More’ … $30 TRILLION More

Labor Unions ‘Turn Sour’ On Obama, Finally Read Obamacare Fine Print, Realize Costs Set To Spike

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– Labor Unions Finally Read Obamacare Fine Print, Realize Costs Set To Spike, “Turn Sour” On Obama (ZeroHedge, Jan 31, 2013):

It is a well-known fact that nobody in Congress ever reads, or even skims, any law, and especially not the fine print, it passes until long after it has been enacted into law. It appears the same is just as true for the biggest pillar of support for the Obama administration: America’s labor unions, whose liberal vote every election is instrumental to preserving the outflow side of America’s welfare state. As it turns out, it was the same labor unions who enthusiastically supported the primary accomplishment of the Obama administration in the past 4 years, Obamacare, only to realize, long after it has become reality that, surprise, their healthcare plan costs are about to go up. And, as the WSJ colorfully summarizes, they are now “turning sour.“

From WSJ:

Union leaders say many of the law’s requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment measures in many health-care plans. It also allows children to stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26.

Read moreLabor Unions ‘Turn Sour’ On Obama, Finally Read Obamacare Fine Print, Realize Costs Set To Spike

Dutch SNS Bank Fails On Real Estate Losses: First ‘Too Big To Fail’ Nationalization In Five Years

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– Dutch SNS Bank Fails On Real Estate Losses: First “Too Big To Fail” Nationalization In Five Years (ZeroHedge, Feb 1, 2013):

Earlier today we got one hint that not all is well in the European banking system, as far less than the expected €200 billion was tendered back to the ECB in the second LTRO repayment operation, when just 27 banks paid back some €3.5 billion. Another, perhaps far bigger one, comes courtesy of AAA-rated Netherlands, which just experienced its first bank failure since 2008 following the nationalization of SNS Reall NV, as the previously announced bad loan writedown finally claimed the bank. As a reminder, half a month ago we got news that “SNS Reaal NV (SR), a Dutch bank and insurer struggling to wind down a money-losing real estate lending unit, fell the most in more than two months after a report said it may have to post a 1.8 billion-euro ($2.4 billion) writedown on property-finance loans.” Today we got the inevitable conclusion: nationalization, one which will cost taxpayers about $5 billion to avoid contagion to what many see as Europe’s “strongest” banking system.

From Bloomberg:

The move, aimed “at stabilizing the SNS Reaal group,” will cost taxpayers 3.7 billion euros ($5 billion), the Dutch Finance Ministry said in a statement today. SNS’s property- finance unit will be separated from the company.

Read moreDutch SNS Bank Fails On Real Estate Losses: First ‘Too Big To Fail’ Nationalization In Five Years

Syria Threatens ‘Surprise’ Response To Israel Air Raid – Iran And Russia Pile In

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– Syria Threatens “Surprise” Response To Israel Air Raid; Iran And Russia Pile In (ZeroHedge, Jan 31, 2013):

In the aftermath of yesterday’s surprising attack by Israel on Syrian soil, an act which any prior justification notwithstanding is a clear act of war sovereign aggression, it was only a matter of time before Syria responded, at least diplomatically at first. And as we also noted yesterday that “Iran has previously warned that any attack on Syria is the same as an attack on Iran” it was safe to assume that Iran would have a thing or two to say in response as well. Earlier today they did just that, with Syria warning that a “surprise” response to the Israel attack is forthcoming, while the “Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian said the attack “demonstrates the shared goals of terrorists and the Zionist regime… It is necessary for the sides which take tough stances on Syria to now take serious steps and decisive stances against this aggression by Tel Aviv and uphold criteria for security in the region.” Finally yesterday we wondered “how Russia and/or China which have made clear that Syria is a strategic geopolitical center for both in the past will react”, and today we know: “Russia, which has blocked Western efforts to put pressure on Syria at the United Nations, said that any Israeli air strike would amount to unacceptable military interference.” So far nothing from China, which has in the past let Russia be its proxy on Syrian matters.And while the rhetoric has soared on all sides, it remains to be seen if Syria will indeed challenge Israel or if it will retain its bluster, an act which will simply invite Bibi to launch ever more offensive sorties until one day something finally does snap.

