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Thursday morning, and once again I
changed my title due to the seemingly minute-to-minute changes in Europe,
moving at the pace of “ludicrous speed”, per a scene from one of
my favorite 1980s movies, Spaceballs:
“Prepare
for…..Ludacrous Speed”!!!
I literally can’t get through an
email, or type a paragraph, before the next headline pops up that something
dramatic has occurred in Greece, or Italy, or France, etcetera.
The much ballyhooed G-20 meeting commences this morning in Cannes, France,
yet another “Emergency Meeting” held in a five-star hotel,
attended by a bunch of well-heeled blowhards from around the world with below
average intelligence but above-average schmoozing skills. YOU are
paying for these multi-million dollar meetings, which do nothing but make an
already terrible situation worse. I ASSURE you, ANYTHING these morons
touch will turn to lead.
Think about all the “Emergency
Meetings” that were expected to “save the day”, just in the
past month alone. There was a G-7, TWO ECB meetings, a Fed meeting, and
now the G-20 boondoggle, appropriately set in France, potentially the final
flash point of the Euro’s demise, and with it the Western financial
system. If not France, another “black swan” will surely
emerge, such as an “unknown unknown” like MF Global.
Before I get to Europe, I want to focus
a bit more on MF Global, which, as usual, the media is eager to dismiss and
move on from. This bastardized derivatives monstrosity rose to Wall
Street prominence by buying assets from the disgraced, bankrupted REFCO in
2005, a perfect start to life for a “tier one CRIMINAL
enterprise.”
http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/investing-trading-futures/847599-1.html
MF’s failure has sparked a
firestorm of speculation regarding its exposure to potentially dangerous,
chain-reaction producing derivatives. As of now, 150,000 customer
accounts are frozen, and apparently yesterday’s $700 million
embezzlement estimate has already doubled to $1.5 billion.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/mf-global-client-theft-estimate-doubled-15-billion
This is chump change in today’s
age of UNFETTERED MONEY-PRINTING, but the bigger question is whether a
derivatives daisy chain could commence from to this “black swan”
failure. As always, derivatives kingpin and head government stooge, JP
Morgan, is sniffing around the wreckage trying to suck up any remaining
blood. Remember, JPM has, BY FAR, the largest derivatives exposure on
earth.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-01/jpmorgan-seeks-lien-on-all-mf-global-assets-to-cover-debt-and-credit-lines.html
Actually, there is one more topic I
need to get to before I return to the European CHAOS, the ongoing MELTDOWN of
the U.S. economy, soon to return to the front page news. Yesterday, the
Federal Reserve met, and once again emerged with the look of a deer in
headlights. The first thing Bennie stated was he saw “economic
improvement”, no doubt from the falsified, easily debunked 2.5% GDP
growth number posted last week. However, if you survived these initial
“primer” comments without losing your lunch, you’d see that
the Fed’s ACTIONS didn’t match those sentiments, not by a
longshot.
To start, the decision to leave rates
at 0%-0.25% (we’ll be there FOREVER, by the way) was 9-1 in favor,
compared to 7-3 in favor at the last meeting just six weeks ago.
Moreover, the three dissents at the last meeting were from Fed governors that
wanted to RAISE rates, while at this meeting, the one dissent was from a
governor that wanted to LOWER rates to, presumably, a stone cold ZERO….
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fomc-disappoints
Next, the official statement raised the
Fed’s inflation expectations, while significantly reducing its economic
projections. But I thought Bennie saw “economic
improvement”…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fed-slashes-economic-outlook-raises-inflation-and-unemployment-rate-projection
Finally, Bennie contradicted himself by
saying “growth will be frustratingly slow”, and that the Fed is
considering all potential monetary options, including the purchase of
mortgage-backed securities to stabilize the housing market. Good luck
with that one!
By the way, who would they be buying
MBS bonds from? Government-owned, taxpayer-funded Fannie Mae, the
largest owner and originator of mortgages in America?
