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The U.S. Treasury Department has revised its estimates of the foreign ownership through the end of Fiscal Year 2012, which means that we can now finalize our picture of just who the major holders of the 16.027 trillion dollars of the outstanding U.S. government debt issued through 30 September 2012 are: Overall, U.S. entities own 66% of all debt issued by the U.S. federal government. Ranking the major U.S. entities from high to low, we find that: U.S. individuals and institutions, which includes regular Americans, banks, insurance companies and other government entities, own 30.5% of the nation's debt. The...

History shows that the destruction of affluent societies is often self-induced. Why do once-successful societies ossify and decline? Hundreds of reasons have been adduced for the fall of Rome and the end of the Old Regime in 18th-century France. Reasons run from inflation and excessive spending to resource depletion and enemy invasion, when historians attempt to understand the sudden collapse of the Mycenaeans, the Aztecs, and, apparently, the modern Greeks. In literature from Catullus to Edward Gibbon, wealth and leisure — and who gets the most of both — more often than poverty and exhaustion, cause civilization to implode. One...

“The answer is always more money… in ten years when we look back, is the weight of all this debt going to take care of all of these impulsive upticks?” http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/01/santelli-rips-the-keynesians-the-answer-is-always-more-money-video/

A major credit-rating firm warned it could downgrade the U.S. if lawmakers prioritize debt payments over other government obligations such as Social Security, or fail to tackle the nation's growing debt burden in the ongoing budget negotiations. Fitch Ratings, one of the ratings firms that are closely watching the U.S. inch closer to its borrowing limit, unveiled two potential routes to a downgrade Tuesday, laying out their analysis more specifically than in prior reports. Analysts predict the U.S. will hit its so-called debt ceiling between Feb. 15 and March 1. Fitch's warning comes as President Barack Obama and Republican leaders...

A US Default Would Be The Financial Equivalent Of This Painting Of Hell Brett LoGiuratoJanuary 14, 2013 Earlier today, President Barack Obama almost dared Republicans to not increase the nation's borrowing limit in a White House press conference. "If Congressional Republicans refuse to pay America’s bills on time, Social Security checks, veterans benefits will be delayed," Obama said. "... Investors around the world will ask if the United States of America is in fact a safe bet. Markets could go haywire. Interest rates would spike for anyone who borrowed money." One analyst — Michael Feroli, the chief economist at JP...

Three false arguments, pushed hard by the Obama administration and accepted on faith by the media and much of the political establishment, must be laid to rest if the American people are to understand the issues at stake in the federal "debt ceiling" debate. The first is that Congress's failure to raise the debt ceiling—the amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow at any given time—will cause a default on the national debt. The second is that federal entitlement programs are constitutionally protected from spending cuts. The third is that the president can raise the debt ceiling...

Economic Collapse! A Leading Indicator Of Better Times To Come Economics / Global EconomyJan 10, 2013 - 04:00 AM By: Darryl R Schoon It’s going to get better; but, first, it’s going to get worse Time of the Vulture, 3rd ed. 2012 When I presented Time of The Vulture: How to Survive the Crisis and Prosper in the Process to the Positive Deviant Network in March 2007, the economic collapse hadn’t yet happened. The next year, it did. At the time, I suggested those in attendance shed debt, sell their homes and buy gold. Then, the US real estate market...

The next debt ceiling battle could come as soon as mid-February, when the federal government looks to hit its borrowing limit, a new report says. “Based on financial data from Treasury, we estimate that the government will be unable to pay all of its bills as early as February 15, also known as the X Date” said Steve Bell, senior director of the Economic Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in a statement. The Bipartisan Policy Center announced the findings of the organization’s study on Monday. According to a release from the Center, their analysis indicates that “the federal...

In his first weekly address of the New Year, President Obama touts the "fiscal cliff" compromise as "one more step in the broader effort to grow our economy and shrink our deficits" but warns that another "manufactured crisis" over the debt ceiling could wreak havoc on the economy.

