Happy Friday 13th, My Son

June 13, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis

Today is my youngest child's birth. He was born on the first day of the Great Baseball Strike in the debts of that oil-price hike recession. And it was a Friday the 13th just as now. I had another child in the middle of the monetary/oil collapse in 1974. I will not have a child this year. Finally am too old. The G8 are meeting this week to hash out how to fix the crashing status quo by rebuilding the previous status quo which is crashing due to high oil prices coupled with high US trade deficits and budget deficits. This is pure insanity as we see in today's news.

Exporters lead rebound in Tokyo on weakened yen

The Japanese are desperate for a strong dollar and a weak yen. All last year, I detailed how the G7 worked hard at raising the value of the yuan because of the huge trade surplus China had with the US. I talked about how China was justifiably angry at being picked on for doing what Japan gets to do with impunity. China finally decided to raise the value of the yen while raising the value of the yuan last July. This shut down the money cycle which flowed through the Bank of Japan thanks to the carry trade. This sudden cessation of the flow of CREDIT caused the very sudden global banking collapse.

NOT the squeeze play going on in the US housing market. That was used as a cover to hide the truth. If the media, the economists and the central banks conspire to blame a handful of small home owners for a massive global banking collapse/inflation surge/depression of all assets why, no one will go to the real authors of this mess, demanding they be arrested and executed!

As it is, the political powers are very exposed right now and are sweating bullets, worried at the increasingly enraged mobs hunting for someone to punish. The one desire of these goofy bankers and leaders is to get that darn Japanese carry trade financial stream restarted! This is why they talked nonstop about the need to increase CREDIT and LIQUIDITY at a time when the entire planet writhes under the lash of global inflation of all things necessary for life.

The key to all this is to strengthen the dollar so the US can resume importing more and more goods each year up to infinity. And credit can expand to infinity. And the 0% interest, 0% down, 0% principal paid regime can rule supreme and we will all be quazillionaires. Like in Zimbabwe.

Dollar Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain in Three Years Before G-8

The dollar headed for its biggest weekly gain in more than three years against the euro on speculation officials from the Group of Eight nations meeting on the weekend will signal they favor a stronger U.S. currency.

The euro also fell on concern voters in Ireland will reject the European Union's new governing treaty designed to boost the strength of the 27-nation bloc. The dollar was poised for the largest weekly advance versus the yen since 2004 before a government report that may show U.S. inflation accelerated, giving the Federal Reserve more reason to raise interest rates.

Currency traders who made little profits under the gold regime, are the happiest people on earth. Soros is very rich thanks to the floating currency regime set into motion with the Bretton Woods II Accords. All a trader needs to do is be married to or drinking buddy of the central bankers! Then making huge profits betting on what these friends/lovers/golf partners are planning to do next is easy as hell. The ruling elites love this because they are very much 'in the know' about all this and it requires very little sweat to keep rich.

The one problem is the existence of the Chinese communist players and the Russian KGB rulers. These people are rather outside of this community and thus, can operate in the dark. To the horror of the rulers of the West. Ditto, the Japanese. They pretend to be allies and friends but they are also operating in the dark and will and have done this in conjunction with the Chinese and Russians. This is called 'triangulation'.

Dollar grabs spotlight at G8 inflation talks

The U.S. dollar took centre stage as Group of Eight finance ministers gathered in Japan on Friday to wrestle with surging inflation and its impact on a slowing global economy.

As soaring energy costs stirred protests from Malaysia to Spain, the world's most powerful governments talked up the link between dollar weakness and a doubling of oil prices in the past 12 months.

The U.S. currency gained on Friday after French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde welcomed the dollar rebound of the past week, on signals that Washington was worried enough about its long decline to raise the prospect of intervening in markets.

Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said he discussed currencies with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who refused last week to take intervention off the table. Nukaga declined to say if they had talked specifically about the dollar.

With central bankers absent, currencies had not been top of the agenda for the two-day meeting of G8 financial leaders in the Japanese city of Osaka.

Officials had said the talks would focus on commodities and inflation but Lagarde said the issues were inextricably tied to the dollar.

"The strengthening of the dollar I find satisfying," Lagarde said in Osaka, Dow Jones Newswires and other media reported.

The meeting in Tokyo is most significant. The Japanese people are jumping off of cliffs or running around with knives, screaming they want to die while the Japanese upper classes are living in greatest luxury and total happiness so long as the dollar is strong and the Americans are stupid. Americans who don't want to go bankrupt at home are madly buying Japanese cars due to these being non-gas guzzlers. The ruling elites who are meeting in Tokyo can clearly see that all is fabulous there for the rich.

