“I’m Not Crazy, I’m Scared” – Why For One Trader, This Time It Is Different

traders brokers hands on face stock market collapse

“I’m Not Crazy, I’m Scared” – Why For One Trader, This Time It Is Different (ZeroHedge, April 24, 2015):

Bloomberg’s Richard Breslow, author of “Trader’s Notes” is painfully accurate with his latest take on the “markets.”

I’m Not Crazy, I’m Scared

Read more“I’m Not Crazy, I’m Scared” – Why For One Trader, This Time It Is Different

Dutch Central Banker Fired For Being A ‘Nazi Cross-Dressing, Nymphomaniac, Dominatrix’ Prostitute

Flashback:

Insider Exposed NEW WORLD ORDER Plans In 1969 (MP3 & Transcipt)

“Pornography, violence and obscenity on TV and in movies will be increased. People will be desensitized to violence and porn and made to feel life is short, precarious and brutish.”
– Dr Richard Day


Dutch Central Banker Fired For Being A “Nazi Cross-Dressing, Nymphomaniac, Dominatrix” Prostitute (ZeroHedge, April 16, 2015):

They say don’t let money printing get to your head, but for one now former central banker it is far too late.

The identity of the former employee of the Dutch Central Bank in question is unknown, what is known is that the money authority of the Netherlands has fired a 46-year-old female employee who for 6 of her 8 years with the central bank made money on the side as a “dominatrix prostitute who described herself as a high-class nymphomaniac and earned €10,000 a week dressing up as a Nazi and whipping men.”

conchita

While her real name remains unknown (although having worked previously for both ABN-AMRO and ING Bank it is only a matter of time before her ex-colleagues identify her) her “professional name” is public: Conchita van der Waal, as is her motto: “the kinkier the better”. Her role at the Dutch Central Bank is also unknown but according to the Irish Times she had a “supervisory” role.

Read moreDutch Central Banker Fired For Being A ‘Nazi Cross-Dressing, Nymphomaniac, Dominatrix’ Prostitute

Russia Cuts Interest Rate From 15% To 14%, Ruble Rises

Russia Cuts Interest Rate From 15% To 14%, Ruble Rises (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

Following the dramatic December surge in Russian interest rates when the Bank of Russia scrambled to preserve confidence in the then-plummeting currency and sent the interest rate to a whopping 17%, now that the oil price crash has stabilized it has been walking down this dramatic move, and after reducing rates by 2% on January 30 to 15%, moments ago the Bank of Russia once again cut rates this time by the expected 100 bps to 14%. The bank also said that more rate cuts are in the pipeline.

Read moreRussia Cuts Interest Rate From 15% To 14%, Ruble Rises

Bank Of Korea Unexpectedly Cuts Interest Rate To Record Low 1.75%, 24th Central Bank To Ease In 2015

Bank Of Korea Unexpectedly Cuts Interest Rate To Record Low 1.75%, 24th Central Bank To Ease In 2015 (ZeroHedge, March 11, 2015):

The currency war salvos just keep on coming.  Moments ago the BOK unexpectedly (the move was predicted by just 2 of 17 economists polled by Bloomberg) cut its policy rate from 2.00% to a record low 1.75%, in what is clearly a full-blown retaliation against the collapse currency of its biggest export competitor, Japan, whose currency has cratered to a level that many in South Korea believe has become a direct subsidy for its competing exports. As such the only question is why the BOK didn’t cut earlier. And following the surprise rate cut by Thailand earlier today, the “surprise” South Korean rate cut means there are now 24 easing policy actions by central banks in 2015 alone.

 …

Poland Cuts Rates More Than Expected, 21st Central Bank “Policy Ease” Of The Year

Poland Cuts Rates More Than Expected, 21st Central Bank “Policy Ease” Of The Year (ZeroHedge, March 4, 2015):

Just hours after India’s ‘surprise’ rate cut (which saw the SENSEX surge and then dump to close red), Poland has surprised the market with a bigger-than-expected rate cut. Despite two-thirds of econmomists expecting a mere 25bps cut, the Polish Central Bank slashed its benchmarket 7-day rate to just 1.5% – the lowest on record. Today’s cut “makes up for inaction in previous months” after Poland held rate flat in January and February (but echoes Poland’s Oct ‘surprise’ greater-than-expected ease of 50bps. Polish stocks dropped on the news (but recovered), banks are weaker, and the Zloty is selling off on this news (pushing back towards record lows)

  • *POLISH CENTRAL BANK CUT LOMBARD RATE TO 2.5%
  • *POLISH CENTRAL BANK CUTS KEY INTEREST RATE TO 1.50%
  • *POLISH CENTRAL BANK CUTS DEPOSIT RATE TO 0.5%

Poland is seeing economic growth and disinflationary pressures leaving the Central Bank with a policy conundrum…

Read morePoland Cuts Rates More Than Expected, 21st Central Bank “Policy Ease” Of The Year

China Cuts Interest Rates, Takes Number Of Central Banks Easing In 2015 To 21

China Cuts Interest Rates, Takes Number Of Central Banks Easing In 2015 To 21 (ZeroHedge, Feb 28, 2015):

And then there were 21. Hours ago on Saturday, the country whose currency is largely pegged to the dollar which itself is now anticipating a rate hike in the coming months, surprised the world by confirming its economic slowdown yet again following a recent rate cut just this past November when it lowered its benchmark rate by 40 bps, after it again cut benchmark lending and deposit rates by 25 bps starting on March 1. Specifically, the PBOC will lower the one-year lending rate to 5.35% from 5.6% and its one-year deposit rate to 2.5% from 2.75%. It also said it would raise the maximum interest rate on bank deposits to 130% of the benchmark rate from 120%.

This Is The Biggest Problem Facing The World Today: 9 Countries Have Debt-To-GDP Over 300%

Well, it’s Not the biggest problem.


This Is The Biggest Problem Facing The World Today: 9 Countries Have Debt-To-GDP Over 300% (ZeroHedge, Feb 23, 2015):

If anyone has stopped to ask just why global central banks are in such a rush to create inflation (but only controlled inflation, not runaway hyperinflation… of course when they fail with the “controlled” part the money paradrop is only a matter of time) over the past 5 years, and have printed over $12 trillion in credit-money since Lehman, the bulk of which has ended up in the stock market, and which for the first time ever are about to monetize all global sovereign debt issuance in 2015, the answer is simple, and can be seen on the chart below.

It also shows the biggest problem facing the world today, namely that at least 9 countries have debt/GDP above 300%, and that a whopping 39% countries have debt-to-GDP of over 100%!

Global debt to gdp

Read moreThis Is The Biggest Problem Facing The World Today: 9 Countries Have Debt-To-GDP Over 300%

20 Central Banks Have Cut Rates In 2015 After “Surprise” Rate Cut By Israel To Record Low 0.1%

20 Central Banks Have Cut Rates In 2015 After “Surprise” Rate Cut By Israel To Record Low 0.1% (ZeroHedge, Feb 23, 2015):

Last week it was 19 central banks (including the ECB which accounts for 19 nations) which had cut rates in 2015, mostly in “surprise”, unexpected easing decisions. Moments ago the number became 20 when the Israel central bank just cut its interest rate by 0.15% to 0.1%, the lowest on record, a move which once again caught the market by surprise as only 3 of 23 analysts had predicted it.

Here is the decision from the Israel Central Bank, which may or may not be buying more shares of AAPL at the ATH:

Read more20 Central Banks Have Cut Rates In 2015 After “Surprise” Rate Cut By Israel To Record Low 0.1%

Turkey Central Bank Head Faces 2 Years In Jail For NOT Lowering Interest Rates

From the article:

“One wonders if that gives any ambitious American prosecutors any ideas?”


Turkey Central Bank Head Faces 2 Years In Jail For Not Lowering Interest Rates (ZeroHedge, Feb 17, 2015):

Having questioned the need for an independent central bank a week ago, saying that if they can’t cope with their duties, they will be held accountable, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed a lawsuit against the head of Turkey’s central bank, Erdem Basci. As Trend reports, the prosecutor accuses Basci of serious material damage inflicted to Turkey’s citizens as a result of an erroneous interest rate policy of the central bank.