From Reuters:

Syria protested to the United Nations on Thursday over an Israeli air strike on its territory and warned of a possible “surprise” response.

Read moreSyria Threatens ‘Surprise’ Response To Israel Air Raid – Iran And Russia Pile In

Israeli Jets Bomb Syrian Military Site

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– Israeli Jets Bomb Syrian Military Site (ZeroHedge, Jan 30, 2013):

In what was the first clear instance of aggression by Israel toward Syria, overnight Israeli jets conducted a bombing run over a military site in Syria, targeting what according to Israel was a military convoy heading to Lebanon. As Al Arabiya reports: “Israeli jets bombed a convoy on Syria’s border with Lebanon on Wednesday, sources told Reuters, apparently targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah in what some called a warning to Damascus not to arm Israel’s Lebanese enemy. “The target was a truck loaded with weapons, heading from Syria to Lebanon,” said one Western diplomat, adding that the consignment may well have included anti-aircraft missiles. The overnight attack, which several sources placed on the Syrian side of the border, followed warnings from Israel that it was ready to act to prevent the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad leading to Syria’s chemical weapons and modern rockets reaching either his Hezbollah allies or his Islamist enemies.”

More on the target and location of the attack:

Read moreIsraeli Jets Bomb Syrian Military Site

With No Way To Process It, US Will Bury 70,000 Tons Of Nuclear Waste

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– With no way to process it, US will bury 70,000 tons of nuclear waste (RT, Feb 1, 2013):

With two decades to go before it can reprocess spent nuclear fuel, the US will have to bury nearly 70,000 tons of it, a research lab reports. It comes after Congress and the Obama administration defunded a planned nuclear waste repository in 2011.

­The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a facility that does research for the Department of Energy (DOE), said that “about 68,450 [metric tons] or about 98 percent of the total current inventory by mass, can proceed to permanent disposal without the need to ensure retrievability for reuse or research purposes” in its report, published near the end of 2012. The rest of the waste, the report said, could be kept available for research on fuel reprocessing and storage.

The report was fairly obscure until being cited in a DOE document that showed plans to find a new permanent waste dump after Congress and the Obama administration cut funding for the Yucca Mountain repository in 2011.

Read moreWith No Way To Process It, US Will Bury 70,000 Tons Of Nuclear Waste

U.S. To Bury Its 70,000 Tonnes Of Nuclear Waste

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– U.S. to Bury its 70,000 Tonnes of Nuclear Waste (Oil Price, Jan 28, 2013):

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has released a recent study which has determined that if and when the US ever decides to actually pursue the technology to recycle nuclear waste, it will take 20 years to develop. Based on this knowledge they have suggested that the current stockpile of spent nuclear fuel should be buried without any thought as to its retrieval in the future.

Officials from Oak Ridge involved in the report said that, “based on the technical assessment, about 68,450 metric tons or about 98 percent of the total current inventory by mass, can proceed to permanent disposal without the need to ensure retrievability for reuse or research purposes.” The remaining two percent will be used for research into recycling and storage technologies.

Read moreU.S. To Bury Its 70,000 Tonnes Of Nuclear Waste

Over 1000 Green Berets Sign Letter Supporting Second Amendment

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Military professionals agree second amendment is primarily a defense against government tyranny

– Over 1000 Green Berets Sign Letter Supporting Second Amendment (Propagandamatrix, Jan 31, 2013):

Over 1000 Green Berets have signed a letter re-asserting their oath to support and defend the Constitution by protecting the second amendment rights of American citizens.

