Economics and Finance News

Rising rates and slowing economies pose a crisis risk. This is given high global leverage built up over years of loose monetary setting, it says.

House conservatives are pushing a plan to guarantee payments to U.S. debt holders — including some foreign nations — while freezing out nearly every domestic obligation.

In the past week, the Fed’s financial statement shows it borrowed an additional $143 billion to fund the FDIC’s bailout of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Borrowing is still high because we're determined to support households and businesses with rising prices and are spending about £1,500 per household to pay just under half of people's energy bills this winter.

Congress' end-of-year rush to fund the federal government has become the norm.

"There are, undoubtedly, still other unwise government interventions that I would wish to eliminate, but that I would also not willingly push a button to eliminate immediately. But there are buttons I would push." ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

A lot has happened during the last six weeks. Rising interest rates. The second and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history. Technology industry layoffs.

We used to have winter storms, sometimes even Nor’easters, but now we get polar vortex or other more ominous sounding things. Maybe this current banking “crisis” is behind us? At least for now.

The good news? US existing home sales SOARED in February. Up 14.5% MoM in February to 4.58 million units SAAR sold. The bad news? On a year-over-year basis, existing home sales plunged -22.64%.

The Fed and other central banks face a difficult choice: Keep rates high to control inflation or loosen monetary policy to stabilize financial markets.

Things are truly heating up, but what caused this? Where is it going?

Watch Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will address bank leaders from across the country at the American Bankers Association's annual Washington Summit (due to start at 1000ET):

The above image from Fed Policy Tools. "This action eliminated reserve requirements for all depository institutions." The Fed openly encouraged and sought both inflation and speculation. It got what it wanted and then some. Now the Fed has no idea how to fix the mess it created.

Alienation and separatism can go a long long way before getting to outright secession, and they still have real consequences.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she does not believe that there will be another financial crisis for at least as long as she lives, thanks largely to reforms of the banking system since the 2007-09 crash.

At Year End, JPMorgan Chase Held Over $1 Trillion in Uninsured Deposits Versus $119 Billion at First Republic By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 21, 2023 ~ Jamie Dimon is the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., which is also ranked the riskiest global bank by its regulators. But instead of getting his own house in order in the midst of a banking crisis, Dimon […]

Gold continued to decline for the second day on Tuesday after rising above $2,000 an ounce in the last session, as investors turned their attention from the banking crisis to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

As the old saw goes, a banker is someone who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and then wants it back as soon as the first drops of rain fall.

The Fed's two-day policy meeting kicks off Tuesday with the central bank perhaps facing the most uncertain landscape in recent memory as rising interest rates stand in tension with a banking crisis that threatens economic growth.

Fears of a global banking crisis are continuing to swirl, with investors keeping a close eye on a dashboard of indicators that show how stress is rippling through markets and the banking system.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will say on Tuesday that the US government could repeat the drastic actions it took recently to protect bank depositors if smaller lenders are threatened.

Investors fear other banks will sell mortgage-backed securities, pushing down prices.

The speed with which four banks collapsed — and one continues to struggle — has left investors reeling. While the failures came in the span of just 11 days, the scenarios that brought them down were each unique.

The demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank was just the tip of the iceberg. As it turns out, hundreds of banks are at risk. This explains why the Federal Reserve and US Treasury rushed to provide what is effectively a bailout for the entire banking system. In the first week, the Federal Reserve The post SVB and Signature Bank Were Just the Tip of the Iceberg first appeared on […]

Ordinary Americans can expect their wealth to get repeatedly chipped away as the monetary system degrades and requires progressively more intervention by authorities to perpetuate itself, according to an influential author and economist. It may take “a very long time,” however, for the system to actually break, he told The Epoch Times.

"US officials are studying ways they might temporarily expand Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage to all deposits, a move sought by a coalition of banks arguing that it’s needed to head off a potential financial crisis." Guess our March 12 tweet was ahead of its time yet again.

Days before a hastily convened press conference late on Sunday that would make the world's front pages, Switzerland's political elite were secretly preparing a move that would jolt the globe.

A stagnating zombie economy never recovers.

Well, based upon history and the analysis legacy left to us by Ralph Nelson Elliott, I think it is a strong probability that we will see a long-term bear market in the United States.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 was the second largest bank failure in US history. Just two days following SVB’s collapse,...

The national news cycle has careened from one extraordinary and alarming story to the next. The brewing crisis in banks remains front and center.

Recently we warned that the office commercial real estate implosion is rapidly transforming into the Big Short 3.0 (see "Why Small Banks Are In Big Trouble: As Hedge Funds Pile Into The New "Big Short", The Next 'Credit Event' Emerges") one which would also have a devastating impact on small banks due to their outsized exposure to the sector (Goldman recently calculated that up...

Responding to bank failures in 1972 and 1984, the Federal Reserve pursued two very different paths, with very different consequences for inflation.

\Bond markets in some of the world’s most vulnerable economies are flashing default warnings as turmoil in the US and European banking systems makes it even tougher for emerging nations to borrow and repay debt.

