Wolf Richter

Obama to EU: Get Your S__t Together; Got An Election Next Year

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Obama to EU: Get Your S__t Together; Got An Election Next Year

The White House is lobbying European governments to shut up and do something. No more disputes in public. No more disagreements over fundamental issues. The world is collapsing, and it’s time to act boldly. Hank Paulson’s extortion racket is back.

Cubilose Business: Poisonous Blood Nests Still A Delicacy in China

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Cubilose Business: Poisonous Blood Nests Still A Delicacy in China

All heck broke loose in China when Zhejiang’s Provincial Administration announced that 30,000 blood nests, the rarest and most expensive bird’s nest, contained high concentrations of sodium nitrite. They’d all been imported from Malaysia. And it opened the door to a huge scandal.

How Long Can Japan Play The Endgame?

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on How Long Can Japan Play The Endgame?

The Japanese quagmire has been getting deeper for years, but now the unique factors that supported its catastrophic indebtedness have reversed. And the endgame has started.

Country of the Setting Sun.

Cutting The Deficit: A Bipartisan Joke

by Wolf Richter •  • 6 Comments

President Obama’s proposal to cut the deficit by x trillion dollars is another punch line in the serial joke that our political machinery has been telling us for too long: that deficits will be “cut” in ten years, while the opposite (the jobs bill, for example) is needed immediately.

The scary graph of our gross national debt will look even scarier.

Tokyo Tidbit: Oldest Nation Sets New Record

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Tokyo Tidbit: Oldest Nation Sets New Record

Today is a national holiday in Japan: “Respect for the Aged Day.” That’s why the Ministry of Health released a slew of age-related statistics. Most astounding: the huge number of centenarians. And just how healthy they still are.

Bailout Rebellion in Germany Heats Up

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Bailout Rebellion in Germany Heats Up

Geithner gets smacked down, and Germany might be threatened by a populist movement to exit the E.U. For the first time ever, a clear majority of Germans no longer sees any benefits to being part of the Eurozone. And two-thirds reject aiding Greece and other heavily indebted countries.

Tokyo Tidbit: Still Doing That? But Not Only Japan

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Tokyo Tidbit: Still Doing That? But Not Only Japan

Many Japanese don’t understand why it’s still being done when most of the world opposes it. Yet it’s still being done: Japanese whalers caught 195 whales under a “research” program. But other countries do it, too. Yup, even us.

Snapshot Of Our Calamity Economy

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Snapshot Of Our Calamity Economy

The economy is going back to hell, but stock markets are surging. Nothing new. It always ends in tears. But this time, the Fed’s money-printing strategy will make things only worse. Today’s horrid numbers show us why.

Dear Ben, Please Make Us Trillionaires

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Dear Ben, Please Make Us Trillionaires

Trillionaire. Just the sound of it! It’s beautiful, Ben. But without your help, we’ll never get there. So, at your meeting next week, think about us. Because the way you make trillionaires is by printing money.

China Puts The Screws To BMW

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on China Puts The Screws To BMW

And BMW blinks. With sales of new vehicles approaching 18 million units in 2011, China is the largest car market in the world, far ahead of the US. No major car maker would want to miss out on the opportunities in China. Yet, there is a problem: Pressure by the Chinese Government to transfer the newest technologies.