The letter, which originally featured at ProfessionalSoldiers.com, was written by “current or former Army Reserve, National Guard, and active duty US Army Special Forces soldiers.”

It highlights the fact that the Constitution was drafted primarily as a means of protecting citizens against “governmental tyranny and/or oppression,” further citing the words of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, who outlined the purpose of the second amendment when he stated, “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them.”

“Throughout history, disarming the populace has always preceded tyrants’ accession of power. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all disarmed their citizens prior to installing their murderous regimes,” states the letter. “At the beginning of our own nation’s revolution, one of the first moves made by the British government was an attempt to disarm our citizens. When our Founding Fathers ensured that the 2nd Amendment was made a part of our Constitution, they were not just wasting ink. They were acting to ensure our present security was never forcibly endangered by tyrants, foreign or domestic.”

Read moreOver 1000 Green Berets Sign Letter Supporting Second Amendment

Obamacare ‘Glitch’ Allows Some Families To Be Priced Out Of Health Insurance

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– Obamacare ‘Glitch’ Allows Some Families To Be Priced Out Of Health Insurance (Huffington Post, Jan 31, 2013):

WASHINGTON — Some families could get priced out of health insurance due to what’s being called a glitch in President Barack Obama’s overhaul law. IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix the problem as liberal backers of the president’s plan had hoped.

As a result, some families that can’t afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.

Read moreObamacare ‘Glitch’ Allows Some Families To Be Priced Out Of Health Insurance

Muslims to march on White House next September 11th

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FYI.


Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror. Dr. Barrett has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications. Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin, where he ran for Congress in 2008. He is the co-founder of the Muslim-Christian-Jewish Alliance, and author of the books Truth Jihad: My Epic Struggle Against the 9/11 Big Lie (2007) and Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters (2009). His website is www.truthjihad.com.

– Muslims to march on White House next September 11th (PressTV, Jan 30, 2013):

Everyone knows that AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is the most powerful lobby in Washington.

But starting next September 11th, a new group called AMPAC, the American Muslim Political Action Committee, will challenge AIPAC’s stranglehold on American political life.

AMPAC will be forcefully announcing its presence with a “Million Muslim March” on the White House on September 11, 2013. The goal, announced at AMPAC’s press conference in New York:

Read moreMuslims to march on White House next September 11th

Pentagon ‘Cyber-Warriors’ Planting ‘False Information On Facebook’

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– Who’s Faking It? Pentagon “Cyber-Warriors” Planting “False Information on Facebook” (Global Research, Jan 26, 2013):

On November 22, 2012, the Los Angeles Times published an alarming piece of news entitled “Cyber Corps program trains spies for the digital age”. The “cyber-warriors” who are headed for organizations such as the CIA, NSC, FBI, the Pentagon and so on, are trained to stalk, “rifle through trash, sneak a tracking device on cars and plant false information on Facebook [emphasis added]. They also are taught to write computer viruses, hack digital networks, crack passwords, plant listening devices and mine data from broken cellphones and flash drives.”

Not surprisingly, less than a month later, it was rumored that Iran ’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei had started a Facebook page. The style and content of the site ruled out its authenticity, but the State Department was amused. In spite of the potential for alarm, State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland jokingly expressed Washington ’s curiosity to see how many “likes’ Khamenei would receive. This is no joking matter. Any message on this page would be attributed to Khamenei with a potential for dangerous ramifications.

Read morePentagon ‘Cyber-Warriors’ Planting ‘False Information On Facebook’

Fluoridegate (Documentary)

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YouTube Added: 25.01.2013

– Fluoridegate – the film that will absolutely obliterate any remaining credibility of chemical fluoride pushers (Natural News, Jan 30, 2013):

Have you ever wondered why most major municipal water utilities across America continue to artificially fluoridate public water supplies when inexpensive fluoride toothpastes are readily available for those who choose to use them? Or why governments and medical groups continue to force fluoridated tap water on the public in spite of the fact that it has many known and proven health risks? These and many other pertinent questions find their answers in the hard-hitting documentary Fluoridegate: An American Tragedy, one of the most powerful documentaries ever made about the fluoride fraud.

