Thought Provoking

[sunseeker]

After listening to this I thought that I would start this new thread of interesting facts that aren’t common knowledge but affect us all in one way or another.

I will bet that you didn’t realise that as an individual you have a quote on the stock exchange? Go to 4:08 on this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlOUXWQP-KM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Feconomycollapse%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2009%2F08%2Fjordan%2Dmaxwell%2Dwe%2Dare%2Dproperty%2Dof%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded#t=363

So how much is your stock worth?

ATB 

[onlooker]

SS:

interesting facts that aren’t common knowledge but affect us all in one way or another.

Jordan Maxwell talks about the scary aspect of Americans being under uniform commercial code when a business transaction is carry out.  That all business transactions are recorded. 

That when the Uniform Commercial Code Bureau files and maintains records on financial obligations incurred by individuals then the government have tabs on the individuals.

However, there is an economist, Hernando de Soto who says the worst thing in America is when business transactions are not recorded.  He specifically states that not knowing, not documenting business transactions related to derivatives is detrimental to the American economy.

See:  http://hayekcenter.org/?p=647

Property:  Hernando de Soto on Derviatives & The Function of Publicly Available Property Documentation  By Greg Ransom  March 25, 2009

If you think about it, everything of value we own travels on property paper. At the beginning of the decade there was about $100 trillion worth of property paper representing tangible goods such as land, buildings, and patents world-wide, and some $170 trillion representing ownership over such semiliquid assets as mortgages, stocks and bonds. Since then, however, aggressive financiers have manufactured what the Bank for International Settlements estimates to be $1 quadrillion worth of new derivatives (mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, and credit default swaps) that have flooded the market.

These derivatives are the root of the credit crunch. Why? Unlike all other property paper, derivatives are not required by law to be recorded, continually tracked and tied to the assets they represent. Nobody knows precisely how many there are, where they are, and who is finally accountable for them. Thus, there is widespread fear that potential borrowers and recipients of capital with too many nonperforming derivatives will be unable to repay their loans. As trust in property paper breaks down it sets off a chain reaction, paralyzing credit and investment, which shrinks transactions and leads to a catastrophic drop in employment and in the value of everyone’s property.

The result is a formidable property system with rules and recording mechanisms that fix on paper the facts that allow us to hold, transfer, transform and use everything we own, from stocks to screenplays. The only paper representing an asset that is not centrally recorded, standardized and easily tracked are derivatives.

Property is much more than a body of norms. It is also a huge information system that processes raw data until it is transformed into facts that can be tested for truth, and thereby destroys the main catalysts of recessions and panics — ambiguity and opacity. To bring derivatives under the rule of law, governments should ensure that they conform to six longstanding procedures that guarantee the value and legitimacy of any kind of paper purporting to represent an asset

And see this article for quessimates on the huge numbers related to the unrecorded derivative problem :

http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/2009/04/between-596-trillion-and-12-quadrillion.html

[sunseeker]

Hi Onlooker
It’s been one long day, and not a good one. I had to reload my broadband soft ware this morning to get it to work again. Then we got a panic call from our niece to say that she had no electricity. The main breaker had tripped and wouldn’t reset. So I have spent all day sorting that out. A leaking water pipe which had been dripping into a junction box under the floor.
To top it all I found that the portfolio had gone into freefall when I finally managed to settle down for the evening. As much as I enjoy reading your comments I’ll read them tomorrow.
I hope your day went down much better than mine. Tomorrow’s another day and hopefully a better one.
Good night.
ATB 

[sunseeker]

Hi Onlooker
Two excellent links (which I hope others have read also).

They only serve to confirm what YC and I both agree about. Own physical and not paper. It’s a house of cards.



ATB 

[sunseeker]

Just to prove that there's nothing new under the sun:

http://investment-blog.net/urge-you-to-read-the-mythical-fdic-fund/

“William Isaac, former Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, (FDIC)
…When I became Chairman of the FDIC in 1981, the FDIC’s financial statement showed a balance at the U.S. Treasury of some $11 billion. I decided it would be a real treat to see all of that money, so I placed a call to Treasury Secretary Don Regan:
Isaac: Don, I’d like to come over to look at the money.
Regan: What money?” 

ATB 

[yellowcaked]

Good links, onlooker, thanks.

