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Excerpt: "Conspiracy theorists of the world, believers in the hidden hands of the Rothschilds and the Masons and the Illuminati, we skeptics owe you an apology. You were right. The players may be a little different, but your basic premise is correct: The world is a rigged game. We found this out in recent months, when a series of related corruption stories spilled out of the financial sector, suggesting the world's largest banks may be fixing the prices of, well, just about everything.
"You may have heard of the Libor scandal, in which at least three – and perhaps as many as 16 – of the name-brand too-big-to-fail banks have been manipulating global interest rates, in the process messing around with the prices of upward of $500 trillion (that's trillion, with a 't') worth of financial instruments. When that sprawling con burst into public view last year, it was easily the biggest financial scandal in history – MIT professor Andrew Lo even said it 'dwarfs by orders of magnitude any financial scam in the history of markets.'
"That was bad enough, but now Libor may have a twin brother. Word has leaked out that the London-based firm ICAP, the world's largest broker of interest-rate swaps, is being investigated by American authorities for behavior that sounds eerily reminiscent of the Libor mess. Regulators are looking into whether or not a small group of brokers at ICAP may have worked with up to 15 of the world's largest banks to manipulate ISDAfix, a benchmark number used around the world to calculate the prices of interest-rate swaps.
"Interest-rate swaps are a tool used by big cities, major corporations and sovereign governments to manage their debt, and the scale of their use is almost unimaginably massive. It's about a $379 trillion market, meaning that any manipulation would affect a pile of assets about 100 times the size of the United States federal budget.
"It should surprise no one that among the players implicated in this scheme to fix the prices of interest-rate swaps are the same megabanks – including Barclays, UBS, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and the Royal Bank of Scotland – that serve on the Libor panel that sets global interest rates. In fact, in recent years many of these banks have already paid multimillion-dollar settlements for anti-competitive manipulation of one form or another (in addition to Libor, some were caught up in an anti-competitive scheme, detailed in Rolling Stone last year, to rig municipal-debt service auctions). Though the jumble of financial acronyms sounds like gibberish to the layperson, the fact that there may now be price-fixing scandals involving both Libor and ISDAfix suggests a single, giant mushrooming conspiracy of collusion and price-fixing hovering under the ostensibly competitive veneer of Wall Street culture."Excerpt: "Conspiracy theorists of the world, believers in the hidden hands of the... more
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Cabal
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20 days ago
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JEFF COX, JEFF COX, BUSINESS NEWS
By: Peter J. Tanous, President of Lepercq Lynx Investment Advisory
CNBC.com | Tuesday, 2 Apr 2013 | 12:19 PM ET
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CAYMAN ISLANDS, January 2016 - Today's paper says we should have seen it coming.
The facts were all there. Were we really that stupid?
For three years, the Federal Reserve was the largest buyer of Treasury securities, scooping up two-thirds of all U.S.securities sold at auction, driving interest rates down to practically nothing. In the process, the Fed built up a $4 trillion dollar balance sheet and no one asked where that money was going to go.
How did the Fed pay for these securities?
They "printed money." And look what they got out of thin air: Interest-paying U.S.government bonds that produced an annual profit of more than $80 billion!
The Fed magnanimously turned over most of those profits to the Treasury every year. Media editorials congratulated the wise men for their financial acumen and their sterling sense of responsibility.
It took far too long for other purchasers of U.S. Treasurys to realize that they were buying into a house of cards.
Last year, the governor of the British Central Bank went to parliament and announced that the U.S.had perpetrated the biggest financial swindle of all times. Imagine printing money and buying securities that paid interest! And nobody seemed to mind.
Amidst a chorus of yeas, the Central Bank of Great Britain announced that it would no longer buy U.S. Treasury securities at unrealistically low interest rates.
The world took notice.
China followed suit and so did Japan. Now the Fed was in the awkward position of being the only substantial buyer of U.S. bonds.
The next treasury auction failed and the bottom dropped out.