A sordid narrative that recaps the dirty history of fluoride and how it came to be an officially recommended water additive, Fluoridegate delves deep into the completely unscientific and blatantly corrupt process by which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) forced fluoride onto the public via the National Program for Water Fluoridation. The film also exposes how Dr. William Marcus, a now-retired senior scientist at the EPA, was targeted and fired for leaking critical information back in the 1990s about the many dangers of fluoride, none of which were being publicly shared in accordance with the EPA’s mission and purpose.

“Exposing a child to (fluoride) chemicals in the first six years of life … will harm that child’s learning capability, self control, and have effects on his brain function that are lifelong,” explains Dr. Roger D. Masters, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Dartmouth College about the fluoride scam. “To permit that to happen when you know it’s happening, and not to interfere by stopping the use of something like silicofluoride, which makes it worse, is immoral.”

Read moreFluoridegate (Documentary)

States Weigh Laws That Would Make It An Act Of Terrorism To Report Abuses At Factory Farms

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– States weigh laws that would make it an act of terrorism to report abuses at factory farms (Natural News, Jan 30, 2013):

How do you keep consumers in the dark about the horrors of factory farms? By making it an “act of terrorism” for anyone to investigate animal cruelty, food safety or environmental violations on the corporate-controlled farms that produce the bulk of our meat, eggs and dairy products.

Read moreStates Weigh Laws That Would Make It An Act Of Terrorism To Report Abuses At Factory Farms

US Trained Mali Rebels, Commander Visited US

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General Ham, AFRICOM

– US Trained Mali Rebels, Commander Visited US (Veterans Today, Jan 29, 2013):

This week, General Ham admitted US complicity in training the rebel groups in Mali.  He also suggested changes which would improve America’s policy making skills and institute prohibitions on wild military adventurism.  He didn’t call it that but this is what he meant.

There are several African Studies centers in the US.  One at Michigan State University, where I was an active participant for some years, and the other at Howard University.

Read moreUS Trained Mali Rebels, Commander Visited US

Couple Faces 60 Days In Jail And $2000 In Fines For Rescuing Injured Baby Deer

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– Police state gone wild: Couple facing 60 days in jail for rescuing injured baby deer (Natural News, Jan 29, 2013):

An Indiana couple saved a wounded baby deer and nursed it back to life, saving its life and giving it a home. They named it “Little Orphan Dani.” When Indiana state officials got word of this courageous act of compassion, they ordered the deer euthanized. (Because government wants to kill everything you love.)

When the deer “escaped” right before it was schedule to be killed — and yes, I think the couple probably set it free rather than have it killed — the man and woman were charged with unlawful possession of a deer.

They now face $2,000 in fines and 60 days in jail.

This is yet another example of the government police state gone wild, and it’s on top of seemingly countless other stories of similar police state insanity such as armed government raids on raw milk distributors.

Read moreCouple Faces 60 Days In Jail And $2000 In Fines For Rescuing Injured Baby Deer

Peter Schiff & Doug Casey On Gold, Investor Cluelessness, And The ‘Escape From America’ Plan (Video)

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– Peter Schiff & Doug Casey On Gold, Investor Cluelessness, And The “Escape From America” Plan (ZeroHedge, Jan 30, 2013):

In just under 30 minutes, Peter Schiff and Doug Casey muse on many facets of the crumbling edifice of the status quo that is our current world.From Gold’s relatively imminent rise to $5,000 and beyond, to investor ignorance of reality, Casey & Schiff swing from discussions of the US as political entity going forward to ‘escape from America’ plans for personal and wealth assets, and the realization that the biggest casualty (of US indebtedness), aside from individual liberty, is the value of the dollar – as taxing the middle class is unpopular with both parties – leaving only one route for the government – the inflation tax. Owning gold, silver, and foreign assets is preferred and while the rest of the world is also printing, the US is likely to beat them all.

