Wolf Richter

French Megabank: No “Drastic Crisis” in France, It Will Be “Slow And Over Time”

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Finally we know why French government debt and French stocks have performed so well, despite the crummy economy, and why France has been spared so far the fate of Cyprus: the fiasco won’t happen suddenly in France, the bank reported. It will be slow and torturous.

Will The Last Bear Please Turn Out The Lights

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When BlackRock CEO Larry Fink grumbled about “way too much optimism” in the markets, he wasn’t kidding. An entire mindset is benchmarking today’s record metrics against the splendor of 2000 and 2007: not to warn, but to prove that this time it won’t end in tears.

Kremlin: If The US Tries To Hurt Russia’s Economy, Russia Will Target The Dollar

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The first official warning shot was fired before an all-out assault on the dollar system begins. Not by a Putin advisor that can be brushed off, but by Alexey Ulyukaev, Russia’s Minister of Economy and former Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank. A major escalation.

Bay Area Home Sales Plunge To 2008 Levels, Prices Soar

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It starts here: evictions in San Francisco hit the highest level since 2001, when the dotcom bubble was disintegrating. Everything these days gets benchmarked against the last bubbles: the dotcom bubble that blew up in 2000, the housing bubble that blew up in 2007.

German Exporters Fire Warning Shot About Russia “Sanction-Spiral,” Banks At Risk

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It took a while. But it had to come, the public warning shot – after some ferocious lobbying behind closed doors. No one in Germany is allowed to get in the way of the sacrosanct exporters. The German economy, to the chagrin of neighboring countries, is based on them.

Coffee – The Craziest Chart Of The Year Already

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I’m a coffee lover, and this is getting personal: our latte, espresso, or just plain good coffee is going to bite fiercely into our already mauled pocket book. In one crazy chart.

What Caused The Glorious Jump In Household Wealth (In One Insanely Good Chart) And Who Will Blow It Up Again?

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on What Caused The Glorious Jump In Household Wealth (In One Insanely Good Chart) And Who Will Blow It Up Again?

The stock market has soared for five years, risks have ballooned, home prices have jumped. Gains built on the quicksand of endless liquidity and a lackluster economy. “Irrational exuberance” is back in the Fed’s vocabulary. As the Fed’s Fisher said, it may end “in tears.”

They Actually Don’t Have A Clue About Employment And Jobs, Not In California

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California is at it again. It released its employment and jobs reports today, in parallel with the national reports released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What a doozie. Is the California boom already over?

Loophole Makes Hilarious Mockery Of US Crude Oil Export Ban

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Washington is tangled up in spirited bouts of mudwrestling over exporting US crude oil, prohibited since the Arab oil embargo. Big Oil, environmentalists, consumer groups, lobbyists, lawmakers – they’re all at it. Yet, exports of “petroleum products” are soaring.

Aid for the Ukraine “Will Be Stolen” – Former Ukrainian Minister of Economy

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The US offered the Ukraine $1 billion in aid, the EU €11 billion. The IMF is working on its aid package. All to shift losses from lenders, bondholders, hedge funds… to taxpayers. But it won’t rescue the economy. Because it’s a cesspool of corruption and plundering oligarchs.