The Three Stooges Debunk myRA | Zero Hedge

The Three Stooges Debunk myRA | Zero Hedge:

Curly, Larry, and Moe looked at each other quizzically. 

Moe raised his hand. Uncle Sam spotted him and said, "You, mop head, what is your question?"

Moe said, "The national debt clock shows the government already has over $128 trillion in unfunded promises to others. How will our money be invested? Will it be used to make good on promises already made to other people?"

Uncle Sam paused for a moment and said, "Those details will be worked out. While that may happen, younger people will take part in this program too, so they will help pay for your retirement when the time comes."

Moe could barely contain himself. "Isn't that a Ponzi scheme? I thought they were illegal?"

Uncle Sam paused and said, "Ponzi schemes are illegal, unless they are run by the government. What's your problem? I mean, come on! Doesn't everyone trust the government?"

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The US Is Now Spending 26% Of Available Tax Revenue To Pay Interest | Zero Hedge

The US Is Now Spending 26% Of Available Tax Revenue To Pay Interest | Zero Hedge: "In the Land of the Free, for example, the government routinely doesn’t count interest payments that they make to the Social Security Trust Fund.

They’ve managed to convince people that those debts don’t matter ‘because we owe it to ourselves.’

Apparently in their minds, solemn promises made to retirees simply don’t count.

It’s like a person who is in debt up to his eyeballs with both credit card companies and family members has no compunction about stiffing Grandpa."



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GM’s Supplier-Squeezing Days Gave Birth to Flawed Models - Bloomberg

GM’s Supplier-Squeezing Days Gave Birth to Flawed Models - Bloomberg: "GM also began pressing its supplier and former parts division, Delphi Automotive Plc (DLPH), to shave pennies off the price of every part to match what several of the people familiar with GM called the “China Cost” -- a rock-bottom price pegged to cheap Chinese labor. If suppliers couldn’t match it, these people said, GM would threaten to outsource production overseas."



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NASA Study: "Collapse Is Very Difficult To Avoid" | Zero Hedge

NASA Study: "Collapse Is Very Difficult To Avoid" | Zero Hedge: "But there is one FAR greater trend across history that supercedes all of the rest… and that trend is the RISE of humanity.

Human beings are fundamentally tool creators. We take problems and turn them into opportunities. We find solutions. We adapt and overcome.

The world is not coming to an end. It’s going to reset. There’s a huge difference between the two.

Think about the system that we’re living under."



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Fed $4 trillion assets draw lawmaker ire amid bubble concern -December 2013 Article

Fed $4 trillion assets draw lawmaker ire amid bubble concern: "The Fed’s assets rose to a record $3.99 trillion on Dec. 11, up from $2.82 trillion in September 2012, when it embarked on a third round of bond buying."



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Fed hurdle of 4 straight 200,000 payrolls sets Bernanke view - JUNE 2013 - Article

Fed hurdle of 4 straight 200,000 payrolls sets Bernanke view: "Chairman Ben S. Bernanke needs to see four months of job growth averaging at least 200,000 to justify reducing the pace of asset purchases, according to Vincent Reinhart, a former director of the Fed’s Division of Monetary Affairs. Roberto Perli, a former researcher in the division, said the central bank would need to see that pace “through the summer.”"



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Edward Lazear: The Hidden Rot in the Jobs Numbers - WSJ.com

Edward Lazear: The Hidden Rot in the Jobs Numbers - WSJ.com:



Although it is often overlooked, a key statistic for understanding the labor market is the length of the average workweek. Small changes in the average workweek imply large changes in total hours worked. The average workweek in the U.S. has fallen to 34.2 hours in February from 34.5 hours in September 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That decline, coupled with mediocre job creation, implies that the total hours of employment have decreased over the period.

The total hours worked per week is obtained by multiplying the reported average workweek hours by the number of workers employed. The decline in the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by 3/10ths of an hour—offset partially by the increase in the number of people working—means that real labor usage on net, taking into account hours worked, fell by the equivalent of 100,000 jobs since September.

Here's a fuller explanation. The job-equivalence number is computed simply by taking the total decline in hours and dividing by the average workweek. For example, if the average worker was employed for 34.4 hours and total hours worked declined by 344 hours, the 344 hours would be the equivalent of losing 10 workers' worth of labor. Thus, although the U.S. economy added about 900,000 jobs since September, the shortened workweek is equivalent to losing about one million jobs during this same period. The difference between the loss of the equivalent of one million jobs and the gain of 900,000 new jobs yields a net effect of the equivalent of 100,000 lost jobs.