Read moreTurkey Central Bank Head Faces 2 Years In Jail For NOT Lowering Interest Rates

David Stockman: The Global Economy Has Entered The Crack-Up Phase

David Stockman: The Global Economy Has Entered The Crack-Up Phase (PeakProsperity, Feb 15, 2015):

Few people understand the global economy and its (mis)management better than David Stockman — former director of the OMB under President Reagan, former US Representative, best-selling author of The Great Deformation, and veteran financier.

David is now loudly warning that events have entered the crack-up phase, which he predicts will be defined by the following 4 developments:

Read moreDavid Stockman: The Global Economy Has Entered The Crack-Up Phase

The Only Question About The So-Called ‘RECOVERY’

The Only Question About The So-Called “Recovery” (ZeroHedge, Feb 15, 2015):

We were almost eager to swallow the blue pill and admit that the “recovery” is an actual recovery this time (non-GAAP that is, one where all the economic data is first excluded)… and then we happened to glance at this chart, courtesy of Citigroup’s Matt King.

central bank interventions

Ignoring for a second the direct implication of what the chart highlights, namely that due to central bank intervention there is no more net supply of debt left in the world, now that for the first time ever, central banks are set to monetize all global government debt, something we showed previously…

Read moreThe Only Question About The So-Called ‘RECOVERY’

Sweden Central Joins The NIRP Club: Lowers Interest Rate To -0.1%, Launches QE

Sweden Central Joins The NIRP Club: Lowers Interest Rate To -0.1%, Launches QE (ZeroHedge, Feb 12, 2015):

“There are signs that underlying inflation has bottomed out, but the situation abroad is now more uncertain and this increases the risk that inflation will not rise sufficiently fast. The Executive Board of the Riksbank has therefore decided to cut the repo rate by 0.10 percentage points, to -0.10 per cent, and to adjust the repo-rate path down somewhat. At the same time, the interest rates on the fine-tuning transactions in the Riksbank’s operational framework for the implementation of monetary policy are being restored to the repo rate +/- 0.10 percentage point. Moreover, the Riksbank will buy government bonds for the sum of SEK 10 billion. These measures and the readiness to do more at short notice underline that the Riksbank’ is safeguarding the role of the inflation target as a nominal anchor for price setting and wage formation.”

When This Ends, Everybody Gets Hurt … And The End Is Uncomfortably Close

hindenburg-burning

When This Ends, Everybody Gets Hurt (Peak Prosperity, Jan 21, 2015):

It’s Already ‘Later’

My argument is that it’s already ‘later’. We’re living through the period of time when that dawning recognition of limits will finally burst over the horizon, shining a very bright spotlight on a frightening number of our global society’s unsustainable practices.

The most urgent of them all, as far as everyone reading this is concerned, is the very uncomfortable fact that it is our system of money that is most likely to break first and hardest because its very design demands endless growth, without which collapse ensues.

Read moreWhen This Ends, Everybody Gets Hurt … And The End Is Uncomfortably Close

The Magic Number Is Revealed: It Costs Central Banks $200 Billion Per Quarter To Avoid A Market Crash

The Magic Number Is Revealed: It Costs Central Banks $200 Billion Per Quarter To Avoid A Market Crash (ZeroHedge, Oct 21, 2014):

“For over a year now, central banks have quietly being reducing their support. As Figure 7 shows, much of this is down to the Fed, but the contraction in the ECB’s balance sheet has also been significant. Seen from this perspective, a negative reaction in markets was long overdue: very roughly, the charts suggest that zero stimulus would be consistent with 50bp widening in investment grade, or a little over a ten percent quarterly drop in equities. Put differently, it takes around $200bn per quarter just to keep markets from selling off.”

Russia Central Banks Scrambles To Halt Plunging Ruble, Spends Over $2 Billion In Last Three Days As Inflation Soars

Russia Central Banks Scrambles To Halt Plunging Ruble, Spends Over $2 Billion In Last Three Days As Inflation Soars (ZeroHedge, Oct, 8, 2014):

Recently, not a day passes without the Russian Ruble hitting new record lows against the US Dollar due to a combination of both capital outflows from Russia, tumbling prices of crude – Moscow’s most important export – which deteriorates Russia trade and current account position, coupled with the most acute USD strengthening in history in the past few months over fears of a tightening Fed.

