First-Grader Finds Toy Gun, Turns It In, Gets Suspension

Listen! Pennsylvania first-grader Darin Simak brought a
different backpack to school this week, failing to notice the toy
gun concealed inside it. When he realized that he had inadvertently
brought the weapon—which is not a real weapon at all—to Martin
Elementary in New Kensington, he immediately informed his
teacher.

Simak was promptly suspended for violating the school district’s
“zero tolerance” policy against weapons,
according to WTAE:

The New Kensington-Arnold School District superintendent said
that bringing a toy gun to school violates the district’s policy at
the highest level and requires a child to be suspended immediately
until a meeting can be held to discuss what happened and whether
punishment is warranted.

Simak’s parents sent him to school the next day anyway, thinking
the punishment was too ridiculous to be enforced. But
administrators take imaginary firearms very seriously, and refused
to let Simak return to his classroom. His father eventually picked
him up from school.

School zero tolerance policies require administrators to suspend
or expel (and in some cases, arrest), students who break the
rules—even inadvertently, in Simak’s case. The absurdity of

arresting children for harmless mistakes has begun to faze the
general public, however, and some lawmakers are pressing districts
to revise the policies.

Thankfully, Simak won’t face any of the harshest disciplinary
possibilities. The school board declined to expel him, and the boy
will be allowed to return to school on Monday.

I sure hope he learned his lesson.

Hat tip:
Jim Treacher

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5 Things To Ponder: The Central Bank Edition

Submitted by Lance Roberts of STA Wealth Management,

This past week has been all about "anticipation." The markets made little headway during the first half of the week as traders waited in an almost breathless anticipation of the announcement from the European Central Bank. When the news was finally received, investors were initially disappointed but David Tepper stepped into the fray with his ever bullish optimism. CNBC's Kate Kelly stated:

"I just spoke briefly to David Tepper this morning who said his view has changed somewhat since last month when he spoke at a conference and said, famously, it is nervous time in the markets for a number of global macro reasons dealing with Central Banks. Now that the ECB has made this somewhat historic decision today he indicates to me that he is feeling a little bit better."

And with that simple line, the markets soared to historic highs as a massive "short squeeze" boosted stocks higher.

It is the ECB's "historic" decision that we will ponder this weekend. I have selected five different pieces of analysis with opposing views of the ECB's actions and what the potential implications may be. The ECB has clearly entered into uncharted territory on a massive scale with all other Central Banks now watching for clues to success or failure to dictate their own monetary policies going forward.

1) The ECB Goes Negative – What Does It Mean? By Cullen Roche via Pragmatic Capitalist

This has been done before
Negative rate should cause a further reach for yield
Could induce some lending as banks loosen standards to offset lost interest income
Could increase borrowing costs as banks pass own increased costs
Could feed into FX markets

"I don’t think this is a huge deal. In fact, it’s probably more experimental than anything else. The meager size of the rate cut tells me they’re toying with the policy and seeing what the near-term impact will be. The more important policy change is probably the longer term refinancing operation and the ECB’s commitment to continue providing liquidity."

2) Draghi Unveils Historic Measures Against Deflation Threat by Jeff Black & Stefan Riecher via Bloomberg

"Draghi’s announcement is the most dramatic since he announced his plan to 'do whatever it takes' to save the euro in the summer of 2012. While that succeeded in keeping the bloc together, the ECB is still trying to fix its battered economy as banks in southern Europe unwind bad loans and shy away from fresh lending to businesses that could spur growth.

'Has Draghi served us a similar treat today? Not quite,' said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London. 'But he delivered more than the ECB had suggested before. Taken together, the innovative and comprehensive bundle of measures will support the economic recovery over time, and it certainly will not do any damage.'"

3) Rate Cuts Prompted Fury In Germanyby Ambrose Evans-Pritchard via The Telegraph

"The rate cuts prompted fury in Germany, where the head of the German Association of Savings Banks, Georg Fahrenschon, accused the ECB of expropriating savers. 'We are tearing a hole in the pensions of savers. Over time these low rates will destroy the value of assets,' he said.

Der Spiegel deemed it was the 'end of capitalism', while Die Welt described Mr. Draghi as Europe’s Bismarck, a near autocrat beyond control. It is a foretaste of what may happen if the ECB does graduate to QE later this year, once the machinery is ready.

It is an immature market in Europe, with just €700bn of assets to buy, and it is unclear whether purchases of asset-backed securities can direct much lending to small businesses, where it is most needed. It is costly to put together packages of sellable loans for family firms. “Their importance to politicians far outstrips their attractiveness to creditors,” said Matt King, from Citigroup.

In the end, the ECB may have to bite the bullet and resort to full-blown purchases of sovereign debt, just like the central banks of the US, Britain and Japan. That thorny issue has been put off for a few more months while the ECB prays for a miracle."

4) NIRP: Eurozone Officially Enters "Monetary Twilight Zone"by Tyler Durden via ZeroHedge

“'If the ECB cut the deposit rate, it would take an important profit opportunity away from banks,' said Tobias Blattner, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe in London. By doing so, the ECB would also be 'encouraging banks to lend to the real economy' even though 'there’s hardly any demand for credit,' he said. Blattner predicts the ECB will cut its benchmark and leave the deposit rate at 0.25 percent.

ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Feb. 19 that market interest rates of zero or lower 'can result in a credit contraction.'

That’s because banks, trying to preserve their deposit bases by paying customers a reasonable interest rate, may reduce lending to companies and households because the return is too low and invest in higher-yielding assets instead."

Bringing It Home….

5) Fed's Kocherlakota Urges 5 More Years Of Low Interest Rates via Reuters

"Kocherlakota acknowledged that keeping rates low for so long can lead to conditions that signal financial instability, including high asset prices, volatile returns on assets, and frantic levels of merger activity as businesses and individuals strive to take advantage of low interest rates.

But that is a risk, he suggested, the Fed should be willing to take."

Also Read:

Fed's Williams Says Central Banks Need To Realize Investor's Aren't Rationalvia The Wall Street Journal

“In a world of rational expectations, asset prices adjust and that’s it, but if one allows for limited information, the resulting bull market may cause investors to get ‘carried away’ over time and confuse what is a one-time, perhaps transitory, shift in fundamentals for a new paradigm of rising asset prices.”

The more I read, the clearer it becomes that the world's Central Banks have become caught in a "liquidity trap" which is entirely based on circular logic. Central banks must create asset bubbles in the hopes of stimulating economic activity. When the bubble eventually pops the economic activity evaporates which requires the creation of another asset bubble.

It reminds me of Jack Black in "Envy" where he promotes his new product "Va-poo-rize." While you may appear to get rid of the "poo" for now, the question remains "where does it go?"

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1pghK6c Tyler Durden

Governments Constantly Tap Your Calls, Warns International Telecom

Headphones Governments frequently tap private
communications, block users’ access to content and services, and
that’s just what we can legally be told, UK-based
telecommunications giant Vodafone reveals in its first
law enforcement disclosure report. The report, which the
company says really should be issued by the governments that impose
demands on communications companies, calls on officials to be more
transparent in their surveillance efforts. It also asks for an end
to the practice of governments tapping directly into communications
networks, bypassing the operators themselves and making monitoring
and disclosure virtually impossible.

Vodafone sold its interest
in Verizon Wireless last year, and no longer operates in the United
States, so the report doesn’t detail American practices. But it
does reveal surveillance at least comparable to that of the NSA in
the 29 countries in which the company provides services and has
received government demands for cooperation in the past year.

All governments have incorporated national security exceptions
into national legislation to give legal powers to agencies and
authorities. Some governments have constrained those powers to
limit the human rights impact; others have created much
wider-ranging powers with substantially greater human rights
impacts. Meanwhile, agencies and authorities have the scope to
apply advanced analytics techniques to every aspect of an
individual’s communications, movements, interests and associations
– to the extent that such activity is lawful – yielding a depth of
real-time insights into private lives unimaginable two decades
ago.

Those powers can be very extensive—so much so that the report
includes a
legal annexe detailing the laws and agencies in various
countries authorizing and carrying out interceptions. In Australia,
for instance, the Telecommunications Act of 1997, the Australian
Security Intelligence Act 1979, and the Crimes Act 1914 all
authorize real-time interception of communications under different
circumstances varying from law enforcement to national
security.

