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  1. #21
    Speedy Az winner69's Avatar
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    Whats the panic ..... RBD is up today

  2. #22
    SRV is a God STRAT's Avatar
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    Another box of band aids should secure that severed leg

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday threw his weight behind proposals for near-term actions to stimulate economic growth to ward off an election-year recession, but warned such a plan could do more harm than good unless put together quickly.
    Fed chief Ben Bernanke told the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee that the U.S. central bank was not forecasting recession, but he repeated it was ready to act aggressively to prop up growth. He said a fiscal package could be effective if used in concert with interest-rate cuts.
    Bernanke's comments, which lent impetus to efforts on Capitol Hill to assemble a package of stimulus steps, also reinforced a view in financial markets that a half-percentage point rate reduction will come at the end of the month.
    "Fiscal action could be helpful in principle, as fiscal and monetary stimulus together may provide broader support for the economy than monetary actions alone," Bernanke said.
    Other Fed officials, speaking at other locations, said they were worried enough about the economy to back further cuts in interest rates. The central bank has already lowered benchmark rates by 1 percentage point to 4.25 percent since mid-September.
    DO IT NOW
    A sense of urgency has set in at the White House and among lawmakers on Capitol Hill about how to prop up an economy that some analysts say may have already fallen into recession.
    The White House confirmed it was working on a stimulus plan and President George W. Bush was set to consult congressional leaders later on Thursday about measures that might be in it.
    House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said talks were focusing on a package in the $100 billion to $150 billion range.
    Bernanke said $50 billion to $150 billion would be a reasonable size and provide "measurable" benefit to the economy. But he specified it was "critically important" that any fiscal measures be designed to spur spending quickly and deliver their maximum impact within the next 12 months.
    A delayed stimulus that kicks in when it is no longer needed could cause the economy to overheat and generate inflation, Bernanke warned.
    The idea of a quick fiscal stimulus package has taken flight in the past two weeks as rapid-fire reports showed U.S. unemployment hit a two-year high in December, while retail sales fell and manufacturing activity stalled.
    Lawmakers are considering a package that could extend tax rebates of about $250 to $600 to individuals and give businesses a bigger tax break on new investments.
    OUTLOOK DIM
    Bernanke repeated a bleak assessment of the economy's health that he delivered in a speech last week. "Recently, incoming information has suggested that the baseline outlook for real activity in 2008 has worsened and that the downside risks to growth have become more pronounced," Bernanke warned.
    "We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks," he said.
    Bernanke's somber take on the economy and a big drop in a gauge of factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region drove down the value of the dollar and gave a lift to bond prices as traders increased bets on further interest-rate cuts.
    Stock prices fell as the factory gauge and news of a big loss at brokerage Merrill Lynch deepened economic fears. In mid-afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was down about 200 points.
    Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher, a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee, echoed Bernanke's vow to act aggressively to help an economy hit hard by a housing market downturn and tighter credit.
    Another voter, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Sandra Pianalto, said residential housing markets remain "in freefall" and said policy-makers had to be "highly flexible."
    A third regional Fed bank chief, Atlanta's Dennis Lockhart, said the Fed must be prepared to respond to a souring outlook. "In my view, pragmatism in the face of growing weakness in the general economy may very well require additional moves to lower the federal funds rate," he said.
    Bernanke noted that financial markets around the world have been under strain since late last summer, largely because of problems in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, where foreclosures have been rising sharply.
    Last edited by STRAT; 09-10-2010 at 09:56 AM.

  3. #23
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    Exclamation Two sides to this coin

    18 January 2008
    China insulates base metals from meltdown


    SPREADING credit woes and bearish economic data have wiped tens of billions of dollars off global stock markets since the start of the year, intensifying fears that the US may already be in a recession, but analysts say base metals will withstand the pressure from a slowing global economy.

