Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: End o the world continues. And in other news...

  1. #1
    Veteran Member person's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    633
    Thanks
    33
    Thanked 34 Times in 23 Posts

    Default End o the world continues. And in other news...

    SEEN through the framework of Western logic, the conclusion is irresistible. Russia's political idiosyncrasies must give way to the imperative of economics.
    http://www.economist.com/world/europ...14620&fsrc=rss

    Oil Falls Near $70 a Barrel, 16-Month Low, Alarming OPEC
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/bu...ss&oref=slogin

    Banks raid Fed emergency fund at record rate
    Institutions borrowed $99.7 billion a day during the past week
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27226616/

    NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Merrill Lynch & Co., the venerable Wall Street brokerage firm that agreed to a hasty marriage of convenience last month amid fears about its survival, said Thursday that it lost more than $5 billion.
    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid={F8A87611-CAE8-496C-B5A6-CB18D2FA0916}

    U.S. Bank Plan Hits Snag in Rules
    Treasury Wants Regulators to Allow Government Investment as 'Core Capital'
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...101701505.html

    Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.
    Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky
    http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs...dbye-and-f-you

    So much for that story. A few days ago, when Hank Paulson called the heads of the nine families to Washington and shoved cash down their throats, he announced that the banks would use this new taxpayer cash to lend. They won't, of course. They'll hoard it like a starving family who has just been given a grocery cart full of food.
    And after a few days of silence, even the banks are finally admitting that. So it's back to the drawing board for Paulson & Co.
    http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker...t-Won%27t-Work
    An S&P 500 futures trader died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after losing several million dollars Wednesday, one of Wall Street's most volatile days.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/1..._n_135709.html

    What else is going on?
    Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
    - Dr John Zoidberg

  2. #2
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    well, let's see ...

    The total amount of US gov't debt exceeded $10 trillion for the first time !



    Banks are lowering credit card limits and increasing their loss reserves as a major wave of credit card defaults is now starting to hit them big time !



    Prof. Wallerstein pulls no punches in regard to the DEPRESSION which is now beginning ...



    (snip)"As for the speculative bubbles, some people always make a lot of money in
    them. But speculative bubbles always burst, sooner or later. If one asks why
    this Kondratieff B-phase has lasted so long, it is because the powers that
    be - the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank, the International Monetary
    Fund, and their collaborators in western Europe and Japan - have intervened
    in the market regularly and importantly - 1987 (stock market plunge), 1989
    (savings-and-loan collapse), 1997 (East Asian financial fall), 1998 (Long
    Term Capital Management mismanagement), 2001-2002 (Enron) - to shore up the
    world-economy. They learned the lessons of previous Kondratieff B-phases,
    and the powers that be thought they could beat the system. But there are
    intrinsic limits to doing this. And we have now reached them, as Henry
    Paulson and Ben Bernanke are learning to their chagrin and probably
    amazement. This time, it will not be so easy, probably impossible, to avert
    the worst.

    In the past, once a depression wreaked its havoc, the world-economy picked
    up again, on the basis of innovations that could be quasi-monopolized for a
    while. So, when people say that the stock market will rise again, this is
    what they are thinking will happen, this time as in the past, after all the
    damage has been done to the world's populations. And maybe it will, in a few
    years or so.

    There is however something new that may interfere with this nice cyclical
    pattern that has sustained the capitalist system for some 500 years. The
    structural trends may interfere with the cyclical patterns. The basic
    structural features of capitalism as a world-system operate by certain rules
    that can be drawn on a chart as a moving upward equilibrium. The problem, as
    with all structural equilibria of all systems, is that over time the curves
    tend to move far from equilibrium and it becomes impossible to bring them
    back to equilibrium.

    What has made the system move so far from equilibrium? In very brief, it is
    because over 500 years the three basic costs of capitalist production -
    personnel, inputs, and taxation - have steadily risen as a percentage of
    possible sales price, such that today they make it impossible to obtain the
    large profits from quasi-monopolized production that have always been the
    basis of significant capital accumulation. It is not because capitalism is
    failing at what it does best. It is precisely because it has been doing it
    so well that it has finally undermined the basis of future accumulation.