On this lackluster Boxing Day dominated by illiquid moves in every asset class, we thought a few succinct minutes spent comprehending the US and European government policies of social welfare and their outcomes was time well spent. Canadian MP Pierre Poilievre delivers a rather epic speech destroying the myths of US and European 'wealth' noting that "Once the US citizen is in debt, the US government encourages them to stay in debt," noting that "the US government encouraged millions of Americans to spend money they did not have on homes they could not afford using loans they could never...

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebel fighters in recent days, Obama administration officials said on Wednesday. The move represents a significant escalation in the fighting, which has already killed more than 40,000 civilians in a nearly two-year-old conflict that has threatened to destabilize the Middle East. One American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing classified information, said that missiles had been fired from the Damascus area at targets in northern Syria. “The total is number is probably north of six now,” said another American official, and that the...

Transcribed from a speech given by Paul Singer of Elliott Management Investing is an art, more so than a science. And for me, what I get paid for is managing the “dark art,” if you will, of risk management and trying to be a visionary and having a dark vision at all times about what can go wrong. It’s a particularly fruitful and impactful time to be thinking about risk management and the thing I want talk about today is what I’ve described as “The Shape of the Next Crisis.” That doesn’t mean we’re going to be talking about the...

The federal government ran a deficit of $292 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2013 – October and November 2012 – amounting to $4.8 billion of borrowed money each day. “The federal budget deficit was $292 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2013, $57 billion more than the shortfall recorded in October and November of last year,” CBO said in its Monthly Budget Review Friday. This means that the government borrowed $4.8 billion for each calendar day so far in 2013. If the Treasury Department restricted its borrowing to only weekdays, its per day...

The Washington Post had interesting article about solving the debt ceiling “crisis.” The author recommended that Treasury produce two-one trillion dollar platinum coins and deposit them at The Fed. “I like it,” says Joseph Gagnon of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “There’s nothing that’s obviously economically problematic about it.” Actually, Mr. Gagnon, there are a few problems with it. 1. Moral hazard. The President orders trillion dollar coins to be produced, then gives one each to campaign donors and other party favorites (note that I did not mention our current President by name since this would be a temptation...

The Washington Post had interesting article about solving the debt ceiling “crisis.” The author recommended that Treasury produce two-one trillion dollar platinum coins and deposit them at The Fed. “I like it,” says Joseph Gagnon of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “There’s nothing that’s obviously economically problematic about it.” Actually, Mr. Gagnon, there are a few problems with it. 1. Moral hazard. The President orders trillion dollar coins to be produced, then gives one each to campaign donors and other party favorites (note that I did not mention our current President by name since this would be a temptation...

In fact, Ms. Watson said it was the President’s obligation to help Detroit because “our people in an overwhelming way” voted for him, so “there ought to be a quid pro quo.” Because 75% of Wayne County voters supported Obama, Watson says that Detroit leaders should bring home “some bacon” as they did during the Jimmy Carter administration. Maybe Ms. Watson does not realize that vote buying is illegal. Her attitude is typical of many Obama supporters who want something such as a check, a phone, a job or in this case “some bacon” from the federal government.

If Congress allows current laws signed by President Barack Obama to stand and follows the fiscal path they have set for the next decade, federal tax revenues will rise to a record level as a percentage GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but annual federal spending will also increase by 55 percent and continuous deficits will require Congress to lift the federal debt limit by another $4.25 trillion even as the government rakes in unprecedented tax revenue. Under the so-called "fiscal cliff" scenario, in which all of the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire and “sequestration” of some...

From the U.S. to Germany and even Japan, where the bond market is twice the size of the economy, investors can’t get enough government securities even though rising debt loads are blamed for curbing global growth. This comes as hourly wage income in the US slowed dramatically after January 31, 2009. To counter the economic malaise, benchmark interest rates are close to zero in the U.S. and Japan and are a record low 0.75 percent in Europe. Investors remain jittery about economic prospects in the US, Europe and Japan. And the mode of US Treasury debt comes due in 2013....

The latest round of extraordinary Federal Reserve stimulus is risky and leaves little room to maneuver....

video 28:06

President Clinton loves to mention how he raised taxes in 1993 and generated a positive budget balance (in 1998, 1999 and 2000). But let’s take a closer look at the link between Clinton’s tax increase and the later budget surpluses. In 1993, President Clinton signed a massive tax increase that included: – An increase in the individual income tax rate to 36 percent and a 10 percent surcharge for the highest earners, thereby effectively creating a top rate of 39.6 percent. What is not mentioned by President Clinton is the 1997 Tax Cut. The Republican-led Congress passed a tax-relief and...

