SEC Investigating S&P’s Downgrade of U.S. Debt … The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to disclose which employees knew of its decision to downgrade U.S. debt before it was announced last week, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the matter. SEC’s move is part of a preliminary examination into potential insider trading, the FT said. – Reuters
Robert Zoellick: Global Markets Face a New ‘Danger Zone’ … World Bank chief Robert Zoellick has said that investors have lost confidence in the economic leadership of several key countries, warning global markets were in a “new danger zone” as a result. … “Frankly, markets are used to the United States playing a leading role in the economic system and leadership and so when they saw the ‘Sturm und Drang’ in Congress and with the executive, it made them uncertain about, well does the United States really know where it’s going? And is it going to get there?” – UK Telegraph
Syria Unrest: ‘Deadly Military Attack’ on Latakia Port … At least 19 people have been killed in the operation, according to activists and human rights groups. Explosions and gunfire have been reported in several districts of the city, which have seen large protests against the Syrian government. … Syria has come under increased diplomatic pressure in the past week to stop its crackdown on dissent. The US has imposed sanctions on Damascus and has said these could be increased, while calling on other countries to follow. – BBC
Starved State Budgets Inspire New Look at Web Gambling … It’s an idea gaining currency around the country: virtual gambling as part of the antidote to local budget woes. The District of Columbia is the first to legalize it, while Iowa is studying it, and bills are pending in places like California and Massachusetts. But the states may run into trouble with the Justice Department, which has been cracking down on all forms of Internet gambling. – NY Times
SEC Investigating S&P’s Downgrade of U.S. Debt
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to disclose which employees knew of its decision to downgrade U.S. debt before it was announced last week, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the matter. SEC’s move is part of a preliminary examination into potential insider trading, the FT said. – Reuters
Dominant Social Theme: The SEC will root out evil within the markets. Regulations will be enforced.
Free-Market Analysis: Well, this certainly doesn’t come as any surprise to us. The vitriolic criticism spewing out of the White House following S&P’s downgrade of US debt was nothing short of relentless, to say the least. Mainstream media have been equally prompt to parade out “experts” who joined in hammering the folks at S&P for making such a pronouncement. They have been called unpatriotic, foolhardy, etc. Even legendary investor Warren Buffett came out defending the Holy Grail of US-dollar debt. He went so far as to state that if there was a AAAA debt rating, he would give it to the US. So, when you have the establishment politicians, mainstream media and their enlightened “experts” (all from top government funded universities), along with mainstreet investors et al. coming out slamming the decision, it should not come as any shock that force would be brought to bear to teach the “party poopers” a lesson. … Enter the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In reality the SEC is an almost entirely useless operation. The reporting requirements have not helped a whit with the cyclical booms and busts of Western economies. Anybody who believes investing is “fairer” because the SEC monitors the financial industry and prosecutes insider trading is naïve in the extreme. Most if not all the SEC does cannot be justified economically. And the rest is merely window dressing.
The main thing the SEC does is provide regulatory cover for Wall Street’s largest financial entities. And you can bet your bottom depreciating dollar that Money Power does not like its dollar-debt Ponzi scheme to be critiqued, by S&P or anyone else.
Robert Zoellick: Global Markets Face a New ‘Danger Zone’
World Bank chief Robert Zoellick has said that investors have lost confidence in the economic leadership of several key countries, warning global markets were in a “new danger zone” as a result. … “Frankly, markets are used to the United States playing a leading role in the economic system and leadership and so when they saw the ‘Sturm und Drang’ in Congress and with the executive, it made them uncertain about, well does the United States really know where it’s going? And is it going to get there?” – UK Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: The World Bank can bring a steady hand to deal with the financial crises.
Free-Market Analysis: No one knows exactly where all this drama is headed, although we are willing to venture a guess. Ever since we launched this modest online publication, we have suggested that an international power elite, or money power, has been machinating how to install global governance – often referred to as a new world order. The real globalist power base, consisting of an unfathomably wealthy syndicate of international bankers, lies within the City of London with outposts of power based in Washington DC, Tel Aviv and likely the Vatican, too. In essence, the World Bank is obviously an important agency of the power elite and it has been preordained, along with the IMF, to play an important role in managing the world’s monetary and financial systems. People like Robert Zoellick and the IMF’s Christine Lagarde – bit players to be sure – have been making very public “top down” assessments of the global financial crises (eagerly trumpeted by mainstream media outlets) with an ever-aloof tone that suggests they and the institutions on behalf of which they “act” have a superior ability to handle these “complex” situations – much better than individual nation states, or in the case of the European Union, regions. The goal, as stated above, is to build order out of chaos and the end result, if the Internet Reformation isn’t successful in stopping their agenda, will be a yoke of oppression slapped onto the necks of all humanity.
Syria Unrest: ‘Deadly Military Attack’ on Latakia Port
At least 19 people have been killed in the operation, according to activists and human rights groups. Explosions and gunfire have been reported in several districts of the city, which have seen large protests against the Syrian government. … Syria has come under increased diplomatic pressure in the past week to stop its crackdown on dissent. The US has imposed sanctions on Damascus and has said these could be increased, while calling on other countries to follow. – BBC
Dominant Social Theme: People will die, but the end justifies the means – democracy will be imposed.
Free-Market Analysis: Ever since the Arab Spring began we have been skeptical of Anglosphere’s involvement. It should be quite clear for all to see that the religion of the day is Western-style democracy. And, like the Roman Catholic religion during the period of the Protestant Reformation, come hell or high water it will be forced on people. Today, NATO and the US military-industrial complex are busily preparing the world for the ultimate goal of this religion – to unify the world as one. If there are regions that as yet have not adopted the religion, they will be on the receiving end of sanctions and military force until they are broken and ready to be molded into pieces amenable to world governance. We have little doubt that increasing violence will be in store for much of the Middle East and the North African states as the Anglosphere elites increase pressure – both subversively and visibly. Machiavelli would be proud, where we are simply disgusted.
Starved State Budgets Inspire New Look at Web Gambling
It’s an idea gaining currency around the country: virtual gambling as part of the antidote to local budget woes. The District of Columbia is the first to legalize it, while Iowa is studying it, and bills are pending in places like California and Massachusetts. But the states may run into trouble with the Justice Department, which has been cracking down on all forms of Internet gambling. – NY Times
Dominant Social Theme: Desperate times call for desperate measures… government knows best.
Free-Market Analysis: This is just another example of “do as I say, not as I do.” First of all, we live in an age of regulatory democracy. And under the guise of what is best for a State or the nation at large, politicians create rules to suit their fancy – or that of the special interest groups and corporations who have given them license to lie. The US dollar fiat-money system, which enables politicians to make unrestrained promises that could never possibly be honored without excessive monetary inflation, is simply dying. In fact, we think it is dead and the only thing not known at this time is when the actual funeral will be. But like all fiat currencies, it is headed for the paper money graveyard where so many others lie buried and waiting. The various levels of government in the United States will sink to virtually any level as a means to squeeze money from its citizenry and will somehow find a way to justify it, even though those in the private sector who run Internet-based gambling operations are hunted down like wild dogs. We do not think online gambling should be regulated by government at all, but since it is, we laugh at just how hypocritical this whole situation is.
