Juggling Dynamite

The business model of duping people into paying fees for supposed insights and education on how to ‘get rich’ is old as time but particularly prevalent in today’s widespread preoccupation with gaming, tricks and how to ‘win’ money without merit or culpability for illegal acts. Corrupt and fraudulent leaders that are wealthy enough to purchase immunity have become widely vaunted and followed by the masses. For an excellent essay on point, read The Age of Impunity, by Jeffrey Sachs:  “Impunity means that the rich and powerful escape from punishment even when their malfeasance is in full view. Impunity is epidemic in America. The rich and powerful get away with their heists in broad daylight.”

In a system run by wolves, and woefully few shepherds, sheep are never safe and financial crisis never ending:

The Trump University fraud lawsuits [which began in 2013 long before he was a political nominee] will in all likelihood hang over Donald Trump during the general presidential election. But during a Thursday morning appearance on MSNBC, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claimed Trump tried to make at least one of the fraud cases go away years before he emerged as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

During his campaign, Trump has repeatedly claimed he “never settles” lawsuits against him or his companies. But according to Schneiderman, “Before the complaint was filed [in 2013] there were discussions.”

“He did offer to settle,” Schneiderman continued. “He settles cases all the time.” Here is a direct video link.

Dilbert creator and “How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big” author Scott Adams discusses Trump’s powers of persuasion and branding in this clip from May 27, 2016. Here is a direct video link.

The auto loan bubble has gone full nut bar thanks to broke undisciplined consumers, reckless lending from dumb yield starved investors and willfully blind leaders at central banks. This report is on the US market, but similar antics have dominated in Canada and many other countries as well. The end result is a world awash in dinosaur (‘ICE’ internal combustion engine) vehicles that have been booked as ‘sales’ by auto-makers but not actually paid for that will end up in debt write-offs, investment losses and probably more taxpayer bailouts.

All of which reminds me of a refreshingly honest quote uttered by our Bank of Canada chief:  “There’s a crater under every bubble. Every one.”--Stephen Poloz, May 3, 2016

In May, the total amount of auto loans cracked the $1 trillion mark for the first time, marking a 10 percent increase. It comes as auto sales have hovered around record highs.

At more than $30,000, the average auto loan for a new car is also at an all-time high, according to Experian. Also, at more than $500, the average monthly auto loan payment is at a record. See: Jamie Dimon just sounded the alarm on auto loans.

When loans are too sketchy and dumb for even never-met-a-loan-he-couldn’t-flog- Jamie Dimon, you know these things are toxic sludge.  Here is a direct video link.