In the U.K., the Telecommunications Act 1984 (yes, very
appropriate) gives the state broad power to issue orders to
telecommunications companies and forbid them to breathe a word
about the matter.

France requires that telecoms store data about users’
communications for a year, and a new law taking effect in 2015
requires companies to provide real-time location data to
intelligence agencies—essentially formalizing the use of cellphones
and other devides as tracking beacons.

Oversight of powers to intercept communications and force data
disclosures varies tremendously from country to country, as you
would expect from a list that includes established democracies
alongside overt police states.

Because of the difficulty in tracking the sort of content that
governments block, the report doesn’t delve deeply into access
restrictions. Very often filters are placed in parts of the network
that companies can’t monitor, and telling people about banned
information and services is itself forbidden in many countries.

“Refusal to comply with a country’s laws is not an option,”
Vodafone’s report says, rather defensively. It’s a claim that has
become something of a mantra for companies pressured to reveal data
about users or otherwise submit to controversial government
controls, especially in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations
about snooping by the National Security agency and its overseas
partners.

If the claim isn’t completely true, it’s close enough, since
most exceptions have been firms, like
Lavabit, that have
ceased operation rather than comply.

Telling the public about the full range of intrusions into
private communications also isn’t an option, since some disclosures
are illegal in certain countries. Defiance threatens not just
consequences for corporate wallets, but even personal danger. “In
some countries, individual Vodafone employees would be put at
risk,” the report warns. The country operates in garden spots
including Albania and South Africa, so emphasize the word
“risk.”

It’s also not clear how many governments directly tap
communications networks, since that capability can’t be monitored
by the company. Hungary appears to allow such monitoring, the U.K.
might (separate reports
say it does), while Germany and Spain appear to have no legal
provisions for such access. But how officials interpret their
countries’ laws is up to them.

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Brooklyn Bids for 2016 Democratic National Convention

From a few years ago spanning back to, oh,
always, it would have been unthinkable for New York City to vie for
a major national event by offering to hold it in Brooklyn.
But in a formal bid announced Friday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is
seeking to
host the 2016 Democratic National Convention at downtown
Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

“The shift to Barclays Center from Madison Square Garden, a
Manhattan institution that has played host to four Democratic
conventions and one Republican, would be freighted with symbolism,”

writes The New York Times‘ Michael M. Grynbaum.
“Bill Clinton, who ushered in a new era of Democratic centrism, was
nominated for president in 1992 after a dramatic entrance into the
Garden’s cavernous arena.”

But Clinton-era Democratic centrism is as out-of-vogue as ironic
trucker hats in Williamsburg. Perhaps a nominating convention in
Brooklyn “would be a way to underscore any leftward tilt in the
Democratic Party’s platform,” Grynbaum suggests.

The Barclays Center, is should be noted, is part of
the controversial
Atlantic Yards redevelopment project. Unlike the more organic
growth in other parts of Brooklyn, this redevelopment involved the
city coming in with eminent domain statutes blazing and totally
gutting an entire neighborhood. The area around the Barclays
center—which de Blasio describes in his bid letter as “one of the
most dynamic and resurgent neighborhoods” in the city—is now a
cesspool of chain stores and restaurants surrounded by some of the
worst traffic I’ve ever encountered in all of New York
City.

“The progressive spirit of New York City has never been stronger
or more vibrant that it is today,” de Blasio wrote in his letter to
the Democratic National Committee (DNC). New York was among 15
cities invited by the DNC to submit convention bids.

The recent trend in Democrat and Republican nominating
conventions has been to hold them in swing state cities, the better
to rally the soccer moms. But there are a few reasons why Democrats
could ultimately choose Brooklyn for 2016—the most obvious being
that the ostensible frontrunner for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton,
has made NYC her adopted home.

Also, without another candidate like circa-2008 Barack Obama,
Democrats will face a typically tough time getting young voters
motivated (unless the Republicans go full-tilt so-con, that is).
Though today’s 20-somethings may skew liberal, they don’t
necessarily skew Democrat. So building a little millennial
fervor at the convention, if possible, couldn’t hurt. And it seems
a whole lot more possible to attract young liberal types in and to
New York City than, say, middle America.

Anyway, for a fun take on all this see The Washington
Post, where Philip Bump reports live
from an imaginary future DNC convention in Brooklyn. “We
strongly recommend that you not leave the greater
Barclays/Bloomberg/Uber area,” our future tour guide cautions.
“It’s not dangerous, as such, but outside of the immediate vicinity
we will not be able to provide you with the proper trigger warnings
for your excursions.”

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The Last Minute VIX Murder

This…

K-Hen about to murder the VIX

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 6, 2014

And then this just happened… The lowest VIX close since Feb 2007

Close up…

And how does he do it? Through massive VXX selling in dark pools…

Is someone (cough Fed via Citadel) using dark pools to manage their volatility suppression – which implicitly spooks the actual markets in implied vol and thus in a “tail wags the dog” manner, juices the entire US equity market… but we do not find out about it until after hours as the dark pool unleashes its volume at VWAP pricing…

Makes us wonder if this is the fingerprints of the NY Fed’s Kevin Henry hard at work managing perceptions via dark pools with as much leverage as possible via the vol markets.

just like he did here the week of The Fed Minutes

As he did this week…

The qeustion is – will the same high volume flush happen tonight?

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1i9wj6w Tyler Durden

TedBits Weekly Wrap – June 6, 2014

TedBits Weekly WrapJune 6, 2014

It’s been a wild and wooly week for students of the economy and politics. A lot of significant developments on a number of subjects took place: ALL OF THEM NEGATIVE for the private sector and public. I will be covering a number of subjects in this week’s Weekly Wrap:

http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Hammering the ECONOMY
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Constitutional crisis Unfolding
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>European banks still in DEEP trouble and economies as well.
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Beware Suppressed Volatility
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>ECB meeting: NO SURPRISES – A “Let them eat cake” moment for the Eurozone

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force, like fire it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master."

– George Washington

Hammering the economy
The latest ECONOMIC death sentence from the District of Corruption was announced by the chief executive this week. The EPA has announced new rules and regulations issued by executive order crippling conventional energy production in the United States. The president says he is battling CLIMATE CHANGE to save the children. It will cost all of us dearly, especially our children. Unable to pass anything through congress due to bipartisan opposition the EPA is taking new authority based upon reinterpreting the plain language of the Clean Air Act passed in the early 1970s. Just like those living in the land of George Orwell where words have no meaning, laws can now be interpreted in any manner they wish. The US has firmly entered this land and the evil coming from our masters inside the beltway knows no limits. It’s all politics all the time, practical considerations be damned.

This PROGRESSIVE administration consists of blind ideologues and paid-for academics who write fairy tale analysis to justify any policy they wish to impose upon the country. This is a wholesale attack on inexpensive and affordable energy and MANDATES a 25% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 growing to 30% by 2030. They claim it will REDUCE electricity costs by 8% but don’t hold your breath. The problem is that there is no technology currently available that can achieve this mandate. The Chamber of Commerce is reporting that it will cost $50 Billion dollars a year and 250,000 jobs lost each and every year. I believe the job losses will be much greater. 40% of all electricity generated in America comes from CLEAN COAL. The United States hasn’t had any problems with coal fired plants since the days of acid rain during the Nixon administration. Projected Job Losses by these regulations:

The job losses are too large a price to pay to prevent something that we have absolutely no ability to prevent. Climate change is far from settled science contrary to the government assertions. In my opinion, it is a hoax cooked up by socialists and academics that have run out of other people’s money and need new sources of money to loot and redistribute to their cronies in crime. Putting climate change into prospective for people that can’t/don’t/haven’t been taught to think:

http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>The earth is about 9 billion years old (9 million million)
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Climate has changed throughout that period – hotter, colder, ice ages, tropical etc.
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Carbon has fluctuated wildly during this period. Man was not present for most of this time.
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Humans exhale Carbon Dioxide which is the air that plants breathe. Plants create oxygen that we breathe. It is a symbiotic part of nature between man and plants. God’s masterful planning.
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Man is a part of nature not a virus to it.
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>More carbon dioxide is emitted from a VOLCANIC ERUPTION than man has ever generated and plants breathe this also.
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Man has been out of the caves maybe 3000 years of the 30 million million
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Man has really burned fossil fuels about 75 years since the auto was invented
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>Climatologists have very little accurate information going back over 30 years
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>What percentage of 9 million million is 30 years? .0000000000000000003
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>What SCIENTIFIC conclusions can you reach from a sample that small? NONE

If you can wade through those FACTS and conclude that academics can say anything is SETTLED SCIENCE then you are a fool, a useful idiot and deserve the FATE and heartache their guidance will create for you. We all want clean air and environments, and anyone who knows history knows they have improved steadily through the decades as the US has matured. Carbon emissions have fallen steadily since 1992 and will continue to do so without help from the EPA and the District of Corruption. Man has no ability to affect climate change through carbon reduction. Man does not know what causes climate change, mother earth is far more complex than our pea brains can understand. Climate change is nothing but a hoax, a wealth and freedom confiscation scheme, another nail in the world’s greatest capitalist economy by the CENTRAL government that the constitution was meant to PREVENT. When I was a child in the late 60s, the government was warning us school children about an unfolding ICE AGE. The administration cannot get the legislature where laws must come from to pass a bill, so they are decreeing it. It is a just another constitutional crisis created by a lawless executive branch. They like to use FEAR to control the dumbest among us. What’s wrong with this picture?

Constitutional Crisis
Even though we are just barely into the dog days of summer there are lots of events unfolding which bear careful scrutiny and must be kept in mind as the greatest manmade crisis in human history continues to unfold. Few issues are greater than the unfolding CONSTITUTIONAL crisis in the United States, which is basically unreported by the media. The rule of law is damned and the rule of man has become the reality. The EPA power crab without legislation from Congress is the latest LAWLESSNESS out of the Executive branch. The federal takeover of property through misuse of wetlands legislation is up next. Look no further than the Affordable Care Act also known as OBAMACARE which has been modified over 38 times at last count with plainly no legislative basis. The NSA spying which violates the PLAIN language of the constitutional right to privacy, the IRS deployment against political rivals (this got NIXON impeached!), the latest prisoner swap by the president (plainly in violation of the plain language of the law)… the Justice department is just enforcing laws the administration agrees with and ignoring those it doesn’t. The dream act is another example of law made by executive order. This list is endless and growing by the day. If the executive branch was held by republicans, impeachment proceedings would already be in motion and the main stream media would be shouting it to the hills. But, since it is being done by their socialist masters, not a word is said. None of these things are being done with the advice and consent of your elected representatives.

In our system of government, laws originate in congress, are passed by them, then signed into law by the executive branch. Once done they can only be amended by the same process. Now they have become mere SUGGESTIONS to be handled at the discretion of the executive branch. Congress has abandoned most of its oversight RESPONSIBILITIES and only performs them when FORCED to do so by HEADLINES. Then, in most cases, it is all puff and hot air for the masses and a quick return to unaccountability to the public they claim to serve. “Go along to get along” from both sides of the aisle. It is SIGNALING a frightening and rapid descent into totalitarianism. This is happening all around us and I am dedicated to bringing it to you and outlining it.

Author’s Note: In my opinion the greatest manmade disaster and OPPORTUNITY in history is unfolding in every corner of the world. Are you diversified or operating with your eyes shut? Are you prepared to turn this into opportunity by properly diversifying your portfolio? Adding absolute return investments which have the potential to thrive (up and down markets) regardless of what unfolds economically? Hedging the printing presses impact on your paper money? This is what I do for investors; help them diversify into investments which are created to potentially thrive in the storm. For a personal consultation with me CLICK HERE!

European banks still in DEEP trouble.
The rush for YIELD continues to astound as even the weakest and most insolvent can raise funds if the rates are right. Piraeus Bank (Greece’s biggest bank) just issued its first bond in 5 years for 1.75 Billion Euro. No roadshow was necessary as it was oversubscribed by a factor of 2 in less than 48 hours. Totally unsecured lending from off shore institutions is setting the stage for the next run on the banks.