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble questioned on Tuesday how the United States could deal with its high levels of government debt after November's presidential election.

Most people don't understand the unsolvable problem the U.S. government has created for itself and its citizens. Sovereign default is beyond a likelihood; it is inevitable. When and which (possibly all) obligations are defaulted on will be determined by panicked politicians under duress. A complete financial and economic collapse appears unavoidable. I hope that is the worst that will occur. Official Government Debt The official federal debt is $16 trillion. This debt represents 100% of current GDP. Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart studied countries with high levels of government debt. This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly contains...

All this talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"... A billion dollars... A hundred billion dollars... Eight hundred billion dollars... One TRILLION dollars... What does that look like?

<p>Republicans and Democrats spent last summer battling how best to save $2.1 trillion over the next decade. They are spending this summer battling how best to not save $2.1 trillion over the next decade.</p> <p>In the course of that year, the U.S. government’s fiscal gap --- the true measure of the nation’s indebtedness " rose by $11 trillion.</p>

By the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the new debt accumulated in this fiscal year by the federal government had already exceeded $1 trillion, making this fiscal year the fifth straight in which the federal government has increased its debt by more than a trillion dollars, according to official debt numbers published by the U.S. Treasury. Prior to fiscal 2008, the federal government had never increased its debt by as much as $1 trillion in a single fiscal year. From fiscal 2008 onward, however, the federal government has increased its debt by at least $1 trillion each...

Based on official 2010 International Monetary Fund data released earlier this year, the U.S. debt per capita is $46,208. Here's the same figure for the four European countries that have accepted bailouts. Ireland: $41,906 Greece: $38,159 Portugal: $19,686 Spain: $18,162 -snip- If "intra-governmental holdings" are excluded, the U.S. debt per capita falls to $34,285 -- and slips below Greece and Ireland, but above that of Portugal and Spain.

Earlier today, Angela Merkel issued a dramatic ultimatum about sharing debt loads with other Eurozone countries. We've often discussed how this would actually be something of a silver bullet to solving Europe's PIGS problem. Now, we have a map that helps illustrate the point — thanks to our friends at the Economist, by way of Taegan Goddard and Matt Yglesias. Below you'll see the geography of net federal transfer payments in the U.S. by state. The more pink the state, the more it takes out of the federal pot than it puts in...(or, if you prefer, the more freeloading off...

(CNSNews.com) - Since President Barack Obama was inaugurated in January 2009, the Federal Reserve’s holdings of U.S. government debt have quintupled, according to the Fed’s official monthly balance sheet. On Jan. 28, 2009, a week after Obama’s nomination, the Fed owned $302 billion in U.S. Treasury securities. On April 25, 2012, the latest date reported, the Fed owned five and a half time that much in U.S. Treasury securities--$1.668 trillion. That is an increase from January 2009 of $1.366 trillion—or 452 percent. Under Obama, the Federal Reserve has become the single largest owner of U.S. government debt. When Obama entered...

Jasch wrote: There's a difference between saving jobs and creating them. The GM/Chrysler bailouts simply put....just saved the companies from bankruptcy and lay-offs. - Obama is Latest Surrogate to Break with ObamaDear Jasch,Actually the bailout did neither.Chrysler and GM still filed for bankruptcy and workers got laid off. Of course the only workers who got rehired were workers who were part of the UAW. All the non-UAW people were left out in the cold.As to the bankruptcy, the government insisted on the bankruptcy because it was the easiest way to screw the secured creditors and turn over the companies to...

WASHINGTON — Foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities rose to a record high in March. China, the largest buyer of Treasury debt, increased its holdings for a third straight month. Total foreign holdings rose 0.3 percent to a $5.12 trillion, marking the eighth consecutive monthly increase, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday. U.S. government debt is considered one of the safest investments. Demand has increased as investors worry about the uncertainty surrounding Europe’s debt crisis. China boosted its holdings 1.3 percent to $1.17 trillion, its third straight increase. China had trimmed its holdings for five straight months before the January increase....

