Skip to content




The Central Banks’ Potemkin Villages

Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital made a through a dystopian view of our central banks’ inability to keep their hands from “fixing” the world’s problems:

Central bankers are feverishly attempting to create their own new world: a utopia in which debts are never restructured, and there are no consequences for fiscal profligacy, i.e. no atonement for prior sins. They have created Potemkin villages on a Jurassic scale. The sum total of the volatility they are attempting to suppress will be less than the eventual volatility encountered when their schemes stop working…

In the end, the EMU won’t look the same, if it exists at all. This is even before the tide turns on some of the world’s largest sovereign debtors like the United Kingdom, and of course the biggest debt zombie of them all:    Japan. Trillions of dollars of debts will be restructured and millions of financially prudent savers will lose large percentages of their real purchasing power at exactly the wrong time in their lives. Again, the world will not end, but the social fabric of the profligate nations will be stretched and in some cases torn. Sadly, looking back through economic history, all too often war is the manifestation of simple economic entropy played to its logical conclusion.  We believe that war is an inevitable consequence of the current global economic situation.


For now, Mr. Bass has put his focus on Japan where he sees a rapid and unexpected deterioration due to an aging population, shifting current account status, and a massive debt load:

We believe that Japan is teetering on the precipice of financial collapse, and any number of data points or events in the coming weeks and months could be the proverbial tipping point.    It could be as significant as a negative structural current account, a revocation of BOJ policy independence, or even political and economic conflict with regional neighbors or perhaps something as innocuous as ratings actions or Basel III regulations that force financial institutions to reduce their hugely concentrated exposure to JGBs. What we do know is that when it does break loose, 20 years of suppressed spring‐loaded interest rate volatility on the back of the largest peacetime accumulation of sovereign debt will afford no time to readjust portfolios to get out of the way.

Read the full letter here: [Download not found]

Posted in Economics, Markets, Politics.

Tagged with , , , , , , , .


Noteworthy News – November 19, 2012

Economy:

Cash has been piling up on companies’ balance-sheets since before the crisis – Economist

European economy guide: Polarised prospects – Economist

Euro zone slips into second recession since 2009 – Reuters

Twinkie maker Hostess reaches the end of the line – Seattle PI

Markets:

Learning to Love Volatility – Wall Street Journal

Wenzhou property ‘crash’ may spread – People’s Daily Online

Speculators Find Loopholes in French Transaction Tax – Bloomberg

Politics:

German central bank chief: Greece will eventually need debt haircut, after cuts and reforms – Washington Post

Prison of Debt Paralyzes West – Der Spiegel

Why Washington Has It Wrong on Small Business – Wall Street Journal

Banks:

2 Banks to Settle Case for $417 Million – New York Times

Federal Reserve releases scenarios for bank stress tests – Reuters


Posted in Economics, Markets, Media, Politics.


Colbert Explains Super PACs

Posted in Media.


Eurozone Crisis Explained by 4Chan

Posted in Economics, Politics.

Tagged with .


Noteworthy News – November 12, 2012

Economy:

US Recession Probabilities – St. Louis Fed

Jim Rogers: Global economic shocks coming in 2013-2014 [Video] – RT

What Really Happens When a City Makes Its Transit System Free? – The Atlantic

Foxconn Sees New Source Of Cheap Labor: The United States – Forbes

Markets:

Stocks Plunge 2% After Election, Dow Skids 300 – CNBC

Eight companies sued by N.J. for post-Sandy price gouging – NJ.com

Should Science Majors Pay Less for College Than Art Majors? – The Atlantic

Politics:

Going Over The Fiscal Cliff Isn’t The Problem, It’s The Solution – Business Insider (Peter Schiff)

US Set to Restage Greek Tragedy – Spiegel

Banks:

London to lose title of world’s finance capital, study warns – The Guardian

How much capital did banks opt to hold when they had the choice? – Economist


Posted in Economics, Markets, Media, Politics.




Copyright © 2009-2013 SurlyTrader DISCLAIMER The commentary on this blog is not meant to be taken as an investment advice. The author is not a registered investment adviser. There is no substitute for your own due diligence. Please be aware that investing is inherently a risky business and if you chose to follow any of the advice on this site, then you are accepting the risks associated with that investment. The Author may have also taken positions in the stocks or investments that are being discussed and the author may change his position at any time without warning.

Yellow Pages for USA and Canada SurlyTrader - Blogged

ypblogs.com