US Defaulting thread...

[Rig Vedic]

 

[ThatDamnGood]

 

[ThatDamnGood]

They are even fudging their "ICU" list to make things look good.

FDIC: 903 banks in trouble. What to do ...

FDIC: 903 banks in trouble. What to do …

Martin D. Weiss Ph.D. | Monday, November 22, 2010 at 7:30 am

Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.

Martin here with an urgent update on the next phase of the banking crisis.

Just this past Friday, the government released new data showing that the FDIC’s list of “problem banks” now includes 903 institutions.

That’s ten times the number of bad banks on the FDIC’s list just two years ago.

The banks on the list have $419.6 billion in assets, or SIXTEEN times the amount of two years ago.

And yet, these bad banks are …

Just the Tip of the Iceberg!

How do we know?

Because the FDIC has consistently neglected to include the most endangered species on its list of problem institutions — the nation’s megabanks that are among the shakiest of all.

The FDIC doesn’t reveal the names of the banks on its list — just the number of institutions and the sum total of their assets.

Still, I can prove, without a shadow of doubt, that the FDIC’s list of problem banks is grossly understated and inadequate.

Consider what happened on September 25, 2008, for example.

That’s the day Washington Mutual filed for bankruptcy with total assets of $328 billion.

But just 30 days earlier, according to the FDIC’s own press release, the aggregate assets held by the 117 banks on its “problem list” were only $78 billion.

In other words …

Washington Mutual alone had over FOUR times the sum of ALL the assets of ALL the banks on the FDIC’s list of problem banks!

Obviously, Washington Mutual was not on the FDIC’s list.

Obviously, the FDIC missed it. Completely.

Also not on the FDIC’s list: Citicorp and Bank of America, saved from bankruptcy with $95 billion in bailout funds from Congress. Just these two banks alone had over FORTY-SEVEN times more assets than all of those the FDIC had identified as “problem banks.”

Some people in the banking industry seem to think the FDIC can be excused for missing the nation’s largest bank failures for the same reason that blind men groping in the dark can’t be blamed for missing an elephant in the room.

But the fact is that the FDIC even missed the failure of a relatively smaller bank: IndyMac Bank.

When IndyMac failed in July 2008, the 90 banks on FDIC’s “problem list” had aggregate assets of $26.3 billion. But IndyMac alone had $32 billion in assets. Evidently, even IndyMac was not on the FDIC’s radar screen.

This is …

Easily One of the Greatest
Financial Scandals of Our Time

The FDIC’s problem list is supposed to guide banking authorities in their efforts to protect the public from bank failures. If the FDIC is missing all the big failures, where does that leave you and me?

Heck — it’s bad enough that they refuse to disclose the names of endangered banks. What’s worse is that they’re hiding the truth from their own eyes.

And with so many misses so evident, you’d think they would have changed their ways by now.

Not so.

Even as I write these words to you this morning, banking authorities are AGAIN failing to recognize, analyze, scrutinize, or tell the public about the real impact of the most intractable disaster of this era:

Major U.S. Banks Still Extremely
Vulnerable to the Foreclosure Crisis

Here are the facts …

Fact #1. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo Bank, and Bank of America each have more than $20 billion in single-family mortgages that are currently foreclosed or in the process of foreclosure.

Fact #2. Each bank has at least DOUBLE that amount in a pipeline of foreclosures in the making — $43 billion to $55 billion in delinquent mortgages (past due by 30 days or more).

Naturally, not all of the past-due loans will ultimately go into foreclosure. But these figures tell us that the biggest players are not only in deep, but could sink even deeper into the mortgage mayhem.

Fact #3. Combining the foreclosures and delinquent mortgages into a single category — “bad mortgages” — the sheer volume still on their books is staggering:

* JPMorgan Chase (OH) has $65 billion in bad mortgages …
* Wells Fargo Bank (SD) has $68.6 billion, and …
* Bank of America (NC) has $74.9 billion.

Fact #4. The potential impact of these bad mortgages on the bank’s earnings, capital — AND SOLVENCY — is dramatic. Compared to their “Tier 1″ capital …

* SunTrust (GA) has 57.6 percent in bad mortgages …
* Bank of America has 66 percent in bad mortgages …
* JPMorgan Chase has 66.8 percent, and …
* Wells Fargo has 75.4 percent.

Tier 1 capital does not include their loan loss reserves. But even if you included them, the exposure is still huge.

Moreover, this data is based on the banks’ midyear reports. Since then, we believe the situation has gotten worse.

And these numbers reflect strictly bad home mortgages! It does not include bad commercial mortgages, credit cards, construction loans, business loans, and more.

