Quote from Ed Breen:
This is what is happening....what do you think the Fed should do? Do you think the Fed can really create a context for Growth by iteslf? What do you think will happen to the excess debt situation if the Fed allows interest rates to rise?
In my view, it's not about the Fed, ultimately... As I have said before, IMO all we're doing is pushing leverage arnd the system, trying to decide who takes the utlimate haircut. In the end, the only way out of the mess is geopolitical and has to do with the the correction of global imbalances, whichever way that's actually achieved.Quote from Ed Breen:
This is what is happening....what do you think the Fed should do? Do you think the Fed can really create a context for Growth by iteslf? What do you think will happen to the excess debt situation if the Fed allows interest rates to rise?
Quote from Martinghoul:
In my view, it's not about the Fed, ultimately... As I have said before, IMO all we're doing is pushing leverage arnd the system, trying to decide who takes the utlimate haircut. In the end, the only way out of the mess is geopolitical and has to do with the the correction of global imbalances, whichever way that's actually achieved.
In general, everything is, as usual, about politics. Economics is a red herring.
Quote from Ed Breen:
Of course paying off debt is deleveraging...that is a tautology...'deleveraging means paying off more debt than you initiate. Observe aggegate private sector debt in the U.S. which is declining in an accelerating curve at historically unprecedented rates right now.
The fed has assets on its balance sheet becuase it recieved the money from Treasury to buy those assets. It was called TARP. The Treasury borrowed the money it loaned to the Fed by auctioning off Treasury securieties. In some cases the Treasury loaned Treasury securieties directly to the Fed. The Fed in turn, think TARP again, bought 'toxic', i.e. illiquid securites from the banks...exchanging money from treasury for securities that had no market demand. In some instance it swapped treasury instruments for illiquid paper. This removed the threat of write down of the illiquid assets that would have undermined bank balance sheets and destroyed thier capital ratio's making them technically insolvent. In contrast the Fed does not have any capital reserve requirement and it does not have to write down any assets. Now the Fed bought these assets at a discount depending on thier particular nature and we really still don't know what these assets are really worth, but the Fed carries them on its balance sheet at its purchase price and at its discretion with no risk to its continued operation (So long as the Treasury remains credit worthy). So, the banks got the new money and good securietes and they inturn deposited the money at the Fed as excess reserves. This was of course the same money the Fed gave them for the illiquid assets. So, now both are in the Fed balance sheet...ie. TARP funding times 2, becuase there is no loan demand in the private market and short term rates are at practicle zero basis so banks might as well leave excess reserves on deposit at the Fed...since they get the same rate or more than they would get on short term paper. As a consequence of borrowing money from the Treasury at very low interest and using it buy high yield securities from the banks at a discount and then recieving the proceeds of the purchase from the banks back as low cost deposits that they in turn use to purcahse longer term treasuries at a spread the Fed earned a profit of 48 Billion last year...most in its history....see, this is what Dodge was talking about...you can't solve a debt problem with debt.
