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Foreword
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Ty
will be appearing as a panel speaker at the Chicago Resource Expo on April
24th and 25th. Attendance is free and information is available at: http://www.ChicagoResourceExpo.com.
In This Issue
Ship of Fools
In G7 capitals and financial centers, Public Servants and their elite Banksters
- both central and money center banks and investment brokers - nervously tell
their clients to wait for the inevitable recoveries, along with a chorus from
the elite media stooges to fool the citizens and investors of their cluelessness.
Neither the Chicago School nor Keynes can explain what is unfolding, and in
the Austrian School everything is and has been predictable. Why are the first
two considered mainstream? Because in both schools of thought GOVERNMENT is
the answer rather than the problem. For the mainstream, the problems can always
be solved by borrow, print, lend and spend.
In no way will the "borrow, print, lend and spend" model work in generating
NEW economic growth; it just moves the hyperinflationary (Crack-up Boom) outcome
closer into view. The G7 is now on the way to being a BANANA republic the likes
of Venezuela, Argentina, Zimbabwe and the German Weimar republic. The G7 public
and their Public Servants are economically illiterate and the "something for
nothing" character flaw now leads them to their inescapable future. This Ship
of Fools deserves its fate and nature is about to impose its lessons.
For those of us who understand what is unfolding, it is an amazing opportunity
to prosper and thrive because the greatest transfer of wealth from those
that hold their wealth in paper to those that don't is firmly underway.
As this is priced into markets, "volatility" shall reign supreme as the
Ship of Fools tries to elude its fate, driving markets (stocks, bonds,
currencies, commodities, natural resources, energy) up, down and sideways
as they seek shelter from the unfolding storms and maelstroms. But there
is no escape as they have failed to learn history's lessons and are doomed
to repeat them. For the prepared investor, the opportunities are immense.
In April of 2007, we identified the unfolding collapse of INCOME, as related
to the S&P 500 and illustrated by a WOLF WAVE, and extrapolated it worldwide,
because at that time the US was still the locomotive to the world economy.
In August of 2007, this letter identified ROACH motels that were in essence
the shadow banking systems over the counter derivatives. We postulated that
there would NEVER be enough money printed to underpin their worth: they were
unknowable and no price discovery mechanism was built into them, and at this
point, never would be. If their worth was discovered the world would know:
the G7 governments and their financial systems are INSOLVENT. Both scenarios
have unfolded as predicted, and now the greatest debt bubble in history is
just beginning to POP; what you have witnessed up until now is just the prelude.
As incomes are NOT sufficient to repay the debt, significant debt restructuring
must take place and losses realized. However, very little, if almost NONE of
the debt restructuring has yet occurred. Let's take a look at the mountain
of debt going all the way back to the inception of the Federal Reserve. The
final severing of gold from the US currency at Breton Woods II in 1971 was
the LATEST betrayal of the American people by Public Servants at that time
since fiat money was constitutionally PROHIBITED and contrary to the constitution:

Notice how the accumulation of debt took off like a scalded cat after Breton
Woods II severed the last links to gold-backed money. Then the politicians
with their central bank and private financial institutions embarked on the
debt enslavement of the American and G7 people. Obviously they have now achieved
it. GDP is declining while debt issuance is SOARING and the unpaid mountain
of debts, as a percentage of GDP, continues to climb just as it did in The
Depression.
Look closely at the period between 1930 and 1933: Debt skyrocketed AFTER the
stock market crashed in 1929, and continued to skyrocket until 1935 when the
deleveraging REALLY began. Extrapolating this today, by looking at current
executive and congressional actions and intentions, it is set to occur again
NOW, as well. So, look at this vertical growth in debt above as JUST the beginning
of a debt-to-GDP ratio which projects to 500% of GDP, without taking into account
UNFUNDED entitlements. During the first Great Depression, the United States
was the greatest CREDITOR nation in the world. Now it is the greatest debtor,
and most of the debt is held by FOREIGNERS. This is a recipe for ZIMBABWE.