Here’s the key: Based on their size alone, we KNOW that none of these giant institutions are on the FDIC’s list of “problem banks.”

Yet they are all definitely WEAK, according to our Weiss Ratings subsidiary, the source of this analysis on bad mortgages.

Moreover, “weak” means “VULNERABLE,” according to the analysis of the Weiss ratings provided by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Then 2 years ago,

Dump the Greenback: PM Putin suggests Russia, China ditch dollar in trade deals

28/10/2008 15:23 MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed on Tuesday that Russia and China gradually switch over to national currency payments in bilateral trade, expected to total $50 billion in 2008.

Now,
China, Russia quit dollar - China.org.cn

China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.

But some Yanks, even the smarter ones, still can't accept the reality...
Much Ado About Nothing: China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade | zero hedge

 

[ThatDamnGood]

But some Yanks, even the smarter ones, still can't accept the reality...
Much Ado About Nothing: China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade | zero hedge

Don't take just my word for it,

SOTT Exclusive: The Stench of US Economic Decay Grows Stronger -- Grand Theft Economics -- Sott.net

Paul Craig Roberts

On Thanksgiving Eve, the English language China Daily and People's Daily Online reported that Russia and China have concluded an agreement to abandon the use of the US dollar in their bilateral trade and to use their own currencies in its place. The Russians and Chinese said that they had taken this step in order to insulate their economies from the risks that have undermined their confidence in the US dollar as world reserve currency.

This is big news, especially for the news dead Thanksgiving holiday period, but I did not see it reported on Bloomberg, CNN, New York Times or anywhere in the US media. The ostrich's head remains in the sand.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Vladimir Putin says Russia might one day join the eurozone - BostonHerald.com

Vladimir Putin says Russia might one day join the eurozone
By Associated Press | Saturday, November 27, 2010 | Home - BostonHerald.com | Business & Markets
Photo
Photo by AP

BERLIN — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday he was confident in the euro despite Europe’s debt crisis and said his country might even join the currency block itself one day.

Putin also sharply criticized the dollar’s dominance as a world reserve currency.

Despite the problems in some heavily indebted eurozone countries, the euro has proven itself "a stable world currency," Putin said.

"We have to get away from the overwhelming dollar monopoly. It makes the world economy vulnerable," he told a gathering of business leaders in Berlin through a translator.

The 16-nation common currency slipped below $1.32 in afternoon European trading due to worries the debt crisis could spread from Ireland to Portugal and Spain.

Putin said he was confident the euro would outlast the challenges brought by the sovereign debt crisis, and he praised the efforts of the European Central Bank and the eurozone member states to preserve the currency.

Asked about the possibility of Russia one day adopting the euro as a currency, Putin did not rule it out.

"The rapprochement of Russia and Europe is inevitable," he said.

Speaking later at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin said a monetary union first requires closer economic cooperation, but he again did not rule out having Russia adopt the euro as its currency.

Merkel called that a "vision for the future," and stressed the need for close economic cooperation as a first step.

"But the closer our economies are linked, the easier and the more interesting it will be to adjust also the currency policy," Merkel said.

In his call to reduce the dollar’s dominance in the world economy, Putin noted an agreement Russia signed this week with China to use their respective currencies, the ruble and yuan, for bilateral trade in the future.

Deutsche Bank AG’s chief executive Josef Ackermann agreed, "I think it is completely accurate that we have to reduce the currency system’s dependence from one dominant currency such as the dollar."

Ackermann said that, once Europe has done its homework following the current crisis, an inclusion of Russia in the bloc’s currency zone would be "in Europe’s own interest" if an enlargement takes place.

As worries lingered over the sovereign debt of Ireland, Portugal and Spain, however, the euro continued its slide against the dollar Friday.

After hitting $1.3199, it rose slightly to $1.3242 in late European trading, still below the $1.3290 of the day before. The British pound slipped to $1.5613 from $1.5752 on Thursday, while the dollar rose to purchase 84.06 Japanese yen from 83.63 the day before.

Ireland asked Sunday for a massive loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, as Greece did in May. Investors are worried that other countries, chiefly Spain and Portugal, will also have to seek aid as their borrowing costs soar.

Markets were also jittery after North Korea warned that U.S.-South Korean plans for military maneuvers put the peninsula on the brink of war.

 

[no_name]

货币三分天下- 美元, 欧元, 人民币

 

[applesauce]

货币三分天下- 美元, 欧元, 人民币

first 2 already there last one will join soon enough

 

[ThatDamnGood]

first 2 already there last one will join soon enough

Dollar to be banana, my bet.