“Right now everyone is a yield hog,” says a senior London-based debt banker. “Institutions don’t care what they’re buying, they need that yield.” …Which could be problematic for UNSECURED LENDERS as non-performing loans represent 32% of all Greek loans, 27% of all Irish loans, 12.6% in Spain and 16.9 % in Italy. Looking at those numbers, most banks are operating in BANKRUPTCY since OFFICIAL reserves are not above 10%. These countries’ banking systems range from 250 to 400% bigger than the size of their domestic economies so those percentages foreshadow future banking rescues. When the ECB stress tests are conducted, it will be interesting to see how they SWEEP THIS UNDER THE RUG. One whiff of trouble and we will see who is swimming naked as foreigners run. They are all swimming naked, the banks and the investors in the bonds are in a game of Russian roulette. When you have problem loans of that magnitude, building your loan book is not an option. Managing the losses becomes all that is important. It is also why lending to the private sector is contracting as ZOMBIE banks are unable to do so or take risk. Take a look at the bifurcation from healthier banks lending in the core of the Eurozone and the ZOMBIES on the periphery.

Mind the GAP! HOW IN THE WORLD CAN THE PRIVATE SECTOR on the PERIPHERY CREATE THE GROWTH NECESSARY for Eurozone RECOVERY? No recovery can take place when only government is growing! All wealth creation and growth comes from the PRIVATE sector. The banks buy local government debt and, BY LAW, call it RISK FREE so no reserves are required to hold it. The government regulators are happy as government spending is funded until the charade of insolvency is exposed. And it will be exposed SOONER or LATER! Regulating lending to the GOVERNMENT.

Beware Suppressed Volatility
There is simply NO FEAR in the markets as many markets are hitting or exceeding pre-crisis peaks, corporate spread over treasuries, high yield bond issuance, vix, leveraged loans. This is all happening as tightening is occurring in the US, Eurozone (as inflation falls real rates are rising by definition) and China. Everything is priced for perfection in a QE world.

Gordon T. Long has several major turn dates clustered around July 16,17,18 and is looking for markets and the economy to turn decisively at that time. You are looking at a bull market in complacency. Anyone who knows history is frightened. Suppressed Volatility is KILLING the banks proprietary and market making revenues, revenues they cannot afford to lose. It is at pre-crisis levels of 2007 just as the lending and leverage insanity is:

I would daresay that we are staring the next crisis in the face, with utter destruction to be fully priced sometime in the next two years. Rarely, if ever in history, have investors paid more money for less returns. Moral hazard is an epidemic among investors and Bernanke put is alive and well. The only question is when does the tide turn? Here is another view of insanity in action courtesy of Mauldin economics and http://ift.tt/18lVhfm:

The last time we saw this must insanity was 2000, which preceded a 50%+ decline. This decline should be much worse as leverage is much higher. The taper sets the stage for a big fireworks show and a challenge to Yellen’s leadership. Expect a REVERSAL SOON in the markets and economy. Is this coming collapse being engineered by the powers that be? Creating a crisis to be exploited?

ECB meeting: NO SURPRISES – A “Let them eat cake!" moment for the Eurozone
Super Mario DID NOT surprise when he brought a squirt gun to a raging fire as economic activity will continue its collapse with this “too little too late” strategy. Lowering ECB deposit rates from 0% to -.1% and dropping the refinancing rate from .25% to .15%. This will have virtually NO effect as the LTRO money has mostly been repaid and funds on deposit at the ECB are nearing MULTI-YEAR LOWS. There is no money bank money balance sheets parked at the ECB to FORCE them to lend. In other words, he DID NOTHING. Take a look at the contraction in the private sector of the Eurozone over the last 3 years. It is breathtaking and it says two things:

http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>zero percent interest rates will do nothing to revive the economies of the EU
http://ift.tt/1gGYaQe);”>fiduciary FAILURE of Brussels and the ECB to reform the system is criminality in action.

"Let me issue and control a nation's money supply, and I care not who makes its laws."

-Mayer Amschel Rothschild, Founder of Rothschild Banking Dynasty

But the EURO and EUROZONE were never about practical solutions for the public good. They are political projects gathering unaccountable power over sovereigns and the private sector to centralized socialist authoritarians.

