MENA Region “reviving”
Great news out of Italy on Sunday evening. They will tax boats longer than 10 m. While majority still focus on stupidity out of Europe, the tensions in the Middle East are escalating.
IEAE has come out with reports claiming Iran is on the path of developing nuclear weapons. While the US and its allies have already pushed for new harsh sanctions against Iran, China, Russia and Turkey are urging for cautiousness. Israel is also shouting out loud. and could set off a nasty situation developing in the Middle East. Is a new power shift developing in the region? Must see video below;
Things that make you go hmmm
Great reading by Thing that make you go hmmm.
As well as highly correlated markets (see the chart, left, courtesy of Soc Gen which dem- onstrates that correlation amongst leading eq- uity markets is at nosebleed levels), we have markets in which the various vested interests are almost completely aligned, we have a brand new Coalition of The Willing (although this one was infinitely simpler to put together than its predecessor) which involves the vast majority of investors, governments, Central Banks and regulatory bodies the world over and, amongst that coalition, we have a common willingness to turn a blind eye to the realities facing the world; namely, too much debt and too few ways to pay it off. After all, a LOT of money would be lost and
SOURCE: SOCIETE GENERALE a lot of banks would go to the wall should the reality of the situation actually be faced.
Only the ‘Evil Speculators’ and ‘Short-Sellers’ find themselves both out of alignment with the herd and unwilling to lift the telescope to a failing eye – but then they’re all just evil, right?
Turning a blind eye is one thing. Willfully ignoring the truth is another but breaking a promise is an al- together different proposition. This week, in a breathtaking example of just how deeply-ingrained the principle of contrived ignorance is, French President Nicolas Sarkozy stepped to the microphone and made a promise that had basically already been broken when he pledged that no European country will default. A polite audience declined to mention the G-word – instead choosing to offer some rather half-hearted applause. Nelsonian markets were more than willing to take him at his word though.04December2011
Democracy and Debt
History of Debt by Mr Hudson.
Book V of Aristotle’s Politics describes the eternal transition of oligarchies making themselves into hereditary aristocracies – which end up being overthrown by tyrants or develop internal rivalries as some families decide to “take the multitude into their camp” and usher in democracy, within which an oligarchy emerges once again, followed by aristocracy, democracy, and so on throughout history.
Debt has been the main dynamic driving these shifts – always with new twists and turns. It polarizes wealth to create a creditor class, whose oligarchic rule is ended as new leaders (“tyrants” to Aristotle) win popular support by cancelling the debts and redistributing property or taking its usufruct for the state. (Full must read weekend article here)
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