Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Big credit bubble?! Big surprise!!

So the markets are overvalued? Big credit bubble?! Big surprise!! I've had the feeling the markets have been overvalued for years (about 12 years to be precise), and the same applies to almost all major currencies as well (most obviously, and most ludicrously, the Euro). There WILL be a crash. What really concerns me is how the aftermath of a crash will be dealt with. My guess is governments and banks will go looking for new income streams to replace the old, dead ones and we will all be conned even more than we are already. And on and on it will go until something big stops it (like an asteroid impact!)....Well : Anyone with a grain of financial acumen knows exactly why markets have risen - it is due almost entirely to the money printing and pathetic Interest rates arranged by almost ALL the westernised economies. Savers and Investors previously had countries like Australia, with rates giving a return on term deposits of 5-6%, risk free.....these rates have now gone due to pressure from the Oz Govt among others, on the RBA to lower rates for the benefit of borrowers and mortgagees in order that they might get re-elected next year....Now that these bolt holes are unavailable, people have no alternative but to put money back into low-risk, high dividend yielding shares. Bank shares in Australia, for example, bring a net return of around 7% and retirees etc have seen their standard of living continually falling in the Western world ever since the GFC began. Many are now at the stage where, even though they still don't trust the stock market and the smarter ones can still see the risks in the Eurozone , they have to act or see their nest eggs whittled away by ever-rising prices on utilities etc. The worry is that, as the BIS implies, this is NOT a sound rally and if another credit bubble recurs, investors risk another large slice of their pension funds etc being lost in the resultant crash... The elites' plan of denuding the middle class of their wealth is ALL going to plan....“Some asset prices appeared highly valued in a historical context relative to indicators of their riskiness,” said the bank in its quarterly report. Yields on mortgage bonds have fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. Spreads on corporate debt have narrowed to the wafer thin margins of 2007, even though default rates are currently three times higher than they were then for junk bonds and twice as high for investment-grade companies. The venerable Swiss-based institution – almost alone in warning of a global debt crisis in the build-up to the Great Recession – said it is rare for markets to gather steam at a time when the major forecasters are turning gloomy. The International Monetary Fund and the OECD have downgraded their outlooks for 2012 and 2013, with sharp cuts for much of Europe as well as for Brazil, China, and India. “Unusually, equity and fixed income gains coincided with a weakening of the global economic outlook. In the past, falling growth forecasts have usually been associated with rising expected default rates and higher bond yields,” it said....Money printing and flooding the banks with cheap cash is keeping the stock market and property bubbles inflated, keeping interest rates suppressed and removing any incentive for people to save for their own future. Supporting zombie companies is technically keeping bad debts of the Bank's books but is stifling real growth in the economy. Remember how politicians sold your and your children's future down the river for just one more election win, well they're still doing it.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aftermath of Romania parliamentary elections: Main opposition alliance dismantled. Social Liberal Union claims 66% win. Not enough places in Parliament for elected MPs​

de V.O. HotNews.ro

19:53 English | Top News

The main alliance of Romanian opposition parties, the Right Romania Alliance (ARD), was dismantled a day after parliamentary elections in which it suffered an overwhelming defeat against the governing Social Liberal Union (USL). While partial results show USL with about 60% of the total number of votes, USL says its own parallel counting shows it won with about 66% of MP seats. Meanwhile, The elections were harsh for the ARD leaders who have yet to learn if they'll get a seat in the Parliament - which will have more MPs than available room on the parliamentary floor.

Anonymous said...

Romania Parliamentary elections. The stake of PM Ponta's offer for Hungarian Democrats to support USL in Parliament, Government after Sunday poll

de Dan Tapalaga, adapt. V.O. HotNews.ro

15:24 English | Top News

Negotiations between the Romanian PM Victor Ponta's Social Democratic Party (PSD), a member of the Social Liberal Union (USL) along the National Liberal Party (PNL), and the Hungarian Democrats (UDMR) for a possible collaboration in the Parliament and the Government had started before the December 9 general elections and are aimed mainly at strengthening the PSD position before PNL within the USL alliance, according to HotNews.ro sources. PM Ponta announced on Sunday night that he talked with UDMR over such a possibility. According to sources, the talks took place between Ponta and UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor, who may receive the seat of Culture minister.

Anonymous said...

UPDATE EU Summit: Van Rompuy's new proposal - more radical than before, pushes for EU budget cut by E200 bln. President Basescu calls for significant rise of direct payments to Romania farmers

de Cristian Pantazi, adapt. V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 22 Nov 2012 English | Regional Europe

Romanian President Traian Basescu has demanded "imperatively" a significant rise in allocations for direct payments to Romanian farmers, during his talks with European Council president Herman Van Rompuy on Thursday, European sources told HotNews.ro. The talks come as EU leaders start marathon talks in an attempt to reach a compromise on the EU's 2014-2020 budget, with Germany and others saying they would not dismiss the possibility of failure.
UPDATE A new proposal pushed by Herman Van Rompuy is even more radical than the previous one, which called for an E80 billion cut. European sources told HotNews.ro that the head of the European Council has now proposed a EU budget cut of E200 billion - the amount demanded by Britain. The reduction would be applied to European Commission proposed budget of E1,047 billion.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.

Anonymous said...

European leaders spoke in Bucharest about danger of populism in Europe. Meanwhile, Romania governing coalition pushes nationalism in popular electoral meeting

de V.O. HotNews.ro

Joi, 18 Oct 2012 English | Top News

Angela Merkel, Jose Barroso, Traian Basescu and other European leaders who attended the European Popular Party congress in Bucharest on Thursday spoke of the threat of populism in Europe and of the need of a deeper European integration. Meanwhile in the Romanian capital, the governing coalition of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) organized a major event in the city's National Arena stadium to launch their candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The event was marked by a series of nationalist and populist speeches.