Virtually NONE of this debt has been written off ($1 Trillion of an expected
and required $8-12 plus Trillion). Most lenders are still holding these loans
at 90 cents on the dollar, when in fact they may be worth 20 cents. Lending
and expansion will not resume until at least 20% of these losses are retired
because the INCOME to service it no longer exists.
In order to pay down debt you must PRODUCE MORE THAN YOU CONSUME. This
is something the G7 hasn't done in years (properly adjusted for inflation)
and has forgotten to do; it has substituted fiat currency and credit expansion
in its place. This is growth by misstated inflation and Ponzi finance. Please
don't call it Capitalism because it is not Capitalism. It is a type of stealth
Socialism and creeping enslavement of current and future generations with UNPAYABLE
debt; deficit spending can only be paid for by future taxes or INFLATION by
printing press. As this pile of debt just soars and comes due over the next
several years, incomes are in freefall. Let's review the Wolf Wave from the
Crack-up Boom series of last summer:
3 Year Annualized earnings on the S&P 500 through June 2008
This
is a chart from the summer of 2008 and 3 quarters later; the drop in earnings
has sliced through the lower trend line like a hot knife through butter and
is approaching an 80% decline on a quarterly and a monthly basis. US corporate
tax receipts have fallen from $32.57 billion in March 2008 to $3.39 billion
in March 2009, a decline of almost 90% in just 1 year. John Mauldin has been
doing fabulous work detailing the falls in income. It is outlined in his work
from April 10th and available to you here: http://www.frontlinethoughts.com/article.asp?id=mwo041009,
I urge you to read it as it removes any of the illusions you may have about
corporate PROFITABILITY.
The FEDERAL budget deficit in the first six months of the fiscal year was
reported close to $1 trillion ($956.8 billion). Last year, the budget deficit
for the same period was $312 billion and for ALL 2008, a mere $454 billion.
A quadrupling of the RED ink, codified into law and as we all know, never to
be repealed regardless of which party holds the reins of power. Through the
first six months of the fiscal year, expenditures are up over 33% and income
is down over 13%, and that is BEFORE the Washington spending and stimulus bills
passed in January-March are included. Rivers of RED ink as far as the eye and
mind can see.
The bank rescue plan, known as the Public Private Partnerships, to remove
the TOXIC bonds has FAILED because no one in their right mind would partner
with the government. As Jamie Dimond of JP Morgan Chase said, "We have no intention
of participating; we have learned our lessons about government partners already."
To see the fall in income globally, look no further than this chart of World
Trade from a recent New York Times:

This is another face of the global collapse in income. Do you really believe
these firms, economies and governments are still able to service their debts?
How many lenders are now in jeopardy of default? My estimate is that it is
quite a few. Industrial production is at its lowest level since it started
being measured in 1967, about 68% of capacity. Inventories are skyrocketing,
so it is set to fall MORE, and layoffs shall also. Actual unemployment is almost
20% if you eliminate the statistical definitions. Take a look at this chart
from www.shadowstats.com outlining
the true picture:

Unemployment properly measured is almost 20% and it has a long way up to go,
only the government and mainstream media HIDE this betrayal by Public Servants
to create the conditions for JOB growth! This is also a picture of plummeting
incomes. MetLife has just released a study which discovered that 50% of the
people surveyed would be UNABLE to pay their bills after 30-60 days if they
lost their jobs.
The Benedict Arnolds in the G7 capitals continue to bury the futures of their
current and subsequent generations with debt to fund their follies in bribery
with taxpayer money. The interest expense on Obama's and Congress' new spending
plans amounts to over $115,000 of ADDITIONAL INTEREST expense for every
person over the age of 20, over the rest of their lives. This is in addition
to what is already owed and does not include repayment of principle.
