Steve Keen, one of the few economists to have predicted the global financial crisis, talks about the possibility of another Great Depression, his support for the “Occupy” movement and new ideas about how we can rebuild our systems and society. (Yes the woman doing the interview is annoying, and interrupts too much)
(Thanks Chris)
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Great stuff. He said “Banks make money by creating debt” and somebody else said “Give me control of a nations money supply, and I care not who makes it’s laws.”
There is the root of the problem. Central banks exist for the benefit of the banks. The Political class would find it hard to function without the money the central banks create out of thin air to lend to the government at interest (that we all are on the hook for).
How many wars would the US enter if entering each one meant an immediate increase in taxes to pay for it?
I Hope You’re Prepared. Really.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=198513
Very stimulating thought.
After the looping around, what is he saying? The government (people) give the banks money and consider all personal debt paid off. Giving banks money were the QE programs which haven’t helped (other than rampant speculation in treasuries and commodities) and the banks have sold the loans so how do you get the money to the Widows and Orphans Pension Fund that now owns the loan as part of a package? Even if the pension funds get the money they’re holding it to pay benefits so how do you get the economy going? Sounds good but doesn’t work!
She is annoying but not so much as when she interviewed Kyle Bass a couple of weeks ago……fed up with her badgering he finally did send her back to her cave.
The interesting thing that came out is that even though Bass can say what he thinks will happen he is still a participant in the market, holding risk assets. His bet on sub prime although perhaps brilliant amounted to a bet worth only 1% of the portfolio. He makes it clear not all his bets are winners and he says his fiduciary duty in running his hedge fund is his only concern.
These brilliant hedgies enjoy playing the market neutral game risking 5 or 10 percent of client assets either way but in the end they still clip the partners coupon no matter what.
I would like to see him publish his funds long term return before I give him too much credit as an asset manager but as a charismatic speaker he is brilliant.
The clip is worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsCGI7s1SBg&feature=related
Danielle,
So glad I found your blog. I first heard about you on BNN, where you always inject a much-needed dose of smart reality into the the stock-humping, daily news cycle.
I’ve seen the video of Kyle Bass in which he recommends getting out of paper assets. This is but one of a whole slew of similar recommendations that I’ve come across recently from a virtual plethora of economists, analysts, traders and advisors (but not much in the MSM, mind you). Their reasons are many: Europe; monetary hyperinflation/fiat currency risk; corruption (oh, where does one begin on this one?); robo-traded markets; market rigging––and on and on. There seems to be far too much risk to be heavily in paper assets at the moment.
Aside from my home, I am currently fully invested in “paper” (stocks, bonds, GICs, “cash” in the bank). I would love to hear more on your opinion on where one can park one’s money where it would be safest from the above-mentioned risks. Some analysts recommend short-term US Treasurys. And of course gold. But what if one wanted to stay as liquid as possible? Would, for example Canadian government bonds be safe? How about just keeping cash in short-term GICs in good old Canadian banks?
I thought your recent blog, titled “Dude: “decouple” this” was very timely. My current advisor (whom took over my portfolio just this past summer) is a “long-only” manager who seems to rely on the belief that the markets always go up. Well, markets topped in nominal terms back in 2007/2008 (much earlier in inflation-adjusted terms). I recently discovered that, outside of portfolio rebalancing, they have no strategy to minimize losses (such as trailing stops). They point to the recovery in stocks in ’09 as proof that their strategy works. And they don’t appear to have any plan to deal with a crisis, such as we had in ’08. This is leaving me feeling rather exposed and I’m starting to question the wisdom of my decision to go with them.
Right now, my top priority is to just protect what I have until some sanity returns to the world. Would you be able to provide any thoughts, maybe in a blog post, or even directly if you are so inclined? Thanks for any input you can provide.
he is correct in saying we are in a depression. you of course don’t hear this from the media because the media usually follows the governments numbers which vastly understate unemployment statistics. Perhaps the only country that is not in recession is China but then again I am skeptical of the true growth that is happening there also. Instead of listening to government published numbers do your own survey ask around when you go to your gym or church what or where people are working, if new students are working. From the the people I talk with things are very dire especially for young people trying to establish a career. Those best off are already or nearly retired with full pensions from government or near government jobs (ie General Motors). If you are under 40 or 35 looking for work right now overall it is an absolute train wreck