People “are clueless with respect to the true state of the global economy,” with regard to inflation, fiat currencies, and specifically what will happen to the dollar. The conversation is wide-ranging and absolutely must-see as they remind market-watchers that “the whole thing is artificial,” as you can’t just keep printing money and monetizing debt without the dollar imploding with monetary policy descending (along with its trillion dollar coin) into ‘Three Stooges’ comedy.

The conversation weaves to some endgame discussions which bring Peter to discuss his father, who he sees as a political prisoner, and his views on the future…

“the biggest change that is coming to the global economy is a realignment of global living standards.”

There is something here for everyone…


YouTube Added: 30.01.2013

You Know You’re No Longer Living In A Free Country When …

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– You know you’re no longer living in a free country when… (Sovereign Man, Jan 29, 2013):

You know you’re no longer living in a free country when the government tells you what you can and cannot put in your body. Or when an unelected board of bureaucrats and corporate insiders can confiscate the assets of hardworking small business owners.

Yet these have become par for the course in the Land of the Free.

The latest bout involves a family-owned raw milk operation in Missouri that was decimated last week by the heavy hand of government, courtesy of the State Milk Board.

Of course, this isn’t even an actual government agency, but rather one of more than 200 such committees in Missouri which wield tsarist authority over their domains.

State Milk Board members include both state bureaucrats and corporate leaders from the milk industry. How convenient that a few big producers are given unelected, absolute authority to torpedo a raw milk competitor…

And so, last Friday, farm inspectors arrived to confiscate 18 tons of cheese that Morningland Dairy had produced from raw milk. They were met by a small crowd which had gathered to show support for the family… and to denounce these agents of government for carrying out an immoral act on innocent people.

It was all captured on video, including the police response.

You have to respect what these people were doing. They stood to face their enemies and peacefully demonstrate against abuse of power. They even tried to convince government agents to stop participating in the wholesale destruction of liberty.

Read moreYou Know You’re No Longer Living In A Free Country When …

Iranian Nuclear Facility Devastated By An Explosion?

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– White House fails to get word of Iran explosion (WND, Jan 28, 2013):

WND’s exclusive report by Reza Kahlili, a former CIIA agent in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, that a key Iranian nuclear facility was devastated by an explosion last week was confirmed by Israeli intelligence officials speaking to the Times of London.

Then Tel Aviv sources for The Australian did the same thing, and the Missing Peace organization in the United Kingdom, citing Ali Reza Nourizadah of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies in London, provided details.

Nourizadeh, a commentator for Deutsche Welle and the Voice of America with an extensive network of contacts in Iran, said the explosion caused relatively little damage to the uranium enrichment facility itself. But the blast has blocked the entrance to Fordow, he confirmed, and more than 200 personnel are trapped in the plan.

The White House, however, dismissed the WND story.

…

– Mystery over ‘explosion’ at Iran’s Fordow nuclear site (Telegraph, Jan 28, 2013):

A report published on Right-wing news website WND on Friday, quoting a defected Iranian intelligence officer, claimed that a massive blast had ripped through the nuclear facility, buried deep within the guts of a large mountain.

The alleged blast was said to have erupted at 11.30am last Monday – on the eve of the Israeli election – partially destroyed the nuclear site and trapped 240 people underground. Tehran held Israel responsible, the report said.

…

LEAKED: Mario Draghi And His Triumvirate Shut Up German Finance Minister To Keep Cyprus From Blowing Up The Eurozone

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– LEAKED: Mario Draghi And His Triumvirate Shut Up German Finance Minister To Keep Cyprus From Blowing Up The Eurozone (ZeroHedge, Jan 28, 2013):

The state-sponsored chorus about the end of the debt crisis in the Eurozone has been deafening. It even has feel-good metrics: the Euro Breakup Index for January fell to 17.2%—the percentage of investors who thought that at least one country would leave the Eurozone within twelve months. In July, it stood at 73%. For Cyprus, the fifth Eurozone country to ask for a bailout, the index fell to 7.5%. “A euro breakup is almost no issue anymore among investors,” the statement said.

