Wolf Richter

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.

Obama’s Growth Forecast Bullish, Wall Street Exuberant, Corporate Insiders Freak-Out Bearish

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Despite breath-taking hype on Wall Street and President Obama’s budget that assumed economic growth of a glorious 3.1%, corporate executives and directors are quietly dumping their shares in bouts of extreme bearishness, just like they did before the last crash.

“Targeted” Sanctions, A Triumph For Russian Isolationists

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Regarding Russia’s Ukrainian campaign, Speaker of the House Boehner did what President Obama had done: posturing. “It’s time to stand up to Putin,” he said. NATO met. The UN Security Council met. EU Foreign Ministers met. Sanctions, that’s the common denominator.

NASDAQ 10,000 – Or Something

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“Paranormal liquidity stimulus” leads to “paranormal activity” to deliver that “parabolic overshoot” in asset prices. And there is no bubble in sight, not even in the Nasdaq Biotech index, which is up a cool 375%. Money is once again growing on trees.

Political Union In Europe: Governance Of, By, And For The Elite

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By Don Quijones, a freelance writer and translator based in Barcelona, Spain. His blog, Raging Bull-Shit, is a modest attempt to challenge some of the wishful thinking and scrub away the lathers of soft soap peddled by our political and business leaders and their loyal mainstream media. At the tail end of the week, a…

Small Investors Exuberant, Margin Debt And Risk Of Crash Soar

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Small investors are having fun in the stock market again, after years of sitting out the most phenomenal rally. They’re leveraging up their portfolios. Margin debt is spiking beautifully. Alas, spiking margin debt has a nasty habit of ending in a crash. In one painful chart.

The Relentless, Systematic Tear-Down Of The Dollar Hegemony

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How long before the dollar surrenders its status as world reserve currency and number-one payment currency to the Chinese yuan and to that other currency everyone loathes?

The Smart Money Quietly Abandons The Housing Market

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National averages paper over gritty details on the ground and are a crummy indicator as to what is happening in specific metro areas. But even with this caveat, a national average suddenly sounded an alarm for the housing market: the smart money is bailing out.

California Housing Bubble: Now Even Teachers Can No Longer Afford To Buy A Home

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Teachers are a symbol of the middle class. In California, they earn on average $69,300 annually, fifth highest in the country. Not exactly a pittance. But it is a ludicrous pittance if they’re trying to buy a home.

Walmart International: Lousy Economies ‘Everywhere We Operate’

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With over 6,400 stores in 26 countries outside the US, Walmart International has smacked into the same problems Walmart has encountered in the US: it’s tough out there.