The Con That Turned the World Against America

The Trumpet ^ | November 2007 | Staff

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

The world’s financial system came precariously close to seizing up recently.

In fact, as far as some big banks and financial institutions were concerned, for a moment in time, the system was in a full-blown cardiac arrest. Liquidity, the flow of money—the lifeblood of today’s economic structure—came uncomfortably close to clotting up in August this year.

Defibrillators sizzling and money flowing, central banks around the world acted in concert to jump-start financial markets, slashing lending rates and injecting nearly a half trillion in dollar steroids into the economic pulmonary system.

But contrary to what the big media outlets may have reported, it is actually inconsequential whether or not central bankers succeeded in temporarily stabilizing markets.

Irrevocable damage to America’s economic system has taken place.

And because the world’s largest economies are so closely intertwined, the effects will not be limited to the United States. Confidence in the world’s financial system—a system based on the dollar as the reserve currency—is failing, not because of a liquidity crunch, a popping housing bubble, or the myriad of other commonly cited economic causes, but because of broken faith. The result in the end will be a new world financial order—one without America at the head.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

Very interesting, and another sign of what precarious times we are living in.

[Glenn]

and another sign of what precarious times we are living in

Japan survived something similar, as did the rest of capitalist Asia. We'll do fine in the long run.

[stevem]

Very interesting, and another sign of what precarious times we are living in.

I think these things tend to operate in cycles.

[Proud_texan]

Let's see, where have I seen this before? Ah yes, during runaway inflation and wage and price controls of the 70s. No, no it was during the arms war and deficits of the 80s. Or maybe I'm wrong and it was Japan buying the whole dag gum contry. Umm, nah, it was the S&L melt down. Opps, wait, it was the tax increases and then the dot-com bubble popping in the 90s. Urp, no, it was the tax cut in the 2000s.

Gee, I'm confused what with the sky constantly falling on my head over the years.

[SShultz460]

I don’t think so, but all right

[leadhead]

The article is a bit disingenuous in that Britain, Ireland, Germany, etc. were making their own subprime loans. It wasn't just the US.

Some of their financial institutions were late getting into their local scene and bought the funny stuff from the US to catch up on comparative returns.

As of right now, nobody knows how bad the loan portfolios are because they are so mixed with good and bad.There are a lot of subprime borrowers who are not defaulting.

I question why some of the financial institutions are writing off such big hits without real knowledge of what they got. Is it to be able to buy back their stock at a low price and later reinstate earnings when the portfolios perform?

[spacejunkie]

Boy, you read an article like that and you panic, then you read comments from the smart FR board and your heart beat slows to normal again:)

I’m grateful for the balance that people here post.

Please continue to expand on this subject as I really want to know the truth of what’s going on.

[Cold Heat]

Slowly step away from the TV and read a book or something.

Everything will miraculously be fixed and the perceptions will
suddenly change as soon as another Clinton is in the White House.

All this worry is a complete fabrication by the National Media.

If more people understood this phenomenon, no Democrat would ever sit in the oval office, but they never understand it.

We are truly a Nation of Sheep.

[RoadTest]

Either this article is a true picture of what is going on, or it is designed to be anti-American.

I don’t know enough to tell the difference.

[RoadTest]

Oh, I get it! The United States is conveniently someone to blame! That fits everything else that’s been going on for the last few decades.

[RoadTest]

“We are truly a Nation of Sheep.”

Evidently God thinks so. The 23rd Psalm says: “ He maketh me to lie down in green pastures”.

[RoadTest]

Ditto.

[Cold Heat]

:-)

[The Duke]

I’m 1992 the American people elected Bill Clinton to cheers that “Character Doesn’t Count”. Does character count yet?

[Woodman]

It’s called “Kitchen Sinking”. It acts as an opportunity to dump most if not all of the bad, and then show profits afterwords. Much financial fiscal reporting is IMHO slight of hand that makes the great magicians look like armatures.

[Puddleglum]

ping to read later

[Woodman]

armatures = amateurs, damn spell checker.

[yldstrk]

If the dollar collapses the whole world would be rushing to buy our American made products.

[Cold Heat]

What we now call “bubbles” (formerly spikes) occur in nearly every sector on a rotating basis. It’s just the nature of economics.

Price/demand cyclical changes occur because they must occur. It is the nature of the beast and in mortgages, it goes back and forth between commercial property development and residential. In each case, when the supply finally exceeds the demand, the prices fall and someone is left out on a limb.

The housing situation was exacerbated by younger upwardly mobile people engaging in what is now called “House flipping”.

Years ago, this practice was confined more to professional investors and real-estate agents. This time, there was a fad that developed that involved less mature and experienced people who tried to make a fast buck. They got burned by the same sort of loan arrangements that burned many investors back during the Carter administration when rates skyrocketed to more than 18%.

These things will continue in perpetuity. Financing angles will continue to be used by some buyers, and balloon mortgages, adjustable and interest only arrangements are all legitimate vehicles for the variety of different needs that purchasers have.

In my opinion, there is likely not a single buyer in this last housing mess that did not have all the facts about what they were doing. The risks are always explained, but somehow when things go bad the fingers always wave. Nobody ever thinks it will happen to them.

As far as I am concerned, the whine and cheese is human nature. They will take their lumps and with little or no down payment,the lumps are not great and the damage is confined to their credit ratings. The lenders all have various hedges and insurance and will survive via mergers and or refi...Portfolios are being rebalanced.

In twenty or thirty years, it will all repeat again as institutional memories are quite short these days. The next crisis will be a repeat of the commercial problems we had in the 70s and eighties.

As the world churns............................

[jwatzzzzz]

” Muslims outside the United States interpret America’s policies in the Middle East not as an effort to spread democracy but as a blatant neocolonialist attempt to solve its economic problems by force. Arabs and Persians alike argue that America’s fiscal irresponsibility has forced the nation to seek solutions through military aggression.

Many believe that America’s misguided adventure in Iraq was a desperate attempt to capture both a reliable source of cheap oil and a major export market for the United States. ...” bla bla bla

This article is from Hamid Varsi,a muslim, who is from Iran. The above is a snippet of his anti american rantings.