Look at that! Unbelievable! That is the FACE of an UNFOLDING DEPRESSION with three years of MOMENTUM! How can any self-respecting government or central bank not reform themselves and their policies till this is substantially REDUCED? Socialists would never dream of doing so as in their mind they are doing it for their OWN GOOD. Here is a look at Eurozone inflation adjusted for higher taxes and it is uglier than the Government number (as one would expect):

Once again, look at the MOMENTUM. The puny move the ECB has made is criminally short of what is required. Nothing will stop the freight train of economic collapse short of GOVERNMENT regulatory and tax reform combined with funding for the private sector through healthy banks. The zombies have NO LENDING capacity. The chances of these things happening are close to ZERO. Eurozone SOCIALIST governments NEVER return freedom or income once confiscated. Their goal is to seize and confiscate it. It is the source of the UNFOLDING societal unrest and the PLAN – Inflict pain until the public surrenders everything to their would-be masters in exchange for change. The public will give it up but the governments and central banks will not deliver them from their ANGUISH.

In closing
I hope you enjoyed this second weekly wrap. It is a compendium of my daily exercises on my blog at www.TedBits.com. It is the second of MANY. Don’t miss the next edition and my bi-weekly commentary, subscriptions are FREE: CLICK HERE.

This week was a debacle for the developed world and their citizens. The punishment being meted out by our public servants and banksters was TORTUROUS to us all, a complete betrayal by the powers that be. Markets are poised for serious adjustments as complacency and moral hazard is an epidemic as are record mispricings of many assets. Historically speaking, malinvestments which produce very little income RARELY produce returns over the long-term. Be careful out there!

See you next week, Ty

Author’s Note: Don’t miss the next edition of Weekly Wraps and my bi-weekly commentary at www.TedBits.com. Check out the blog! Subscriptions are FREE: Sign up today!

In my opinion, the greatest man-made disaster and OPPORTUNITY in history is unfolding in every corner of the world. Are you diversified or operating with your eyes shut? Are you prepared to turn this into opportunity by properly diversifying your portfolio? Adding absolute return investments which have the potential to thrive (up and down markets) regardless of what unfolds economically? Hedging the printing presses impact on your paper money? This is what I do for investors – I help them diversify into investments which are created to potentially thrive in the storm. For a personal consultation with me CLICK HERE!

DISCLAIMER AND TERMS OF USE: While TedBits strives to present accurate and useful information, we make no guarantee of accuracy or completeness. All information and opinion expressed herein is subject to change without notice. Opinions and recommendations contained herein should not be construed as investment advice. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell any securities or commodities. Do not assume that any recommendations, insights, charts, theories or philosophies will ensure profitable investment. The information contained herein is for personal use only. Any redistribution of this information is strictly prohibited.

Gold and silver backed means that various commodity options strategies in gold and/or silver may be used. When buying options, you may lose all of the money paid for the option. When selling options, you may lose more than the funds received for selling the option. Strategies using combinations of positions, such as spreads or straddles, may be as risky as taking a simple long or short position. A high degree of leverage is used to buy or sell a sufficient quantity of options and/or underlying futures contracts equal to the value of the entire portfolio. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you and lead to large losses as well as large gains. Absolute-return is not meant to imply that a positive return can or will be achieved. Absolute-return describes investment strategies which are designed to have the potential to succeed in rising, market-neutral and falling market conditions. Gold and silver backed and absolute return investments do not mean the investor will take actual physical possessions of any precious metal. Nor should any promise or guarantee be implied that such investments will perform better than any other investment in any possible future scenario described herein nor that such investments can or will preserve or protect in such possible future scenarios.

TedBits may include information obtained from sources believed to be reliable and accurate as of the date of this publication, but no independent verification has been made to ensure its accuracy or completeness. Many of the statements and views made are the opinions of the author. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. This report is not a request to engage in any transaction involving the purchase or sale of futures contracts or options on futures. There is a substantial risk of loss associated with trading futures, foreign exchange and options on futures. This letter is not intended as investment advice, and its use in any respect is entirely the responsibility of the user. Past performance in never a guarantee of future results.

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Feds Want to Further Redact Drone Memo, CIA Goes Social, Oklahoma Repeals Common Core: P.M. LInks

The Justice Department is,
predictably enough, asking the courts to redact more information
from the
drone memo that details the government’s justification for
assassinating American citizens overseas without a trial.
The CIA has started an
official Twitter account and Facebook page to provide more
avenues to spit out talking points that aren’t to be trusted.
The Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries Inc. are
donating
$25 million to fund scholarships to the United Negro College
Fund.
Common Core education standards have been
repealed in Oklahoma. The state will return to standards set in
2010 and develop new standards by 2016.
Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin had a brief chat in
France at a luncheon for the
70th anniversary of D-Day.
John Meis, the student who
disarmed the gunman who attacked Seattle Pacific University,
killing one and injuring two others, is being hailed as a hero.
Meis subdued the shooter with pepper spray as he was attempting to
reload.

