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Knife Drawn, the Bundesbank Attacks the ECB, and German Industrialists Tremble

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Knife Drawn, the Bundesbank Attacks the ECB, and German Industrialists Tremble

The Bundesbank lashes out at the ECB for its decision to print money and buy crappy bonds of eurozone countries that lived high on the hog for years but are crumbling under a pile of debt. This puts it on collision course with the German industrialists that got rich off those countries. Angela Merkel is caught in between.

Swiss Franc Wreaks Havoc In Switzerland

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Swiss Franc Wreaks Havoc In Switzerland

The run-up of the Swiss franc entailed a stock-market crash, gigantic hits to wealth invested overseas, and big losses in Swiss pension funds. Companies are reeling. Layoffs and a recession are next. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) flooded the market with francs, intervened in the currency markets, and forced real interest rates into negative territory. Without much success.

Oops, Inventory Correction

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Oops, Inventory Correction

We really don’t need this. First it was rumors, now it has been announced in an earnings call. Two harmless sounding words: inventory correction. In a healthy economy, it causes a run-of-the-mill business cycle recession. In our economy, it can get ugly. Watch out, second half.

Fed’s Policies Slam Us Again

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Fed’s Policies Slam Us Again

July inflation is red hot, real wages are down, and real yields are more negative than ever, exactly what the Fed wants. The destruction of the American middle class continues.How these policies will pull us out of our economic debacle is mathematically unclear.

NY Fed: Execs Are Drinking Their Own Kool-Aid

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on NY Fed: Execs Are Drinking Their Own Kool-Aid

The New York Fed proves it (unwittingly): Executives are optimists who invariably, and falsely, assume the future is better than current conditions, though realty is staring them in the face.

Chain Restaurants Are Conquering France

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Chain Restaurants Are Conquering France

And so is obesity. Good food and leisurely meals bien arrosé are considered the glue that keeps families, and French society, together. And yet, chain restaurants have elbowed their way in and now control 20% of the total restaurant market.

Importing Fiasco

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Importing Fiasco

$373.6 billion got vacuumed out of the USA in just six months. And was replaced by debt.

Tsunami Broke off Giant Icebergs in Antarctica

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Tsunami Broke off Giant Icebergs in Antarctica

The horrific tsunami from the earthquake off the coast of Japan made it all the way across the Pacific to the Antarctica and caused the calving of huge icebergs. The event was captured by satellite images. And refreshingly, for once, no one tried to force-link it to global warming.

Germany, Model Economy Du Jour

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Germany, Model Economy Du Jour

All Tax And No Play. But they still can’t balance their budget or bail out Italy.
While we’re having all the fun.

Red-Hot Inflation Blows across the Pacific

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Red-Hot Inflation Blows across the Pacific

Chinese inflation numbers just came out, and they’re sizzling. But those are the official numbers, and even officials admit that actual inflation is much higher still. Labor costs are spiraling out of control. And it’s all blowing our way. Exactly what we need.