Free Republic

Well, I guess we can rule out another rate hike in January. That's what economists are saying, not that anyone seriously believed that the Federal Reserve was going to engage in back-to-back hikes after promising that rates would go up only gradually in the months ahead. With Wall Street off to its worst annual start in history, stock prices have been but one indicator that the economy could slow in the weeks and months ahead. That should give the Fed pause. Stocks, of course, have not been the only market-based gauge to suggest that both the domestic, and global, economies...

China stunned the world’s financial markets on Wednesday by devaluing the yuan for the second day running, sparking fears that the world’s second largest economy is in worse shape than investors believed. The currency hit a four-year low on Wednesday after the People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s daily midpoint even weaker than in Tuesday’s devaluation. With the bank having said that Tuesday’s move was a “one-off depreciation”, the rapid drop in the value of China’s currency – around 4% in the last two days – dealt a blow to appetite for risky assets, and markets across the region...

The "one-off" adjustment has now reached its 3rd day as The PBOC has now devalued the Yuan fix by 4.65% back to July 2011 lows. The PBOC seeks to reassure... -CHINA PBOC SAYS YUAN REMAINS STRONG CURRENCY IN LONG-TERM -PBOC SAYS THERE IS DEMAND FOR DEVALUATION OF YUAN VS USD -PBOC CHANGE OF YUAN MECHANISM RELATED TO JULY CREDIT: ZHANG -PBOC SAYS YUAN CHANGE IS BENEFICIAL TO LONG TERM STABILITY -PBOC SAYS YUAN EXCHANGE RATE ADJUSTMENT ALMOST COMPLETED *YUAN RATE ADJUSTMENT POSITIVE TO CONFIDENCE IN YUAN: PBOC'S YI *NEW YUAN MECHANISM `POSITIVE' TO INTERNATIONALIZATION: PBOC YI *PBOC SAYS NO BASIS...

Despite endless proclamations that the world has 'escaped' the financial crisis, the data (and actions) simply do not back that up. The constant propagandizing of either a) US is economically strong and will drive the world's growth engine (factually incorrect), or b) the rest of the world is about to revert to higher growth seems entirely anathema to the fact that in 2015, we have seen a wave of monetary easing - most recently today by Israel. That makes it20 central banks that have cut rates (or eased policy) in the last few weeks - covering over 50% of the...

China’s central bank unexpectedly slashed interest rates on Friday to re-energize the world’s No. 2 economy, joining a growing list of major economies that are trying to encourage growth in the face of a global slowdown. On top of the rate cut, Chinese authorities promised to inject credit into the financial system if needed. Meanwhile, the president of the European Central Bank said Friday he was ready to step up stimulus for the 18-country eurozone economy, whose performance continues to disappoint. And Japan’s government this week delayed a tax increase after the country slipped back into recession. News of China’s...

United Nations: The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today morning on Ukraine. Britain's UN Mission said yesterday it requested the meeting and later tweeted that it is set for 10 am today. The request follows Wednesday's downing of a Ukrainian air force fighter and yesterday's downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane carrying 295 people over eastern Ukraine. Britain has proposed a Security Council press statement calling for "a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the incident." The statement, obtained by The Associated Press, was circulated to all 15 council members, who must approve it before...

Despite the current stock market rally, legendary investor Jim Rogers say the U.S economy is poised for a major crash and is warning investors to protect themselves immediately. In a riveting interview on Fox Business, Rogers warned Americans not to trust any of the positive economic news coming from world governments. "I don't trust the data from any government, including the U.S., Rogers said. "We know that governments lie to us. Everybody's printing money, but it cannot go on. This is all artificial." Rogers, who for years has been an outspoken critic of the Feds policies of "Quantitative Easing" says...

All this chatter about a so-called global currency war is utter nonsense. All that is happening is the Japanese are wisely taking steps to increase liquidity and depreciate their vastly overpriced yen. They are doing this in order to avoid deeper and deeper deflation. That deflation will sink the Japanese economy for years to come if remedial actions are not taken. Among all the big economies, none needs quantitative easing more than Japan’s. All the Japanese have done so far is make cheap loans to banks, but with no concerted QE. But QE is coming this spring, when Prime Minster...

All this chatter about a so-called global currency war is utter nonsense. All that is happening is the Japanese are wisely taking steps to increase liquidity and depreciate their vastly overpriced yen. They are doing this in order to avoid deeper and deeper deflation. That deflation will sink the Japanese economy for years to come if remedial actions are not taken. Among all the big economies, none needs quantitative easing more than Japan’s. All the Japanese have done so far is make cheap loans to banks, but with no concerted QE. But QE is coming this spring, when Prime Minster...