The stock market plummeted 35 percent in one week. Gold rose to a record $3600 an ounce, and interest rates on the 2-year Treasury note spiked to 6.5 percent.
Alas, that was just the beginning.
This past year, more than $1 trillion had poured into safe bond funds that were now trading at a significant loss. Investors who thought their money was safe rushed to redeem. Of course, the market wasn't able to accommodate the rush of withdrawals so fund redemptions were suspended and the panic spread.
If money wasn't safe in bonds, would it be safe in banks? The next run, this time against banks, soon began and lines snaked around the block.
That's when I decided to move to Grand Cayman.
My stock portfolio was decimated but my stash of gold helped me get through. I read the news every day and watch as the new Fed board promises never again to condone such irresponsible activities.
It's fair to ask how clear thinking leaders could have allowed all this to happen. The answer became obvious after the crisis.
In 2012, interest on the national debt was more than $360 billion, and that was when interest rates were at record lows!
The "wise men" knew that an increase in rates would devastate the economy. For example, if interest rates went back to their 20-year average of 5.7 percent, interest costs alone on our national debt would amount to nearly $1 trillion a year.
That would mean that all of the revenue collected from our personal income taxes would go to service our debt.
The nation wouldn't stand for that, would it? Of course not, so they had to do something to stop it.
What they did was to drive interest rates as low possible for as long as they could. Then the music stopped, the buyers realized they were being conned, and the crisis began.
But today economic and financial conditions are improving. Unemployment is down to 11 percent and the economy will improve to a GDP of minus-3 percent this year.
In a couple of years, I may want to move back. Right now, I'm going for a swim.
Peter J. Tanous is president of Lepercq Lynx Investment Advisory in Washington D.C. He is the co-author (with Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore) of The End of Prosperity (2008), and co-author (with CNBC.com Senior Writer Jeff Cox) of Debt, Deficits, and the Demise of the American Economy (2011).
© 2013 CNBC.com
URL: http://www.cnbc.com/100609988JEFF COX, JEFF COX, BUSINESS NEWS
By: Peter J. Tanous, President of Lepercq Lynx... more
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Culdee
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1 month ago
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The mainstream media is absolutely giddy that the U.S. unemployment rate has hit a "four-year low" of 7.7 percent. But is unemployment in the United States actually going down? After all, you would think that it should be. The Obama administration has "borrowed" more than 6 trillion dollars from future generations of Americans, interest rates have been pushed to all-time lows, and the Federal Reserve has been wildly printing more money in a desperate attempt to "stimulate" the economy. So have those efforts been successful? Well, according to the mainstream media, the U.S. unemployment rate is falling steadily. Headlines all over the nation boldly declared that "236,000 jobs" were added to the economy in February, but what they didn't tell you was that the number of Americans "not in the labor force" rose by 296,000. And that is how they are getting the unemployment rate to go down - by pretending that huge numbers of unemployed Americans don't want jobs. Sadly, as you will see below, the truth is that the percentage of working age Americans that have a job is just 0.1% higher than it was exactly three years ago. And we have not even come close to getting back to where we were before the last economic crisis. For example, more than 146 million Americans were employed back in 2007. But today, only 142.2 million Americans have a job even though our population has grown steadily since then. So where in the world is this "economic recovery" that they keep talking about?
Full Story: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-chart-that-proves-that-the-mainstream-media-is-lying-to-you-about-unemploymentThe mainstream media is absolutely giddy that the U.S. unemployment rate has hit a... more
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The Meaning of Sustainability
by Albert A. Bartlett
Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder
Albert.Bartlett@Colorado.EDU
NOTE; This text was developed from an invited paper of the same title
that was presented August 1, 2011 at the National Summer Meeting of the
American Association of Physics Teachers held in Omaha, NebraskaThe Meaning of Sustainability
by Albert A. Bartlett
Professor Emeritus,... more
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Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government institutions. They are private monopolies which prey upon the people of these United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers; foreign and domestic speculators and swindlers; and rich and predatory money lenders."
