Sheep, banksters, and Tarriers served up this morning: A Monday slap of Reality is ready.
There was (predictably) no breakthrough this weekend on the debt ceiling or the budget, so this morning, the market is looking (at least in the futures, and early on) to open about 80 points down. And to see the market blow down several hundred points between now and Thursday shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
The Rest of the World (RoW) is becoming afraid of two things: Namely that we American’s really might be as crazy as claimed by some and that worse, the fear-mongering bankster class might actually be partly right about their “End of the World” yammering’s.
Me? I don’t buy it.
Americans were told by the hundreds of thousand just four years ago about how we should tighten the belt a notch and get on with working and spending. We did our part and then some.
Now, when the same is expected of government, there’s a tremendous hue and cry about how whole this isn’t the country isn’t sailing off the edge of the Earth, yet, but you can hear the waterfalls from here… (There’s a famous painting, or two, devoted to that…)
So here we are Monday and as we begin another “…work all day for sugar in your tay…” (the Tarriers part) we can assess the overnight global picture this way, looking for signs and portents as we do:
China up 1.16%
Japan up 1.48%
France down 0.10 %
Germany down (0.08%
And the UK up 0.14%
“So,” you’re thinking “If the end of the world is really that close, how come the global collapse is not on right now, then?”
Fine point: At least in the early goings today, what I’d expect is a lot of ‘hot’ money blowing town looking for a more rational parking place. That’s why other countries are UP.
The Hype du Jour this morning is that Senate democorps have a new budget front to push. Yippee skippy!
The House is playing with (itself and) another short-term debt bill accompanied by the most bolloxed-up inability to articulate the concept of “Up to our collective asses in debt” in a way the sheep can grok as you’ll ever see.
Scare stories galore including this one about ripples at the State levels.
Hats off to our Veterans who went to the Memorials this weekend and tossed the barricades back to the White House.
Not to downplay the technical dangers, here, especially with IMF Money-Princess in Chief Chris Legarde calling things “very very disturbing,” (no shit?) but a lot of our 99er-friends who lost homes and savings in the 2008/2009 collapse see poetic justice in the wings. Want me to mention the MF Global screw-job perp in here, too, long as we’re sharpening our words?
What the Fools on the Hill may not comprehend: “Too Big to Fail” may no longer apply. And if that’s the case, we could be “Look out below!” for the markets.
A short story and further smack of reality here, if I may?
Every so often, when Capt. Midnight has time, he called me from the rural part of Virginia or other east coast areas when he’s off adventuring. And usually, our phone calls will be interrupted with cell drop out once or twice during a call.
When he rings back, the common laugh-line is “Damn third world phone system…”
Except we both know that is not a joke.
This morning there’s a really good interview by Kopin Tan with legendary trader Jim Rogers in Barron’s online over here. The paragraph I’d point out to you is this quote from Rogers:
“When I was selling my New York house, I almost backed out; I just couldn’t bear the thought of leaving. But now I’m very happy here. I fly to New York and I realize I’m in a Third World airport. Then I get into a Third World taxi onto a Third World highway. The difference now just slaps me in the face. New York is a wonderful place, with the people and the vibrancy, but I can find the same vibrancy, if not more, in Asia. “
As an occasional trader who is one foot in technical analysis and one foot in fundamentals, what I look around and see is very similar to what Rogers is describing.
What we have before us is a country on the verge of technical bankruptcy, an administration which has promised more than it has performed, backed up by a congress that’s the laughing stock of everywhere but Greece, Iceland, Cyprus and the other Euro countries which are are the same track.
When we should be taxing machines that replace humans, we instead provide real (tax and other) incentives to rip jobs out of America and stash untaxed money offshore. Slick, huh?
Businesses here, no longer fettered by monopolistic requirements such as make sense when placed on utilities (which telcos are) have systematically underinvested bare minimums to make as much money as possible. But at its core, we’re still coasting on infrastructure investments made a decade ago.
Free lunching is not limited to the masses of the poor – works in telecom too, which is why you can’t hardly find American tech support to save your soul.
So yeah, people are a bit skitterish. Like reader Andy:
G,
If the gov defaults, any recommendations in terms of having cash on hand, paying off debt ect
that you might share.
What will happen to the banks?
I can’t believe it has gotten this far.
But maybe it is good.
After all, you have been preaching that this insanity must stop and so this could be where it does.
What then?
Andy from Ohio
In order: Yes, always have 90-days of cash on hand, but own a gun and keep your mouth shut.