UBS Group AG is more reliant for its capital on the type of risky bonds that were wiped out in the Credit Suisse Group AG takeover than any other major lender in Europe.

\From Washington to Zurich to London, central bankers need to make a pivotal decision in coming days: whether their biggest immediate fear is financial or price stability.

A systemic credit event has replaced stubborn inflation as the key risk to markets for increasingly pessimistic investors, according to Bank of America Corp.’s latest global survey of fund managers.\

Bank failures, market turmoil and ongoing economic uncertainty as central banks battle high inflation have increased the chances of a “Minsky moment,” according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Marko Kolanovic.

After an incredibly volatile couple of days, stocks ended higher last week, with the S&P 500 rising 1.4%. The index is now up 2.0% year to date, up 9.5% from its October 12 closing low of 3,577.03, and down 18.3% from its January 3, 2022 closing high of 4,796.56.

“Bottom line is we still have an inflation problem, and the Fed needs to continue to raise rates,” Paul Gruenwald, chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, told Yahoo Finance. “So, they’ve obviously got one eye on the financial sector, but we still think they’re going to go 25 basis points later this week. But the language should be sort of softer and slower.”

With the banking crisis rolling alone, recession risk comes back into focus.

US stock futures and global markets rose Tuesday after coordinated action by the Federal Reserve and other leading central banks to keep dollars flowing around the financial system appears to have calmed nerves for now.

Peter appeared on Fox Business Claman Countdown to talk about the recent bank failures and the ensuing government bailouts. During the interview, they discussed how to invest in the current environment. Peter said that right now, gold is undervalued, but investors will bid up the price much higher when they come to terms with the The post Peter Schiff: Investors Will Bid Up Gold When They […]

"We believe that Mexico has every right to ask for what it wants," says Lynn Clarkson, chief executive of Illinois-based Clarkson Grain company. "As a supplier, the United States should give its customers what they want."

The bank firefighting squad seems to be out on a bender.

oth parties are exacerbating the city/country split. How different are their interests?

Dubai: Gold has again shot past $2,000 an ounce as investors worldwide keep worrying about a continued crisis for the banking sector – even after Swiss bank USBS confirmed it will buy troubled Credit Suisse for $3.23 billion.

Gold prices in Australia also touched their peak of $2,922 an ounce, fuelled by the falling value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar.

Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Looking for inflation in All the Wrong Places.

The global economy is at a critical crossroads with a number of interlocking challenges and crises running in parallel. The uncertainty around how Russia`s war on Ukraine will play out this year and the war`s role in creating global instability means that the trouble on the inflation front is not over yet.

The best performing precious metal for the week was silver, up 10.16%, in response to the strong move in gold.

THE London Metal Exchange (LME) has discovered bags of stones instead of the nickel that underpinned a handful of its contracts at a warehouse in Rotterdam, in a revelation that will deliver another blow to confidence in the embattled exchange.

China has discovered a super-large gold deposit, the Xilaokou gold mine in Rushan, East China's Shandong Province, with an estimated reserve of 50 tons, China Media Group reported on Saturday.

There are now a total of $8 trillion in uninsured deposits in the U.S. Roughly 40% of all deposits are uninsured.

\Inflation of more than 100% in Argentina is erasing the advantage the country’s top companies used to have by booking revenue in US dollars.

"The reason this is infuriating is that we are being told that taxpayers should be willing to double down, to reimburse even-more-careless depositors for their negligent inattention to risk." ~ Michael C. Munger

"It is not clear that some sort of enhanced stockholder liability has yet returned to the Overton Window, but it is possible that Americans will point out the hypocrisy of the Biden administration’s raising taxes on the rich with one hand while bailing them out with the other." ~ Robert E. Wright

Time is Running Out. The UN is out with another fearmongering report on climate change. It's labeled the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).

Four decades of rising markets punctuated by crisis-induced crashes seems to have fostered an unspoken belief that no one should ever get hurt in markets or the economy. Everything "should" always get better for everyone, without any messy loss or pain. Not only is this not realistic, it overlooks the role business-cycle recessions play in restoring the vibrancy of economies and markets distorted […]

A little over a week ago, when realizing the severity of the banking crisis spreading across the regional bank system (and which was about to jump the Atlantic and destroy one of the world's largest banks in a matter of hours), we said that "Powell is trapped: more hikes and CRE leads to tens of billions of incr. losses across banking system (AFS+HTM); small banks now reserve constrained […]

We’re not even getting peanuts? EU regulators came out and said, no, no, no, that’s just in Switzerland, not in the EU.

There’s absolutely no doubt that our financial system is in flux right now. We’re watching a storm approach, and it’s about to envelop the entire nation in chaotic conditions. If you think things are crazy now, just hang on to your halo…it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

Banks have been ordered to use the country’s domestic financial messaging systems for transactions...

The rush to add liquidity into the monetary system is “the most overt sign” of financial stress and a clear negative for the dollar, according to Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at Deutsche Bank AG.

Having dumped $30 billion of deposits into First Republic Bank last week, and the bank then being rumored to be pushing for a capital raise, The Wall Street Journal reports that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is leading discussions with the chief executives of other big banks about fresh efforts to stabilize the troubled regional.

