Category Archives: Budget Deficit

The Great Repression: Freedom of Speech in the Bond Market

We’re baffled anybody still looks to the U.S. bond market for signals of future economic activity, inflation, or even risk aversion.  Case in point is today’s 7-year bond auction, which CNBC’s Rick Santelli rated an eleven on a scale of … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Economics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Worldwide Debt

Shocking chart from Jeffery Gundlach’s  “Fall of the Roman Empire” presentation. Looks like the global central banks’ balance sheet expansion is only in the first inning.   Not by choice but by necessity. Freakin’ stunning! Click on chart to enlarge … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Flight to Quality Funding of the U.S. Budget Deficit

As we suspected in our last update in September, the flight to quality funding of the U.S. budget deficit would replace the end of QE2 and almost 100 percent indirect financing of the deficit by the Federal Reserve.  Looking at … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Fiscal Policy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Consequences of Euro Debt Monetization

As the pressure on ECB grows to step up its “bid of last resort” for European sovereign bonds, the folks over at Zero Hedge ask the very important question what are consequences if the ‘zone  resorts to massive debt monetization?    … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Dollar, Euro, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Biggest Bubble in History?

We are baffled by the analysis of the analyst community, some, of which, are not so analytical.  They say that  Europe’s fundamental problem is that it  has a central bank which is unwilling to monetize sizeable debt maturities which bondholders … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, BRICs, Budget Deficit, Commodities, Credit, Currency, Euro, Monetary Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Ominous

This shouldn’t be happening after this weekend’s  good political news.  The spread widening is weighing on France who will be on the hook for their banks who are heavily exposed to European sovereigns.  Where are you ECB?          (click here … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Budget Deficit, Charts, Euro, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The ECB Show

It all comes down to this.  Will the ECB provide the exit bid for those fleeing Italian bonds and, more importantly, will their action instill enough confidence to allow Italy to roll over existing maturities?  If it doesn’t bring back … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Budget Deficit, Euro, PIIGS, Politics, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Why the sovereign debt crisis is only in the third inning

And the heavy hitters have yet to be tested.  Click table to enlarge. (click here if table is not observable)

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One Factor Behind the High U.S. Unemployment Rate

The following chart is the most recent sixty-five-nation Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which shows the United States came in 15th in reading, 23rd in math and 31st in science.  This is one of the factors driving the high … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Deficit, Economics, Employment | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Euro Fracture: “Matters are turning serious” in Italy

It you’re looking for some Euro gloom, go no further than Ambrose Evans-Pritchard’s latest, Italy, Europe, and Red Brigade terror.   He writes that Italy risks an outbreak of terrorism if the labor market reform is rushed as the EU … Continue reading

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Budget Deficit, Euro, Fiscal Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment