Why is the biggest story of the day? Because Ben Bernanke is a well-intentioned arsonist. Bernanke inherited an American and global economy built on an upside down pyramid of debt, with a very small asset base. When the entire edifice began to collapse in 2007, the Fed Chairman was slow to react.
August 26th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 1 comment | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "ben bernanke"
Paul Krugman Advised the Bank of Japan to Purposely Cause Inflation
So I told him, “I like it fine, except I wanted lobster! Rich, flakey lobster to dip into real melted butter so wickedly delicious that you can actually hear your arteries hardening from just looking at it; but I can’t order lobster because inflation in prices…
August 18th, 2009 | Mogambo Guru | 4 comments | Continued
Does Bernanke Really Not Understand His Fate?
Mr. Bernanke defended himself and the Fed against suggestions that he was too eager to aid large financial institutions last fall and winter, while sacrificing the interests of small businesses and everyday American citizens.
July 31st, 2009 | Byron King | 13 comments | Continued
Investors in China Have Learned Nothing From the Crash of ’07-’08
With no barriers to entry, profit margins are always squeezed by competition. And growth is limited too – other builders are always starting up. If the investor paid 40 times earnings, he can only get 2.5% on his money…
July 31st, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Mortgage Bubble and More at Stake Between Australia and China
Two other items of note in yesterday’s housing numbers. The First Home Buyer’s consolidated their position as the most important group propping up Australian house prices. First home buyers increased their percentage of total owner-occupied mortgage demand from 28.6% in April to 29.5% in May. Nearly a third of all demand for new mortgages is coming from new buyers sucked in by the grant. Hmmn.
July 9th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 5 comments | Continued
The Economy is Getting Worse Not Better
Even at the time, it was obvious that the hacks in the administration had no idea what was going on. They were just guessing about the economy and taking advantage of the situation to pass out more money that taxpayers hadn’t even earned yet.
July 3rd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 2 comments | Continued
China Has Stopped Stockpiling Metals
There are several components of demand. There’s real economic demand (you need the stuff to make other stuff). There is investment demand (you’re buying it in order to make a profit from what you think the price trend is. There is also pure speculation, and it’s possible that some middle-men were flat-out speculating by buying alongside China’s State Reserve Bureau (sort of like the banks and brokers in the U.S. buying Treasuries ahead of the Fed late last year to improve Q4 earnings).
July 1st, 2009 | Dan Denning | 1 comment | Continued
Can Government Bureaucrats do a Better Job of Allocating Capital than Free Markets?
They’re allowing a handful of economists – who failed the critical test; not one of them noticed the market tsunami coming last autumn – to direct the flow of trillions worth of savings. They’ve already put at risk more than $12 trillion.
June 29th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued
Three Kinds of Money in the Marketplace
There’s the smart money that goes with the trend. There’s the dumb money that bets against the trend. And there’s the money that doesn’t know whether it is coming or going.
The trouble is always figuring out which is which.
June 9th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Ben Bernanke “Respectfully Disagreed” With Angela Merkel
Our heroine, Angela Merkel, made the front-page news yesterday. She stood up against almost every mainstream economist, politician, and central banker in the world – and gave them all hell.
June 5th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Central Bankers Encourage Debt Booms That Become Debt Bombs
Do you think maybe Dr. Bernanke is just trying to talk his book too? After all, the U.S. Treasury has heaps of debt to sell this year (gross issuance over $3.25 trillion according to Goldman). If Dr. Bernanke makes adult sounds come out of his mouth, it might give people the impression the U.S. is returning to sobriety and fiscal sensibility.
June 5th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
Recession Where Short-term Benefits of Consumption Belie Long-term Debt Consequences
All of that added up to 0.4% GDP growth. That means that technically, Australia hasn’t had two consecutive quarters of “negative growth” and isn’t in a recession. That’s if you accept the technical definition of recessions, or if you’re a moron.
The numbers show reduced imports because consumers are scared.
June 4th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 10 comments | Continued
Fed Trying to Push Private Investors into Riskier Asset Classes
So from a strategic point of view, we believe equity investors want and need to see stronger economic and earnings results to drive indexes higher, while bond investors need just the opposite to calm Treasury yields down.
June 3rd, 2009 | Rob Parenteau | 0 comments | Continued
Australia Might Avoid the Technical Definition of Recession
You’ll recall that the Aussie economy did contract by half of one percentage point in the fourth quarter. That was pretty mild compared to the 6.2% contraction in the U.S. But if the trade-supported Q1 GDP figures can eke out a gain (“positive growth”), well then Australia will join the odd couple of Poland and South Korea…
June 3rd, 2009 | Dan Denning | 2 comments | Continued
How Will the United States Finance the Biggest Deficit of All Time?
As a way for people to build wealth, this economic model of the Bubble Period was as ineffective as a bad banker. It was a ‘have your cake and eat it too’ school of financial success with an obvious flaw. People noticed it when the correction began.
May 11th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 2 comments | Continued