Every time there is a banking crisis some scratch their heads and wonder; how could this happen? Surely it must be greed, bad risk management or lack of regulation. More intervention should solve it. However, all those excuses miss the most critical point: The U.S. banking system was destroyed by design, and the big banks played along with it.

~ Today's Water Cooler ~

This past weekend saw extraordinary actions by the Fed to address the meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank. Did the central bank break the law by effectively authorizing unsecured loans to banks based on the face value—rather than significantly lower market value—of those banks' Treasury holdings?

“There’s an old saying: Whenever the Fed hits the brakes, someone goes through the windshield,” said Michael Feroli, chief economist at J.P. Morgan. “You just never know who it’s going to be.” (The New York Times, March 16, 2023)

During a recent appearance on Chicago's Morning Answer, Christopher Whalen, an investment banker, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors LLC, and editor for The Institutional Risk Analyst, discussed the present state of the banking industry.

In March 2014 the world’s oldest central bank, the Bank of England (BoE), did every advocate of sound money a big but unintentional favor by publishing an official introduction to and an official detailed account of unsound money.

There are many excuses often used to explain inflation. However, the fact is that there is no such thing as “cost push inflation” or “commodity inflation.” Inflation is not an increase in prices, it is the destruction of the purchasing power of the currency.

How should Congress assess the Federal Reserve’s track record as an investor in residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS)? Regardless of Fed spin, it merits a failing grade. The Fed’s COVID-era intervention in the mortgage markets fueled the second real estate bubble of the 21st century.

Undun. The Fed’s balance sheet, that is. For all the focus on whether the Federal Reserve is about to pause its interest-rate hikes, there’s another critical policy decision sure to…

Update(1017ET): What's being described as an initial, informal meeting between Presidents Xi and Putin is underway at the Kremlin. While the expected cordialities and expressions of closer relations were exchange, among the most notable early statements came from Putin, who said he's "open" to peace talks with Ukraine and China's mediation efforts.

Bloomberg reported that Amazon sent an internal email notifying its employees about an upcoming wave of layoffs, which is part of the company's continuing strategy to reduce costs amid mounting macroeconomic uncertainty.

There has been a surge in protests and strikes around the world, primarily focused on economic hardships, skyrocketing inflation, political turmoil, and geopolitical issues.

It’s the weekend, but our fresh Financial Crisis does not sleep. And a recent study says we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

Robert Kiyosaki, investor and "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" author, has issued a warning about the state of inflation in the US.

The Fed ended Free Money, and the only thing it broke is the consensual hallucination that spawned during the Free Money era. And look what we got.

Its Gov’t Gone Wild! Insane spending budget by “Sloppy Joe” Biden, Yellen asking Warren Buffet for banking advice (seriously??), a war in Ukraine that America doesn’t seem to actually want to win, etc. But its the banking system where banks are getting crushed by rising inflation and interest rates (but failed to hedge). Sigh.

The infamous Covid surge in M2 Money supply (green line) produced a big surge in bank price stocks, thanks in part to the insane spending that Congress made following Covid (I’m looking at you, Liz!). But now The Fed is slowing M2 Money growth and banks like First Republic are paying the price.

Despite endless promises from Washington DC that there would never be another bank bailout, the Biden Administration bailed out Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) by removing the $250,000 cap on deposit insurance. Then Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen added that in the future, only banks that posed SYSTEMIC RISK to the economy will be bailed out. Translation: only the big four Too Big To Fail (TBTF) banks […]

The WSJ wants to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, Lindsey Graham discusses WWIII, and Republicans want defense spending to rise 5 percent more than inflation.

Please consider these Statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, on the announcement on 19 March 2023 by the Swiss authorities

"We welcome the announcements by the Swiss authorities today to support financial stability. The capital and liquidity positions of the U.S. banking system are strong, and the U.S. financial system is resilient. We have been in close contact with our international counterparts to support their implementation."

Yesterday, the Swiss banking giant, UBS, agreed to a shotgun wedding with its collapsing long-time Swiss rival, Credit Suisse. Switzerland has committed $173 billion in loans and guarantees to the combined firm.

The simplest thing that can be said about current financial market and banking conditions is this: the unwinding of this Fed-induced, yield-seeking speculative bubble is proceeding as one would expect, and it’s not over by a longshot.

On Sunday, March 12, regulators shut down the Signature Bank. They reason they gave for doing this is incredible. They said that the entire financial system night collapse if they didn’t. What kind of insane system is it in which a run on one bank can cause such a disaster? The crisis shows once more that the great Murray Rothbard was right. We need to end the Fed and fractiona...

Global use of the US dollar as a currency may decline further to 40-45% within the next 2-3 years. March 2023 brought an economic bloodbath in the United

California's Covid censorship law has not yet been killed by the judiciary, sadly.

Peter Schiff recently appeared on Brighteon.com with Mike Adams to talk about the failure of SVB and Signature Bank, the bailouts and the potential ramifications. During the interview, Peter explained the difference between SchiffGold and a lot of the other gold companies out there. You can watch the entire interview HERE. Gold has gone up The post Why SchiffGold? Peter Schiff Explains (Video) […]

This is the first of a series of exclusive presentations that will help you easily understand the banking crisis, as well as what may be coming next.

