QE3?

[Iron]

Mark Steyn, author of After America, on Newsnight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPmpMZgOIGk

An v. interesting perspective on America's situation IMHO.

Jeff

[superfrank]

Nice intro... "America faces the prospect of borrowing $115Bn a month just to pay the bills".

Sounds like his book might be a good read.

In his giant New York Times bestseller, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, Mark Steyn predicted collapse for the rest of the Western World. Now, he adds, America has caught up with Europe on the great rush to self-destruction. It s not just our looming financial collapse; it s not just a culture that seems on a fast track to perdition, full of hapless, indulgent, childish people who think government has the answer for every problem; it s not just America s potential eclipse as a world power because of the drunken sailor policymaking in Washington no, it s all this and more that spells one word for America: Armageddon. What will a world without American leadership look like? It won t be pretty not for you and not for your children. America s decline won t be gradual, like an aging Europe sipping espresso at a café until extinction (and the odd Greek or Islamist riot). No, America s decline will be a wrenching affair marked by violence and possibly secession. With his trademark wit, Steyn delivers the depressing news with raw and unblinking honesty but also with the touch of vaudeville stand-up and soft shoe that makes him the most entertaining, yet profound, columnist on the planet. And as an immigrant with nowhere else to go, he offers his own prescription for winning America back from the feckless and arrogant liberal establishment that has done its level best to suffocate the world s last best hope in a miasma of debt, decay, and debility. You will not read a more important or more alarming, or even funnier book all year than After America.

I can't believe that Bernanke said that the financial crisis had not structurally damaged the US!

Buy gold and silver.

[Iron]

Just saw this tweet from a reliable source:

'IMF CUTS 2012 U.S. GDP FORCAST TO 2% FROM 2.7%: CNBC'



Jeff

[Iron]

Same source also tweets:

'IMF Cuts 2011 U.S. GDP Forecast to 1.6% From 2.5%'

The S&P 500 has just shot up, so my guess is that the markets are interpreting these forecasts as a sign that QE3 is more likely...

Jeff

[Iron]

The Eurozone's forecast revisions are also pretty big:

'IMF cuts eurozone 2011 GDP forecast to 1.9% from 2.0%, cuts 2012 forecast to 1.4% from 1.7% (via zerohedge)'

Jeff

[superfrank]

US consumer confidence plunges
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consum ... 2011-08-30

The markets plunged too but then bounced straight back - it feels they think that if the data gets worse the chances of them getting QE3 in Sept increase.

[Iron]

This Tweet (from Zerohedge) is quite funny in a morbid, gallows humour sort of way:

Chicago PMI 56.5 Lowest Since November 2009, But Beats Expectations

Jeff

[superfrank]

How did Libyan money come to be printed in Britain?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14746873

Britain leads the world in money printing!

[Iron]

Woeful non-farm payroll figures - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14763093

But apparently next week President Obama is going to give a speech soon outlining his plans for the US economy, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about...

Jeff

[superfrank]

The US needs to create something like 140K jobs per month just to stand still (because of population growth and demographics) and they created a big fat net zero.

And most of the jobs created, just like the UK, are crappy part-time ones that people are forced into because they can't find a decent full-time ones.

Obama's gonna give a speech next week in which he'll announce some more waste of money projects on job creation that are a drop in the ocean and don't address the fundamental problems.

Gold up more than $50 already today. Silver doing even better.

The only thing preventing the equity markets from collapsing is the prospect of yet more funny money.

[Iron]

Possibly.

I just hope he doesn't use QE3 to fund said programmes, particularly as it wouldn't exactly be in keeping with the spirit of his budget agreement with the Republicans!

Jeff

Obama's gonna give a speech next week in which he'll announce some more waste of money projects on job creation that are a drop in the ocean and don't address the fundamental problems.

[Iron]

Ron Paul is right. Military adventurism is a luxury we can no longer afford - http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/james ... er-afford/

Spot on, IMHO...

Jeff

[Iron]

Ben Bernanke sure knows how to deliver an inspiring speech! This was the Telegraph's summary of what he said this evening:

So, to sum up: Bernanke said that a "range of tools" are available to boost the economy, which will be discussed at two-day meeting later this month, and that they "are prepared to deploy these tools" if needed.

But no details were given on what exactly these were, and neither were there any promises to use them - just an assurance that there would be a discussion. He is now taking questions and answers.

Central bankers must be selected for their ability to use lots of words to say absolutely nothing of any interest to anyone!

Jeff

[superfrank]

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has urged "bold action" on the faltering world economy, ahead of a meeting of the G7 group of leading economies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14851393

The IMF brainwashing has obviously taken effect.

[andyfuller]

Good interview just now on CNBC with Jim Rodger's. Best line being, when he said Bernanke was already printing more money the studio guy said have we missed a new announcement, Jim replies come on do you still believe in the tooth fairy as well