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Senate’s Fannie Mae Wind-Down Plan Faces High Hurdles - Bloomberg

Senate’s Fannie Mae Wind-Down Plan Faces High Hurdles - Bloomberg: "Pressure from the White House, lawmakers and other advocates who want to eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FMCC) is mounting as the companies return to profitability more than five years after they were bailed out by taxpayers. The bill’s fate may will determine how soon the nation’s system of financing home loans is changed from one in which most of the risk is borne by taxpayers into one where private capital suffers the first losses."



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In Defense of the Indian Male - Bloomberg View

In Defense of the Indian Male - Bloomberg View:



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Fannie, Freddie Crash After Bill Unwinding GSEs Passes Hurdle | Zero Hedge

Fannie, Freddie Crash After Bill Unwinding GSEs Passes Hurdle | Zero Hedge: "The bill will call for replacing Fannie and Freddie with a new system of federally insured mortgage securities in which private insurers would be required to take initial losses before any government guarantee would be triggered."



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The Fed Has Failed (And Will Continue to Fail), Part 1 | Zero Hedge

The Fed Has Failed (And Will Continue to Fail), Part 1 | Zero Hedge:

The Fed's policies have been an unqualified success for financiers and an abject failure for the bottom 99.5% who have to work for a living.

After five long years of politicos and the financial media glorifying the Federal Reserve's policies as god-like in their power and efficacy, let's take a quick look at the results of these vaunted policies: ZIRP (zero interest rates), (QE) quantitative easing, both of which are ways of shoving nearly limitless, nearly-free money (a.k.a. liquidity) into the banking sector, where all this free money is supposed to filter into the global economy, working miracles of prosperity.

Let's start with a chart of the Fed's balance sheet, which reflects just how much money the Fed has created and pumped into the financial system. $4 trillion is larger than the entire GDP of Germany, and roughly 25% of U.S. GDP.

Next, let's look at the effect of the much-glorified Fed policies on full-time employment: If you call a return to the levels of 2005 (despite a 7.5% increase in population) a success, then what would you consider a failure?

Let's recall that the Fed's policies are unprecedented. Keeping interest rates near-zero for five years and pumping $4 trillion into the system are both completely off the scale of central bank policy in the U.S.

Next, let's look at the participation rate--how many people of working age who are actively in the workforce. The trend is ugly; the percentage of the civilian population who are working or actively seeking work is plummeting.

Next: real median household income: this is household income adjusted for inflation.Another ugly chart, as real median household income is back to the levels of 1990. Once again: if you reckon this a success, then what would you consider a failure?

How about the annual change in disposable income? we can assume that "prosperity" and "recovery" mean disposable income are rising at a healthy clip, right? Alas, the rate of disposable income growth is sinking toward zero. The Fed's policies of bailing out "too big to fail" banks and QE/ZIRP have correlated to the most stunning drop in disposable income growth in decades.

How about financial sector profits? Hey, now we're finally getting somewhere-- these are through the roof. We finally found something with a positive correlation to Fed policies--financial profits are hitting all-time highs. Yee-haw, we have a winner.

Last but not least, how about the stock market? Here is a chart of the Fed balance sheet and the S&P 500 since 2009. Ding-ding, we have another winner--stocks are also hitting all-time highs.

Source: Zero Hedge

The most charitable assessment we can make of Fed policy is that the "prosperity" it created is at best, ahem, grossly concentrated in the most parasitic and politically powerful sector: finance. Why should we be surprised that the Fed, itself a servant of the banking sector, should devise policies that enrich the bankers and financiers?

Let's be clear about one thing (to quote the president): the Fed's policies have been an unqualified success for financiers and an abject failure for everyone who has to work for a living. The Fed has not just failed to rectify the nation's obscene inequality in wealth and income; it has actively widened it by handing guaranteed returns to the banks and financiers while stripmining what's left of the middle and working classes' non-labor income, i.e. interest on savings.

Just as a refresher:

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20 Stunning Facts On The US Retail Apocalypse | Zero Hedge

20 Stunning Facts On The US Retail Apocalypse | Zero Hedge: "If we were going to have a "recovery", we should have had one by now.