They also see that the Japanese system of 0%/0%/0% is working for the elites! The poor Japanese public is being brutally forced to pour their savings into stocks and such held or sold by the rich because there is NO BANKING ANYMORE. At the same time, by having a dual system whereby anyone earning less than a million dollars cannot access cheap credit but rather, pays through the nose at over 10%, the 0% system can run happily forever on top of this subterranean high-interest/high inflation system that sits on the working class like a giant crocodile.

The only fear is, the rest of the planet isn't as fatalistic as the poor, sad Japanese workers who were treated well for one generation and thus, lost their sense of rebellion and resistance to pressure from above. Like we see in the US, the workers here just as fatalistic and weak.

Goldman, Banks Discount `Big Brother' Loans by 27.5%

Banks led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plan to sell loans used in the leveraged buyout of Endemol NV, the Dutch television producer of ``Big Brother,'' for as little as 72.5 cents on the dollar, said four people with knowledge of the deal.

The lenders are offering 2.2 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of senior loans that financed the 2.6 billion-euro acquisition to investors, according to the people who declined to be identified because the information isn't public. The amount that will be sold hasn't been determined.

The price is more than 19 cents on the dollar below the average high-yield, high-risk loan, and comes amid a decline in the ratings for ``Big Brother,'' a show that films strangers living together in a house isolated from the outside world. Banks cut the backlog of LBO loans made before the subprime mortgage market collapsed and credit markets seized up in August to less than $100 billion from $350 billion by offering discounts.

The losses continue to mount. I am including this stupid story because I think 'Big Brother' is a Big Bore. On top of it, I think the show is out of date. How about a TV show called 'Big Revolutionary Anarchist Collective'? Heh. I could write the basic script. The show has students storm the administration buildings in some capital like Washington, London or Paris, for example. They then hold a government official hostage and hold off the military while debating history, sexual politics and how to organize a commune. The cameras can watch the various sexual affairs, the violent confrontations, etc. And the 'challenges' will be along the lines of storming the building from the outside, jumping off the roof with ropes, etc. Shooting down government drones, etc.

Hell, run this show in Afghanistan or Iraq. Call it 'End of Times'. And then the Gaza Ghetto: we can watch that for a fee, too. Yup. Capitalism meets the Reality Show from Hell.

As Banks Shun Loans, Hedge Funds Move In

As banks retrench, hedge funds increasingly are offering loans to companies, usually at interest rates that are far higher than those that banks charge. More than 100 funds specialize in lending, and several big ones, like Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Investment Group, are starting to follow suit.

While some funds have been offering loans for a few years, more are moving in because the credit squeeze has hobbled many banks and left hard-pressed companies hungry for cash.

I made fun of Fortress a year ago. I went to their web page and it said, 'Under Construction'. I said, 'Talk about a scam! They can't even bother to hire someone to make a web page work!' Well, where did this 'money' come from? Eh? Take a wild guess. It was not earned. It is either illicit drug money or it is Iranian money, heh, or it is Funny Money™ from the wonderful Bank of Japan! The interest rate on these funds has to be higher than normal banks because this money is LOANS. So they are borrowing in order to lend!

This is what is killing the banking system while creating huge waves of global inflation. The offshore pirates don't worry about stupid things like 'reserves'. Who gets to see what lies in their dark pools? No one! They are UNREGULATED. And thus, great conduits for vast seas of red ink that cause global inflation. This is why the sole use of the US navy should be to sail off to these offshore pirate coves and take them over. Send in the Marines! These places are destroying the US economy and threatening global trade. They are going to cause the starvation of millions of people. They are bankrupting the planet. They have to be stopped.

Except they are connected to or bribe or have sex with the Real Rulers who are quite content to let these pirates run amok.

To be sure, there were hedge funds that jumped in during the loose lending of recent years and lost money on loans, just as the banks did. And hedge funds may find their investors weary of investing more heavily in loans because such debt is often illiquid and hard to value, said Michael Zupon, a managing director and head of the domestic leveraged finance group at the Carlyle Group.

And hedge funds, those often secretive, sometimes volatile investment vehicles, often arouse suspicions. Some companies still remember tales that circulated in the late 1990s about hedge funds that purchased stakes in small companies through what was known as a “death-spiral convertible.” These shares can be converted into common stock as a company’s share price drops, and that strategy is said to be returning now.

“Hedge funds have been known to come in and profit from a company’s demise,” said Meredith Jones, managing director of PerTrac Financial Solutions, a financial software company.

These hedge funds are very much part of the whole Cave of Death business. Everyone wants to get rich quick, get rich without work and get rich to infinity. This leads humans into the Cave of Death where the gold glitters in the gloom. Usually, when people go in, they can see the skeletons and they know the old wive's tales about the dangers of being greedy in this dire place. 'I will take only a few pieces of gold,' resolves the adventurous visitors. But once inside, they always take more and more and more until they die and join the skeletons scattered on the floor.

