naked capitalism Sun 2010-08-22 09:32 EDT

Auerback: News Flash-- China Reduces US Treasury Holdings, World Does Not Come To an End

Marshall Auerback

In a post titled ``China Cuts US Treasury Holdings By Record Amount,'' Mike Norman makes the excellent observation that while China is moving its money out of Treasuries, interest rates are hitting record lows. In other words, the sky still isn't falling. So, Mike wonders, ``Where is the Debt/Doomsday crowd?'' He rightly concludes: ``They're nowhere to be found because they can't explain this. This is a `gut punch' to them. Their whole theory is out the window. They just don't understand or don't want to understand, that interest rates are set by the Fed...PERIOD!!!''...Also of note today: Tokyo's Nikkei QUICK News reports that the #309 10-year Japanese benchmark government bond, the current benchmark, traded to a yield of 0.920% Tuesday morning, down 2.5 basis points from yesterday's close. This is the lowest yield since August 13, 2003. This, from a country with a public debt-to-GDP ratio of 210%!...These are facts. Inconvenient for those who like to perpetuate the lie that the US or Japan faces imminent national insolvency as a means of justifying their almost daily attacks on proactive fiscal policy...

Auerback; China reducing; comes; ending; naked capitalism; News Flash; Treasury holds; world.

naked capitalism Thu 2009-11-19 10:39 EST

Saudis drop WTI oil contract

Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns

va the FT: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday decided to drop the widely used West Texas Intermediate oil contract as the benchmark for pricing its oil, dealing a serious blow to the New York Mercantile Exchange...The point of this move is not to undermine the dollar but to get away from the WTI contract where prices have been artificially inflated due to storage shortages at Cushing.

naked capitalism; Saudis drop WTI oil contract.

naked capitalism Sun 2009-09-13 15:35 EDT

Is economic boom around the corner?

Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns

...growth underpinned by high debt accumulation and low savings can continue for a very, very long time. In the United States, by virtue of America's possession of the world's reserve currency, an increase in aggregate debt levels has been successfully financed for well over twenty-five years...it is wholly conceivable that we could experience a multi-year economic expansion on the back of renewed monetary and fiscal expansion...Marc Faber: ``Don't underestimate the power of printing money''...but NDK continues to ``disrespect the power of printing money. There are few transmission mechanisms to get that printed money into the real economy.'' pebird comments (paraphrasing Faber?): The US (and Europe) per capita wealth must be driven down to a global benchmark - that is what globalization means. Which is easier - bringing 800 million Chinese plus 500 million Indian workers up to Western standards or 400 million Western workers down to global standards?

corner; economic boom; naked capitalism.

Tue 2009-04-21 00:00 EDT

naked capitalism: Guest Post: Mother of All Stealth Scams?

pension fund scam involved ``alternative investments, allowing private funds to collect exorbitant fees and senior pension fund managers to collect huge bonuses based on bogus benchmarks''

Guest Post; mother; naked capitalism; Stealth Scams.

Wed 2009-02-11 00:00 EST

Jesse's Café Américain: West Texas Intermediate Benchmark Diverging Widely from World Oil Prices

Jesse's Café Américain: West Texas Intermediate Benchmark Diverging Widely from World Oil Prices

Jesse's Café Américain; West Texas Intermediate Benchmark Diverging Widely; world oil prices.