Just then, in a fight over whether or not to bail out Cyprus, top Eurocrats exposed what a taxpayer-funded con game they thought these bailouts really were—and how fragile the Eurozone was.

Read moreLEAKED: Mario Draghi And His Triumvirate Shut Up German Finance Minister To Keep Cyprus From Blowing Up The Eurozone

Chart Of The Quarter: $312 Billion In Debt ‘Adds’ Negative $5 Billion In GDP

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– Chart Of The Quarter: $312 Billion In Debt “Adds” Negative $5 Billion In GDP (ZeroHedge, Jan 30, 2013):

What was it about the law of diminishing Fed stimulus returns again? But don’t worry: “the market is up.” Because if $165 billion in Q4 stimulus could not even generate a positive GDP return, at least it sent the Russell 2000 soaring.

Source: BEA, Treasury Direct

How The Glorious Socialist Revolution Generated A 681% Return For Goldman Sachs

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– How The Glorious Socialist Revolution Generated A 681% Return For Goldman Sachs (ZeroHedge, Jan 30, 2013):

Back in 2011, BlackRock’s Larry Fink revealed one of the great unspoken truths of capital markets, namely that “markets like totalitarian governments.” They also like authoritarian socialism, sprinkled in with a healthy dose of nationalization, because as Bloomberg reports, one of the biggest beneficiaries of over ten years of the “glorious socialist revolution” in Venezuela, coupled with over 1000 nationalizations by the bed-ridden and roughly 15 times deceased Hugo Chavez (if one believes all the rumors), is none other than Goldman Sachs, which generated some 681% in returns due to “aligning its interests” with those of the unshakable Venezuelan ruler.

From Bloomberg:

Since taking office in 1999, Hugo Chavez has spread his socialist revolution in Venezuela by seizing more than 1,000 companies. For bondholders that stuck by him, he’s also delivered returns that are double the emerging- market average.

The 681 percent advance, equal to 14.7 percent annually, has enriched investors from OppenheimerFunds Inc. to Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP that counted on Chavez’s willingness to siphon the country’s oil wealth to pay its creditors in the face of start-stop growth and falling reserves. While his policies drove away enough investors to keep Venezuela’s borrowing costs over 12 percent on average during his tenure, or 4 percentage points higher than those of developing nations, he’s never missed a bond payment.

Read moreHow The Glorious Socialist Revolution Generated A 681% Return For Goldman Sachs

US Ends 2012 With 103.8% Debt To GDP

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– US Ends 2012 With 103.8% Debt To GDP (ZeroHedge, Jan 30, 2013):

Previously, when calculating debt/GDP metrics for the US, we naturally assumed some GDP growth in Q4. Following today’s GDP data we now know what Q4 GDP is. We also know that, at least on a preliminary basis, it posted a decline on an annualized basis. This means that we now have an official print for US Debt/GDP as of December 31, 2012. The numerator, or debt: $16.432 trillion, or the debt ceiling, which as we know was breached on the same day, and which has yet to be formally raised. The denominator, or GDP: $15.829 trillion. This means that the formal debt/GDP is now 103.8% and growing fast.

Indicatively, this has risen from 76.5% on the day of Obama’s first inauguaral address.

And for those who, erroneous, allege that Q4 GDP declined due to US government “austerity”, here are the facts: in Q4, the US added some $312 billion in debt. And more to the point, the US government spent a grand total of $907.9 billion in the same quarter. This compares to $877.1 billion a quarter earlier: $30 billion less.

Some “Austerity.”