Podcast
by
Chris Martenson
It’s earning season again, and ‘investors’ are going to be fueled by reports of strong earnings and earnings growth in the banking industry, especially among the giants.
Some of these gains will be real, and some will be due to accounting gimmicks that are quite difficult to assess by any but fully-dedicated analysts. For example, massive swings in provisions for loan losses are now a normal part of the bank-earnings management cycle, which makes accurate comparisons between periods quite difficult.
JPMorgan Profit Rises, Beating Estimates
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- biggest U.S. bank by assets, said profit rose 76 percent, more than analysts estimated, as a reduction in provisions for soured mortgages and credit-card loans buoyed results.
Second-quarter net income climbed to $4.8 billion, or $1.09 a share, from $2.72 billion, or 28 cents, in the same period a year earlier and from $3.33 billion in the first quarter, the New York-based company said today in a statement.
Of course, left out of the first few paragraphs is the fact that JPM also reduced their provisions for future losses in their retail division by more than $2 billion.
About those bank profits…
PREVIEW by Chris MartensonIt’s earning season again, and ‘investors’ are going to be fueled by reports of strong earnings and earnings growth in the banking industry, especially among the giants.
Some of these gains will be real, and some will be due to accounting gimmicks that are quite difficult to assess by any but fully-dedicated analysts. For example, massive swings in provisions for loan losses are now a normal part of the bank-earnings management cycle, which makes accurate comparisons between periods quite difficult.
JPMorgan Profit Rises, Beating Estimates
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- biggest U.S. bank by assets, said profit rose 76 percent, more than analysts estimated, as a reduction in provisions for soured mortgages and credit-card loans buoyed results.
Second-quarter net income climbed to $4.8 billion, or $1.09 a share, from $2.72 billion, or 28 cents, in the same period a year earlier and from $3.33 billion in the first quarter, the New York-based company said today in a statement.
Of course, left out of the first few paragraphs is the fact that JPM also reduced their provisions for future losses in their retail division by more than $2 billion.
by
Chris Martenson
Note: I am thinking this may be a good post for the front of the site, but am looking for your feedback here in the enrolled area before ‘going live’ with it. Can you spot any weaknesses in it? Have I made my case? Is anything unclear?
Recently there has been a very engaging discussion going on over in the forums [LINK] that puts forth the argument that there is no logical reason why a system founded on debt-based money must grow exponentially.
Clearly such a claim cuts right to the very heart of the Crash Course and all of its implications, so I decided to, once again, wade into these messy waters before too much more confusion is sown.
Poster Darbikrash said, “the material and thesis proposed by poster “diarmidiw” clearly show major holes in the debt based currency construct as outlined in the Crash Course,” while member Farmer Brown said in response, “It is a logical and mathematical fact that money/debt growth is NOT required for debt-based money to work.“
So I need to address this before it goes much further.
Debt-Based Money Is The Problem
PREVIEW by Chris MartensonNote: I am thinking this may be a good post for the front of the site, but am looking for your feedback here in the enrolled area before ‘going live’ with it. Can you spot any weaknesses in it? Have I made my case? Is anything unclear?
Recently there has been a very engaging discussion going on over in the forums [LINK] that puts forth the argument that there is no logical reason why a system founded on debt-based money must grow exponentially.
Clearly such a claim cuts right to the very heart of the Crash Course and all of its implications, so I decided to, once again, wade into these messy waters before too much more confusion is sown.
Poster Darbikrash said, “the material and thesis proposed by poster “diarmidiw” clearly show major holes in the debt based currency construct as outlined in the Crash Course,” while member Farmer Brown said in response, “It is a logical and mathematical fact that money/debt growth is NOT required for debt-based money to work.“
So I need to address this before it goes much further.
by
Chris Martenson
The End is Near, Inc.
This is the title of the recent full-spread article in Boston Magazine about me, my work, and our community. It’s due out in hard print on Sunday with the Boston Globe. It is already available online here.
Unfortunately, the article relies too much on sensationalistic stereotypes and includes some troubling distortions. My chief concern is that the story, told through a very few limited, out-of-context, and edited quotes, paints a picture of Becca and me as doomsayers with a bunker mentality. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We somewhat reluctantly agreed to have our whole family included in this very public article, opened our home for several days for the effort, and are now wrestling with the impacts that will stem from the fact that our best efforts have now been tagged as “The End is Near, Inc.” – an unfortunate mischaracterization that completely misses what we are really about while implying that we do this for the money.
Bunkers ‘R’ Not Us: Correcting Boston Magazine’s Take on This Movement
by Chris MartensonThe End is Near, Inc.
This is the title of the recent full-spread article in Boston Magazine about me, my work, and our community. It’s due out in hard print on Sunday with the Boston Globe. It is already available online here.
Unfortunately, the article relies too much on sensationalistic stereotypes and includes some troubling distortions. My chief concern is that the story, told through a very few limited, out-of-context, and edited quotes, paints a picture of Becca and me as doomsayers with a bunker mentality. Nothing could be further from the truth.
We somewhat reluctantly agreed to have our whole family included in this very public article, opened our home for several days for the effort, and are now wrestling with the impacts that will stem from the fact that our best efforts have now been tagged as “The End is Near, Inc.” – an unfortunate mischaracterization that completely misses what we are really about while implying that we do this for the money.
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