Yet for whatever the reason, after stoically ignoring the impact of its tumbling currency on the domestic economy (and as a reminder, Japan would kill for a currency collapse of this magnitude: just think of the “economic renaissance” that would result if only Abenomics was right about killing your currency leading to growth… which it isn’t), the Kremlin is finally starting to feel the pinch leading to the biggest central bank intervention in FX markets since the start of the Ukraine campaign, buying Rubles for a third consecutive day at an amount of over $2 billion, with $1.75 billion purchased in the first two days of the current intervention attempt, and another $420 million in foreign currencies sold overnight according to Bank of Russia data.

Read moreRussia Central Banks Scrambles To Halt Plunging Ruble, Spends Over $2 Billion In Last Three Days As Inflation Soars

It’s Settled: Central Banks Trade S&P500 Futures

It’s Settled: Central Banks Trade S&P500 Futures (ZeroHedge, Aug 30, 2014):

Based on the unprecedented collapse in trading volumes of cash products over the past 6 years, one thing has become clear: retail, and increasingly, institutional investors and traders are gone, probably for ever and certainly until the Fed’s market-distorting central planning ends. However, one entity appears to have taken the place of conventional equity traders: central banks.

Courtesy of an observation by Nanex’s Eric Hunsader, we now know, with certainty and beyond merely speculation by tinfoil fringe blogs, that central banks around the world trade (and by “trade” we mean buy) S&P 500 futures such as the E-mini, in both futures and option form, as well as full size, and micro versions, in addition to the well-known central bank trading in Interest Rates, TSY and FX products.

Read moreIt’s Settled: Central Banks Trade S&P500 Futures

Russia And India Begin Negotations To Use National Currencies In Settlements, Bypassing Dollar

BRICS-happy


Russia And India Begin Negotations To Use National Currencies In Settlements, Bypassing Dollar (ZeroHedge, July 31, 2014):

Over the past 6 months, there has been much talk about the strategic proximity between Russia and China, made even more proximal following the “holy grail” gas deal announced in May which would not have happened on such an accelerated time frame had it not been for US escalation in Ukraine.

And yet little has been said about that other just as crucial for the “new BRIC-centric world order” relationship, that between Russia and India. That is about to change when yesterday the Russian central bank announced that having been increasingly shunned by the west, Russia discussed cooperation with Reserve Bank of India Executive Director Shrikant Padmanabhan. The punchline: India agreed to create a task group to work out a mechanism for using national currencies in settlements. And so another major bilateral arrangement is set up that completely bypasses the dollar.

From the Russian Central Bank:

Read moreRussia And India Begin Negotations To Use National Currencies In Settlements, Bypassing Dollar

By ‘Punishing’ France, The US Just Accelerated The Demise Of The Dollar

By “Punishing” France, The US Just Accelerated The Demise Of The Dollar (ZeroHedge, July 4, 2014):

Not even we anticipated this particular “unintended consequence” as a result of the US multi-billion dollar fine on BNP (which France took very much to heart). Moments ago, in a lengthy interview given to French magazine Investir, none other than the governor of the French National Bank Christian Noyer and member of the ECB’s governing board, said this stunner at the very end, via Bloomberg:

  • NOYER: BNP CASE WILL ENCOURAGE ‘DIVERSIFICATION’ FROM DOLLAR

Here is the full google translated segment:

Q. Doesn’t the role of the dollar as an international currency create systemic risk?

Noyer: Beyond [the BNP] case, increased legal risks from the application of U.S. rules to all dollar transactions around the world will encourage a diversification from the dollar. BNP Paribas was the occasion for many observers to remember that there has been a number of sanctions and that there would certainly be others in the future. A movement to diversify the currencies used in international trade is inevitable. Trade between Europe and China does not need to use the dollar and may be read and fully paid in euros or renminbi. Walking towards a multipolar world is the natural monetary policy, since there are several major economic and monetary powerful ensembles. China has decided to develop the renminbi as a settlement currency. The Bank of France was behind the popular ECB-PBOC swap and we have just concluded a memorandum on the creation of a system of offshore renminbi clearing in Paris. We have very strong cooperation with the PBOC in this field. But these changes take time. We must not forget that it took decades after the United States became the world’s largest economy for the dollar to replace the British pound as the first international currency. But the phenomenon of U.S. rules expanding to all USD-denominated transactions around the world can have an accelerating effect.

