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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (79994)	6/10/2008 1:17:04 AM
From: Sr K	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

maybe this lemansa.wordpress.com

To: mishedlo who wrote (79994)	6/10/2008 2:08:58 AM
From: roguedolphin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Florida at the Precipice of Depression I was going to call this "Banks March Us Into Depression," or maybe more fitting is . . . "Complete Collapse of US Banking System." Folks, that is what we are looking at. I don't see any way around it. What we're seeing here in Florida, is your crystal ball. And what happens here, is coming to a town near you . . . soon. This past week I didn't write anything, because what I am seeing unravel is disturbing to the point I had to question what I was seeing and hearing. So I decided to take as much time as I needed to digest it all, and then put something together for you. So here goes . . . I could prepare volumes of spread sheets with Bernankesque numbers. I could talk about commodity prices and oil and third world politics and a dozen other metrics that all lead to the same conclusion. But let me give you a ground zero look. That's what I do best. I will leave the manipulation of the numbers to the folks on Wall Street that do it best. The same folks that have created the precipice they will soon push us off. I spend a great deal of time dealing with Asset Managers hired by banks stuck with REOs. So as not to re-hash the events leading to the housing crisis, I will not discuss the free-money policies of the past, and I will not discuss the absolute lack of accountability in making the bad loans of the past. Let's just deal with how the banks are attempting to recover. Unfortunately, banks are not making a realistic effort to address the crisis. That may be because they cannot. As the banks and builders have announced write down after write down, my mantra has been . . . and continues to be . . . NOT ENOUGH - NOT ENOUGH - NOT ENOUGH. I still believe that. The builders and the banks have underestimated the magnitude of the problem, and they continue to do so. Analysts continue to look at the rear-view mirror and attempt to manipulate numbers based misguided historical assumptions. NAR and the economists continue to twist the numbers, lie and then slip in prior-month adjustments without actually comparing apples to apples. But that is another article. The bankers and the fat cats on Wall Street sit back and watch the carnival, collecting fees from everyone they can snooker. I have recently started turning away REO properties from banks and asset managers, even though hundreds of thousands of real estate agents nationwide are lined up waiting for these listings. I made the decision because we have reached a point where these listings are costing us money, and the asset managers are squeezing harder and harder . . . because they can. There are GREAT asset managers and there are incompetent ones. The majority fall into the incompetent bucket, but we eliminate them quickly. The banks, on the other hand, continue to throw away money with the bucket of incompetent managers. It seems like the mortgage brokers that pushed funny money for the last six years are now starting asset management companies. We still work with a number of asset managers and banks directly, but the list of asset managers is growing smaller as properties fail to sell. When that happens, properties are bundled up and sold in bulk or at auction. This puts further downward pressure on markets because of lower prices and the inventory was not absorbed . . . it just changed hands. Banks cannot afford to take 50-75% hits on mortgages, and that is exactly what is happening. The precipice is here, and we are on it. Recent reports about home sales rebounding are insignificant, because no one is accurately describing the growing inventory build-up. Banks simply don't have the margins to deal with this crisis. And for that reason, we will see massive bank failures and this will snowball into a complete economic meltdown. If you have an argument against this scenario, I'd love to debate you on a live conference call. We deal with the banks. We know what is going on before the numbers show up at the Fed or any analysts desks. We deal with the public, so we hear the desperation at all levels. I listen to grown men cry about how to explain to their families that they are losing everything. I listen to people that I fear are on the verge of suicide. I read about people committing crimes simply to put food on the table. Spend a week with me, and you'll understand why there is no feasible way to avoid a Depression. The banks will fail, just as they failed in 1929 . . . but worse because this time some of this leverage is as high as 40:1. Insurance? Where is that going to come from? There is no insurance that can cover the cost of the coming bank failure, unless we just print more money. We are two generations removed from 1929. I am talking about Biblical 40 year generations. And when you look at who we were in 1929 and who we are now, you'll realize just how ugly it is going to be. In 1929 there was a stronger base of family values. There was a work ethic that we don't see today. The generation from 1929 - 1969 grew up with a totally different set of values than the generation from 1969 - 2009. The first generation worked their way out of the Depression. Today's generation doesn't understand work. We only understand creative financing and how to live off the next generation. And sadly, that is where we are today. We are at the precipice, and we are going to push our children over the edge because we lived so far above our means and ignored all of the warning signs. We lived just like the Romans in their final days. Harsh? Like I said, spend one week with me, and you will go home with a new outlook about life, people and the crisis that is unfolding. You will go home with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. Guaranteed. Just Florida? No, but Florida is your crystal ball. The next generation? I would like to think we will eventually build ourselves out of this Depression with nuclear plants, solar and wind farms, seawater desalinization plants new roads and bridges and state of the art cars and trucks. Unfortunately, who is going to get their hands dirty? For those that study history, how would we manage a WPA with today's generation? It will be a much tougher recovery, because we have lost the fundamentals that made us the greatest country in the world. NOTE: If interested in additional information visit my institutional website at www.Morgan-Florida.org or my consumer website at www.Treasure-Coast.us If you would like to be added to our distribution list, please email me at Mike@MorganFlorida.org

To: mishedlo who wrote (79994)	6/10/2008 8:42:16 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

What’s Portuguese for Volcker? Brazil has increased its “Selic” short-term interest rate to 12.25 per cent - a full 700 basis points above the country’s current inflation. These high real interest rates have produced a sound economy. Brazil’s savings rate is double that of the US, its balance of payments deficit is modest, its growth rate much faster and its inflation rate comparable. Brazilian monetary policy since 2002 offers important pointers to Ben Bernanke. Brazil’s high short-term rates were traditionally thought to reflect the economy’s high risk, but that is no longer the case, as high real interest rates since 2002 have stabilised both the foreign exchange position and the economy. The country’s foreign debt is below 50 per cent of GDP, the current account is close to balance and the public sector is in only modest deficit, even after deducting high interest costs on government debt. Brazil’s perceived risk level is now moderate; its long term debt was recently upgraded to investment grade and trades at less than 1 percentage point above equivalent Treasuries. Although the rate increase was undertaken to combat inflation, current expectations are for Brazil’s inflation to remain at around its current 5 per cent level. Thus Brazil’s 12.25 per cent Selic rate, if one deducts 1 per cent for risk and 5 per cent for inflation and adds back 4 per cent for US inflation, would be equivalent to a Federal Funds target rate of 10.25 per cent compared to the current 2 per cent. High real interest rates have a number of advantages. Brazil’s gross national savings rate is double that of the US, as saving is properly rewarded by substantial real returns. Its balance of payments deficit is modest, as domestic consumption is restrained by its high savings propensity. Economic growth is much faster, as resources are devoted to productive investment rather than being wasted in cheap-money speculation. Even Brazil’s government deficit is lower, as its leftist law-makers are forced to reckon with the high interest cost of deficit financing. The US is currently running an excessive payments deficit, has a weak and declining currency, a low or negative consumer savings rate and a government addicted to deficit finance even in boom times. A Brazilian-style monetary policy might just cure those problems. A Brazilian-style monetary policy just might give Bernanke some ideas. For further commentary visit www.breakingviews.com To join an online conversation about the RBA's approach to inflation click here. Share This Story