No, I would not being paying off debt at this stage: It should already be owned outright or 100% financed (and ready to hand back with no recourse, provided, that is, that you read all the fine print which no one does on consumer debt contracts which generally hornswoggle you into agreeing to be bent over by the bankster class who will come after your home (you agreed in writing, you idiot!) and all the rest of it if they repo the car.
What happens to the banks? No telling, but I expect the idiots in DC will bind us up into a further screwing because they’ll buy that “too big to fail” crap, which you can hear is warming up this morning in Legarde’s remarks.
Unfortunately, Andy wonders if this is where the insanity stops. Stop? Hell, Andy, this is the wind up! We’ve got a few years of this to sit through.
Like our source in the lofty realms of the PowersThatBe told us long ago, he who has the guns makes the rules…which is why the Second Amendment was written. Although, to his credit he also explained how brute force globalista power is projected, too: First you have a Navy…
So, in a land of no ammo, a land of free lunches, a land still projecting power in one hundred plus countries, and with lots of paper and ink left…isn’t it clear? Print! And that’s where Interplanet Janet and the Printer’;s Choir will come in.
There’s a story in the NY Times this morning snagged by Madison Ave. Mike: “ In India’s Politics, Jail Time is a Badge of Honor.”
Now I want you to do a little experiment: Next time you’re out and about, look at people’s tattoos: If you see one that looks like a bit of barbed wire tattooed around a wrist, arm, or leg, that means someone who’s been in the box (jail).
The sociology equation is simple: You can’t dispossess hundreds of thousands from their homes and then go toss maybe a million others away for 5 to 10 for bullshit weed convictions and seriously expect them to give a shit about what happens to the banksters, now, can you? Or the people who had their jobs stolen and sent to India? Hell no.
Sorry to begin your Monday on such a realistic note. But the markets are rallying on every hopeful word in this whole budget/ceiling charade like it means something. Just like the Hollywood harlots who go out, get all whacked out on crank, K2, (or whatever) and land in rehab.
“I won’t do it ever again!” they promise – a tactic played like a fiddle by the PTB with their banker spawn in the world of finance.
Yeah, right…not until next time.
More for Subscribers
Checking Out
Richard Branson is leaving Britain, but denies it’s for tax purposes. We have no way of knowing, of course, but if I had a private island to escape to, given traffic in the UK, gee, how hard a choice could it be? I mean even if there were no tax rumors?
Already Gone
With Memorials and other public items shut down, I bet you’re just thrilled to read that taxpayer largess is keeping the vacationing Bidens all snuggy at Camp David, right?
Racist Canines
This headline is a capper: “’Racist’ LA police dogs bit only Latinos and African-Americans’ headlines the UK Independent.
So I ask myself, how does this compare with the arrest records which, I’m bet a hamburger (and a bowl of Gravy Train) are similarly heavy on guess which groups?
Under-covered News
75,000 head of cattle died in last week’s blizzard up in the Dakotas and who saw it? Me? I’m looking for them in the frozen section down at the grocery store next week…
Cost of breathing is going up…thanks to Big Pharma.
In an alternate Universe I might ask “Is it moral to have Big Pharma make money with their Illness Industry?” Or, should medicine be more like a utility and provided (like the Army and Navy are provided) by government?”
Of course, I’d tax machines that replace human wage earners to pay for it, which would only make sense…
REPORTER BIAS ALERT: See Right—>
Obamacare Computing Worries
Forgot to mention last week that virus whiz John MacAfee predicts hackers will empty Obamacare enrollee’s bank accounts.”
Not that it will matter much if Ron Paul’s outlook for the future (martial law and economic collapse) show up first.
Opting Out of Google
If you want to keep your mug off ads for various products, you might want to read up on Google’s new Terms of Service.
Gee, maybe I could end up being the ad face for a porn site just by someone spoofing my IP address…
And our Snooze Analyst up in Winnipeg has this lil gem:
Dear Mr. Ure,
Observers can presently see that Google dot org’s “Person Finder” for Japan is in test mode.
Say, does this mean a Google run at Match dot Com might make sense, I mean if Google really is gonna be the Big Data key player and all?
And how soon before NSA will let us reg’lar peeps run NCIC background checks on our friends? I mean why not make the connectivity a two-way street, right?
Hungry for Computing Power
Does bring up the “glitch” that hosed up the food stamp payment system in something like 16-states this weekend. Reports of people just walking away from checkout counters leaving their food behind. Don’t you know the retailers just loved putting all that back…
Hey! Is this just one more reason why…
I tell you Grow Food or Die?
Have 90 days of food and water on hand at all times?
D’oh…