    What happens when we reach such a point is that the system bifurcates (in
    the language of complexity studies). The immediate consequence is high
    chaotic turbulence, which our world-system is experiencing at the moment and
    will continue to experience for perhaps another 20-50 years. As everyone
    pushes in whatever direction they think immediately best for each of them, a
    new order will emerge out of the chaos along one of two alternate and very
    different paths.

    We can assert with confidence that the present system cannot survive. What
    we cannot predict is which new order will be chosen to replace it, because
    it will be the result of an infinity of individual pressures. But sooner or
    later, a new system will be installed. This will not be a capitalist system
    but it may be far worse (even more polarizing and hierarchical) or much
    better (relatively democratic and relatively egalitarian) than such a
    system. The choice of a new system is the major worldwide political struggle
    of our times.

    As for our immediate short-run ad interim prospects, it is clear what is
    happening everywhere. We have been moving into a protectionist world (forget
    about so-called globalization). We have been moving into a much larger
    direct role of government in production. Even the United States and Great
    Britain are partially nationalizing the banks and the dying big industries.
    We are moving into populist government-led redistribution, which can take
    left-of-center social-democratic forms or far right authoritarian forms. And
    we are moving into acute social conflict within states, as everyone competes
    over the smaller pie. In the short-run, it is not, by and large, a pretty
    picture.

    by Immanuel Wallerstein"(snip)

  3. #3
    Veteran Member person's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    633
    Thanks
    33
    Thanked 34 Times in 23 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    The total amount of US gov't debt exceeded $10 trillion for the first time !
    Did you catch that story about the Debt Clock running out of digits?

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    Prof. Wallerstein pulls no punches in regard to the DEPRESSION which is now beginning ...
    Interesting...

    WASHINGTON—A panel of top business leaders testified before Congress about the worsening recession Monday, demanding the government provide Americans with a new irresponsible and largely illusory economic bubble in which to invest.
    http://www.theonion.com/content/news...nation_demands
    Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
    - Dr John Zoidberg

  4. #4
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    Did you catch that story about the Debt Clock running out of digits?
    yes a few weeks ago. The shocking thing is that, as a result of the bailout package, the national debt has LEAPED UP nearly a trillion dollars inside of a single month !


    As far as bubble theories go, the 'tin foil hat crowd' is of the opinion that the next bubble will be whatever currency the world agrees to switch to ( in place of the US dollar) for international settlements and international commodities pricing. Many are pushing for the Euro, but the Chinese Yuan or Swiss Franc are really the only two currencies that are partially backed by hard assets these days (as opposed to US dollar paper debt money whose value is based on the future ability of American children and grandchildren to repay).

  5. #5
    Member
    Joined
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    70
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    melonie
    you can always leave the country!!!!!!!!
    lmao

  6. #6
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    ^^^ already working on that !!!



    A US$50,000 investment will guarantee you legal residency in Costa Rica ... at which point you can essentially 'thumb your nose' at the IRS in regard to paying US capital gains taxes, US taxes on dividends and interest etc. by relocating your stock / bond / CD investments to a Costa Rican broker or bank.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    137
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    And the worst part is that this must be intentional because all of the powers seem to unite to add to a bill we can simply NEVER pay. No fiscal restraint is ever
    considered by Congress or anyone else.........like it's all Monopoly Money that has no real world consequences. Some have said as long as we have the biggest military no one will ever ask for payment or cancel our "credit card".

  8. #8
    Member
    Joined
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    70
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    id luv to see you in my neighbourhood baby

    cae your sooooo sexy!!!!!

  9. #9
    Veteran Member person's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    633
    Thanks
    33
    Thanked 34 Times in 23 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    What If US Collapses? Soviet Collapse Lessons Every American Needs To Know

    Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am not an expert or a scholar or an activist. I am more of an eye-witness. I watched the Soviet Union collapse, and I have tried to put my observations into a concise message.
    http://madconomist.com/what-if-us-co...-needs-to-know

    I've not studied much economic history myself, in particular I know nearly nothing about the collapse of the SU, so I found everything this person says very interesting.
    Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
    - Dr John Zoidberg

  10. #10
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    Some have said as long as we have the biggest military no one will ever ask for payment or cancel our "credit card".
    well, this is one of the risks with an Obama presidency. Like the Jimmy Carter years, lack of resolve re military force tends to quickly translate into 'debt collections' ... which in that case resulted in unprecedented US dollar inflation (i.e. drop in international exchange rate) = high unemployment = ungodly high interest rates.