    China's economy is sufficiently decoupled from the US to keep metal demand growth buoyant in the medium to longer term, according to analysts, with Goldman Sachs leaving its commodity forecasts unchanged despite forecasting a recession in the US.
    "There won't be much impact on metal demand growth. China is the primary driver for metal demand, while we accept that its economy isn't completely decoupled from the US," said analyst Tom Price at Merrill Lynch.
    China consumes two to four times more metal than the US and makes up between 75 per cent and 100 per cent of demand growth for many commodities, according to the bank.
    Base metals haven't escaped the turmoil in financial markets this week, as poor consumer spending data and record quarterly losses for Citigroup and Merrill Lynch battered investor confidence, sending equities to multi-month lows.
    The London Metal Exchange bellwether copper contract plunged as much as 6 per cent below the $US7000 a tonne mark.
    But this proved short-lived, and buying interest in Asia helped LME copper bounce back to about $US7080 a tonne amid reports of fresh fund money moving into the market, taking advantage of lower prices in an asset class that is relatively insulated from credit woes and offers portfolio diversification.
    "The outlook for China's economy is robust," said Citigroup analyst Alan Heap.
    "And while Beijing would like to trim growth to stop the economy from overheating, there is no undue concern for metals as China will continue with its infrastructure program."
    Tighter credit conditions could hurt demand for metals, but the Government's efforts so far have had limited success, say analysts.
    In a bid to rein in inflation, China recently reduced import tariffs on metals and oil and levied export tariffs on agricultural commodities, which should support domestic demand growth and restocking.
    Copper imports for December bolstered this view, rising 0.6 per cent from the previous month but surging 78.1 per cent year on year, on strong economic growth and restocking by Chinese firms.
    "China's latest numbers were reasonably strong and confirmed our forecast of $US3.50 a pound ($US7714/tonne) for 2008," Mr Heap said.
    The US itself will avoid a recession, many forecasters aside from Goldman Sachs still believe, as a result of the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate cuts and chairman Ben Bernanke's reiterating a commitment to make "substantive" rate cuts if needed.
    There is also the view that bearish news for metal consumption in the US cannot get much worse after the steep declines during 2006 and 2007, when new housing starts fell substantially and manufacturing activity slowed.
    This should limit the risk for another sharp fall in consumption, Mr Heap said.
    However, not everyone plays to the same tune. MF Global analyst Edward Meir believes China cannot escape a slowdown in the US economy that remains seven times larger than that of China, generating $US9.5 trillion ($10.8trillion) in consumer spending compared with $US1trillion.
    And while copper can largely ignore a US slowdown, aluminium should face more of a struggle. The US makes up 12 per cent of global copper demand, rising to 18 per cent for aluminium, and a substantial part ofChina's aluminium semi-manufactured output is destined for export.
    But despite a "less than inspiring global macro backdrop", base metal supply increases would not match an expected rebound in demand during the second half of the year, when lower interest rates filtered through, setting base metals on a path of recovery, said Mr Meir. – The Australian

  4. #24
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    Default Just like the demise of the Roman Empire

    Does this feel like a snowball going down a hill and picking everthing up in its path
    Does it fell like u r on a run away train and u can not get off

    All I can say is do a bit of research on the great depression.

    THE BIG PROBLEM FACING THIS RECESSION IS PEAK OIL, THE EFFECT EXPENSIVE ENERGY HAS ON THE WORLD ECOMONY.

    We should all be thinking how we can insulate ourselves from this mass destruction and plan for the future.



    Shares slump on worries over US


    Investors remain worried about the state of the US economy

    European stock markets have suffered sharp losses amid growing fears of a recession in the US.
    By 0845 GMT, London's FTSE-100 index was down more than 2%, in Paris the Cac-40 fell more than 2.5% and in Frankfurt the Dax was down almost 3%.
    It was a gloomy Monday in Tokyo too, as the Nikkei fell by 3.9% to its lowest close since October 2005.
    The markets have taken little comfort from measures to boost the US economy proposed by President Bush on Friday.
    The state of the US economy is very important to Asia's biggest companies because American consumers are some of their top customers.
    In Mumbai stocks were also hit, the Sensex index fell 987 points or 5.2%, adding to an 8% fall last week.
    The Hang Seng slumped 1,383.0 points, or 5.5%, to close at 23,818.9,
    Australia's benchmark ASX 200 index closed down 2.9% or 166.9 points at 5,580.4, which is its lowest level for a year. It was also the 11th consecutive negative day for the index, which has not happened for more than 25 years. Markets in China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines also fell

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by SectorSurfa View Post
    mass destruction

    demise

    roman empire



    oh please spare me the drama.

    Tricha, you are one emotional rollercoaster aren't you!

    How long have you been in the stockmarket?
    Since about 1985, not long before the crash of 87.