In other words, the head of the French central bank, and ECB member, Christian Noyer, just issued a direct threat to the world’s reserve currency (for now), the US Dollar.

Read moreBy ‘Punishing’ France, The US Just Accelerated The Demise Of The Dollar

India’s Central Bank Will Sell Gold On The Market In Exchange For Gold At The Bank Of England

India’s Central Bank Will Sell Gold on the Market in Exchange for Gold at the Bank of England (Liberty Blitzkrieg, July 2, 2014):

India’s gold policy over the last several years is about as dysfunctional as any government policy I have ever seen, and that’s saying a lot. In case you need a reminder, here are a few posts I have written on the subject:

The Times of India: “Almost Every Passenger on a Flight from Dubai to Calicut Was Found Carrying 1kg of Gold”

Gold Smuggling Increases 7x in India and Surpasses Illegal Drug Trade

Indian Temples Fight Back Against Government Gold Grabbing Plot

In a nutshell, Indians were buying too much gold for their government’s comfort, so the “authorities” stepped in with duties and import restrictions in an attempt to stifle the trade. So smuggling soared.

Fast forward to today. It appears the government has finally realized they can’t stop their citizens penchant for gold, so they have decided to dump central bank gold onto the market. What is incredible to me is that they are justifying this with a so-called “swap” into phantom gold at the Bank of England. The favored global hub of shady, rent-seeking, banker oligarchs.

What’s even more interesting about this is the fact that so many Central Banks seems to be swapping or selling their gold to Western interests. Most notably Ecuador selling to Goldman Sachs, which I highlighted in the piece: Ecuador to Transfer More Than Half its Gold Reserves to Goldman Sachs in Exchange for “Liquidity.”

Now from Reuters:

MUMBAI, July 2 (Reuters) – India’s central bank said on Wednesday it has sought quotes from banks to swap gold in its own vaults for international-standard gold, aiming to improve the management of its reserves.

Read moreIndia’s Central Bank Will Sell Gold On The Market In Exchange For Gold At The Bank Of England

BIS Slams ‘Market Euphoria’, Finds ‘Puzzling Disconnect’ Between Economy And Market

BIS, the central bank of central banks, is located in Basel, Switzerland, but it also has branches in Hong Kong and Mexico City.  It is essentially an unelected, unaccountable central bank of the world that has complete immunity from taxation and from national laws.  Even Wikipedia admits that “it is not accountable to any single national government.

Related info:

Another Conspiracy ‘Theory’ Becomes Conspiracy ‘Fact’: ‘Cluster Of Central Banks’ Have Secretly Invested $29 TRILLION In The Market

40 Central Banks Are Betting This Will Be The Next Reserve Currency


bis-bank-for-international-settlements-basel-switzerland

BIS Slams “Market Euphoria”, Finds “Puzzling Disconnect” Between Economy And Market (ZeroHedge, June 29, 2014):

“… it is hard to avoid the sense of a puzzling disconnect between the markets’ buoyancy and underlying economic developments globally….  Despite the euphoria in financial markets, investment remains weak. Instead of adding to productive capacity, large firms prefer to buy back shares or engage in mergers and acquisitions.

As history reminds us, there is little appetite for taking the long-term view. Few are ready to curb financial booms that make everyone feel illusively richer.  Or to hold back on quick fixes for output slowdowns, even if such measures threaten to add fuel to unsustainable financial booms. Or to address balance sheet problems head-on during a bust when seemingly easier policies are on offer. The temptation to go for shortcuts is simply too strong, even if these shortcuts lead nowhere in the end.

     – Bank of International Settlements, 84th Annual Report

It was a year ago when the general manager of the Bank of International Settlements (the central banks’ central bank), Jamie Caruana warned that the “Monetary Kool-Aid Party Is Over.” Since then central banks have proven their own supervisor wrong in their ability to kick the can, because even as the Fed has commenced tapering its own QE (due to the same bond market liquidity issues we warned about last summer) the ECB has more than offset the Fed’s brief attempt at policy normalization by escalating, for the first time in history, from ZIRP to NIRP. In other words, the Kool-Aid keeps flowing.