Sorry, I have not been following much of anything financial lately. 

Has anybody kept up with the subject of the toxic asset auctions and where those stand?  Have there been any auctions at all?

[onlooker]

What is PPIP?  PPIP  -  On March 23, 2009, the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve, and the United States Treasury Department announced the Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets. The program is designed to provide liquidity for so-called "toxic assets" on the balance sheets of financial institutions.

Around May 2009, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said banks involved in the U.S. Public- Private Investment Program won’t be permitted to buy their own impaired assets as a way to cleanse their balance sheets.

See:  http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/05/bair-says-no-to-furthering-ppip-scam.html

No news if there are any changes to Bair's proposal.

YC:

According to Elizabeth Warren, one of the most truthful government official, nothing has happened to this program – yet.

See:  Toxic assets still in America’s banks
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe/#32385463

However, I note that Elizabeth Warren said that there is still more financial fiascos to come  - possible commercial mortgages failures.

On Wall Street, there is already talk about commercial mortgages (more toxic assests) being the next financial tsunami.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT2T2T83_y0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Feconomicedge%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=121

[Bottomfeeder]

Onlooker....I think the PPIP program was destined to not be necessary, when MTM modifications were put in place.

However, it is there as a backstop, should "things" weaken in the future.

I think that with commercial real estate looking to take a hit, at least this time the financial system has programs in place to deal with some of the potential dislocation that could occur.

In other words, World Governments have been busy "preparing" for the possibility of future systemic risk.  Right or wrong, such provisions should help stabilize investor confidence until at least something "surprising" occurs, commercial real estate of course not being in the surprise category, IMO.

Or maybe, PPIP might just be there to fund predatory asset seizure for banks with means.....

[yellowcaked]

I was driving my way through roads in Saint Louis that I have not driven in a while due to massive interstate road construction and the amount of commercial real estate that was empty was astounding.  Places that were full up last year are empty with no tenants now.  One of our most popular malls is on the auction blocks because they have 65% of the retail space empty.

Commercial real estate crash right around the corner just as soon as the summer ends, I believe.  I expect the summer employment jobs are going to have a massive impact as well.

Cheers!

[sunseeker]

Hi All

Keeping tabs on the bailouts
The score so far:
http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/bailouttracker/index.html

Hi YC
We had a similar experience today visiting a place that we used to frequent before we were married. There was a time when you could hardly move in the pub there, but now it’s closed and boarded up. As was a large factory building close by.

The one thing that I have noticed is that there are little no signs of a recession in the big cities such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, York, Edinburgh etc, or some of the other tourist destinations that the US tourists are known to visit. Anyone living and working in the city wouldn’t realise the effects being felt in the working towns up and down the country. Everything possible is being done to create the impression that all is well. It’s a bit like the subterfuge that we engaged in to trick the Germans during WWII. Dummy tanks and planes to make them think that we were better equipped than we were. Lights and outlines built to look like nearby ports in order to draw night bombers away from their real targets.

As you rightly point out things will look a great deal worse as the summer comes to an end and so does the seasonal employment.

ATB 

[sunseeker]

The best article of its type that I have read in quite a while.

Spelling it out for you:
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1251266760.php

ATB 

[sunseeker]

Are Any Of These Items Moving? Or Are They Perfectly Still?








The pictures attached are used to test the level of stress a person can handle.


The slower the pictures move, the better your ability of handling stress.


Allegedly, criminals that were tested see them spinning around madly;

however senior citizens and kids see them standing still.

It’s not a trick all the pictures are in JPEG format.
None of these images are animated - they are perfectly still.


ATB 

[sidewinder]

I must be OK then as not one seemed to be moving.  Or maybe I missed something.   

[sunseeker]

Hi SW

I must be OK then as not one seemed to be moving.  Or maybe I missed something.   

   

I guess that you’ve learned to be calm under fire. 

I could see some movement, but if I concentrate hard enough I can get them to stop. 
 
Used like that it’s probably the ultimate stress buster.

ATB 

[Bottomfeeder]

I just picked myself up off the floor after the blackout suffered from prolonged staring at the pics  .....kidding of course, slowly moving to me.

Love that kind of stuff.  I am going to check back in on those in the heat of batle today and see if there is a change.

Cool, thanks.