Category: US Debt
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Saturday, January 05, 2008
Fundamentals of Growing Public Debt a Big Negative for US Equities / Economics / US Debt
SummaryFor those who are only interested in the bottom line, it doesn't matter what the charts are saying. Neither US equities nor US Treasuries represent sensible investments from a fundamental perspective. Investments should be in assets which offer protection against the demise of the US Dollar.
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Saturday, December 08, 2007
Beating the Credit Cycle - The Battle Between Debt & Recession / Economics / US Debt
"...The Fed & the White House will do whatever it takes. But will that be enough to defeat recession for ever and ever...?"
SO THERE IS TO BE no let up or truce in the war between debt and recession. The cannon-fodder of consumer credit – the battle-weary consumers themselves – must push ahead with the Christmas offensive. The United States , standing shoulder to shoulder with its partners in Britain , will stay in the trenches until the job is completed.
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Saturday, November 03, 2007
The Invisible Housing Mortgage Hand: Analysis of a Society That Forces You Into Debt / Housing-Market / US Debt
The Ministry of Truth, otherwise known at the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, tells us that inflation is low to moderate. In fact, inflation is so low all you need to do is purchase 10-year Treasury notes and you'll be fine. But we do have inflation and this is apparent in the credit markets. We live in a society were folks are forced to go into debt. Instead of addressing our negative savings rate, corporate America decides to create credit products that will put you even further in debt . They use the machines of marketing to subtly make you feel that having 10 credit cards, student loan debt, and steroid induced mortgages is okay.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Subprime Mortgage Meltdown - Beware of Monopoly Money to Follow! / Housing-Market / US Debt
Larry Edelson writes: The subprime mortgage meltdown and real estate collapse in this country is a mess. No doubt about it. And there are lots of lax mortgage brokers and bankers to blame.
In the months ahead you're going to see their shenanigans exposed … class action lawsuits filed by the dozens … and even some big chiefs getting hit with criminal charges and eventually jail time.
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Monday, August 20, 2007
High Risk Credit / Interest-Rates / US Debt
As markets went on a rollercoaster ride last week, our economy is coming close to a day of reckoning for loose credit policies being followed by the Federal Reserve Bank. Simply, foreign banks we have been relying on to buy our debt are waking up to the reality of much higher default rates than predicted, and many mortgage backed securities have been reduced to "junk" ratings. Wall Street fears the possibility of tightening credit and the tightening of America's belts. Why, they say, "if Americans spend only what they can afford, think of the ripple effects throughout the economy!" This is the cry, as the call comes for the fed to cut rates and bail out companies in trouble.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Yen Rising and US Dollar Bottoming - Gold and Liquidity / Currencies / US Debt
In the latest Prudent Squirrel newsletter, we discussed the fact that the Yen is rising and the USD appears to be bottoming. There are a slew of macroeconomic problems also developing for world markets that are heavily leveraged. A rising Yen was heavily involved in the late February global market sell off, and a bottoming or rising USD is precious metals and CRB bearish.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Who Do We Owe and How Much? / Economics / US Debt
This essay takes an in-depth look at the magnitude and consequences of the large debt levels within the United States. Topics discussed include: composition of foreign and domestic holders of U.S. debt, consequences of the government borrowing from the Federal Reserve, and a look at the current U.S. housing market.
The National Debt
The national debt (also known as public debt) is money owed by the federal government. As the government represents the people, government debt can be seen as an indirect debt of the taxpayers. The U.S. government incurs debt by issuing treasuries (bills, notes and bonds).
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Perils of Monetizing US Debt / Economics / US Debt
In our weekly reports, we often take the classical view on money. While we admit that monetarism may fail as an easy policy approach, from a fundamental standpoint, the supply of money will ultimately decide the long term rate of interest.
The classical view holds that interest rates will adjust to the equilibrium level between savings and investment. The prevailing Keynesian view is that interest rates will adjust to the supply and demand for money.
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
Washington is Robbing You Blind as National Debt Limit is Upped towards $10 trillion / Economics / US Debt
Larry Edelson writes: Not many people noticed, but on May 17 the folks in Washington upped the country's national debt limit to $9.815 trillion . That's a whopping $1.635 trillion increase in less than three years.
The U.S. was broke when the debt ceiling hit $7 trillion … it was broke when the limit was raised to $8.18 trillion … and things just keep getting worse.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
State of the Union - THE UNITED STATES IS INSOLVENT / Economics / US Debt
Prepare to be shocked.
The US is insolvent. There is simply no way for our national bills to be paid under current levels of taxation and promised benefits. Our federal deficits alone now total more than 400% of GDP.
That is the conclusion of a recent Treasury/OMB report entitled Financial Report of the United States Government that was quietly slipped out on a Friday (12/15/06), deep in the holiday season, with little fanfare. Sometimes I wonder why the Treasury Department doesn't just pay somebody to come in at 4:30 am Christmas morning to release the report. Additionally, I've yet to read a single account of this report in any of the major news media outlets but that is another matter.
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Sunday, October 15, 2006
US Debt Mountain - How can it be serviced ? / Economics / US Debt
The US in the financial year ending 2006, paid over $400 billion in interest on debt ! Following the 14 consecutive Fed rate what will happen when the debt needs to be reissued at these higher interest rates ? I.e. average debt maturity is less than 60 months with total US debt stands at $8 trillions. Thus interest payments are likely rise substantially in the coming years whilst at the same time the US is running an record annual budget deficit of over $500 billion.
So what can the Federal Reserve do to extricate the US from this developing crisis ?
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