Which brings us to the BIS’ just released annual report. There are many reason to read the full report cover to cover, but perhaps the most prominent one is that, once again, the Bank of International Settlements has merely compiled a book report of all Zero Hedge posts not only over the past year, but since our inception.

A quick summary of the report comes from FT:

Read moreBIS Slams ‘Market Euphoria’, Finds ‘Puzzling Disconnect’ Between Economy And Market

Another Conspiracy ‘Theory’ Becomes Conspiracy ‘Fact’: ‘Cluster Of Central Banks’ Have Secretly Invested $29 TRILLION In The Market

–  “Cluster Of Central Banks” Have Secretly Invested $29 Trillion In The Market (ZeroHedge, June 16, 2014):

Another conspiracy “theory” becomes conspiracy “fact” as The FT reports a cluster of central banking investors has become major players on world equity markets.” The report, to be published this week by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), confirms $29.1tn in market investments, held by 400 public sector institutions in 162 countries, which “could potentially contribute to overheated asset prices.” China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has become “the world’s largest public sector holder of equities”, according to officials, and we suspect the Fed is close behind (courtesy of more levered positions at Citadel), as the world’s banks try to diversify themselves and “counters the monopoly power of the dollar.” Which leaves us wondering where are the central bank 13Fs?

While most have assumed that this is likely, the recent exuberance in stocks has largely been laid at the foot of another irrational un-economic actor – the corporate buyback machine. However, as The FT reports, what we have speculated as fact for many years now (given the death cross of irrationality, plunging volumes, lack of engagement, and of course dwindling credibility of central planners)… is now fact…

Read moreAnother Conspiracy ‘Theory’ Becomes Conspiracy ‘Fact’: ‘Cluster Of Central Banks’ Have Secretly Invested $29 TRILLION In The Market

In Explosive Scandal, Head Of Polish Central Bank Recorded Promising Assistance To Government If Minister Fired

–  In Explosive Scandal, Head Of Polish Central Bank Recorded Promising Assistance To Government If Minister Fired (ZeroHedge, June 15, 2014):

Remember when conventional wisdom said central banks are apolitical and impartial, and anyone who claimed that the world’s money printers (which in the New Normal of failed fiscal policy means the only source of stimulus, and thus infinite political leverage and an existence “above the law”) are in fact the most political and partial entities was, what else, a conspiracy theorist? Well, there goes another conspiracy theory, replaced by conspiracy fact.

Yesterday, Polish magazine Wprost released a recording of a meeting between Interior Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz and central bank Governor Marek Belka which took place in a Warsaw restaurant in July 2013. In the recording, Belka told the minister he would be willing to help the government out of its economic troubles if the finance minister was fired.

Read moreIn Explosive Scandal, Head Of Polish Central Bank Recorded Promising Assistance To Government If Minister Fired

In 1913 The City of London Zionist private Central Bankers successfully hijacked the American Monetary Production and Distribution System

AIPAC1

A Terrible Price to Pay (Veterans Today, June 7, 2014):

In 1913 The City of London Zionist private Central Bankers successfully hijacked the American Monetary Production and Distribution System.

This was done by use of  stealth, bribery and massive political influence and was completely illegal despite any and all claims to the otherwise.

This terrible Treason and Sedition by top USG Officials placed complete control over the whole American economy in the hands of the World Zionists (WZs) and their International Crime Syndicate, the IZCS.

This essentially gave the WZs control over all the personal property, the fruits of labor and production of almost every normal American and all their futures with NO oversight of Congress or any institution of the USG at all, NONE.

Russia Dumped Record Amount Of US Treasurys, Bought 900,000 Ounces Of Gold Worth $1.17 Billion In April

Putin chess

As Russia Dumps A Record Amount Of US Treasurys, Here Is What It Is Buying (ZeroHedge, May 21, 2014):

Last week we commented that based on TIC data, while “Belgium’s” unprecedented Treasury buying spree continues, one country has been dumping US bonds at an unprecedented rate, and in March alone Russia sold a record $26 billion, or 20% of its holdings.

So as Russia is selling a record amount of US paper, what is it buying? For the answer we go to Goldcore which tells us thatRussia Buys 900,000 Ounces Of Gold Worth $1.17 Billion In April.”

 Putin-Gold