UBS Was Quietly Bailed Out in 2008; Now It’s Getting a $173 Billion Backstop to Buy Credit Suisse at 82 Cents a Share By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 20, 2023 ~ Yesterday, the Swiss banking giant, UBS, agreed to a shotgun wedding with its collapsing long-time Swiss rival, Credit Suisse. Switzerland has committed $173 billion in loans and guarantees to the combined firm. A key player in […]

Good friend Chuck Butler, editor of The Daily Pfennig, is a world currency expert. He constantly asks, “Got Gold?”

In the first part of this report, we highlighted that observed gold prices have significantly detached from our model-predicted prices. While this has happened in the past, prices always converged eventually. However, the delta between the observed and the model predicted price has now reached a record high of around $400/ozt. We thus ask ourselves whether it is reasonable to...

\Gold steadied, after rising above $2,000 an ounce for the first time in a year after a deal to buy Credit Suisse Group AG failed to entirely ease fears over the global banking sector.

Bitcoin climbed to a nine-month high on Monday as turmoil in the banking sector drives some investors to turn to digital assets, as the cryptocurrency built on its best week in four years. The biggest cryptocurrency rose as far as $28,567, its highest since mid-June, and was last up 0.9%, amid growing expectations that central banks would slow the pace of interest rate hikes.

Credit Suisse said 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.24 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 debt will be written down to zero on the orders of the Swiss regulator as part of its rescue merger with UBS , angering bondholders on Sunday.

All sorts of crises have been predicted by financial Cassandras in the aftermath of 2008. In reality, they’re exceedingly rare in markets. And yet, with three US banks down, a fourth teetering and the government-brokered acquisition of a fifth — and much larger — institution in Europe, the comparisons to that episode have become a little harder to ignore.

It is far easier to hold off political pressures in an era where global interest rate and price pressures are pushing downwards. Not anymore. Those days are over and things are going to get harder for the Fed. The trade-offs it faces next week might only be the start.

America’s central bank and its counterparts around the world are rushing to cushion markets against the impact of bank problems.

The Federal Reserve added nearly $300 billion to its balance sheet in a single week as it kicked off its loan bailout program for banks. In effect, the Fed loaned troubled banks $300 billion of new money that was created out of thin air. In other words, we got $300 billion in inflation in a The post Fed Adds Nearly $300 Billion to Balance Sheet in One Week With Bank Bailouts first appeared on […]

A banking crisis in a matter of days has emerged to potentially choke off a red-hot economy, raising the odds of a recession that the Federal Reserve has been working to avoid.

The lightning speed at which the banking industry descended into turmoil has shaken global markets and governments, reviving eerie memories of the financial crisis. Like 2008, the effects may be long lasting.

Bills were filed, hearings were planned and blame was cast as Congress reacted this past week to the abrupt failure of two banks .

Borrowing could become tougher, a particular blow to small businesses — and a threat to the recovery’s staying power.

Silicon Valley Bank was a center of gravity in the tech industry. Its bankers understood technology and were eager to support unproven companies.

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank SBNY -22.87% as well as questions about First Republic Bank’s FRC -32.80% future have cast a sudden pall on the banking sector. An emerging concern is that customers at community and regional banks, worrying that their deposits aren’t safe, might pull their money, putting it into money-market funds or accounts at bigger banks.

Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow central bankers will want to signal that it's important to continue the fight to bring down inflation.

Flagstar Bank, the subsidiary, will assume substantially all deposits and certain loan portfolios, and all 40 of Signature Bank's former branches.

"I don’t think he should be chairman of the Federal Reserve," the Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

S&P reduced its credit rating to B+ from BB+ on Sunday after first lowering it to junk status just last week. The rating remains on CreditWatch Negative, said S&P.

Peter Schiff appeared on the Capitol Report on NTD News to talk about the bank bailouts and the possible ramifications. He said that no matter what President Joe Biden and others tell you, Americans are going to pay for this. The interview started with a clip of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assuring Congrees that the The post Peter Schiff: Americans Will Pay for These Bank Bailouts first […]

The Fed has a lot of 'splaining to do, yet seems determined to keep doing the wrong thing.

The Turkish opposition’s “memorandum of understanding on common policies” reveals which way they’re likely to steer the country should they win May’s election.

By Dr. Jack Rasmus Copyright 2023 It’s been a week since the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the US at the time of its collapse and reportedly a source of funding for half of all the tech start ups in the US. It’s now become clear the more general

A bank's assets triple over a few years when interest rates are low. The bank invests those assets in long-term, higher-yielding municipal bonds with little credit risk. Inflation flares up and interest rates rise, reducing the value of the municipal bonds and funding dries up. Regulators become concerned that the failure of this bank could [...]

The Fed ended Free Money, and the only thing it broke is the consensual hallucination that spawned during the Free Money era. And look what we got.

Gold had a big rally last week. But is it sustainable? What are the technicals saying? The data over the last several months continues to give insight into the market. November showed the market was in neutral, but then the December analysis correctly identified an impending move upwards, the January review called for a correction and then February concluded: Currently, the data is The […]

What we saw on Friday was large-scale fear of taking big uninsured deposits into a potentially gruesome FDIC weekend.

Given the potential impacts of the ongoing banking crisis, I will start this article with the conclusion. The current banking crisis could not have come at a worse time for the Comex system. Inventories have seen massive depletion over the last 2+ years as investors have slowly been pulling physical out of the vaults. I The post The Comex Is in Far Worse Shape Than SVB if the Run on Physical […]

The US banking crisis erupted last week, March 10, 2023 with the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank. Today’s Alternative Visions show is dedicated to a discussion of the events of the past week since the SVB crash. What’s the fall out from the SVB implosion? What other banks are in trouble? What’s the Fed

Year-over-year, home prices plunged by the most on record as the seasonal uptick in prices was far smaller than a year ago.

JPMorgan’s High Risk Footprint; Bloomberg News as PR Agent for Jamie Dimon; and the Untold Story of the Failed “Rescue” of First Republic by the Mega Banks By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 17, 2023 ~ At 6:33 a.m. this morning, this big, bold headline appeared at the very top of Bloomberg News web page: “How Dimon and Yellen Helped Secure $30 Billion Lifeline for First Republic.” […]

Friday gold wrap host Mike Maharrey has been saying something is going to break in the economy for months due to the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening to fight price inflation. Last Friday, something broke when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed followed quickly by the demise of Signature Bank. It was the first crack in the dam. The post A Crack in the Dam: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap March 17, […]

At around 4.75%, plus collateral, these are expensive loans for banks.

Economist Michael Hudson analyzes the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature Bank, explaining the similarities to the 2008 financial crash. In this discussion with Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton, Hudson also addresses the US government bailout (which it isn’t calling a bailout), the role of the Federal Reserve and Treasury, the factor Continue Reading The […]

RADHIKA DESAI: Hi everyone. Welcome to the fifth Geopolitical Economy Hour, the fortnightly show about the political and geopolitical economy of our times. I’m Radhika Desai. MICHAEL HUDSON: And I’m Michael Hudson. RADHIKA DESAI: So this is our third and final show on the theme of de-dollarization, based on our work, particularly on Geopolitical Economy Continue Reading The post Dollar […]

A hugely important concept: "There is no trade-off between price stability and financial stability.”

After ending 2022 on an upward trend that continued into January, Chinese gold demand surged again in February as the economy continues to rebound from government-imposed COVID policies. Gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) totaled 169 tons in February. This is a reflection of strong wholesale demand and signals an ongoing rebound in The post Chinese Gold Demand Continued to […]

As the old saying goes, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Well, if it looks like a bailout, walks like a bailout, and talks like a bailout, it’s probably a bailout. In the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank The post If It Looks Like a Bailout and Walks Like a Bailout It’s Probably a Bailout first appeared on […]

Consumers are still spending like drunken sailors, especially online, now that they don’t have to blow so much on gasoline anymore.

We laugh, but it’s a start. SVB Financial collapsed with investment-grade ratings.

You may have had the same experience I had as a kid. When I wanted to know how to spell a word or what it meant, my mom would say, “Look it up in the dictionary.” But the dictionary on the shelf then would be woefully out of date today. Every year lexicographers, the people [...]

Why the Bank Crisis is Not Over The crashes of Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and the related bank insolvencies are much more serious than the 2008-09 crash. The problem at that time was crooked banks making bad mortgage loans. Debtors were unable to pay and were defaulting, and it turned out that the Continue Reading The post The Mechanics of a Bond Market and its Impact on the […]

But durable goods prices drop, energy inflation eases, food inflation is less bad.

Check out my radio interview of Monday, March 13, 2023 which was dedicated to a discussion of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, the role of the Fed, and the coming Fed 180 degree ‘about face’ on rate hikes (and what that means for inflation) GO TO: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18nJ5RSJWcUksFDD90o5rs6uoAZ96QO17/view

Banks as stock-pump schemes in the era of consensual hallucination.

This past friday, March 10, the Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the US, collapsed and was seized by the US govt’s FDIC. In my morning Alternative Visions show, as this was happening, I discussed some of the implications of the crash. Since friday, March 10, two more small banks associated with the

Last week started with investors focused on Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress and any hints about future monetary policy. During the course of two days of testimony, which was deemed more hawkish than expected, the market priced in another rate hike and pushed out the possibility of a rate cut all the way to January [...]

Here are 2 latest radio interviews on the US economy, jobs reports, Biden budget, etc. (Watch here soon for future interviews on the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank on friday, March 10, and its consequences for US banking stability and Fed rate hike policy) 1. CRITICAL HOUR RADIO Show interview https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eKth6Y88yl5PSiunH8uArtIdvHmfVsl6/view 2. BY ANY

Support my work via Patreon The collapses of Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank are like icebergs calving off from the Antarctic glacier. The financial analogy to the global warming causing this collapse is the rising temperature of interest rates, which spiked last Thursday and Friday to close at 4.60 percent for the U.S. Treasury’s two-year Continue Reading The post Why the Banking System is […]

Isn’t it what we all plan for? At some point in your life, you’ll stop working and enter “The Retirement Zone.” It will require income that may come from Social Security, retirement accounts, annuities, investments, or any number of sources. Yes, being a successful retiree requires planning. But you have to know what’s good planning [...]

