Hidden cause of great recession and next financial crisis? Debt

Posted by Matt in March 18th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Financial Crisis, 10 Years, Christian Science Monitor, Csmonitor, Debt Service, Federal Debt, Feds, Financial Crisis, Gdp, Inflation Rates, Interest Rates, Math, Money, Recession, Reliance, Tax Receipts, Tax Revenues, Undercurrents, World Economy

But here’s the interesting point: by failing to address the real causes of the crisis, the feds only allowed those undercurrents to grow more powerful and more dangerous.
Instead of reducing the world economy’s reliance on debt, they increased it!
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Now, let’s do a little math. The US has total tax receipts equal to about 15% of [...]

Preparing for the Next Bubble and the Bang When It Bursts – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in February 28th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Financial, China, Financial Bets, Greece, Last Time, Money, Nytimes, Offensive Moves, Pop, Treasury Bonds

Individuals, as always, may be tempted to make their own financial bets, too. Last time, they bought overpriced homes with too much borrowed money. Next time, who knows what the bubble will be? And that’s the problem, as it always is. How do you identify the next thing that will pop? Is it China? Or [...]

Young, educated and jobless in China – latimes.com

Posted by Matt in February 19th, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Anger, Bun, Central Planners, China, College Jobs, Confusion, Critical Point, Fringes, Graduates, Grievances, Guan, Hunger, Landlord, Large Scale, Latimes, Mass Movement, Money, Neighborhood, Quarters, S Central, Six Months, Social Experiment, Sociologist, Toilet, Trudge

With millions graduating from college each year and few jobs awaiting them, the country’s central planners worry that a mass social experiment that created a class of professionals is backfiring.
“They represent the pain and confusion of a whole generation,” wrote author Lian Si, a sociologist who spent two years living with and researching the graduates. [...]

China’s High-Growth Ghost Towns | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in February 18th, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Architectural Marvels, Art City, Boom Town, Chief Industries, Coal, Economic System, Foreign Policy, Ghost Town, Ghost Towns, Grand Canyon, Missing People, Money, Monoliths, Paradox, Sculpture Gardens, State Of The Art, Time China

Built in a breakneck five years, Kangbashi is a state-of-the-art city full of architectural marvels and sculpture gardens. There’s just one thing missing: people. The city, built by the government and funded with coal money, its chief industries energy and carmaking, has been mostly vacant for as long as it has been complete, except for [...]

How a Chinese Real Estate Bust Could Hurt the U.S. – DailyFinance

Posted by Matt in January 29th, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Economy, Financial, Banks, Bubble, Bust, China, Chunk, Economic Contraction, Gdp, Interest Payments, Interest Rates, Lead, Money, National Debt, People, Real Estate, Trillion

Nevertheless, if people who borrowed money could not pay it back, China might need to scramble to raise cash to keep its banks above water. In that case, it might sell a chunk of its $2.2 trillion in U.S. debt — which would likely drive up interest rates in the U.S.
How so? Such selling [...]

Andy Xie: An Overwhelming “Get Rich Quick” Mentality Dooms China To Endless Bubbles

Posted by Matt in January 11th, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Andy Xie, Assets, Blind People, Bubbles, China, Chinese Society, Desires, Dooms, Economics, Endless Desire, Logic, Mentality, Money, Overwhelming Desire, Strata

The overwhelming desire for getting rich quick dominates every nook, fissure and strata of Chinese society. Such desires cannot be fulfilled; the terrible logic of economics is that money must circulate. Creating bubbles can temporarily blind people to this logic, as overvalued assets substitute for money to fill psychological needs. This is why, whenever conditions [...]

Forecast 2010: Global threat assessment 2010

Posted by Matt in December 29th, 2009 | 1 comment

Published in Forecasts, China, Economy, Global Conditions, Global Threat, Gold, Middle East, Money, Probability, Term Debt, Threat Assessment, Treasury, Trillion, Us Government

The year 2009 was not an easy time. Do not expect global conditions to be much better in 2010. In fact, there is a high probability that things economically and politically will become even more problematic.
Focus will be on the US economy and there is very little indication that the situation is going to improve [...]

The End of Influence | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in December 24th, 2009 | no comment

Published in U.S., Brad Delong, Forecasters, Foreign Policy, Foreigners, Money, Stephen Cohen, United States

For as long as many can remember, the United States has been the country with money, influence, and power. But all that is changing, write Brad DeLong and Stephen Cohen in their new book, The End of Influence.
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But the United States is losing the money. America is now massively in debt to foreigners and will [...]

AFP: Moody’s warns of ‘fiscal crisis’ in top-rated nations

Posted by Matt in December 8th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Financial, Aaa Credit, Afp, Agency Moody, Credit Assessments, Financial Crisis, Fiscal Crisis, France Germany, Money, Public Debts, Threat Assessments, United States

Ratings agency Moody’s warned on Tuesday of a “fiscal crisis” lasting “several years” in Britain, France, Germany and the United States, but saw no immediate threat to their top AAA credit assessments.
Moody’s said that although the financial crisis was nearing an end, AAA-rated nations will struggle to find the money to reduce huge public debts.
AFP: [...]

North Korea currency change sparks panic

Posted by Matt in December 4th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Koreas, Bbc, Bbc News, Currency Change, Defector, Korean Government, Money, Mr Kim, North-Korea, Sparks, Surprise, Woon

Another defector, Kim Woon-ho, said people were “devastated” when they heard the news, which apparently came as a surprise.
“Complaints are mounting because the North Korean government is taking money away from its people,” said Mr Kim, who only left the North for the South this year.
BBC News – North Korea currency change sparks panic