  11. #11
    Featured Member
    Joined
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    950
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 651 Times in 272 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    I've lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union. Can't say if the same will happen here or not, but some of the circumstances are strangly similar. Here's an interesting article by a guy who believes the SU was better prepared for a collapse than the US are:

    http://www.energybulletin.net/node/23259

  12. #12
    Veteran Member person's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    633
    Thanks
    33
    Thanked 34 Times in 23 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    You gotta get up early to beat me to the article posting, my friend
    Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
    - Dr John Zoidberg

  13. #13
    Featured Member
    Joined
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    950
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 651 Times in 272 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    oops, posted the same article as you did, person. How about this one:

    http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dtxqwqr_20dc52sm

  14. #14
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    Adelina, three quotes from your link would appear to be prophetic in regard to America's near term future ...

    (snip)"the Soviet Union achieved universal literacy, universal health care, far less social inequality, and a guaranteed - albeit lower - standard of living for all citizens. The state-controlled media took pains to make sure that most people didn't realize just how much lower it was: “Those happy Russians don't know how badly they live,” Simone Signoret said after a visit. "(snip)

    ... and ...

    (snip)"The United States remains a powder keg of ethnic tension, where urban blacks feel oppressed by suburban whites, who in turn fear to venture into major sections of the cities. In a time of permanent crisis, urban blacks might well riot and loot the cities, because they don't own them, and the suburban whites are likely to get foreclosed out of their "little cabins in the woods," as James Kunstler charmingly calls them, and decamp to a nearby trailer park. Add to this already volatile mixture the fact that firearms are widely available, and the fact that violence permeates American society, particularly in the South, the West, and the dead industrial cities like Detroit.

    In short, the social atmosphere of post-collapse America is unlikely to be as placid and amicable as that of post-collapse Russia. At least in parts, it is more likely to resemble other, more ethnically mixed, and therefore less fortunate parts of the Former Soviet Union, such as the Fergana valley and, of course, that "beacon of freedom" in the Caucasus, Georgia (or so says the U.S. President).

    No part of the United States is an obvious choice for the survival-minded, but some are obviously riskier than others. Any place with a history of racial or ethnic tension is probably unsafe. This rules out the South, the Southwest, and many large cities elsewhere"(snip)

    ... and finally ...

    (snip)"Most people in the U.S. cannot survive very long without an income. This may sound curious to some people — how can anyone, anywhere survive without an income? Well, in post-collapse Russia, if you didn't pay rent or utilities — because no-one else was paying them either — and if you grew or gathered a bit of your own food, and you had some friends and relatives to help you out, then an income was not a prerequisite for survival. Most people got by, somehow.

    But most people in the U.S., once their savings are depleted, would in due course be forced to live in their car, or in some secluded stretch of woods, in a tent, or under a tarp. There is currently no mechanism by which landlords can be made not to evict deadbeat tenants, or banks be prevailed upon not to foreclose on nonperforming loans. A wholesale reintroduction of rent control seems politically unlikely. Once enough residential and commercial real estate becomes vacant, and law enforcement becomes lax or nonexistent, squatting becomes a real possibility."(snip)

  15. #15
    Featured Member
    Joined
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    950
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 651 Times in 272 Posts

    Default Re: End o the world continues. And in other news...

    So true, Melonie, so true. When the SU collapsed and the citizens lost all of their savings, people remained to live in the apartments previously government owned, for free. Plus, every family received a free plot of land so that they could grow their own food. Barter became very common, and the tax collectors didn't care where one got goods or money. Having weaponry was very uncommon, neighbours shared recources.
    Of course, one was always worried about a possibility of being robbed or even killed since police would not protect the citizens. Many have fled the country.
    Americans need to start preparing now. Even if the recession doesn't turn into a depression and our economy doesn't collapse, having skills to be able to live off the grid would not hurt!

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 05-22-2011, 09:43 PM
  2. The end of the world...
    By Amy Lee in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 05-22-2011, 07:57 PM
  3. End of the world
    By TigersMilk in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 49
    Last Post: 08-23-2008, 12:01 AM
  4. The end of the world
    By AudreyLeigh in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 05-22-2008, 03:20 PM
  5. How the world will end...
    By MishaBliss in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 04-11-2007, 12:11 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •