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Would you pay more than 100 million dollars for a single deli in rural New Jersey that had less than $36,000 in sales during the last two years combined? I know that sounds like a completely ridiculous question, but the stock market apparently thinks that deli is worth that much. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 34,000 for the first time in history, and investors all over the country cheered. But this financial bubble is not real. It is a giant mirage that is built on a foundation of fraud. Investors have lost all touch with reality,...

While there are plenty of people whose lives have been thrown into chaos by the lockdowns imposed on us in the name of protecting against Covid, the “free money” sent out without a single Republic vote in Congress went to a lot of people who didn’t really need it. The checks amount to Democrats buying votes, so why should they limit the purchase to the truly needy?A report from Goldman Sachs, which watches financial flows closely, stated (via MarketWatch):“These payments may be making their way into mutual funds and ETFs, as well as other assets,” the Goldman analysts wrote. “All...

“ Interactive Brokers chairman Thomas Peterffy told CNBC Wednesday that the U.S. financial system faced greater stress during the GameStop trading frenzy than is generally recognized.”

Good afternoon. Thank you for hosting this discussion today. I’m pleased that we were able to reschedule this event, which was originally scheduled for April and at MIT, and that we now have the opportunity to engage in this important conversation. I am even more pleased to be joined today by my esteemed friends at the SEC, Chairman Jay Clayton and Director of the Division of Trading and Markets, Brett Redfearn. The connection between the Antitrust Division and the SEC goes back many decades, at least as far as former Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Robert Jackson....

In a sweeping three-day surge unequaled in nearly 90 years, stock markets recovered almost a fifth of their lost value. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,351 points, or 6.4 percent, while the S&P 500 spiked 155 points, or 6.2 percent. The Dow's three-day gains were the largest since 1931, and the S&P's were the largest since 1933, raising markets from three-year lows. The upswing came despite data showing a record-shattering spike in initial unemployment claims, which reached nearly 3.3 million in the third week of March, roughly five times the previous record. Instead, markets focused on the...

Calm returns, as it always does The day after British voters decided to leave the European Union, we were barraged with media stories about how the sky was falling. And nowhere did they turn to support their case more so than the plunging financial markets. The drop in the markets surprised no one. Markets have a natural inclination to like stability, and when there’s a big change it’s common to see markets react negatively. What’s also common is that markets gather themselves quickly and make corrections in response to impulsive movements. So a big sell-off brought on by widespread panic...

Is this the start of the next major financial crisis? The nightmarish collapse of the price of oil is creating panic in financial markets all over the planet. On June 16th, U.S. oil was trading at a price of $107.52. Since then, it has fallen by almost 50 dollars in less than 6 months. This has only happened one other time in our history. In the summer of 2008, the price of oil utterly collapsed and we all remember what happened after that. Well, the same patterns that we witnessed back in 2008 are happening again. As the price of...

1. Yes, I saw that Corzine was "charged" by the CFTC. This is essentially meaningless. First, it is a purely civil action. These oligarch psychopaths LAUGH at the whole "civil action" paradigm. Second, the $100 million fine that the CFTC is going after comes NOT from Corzine, but from whatever is left of the MF Global Holdings estate, IF there is anything left at all. Not one red cent would come from Corzine, who was worth at least $600 million at the time of the collapse in the fall of 2011. Third, even if Corzine gets the dreaded "registration ban"...

The entire global financial markets are selling off sharply today. U.S. stock markets are getting slammed early in the trading session. The Dow and the S&P 500 are down by over 1.5%. This follows major sell-offs in Europe and Asia earlier today, and it extends yesterday's U.S. market sell-off. Globally, investors are digesting two big headlines: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that strengthening economic data could enable the Fed to start tapering, or gradually reducing, its stimulative bond-buying plan. China reported that manufacturing activity was decelerating at a higher clip than expected in June. China is the world's second largest...

Would unfettered markets maximize social wellbeing? This is where the weakness of the arguments for tighter financial market regulation lies. It is not in the thesis or the framing of the question, but rather in the conclusion that is reached. To a large extent, the argument for ever-increasing regulation is like the argument that in order to minimize the risk of being run over by a car, one should walk as little as possible, or, alternatively, that in order not to catch the flu, one should stay indoors. This argument is embodied in the EU’s so-called ‘precautionary principle’ which essentially...