Since there are not enough jobs, what is happening is that more highly educated workers are taking the jobs that were once occupied by less educated workers and bumping them out of the labor force entirely.  The following is an excerpt from a recent Bloomberg article...

Recent college graduates are ending up in more low-wage and part-time positions as it's become harder to find education-level appropriate jobs, according to a January study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
 
The share of Americans ages 22 to 27 with at least a bachelor's degree in jobs that don't require that level of education was 44 percent in 2012, up from 34 percent in 2001, the study found.
Due to the fact that there are not enough middle class jobs to go around, the middle class has been steadily shrinking."



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The Holy Grail Of Trading Has Been Found: HFT Firm Reveals 1 Losing Trading Day In 1238 Days Of Trading | Zero Hedge

The Holy Grail Of Trading Has Been Found: HFT Firm Reveals 1 Losing Trading Day In 1238 Days Of Trading | Zero Hedge: "Let that sink in: one trading loss day and 1237 days of profits. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Holy Grail of the New Normal broken, manipulated markets.

How is this statistical anomaly possible? For those who have been following our narrative on the market-manipulating, endless crime that is HFT will know all too well. When you have a "strategy" whose only mission is to frontrun order flow, and scalp pennies from every market order - that would be billions of market orders in a period of four years - there is no risk, as confirmed by the chart above. Furthermore, since all HFT really does is accentuate momentum but making the bid chase NBBO ever higher, in a market that is manipulated top down by the Fed itself, all HFTs really do is simply enable the Fed's policy at the micro level, and thus such crimes are not only ignored, but welcomed by the New Normal overlords."



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Nodes of term High Frequency Trading | Zero Hedge

Nodes of term High Frequency Trading | Zero Hedge:



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Improving US economy not enough for Fed to back off: Dudley

Improving US economy not enough for Fed to back off: Dudley: "A key decision-maker alongside Fed Chair Janet Yellen, Dudley predicted sustained U.S. growth above 2.25 percent, enough to boost the labor market. But he warned of "substantial underutilization'' of both labor and capital resources.

"This implies, in turn, that the current, highly-accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time to come,'' Dudley said in prepared remarks to students at Brooklyn College."



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China's Pollution Problem (In 1 Stunning Chart) | Zero Hedge

China's Pollution Problem (In 1 Stunning Chart) | Zero Hedge:





Coal trusts likely to default if Chinese Govt moves forward with pollution control initiative -







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Warning signs? Margin debt soars again

Warning signs? Margin debt soars again: "The indicator climbed to $452 billion in January, it said, the seventh consecutive month of all-time highs. It increased by 1.4 percent from December, 36 percent from an interim high of $381 billion set in July 2007, and has rallied 63 percent from the interim low of $278 billion set in July 2012. Margin debt has almost doubled on the NYSE since the start of 2000."



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Warning signs? Margin debt soars again

Warning signs? Margin debt soars again:







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Chart: What’s the real unemployment rate?

Chart: What’s the real unemployment rate?:







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Chart: What’s the real unemployment rate?

Chart: What’s the real unemployment rate?: "The U.S. Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in February—but does that rate tell the real story?

A number of economists look past the "main" unemployment rate to a different figure the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls "U-6," which it defines as "total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers."

In other words, the unemployed, the underemployed and the discouraged — a rate that still remains high.


The U-6 rate fell in February to 12.6 percent. While it is down 180 basis points from January of last year, the trend has been more volatile than in the main unemployment rate, which steadily declined."



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India Backs Russia's "Legitimate Interests" In Ukraine | Zero Hedge

India Backs Russia's "Legitimate Interests" In Ukraine | Zero Hedge:



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The Top 12 Signs That The U.S. Economy Is Heading Toward Another Recession | Zero Hedge

The Top 12 Signs That The U.S. Economy Is Heading Toward Another Recession | Zero Hedge:

Is the U.S. economy steamrolling toward another recession?  Will 2014 turn out to be a major "turning point" when we look back on it?  Before we get to the evidence, it is important to note that there are many economists that believe that the United States never actually got out of the last recession.  For example, data compiled by John Williams of shadowstats.comshow that the U.S. economy has continually been in recession since 2005. 