Lesson # 1: * U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 * Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000 * New debt: $1,650,000,000,000 * National debt: $14,271,000,000,000 * Recent budget cuts: $38,500,000,000 Let's now remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget: * Annual family income: $21,700 * Money the family spent: $38,200 * New debt on the credit card: $16,500 * Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710 * Total budget cuts: $385 Got It ?? OK. Now, Lesson # 2: Another way to look at the Debt Ceiling: Let's say you come home from work and find there’s been a sewer backup in your...

Isn’t it funny what you can find out on Friday evening about what our executive branch does? For instance, Agence France-Presse reported last night that Barack Obama bypassed Congress to send $192 million to the Palestinian Authority, claiming that national security required the US to put money into Mahmoud Abbas’ pocket: President Barack Obama has signed a waiver to remove curbs on funding to the Palestinian Authority, declaring the aid to be “important to the security interests of the United States.” A $192 million aid package was frozen by the US Congress after the Palestinians moved to gain statehood at...

The frightening notion that our irresponsibility in Washington is leading us down the path to becoming nothing more than a colony of China is not lost on most Americans. Although, to this point, it has had everything to do with China funding our government’s obscene spending addiction...

Today, without much fanfare, US debt to GDP hit 101% with the latest issuance of $32 billion in 2 Year Bonds. If the moment when this ratio went from double to triple digits is still fresh in readers minds, is because it is: total debt hit and surpassed the most recently revised Q4 GDP on January 30, or just three weeks ago. Said otherwise, it has taken the US 21 days to add a full percentage point to this most critical of debt sustainability ratios: but fear not, with just under $1 trillion in new debt issuance on deck in...

President Barack Obama has been increasing the national debt during his presidency by an average of $4.24 billion per day ($4,240,506,004.34) putting him on a pace to increase the national debt by $6.2 trillion ($6,195,379,272,340.74) by the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2013, according to the debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.That $6.2 trillion is more debt than was accumulated by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined. In fact, the U.S. national debt did not eclipse the $6.195 trillion level—the amount Obama is on pace to increase it in one term—until August 19,...

Yesterday, as the New Hampshire returns rolled in, I tweeted wearily, “I’d hoped for something different.� The incomparable Stephen Kruiser tweeted back, “You’re young. Get used to saying that if you plan on staying in the GOP.�That wisdom returned to me this morning when I read this from CNSNews.com: When the Republican-controlled House approved its first CR on March 4, 2011, the national debt was 14,182,627,184,881.03, according to the U.S. Treasury. As of the close of business on Jan. 9, 2012, the national debt was 15,236,506,139,986.86.That means the debt increased by $1.05 trillion over the past ten months.That equals approximately...

How the U.S. National Debt Could Drain Your Savings January 9, 2012 By David Zeiler, Associate Editor, Money Morning Now that Congress has allowed the U.S. national debt to grow bigger than the American economy, it won't be long until the American public suffers the consequences by losing most of its savings to inflation.Figures for last year show the national debt officially exceeded 100% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). According to government figures, the national debt stood at $15.23 trillion at the close of 2011, compared to a GDP of $15.18 trillion. "The 100% mark means that your...

Ten States That Cannot Pay Their Bills Posted: January 11, 2012 at 6:59 amMichael B. Sauter, Charles B. Stockdale, Ashley C. Allen 10. New Hampshire > 2011 budget shortfall as a % of general fund: 27.2% > 2011 budget shortfall: $365 million > 2012 projected budget shortfall: 18.4% (8th largest) > GDP change (2006 – 2010): +7.5% (11th smallest increase) > Median home value change (2006 – 2010): -4% (12th largest decline) New Hampshire is often considered to have weathered the recession better than most states. It has one of the strongest economies in the country in many respects. Its...

When Nobel laureate Paul Krugman began a recent New York Times column by showing concern about “disastrously high unemployment,” we could sympathize with his assertion that too much attention is focused on “the allegedly urgent issue of reducing the budget deficit.” After all, there are many other factors that prevent us from employing our resources in the most productive uses. We are overregulated, overtaxed, overinflated, and the government spends wastefully and too much. If we were to prioritize any of those policies, such as cutting tax rates, then we could justify tolerating high deficits a little longer. The brighter prospects...