– The Honorable Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee in the 1930s
The Federal Reserve (or Fed) has assumed sweeping new powers in the last year. In an unprecedented move in March 2008, the New York Fed advanced the funds for JPMorgan Chase Bank to buy investment bank Bear Stearns for pennies on the dollar. The deal was particularly controversial because Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, sits on the board of the New York Fed and participated in the secret weekend negotiations.1 In September 2008, the Federal Reserve did something even more unprecedented, when it bought the world’s largest insurance company. The Fed announced on September 16 that it was giving an $85 billion loan to American International Group (AIG) for a nearly 80% stake in the mega-insurer. The Associated Press called it a "government takeover," but this was no ordinary nationalization. Unlike the U.S. Treasury, which took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the week before, the Fed is not a government-owned agency. Also unprecedented was the way the deal was funded. The Associated Press reported:
"The Treasury Department, for the first time in its history, said it would begin selling bonds for the Federal Reserve in an effort to help the central bank deal with its unprecedented borrowing needs."2
This is extraordinary. Why is the Treasury issuing U.S. government bonds (or debt) to fund the Fed, which is itself supposedly "the lender of last resort" created to fund the banks and the federal government? Yahoo Finance reported on September 17:
"The Treasury is setting up a temporary financing program at the Fed’s request. The program will auction Treasury bills to raise cash for the Fed’s use. The initiative aims to help the Fed manage its balance sheet following its efforts to enhance its liquidity facilities over the previous few quarters."
Normally, the Fed swaps green pieces of paper called Federal Reserve Notes for pink pieces of paper called U.S. bonds (the federal government’s I.O.U.s), in order to provide Congress with the dollars it cannot raise through taxes. Now, it seems, the government is issuing bonds, not for its own use, but for the use of the Fed! Perhaps the plan is to swap them with the banks’ dodgy derivatives collateral directly, without actually putting them up for sale to outside buyers. According to Wikipedia (which translates Fedspeak into somewhat clearer terms than the Fed’s own website):
"The Term Securities Lending Facility is a 28-day facility that will offer Treasury general collateral to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s primary dealers in exchange for other program-eligible collateral. It is intended to promote liquidity in the financing markets for Treasury and other collateral and thus to foster the functioning of financial markets more generally. . . . The resource allows dealers to switch debt that is less liquid for U.S. government securities that are easily tradable."
"To switch debt that is less liquid for U.S. government securities that are easily tradable" means that the government gets the banks’ toxic derivative debt, and the banks get the government’s triple-A securities. Unlike the risky derivative debt, federal securities are considered "risk-free" for purposes of determining capital requirements, allowing the banks to improve their capital position so they can make new loans. (See E. Brown, "Bailout Bedlam," webofdebt.com/articles, October 2, 2008.)
Continued............
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10489Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government... more
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The mass media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace. It is their function to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the larger society. In a world of concentrated wealth and major conflicts of class interest, to fulfill this role requires systematic propaganda. In countries where the levers of power are in the hands of a state bureaucracy, the monopolistic control over the media, often supplemented by official censorship, makes it clear that the media serve the ends of a dominant elite. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/section-blog/43042-manufacturing-consent-a-propaganda-model-book-excerptThe mass media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general... more
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worrg
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1 year ago
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Humboldt State University was visited by David Lang and Yelena Takhtamanova from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and they presented some information about the Federal Reserve System.Humboldt State University was visited by David Lang and Yelena Takhtamanova from the... more
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Back in the 1800′s when James Marshall found a chunk of gold at Sutter’s Mill California it started a wave of people who wanted to get rich quick flooding into the state to make their millions. Sound a bit familiar?Back in the 1800′s when James Marshall found a chunk of gold at Sutter’s... more
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The good news is the current status of real estate is a buyers market and interest rates are low. The bad news is that with so many people defaulting on their mortgages, the lenders are much more cautious when approving new loans.