So if anyone out there would like to argue that America is experiencing a recession right now, I certainly would not have a problem with that.  In fact, that would fit with the daily reality of tens of millions of Americans that are deeply suffering in this harsh economic environment.  But no matter whether we are in a "recession" at the moment or not, there are an increasing number of indications that we are rapidly plunging into another major economic slowdown.  The following are the top 12 signs that the U.S. economy is heading toward another recession...

#1 We recently learned that the number of new mortgage applications in the United States had fallen to the lowest level that we have seen in nearly 20 years.

#2 Radio Shack has announced that it is going to close more than 1,000 stores.  This is just another sign that we are in the midst of a "retail apocalypse".

#3 The ISM Services index just fell to its lowest level in 4 years, and ISM Services Employment just experienced its largest decline since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

#4 Obamacare is really starting to hammer the U.S. health care industry...

"The Affordable Care Act is creating significant financial uncertainty to health care organizations," said a survey respondent from the health care and social assistance industry.

"With little warning, the negative impact on revenue has been unprecedented."

#5 Trading revenue at the "too big to fail" banks on Wall Street is way down...

Citigroup Inc. (C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) are bracing investors for a fourth straight drop in first-quarter trading, a period of the year when the largest investment banks typically earn the most from that business.

Citigroup finance chief John Gerspach said yesterday his firm expects trading revenue to drop by a “high mid-teens” percentage, less than a week after JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said revenue from equities and fixed income was down about 15 percent. If trading at the nine largest firms slumps that much, it would extend the slide from 2010’s first quarter to 36 percent.

#6 One of the "too big to fail" banks, JPMorgan, is planning to fire "thousands" more workers.

#7 Moody's has downgraded the credit rating of the city of Chicago again.  Now it is just three notches above junk status.

#8 The U.S. economy actually lost 2.87 million jobs during the month of January according to the unadjusted numbers.  Over the past decade, the only time the U.S. economy has lost more jobs during the month of January was in 2009 at the peak of the last recession.

#9 In January, real disposable income in the U.S. experienced the largest year over year decline that we have seen since 1974.

#10 Only 35 percent of all Americans say that they are better off financially than they were a year ago.

#11 Global retail sales for machinery giant Caterpillar have fallen for 14 months in a row.

#12 The economic data show that virtually all of the largest economies on the planet are slowing down right now.  The following is from a recent Zero Hedge article...

The last 3 weeks have seen the macro fundamentals of the G-10 major economies collapse at the fastest pace in almost 4 years and almost the biggest slump since Lehman. Despite a plethora of data showing that 'weather' is not to blame, US strategists, 'economists', and asset-gatherers are sticking to the meme that this is all because of the cold on the east coast of the US (and that means wondrous pent-up demand to come). However, as the New York Times reports, for the earth, it was the4th warmest January on record.

For much more on how the rest of the global economy is also slowing down, please see my recent article entitled "20 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is Starting To Catch Fire".

Meanwhile, things in Ukraine continue to become even more tense, and the Russian government continues to debate how it will respond if the U.S. does end up deciding to hit Russia with economic sanctions.

According to one Russian news source, the Russian parliament is actually considering the confiscation of the property and assets of U.S. businesses in Russia if the U.S. decides to go ahead with economic sanctions against Russia...

The upper house of Russia’s parliament is mulling measures allowing property and assets of European and US companies to be confiscated in the event of sanctions being adopted against Russia over its threatened military intervention in Ukraine.

We are talking about banks, retail chains, mining operations, etc.

U.S. companies have billions invested in Russia, and all of that could be gone in an instant.

So let us certainly hope that economic war between the United States and Russia is averted.  Our economy is hurting enough as it is.

But no matter how things with this crisis in Ukraine play out, it looks like hard times are ahead for the U.S. economy.

Unfortunately, most Americans never learned the lessons that they should have learned back in 2008.

They just assume that the federal government and the Federal Reserve have fixed our problems and have everything under control, so they are not preparing for the next great crisis.

In the end, tens of millions of Americans will be absolutely devastated when they get absolutely blindsided by what is coming.

Average:

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In Venezuela, This Is How You Convert $1 Into $175,000 | Zero Hedge

In Venezuela, This Is How You Convert $1 Into $175,000 | Zero Hedge:



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How to make Mis-infomation work for you by - CNBC and the Honest Folks at the Bureau of Labor Stats

A Respectful Disagreement With Warren Buffett | Zero Hedge

A Respectful Disagreement With Warren Buffett | Zero Hedge:

For one, the unprecedented monetary expansion over the last decades has created a major boon for Mr. Buffet and his net worth.