I am about to have a son born in the next two weeks and he is a DEBT slave
of the government, impossibly indebted by over $250,000 AT BIRTH. I was informed
that when I apply for the birth certificate, they want me to apply for a Social
Security number, placing their noose around my son's future earnings as their
debt slave. MY SON IS NOT RICH, and neither am I. The immorality of the US
government expecting future generations to pay for the profligate spending
of people who REFUSE to pay for their own consumption is on plain display.
Obscene and immoral behavior.
Then, the most economically illiterate new gang of 535 (the executive, congressional
and judicial branches of the US government), in conjunction with the rest of
the G7, have implemented programs and plans which are accelerating the demise
of the G7 financial systems bringing forward their unfolding insolvencies.
In just six months (since October 1, 2008), the Public Servants and the president
will have expanded government by 99%.
It took George Bush eight years to double the size of government. For President
Obama and the Democrats, the doubling is accomplished when the 2010 budget
begins. Think of all the NEW opportunities for corruption that Public Servants
can SELL via CAMPAIGN contributions and cushy jobs from the private sector
contributors after retirement, as the new rules are written. As they choose
the NEW "winners and losers" in the private sector by government fiat and regulations,
the new national champions are DECLARED and the money is spent. It's Christmas
day for every Public Servant and government office in the land. Just this week,
it was announced that Social Security contributions are almost less than the
payouts, due to the collapsing income of the American people. This was not
projected to happen until 2011-2012.
The losses which reside, for the most part, on the books of the lenders, whether
they are banks, investors, institutions or pension funds, etc. - ALL are waiting
for the (as they believe) typical post-WWII recovery to take place. The IMF
now estimates another $4.1 TRILLION of losses are yet to be realized (the true
number is MANY multiples of this figure). The $12.9 Trillion borrowed, guaranteed
or printed to date could PAY OFF every residential mortgage in America with
Trillions to spare.
Recently, stock markets around the world have rallied from 25 to 45%, depending
on where you look and sectors such as the financials have enjoyed gains of
up to 100%. DON'T BE FOOLED. The worst of the economic crisis is in front of
us. Use this rally to further position yourself for the next leg of the unfolding
economic and political debacle.
Even DEAD CATS bounce and this dead cat was thrown to the floor harder than
any time in history. In February, the stock markets of the world on monthly
charts were more oversold than anytime on record. Emotional exhaustion, mainstream
media- hyped HOPE, statistical manipulation and seasonal adjustments on an
unprecedented scale and never before seen levels of PPT (plunge protection
team) MONETIZATION of stocks are all combining to fuel this bounce. The financial
authorities are already buying US and agency debt. What makes you think they
will stop there, when the PPT is already in place at the primary dealers and
ready to PUMP up the stock market, providing the illusion of stability? Take
a look at this chart from Dennis Gartman at the www.thegartmanletter.com and
from Trim Tabs which illustrates saving and investment flows:

This chart makes the rally even more suspicious. The PPT I believe has never
been more active in its history. The current denizens of WASHINGTON, D.C. just
got tired of the market taking nose dives any time one of them speak, so it
appears the order went out to HIT THE BUY button every time they do in order
to create the ILLUSION of support from people with MONEY on the line. They
will STOP at NOTHING in pursuing power and the crisis is their cover.
Today when Obama started speaking, the tic went from negative 600 to positive
1200 in less than a minute. It would appear it is relentless. At no time during
my career have I seen the things I have seen in the last 60 days; it is mesmerizing.
Any time the market tries to correct, they would appear to stand in the way
of healthy corrective activity, setting the stage for a debacle when their
interference with NATURE ultimately fails. Fundamentally, the market should
fall another 50%, at least if Mauldin is correct in his work. AND HE IS! Of
course, the money on the line to buy the markets is created with a keystroke
and the purchasing power is subtracted from the money you have in the bank
by debasement.