With the 1-year Treasury bill paying 5%, why would anyone take the risk of owning stocks? - Everyone It is a good question and I can't tell you what investors will do this year or how stocks will perform, but history says it isn't the level of rates that matters for stock returns. Believe it [...]

1. (Critical Hour Radio Show: 3-3-23) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fLl-UyPHcNOlXTQguZT4C_idTDfT9srd/view 2. (Political Misfits Radio Show: 3-1-23)

It’s just human nature. When we buy something, we want to pay the lowest price and get the best deal. That same principle applies to America’s seniors when they turn 65 and have to choose a Medicare Part D Prescription drug plan. The problem, though, is that choosing the lowest premium Part D plan may [...]

by Dr. Jack Rasmus Copyright 2023 It has been roughly a year since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. A month before that invasion, in January 2022, this writer published an article ’10 Reasons Why the US May Want Russia to Invade Ukraine’ (see https://jackrasmus.com and other sources, LA Progressive, Counterpunch, et. al). In

Come spend an hour with Michael! Thurs March 2nd 5.30pm EST Register via zoom.  If you are a Patron Plus supporter on Patreon, you will be able to register. We have 247 Patreon supporters, can you get us to 250? The day before the Q&A you’ll receive an email with the link to join. Anyone Continue Reading The post An Hour with Michael first appeared on Michael Hudson.

  RADHIKA DESAI: Hello everyone. Welcome to the fourth Geopolitical Economy Hour, our fortnightly show on the political and geopolitical economy of our times. I’m Radhika Desai. MICHAEL HUDSON: And I’m Michael Hudson. RADHIKA DESAI: Today we are continuing our discussion of de-dollarization. As many of you know we have structured our discussion around some Continue Reading The post Trade […]

I think everyone can agree that stocks and bonds sold off last year because interest rates rose. You might get some argument about why rates rose but the fact they did is sufficient to explain the drop in stocks and bonds. It doesn't matter if you think rates went up because the Fed raised their [...]

This past year marks the one year anniversary of the start of the US/NATO-Russia war in Ukraine. In January 2022 I wrote a piece entitled ‘10 Reasons Why the US May Want Russia to Invade Ukraine‘. (see re-posting of that January 2022 article below). The article stated the objectives the US and its NATO allies

The hardest thing about investing is the patience it requires. Markets can and do go through long periods of stagnation that test every investor's commitment to their strategy. The last year has been a tough one for investors but the frustration actually extends back further than just 2022. The total return of the S&P 500 [...]

Listen to my Alternative Visions radio show presentation of Friday, February 17, 2023 and an in depth analysis of latest US consumer price and producer price inflation statistics. Is Inflation really slowing after a year of Federal Reserve rapid interest rate hikes? Barely so? How will further Fed rate hikes in 2023 impact inflation? To

Here’s updates on my take on key economic news events of the past week (US inflation reports, Fed, etc.). 1. Critical Hour Radio (Feb. 17, 2023) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k9v1qgdLR2o2M74l_RY2ZU0Mk8SofdiJ/view 2. Political Misfits Radio Show (Feb. 13, 2023) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J-LWoWKSLLtmt6LSi7tFmrMDa9HqfxT1/view 3. Critical House Radio (Feb. 10, 2023) […]

An interview with Gary Null on the longstanding Progressive Commentary Hour, where he asks me to give my State of the Economy briefing.    The post Gary Null Interview – The Rules Are Changing first appeared on Michael Hudson.

What’s that I hear? It’s very faint, but it sounds familiar. I cup my hand around my ear to hear better and, yes, I’ve heard it before. In the distance, there are shouts of “Abolish the IRS. We want a Fair Tax.” The idea of a Fair Tax was first introduced in 1999 by former [...]

It’s called a “My Social Security” account. It’s often thought of as something for people getting Social Security benefits. In reality, there are positives for anyone who’s working and paying Social Security taxes.   Protect Your Social Security from Identity Thieves Once you set up a “My Social Security” account, you’re protected. There can never [...]

