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Chris Martenson

Fuzzier than ever – GDP reported to be 3.3%

Record bank debt coming due

And here’s
the data I’ve been waiting for. To the exhaustive pile of new borrowing
that the US government needs to shoulder, we can add $871 billion of
debt that financial firms will need to somehow fund at the exact same
time. I will be more than a little surprised if this does not result in
either drastically higher interest rates, or massive inflation.

Problem banks expand 30%

It’s worth
noting that not every bank on the problem list will fail, and not every
failure will be on the list. To my knowledge, IndyMac was not on the
list prior to failing. But the trend here tells us something
meaningful; a 30% increase in problem banks in one quarter says we’re
still in the early stages of this credit crisis.

Home prices drop

We’ve had
damaging housing busts in the past, but they’ve always been contained
to a specific region. Houston in the 1980’s and Florida in the 1920’s
taught us that even a localized housing bust could spread ripples of
discomfort far beyond their borders. This data showing that NO cities
in the index saw a price gain deserves some notice.

Big three ask for bailout

I know they’ve
wrapped it in other language such as “retool to make more fuel
efficient vehicles,” but the truth is that any money they receive will
disappear into the black holes that reside at the center of each
company. Besides the fact that they really should not have been caught
unawares again, I think that GM, Ford, and Chrysler should provide
clear plans for how they intend to return to profitability using
taxpayer money.

Home prices still not low enough to trigger real demand; more weakness ahead

Even at this late
stage, we still get these same tired articles, where the NAR churns out
some statistics showing improving sales and the media tirelessly
trumpets the results.

As always, the fact is left out that bank repossessions and foreclosure auctions count in these results.

Home prices still not low enough to trigger real demand; more weakness ahead

Even at this late
stage, we still get these same tired articles, where the NAR churns out
some statistics showing improving sales and the media tirelessly
trumpets the results.

As always, the fact is left out that bank repossessions and foreclosure auctions count in these results.

Even as the
government stubbornly clings to the illusion that we are not yet in a
recession (“Look! GDP is still positive and inflation is only 1%!), the
anecdotes from the real world tell a very different story.

By the time people are coughing up $300k boats and motor homes in “record amounts,” we are deep into recession territory.

Repo Man calls

By the time people are coughing up $300k boats and motor homes in “record amounts,” we are deep into recession territory.

Dead Banks Walking

This is your
“must read” article of the day. Bennet Sedacca has become one of my
very favorite writers on this unfolding credit mess.

In this
article, he details the process by which denial and then deception are
used, how they can be spotted, and which companies are pretty much
cooked.

Dead Banks Walking

This is your
“must read” article of the day. Bennet Sedacca has become one of my
very favorite writers on this unfolding credit mess.

In this
article, he details the process by which denial and then deception are
used, how they can be spotted, and which companies are pretty much
cooked.