The bank stress tests are a joke and the conclusions were known before they
began. Whatever is most POLITICALLY beneficial is to be expected, as practical
solutions fall prey to the corruption of the present Congress and executive
ambitions. Turner Radio Network has obtained a copy of the results as follows:
The Turner Radio Network has obtained the stress test results. They are very
bad. The most salient points from the stress tests appear below.
1) Of the top nineteen (19) banks in the nation, sixteen (16) are already
technically insolvent. (Based upon the "alternative more adverse" scenario
which had a 3.3 percent contraction of the U.S. Economy in 2009, accompanied
by 8.9 percent unemployment, followed by 0.5 percent growth of the U.S. Economy
but a 10.3 percent jobless in 2010.)
2) Of the 16 banks that are already technically insolvent, not even one can
withstand any disruption of cash flow at all or any further deterioration in
non-paying loans. (Without further government injections of cash)
3) If any two of the 16 insolvent banks go under, they will totally wipe out
all remaining FDIC insurance funding.
4) Of the top 19 banks in the nation, the top five (5) largest banks are under-capitalized
so dangerously, there is serious doubt about their ability to continue as ongoing
businesses.
5) Five large U.S. banks have credit exposure related to their derivatives
trading that exceeds their capital, with four in particular - JPMorgan Chase,
Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank America and Citibank - taking especially large risks.
6) Bank of America's total credit exposure to derivatives was 179 percent
of its risk-based capital; Citibank's was 278 percent; JPMorgan Chase's, 382
percent; and HSBC America's, 550 percent. It gets even worse: Goldman Sachs
began reporting as a commercial bank, revealing an alarming total credit exposure
of 1,056 percent, or more than ten times its capital! (HSBC is NOT in the top
19 banks undergoing a stress test, but is mentioned in the report as an aside
because of its risk capital exposure to derivatives)
7) Not only are there serious questions about whether or not JPMorgan Chase,
Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Sun Trust Bank, HSBC Bank USA, can continue
in business, more than 1,800 regional and smaller institutions are at risk
of failure despite government bailouts!
The debt crisis is much greater than the government has reported. The FDIC's "Problem
List" of troubled banks includes 252 institutions with assets of $159 billion.
1,816 banks and thrifts are at risk of failure, with total assets of $4.67
trillion, compared to 1,568 institutions, with $2.32 trillion in total assets
in prior quarter.
Put bluntly, the entire US Banking System is in complete and total collapse.
Look no further than the unfolding WASHINGTON consensus to convert the Preferred
to Common Equity, which in effect makes the government the largest shareholder
in the respective TARP recipient. With effective voting control, the government
will probably direct lending to politically important priorities, rather than
economically sound efforts. Mortgage cram-downs are now supported by Citigroup
vis-a-vis the Preferred to Common exchange now taking place.
The banking industry is suffering from wholesale loss of employees as top
talent leaves to avoid the compensation restrictions and the unfolding WITCH
hunts by your elected representatives, leaving the least qualified personnel
to deal with ALWAYS emerging NEW PROBLEMS. A total of 10 people at the US Treasury
are overseeing/supervising the banks and now they propose to micromanage them.
Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are preparing to direct these HUGE operations as
they are now doing with AIG, GM, Chrysler, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, ad
infinitum.
While we are speaking about Congressman Frank, on May 5th he is going to explore
the possibility of the FEDERAL government GUARANTEEING municipal and state
bonds. Congressman Frank insists, like he did with Fannie and Freddie, that
they are economically sound. On the state level, tax revenues have fallen much
faster than the federal level. Trillions of dollars of spending budgeted during
the credit bubble are now spiraling out of control on the spending side, while
revenues are in FREEFALL as every assumption underlying the budgets and bond
issuance proves FALSE. The most liberal states are in the most distress and
danger, and the GANG of 535 works to implement their failed policies on a national
level.