If so, that would make the Fed itself
the largest owner and originator of mortgages in America. And given
that the Fed is owned by BANKS such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, perhaps they,
too, can partner with John Paulson to create new, “repackaged”
MBS’ destined to fail!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/bernanke-acknowledges-growth-will-likely-be-frustratingly-slow-as-fed-downgrades-forecast/2011/11/02/gIQA1ju6fM_story.html
Have no fear, goldbugs! The
printing press is just getting started, and as sure as night follows day,
OVERT QE3 will be announced shortly…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/here-what-bernanke-has-been-secretely-ordering-heidelberg
…particularly if the insane
notion of “nominal GDP targeting,” which appears to be gaining
support (proposed by GOLDMAN SACHS – LOL), takes hold…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/charting-debt-splurge-insanity-nominal-gdp-targetting-would-translate
And speaking of potential “Black
Swans”, one final note on America, the land of freedom and
democracy. Does it strike anyone as peculiar that rumors of an Israeli
attack on Iran surface just DAYS after Obama commits to mobilizing its currently
Iraq-based troops to the Persian Gulf?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/sky-news-reports-israel-preparing-preemptive-strike-iran
I don’t know WHAT will happen
involving the U.S. and IRAN, or WHEN, but I do know SOMETHING is coming, and
frankly I fear the potential GLOBAL impact of such an event FAR MORE than the
collapse of Greece.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/world/middleeast/united-states-plans-post-iraq-troop-increase-in-persian-gulf.html
And speaking of Greece, it’s time
to get to the topic of today’s RANT, the CHAOS that is rapidly
spreading in Europe, soon to engulf the entire Euro Zone in a conflagration
yielding the collapse of the Euro and HYPERINFLATION in numerous nations,
including MAJOR economies such as France, Italy, and the UK.
Geez, I walk into the kitchen to get my
Cocoa Pebbles, and by the time I get back two MAJOR headlines hit out of
Europe, justifying my new RANT title, as well as how DIRE and FLAMMABLE the
EU situation has become.
To start, the ECB, under its new head
moron, former GOLDMAN SACHS banker Mario Draghi, cut interest rates from the
pitiful level of 1.50% to the even more pitiful 1.25%, an act of DESPERATION
that will only be surpassed when they shortly go to ZIRP; that is, if the ECB
even exists by the next time they meet…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/super-mario-enters-bang-ecb-cuts-rate-25-bps-125
…next, the announcement that
Greek PM Papandreou, the pathetic bloke unlucky enough to have the nation
collapse under his watch, will likely resign in the next 30 minutes…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/and-now-we-have-event-horizon-g-pap-expected-resign-within-next-30-minutes
Clearly, the near-term fate of the Euro
rests on whether Greece agrees to the harsh austerity terms imposed by the
last week’s bailout proposal (as if they’d honor them even if they
agree to do so). As of yesterday, Greece planned to hold a referendum
on this proposal on December 4th, but Germany and France (how is France
dictating ANYTHING?) are demanding a swift decision, no less because the G-20
is meeting NOW, potentially to decide the fate of the entire Western banking
system.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/11/02/france-germany-demand-quick-greek-decision-on-euro/
Greece DESPERATELY needs cash to fund
near-term interest payments, and the farce over debating an eight billion
Euro payment is beyond ludicrous, approaching PLAID (for true Spaceballs
fans). Greece WILL NOT survive in the Euro, perhaps dying by its own
hand. The only question is whether the subsequent “credit
event” (YES, it will be a credit event) will serve as the final coup de
grace for all of Europe.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/greek-13-week-cash-outflow-forecast
Not to be outdone, the ITALIAN
government is on the verge of collapse as well. The Euro Zone’s
third largest economy, one of the most highly indebted and mismanaged nations
on earth, is flying without a rudder, heading into a G-20 meeting which could
have significant ramifications for the entire Western world.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/game-over-berlusconi-italian-anti-crisis-bill-fails
So there you have it, readers.
Complete and utter European CHAOS, which will NOT be positively resolved, no
way, no how. The Euro WILL be dissolved, and with it the HYPERINFLATION
monster unleashed across large swaths of the continent. Next up,
France, followed by the UK, and finally the United States.
PROTECT YOURSELF, and do it NOW!
And, by the way, the link below is to a 12-minute internet interview I did
with SGT Report, published last night.
http://sgtreport.com/2011/11/sgtreport-exclusive-derivatives-destroying-the-world-ranting-andy/
SGT Report Exclusive:
October 31st Internet Interview with Ranting Andy Hoffman
This is our exclusive interview with
writer and financial pundit ‘Ranting Andy’ Hoffman. Andy just
joined Miles Franklin precious metals as its Director of Marketing. In this
discussion, we touch on the MF Global debacle, silver & gold, and current
events. If you’re interested, the guys at Miles Franklin will treat you
fairly and help you load up on physical silver or gold. Just a head’s up: Time’s
running out!
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