 

[applesauce]

Dollar to be banana, my bet.

hey if global climatic change is as bad as some make it out to be bananas could be worth more than gold as the world running out of food

 

[ThatDamnGood]

hey if global climatic change is as bad as some make it out to be bananas could be worth more than gold as the world running out of food

Agri output can still be improved but for "economics". You remember reading how EU farmers dump their milk, etc, etc to keep prices up. If the solar cycles will cause that much warming, we be buying stuff from Siberia. And if there is peak oil, their can probably only sell it via distribution through coal fire steam engine trains to us.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Time to Sell Bonds

1/29/10 Chicago, Illinois – Every time a frightening headline jolts the financial markets, investors flock to the relative “safety” of US Treasury bonds. But just how safe is a “safe” Treasury bond?

The most insidious and dangerous part of the global debt story is hiding in plain sight. US Federal debt is now roughly 85% of American GDP, according to “official” figures. But after including the present value of future liabilities like Social Security and Medicare, US debt-to-GDP soars to nearly 500%.

This kind of debt could push even the world’s most powerful nation down the slippery slope to default. If China, Japan and other big foreign American creditors abandoned the Treasury market, bond prices would plunge and bond yields (which move inversely to price) would soar. Tellingly, bond prices have been dropping already, despite the Fed’s massive $900 billion quantitative easing ($600 billion of new money and $300 billion from maturing securities) initiative designed to keep bond prices high and yields low. *Bernake not bidding enuf, incompetent half arsed job at manipulating the market.

US Treasury debt was once regarded as the safest in the world, but that is changing faster than most realize. Earlier this month the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds climbed briefly above 30-year fixed-rate mortgage securities. This bizarre configuration still persists, which means that the market views John Q. Mortgage-Holder as a safer credit than Uncle Sam. This is not a bullish development.

The Fed’s announcement of its $600 billion quantitative easing (QE) program was a shot aimed squarely at China in retaliation for the Middle Kingdom’s refusal to let the yuan float. In effect, the Fed is “exporting inflation” to China. Here’s how: Low interest rates and a cheaper dollar encourage assets to flow into China, pushing up the prices of Chinese stocks, commodities and real estate. This causes China’s workers – the source of cheap labor responsible for the bulk of China’s growth – to demand higher wages, thereby reducing China’s competitive advantage. Chinese CPI has accelerated to 4.4% on an annual basis and is quickly becoming a big problem. China’s criticism of Helicopter Ben’s latest round of quantitative easing is directly related to the inflation the US is now exporting to China. Ben has given them a choice: increase the value of your currency or inflate.

Neither choice is very attractive.

The Chinese need exports to maintain a high growth rate, currently 9.6% per year. They also need rapid growth to dampen potential domestic unrest. The vast majority of Chinese are rural and poor. Until these folks are integrated into the economy, China will remain trapped between the need for growth and the threat of growth-killing inflation. Like a cornered animal, this makes China potentially dangerous – especially when the policies of one of its biggest customers are fueling this inflation.

The Chinese are already busy trying to counteract the inflationary effects of Ben Bernanke’s QE2. They’ve raised both interest rates and reserve requirements at banks – the latter numerous times. They’ve also tried to slow the influx of foreign money through capital controls and to slow inflation through price controls. The one thing they haven’t tried is selling their massive holdings of US Treasury debt.

At almost $900 billion, China is the biggest holder of US Treasury securities. Selling some of this hoard would send some return fire Ben Bernanke’s way. We can’t think of a better way for China to rid oneself of dodgy US debt then to sell it right back to the American Federal Reserve. Should China start selling, bond prices could drop fast.

Perhaps the best clue to the future of bond prices is the market itself. Bond prices began falling in August after Ben Bernanke’s infamous Jackson Hole, Wyoming announcement of the Fed’s QE program. Subsequent rallies have failed to take out old highs, establishing a new downtrend in the process. The proper way to trade a downtrend is to use corrective rallies as selling opportunities.

Short-selling US Treasury debt is difficult to do for individual investors. However, we can use the T-bond options traded on the CME to construct a trade with both limited risk and the potential for a nice return. Our 115-00 downside objective is not unreasonable, especially when you consider that this is precisely where T-bonds were trading back in April of 2010, just prior to the “flash crash” in stocks.

Longer-dated options in bonds can be a bit thin, so patience may be required.

