January 2012 - The Automatic Earth

Petroplus – The Tip of an Iceberg

Jan 302012

January 30, 2012 Posted by ashvin at 3:21 pm Energy Comments Off

The Automatic Earth has repeatedly stressed the intersection between our global financial system and our energy systems, which is typically something that is either unnoticed or misinterpreted by those focusing on just one or the other. While many peak oil advocates tend to describe economic/financial crises as a function of scarce energy, TAE has argued that financial booms and busts can occur independently of energy issues. Nicole Foss, in the TAE Primer article Oil, Credit and the Velocity of Money

The Report That Will Blow Up The Eurozone

Jan 282012

January 28, 2012 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 7:25 pm Finance Comments Off

The Report That Will Blow Up The Eurozone

Jack Delano Hot Sugar January 1942 Guanica, Puerto Rico. “Burning a sugar cane field. This process destroys the leaves and makes the cane easier to harvest” Ilargi: No, I’m not talking about the fact that Germany and Holland want to take over as the de facto government in Greece, as Noah Barkin writes for Reuters (that they want to do it through Brussels is a mere technicality). Germany wants Greece to give up budget control Germany is pushing for Greece

Goal-Seeked Analyses for Gold

Jan 282012

January 28, 2012 Posted by ashvin at 7:19 pm Finance Comments Off

Unknown Dreaming of great fortunes 1858California gold miner joining the British Columbia goldrush After the Fed’s latest announcement on January 25, in which the central bank said very little more than the obvious (“exceptionally low” fed funds rate at least through late 2014), we have returned to typical speculations about how much “money printing” (or quantitative easing) by central banks we will see in upcoming months to accompany these low rates. Perhaps the Chief Speculator is Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge,

Occupy Your Own Space

Jan 252012

January 25, 2012 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 9:27 pm Finance Comments Off

Dorothea Lange Plantation June 1937“Wife and child of tractor driver. Aldridge Plantation, Mississippi” Ilargi: For today’s global financial problems, there are no solutions that are favorable to either incumbent politicians or wannabe leaders (unless they’re extremists, perhaps), let alone to the people they claim to represent. All our herd of leaders can do is to postpone the inevitable outcome of inevitable processes as long as possible. That’s why we see Obama presenting yet another housing plan that won’t work, and

How to Build a Lifeboat

Jan 242012

January 24, 2012 Posted by Nicole Foss at 4:33 pm Primers 1 Response »

National Photo Co. Mack Sennett Girl 1919. Actress Marvel Rea, one of film producer Mack Sennett’s well-rounded “bathing girls” Stoneleigh: Yesterday we talked about why we are facing deflation and today I wanted to review and explain the suggestions we have made previously for dealing with a deflationary scenario. In short, this is the list we have run periodically since we started TAE (with one addition at the end): 1) Hold no debt (for most people this means renting) 2)

40 ways to lose your future

Jan 242012

January 24, 2012 Posted by Nicole Foss at 4:26 pm Primers Comments Off

Samuel H. Gottscho When yesterday had a future November 28, 1933 Looking down South Street, New York City Stoneleigh: People have been asking how we see the future unfold. In case you wonder what we stand for, much of our view of what’s to come can be found in the primers on the right-hand side bar. Here is an additional brief summary (in no particular order and not meant to be exhaustive) of the ground we have consistently covered here

The End is the Beginning is the End

Jan 232012

January 23, 2012 Posted by ashvin at 12:53 am Finance Comments Off

Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums Just watch me June 9 1902 Fron album of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court in England between 1902 and 1916. “Time has stopped before us The sky cannot ignore us No one can separate us For we are all that is left The echo bounces off me The shadow lost beside me There’s no more need to pretend Cause now I can begin again.” Smashing Pumpkins, The Beginning is the

Donate

Jan 202012

January 20, 2012 Posted by wp_admin at 9:17 pm Donate Comments Off

To everyone who makes a donation to The Automatic Earth, and to everyone who has done so in the past: please know that we are truly grateful to you. Without donations our work would not be possible. There are two ways to donate to The Automatic Earth. You can send cash, a check or money order to the following name and address (NOTE: please write check ot money order to the name Ashvin Pandurangi, not to "The Automatic Earth"):

Don’t Be Fooled: Nothing’s Priced In

Jan 142012

January 14, 2012 Posted by ashvin at 5:16 pm Finance Comments Off

National Photo Co. Bond Vault 1914 “Treasury Department, Office of Comptroller of Currency — bond vault. Contains bonds to the value of $900 million securing government deposits and postal savings fund” I’m not a technical analyst or a fundamental analyst or any other type of equity market analyst. What I am is just a guy who likes to think he can spot completely nonsensical propaganda when he reads or hears it. You know, the type of non-stop propaganda that

Death of an Institution: Desperate Mergers & Destructive Acquisitions

Jan 072012

January 7, 2012 Posted by ashvin at 8:04 pm Finance Comments Off

Death of an Institution: Desperate Mergers & Destructive Acquisitions

Detroit Publishing Co. Curb Market 1905 “New York City, Broad Street exchange and curb brokers” Ilargi: In a nice coincidence, while Nicole Foss (Stoneleigh) wrote about decentralization a few days ago in The Storm Surge of Decentralization, today Ashvin Pandurangi, independently from Nicole, also focuses on that theme, albeit from a completely different angle. Perhaps even from the 180 degree opposite angle: it’s precisely because the 1% push so hard for centralization that it’s crucial for the 99% to push