Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Fed Legacy, #3s Outlook and This & That...L&C

Ben Bernanke has left the building! I'll consider the day that the Fed is eliminated to be a real, happy news flash. The media has little to talk about until next week with the Winter Olympics, so they have been throwing around the praises of one, Ben Bernanke. He saved the economy! He saved jobs! He saved the dollar! Did he lose Lehman? Is Yellen going to continue his programs? On-and-on they go where they stop nobody knows.
This is the way I see it. As stated many times, I'm against the Federal Reserve because it is a shill for the rich and bankers in general. They do nothing for citizens. They are not elected and they have the power to control our economy. This circumvents our elected government. The fake modern spin of their dual mandate for the economy and jobs lies in the face of history when it was argued to be needed to ensure currency and credit liquidity. No one ever mentions that our currency has been debased by the Fed to the tune of 95% since they took control. They are the main reason for the Depression and almost all the recessions. Bernanke himself has been at the Fed since 2002 and all he did was double down on Greenspan's increase to the money supply which has been pointed to be inflationary, lowers standard of living and loses jobs.
Keep in mind when he took control in 2006 and the housing bubble began to surface, he said it was contained. Later, he said it would never take root in a national issue. He created money and programs which bailed out the rich and their investments like AIG. Not only just in the US, but foreign bankers were also thrown a life preserver. And that is how I see his legacy. Sorry, dear reader for the misuse of the word legacy. It should be as he continued the scam...
Japan
has published its forecast. It says growth will grow by 1.4%. There economic year begins in March. Last year saw a spurt of 2.6% increase, but in reality, the growth can all be attributed to the election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who increased the money supply which lowered the value of the yen which made Japan's exports cheaper and created demand. He also increased income taxes, and has slated for a sales tax increase to 8% in April. If he is successful, stays in office, he plans to increase the sales tax to 10% by 2015. I know one thing, sales taxes hurt poor people, income taxes hurt everyone and when one country lowers its currency, another is sure to follow.
Japanese policy-makers state that long-term debt will be halved by 2015/16. This is a result of higher income taxes and revenues. They like our recent past presidents have all declared things will work out on deficits down the road in the future. However, when you reach that fork in the road, it is a dead end street.
Japan's deficit will be 185% of GDP by March of 2021, but they are basing this on obtaining an average growth rate of 3% until then. They have not had one 3% yearly growth in a very long time. By the way the projections do not include some aspects of the economy. You know, off the books, like the reconstruction bond because of the earthquake and nuclear damage.
Dear reader, Japan was at one time the number one exporter and number two economy overall. Today, Germany vies with China for number one in exports and Japan has fallen to number three and they could fall even lower. The rewards for debasing the yen do not match the hardships face by the ordinary citizens and just like the Fed does to US citizens by lowering our standard of living and by devaluing our currency.
In a related story the US government says that our deficit will be halved to $514b after recording a drop to $680b in 2013. I have doubts about these figures. They do not include entitlements with 73 million baby boomers looking for social security, military money, NSA money, and who knows  what else is off the books. Only the Shadow knows...
One Question
if revenues are higher for the government and since the deficit has declined both last year and projected too this year, why does President Obama need to raise the debt ceiling for higher deficits?
Keystone XL
pipeline won't be mentioned, but behind the doors deals will get it approved, probably just after the extension of the debt level.
In other related aspects several bigger economies are slated to seek bond money due to maturing issues. India, Brazil, Russia and China need a lot of money like $7.43t. China alone needs over $3t. They all will face higher rates which makes money more expensive, especially if you debase the value of your currency.
For Sunny and Cher
the beat goes on with Walmart announcing 2.3k layoffs at Sam Club. PIMCO said it had outflows of $3.5b in January. The winter weather caused the cancellation of 49,000 flights in January which effected 30 million people which caused them to spend $2.5b in unforeseen costs due to the delays.
Liars and Crooks: I do not like to post stories that I cannot confirm, but if this is true, it is very sad. According to complaints by Russian workers at Sochi, they have not been paid for their work with an average of $7,000euros for each worker. C!mon! Pay the man!