    Do yourself a favour Sector, go and read a book called " 1000 Barrells a second " Do a little research on the Great Depression and The Fall of The Roman Empire.

    See if that makes any sense Then come back and have another go

  6. #26
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    [quote=tricha;181866]
    THE BIG PROBLEM FACING THIS RECESSION IS PEAK OIL, THE EFFECT EXPENSIVE ENERGY HAS ON THE WORLD ECOMONY.

    We should all be thinking how we can insulate ourselves from this mass destruction and plan for the future.

    I am inclined to agree with the latter statement but not the former. THe big problem is the US and to a lesser extent the rest of the world spending more than it has been earning for the last few years. Oil is only one part of this over-expenditure.

    Yes a plan for insulation is important. Currently mine is to own yen. However I am not sure what to do in the long run. Perhaps in 6 months when the bottom appears to have arrived start getting back into food, security and energy stocks. I am sure security is going to become a big issue in a post 2008 crash world as those who have to newly learn to be poor try to collar some of the resources they might feel have been robbed from them.
    Empty kookaburras make the most sound.
    Lessons from a snake-eater

  7. #27
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    "I Got It Wrong", Says Soros

    "The current crisis marks the end of an era of credit expansion based on the dollar as the international reserve currency. The periodic crises were part of a larger boom-bust process. The current crisis is the culmination of a super-boom that has lasted for more than 60 years." - George Soros

    Thus legendary hedge fund trader George Soros suggested, in an article written for London's Financial Times on Tuesday, ahead of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the world was now possibly facing the worst recession it has seen in 60 years. This has proven the hottest article on the net this week, picked up by newspapers and wire services from Sydney to Shanghai.

    "I got it wrong", said Soros. "I have always felt fallible and I have always acted fallible. If I have a bit of an edge it is because I know what I know. I did make the mistake predicting a serious calamity. I got a bit carried away. I do not normally do that." - George Soros

    The above quote appeared in London's Daily Telegraph. However, it actually appeared on March 23, 2001. At the time, the world was suffering from the bursting of the dotcom bubble. But Soros was making reference to his 1998 book entitled "The Crisis of Global Capitalism", which he wrote following the historic collapse of hedge fund LTCM that year and the subsequent bail-out of the world financial system by central banks. While Soros then suggested he got a bit carried away in predicting the end of the world as we know it, and that he doesn't normally do that, it seems Soros is back for another swing. The sky may not have fallen in 1998, but perhaps it will in 2008.

    Hungarian-born George Soros was well known in financial circles in the mid-nineties as the world's most influential hedge fund trader and guru. His was a classic American tale of the rags-to-riches immigrant. Hedge funds were fairly scarce in the nineties, and held in some degree of awe, which is why the collapse of the biggest one - LTCM - was of such significance. That LTCM only lost US$6 billion seems almost inconsequential in the context of today's credit crisis, where in excess of US$100 billion has already been written down across the globe.

    But the name Soros was soon to become a household one when he was credited in 1997 of actually causing the great Asian Currency Crisis of that year. Famously recalcitrant Malaysian president Mohamad Mahathir called the crisis a "Jewish conspiracy" in a thinly veiled attack on the hedge fund trader. Soros' only crime was to understand that the Little Tiger economies were allowing their currencies to appreciate at an unsubstantiated rate while building up huge current account deficits. So he began heavily shorting them against the US dollar. The rest is history.

    After every global financial crisis, the grey-beards of the economic world gather to figure out just what regulations they should put in place to stop it happening again. As you can probably gather from today's crisis, nothing much ever eventuates. But in 1998 the grey-beards found an ally in Soros. Despite being himself an iconic manifestation of free market capitalism, Soros was keen to argue the case for the regulation of derivative instruments in the wake of LTCM. This was part of his argument in his doomsaying book, so the grey-beards were keen to hear what he had to say. As far as they were concerned, Soros had passed back from the Dark Side.

    And so it is that the regulators have turned once again to the guru to address the annual World Economic Forum. Soros wrote the 60-year recession letter to the Financial Times as a precursor. Famous ex-Salomon Bros trainee and author of "Liar's Poker", Michael Lewis, last year described the meeting in Davos as such:

    "It's become almost obligatory for the world's most important economic people, at the beginning of each year, to travel joylessly to the base of a Swiss ski slope and worry. And to worry not privately, with dignity, but publicly, to anyone who will listen. Davos is where people with no talent for risk-taking gather to imagine what actual risk-takers might do." ("Davos is for Wimps"; FYI; 01/02/07).