This is why force has to be used to stop this. The role of the bankers was not to open the Cave of Death to infinity but to RESTRICT it. And the ward they used for themselves was gold itself. They had to physically hold it in reserve. Well, the bankers are now dying on the floor of this cave. And the hell hounds and pirates are roaming about inside, hauling out the loot and causing economic dislocations across the planet.

Bilderberg Seeks Bank Centralization Agenda

It is no secret that the true objective of the Bilderberg Meeting is to steer the world into accepting a global government. By establishing a new global regulatory banking framework, this will inch the planet ever closer to a one world currency operating in a cashless society where microchips are used to facilitate transactions. Make no mistake about it, this system will not be good, because it will be controlled by a bunch of criminal psychopaths like the one’s who attended the 2008 Bilderberg Meeting.

The euro is the new model for a mega currency. The G8 meeting is very important for it shows how the ruling elites are frantically working to set up a system whereby they can run our affairs without our say. And if this were a wise group, we wouldn't really object. But it is obvious they don't care about most humans. They have their own objectives. Here is one example, Robert Rubin. He just joined Obama's team via Hillary. He is a Goldman Sachs operative.

Robert Rubin

Born in New York City, Rubin moved to Miami Beach, Florida at an early age and graduated from Miami Beach High School. In 1960, Rubin graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in economics from Harvard College[2]. He then attended Harvard Law School for three days before leaving to see the world.[3] He later attended the London School of Economics after graduation and received an LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1964[2].
Rubin began his career as an attorney at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York City. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1966 as an associate in the risk arbitrage department [3]. Rubin proved his skills at the intricate art of investing his firm's capital in high-reward arbitrage opportunities and became a general partner in 1971. He joined the management committee in 1980 along with fellow Democrat Jon Corzine, later a U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey. Rubin was Vice Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer from 1987 to 1990. From the end of 1990 to 1992, Rubin served as Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner along with Stephen Friedman (PFIAB). In October 2003, he was named Vice Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations and in June 2007, he was named Co-Chairman.

And runs the CFR conspiracy. Also, he is married into the family that owns the warmongering rag, the New York Times. See how sex and money works? And he is part of a religious minority very active in finance. Like the Japanese, the Jewish contingent has its own agendas that are quite separate from the needs and desires of the G8 nations themselves. This is why the will of the populace is studiously ignored. Here is an example from England's news:

EMD workers take concessions

The financial restraint that has marked union deals in the automotive sector, has spread to London's Electro-Motive Diesel.

Workers at the Oxford Street plant that makes train locomotives have a new deal, one that freezes salary increases and gives money back to the manufacturer in the area of vacation and health-care concessions, Tim Carrie, Canadian Auto Workers Local 27 president, said yesterday.

The restraint comes as Electro-Motive has more than 300 train engines on order and employs more than 900 workers, 300 more than it did three years ago.

But it has to stay competitive with its Illinois-based sister plant, which accepted a two-tier wage deal, similar to those given United Auto Workers at auto plants.

The US is now setting the standard for driving down wages in Europe. Due to the weak dollar, European entities have been buying up US interests and businesses. Then, they drop the wages here due to the workers being very weak, depressed and easily pushed around. Helpless and clinging to people running the Democratic party who are NOT interested in workers surviving above minimal levels, they have deunionized and are now totally helpless in the face of government aggression on behalf of owners.

Europe is writhing under rising riots, insurrections and strikes as I predicted last year. But the US is totally quiet as the poor workers here think that the Democrats who are run by Goldman Sachs, will save them.

Are Synthetic CDOs on Corporate Debt the Next Shoe to Fall?

Unfortunately, it will not be enough to suffer losses from just regular credit default swaps [CDS] and collateralized debt obligations [CDO].

As reported in the WSJ, additional pain from synthetic CDO losses may be just around the corner. Synthetic CDOs have been around for a while, but have become popular in the last few years as a way for insurance companies, banks, and funds to invest in a diversified portfolio of companies without directly purchasing the bonds of the companies.

While many of the problems with CDOs linked to mortgage debt have been uncovered and are currently being felt, problems with CDOs linked to regular corporate debt are now raising the interest of rating agencies.