Cap and Trade energy legislation was dead on arrival as no Public Servant
in their right mind would send that bill to their constituents (once implemented
a rise in energy costs of almost 1000%). So quietly last Friday afternoon,
the EPA Czar and Al Gore radical Lisa Jackson declared carbon dioxide (the
air you exhale) a danger to your future! YOU ARE A PART OF NATURE NOT A VIRUS
TO IT. There is no CONSENSUS on climate change except in the back rooms of
the G7 governments, which have RUN OUT of NEW taxes to impose, reasons to take
your freedom away and TO PROTECT YOU; they need fresh funds for political boondoggles.
The president is speaking about energy policy as I write this missive. One
of his boasts is that we need to take the path that California has taken, telling
the poorly-informed illiterates among us a fairy tale. California has to IMPORT
its energy as NO ONE will build any kind of energy business there except government
mandated ethanol. It is an unfolding DISASTER, just like their economy. Morally,
intellectually and fiscally bankrupt Public Servants.
Jonathan Hoenig of Fox Business News sums up where we have come to nicely:
"It has been described as socialism, fascism or communism. In various contexts,
all are true, but let's refine it. From loans to the automakers to the bailouts
for the banks, the taxation, spending and control, the primary philosophy
that's powering the country now is collectivism.
Collectivism holds that the individual has no rights. Your life and the product
of your labor now belong to the group. If the group wants a bailout, heath
care, green cars, low mortgage rates, a job, an education - anything at all,
it now becomes your responsibility to provide it, whether you want to or not.
You see it in taxes that take money from people who've earned it and give
it to those who have not. You see it in the language itself. Phrases like "we're
all in it together", "I am my brother's keeper" and "shared sacrifice" all
speak to the same idea: you are here to serve. And unlike charity of volunteerism,
the "will of the people" is implemented by force, not by voluntary trade.
This is a profoundly un-American ideal. From the original Boston Tea Party
came the Declaration of Independence which put forth the morality of individual
rights. In this country, you are born free, not with a duty to serve the King
but with a moral right to live your own life. "Life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness" refers to your life, your liberty and your happiness.
You do not owe society a thing.
For socialists, collectivists, and others who support a high tax, high spending,
government controlled economy, sacrifice is an absolute. You're expected to
sacrifice for your neighbor, your government, for AIG or Citigroup, or deadbeat
homeowners or poorly run municipalities, whomever the geniuses in Washington
decide deserves your money.
This is wrong. The Founding Father's view of government was that its scope
was limited and clearly defined.
Is the purpose of government to own and run a car company? An insurance firm?
A bank? A mortgage company? Of course not. We've become one of the state-owned
basket case European economies we used to make fun of in this country.
This country was the once land of "rugged individualism."
Now America is controlled by and home to, the government dependant: "something
for nothing", poorly informed and functionally illiterate. Fooled by the mainstream
media to believe the RICH don't pay their FAIR share. Take a look at this recent
chart from Dennis Gartman at www.thegartmanletter.com illustrating
the FACTS of the matter:
In
my mind, this CANNOT, by any stretch of the imagination, be called shirking
your duty to society; but the illiterate masses, Public Servants and elite's
mainstream media prey on the most productive people in society using this lie.
The productive portions of the economy are just meat at the buffet table for
these VAMPIRES. They believe they have a right to the property of others. Have
a RIGHT to FREE healthcare, housing and welfare at the expense of people who
work for their money. It is slavery personified in EVERY sense of the word.
The unproductive as masters of the productive; it is a recipe for disaster.
Thinking of all the debt in relation to GDP and projected deficits is frightening
in and of itself. But then you must REALIZE that G7 currencies are debt and
IOU's, not REAL money, so any PAPER fiat currencies held globally should actually
be ADDED to the total debt. I am ending this missive with a quote from "Atlas
Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, as it fits what is unfolding:
""Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for
money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize
gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective
standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter
of values. Gold was an objective value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper
is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those
who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon
an account which is not theirs; upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the
day when it bounces, marked: Account Overdrawn.