“Understanding money and the dollar system,” Geopolitical Hour Episode 3, February 9, 2023, with economists Radhika Desai & Michael Hudson. podcast:  Radhika Hello and welcome to this third Geopolitical Economy Hour. I’m Radhika Desai. Michael And I’m Michael Hudson. Radhika As many of you know, in this collaboration with Ben Norton’s Geopolitical Economy Report, Michael Continue […]

Danny: Greetings everyone. [We] have two very special guests today. [This] is the first conversation of a series that we will be having on The Left Lens leading into the one year anniversary of the official beginning — or at least what the mainstream may say is the beginning — of the Ukraine proxy war — really Continue Reading The post The Hypocrisy Just Makes Me Cry first appeared on […]

In this episode of Geopolitical Economy Hour, economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss inflation: what it is, what causes it, and what are the problems in how the Federal Reserve and other central banks respond to it. Transcript RADHIKA DESAI: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the second Geopolitical Economy Hour. I’m Radhika Desai. MICHAEL HUDSON: Continue Reading The post Inflation’s […]

Radhika: Hi everyone, and welcome to this Geopolitical Economy Hour. I’m Radhika Desai. Michael: And I’m Michael Hudson. Radhika: Every fortnight we are going to meet for an hour to discuss major development in the fast-changing geopolitical economy of our twenty-first-century world. We’ll discuss international developments. We’ll discuss their roots in individual countries and […]

Q & A transcript from our 4th Patreon event.  Please join Michael’s Patreon group as a Patreon Plus member, so that you too can join us and ask Michael any question at our next session in March.  Karl Fitzgerald (KF): To start off with our typical end-of-year topic: How have you seen this year’s economic Continue Reading The post Systemic Sponsors of Self-Interest first appeared on […]

Each quarter, Patreon Plus supporters can ask Michael questions. Here is a transcript of the most recent one, just in time for our next Q&A this Thursday. Please support Michael’s work via his Patreon page. Karl Fitzgerald: Alright, let’s get into it. We’ve got lots of good questions. Welcome, everyone. My name is Karl Fitzgerald. Continue Reading The post China the Change Agent – […]

It’s time for our quarterly Q&A with Michael! Please support Michael’s important work via his Patreon page. Theme: NATO’s provocative role in Eastern Europe. If you are a Patron Plus supporter on Patreon, you will be able to register. Anyone upgrading to Patron Plus at least 24 hours prior to the event is invited. **Register Continue Reading The post Michael Hudson’s Patreon Q&A […]

Platypus interview on The Destiny of Civilization The destiny of civilization: An interview with Michael Hudson On July 15, 2022, Platypus Affiliated Society member D. L. Jacobs interviewed Michael Hudson to discuss his new book, The Destiny of Civilization: Finance Capitalism, Industrial Capitalism or Socialism (2022). An edited transcript follows. D. L. Jacobs: Can tell us Continue Reading […]

Questions from Al-akhbar Newspaper, Lebanon. Mohammad Itmaizeh 1 – In light of the conditions that Europe is experiencing, in terms of high energy prices and the repercussions on the industrial sector, like the closure of factories and the high cost of production. In your opinion do European countries have the capacity and resources to prevent Continue Reading The post EU Pressures – […]

Cross posted from La Tribune Diplomatic International. French version Mohsen Abdelmoumen: Your analysis of Mesopotamian times and the wise rule of Emperors embodied by the practice of the Jubilee (compared to the predation of oligarchies) resonate with the Islamic economic theory which forbids riba (meaning usury) and imposes that banks and creditors share the risk Continue Reading The post War […]

The Real Progressives Live with Michael Hudson on The Destiny of Civilization [00:00:06] Luke Parcher: All right. For those who might not know me, I’m Luke Parcher, I’m a student and activist. I volunteer with Real Progressives. I’m on our leadership team and I also do a show on Sundays covering politics and current events, Continue Reading The post The Rentier Economy is a Free Lunch […]

Germany has become an economic satellite of America’s New Cold War with Russia, China and the rest of Eurasia. The article this talk was based on: Germany and other NATO countries have been told to impose trade and investment sanctions upon themselves that will outlast today’s proxy war in Ukraine. U.S. President Biden and his Continue Reading The post Germany’s position in America’s New […]

Some follow up comments to my appearance on the Ralph Nader show. I am looking forward to our next Q&A session with Patreon Plus supporters this Friday. Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash The post We Do Read Comments: Re Nader first appeared on Michael Hudson.

As zerohedge.com is currently experiencing technical issues, please use the following website for all the latest updates: www.zerohedge.org while we resolve our issues.

Dear Zero Hedge readers and blogger fans, it is time to move on......to our new home: www.zerohedge.comFor a little over 6 months blogger has served us well, and yet it reached its limitations some time ago. Our new website, in addition to all currently existing features, now has a full RSS feed, a Contributors section, a complete term Glossary, and a full Forum for reader initiated content, and […]

Hey Ron, didn't realize your new position as a contributing editor on CNBC came with the contributing title of "Portfolio Manager." Didn't Stevie put a one year kibbosh on that? But I digress... And in all honesty I am surprised that you seem to have the correct spin on things (as per letter below from Jim Cramer's failed media experiment TheStreet). When you say: I'd prefer that regulators look […]

After numerous posts on this blog discussing speculation of assorted forced buy ins, it seems that this phenomenon is quite factual and quite pervasive among the asset management community. As Zero Hedge has noted previously, forced buy-ins are a critical issue as it leaves shorts at the mercy of their securities lenders and repo desks (most of which are TARP recipients and thus beneficiaries of […]

From an interview earlier with NYSE's Larry Leibowitz, who is surprisingly vocal against Flash trading. Larry - since the NYSE does not engage in Flash trading, can you please indicate whether or not the SLP program provides advance notice to Goldman Sachs ala Direct Edge's ELP program. Regardless, the escalation in the ECN wars is starting and should be a very interesting one to follow, […]