His company Berkshire Hathaway has a balance sheet worth $485 billion. 25% of that is simply invested in the stock market with big chunks of Coca Cola and American Express.

These stock prices have boomed in an era of unprecedented money printing, adding billions to Mr. Buffett’s net worth.

Second, it’s important to note that over 75% of Berkshire’s revenue comes from highly regulated, absurdly profitable, tax advantageous businesses that are simply not accessible to the average guy.

For example, Mr. Buffett gleefully writes about the $77 billion ‘float’ from his insurance businesses.

This is money that is collected from insurance customers. And while he might have to pay out insurance claims someday, for now he gets to borrow from that kitty at 0% and generate higher returns elsewhere.

On top of this, Mr. Buffett has been able to defer a full $57 billion in tax, indefinitely kicking the can down the road on his IRS bill thanks to industry-specific tax rules.

Again, you and I couldn’t do this because we don’t have access to these special privileges. Warren Buffett does.

Warren Buffett also has special access to lawmakers in the US who clamor to be in his favor.

During the early days of the financial crisis in 2008, for example, Buffett was getting desperate phone calls from the Treasury begging him to make investments in the financial system.

And as a result, he was able to arrange sweetheart deals, brokered by the US government.

It also may just be a wild coincidence that the US government has rejected the Keystone XL pipeline… and Mr. Buffett’s railways just -happen- to be among the prime beneficiaries.

Yes, I think if we all had the special privilege, access, and benefit that Warren Buffett enjoys, we too would all be jumping for joy about America.

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SEC Can Explain Why It's So Good at Selling Stocks - Bloomberg View

SEC Can Explain Why It's So Good at Selling Stocks - Bloomberg View:



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More IMF Lies? | Zero Hedge

More IMF Lies? | Zero Hedge:



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Sarah Palin on Russian action in Ukraine: Told you so - CBS News- THE BEST PART ARE THE "COMMENTS" I'VE POSTED TO HER CLAIM

Sarah Palin on Russian action in Ukraine: Told you so - CBS News:

VICTOR JARVIS 10 hours ago

Such a genius, The woman who said, 

"They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska"

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VICTOR JARVIS 10 hours ago

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

BUD28DY 11 hours ago

Sarah is now releasing her in depth analysis of the American economy:  "Inflation is going to increase sometime in the future."

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BUD28DY 11 hours ago

The embarrassing 2008 election is Simple Sarah's Groundhog Day -- she is destined to relive it over and over and over.

GALACTICEINSTEIN 11 hours ago

Well, lets see...I predict higher fuel costs in the future and more mass killings in Africa...and a couple of hurricanes on the Florida coast.  Can I be Vice President now?

BUD28DY 12 hours ago

Palin and herpes are forever.

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BUD28DY 13 hours ago

Sarah is definitely a MILF -- Moron I'd Like to Forget

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Your bank data may be at risk if you use an iPhone

Your bank data may be at risk if you use an iPhone:



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Warren Buffett: Stock market isn't rigged - Asking the Fox about the hen house !!

Warren Buffett: Stock market isn't rigged:



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IPOs set to deluge market

IPOs set to deluge market: "Consumer-oriented tech companies will be prominent in March. Already, S-1's (the initial registration form for new securities, required by the SEC) have been filed for several big names, including:

1) Coupon.com (COUP), the leading digital network of printable, online coupons, will likely begin trading next Friday;"



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S&P’s rise underpinned by borrowed money

S&P’s rise underpinned by borrowed money: "US stocks are being propelled to fresh highs by investors borrowing a record amount of money in a high stakes gamble that is raising concerns over the potential for a sharp correction in the five-year bull run.
With the S&P 500 registering a fresh closing peak of 1,859.45 last week, margin debt – money borrowed to buy stocks – hit a record level in January, according to data from the New York Stock Exchange."



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Panic Proves Fleeting in February as Stocks, Bonds Rise - Bloomberg

Panic Proves Fleeting in February as Stocks, Bonds Rise - Bloomberg: "Panic Proves Fleeting in February as Stocks, Bonds Rise
By Lu Wang and Nick Taborek Mar 1, 2014 12:00 AM ET "



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