Unlike normal CDOs, synthetic CDOs do not contain actual bonds or debt. In order to provide the normal income stream generated by CDOs, synthetic CDOs provide income by selling insurance against debt default. Each synthetic CDO typically has numerous companies with good to high investment-grade credit ratings. Like a normal CDO, different tranches, or levels of risk and return are sold. The tranche structure allows some investors to receive higher returns (while taking higher risk), while making it possible for others to take much less risk, but also receive lower returns.
*snip*
Given the synthetic nature of the CDO, rating companies are now being forced to develop new methodologies that will allow them to examine synthetic CDOs. New downgrades will surely result from this closer examination, forcing additional selling of already distressed securities, putting further pressure on the markets.

And this last story is a good analysis. It clearly shows that the banking collapse is not over. Nor will it end with the resumption of the Japanese carry trade. If this resumption works, it means only that inflation of assets and equities will take off again alongside commodity inflation. This is pure insanity. And the rulers know this. But they want to stay in the Cave of Death a while longer and stuff their pockets with more loot. They intend to go out again eventually...some day...in the far future...around eternity.

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Comments

[GK]

Happy Birthday!

Bush meeting with the pope. Maybe getting instructions on what to do about this? Planning a conversion like his brother Jeb?

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080613102122.qn082pr5&show_article=1

Do you have any opinion on the works of Eric Phelps? This interview is amazing.

http://www.sherryshriner.com/black-pope.htm

[Client Nine]

Happy birthday to your son. My sister was born on June 13, it's always been a pretty good day, even on Fridays!! Of course, there are always two sides to every story as one would expect of any Gemini.

[rockpaperscizzors]

DAMN Robert F**king Rubin on Obama's team, Damn. Rubin who led the charge in repealing the Glass Steagal Act on Clinton's watch. Rubin who grabbed the hard-earned wealth of pensions and savers and handed it to Citigroup's fearless leader Weill; When Weill told Rubin he had some important news, US Treasury Secretary Rubin reportedly quipped, "You're buying the government?"

Well, Obama has chosen the Goldman swindlers over the people.

"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

[Market Watcher]

Hi, Elaine.

To quote selectively from your essay,

(American workers are) "Helpless and clinging to people running the Democratic party who are NOT interested in workers surviving above minimal levels......"

"But the US is totally quiet as the poor workers here think that the Democrats who are run by Goldman Sachs, will save them."

Indeed. A bunch of lobotomized dodo birds facing inevitable extinction, or slavery, which is worse.

I talk to Democrats all the time and a more clueless bunch is unfindable. The Pubs at least are more honest. Not much, though, of course.

The voters are "idiots" in the classical Greek sense, "idioti", clueless rubes right off the turnip truck existing only to be milked. The idiots take to the Mass Media propaganda like it was their mother's milk.

I don't know how to fix it. Have tried for many decades. Elaine, you are doing some good work.

[Bear of Little Brain]

Elaine:

Off-topic, but not off-posting:

I'm sure that I'm not the only one puzzled by the context of the image chosen. Most intriguing, Please enlighten us.

Will now read rest of posting!

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

My son loves Japanese pop. Picture is from a performance he saw in Brooklyn,

[DeVaul]

Oh, well, I am glad to hear that. I was beginning to think that WAS your son.

[Paul S]

The old saying goes,"Elect and elect, Tax and tax, and spend and spend--and the people are too stupid to know the difference". For the longest time, that statement was true. But I think people are beginning to wake up. More and more often, those two corporate shills, Limbaugh and Hannity, are getting their "wisdom" challenged by callers to their "shows". (Thie is almost invariably followed by a paid "caller" who will tell Sean or Rush how great they are.) What needs to be done? IMHO people need to stop caring about Angelina Jolie's kids, stop or curtail watching shows like Jerry Springer and the like and start paying attention to what the politicians are doing in Washington.

[JSmith]

"The show has students storm the administration buildings in some capital like Washington, London or Paris, for example. They then hold a government official hostage and hold off the military while debating history, sexual politics and how to organize a commune."

You also want the scene where the military cuts off the water and utilities, seals off the occupied buildings so no supplies get in, and makes bets on how long the occupying students can hold out without food, water, or air conditioning.

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

Then the hostages die. Heh. Great TV.

[Paul S]

The "show" sounds lika cross between "The Real World" and "Survivor". HaHa. Prolly a good idea to pattern your show after proven "winners".

[Elaine Meinel Supkis]

Then there is the new TV reality show called 'Take My Taliban...PLEASE'. Players must wear turbans and tame camels and using their wits, arm themselves to shoot down or blow up NATO troops, fight Pakistan, Afganistan and other Presidents and win.

The winner gets 72 virgins in his afterlife. If a woman wins, she gets to escape.

[Paul S]

Elaine, I think 'Reality TV' is your niche. Now what about sponsors....

[Buffalo Ken]

yeah, where are the sponsors. They should be here. I agree Paul S.