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David Harsanyi on Compulsory Cake Baking in Colorado

The
Colorado Civil Rights Commission
has ordered a suburban Denver baker named Jack Phillips to make
wedding cakes for same-sex couples, finding that his religious
objections do not supersede the state’s anti-discrimination
statutes. But Phillips isn’t discriminating against gay Coloradans,
argues David Harsanyi. Gay customers are free to shop in the bakery
and purchase any of the cakes, cookies, and pastries they like,
without ever being asked by anyone whom they love or what the
gender equation is in their sex life.

Phillips simply does not want to participate in a very
specific ceremony, because he holds authentic,
well-documented religious objections to such an event, Harsanyi
notes. And though some may find Phillips’ objections lacking in
merit, according to the blueprint of the American founding,
religious concerns should take precedence over any “civil rights”
of cake seekers.

View this article.

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Tonight on The Independents: The War on Men

Who's hot and who's not! ||| Is there a “War on Men”? Lots of people seem to
think so, and a few of them will be on tonight’s episode of
The
Independents (Fox Business Network, 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT,
repeats three hours later). They include:

* Christina Hoff Summers, author of the
The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young
Men.

* Gavin McInnes, blunt-spoken miscreant, and author of “Let’s
Not Let Boys Be Boys.”

Pushing back on the thesis will be Jill Filipovic of
Feministe, and your ever-skeptical co-hosts. McInnes and
Red Eye regular Joanne Nosuchinsky will
also play a riveting game of “Name That Sexist.”

Aside from earnings disparities, divorce settlements,
zero-tolerance policies, and custody cases, “The War on Men” will
also hit on a couple of other important public policy issues:

*
Sexual assault on campus, both the incidence and investigation
thereof. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education President
Greg Lukianoff will talk about the latest developments.

* Injustice
in paternity establishment and related child-support issues.
Paternity fraud activist Carnell Smith
joins.

It’s a fun and informative show, and you should watch it on your
television set. Also, it repeats at 2 a.m. ET, and again Saturday
at 11 p.m. ET.

Follow The Independents on Facebook at http://ift.tt/QYHXdB,
on Twitter @ independentsFBN, and
click on this page
for more video of past segments.

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Small Caps Surge To Best Week In 2014

The US Dollar, gold, and oil closed the week unchanged… Treasury yields rose 6-8bps on the week… and the Russell 2000 had its best week in 2014… Sure, why not? VIX was crushed back to a 10-handle as managers lifted hedges and the Tepper-induced short-squeeze from yesterday followed through (+2.5% against a 1% rise in the S&P). The Dow and S&P 500 both closed at record highs (notably rich to the Fed balance sheet). Volume was 20% below average (and that was a payrolls day!). Copper tumbled over 2% – its worst week in 3 months as China's warehouse probe continues. VIX closed at its lowest close since Feb 2007 (and once again the strange shadowy figure of massive after-0hours volume spikes in VXX appeared).

The Russell had its best week in 2014…

The Short squeeze followed through this morning to lift the S&P to within a fraction of 1950…

VIX surged lower to close at its lowest print sincxe Feb 2007…

And once again a strnge massive volume hit in the after hours… (as we suspect dark pools flushed their visible hand of the Fed pressure into the markets at VWAP)

Treasury yield caught UP to stocks but are decoupling once again in thelast 2 days…

The bond market was quite volatile this week as the headlines smacked it around but ended higher by 6-8bps…

Copper was smacked lower on the back of China shadow banking probes, silver outperformed and oil and gold ended close to unch…

After all the headlines, all the vol, all the machinations… the USD closes unch on the week…

Charts: Bloomberg

Bonus Chart: We have seen the mysterious massive finger of god in VXX tradig before… the week of The Fed minutes… Someone desperately wants the world to see vol dropping and thus stocking popping on these important to maintain the status quo weeks…

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