Link : http://blog.doorfly.com/articles/2011/10-reasons-people-cant-get-a-mortgage/The good news is the current status of real estate is a buyers market and interest... more
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Recently Complete News Updates Today Got any unclaimed money out there? I’m not talking that quick cash loan with your name on it. I don’t mean the pennies from heaven that fall when you implore the universe to “Give me my cash now!”Recently Complete News Updates Today Got any unclaimed money out there? I’m not... more
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Who would have imagined 20 years ago -- when the Berlin Wall fell and we celebrated the death of socialism -- that capitalism would begin 2009 under heavy fire. The Cardinal of Westminster, Cormack Murphy O’Connor, reportedly went so far as to say that, as 1989 marked the end communism, 2008 was the year when “capitalism had died.” http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/396-end-of-capitalismWho would have imagined 20 years ago -- when the Berlin Wall fell and we celebrated... more
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worrg
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2 years ago
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The subprime crisis left many Americans wary of financial markets and capitalist financiers. In his recent speech President Obama blamed Wall Street ........ these investors create nothing real, "not steel, not cars, not computers, not even movies"; they only make money for themselves http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/356-do-capitalistsThe subprime crisis left many Americans wary of financial markets and capitalist... more
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worrg
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3 years ago
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Most BitTorrent sites operate in the shadows, with operators who rarely speak in public and guard their identities closely. Mininova is not one of those sites and in a new interview, company directors reveal a little more about running one of the world’s biggest BitTorrent sites. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/free-stuff/343-torrent-sceneMost BitTorrent sites operate in the shadows, with operators who rarely speak in... more
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worrg
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3 years ago
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The startling truth about how a small investment can go a long way in improving livelihoods in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. For more information on how you can invest with Shared Interest please visit http://www.shared-interest.comThe startling truth about how a small investment can go a long way in improving... more
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About this time last year there was much celebration over the launch of the world’s first Fairtrade olive oil. This was a huge achievement for all involved especially as it was the first Fairtrade product to arrive from Palestine. Although this oil has been available for a year I still haven’t gotten around to trying it for myself.
Read more at at http://blog.shared-interest.comAbout this time last year there was much celebration over the launch of the... more
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The Big Swap day six - My Fantastic Fairtrade Wine Tasting For Fairtrade Fortnight.
Called The Big Swap, the Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 campaign is encouraging us to exchange our everyday items for those certified Fairtrade or made in fair working conditions and sold for a fair price.
Subsequently Shared Interests Sally Reith will be swapping her heart out between 22nd February and 7th March. You can follow the highs and lows of her ethical exchanges at http://blog.shared-interest.comThe Big Swap day six - My Fantastic Fairtrade Wine Tasting For Fairtrade Fortnight.... more
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The Big Swap day four - Washing away unfair trade.
Called The Big Swap, the Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 campaign is encouraging us to exchange our everyday items for those certified Fairtrade or made in fair working conditions and sold for a fair price.
Subsequently Shared Interests Sally Reith will be swapping her heart out between 22nd February and 7th March. You can follow the highs and lows of her ethical exchanges at http://blog.shared-interest.comThe Big Swap day four - Washing away unfair trade.
Called The Big Swap, the... more
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The Big Swap day three - get your socks off.
Called The Big Swap, the Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 campaign is encouraging us to exchange our everyday items for those certified Fairtrade or made in fair working conditions and sold for a fair price.
Subsequently Shared Interests Sally Reith will be swapping her heart out between 22nd February and 7th March. You can follow the highs and lows of her ethical exchanges at http://blog.shared-interest.comThe Big Swap day three - get your socks off.
Called The Big Swap, the Fairtrade... more
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The Big Swap day one. Sally makes a cake and swaps her non Fairtrade ingredient for Fairtrade Tropical wholefoods chewy banana strips.
Called The Big Swap, the Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 campaign is encouraging us to exchange our everyday items for those certified Fairtrade or made in fair working conditions and sold for a fair price.
Subsequently Shared Interests Sally Reith will be swapping her heart out between 22nd February and 7th March. You can follow the highs and lows of her ethical exchanges at http://blog.shared-interest.comThe Big Swap day one. Sally makes a cake and swaps her non Fairtrade ingredient for... more
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