September 06, 2015:
5 U.S. Banks Each Have More Than 40 Trillion Dollars In Exposure To Derivatives
By Michael Snyder, on
September 24th, 2014
When is the U.S. banking system going to crash? I can sum it up in three words. Watch the derivatives. It used to be only four, but now there are five “too big to fail” banks in the United States that each have more than 40 trillion dollars in exposure to derivatives. Today, the U.S. national debt is sitting at a grand total of about 17 trillion dollars, so when we are talking about 40 trillion dollars we are talking about an amount of money that is almost unimaginable. And unlike stocks and bonds, these derivatives do not represent “investments” in anything. They can be incredibly complex, but essentially they are just paper wagers about what will happen in the future. The truth is that derivatives trading is not too different from betting on baseball or football games.
Click on Link:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/5-u-s-banks-each-have-more-than-40-trillion-dollars-in-exposure-to-derivatives
U.S. Banks Have Paid $67 Billion in Fines and Penalties, But No One Has Gone to Jail
Nov. 20, 2014 12:00pm
John Lawrence Allen
Since 2010 six Wall Street banks have agreed to pay $67 billion in penalties and settlements, but no one has been prosecuted since 2008. We are now on the verge of yet another round of settlements with JP Morgan’s proposed $13 billion settlement and Bank of America’s $8 billion settlement, which would bring the total to just under $90 billion.
We hear these numbers, but they’re only numbers. People just turn their heads and say, ” it’s just a cost of doing business”. If we stop for a moment and try to comprehend the enormity of the frauds that could precipitate $90 billion in fines, we might just barely comprehend the vast amount of illegal and unethical (probably not illegal) activity practiced daily by these behemoths.
Click on Link:
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/u-s-banks-have-paid-67-billion-in-fines-and-penalties-but-no-one-has-gone-to-jail/
Russia Has a China Problem, Too
By Alexander Gabuev
September 04, 2015
During Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing this week, he will be at pains to downplay the ongoing chaos in Chinese financial markets, drop in global crude prices, and lackluster Sino-Russian trade figures. Taken together, these developments are a huge disappointment for a Kremlin that just a few months ago was betting on China to serve as an economic lifeline for the Russian economy in the wake of Western sanctions.
Now, with the devaluation of the renminbi (RMB) and the Shanghai and Shenzen indices off by roughly the equivalent of three times Russia’s current GDP, the Kremlin’s China dreams may be going up in smoke. Many in the Russian leadership are now worried sick that if Chinese growth quickly decelerates, Russian GDP and state coffers are bound to be among the biggest losers. After all, it is largely Chinese demand for oil, metals, and other commodities that drives the price behavior of the Russian economy’s main exports. The PBOC’s moves to adjust the mechanism for setting the RMB exchange rate have raised global worries about China’s prospects and triggered a selloff in global crude and commodities markets.
Click on Link:
http://thediplomat.com/2015/09/russia-has-a-china-problem-too/
The conflicts and failures behind the European migrant crisis
September 2, 2015
The architects of the European Union set out decades ago to create an alliance free of national obstacles to the movement of people and the products of their labor.
No customs checks or passport control would be necessary when crossing the internal borders. The absence of tariffs on goods or barriers to employment was supposed to foster competition, efficiency and innovation.
The economic powerhouse that was supposed to arise was expected to share the wealth with the less fortunate, viewing the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers as its moral obligation to alleviate.
Click on Link:
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-european-migrant-crisis-explainer-20150902-story.html
Strong words from the Vatican as migrant crisis spikes worldwide
By Elise Harris
A Vatican official in charge of assisting migrants spoke about the increasing number of refugees around the globe and stressed that they should be welcomed as brothers and sisters – not seen as a burden.
From a Catholic perspective, migrants should above all be recognized as persons created “in the image and likeness of God, which is the basis of human dignity,” Fr. Matthew Gardzinski told CNA Aug. 26.
Christ left us the example that migrants “are brothers and sisters,” he said, and noted that too many migrants frequently find themselves “in very tragic situations, for example here in the Mediterranean, in Far East Asia.”
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