The debt mountain that brought down some of the world’s biggest banks and dragged the international financial system to the brink of disaster has simply shifted to governments. Now it’s threatening countries around the globe — and, if left unchecked, could rip the very fabric of Europe’s economic system and wreck economic recoveries in the U.S., China and Latin America.
The impact on markets has been severe. The euro has slumped more than 12% against the dollar since the sovereign-debt crisis flared in southern Europe. Gold has marched to new highs as investors seek a safe haven and, perhaps most alarming, it is now more expensive to buy insurance against national default than it is to insure against corporate failure. Continue reading →
The economic “recovery” we are now witnessing is based on theft, greed and deceit. It’s a giant rip-off, a rotten sham. In this sleazy imitation of a free market economy, liars, cheats and deadbeats are the ones getting rewarded.
And as for the savers, the hard workers, the ones who chose to honor their debts and live within their means? Nothing but a bunch of suckers. (They’re the ones paying for it all.)
If you’re one of those “suckers,” at least you’ve got company. I’m a sucker too.
All this time, I thought working hard for my money and staying debt free was wise. I thought sticking with one credit card – paying down the balance every month, no exceptions – was prudent. I thought driving a five-year-old car – fully paid off, nothing flashy – was a sensible thing to do. Continue reading →
March 24 (Bloomberg) — Americans are leery about creating a new federal agency to make consumer-protection rules for mortgages and credit cards and would prefer to enhance the existing powers of banking regulators.
Most people interviewed in the Bloomberg National Poll say they don’t like Wall Street, banks or insurance companies and favor letting the government punish bankers who helped cause the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Continue reading →