In conclusion: Benedict Arnolds are firmly in control in America
and much of the G7, pursuing the demise of these once great nations. There
is no escaping what has been put in place and the only exit is the PRINTING
press. The destination is that of a BANANA republic, and a quiet coup (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice),
as outlined by Ex-IMF executive Simon Johnson, has occurred. Martin Feldstein
echoes his comments in a recent Financial Times article entitled "Inflation
is Looming in America's Future", available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae436dbc-2d09-11de-8710-00144feabdc0.html
But it is broader than what he outlines and extends to ALL the OLIGARCH sectors
of the economy. The US and G7 have become Fascist corporate states. The captive
victims, also known as citizens and debt slaves, are too busy trying to survive
instead of revolting. As they become increasingly DESPERATE, civil unrest LOOMS.
Nothing can stop the developed world collapse that is occurring.
The internet is now emerging as a threat to Washington because it exposes
their lies. They are going to try to SHUT IT DOWN and REGULATE it and call
it a NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT as their excuse, because foreign governments
may attack us. To SAVE you...
The emerging world will recover much sooner as they are savers and capitalists
and the developed G7 are rapidly becoming what they once were: socialist command
economies and BANANA republics. Look no further than the President's EMBRACE
of Hugo Chavez and Raul Castro to see the future of the United States.
They
are heroes of the President and preside/rule over workers' paradises, just
as he and the beltway aspire to do. Today the CFO of Freddie Mac was found
dead (41 years old and in the prime of his life) and they are calling it a
suicide. I say: HE KNEW TOO MUCH! And was probably about to "blow the whistle"....
Do you really believe anyone in government can produce more healthcare for
all, for less? UNBELIEVABLE claims. How about green energy? Recent studies
indicate one green energy job kills two jobs in the regular economy. In his
speech on Cap and Trade and energy, the President stated "the countries that
make the correct choices will thrive". He's right. The ones that choose cheap
and practical sources will thrive and the US and G7 will fail, as they FORCE
impractical energy policies on already impaired economies.
The US Government is now the major shareholder and controlling partner in
the world's largest mortgage companies, insurance company and automobile manufacturer,
and has its site set on the energy, banking and healthcare industries. It is
only a matter of time until they control them as well. To save you.
It is ILLEGAL for the government to own these companies; it makes a mockery
of the constitution. In France, anyone making more than 50,000 Euros a year
is RICH, and in reality, that is where the US and the G7 are headed. But with
the printing presses fully engaged, it will actually be POVERTY level. Gordon "Sold
the gold" lowered the definition of rich today and raised the level of taxes
on anyone making 150,000 pounds to 50%, Can you say slave to the government?
There is only one ray of sunshine to this and that is EVERY market in
the world will erupt in VOLATILITY to re-price to these rapidly changing
REALITIES, and "Volatility is Opportunity" for the prepared Investor. Absolute
return investments are the key to the future, as they have the potential
to thrive in UP and down markets. The opportunities are enormous!!
There is not enough money in the world to fund the deficits, spending and
rescuing the financial system, so once again, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the
printing press they go. Look for quantitative easing to supply the juice for
these reckless Public Servants and their elite masters, so they will steal
it out of your bank accounts while you sleep at night with their printing press.
We truly are in the hands of the "Ship of Fools" and everything you have known
and loved is set for destruction at their hands. The only growth you can expect
this year and next will be a mirage, courtesy of lying bureaucrats. The Obama
administration has ushered in an EXPANDED era of parasites and they are bent
on killing the host private sectors, and I believe they will succeed. The President
and Congress are the most anti-growth, anti-American government in history.
If you think the collapse that is unfolding now is a passing phase, next year
will be worse. WE WILL BE AFLOAT ON A SEA OF WORTHLESS COUPONS and call it
MONEY. Hyperinflation anyone?
Note: Ty will be appearing as a panel speaker at the Chicago Resource Expo
on April 24th and 25th. Attendance is free and information is available at: http://www.chicagoresourceexpo.com.
Next week the "Fingers of Instability" series will return. Don't miss it.
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