    Unfortunately for Lewis, his cheeky attack on the value of the World Economic Forum at the time has come back to bite him on the backside. The grey-beards made a general statement last January that "The surging demand for derivatives is making financial markets more vulnerable to any slowdown in the global economy". On reflection (and this was just before the Shanghai Surprise which brought subprime mortgages to the attention of the world), this has proved to be one of the most glowingly prescient statements made in history. The only problem is, it was pretty much the same statement as was dusted off at Davos every year previously. But Lewis concluded:
    "None of them seemed to understand that when you create a derivative you don't add to the sum total of risk in the financial world; you merely create a means for redistributing that risk. They have no evidence that financial risk is being redistributed in ways we should all worry about. They're just - worried."

    Lewis was last seen consuming his fedora.

    So if Soros was wrong in '98, why should we listen to him this time? Why, indeed, should he be invited back to Davos once more when he last described himself in 2001 as an "over-aged prima donna"?

    The truth is that Soros' letter makes for compelling reading. He may be a prima donna, but he is a lucid one. As a stand-alone argument, it is hard to fault. But then not everyone agrees with it. A summary of the argument is appropriate at this point.

    "The current financial crisis was precipitated by a bubble in the US housing market. In some ways it resembles other crises that have occurred since the end of the second world war at intervals ranging from four to 10 years."

    This statement is then followed by that appearing at the top of this article - Soros has decided this is the big one - the credit crisis to end all crises. Boom-bust cycles usually occur as a result of a failure to recognise the "reflexive" connection between the willingness to lend and the value of the collateral, says Soros. In the case of this housing crisis, easy credit generated demand that pushed up property prices, which in turn increased the amount of credit available. The boom was soon feeding itself. When people buy houses in the expectation they can refinance their mortgages at a profit, a bubble has formed. But this recent boom-bust cycle is only a part of a greater and more complex 60-year (ie post-war) cycle .

    "Market fundamentalists believe that markets tend towards equilibrium and the common interest is best served by allowing participants to pursue their self-interest."

    This statement is no better illustrated than by the mantra chanted each day on one CNBC business program in the US: "Free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity". But as Soros rightly points out (and the program in question tends to gloss over, or even contradicts itself on this point), every time credit expansions run into trouble financial authorities have had to intervene, and have injected liquidity or found other ways to stimulate the economy. That is exactly, of course, what is happening right now. This is the "moral hazard".

    Thus fundamentalism is an "obvious misconception", notes Soros, as it has always been the intervention of the authorities which has prevented financial markets from breaking down, not the markets themselves. But since the 1980s, the point at which financial markets began to become globalised and the US began running a current account deficit, fundamentalists have dominated. "Globalisation allowed the US to suck up the savings of the rest of the world and consume more than it produced".

    It was the financial markets themselves which encouraged US consumers to borrow more by introducing ever more sophisticated instruments and more generous terms, notes Soros. But rather than restraining this practice, the authorities actually "aided and abetted" by intervening whenever the global financial system was at risk (eg, 1998). Since the eighties, "regulations have been relaxed as to practically disappear", which is an observation that supports the cynicism Michael Lewis displayed over Davos.

    "The super-boom got out of hand when the new products became so complicated that the authorities could no longer calculate the risks and started relying on the risk management methods of the banks themselves. Similarly, the rating agencies relied on the information provided by the originators of synthetic products. It was a shocking abdication of responsibility."

    This is a clear reference to the now famous collateralised debt obligation (CDO), among other exotics. So complex are these instruments, and so effectively clandestine, that the US Federal Accounting Standards Board simply capitulated and allowed for them to be valued for reporting purposes by the holders themselves - on a best guess basis. This is the now legendary method of "mark to myth".

    The ratings agencies also played their part, similarly sacrificing independence, and thus integrity, as a result. Rather than evaluating credit risk from arm's length, as they had always done in the past, the ratings agencies actually became complicit in the creation of the CDOs in the first place. The whole exercise was to find away to legally turn junk into AAA, and now the creators, the issuers and the agencies have all been found out. (And yes, there's all sorts of legal action in the offing).

