Juggling Dynamite

Similar themes and catalysts here with the US in 2006 and Canada today.  As property prices mean revert so goes highly levered economies and financial markets.  Expecting other outcomes is unrealistic.

It’s no secret that Australia is experiencing a downturn in the property market. But for Aussies who own their own home or have a mortgage, there’s worse news. Many believe calling it a downturn is foolishly optimistic – the slump we are in is more like falling off a cliff. On 60 MINUTES, Tom Steinfort speaks with real estate and finance experts who predict property prices could slide by as much as 40 per cent in the next year. And if they’re right and numbers like that eventuate, there’s only one certainty: our entire economy faces catastrophe.

Here is a direct video link.

Here is a link to part 2.

Here is a direct link to part 3.

Preferential access and paid predatory advantage at the expense of would-be-legitimate investors have no place in free and transparent markets. The indefensible, dominant business models adopted by for-profit exchanges over the last decade must be outlawed to restore the semblance of integrity and fairness to public markets.  Katsyuama explains the reality well in this clip, particularly starting at 2:55.

With Interactive Brokers moving to the IEX, Brad Katsuyama, IEX CEO and co-founder, discusses how the exchange is working to convert other big-name companies to its trading platform.  Here is a direct video link.

IEX’s Brad Katsuyama: Our exchange is a fight against the establishment from CNBC.

Unethical activities are a staple theme in Donald Trump’s history.  This is not about politics, the behaviour should be acknowledged and rebuked by responsible citizens on all sides.

Two years ago, Susanne Craig received an anonymous envelope in the mail from the Trump Tower. Inside, was a copy of Donald Trump’s 1995 tax return.

That piece of mail set off an investigation by Craig and her colleagues David Barstow and Russ Buettner that uncovered, among other things, that Trump received at least $413 million US from his father Fred Trump over the decades — much of that through dubious tax dodges, including outright fraud.

The 15,000-word Times report contradicts Trump’s portrayal of himself as a self-made billionaire who started with just a $1-million loan from his father.

Craig spoke to As It Happens host Carol Off about how the story unfolded.  Here is a direct audio link.