Regards,

Steve Belmont
for The Daily Reckoning
Author Image for Steve Belmont
Steve Belmont

Steve Belmont is a founding partner and Senior Market Strategist for the RMB Group. He is also managing editor of the exclusive alert service, Options Edge, as well as author of the popular RMB Short Course in Futures and Options. A featured speaker at many investment conferences, Steve has traded commodities and commodity options for over 25 years. In association with Options Edge and Income Booster, he provides exclusive research and recommendations to RMB Group customers.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

Correction on Bernake doing a half arsed job. He doesn't want to do shape the yield curve for some reason as long as it does not get inverted.

Treasury 30-Year Returns as Bellwether as Fed Propels Trading - Bloomberg

For the first time since the 1990s the U.S. 30-year Treasury bond is becoming the benchmark for the world’s biggest debt investors.

The Federal Reserve’s plan to buy $600 billion of U.S. government debt will focus about 86 percent of its purchases in notes due in 2.5 years to 10 years, leaving the so-called long bond as the security that most closely reflects market expectations for inflation. Since the Fed’s Nov. 3 announcement, the 30-year yield rose 0.28 percentage point, suggesting growing investor confidence in the central bank’s efforts to avoid deflation as the economy expands. *nice spin

“The 30-year, with minimal Fed involvement, will become the bellwether issue for the bond market’s outlook on the economy and inflation,” said Gary Pollack, who helps oversee $12 billion as head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank AG’s Private Wealth Management unit in New York.

Trading in Treasuries due in 11 years and more tripled since July, compared with a 60 percent jump for all maturities, according to Fed data. Volume reached $65.7 billion in the week ended Nov. 10 among the 18 primary dealers that trade with the central bank, the largest amount since at least 2001.

The rise in 30-year yields to a six-month high of 4.42 percent on Nov. 15 shows traders expect Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will head off deflation, which can stall recoveries by curtailing spending and investment, said Rohit Garg, an interest-rate strategist in New York at BNP Paribas SA.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

No money, so use excessive fines as revenue.
But these are pennies relative to Muni debt deficits.

Now know the extend of US propaganda and their treatment of allies, US MSM and debt rating agencies focus on the Eurozone to try to trigger another Euro crisis. But the US is AAA.

But the Europeans are pretty chumps given that they will bend over and say you are welcome afterwards.


***

LAPD charging jaywalkers $191 in new crackdown | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

LAPD charging jaywalkers $191 in new crackdown
November 29, 2010 | 10:37 am

Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Pedestrians should think twice before jaywalking in downtown L.A. -- or they could walk away with a $191 fine.

During the busy holiday shopping season, the Los Angeles Police Department is ramping up a zero-tolerance policy for jaywalkers downtown, particularly the Historic Core area, as part of an effort to reduce accidents and prevent crime, officials said.

A citation won't be cheap, now costing $191.

"This is about more than reducing accidents during the holidays," said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon. "This is about preventing thefts and robberies. Jaywalking is often done by thieves, purse snatchers and robbery suspects to target their victims."

Vernon said such criminals often suddenly see a potential target and run across the road mid-block. To be better able to spot such suspects, the department wants to deter law-abiding citizens from such behavior, he said.

"We will be watching; that is the message we want to get out there," Vernon said. Authorities said officers will paying particular attention to Spring and Main streets.

With the jump in pedestrians, the holiday season can be a deadly one. In 2009, Vernon said, there were three accidents involving a vehicle and a pedestrian in the downtown area between Nov. 25 and Dec. 31.

Two of those incidents were blamed on the person on foot and resulted in serious injury to the pedestrian, Vernon said. The third incident, which resulted in a pedestrian's death, was due to a speeding driver, he said.

The cost of tickets in Los Angeles has become an issue as officials increasingly turn to parking and traffic violations as a way to boost their depleted coffers. The ticket for an expired meter in Los Angeles jumped from $40 in 2008 to about $50 last year, and "fix-it" tickets for minor moving violations such as broken tail lights more than doubled.

News of the jaywalking crackdown was first reported in the Downtown News.

 

[ThatDamnGood]

This will happen in the US too.
Glasnost truly hits Hungary.

Glasnost! Glasnost!! Glasnost!!!

Hungary Follows Argentina in Pension-Fund Ultimatum, `Nightmare' for Some - Bloomberg

Hungary is giving its citizens an ultimatum: move your private-pension fund assets to the state or lose your state pension.

Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy announced the policy yesterday, escalating a government drive to bring 3 trillion forint ($14.6 billion) of privately managed pension assets under state control to reduce the budget deficit and public debt. Workers who opt against returning to the state system stand to lose 70 percent of their pension claim.

“This is effectively a nationalization of private pension funds,” David Nemeth, an economist at ING Groep NV in Budapest, said in a phone interview. “It’s the nightmare scenario.”