Debt

Federal Borrowing Crosses The Rubicon

usissuescom Taxes & Spending , , ,
By Clint Siegner – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

A year ago, Republicans in control of Congress suspended the cap on federal borrowing. The limit was automatically re-imposed on March 1st. Politicians now have a few months to hammer out legislation to raise the cap as the Treasury employs “extraordinary measures” to fend off default.

The federal deficit is mushrooming once again. The 2017 tax cuts have taken a bite out of receipts at the IRS and economic growth has not met expectations.

This year’s borrowing to fill the gap between government tax revenue and expenditures may reach a trillion dollars for the first time since 2012.

If Washington politicians follow the usual script, we can expect Republicans to posture as fiscal conservatives and then relent either just before or just after a federal shutdown.

Continue reading →

Advertisements

Chinese Data & Global Equities Markets (PART III)

usissuescom Foreign Policy, GDP & Employment, Monetary Policy , , , ,
By Chris Vermeulen – Re-Blogged From Silver Phoenix

In the previous two segments of this research post PART I, PART II, we’ve hypothesized that the recent Chinese economic data and the resulting global shift to re-evaluate risk factors within China/Asia are prompting global traders/investors to seek protective alternative investment sources.  Our primary concern is that a credit/debt economic contraction event may be on the cusp of unfolding over the next 12~24 months in China/Asia.  It appears that all of the fundamental components are in place and, unless China is able to skillfully navigate through this credit contraction event, further economic fallout may begin to affect other global markets.

One key component of this credit crisis event is the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and the amount of credit that has been extended to multiple foreign nations.  We don’t believe China will run out money by the end of March and we don’t believe any crisis event will come out of nowhere to land in China within a week or two.  Our concern is for an extended downturn to decrease economic opportunity by 5~12% each year for a period of 4~7+ years.  It is this type of extended economic slowdown that can be the most costly in terms of political and economic opportunity.  An extended downturn in the Chinese and Asian economies would create revenue, credit, debt, and ongoing social servicing issues.

Continue reading →

The OTHER Debt Bubbles

usissuescom GDP & Employment, Monetary Policy, Stocks & Commodities , , , , ,

Stefan Gleason – Re-Blogged From Silver Phoenix

The $22 trillion official national debt is a much discussed problem, even as politicians exhibit zero motivation to do anything about it. But as big an economic overhang as it is, government debt isn’t likely to trigger the next financial crisis.

Yes, servicing the growing federal debt bubble will depress GDP growth, cause the value of the dollar to drop, and raise inflation risks. But the bubble itself won’t necessarily burst – not anytime soon.

Continue reading →

Is Capital Creation Beating Capital Consumption?

usissuescom GDP & Employment , , , , ,
By Keith Weiner – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

We have written numerous articles about capital consumption. Our monetary system has a falling interest rate, which causes both capital churn and conversion of one party’s wealth into another’s income. It also has too-low interest, which encourages borrowing to consume (which, as everyone knows, adds to Gross Domestic Product—GDP).

What Is Capital

At the same time, of course entrepreneurs are creating new capital. Keith wrote an article for Forbes, showing the incredible drop in wages from 1965 to 2011. There was not a revolution, because prices of goods such as milk dropped at nearly the same rate. The real price of milk dropped as much as it did, because of increased efficiency in production. The word for that which enables an increase in efficiency is capital.

Or, to put it another way, capital provides leverage for productive human effort. We don’t work any harder today, than they did in the ancient world (probably less hard). But we are much richer—we produce a lot more. The difference is capital. They had not accumulated much capital. So they were limited to brute labor, to a degree which we would find shocking today.

Continue reading →

Repo Man’s Valentine’s Day Present

usissuescom Monetary Policy , , , , ,

By Michael Pento – Re-Blogged From Silver Phoenix

The New York Federal Reserve recently sent out an early Valentine’s Day present to a certain group of individuals. However, this gift wasn’t to overleveraged American consumers; but rather to those who are employed repossessing one of those goodies they can’t afford. On February 12th the NY Fed made the announcement that a record number of consumers are falling behind on their car payments.

Continue reading →

Extraordinary Changes Coming

usissuescom Foreign Policy, GDP & Employment, Monetary Policy, Stocks & Commodities , , , , , , , , , ,

By Mike Gleason – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcome in Dr. Chris Martenson of PeakProsperity.com, and author of the book Prosper! How to Prepare for the Future and Create a World Worth Inheriting. Chris is a commentator and a range of important topics such as global economics, financial markets, governmental policies, precious metals, and the importance of preparedness, among other things, and it’s always great to have him on with us.

Chris, welcome back, and thanks for joining us again.

Chris Martenson: Thank you. It’s a real pleasure to be back with you and all your listeners.

Mike Gleason: Well, Chris, when we spoke last in early November, we talked about the Fed printing money and expanding credit to prevent markets from correcting. The central planners there are always ready to intervene. At the time, equity markets were correcting and stock prices fell through the end of December. Officials must have then decided that enough was enough with all the selling because the Fed has very publicly signaled a change in course and instead of more rate hikes and more selling from the hordes of bonds accumulated during QE, the Fed is putting the brakes on tightening and looking to return to stimulus. Now the equity markets are off to their best start in something like 30 years. What do you make of the most recent intervention? Are they likely to get away with yet another round of bubble blowing here, Chris?

Continue reading →

40 Years Of Reforms And Gold

usissuescom Foreign Policy, GDP & Employment , , , , , ,

By Arkadiusz Sieroń – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

The economic development of China is one of the most important events in the history of the world. In an unprecedentedly short time, millions of people have been taken out from poverty. But, as no country has ever developed so fast, that great story raises important worries.

We invite you to read our today’s article about the great progress China made in the last forty years and find out whether it’s too good to be true and it must end with some catastrophe, triggering rally in the gold prices.

One of the biggest risks for the global economy which can materialize this year is the slowdown of China’s economic growth. So, it is wise to analyze the current state of the Chinese economy – its implications for the gold market and what will happen next. As December 2018 marked the forty years of market reforms in China, we will adopt a long-term perspective, explaining how China transformed itself from a poor, backward and isolated country to the world’s economic power. We will examine what the global economy and the precious metals market can expect in China’s fifth decade of reform and development.

Continue reading →