Monthly Archives: July 2015

The Ex-Im Bank Is Dead (For Now)

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“After 81 years of funneling taxpayer dollars to favored companies, projects, and geopolitical outcomes under the guise of advancing some vague conception of the ‘U.S. economic interest,’ the Export-Import Bank of the United States will end its financing operations at midnight tonight. Proponents of the Bank have been regrouping and strategizing to move legislation to reauthorize the Bank at the soonest possible chance. In fact the White House is hosting a conference call for the purpose of advancing that outcome. The battle may be over but the war continues.”

http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/the-ex-im-bank-is-dead-but-watch-out-for-subsidy-zombie

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Spain’s Podemos Backtracks on Aim to Restructure Spanish Public Debt

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“Spanish anti-austerity party Podemos backtracked on a pledge to restructure the country’s public debt, saying it may not be needed.  ‘In Spain, putting an end to austerity doesn’t imply a unilateral debt restructuring — it’s not necessary,’ Nacho Alvarez, head of economic policy for Podemos, told reporters in Madrid. Instead, the party is looking at private debt relief, including a possible restructuring of household mortgage debt, he said.  Podemos’s leader Pablo Iglesias previously highlighted the need to restructure Spain’s 1.1 trillion euros ($1.21 trillion) of debt, matching rhetoric from his allies in Greece’s Syriza party as he primes his new party to fight elections later this year.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-14/podemos-backtracks-on-aim-to-restructure-spanish-public-debt

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The World’s Biggest Economic Fallacies… and How to Profit From Them

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“As the long lines at Greek banks and ATMs attest to, banks don’t really have all of your money.  Bloated government spending in Greece also reveals the failure of Keynesian economics, which advocates a large state role in the economy. It reveals the failure of the bailouts, which did nothing constructive. They only delayed the inevitable. Greece reveals that government bonds are not sacrosanct.  All of these things – fractional reserve banking, Keynesian economics, the false safety of government debt, and the bailout model – are firmly embedded in today’s conventional wisdom. The crisis there helps to illuminate these fundamental flaws in mainstream economic thinking.”

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/the-worlds-biggest-economic-fallacies-and-how-to-profit-from-them

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Report Predicts Increase in Sales of Private Greek Islands

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“Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy company, released a report on island real estate across the world, noting that Greece’s financial policies could lead to increased sales of the country’s islands.  One of the main aspects of the deal, and the sticking points of the negotiation, is a fund of 50 billion dollars worth of public assets that will be monetized through privatizations and other means over time. The fund will be controlled by the Greek government under the supervision of European institutions.  Considering that there are anywhere from 1,200 to 6,000 islands in Greece, and just over 200 of them are inhabited, Greek islands are likely to be used as a tool in this liquidation process.”

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/07/14/report-predicts-increase-in-sales-of-private-greek-islands/

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Former Finance Minister: Europe’s Vindictive Privatization Plan for Greece

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“Our proposal was greeted with deafening silence. More precisely, the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers and the troika continued to leak to the global media that the Greek authorities had no credible, innovative proposals on offer – their standard refrain. A few days later, once the powers-that-be realized that the Greek government was about to capitulate fully to the troika’s demands, they saw fit to impose upon Greece their demeaning, unimaginative, and pernicious Treuhand model.  At a turning point in European history, our innovative alternative was thrown into the dustbin. It remains there for others to retrieve.”

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/greece-privatization-plan-public-assets-by-yanis-varoufakis-2015-07

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Warren Buffett and Alessandro Proto Reportedly Buy Greek Island

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“American billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Italian Alessandro Proto have reportedly bought the island of Agios Thomas for 15 million euros, according to Proto Thema.  Agios Thomas is located to the northwest of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. The island is 1.21 square kilometers.  The two men completed the alleged purchase this past Thursday and plan to develop real estate on the island. In the past, Buffett, whose estimated net worth is 67.6 billion dollars according to Forbes magazine, had previously said that there are many opportunities in Greece and a lot of people who are willing to invest in the country.”

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/07/20/warren-buffett-and-alessandro-proto-buy-greek-island/

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Here’s a risk to stocks you’ve likely overlooked

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“Michael Milken, the creator of junk bonds, once remarked: ‘Liquidity is an illusion…..It’s always there when you don’t need it, and rarely there when you do’.  The problems with liquidity underscore the distorting effects of central bank intervention in financial markets. Official policies in the aftermath of the financial crisis have forced excessive risk taking in search of returns. Yet regulatory changes have contributed to a reduction in trading liquidity. Over time, investors can become increasingly exposed to ever more risky financial assets that in a crisis would be difficult to trade — triggering a major collapse in prices.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-a-threat-to-stocks-youve-likely-overlooked-2015-07-21

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China’s replica of Manhattan sits empty as the debt time bomb ticks

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“If it comes off, Tianjin’s Manhattan project will become the latest illustration of China’s build-it-and-they-will-come approach to development. Pudong -the futuristic financial center that sprang up on Shanghai’s east bank in the 1990s – also had its doubters. Occupancy rates in its central Lujiazui area are 97 per cent and rents among the world’s priciest.  Tianjin’s government this month sold 13.2 billion yuan ($2.74 billion) in bonds at zero premium to central government debt, joining other provinces in taking advantage of a debt swap program designed by Beijing to keep infrastructure projects afloat. The funding fix sustains a cycle China can’t afford to break.”

http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/chinas-replica-of-manhattan-sits-empty-as-the-debt-time-bomb-ticks-20150624-ghw4xh.html

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Warren Buffett plans $2 billion a year Australian spending spree

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“Legendary investor Warren Buffett has at last locked his gaze on Australia and will now take charge of a $2 billion war chest for investment here each and every year.  Mr Buffett, the head of investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, will use funds from a newly minted deal with Insurance Australia Group to build up equity stakes in other large Australian companies including at least one bank.  Banks will be among his targets.  Mr Peters said the IAG deal ‘sends a very clear message to the market place that Berkshire will be deploying capital in Australia’.”

http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/warren-buffett-plans-2-billion-a-year-australian-spending-spree-20150616-ghpjd6.html

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Aussie, Kiwi And Loonie Under Commodity Currency Attack

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“Recent actions and rhetoric from Commonwealth Prime Ministers, and their respective policy makers, have put their commodity sensitive currencies under pressure.  In Australasia, the kiwi ($0.6592) and Aussie dollar ($0.7370) both linger within striking distance of their six-year lows. In North America, the loonie has fared no better, straddling its own six-year low, while under attack from last week’s Bank of Canada (BoC) rate cut to +0.5%. For now, dealers and investors are willing to trade as if they do not expect any short-term market reprieve for any of these commodity and interest sensitive currencies.”

http://www.investing.com/analysis/aussie,-kiwi-and-loonie-under-commodity-currency-attack-258998

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