Mish Archives - David Westerfield

Economic Predictions for 2010

On December 27, 2009

Not pretty scenarios. Government spending has thrown free market mechanism’s into distortion and disarray. So it should shape up to be an interesting year.

There are various takes on how everything will pan out. The MSM (main-stream media) paints everything as a rosy picture: we’re coming out of the recession and things will only get better, we hear.

However, all of the realistic economists, the one’s who rightly predicted crashes in recent years, are predicting some hard events that will take place this year forward.

Hussman: Fed Engaging in Unconstitutional Abuse of Power

By David Westerfield

On November 24, 2009

In Economics, Politics

Excerpt from this article found on Mish’s blog:

The policy of the Fed and Treasury amounts to little more than obligating the public to defend the bondholders of mismanaged financial companies, and to absorb losses that should have been borne by irresponsible lenders. From my perspective, this is nothing short of an unconstitutional abuse of power, as the actions of the Fed (not to mention some of Geithner’s actions at the Treasury) ultimately have the effect of diverting public funds to reimburse private losses, even though spending is the specifically enumerated power of the Congress alone.

Needless to say, I emphatically support recent Congressional proposals to vastly rein in the power (both statutory and newly usurped) of the Federal Reserve.

Discussion of a Financial Coup D’Etat on our Economy … on PBS

By David Westerfield

On October 14, 2009

In Business, Economics, Politics

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10092009/watch.html

(For the record, I do not necessarily agree with every view in this interview. As far as Moore is concerned, I agree with him concerning the assessment of the problems, that bankers (though I would add the government intertwined with the bankers) have created the problems. But I do not agree with his assessment that capitalism, as a theory, is the problem that perpetuated this crisis … bankers and big government are the problem.)

It stunned me this was aired on PBS with Bill Moyers, of all places: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10092009/watch.html … really worth watching. These are not some right-wing, gun-slingin,’ militia crazies from the boondocks. In this 20 minute interview, former IMF Chief Economist Simon Johnson and Rep. Kaptur (D-OH) discuss the likelihood that a financial coup d’etat has taken place in our economy. Very fascinating and startling. I never thought I would be hearing these things coming from the likes of PBS with Bill Moyers. Glenn Beck? Sure, you would expect that. But PBS? The conversation in the financial industry is taking a major turn now.

Dumping the Dollar in the Middle East, Russia, China, Japan, and France?

By David Westerfield

On October 6, 2009

In Business, Economics, Video

From the Independent: The demise of the dollar:

“In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

“Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.

“‘These plans will change the face of international financial transactions,’ one Chinese banker said. ‘America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate.'”