Wednesday, November 30, 2011

IF Issue: Wednesday Nov 30, 2011

Excerpts and links from the latest issue:

Bob Chapman - Sovereign Economist - November 23, 2011

Bob Chapman – Ralph Evans
WORLD FINANCIAL COLLAPSE - WWIII & Bankers Demise

Interview 418 – Bob Chapman

Bob Chapman - The Financial Survival 28 Nov 2011

Dr. Deagle Show 111123 1/3 - BOB CHAPMAN

Bob Chapman - Radio Liberty 28 Nov 2011

US MARKETS
           
Except for the MF Global scandal Europe still stands at the forefront of world debt problems. Up until now little has been accomplished toward solving these problems and the traditional Christmas season is upon us, which stretches from December 7th, to January 10th, a period in which very little will be accomplished.
It is reminiscent of last summer. The only thing that the elitists have accomplished is the placement of Bilderbergs as the head of the ECB and the appointments of two more as PM’s in Italy and Greece.
Over the last ten years we saw all debt grow, but in particular among the southern members of the euro zone. The imbalance was predictable, but the northern countries just ignored the problem. Those in the north blamed the difference on culture and work ethics. Thrown into the mix was government and banking profligacy and growing lack of competitiveness. All of that was true, but it did not alter the fact that great imbalances existed and still exist and that certainly contributed to the underlying non-competitiveness.
Financial mismanagement certainly had a profound effect in the six countries in serious trouble and you can also include France in the group. The problems were also compounded by the wild growth of indebtedness lorded over the banking community. The latter just loved one interest for all. The banks were particularly the blame in Ireland and Spain where unnecessary building went absolutely berserk. Through this period, Germany and the Netherlands, in particular, couldn’t lend money fast enough to those who shouldn’t have been borrowing it. This, as we reflect back, it was malinvestment, a misallocation of capital instituted by the banking community, which was leveraged about 70 to 1. We continue to ask what could they have been thinking of? The performance of the banks was at the very core and heart of what we see today.
Two to three years ago Germany reached the conclusion that this could not continue and they attempted to Germanize Greece and to instill discipline. That ended up being unsuccessful, due to the great cultural differences. That brought about the EFSF, which provided loans to those countries that were unacceptable to the bond market. This, of course, was just another effort in avoiding reality. The northern Euro Zone members want to continue to export to these countries, but they cannot do that and that is why they have no money. They are finding that collectivism doesn’t work. There is no such thing as collective responsibility. These new world order geniuses forget that when you have austerity GDP falls and you have a recession. In addition, it also brings about added inflation, which had and has the ECB very concerned, because their mandate is to keep inflation in check. This then has put the ECB at cross-purposes.
This points out why the ECB does not want to act as lender of last resort to governments. The six nations in trouble have been forced kicking and screaming to accept austerity government changes and to reveal the terrible condition that their banks are in. Greece, as an example, went into the stage one bailout and austerity, which forced revenues lower and the ability to pay interest lower as well. Wages were cut 40%, government wanted to take licensees from taxi drivers and turn their businesses over to a Germany consortium, which forced the largest demonstrations to date. We wrote more than two years ago that Greece should default, return to the Drachma and straighten their economy out. No one wanted to hear that and now the situation is much worse.
We have six countries on the ropes. Contagion has set in. Stress tests are a scam and meaningless. Dexia passed with flying colors and two weeks later went bankrupt.
Due to outright lying by bankers and politicians money is going to be much harder to raise in the future. If Germany’s auction was real last week, and if they could only raise half of what they wanted to raise, how can those in trouble believe they can raise any funds at over 7% on 10-year bonds?
The simple solution is to end the euro, a poorly thought out experiment; which its creators thought would become a one-world currency. If currencies are managed properly, central banks do not need to be a lender of last resort. All the lender does in creating money and credit out of thin air is inflate away excesses by the bank and fiscal policies. A cap of 3% annually in central bank monetary creation will bring only limited inflation and allow for growth.
A break up of the euro zone does not have to be disorderly. Every two months, over a one-year period, one of the six nations can be allowed to leave the euro in full default. The second year the remaining 11 members can decide whether they want to keep the group together, or return to their original currencies. This is essentially what 65% of German citizens want.