Look Out Below – The Nightmarish Decline Of The Euro Has BegunJanuary 6, 2012 The euro is a dying currency. On Thursday, the EUR/USD fell below 1.28 for the first time since September 2010. In fact, as I write this the EUR/USD is sitting at 1.2791. Back in July, the EUR/USD was over 1.45. But this is just the beginning. The euro is going to go a lot lower. At this point, there are several major European nations that are on the verge of default, the European financial system is overflowing with debt and toxic assets, and most major European...

The Number One Catastrophic Event That Americans Worry About: Economic CollapseDecember 30, 2011 Can you guess what the number one catastrophic event that Americans worry about is? There are certainly many to choose from. Many Americans are deathly afraid of a major terrorist attack. Others live in constant fear of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes. Still others are incredibly concerned that a massive pandemic will break out at any time or that World War III will erupt in the Middle East. Yes, there are certainly a lot of potential catastrophic events that one can worry about in...

In 2012 The Economy Will Be On 'Firmer, Albeit Unsteady, Footing' Peter Demirali, Cumberland Advisors Dec. 28, 2011, 4:51 PM The last twelve months have been quite remarkable in terms of volatility and absolute levels of interest rates. The bond market was whipsawed by events in Europe and Washington. Greece was the poster child for the debt crisis in Europe but it was merely the first country to feel the wrath of the capital markets. Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and ultimately Italy experienced difficulty accessing the cash markets to roll over debt. You can view the spreads on various European sovereign...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks fell sharply Monday as investors remain concerned about the debt crisis in Europe and its potential impact on the global banking system. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 114 points, or 1%, in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 (SPX) sank 14 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq (COMP) slid 31 points, or 1.2%. Stocks opened higher but the gains faded as the banking sector dragged down the broader market. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) fell below $5 per share, lowest level since the worst of the financial crisis in March 2009. Citigroup...

The federal government’s debt increased by $203,368,715,583.63 in the month of October, according to the U.S. Treasury. That equals about $650 per person for each of the 312,542,760 people the Census Bureau now estimates live in the United States. At the end of September, the total national debt stood at $14,790,340,328,557.15, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt. By the end of October, it had risen to $14,993,709,044,140.78. The debt increased far more this October than it did last October. Between the last day of September 2010 and the last day of October, the debt rose from $13,561,623,030,891.79 to...

So How Do These Sorts of Crises End? Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis Oct 28, 2011 - 01:38 AM By: Paul Tustain However this crisis is resolved, guess who'll be footing the bill... The World has endured these sorts of crises before. Somehow they come to an end. What happens? Sometimes, someone turns up who can prop up the collapsing debt mountain, and they make it grow higher, for a little bit longer. For a short while they are even called brilliant, but they leave a bigger problem than they started with. Eventually the thing comes crashing down and the...

Monster Prediction From BofA: Another US Debt Downgrade Is Coming In Just A Few Weeks Joe Weisenthal | Oct. 22, 2011, 7:04 AM | 4,055 | 48 In an analyst note, Bofa/ML Ethan S. Harris drops a bit of a bombshell prediction: We expect a moderate slowdown in the beginning of next year, as two small policy shocks—another debt downgrade and fiscal tightening—hit the economy. The “not-so-super” Deficit Commission is very unlikely to come up with a credible deficit-reduction plan. The committee is more divided than the overall Congress. Since the fall-back plan is sharp cuts in discretionary spending, the...

If you ever try comparing the debt situation in the US and Japan, someone will invariably say: Well, Japan can afford a lot more debt because it's all domestically owned, whereas US debt is owned by the Chinese. It turns out this isn't really true, though unfortunately this destructive myth continues to dominate political/economic debates. Yes, China holds a lot, but they're not dominant, and when you add it up, most debt is actually domestically held, just like in Japan.

State news agency Xinhua said unless the US cut its "gigantic military expenditure and bloated welfare costs," another downgrade would be inevitable. But other countries, such as Australia, France and Japan, said they retained their faith in US bonds.