    As Soros has suggested, "Everything that could go wrong did."

    What started with simple subprime mortgages spread to CDOs, mortgage insurance, and credit default swaps. The final blow came when banks could no longer trust their counterparties and stopped lending. "The central banks had to inject an unprecedented amount of money and extend credit on an unprecedented range of securities to a broader range of institutions than ever before. That made the crisis more severe than any since the second world war."

    Soros states the obvious in suggesting credit expansion must now be followed by a period of contraction. However, this time there's a problem. In the past, the world has always turned to the US as the saviour, as the US Federal Reserve is the keeper of the global reserve currency. But the capacity for the Fed to save the day is now constrained by the unwillingness of the rest of the world to absorb additional dollar reserves. Indeed, the world has been trying to move away from the US dollar ever since it was felt by all and sundry that the US current account (reflecting US profligacy) was getting out of hand.

    "Until recently, investors were hoping that the US Federal Reserve would do whatever it takes to avoid a recession, because that is what it did on previous occasions. Now they will have to realise that the Fed may no longer be in a position to do so."

    The ability of the Fed to stimulate the economy will come to an end, says Soros, when the yields on US long-term bonds begin to rise despite massive cuts of the cash rate. This would reflect a collapse of the US dollar due to inflation - inflation that is already being driven by the rapid rise of global oil and food prices. "Where that point is, is impossible to determine", says Soros. (US bond yields have risen sharply these past two sessions, ever since the emergency cash rate cut. But then yields have been very volatile ever since the crisis began.)

    And here comes the clincher.

    Although Soros suggests a recession in the "developed world" is more or less inevitable, he notes China, India and the Middle East are in a "very strong counter-trend". Hence the whole world will not fall into recession - there will simply be "a radical realignment of the global economy, with a relative decline of the US and the rise of China and other countries in the developing world." Soros is predicting the end of US hegemony.

    But this is not exactly the point that Soros began to argue at the outset. He has declared that the world indeed will be plunged into recession - the worst recession in 60 years. The fall of the US is not enough, in itself, to cause such a global calamity given the strength of emerging economies. What will affect such a calamity, suggests Soros, is the potential for resulting global political tensions, including US protectionism. This may "disrupt the global economy and plunge the world into recession or worse".

    Here endeth the lesson.


  8. #28
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    Question Part 2 - A bit of a story, but well worth it

    Speaking in Davos this week, Soros returned to his call of a decade ago for stringent regulation of the financial industry. The world needs a "new sheriff" for global finance. As Associated Press put it:

    "It was stark and jarring message coming from one of the richest businessmen in the world - albeit one who is no stranger to controversy and politics, and has seemed to pride himself on being a maverick".

    And, by his own admission, a "prima donna", and "fallible", and one prone to getting carried away. George Soros clearly likes the spotlight. But what do other commentators think of Soros' prediction?

    GaveKal's Anatole Kaletsky has been arguing since last year that the governments of the world would need to come up with a "Plan B" if the financial markets did not themselves resolve the credit crisis by the end of February. This would involve any or all of (a) central banks slashing rates, (b) governments offering tax incentives, or (c) regulators fudging accounting rules to ensure banks would keep lending. Well tick (a) and (b) and maybe (c) is loosely achieved if the regulators somehow save the bond insurers.

    Kaletsky thus asks, rhetorically, does all this mean the world is on the brink of a catastrophic economic crisis? Or does it mean the credit crunch is now over?

    Well we know which answer George Soros would give.

    Kaletsky suggests Soros is "unequivocally wrong" in suggesting this crisis is the worst the world has seen since the war. A mortgage problem and a 20% fall in stock prices "cannot remotely compare" with the crises of the 70s and 80s, says Kaletsky, when inflation and interest rates soared to 20%, stock markets plunged by 80% in real terms, major banks "fell like nine-pins" and unemployment was double or triple what it is now. But having said that, Kaletsky qualifies his accusations by suggesting Soros "offers the clearest and most persuasive 'case for the prosecution'" explaining how we got into this credit crisis mess in the first place. Kaletsky suggests Soros' letter as required reading.

    But he also suggests the letter may "nonetheless prove misleading" in anticipating just what might happen next.

    Kaletsky agrees that Soros' predictions of a global credit growth reversal, a slowdown in US consumption and a shift in economic power from the US to Asia "will all undoubtedly happen". However, he does not believe there is anything to suggest that these shifts will be so abrupt as to cause a serious recession, particularly the greatest recession in 60 years.