Yesterday Jean-Claude Juncker, who presides over meetings of European finance ministers, complained that the euro’s value has become “dangerously high.” The comments took many by surprise; it’s when the currency has been strongest that investors have shown the most faith in the euro’s continued survival. The euro hit $1.34 on Monday—its highest value since February 2011. But ironically, this renewed faith in the euro currency comes at the worst possible time for the euro-zone economy. Although policymakers finally appear to be making a concerted slog towards union, the years of political turmoil have severely stunted investment in the euro zone,...

Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are moving to block the International Monetary Fund from using U.S. money for European bailouts, as talks intensify across the pond over how to stanch the debt crisis. Some U.S. lawmakers want their concerns addressed as part of the feverish end-of-year budget talks. On the House and Senate side, lawmakers have introduced legislation to wall off U.S. taxpayer money from playing any role in averting a European meltdown. "It's time to stop the bailouts and start restoring fiscal discipline to our own economy," Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said in a statement, as he and 25...

British embassies in the eurozone have been told to draw up plans to help British expats through the collapse of the single currency, amid new fears for Italy and Spain. As the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out, British ministers privately warned that the break-up of the euro, once almost unthinkable, is now increasingly plausible. Diplomats are preparing to help Britons abroad through a banking collapse and even riots arising from the debt crisis. The Treasury confirmed earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way. A senior minister has...

As every major developed economy hits Bass's Keynesian Endgame, the status quo is set to change dramatically. Nowhere is this climax playing out louder than in Europe and the implicit solution of Germany-uber-alles (while seemingly inevitable though nevertheless lengthy in execution) is likely to not sit well with many of the EMU nations. To wit, The Telegraph today reports that Britain's Foreign Office is advising its overseas embassies to draw up plans to help expats should the collapse of the Euro turn explosive. Almost incredibly, a senior minister has revealed that Britain is now planning on the basis that a...

The Mother Of All Dreads, Global Economy On The Brink Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis Nov 18, 2011 - 11:22 AM By: Ramy Saadeh Ramy Saadeh writes: The World is on the brink of a cataclysmic spiral that could make the Greek crisis look like a walk in the park. Interestingly, markets still seem very hushed about the emerging risks ahead; the final bell hasn’t rung yet, can this be it?The trigger of the dreadful events could come as soon as the 23rd of November 2011, as the “Super Committee”, who is expected to set forth a long awaited plan...

The American phoenix is slowly rising again. Within five years or so, the US will be well on its way to self-sufficiency in fuel and energy. Manufacturing will have closed the labour gap with China in a clutch of key industries. The current account might even be in surplus.

China Forced Abortion Opponent Chen Guangcheng Possibly Killed Beijing, China -- Reports are emerging today that Chan Guangcheng, a prominent human rights activist who had led the fight against forced abortions under the one-child policy in China, may have been killed by Chinese officials. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/10/07/china-forced-abortion-opponent-chen-guangcheng-possibly-killed/

Bernanke’s Plot To Overthrow The US Dollar By Bill Bonner 09/30/11 Paris, France – Where’s the Bastille…? The Dow got a boost yesterday — up 143 points. Gold remained where it was — about $1,617. Dear Readers know what we think. The Great Correction has a lot of work to do — there are so many things that need correction. And it will take time to do it. Meanwhile, your goal as an investor is to lose less money than everyone else. He who loses least wins! Stocks should go down. Real estate should go down. Even gold should go...

More Signs China Is Going Bust Economics / China Economy Sep 29, 2011 - 12:04 PM By: Justice Litle While the world fixates on Europe, signs of a China crash are mounting behind the scenes. Imagine you run a business with 3,000 employees. Your factories churn out 20 million pairs of sunglasses per year -- the best-selling brand in China. You are a celebrated businessman in your region, with expanded interests in real estate and solar energy. Oh, and one more thing: You are flat broke. As it turns out, your company borrowed huge sums at high interest -- more...

The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week declined less-than-expected, official data showed on Thursday. In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending September 16 fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 423,000, falling short of expectations for a decline to 420,000. The previous week’s figure was revised up to 432,000 from 428,000. Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 10 fell to 3.727 million from a revised 3.755 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless...

After pumping $2 trillion into the system, pushing interest rates to the floor and making a bold promise to keep rates low for two years, the Federal Reserve is running out of options.<snip>“It's a pretty critical meeting for the Fed,” said Jeffries market strategist David Zervos, a former Fed adviser. “It's one of those meetings where we know there's going to be a change. It's not just the perfunctory ‘Let's meet and greet and let's make a statement that we're vigilant and we know what we're doing.”<snip>As the U.S. economy falters, Europe has presented Fed officials with an even greater...