Among the reactions to the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009 none was expressed with more ardor than the call for increasingly tighter and more comprehensive regulation of market activity, with a particular focus on the housing and financial sectors. The uncertainty brought about by the crisis expressed itself in a growing feeling of helplessness and subsequent anger. This anger was generally directed at the perceived failure of market capitalism, but its specific targets were the ‘greedy bankers’ and the financial markets as a whole.

The 2,319 page financial regulation bill that just passed Congress is filled with vague, complicated language. Some language will weaken our financial system and make it less efficient. Other language appears to mandate racial and gender employment quotas in dozens of Federal agencies. In the name of making sure that there is not another financial crisis, the bill does nothing to address what caused the mortgage problems created by government regulations that forced banks to make risky loans that they didn't want to make. It does nothing to rein in the $400 billion in losses created by government entities Fannie...

If President Obama's financial regulations are adopted, there will be fewer loans, credit will be more costly, and individuals will face more risk. Obama argues today that his reforms are necessary to prevent "a second Great Depression" from occurring, but he does nothing to fix what the government did. Nothing is done to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite their problems with fraud and costing taxpayers $400 billion in bailouts. Nothing is done to change government regulations that force banks to make risky mortgages. The powers that would be given to the president and the Federal Reserve are unprecedented....

Robust financial markets support capitalism, they don’t imperil it. But in 2008, Washington policymakers were compelled to replace private risk-takers in the financial system with government capital so that money and credit flows wouldn’t stop, precipitating a depression. Washington’s actions weren’t the start of government distortions in the financial industry, Nicole Gelinas writes, but the natural result of 25 years’ worth of such distortions.

The Treasury Department has records of the secret meetings that its President's Working Group on Financial Markets held to discuss the troubled financial markets, after all. That doesn't mean Washington wants us to know what was discussed, or whether Wall Street executives were in the meetings. The working group was founded by President Reagan back in 1989, after the stock market nearly sustained its second big crash in two years. Placed under the Treasury's jurisdiction, it lay dormant for years. It has been nicknamed The Plunge Protection Team because many people -- including me -- believe that in recent years...

... from Massachusetts. This will be their Waterloo: Nine months after he penned a memo laying out the arguments for health care legislation's destruction, Republican message guru Frank Luntz has put together a playbook to help derail financial regulatory reform. In a 17-page memo titled, "The Language of Financial Reform," Luntz urged opponents of reform to frame the final product as filled with bank bailouts, lobbyist loopholes, and additional layers of complicated government bureaucracy. "If there is one thing we can all agree on, it's that the bad decisions and harmful policies by Washington bureaucrats that in many ways led...

Financial Markets And Economic Crisis Outlook 2010, When Hope Turns to Fear! Economics / Financial Markets 2010 Jan 15, 2010 - 01:41 AM By: Ty_Andros I wish to send you my very best wishes for a Happy New Year. WE WILL BEGIN THIS MULTI-PART OUTLOOK WITH A GENERAL OVERVIEW, THEN OVER THE FOLLOWING WEEKS TOUCH ON A VARIETY OF CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL ANALYSES, SPANNING THE MARKETS IN GENERAL, SUCH AS STOCKS, COMMODITIES, CURRENCIES, INTEREST RATES, BOMB....ER, BOND MARKETS AND TAKE FUNDAMENTAL LOOKS AT THE DIFFERENT REGIONS, BANKING SYSTEMS ETC. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE LAST TWO TEDBITS YOU NEED...

How the financial markets work explained in a way that anyone can understand.

Arguably, today investors face the polar opposite of conditions that existed only a few months ago, with economic optimism, improving valuations and positive sentiment. To most investors, today the fear of being in has now been eclipsed by the fear of being out as the animal spirits are in full force. Bears are now scarce to nonexistent in the face of steady price gains in equity and credit prices. As if the movie is now being shown in reverse, the bull is persistent, stock corrections are remarkably shallow, cash reserves at mutual funds have been depleted, and hedge funds hold...

Some risks don't pay off. The time comes when the right thing to do is to let a bad investment sink. This is more responsible than continuing to throw good money after bad to keep unwise ventures afloat. For the housing market to turn around, bad mortgages must be allowed to sink -- but Congress has other plans. Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, is threatening to revive legislation that would let bankruptcy judges rewrite mortgage contracts if banks don't "voluntarily" write off a larger percentage of bad home loans. The policy ideas of the savvy chairman of the House Financial...