    Nor does Kaletsky disagree with Soros assessment of economic "fundamentalism" and its interventionary contradictions. But he does suggest Soros is wrong to believe the credit "super-cycle" has been the only "super-boom" driving the world economy. Three more powerful trends in recent decades have been the arrival of three billion new workers and consumers into the world economy (read the Chinese, the Indians et al), the global division of labour which results from almost universal free trade (call that another factor of "globalisation"), and the reduction of transport, communication and data processing costs to virtually zero (call that the internet). Says Kaletsky:

    "These secular trends and their consequences are nowhere near exhausted even if turns out that Soros is right to argue that the credit super-cycle is now over."

    Soros makes the argument that financial markets are "reflexive", suggesting there is no such thing as fundamental equilibrium as markets follow boom-bust cycles, constantly overshooting in each direction. Hence the 60-year super-boom will end with a super-bust. Part of the problem, says Soros, is that authorities always intervene in busts with some form of safety-net stimulation which then only makes the next boom-bust inevitable. While Kaletsky agrees with Soros' appraisal of equilibrium, he also argues it will be exactly such intervention which will prevent a calamitous bust. For while markets might be "reflexive" they are also "rational".

    This rationality means that we all naturally attempt to create wealth rather than destroy it, and if it wasn't for the occasional intervention of laissez-faire politicians overruling market forces - that is, crimping pure, free market capitalism - then we would truly descend into the sort of market mad-house Soros describes. "This is the main reason why the world economy has a natural bias towards long booms and short, shallow slow-downs", says Kaletsky.

    Of course, it is Soros' argument that ultimately the US will fail in its intervention attempts because the world is now shying away from excess US dollars. Therein will follow the shift of power. Kaletsky does not dispute this, he only suggests it will not happen quite so quickly as to bring about Soros' 60-year recession.

    Which suggests it's all a matter of timing. Soros was wrong in 1998. Will he be wrong again in 2008?"

  9. #29
    SRV is a God STRAT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MoSteph View Post
    Is it the walk away article you are referring to Mosteph?

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    Exclamation If u want something to scare the living daylight out of U, get your calculator out

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bermuda
    Tricha,
    Thanks for that post and the book received yesterday.

    A Thousand Barrels a Second....and production getting tighter every day.

    When will the USA run out of wallpaper?

    Agree Greenspan was the cause of all this.Kept on looking after his mates on Wall St instead of restricting credit. What a dipstick.


    U R welcome Bermuda, as we discussed last week, a lot relates to peak\cheap oil. Slowly getting into that book of yours, "Twilight in the Desert" up to page 41
    Imm I'm thinking they have run out of wall paper and all the cracks are appearing.

    How much oil does the US import Bermuda ?

    .................................................. ................................................

    I'm guessing at roughly 15,000,000 barrels a day x it by $30 = ...............

    Try it again at $60 a barrel = .................

    Try it again at $90 a barrel = .................



    They invaded Iraq to secure cheap oil, they beg the Saudi's to increase production.
    It's still $90 a barrel and the effect is starting to take it's toll and it does not stop there, as we all know, the rest of the world is addicted as WELL. I personally do not think The States are the only ones infected.



    Old news but relative to this

    US trade deficit widens sharply

    Petroleum imports hit a record

    The US trade deficit expanded to its highest level in 14 months in November as imports, especially of oil, overshadowed a rise in exports.
    The Commerce Department said that the trade deficit expanded by 9.3% to $63.1bn (£32bn) driven by a 16.3% jump in America's foreign oil bill.
    US exports rose by 0.4% to a new record of $142.3bn, getting a boost from the weaker dollar.
    Analysts said the growing deficit could weigh on US economic growth.
    But they added that the trade deficit, the gap between imports and exports, should narrow in the longer term as the weaker dollar makes US exports more competitive on world markets.
    The trade gap widened by more than expected, with economist forecasting a deficit of $59bn compared with $57.8bn in October. The US trade deficit with China shrank slightly to $24bn, down from a record high in October when shops were receiving shipments of toys in time for Christmas. However, the figures brought the year-to-date deficit with China to $237.5bn at the end of November, already eclipsing the annual record of $232.6bn set in 2006

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