Monthly Archives: April 2014

Putin Parties With German Ex-Chancellor, Sanctions Be Damned

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Putin Parties With German Ex-Chancellor, Sanctions Be Damned

Putin is a master at this game. Even as the sanction spiral is supposed to strangle his ambitions for the Ukraine, he set up a photo op of incomparable ingenuity. And his confidant, ex-Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder stepped in it with gusto.

LEAKED: Draghi’s Sudden Switcheroo On QE

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on LEAKED: Draghi’s Sudden Switcheroo On QE

It happened at a private meeting with top lawmakers in Germany during a two-day shindig.

Who Is Getting Crushed in This Bull Market?

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Who Is Getting Crushed in This Bull Market?

By now, this wondrous bull market constantly gets benchmarked against the dotcom bubble. It’s different this time, we’re told, even on NPR. But the wholesale destruction of financial assets has already started, one pocket at a time.

Liars, Damned Liars, and Spanish Banks

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Liars, Damned Liars, and Spanish Banks

By Don Quijones: “Spain’s banks are back on track,” the Spanish Banking Association announced to great fanfare. That’s the official story. But these banks reported financial results that “bear no relation to reality.”

Wall Street’s “Escape Velocity” Hoax

by David Stockman •  • Comments Off on Wall Street’s “Escape Velocity” Hoax

Q1 GDP growth is trending at a tepid 1.5%. But don’t worry. It’s the weather! Wall Street is predicting “escape velocity” for the fifth spring-summer in a row. Why? Because it’s already priced into the stock market!

This Chart Is A True Picture of The Bank Credit Bubble In America, Now Bigger Than The Last One (Which Blew Up)

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on This Chart Is A True Picture of The Bank Credit Bubble In America, Now Bigger Than The Last One (Which Blew Up)

For a while, rumor had it that banks weren’t lending, and that this was the reason the recovery has been so crummy. There was no demand for loans, and banks were too tight with their lending standards. Or so the story went.

Biggest Credit Bubble in History Runs Out Of Time

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Biggest Credit Bubble in History Runs Out Of Time

Yield investors, driven to insanity by the Fed’s interest-rate repression, hold their noses and close their eyes to scrape up even the crappiest paper just to get a little extra yield. “On the way in, there’s insatiable demand.” Alas, “it’s going to be a disaster on the way out.”

Doctor’s Perspective: Perils and Pitfalls of Corporatized Medicine

by Contributor •  • Comments Off on Doctor’s Perspective: Perils and Pitfalls of Corporatized Medicine

“Professional bullying from administrators to run both a pill mill and a needle jockey business was tremendous. I resisted the entire time. But god, it wore me out.”