“The World is in Trouble” sez German Bank Econ
Weimar Currency.
The top economist at Germany’s D-Bank says the green shoots are about to turn brown.
‘The World Is in Trouble’: Deutsche Bank Chief Economist
The global economy still faces turmoil as governments try to figure out how to move out of fiscal rescue packages, which could lead to another two downturns, Deutsche Bank Chief Economist Norbert Walter said Thursday. In addition, nervousness on the part of major dollar holders could pressure the greenback and lead to a very worrying 2010, Walter said. Norbert said recently in research notes “the world is in trouble.”
“I believe that the rescue packages brought on have been so costly for so many governments that the exit from this fiscal policy will be very painful, very painful indeed,” he said. “Some of us are already talking about a W-shaped recovery. I’d probably talk about a triple-U-shaped recovery because there are so many stumbling blocks here to get out of this.”
Bank Failure Friday!!!
A whopping 4 5 (four – FIVE – they slipped another one in on me after I posted) banks bit the big one today! Read ‘em and weep, kids!
Metro Pacific Bank, Irvine, CA
Neighborhood Community Bank, Newnan, GA
Community Bank of West Georgia, Villa Rica, GA
AND
This makes a total of 45 (forty-five) banks closed this year by the FDIC.
The End of Empire – The BRIC is hitting the fan, folks!
Children playing with stacks of cash in Weimar Germany.
Stop reading right now unless you are prepared to be massively depressed. Our empire has fallen. We are now, officially, the Romans. In a stunning, devastating piece at TruthDig, Chris Hedges puts together the cataclysmic chain of events to come that many of us have struggled to round up and articulate since September of 2007. It took a year after that for the situation to get so bad, on September 21, 2008, that the Congressional leadership was called together by the Fed and Treasury and told without a massive cash infusion of tax dollars the whole rotten movie set that was our economy was going to fall on top of us. Riot, mayhem, violence and disintegration were sure to follow. Out of that meeting was born TARP, TALF, AIG, GM, the stimulus package, etc.
The whole piece is a must read, but some snippets after the jump will curl your hair.
Daily Gloom – 04/24/09
- Shred them! Just say “NO”!
- Geithner says banks have sufficient capital.
- Then, why aren’t they lending it out?
- Do we even want them to lend it out, asks Robert Reich?
- “There are three ways to fix the banking system; liquidation, reorganization and subsidization. Geithner has rejected all three.” – a very interesting read – slowly, though – there’s a lot to digest.
- One Irish newspaper says a majority of Irish people expect “civil unrest” this summer.
Daily Gloom – 04/23/09
- No Buy-eee, no carr-ee.
- March existing home sales fall by 3 percent.
- “Flexible” loans for small business owners now threaten them with bankruptcy and home foreclosure at the same time.
- Jobless Claims at 640,000; Continuing Claims Rise.
- General Motors to shutter plants this summer.
- Big Brown is down.
- My favorite economist sees ever more contraction. “This will be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the worst global economic downturn in decades. “
Daily Gloom – 04/20/09
- IMF predicts massive, longterm global depression.
- “The human consequences could be absolutely devastating. This is a truly global crisis, and nobody is escaping.”
- General Growth’s demise sharpens concerns over commercial property collapse.
- GM to axe 1,600 more employees this week.
- With unemployment in California at 11+% some question just how high it can go.
Bank Failure Friday
Two this week, kids:
Daily Gloom – 04/15/09 – Teabagging Day Edition
- Run on the Bank
- Teabaggers are apparently outraged, simply infuriated, by the marginal tax rate rising 3% for millionaires!
- Depression will worsen unless more stimulus is pumped into the economy.
- Airlines, automakers, retail chains all on list of 10 companies that could go belly-up this year. Here’s why.
It’s The Economy, Stupid! – 04/10/09
Treasury to Banks: Shut up about the freakin’ stress tests!- New Deal 2.0 – ARRA funds working their way into the system.
- Opinion divided on Recovery. Investors still worried. Some wiseguys are calling for a September rebound. I have my doubts. Aso, there is no TRUE recovery until there is full employment of the workers!
- Apparently, it sucks to be the head of that insurance company we own.
Daily Gloom – 04/09/09
- 1979
- Retail sales continue slump, not as bad as Christmas, though.
- Angst over Depression continues to grow.
- Oil prices up sharply. I know there are those who think this is a good thing. They can suck it. Until we completely change the transportation profile in this country, it is the working poor who are most adversely affected by high gas prices.
- WSJ Opinion: Recovery can’t be rushed.
- Even Wal-Mart is failing to cut the mustard.
Daily Gloom – 04/03/09
- Remember, kids, Friday is Bank Failure Day! They post around 8PM Eastern!
- Robert Reich utters the “D” word.
- I normally don’t post local stories, but this one grabbed my eye: Albuquerque Public Schools Homeless Student Population Doubles.
- I was a junior in college the last time unemployment was this high.
- Unemployment rate up to 8.5%.
- Hungary on the verge of collapse.
Politics Bag – 04/03/09
- Carville: Obama’s best day as President.
He's EVERYBODY'S Pal!
- Madame Noonanham comes out of her gin and Seconal-induced haze to opine that she’s figured out this Obama guy – and she didn’t even have to talk to any of her rich friends to do it!
Day Old Bread – Odds and Ends – 04/02/09
- Our Barry steps in to break up a fight between the French and the Chinese.
- President and Mrs. Obama put the wow on London. Also, here and here.
- This new government in Israel has a distinct odor about it, and some unsavory characters at its top.
- Unemployment figures keep climbing. Screw the Dow, we better start paying attention to jobs.
- O’Reilly defends the outragous a-holes who work for him.
- Big weaknesses noted in our spy system.
- One in ten Americans now on foodstamps.
Daily Gloom – 04/01/09 – G-20 April Fool’s Edition
- Ontario Police sifting through homeless people.
- Ontario, CA officials trying to cull out non-residents from their tent city. “Officials believe the local homeless number about 140, less than half of those currently in residence. Schultz wants to reduce Tent City to 170 people in a regulated, fenced-off area rather than the sprawling open-air campsite it has become.” Can we say “concentration camp for homeless people”? Presumably those without pink bracelets will be shipped off in rail cars, gassed and then incinerated.
It’s the Economy, Stupid!
- Grey Lady Down.
- Consumer confidence essentially flat in March.
- Global trade said to be “in a freefall.”
- Job losses causing Social Security receipts to fall.
- As G-20 Nations gather in London, all eyes are on President Obama.
Political Bag – 03/31/09
- Next NY-20th Rep?
- Republicans think they might lose today’s special election in New York and are already lowering expectations.
- New poll shows Americans continue to back the President, with a 66% overall favorable and a 60% approval rating on his handling of the Depression.
Daily Gloom – 03/27/09 – Bank Failure Friday Edition!
Is this chick to blame for the New Depression?
- Remember kids, Friday is FDIC Bank Failure Day! They usually don’t post them until after 8PM Eastern.
- Roubini predicts massive bank failures.
- 4th Q ‘08 worst since 1930’s.
- Brazil’s President says the mess we’re in is all white people’s fault. That’s frickin’ awesome!
- CNBC continues shameless attacks on the President.
You, too, can live in a shanty town!
Modern day versions of Depression-era Hoovervilles are cropping up all over the country. Or, in the alternative, you could live in your car, and invite a friend to join you!
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