It seems only yesterday that Zero Hedge had some questions in regard to Goldman's VaR Fed exemption. No response was received from 85 Broad. Today it appears several Congressmen, lead by Alan Grayson, are willing to drive a sharp stick pretty deep into the hornets' nest, by sending a letter directly to Wall Street Don Ben Bernanke, demanding an explanation exactly to the question of Goldman's VaR […]

"I write out of concern that the integrity of our capital markets is being compromised by the ability of some insiders to view order information before it is available to the entire market, and use electronic trading strategies to profit from that information at the expense of other investors."Full letter here:Schumer Letter

Damage control... Or is Goldman a little worried what Direct Edge may disclose.From the appended Schumer piece on Bloomberg:“Goldman Sachs believes high-frequency trading should have an accompanying obligation to provide liquidity, and be subject to appropriate regulatory oversight,” Canaday said.Ed, we have been giving you the chance to provide your side of the story for months. Please take […]

The mythical "TRADER - The Documentary" is finally available on You Tube. Relevant "full frontal" insights on the making of a hedge fund legend, and a paleolithic market dominated by monochrome PCs (what, no Bloomberg?), running to the municipal library for that 10-K, and no Flash orders frontrunning every trade. Part 1, and related series (2-7) are on You Tube.hat tip j.m.

Bearish bets made impossible, compliments of UBS. Either that, or UBS' recently upgraded (with i7 chips of course) computers just cant handle the basis calculations. Either way, is something very fried with ETFs going on behind the scenes? IMPORTANT NOTICE: Inverse, Leveraged and Inverse-Leveraged Exchange Traded Funds are no longer available for new or additional purchases at UBSEffective July […]

Administration looking for Chinese help to narrow trade gap and boost US jobs.Advertisers are getting cheaper rates than a year ago on television commercials.Aetna 2Q profit dropped to $346.6M due to greater commercial expenses and cuts full year forecast.Asian markets were higher Monday on hopes for further earnings recovery, Nikkei hits 10,000 mark.China's new small-company stock exchange gets […]

Tenacious G - Is Goldman Sachs evil? Or really good? (NY Mag)Bernanke feared a second great depression; he may still very well get it (WSJ)Europe braced for rising credit card defaults (FT)Loans by U.S. banks shrink as fear lingers (WSJ)Credit crunch part deux (Merk Mutual Funds)Real yields highest since 1994 aid record debt sales (Bloomberg)Ryanair plunges on outlook for fares, earnings […]

Zero Hedge, in collaboration with David Rosenberg, Chief Economist & Strategist, Gluskin Sheff + Associates, Inc., is pleased to release the attached analysis "The End Of The End Of The Recession." It is our hope that this piece will provide some badly-needed perspective on "the recession is over" debate, a topic that has become as one-sided as it is wrong-headed. Our purposes is to promote […]

Some interesting stuff in John Mauldin's latest piece. We'll include some pertinent quotes along with our thoughts.China is growing by about 8% a year, which is amazing on the surface of it, as their exports are down about 20% (more in some sectors). How can that be? I continually read about how China is going to lead the world out of its global funk. And 8% growth in GDP does seem pretty strong. […]

Submitted by John Bougearel of Structural Logic

Must read: Fast-on-the-draw trades need spot of marshalling (FT, h/t Joe)Roubini Op-Ed on Bernanke: The Great Preventer (NYT)Lennar signals fleeting buildling rally as buyers flee (Bloomberg)JP Morgan to raise banker salaries (FT)The man spreading false rumors about Harman and Textron takeovers (that fooled fast-money's Najarian) found dead in suicide (Bloomberg)Chinese steel executive beaten to […]

When the former head of product development in the electronic client solutions group at none other than JP Morgan, Carl Carrie, was last quoted on Zero Hedge, he had some very nasty words for High Frequency Trading. Today, in a podcast transcript by algotradingpodcast Carl shares much more light in just why any reform movement against HFT and PT in general will be met by a huge pushback by […]

Zero Hedge will attempt to categorize all the relevant players in FlashTradingGate. This is the initial focus of Senator Charles Schumer's recent campaign for market equality and transparency. As we will undoubtedly miss critical connections between these and other pertinent industry players, we solicit readers' insight as we develop this org chart: we invite readers to send emails to: […]

Great recap piece in the New York Times on whether or not Wall Street is picking the pockets of "non-club" investors (read - the guys who do not generate 80% returns with a Sharpe > 5.0 - can someone explain how risk/return works again). The consensus sure looks good for class action lawsuit lawyers. The piece also recognizes the tremendous contribution that Zero Hedge's readership has had in […]

It seems 1-2's and Marla's post earlier could not have come at a more opportune time. In a presentation by Andrew Gluck of Advisor Products, the author touches on some starkly comparable points (and, usefully, those with acute ADHD may find this presentation a tad more palatable, hehe, just kidding Marla) in the context of the epic paradigm shift occurring in the media world. Zero Hedge […]