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It’s Our Money with Ellen Brown – What Democracy? – 10.28.15

As if the Greek tragedy of Syriza’s thrashing by the European Troika wasn’t enough, we’ve just witnessed direct overrule of a popular vote by the President of Portugal who refuses to accept a resounding public vote for governmental change. “The bondholders must be served!” reflects his declaration and the predicament citizens of the world face in reclaiming control of their money and their governments from Supra-national Finance. This week Ellen talks with Dr.Thomas Marois about how public banking is working despite the anti-democratic developments in other nations of the world and how the future of public banking will depend on social and political movements, and she looks at some of the current monetary issues headlining in the US with co-host Walt McRee. Bernie Sander’s support for postal banking is another headline grabber, as reported by Matt Stannard on the Public Banking Report.

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Alternative Visions – Europe Ups ‘Ante’ In Global ‘QE Currency Devaluation’ Game – 10.23.15

Jack reviews the most recent threat by Europe’s central bank to expand its ‘quantitative easing’ program in order to gain share of a slowing global trade pie. As the global economy slows and competition for exports intensifies from China to US to Japan to Europe, the European Central Bank announces plans to expand its $1.1 trillion free money program for bankers and investors. Jack explores the possible consequences of the likely decision: Japan will no doubt follow with further expansion of its own QE program to defend its share of global exports. The US federal reserve, its central bank, will be less likely to raise interest rates in turn—as US exports and manufacturing are already close to stagnating, and reducing US GDP. Simultaneously, China announces its sixth cut in interest rates. Major sectors of the global economy and intensifying competition over a shrinking global economy. Jack also updates recent Alternative Visions shows on the TPP, Big Pharmaceutical companies’ price gouging, and the Chrysler-Auto Workers recent negotiations. With TPP almost a done deal, now corporate America, Jack predicts, will focus on its second big objective: corporate tax cuts. How US multinational tech and pharma companies play the global tax avoidance game is explained.

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Ellen Brown – Time for the Nuclear Option: Raining Money on Main Street

Predictions are that we will soon be seeing the “nuclear option” — central bank-created money injected directly into the real economy. All other options having failed, governments will be reduced to issuing money outright to cover budget deficits. So warns a September 18 article on ZeroHedge titled “It Begins: Australia’s Largest Investment Bank Just Said ‘Helicopter Money’ Is 12-18 Months …

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Alternative Visions – ‘Corporate Cash Piles $15.3 Trillion; US FED Keeps Free Money Flowing’ – 09.18.15

Jack Rasmus discusses the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates near zero and keep free money to banks and speculators flowing. Jack explains how free money from the FED keeps financial asset bubbles in stocks, junk bonds, forex, derivatives and the like going, and feeds ever growing profits from financial assets. Who were the forces and lobbyists behind the FED decision? What did they have to gain? How the FED decision will soon result in central banks in Japan and Europe expanding their own ‘QE’ programs further, intensifying global currency wars and slowing global trade. How global finance capital has become addicted to the free money from the FED and other central banks and is unable to wean themselves off of it. What it means for the coming next recession. In the second half of the show Jack reveals how cash on US, Europe and Japan corporate balance sheets still exceeds $7.3 trillion—after corporations have distributed to shareholders since 2009 more than $8 trillion in stock buybacks, dividend payouts, and private equity firm profit sharing distributions to partners. Jack explains how corporations in the three regions, north America, Europe and Japan, accumulated the $15.3 trillion—i.e. from free money, legislated tax cuts, and cuts to worker’s wages and benefits.

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Nomi Prins – Mexico, Federal Reserve Policy and Danger Ahead for Emerging Markets

On August 27th, I had the opportunity to address the Aspen Institute, UNIFIMEX and PWC in Mexico City during a Q&A with Patricia Armendariz. Subsequenty, on August 28th, I gave the opening talk at the annual IMEF conference. The main issues of concern to local Mexican banks, as well as to Mexico’s central bank, are: 1) How the Federal Reserve’s …

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Peter Koenig – Greece: Has The New Government Already Sold-Out Before New Elections on 20 September?

The Delphi Initiative of Greece issued yesterday the following statement under the title Tsipras – Kammenos Surrender Greece: The Greek Left is a political force, the supporters of which gave heroic struggles in the past to defend democracy and national independence of Greece, thousands and thousands of them dying, sent into prison and exile or tortured. It is the first …

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Alternative Visions – US GDP Revisions + A Tale of Two Debt Deals-Greece & Ukraine – 08.28.15

Jack examines the big swing in the revised GDP figures for the 2nd quarter, and raises questions about the US Government’s ability to adjust for seasonality in the figures. How is it that every year for the past four years, the US economy (and GDP numbers) collapse to near zero or less in the winter and then surge above average in the spring-summer? Can it be just coincidence, occurring now four times? How reliable are GDP numbers, in the US and globally (China, India, Europe?). Jack then looks at the details of the recent revision, concluding that business inventories, net exports, and commercial building number swings have good reason to doubt the veracity or continuity of the numbers. In the second half of the show, the recent debt restructuring deals just concluded in Greece and Ukraine in recent weeks indicate a new kind of colonialism may be emerging in the periphery of Europe, where debt is used as the ‘product’ by the colonizers to extract wealth and an income stream from the ‘colony’ by means of financial asset transfer instead of direct low wage and low cost production of goods—as in the case of past forms of colonialism. Jack reviews in detail the recent Memorandum signed by Greece and the Troika, which not only reveals even more austerity but now a direct management of the Greek colony economy to ensure payments on the $400 billion plus debt continue to be made. Direct management is a new feature of the new ‘inside’ colonialism. Direct management is even more blatant in the case of the Ukraine deal, Jack explains, where former US and EU shadow bankers now run Ukraine’s economy on a day to day basis. Depressions will get worse in both countries and more debt restructurings are inevitable.

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Deirdre Fulton – After Contentious All-Nighter, Greece Bailout Approval Spurs Rebellion

In a development spurring calls for a new “anti-bailout movement,” the Greek Parliament early Friday approved a controversial €85 billion financial rescue package—the country’s third such bailout from foreign creditors in five years, and one that will require the Greek people to endure further cuts and austerity. “After more than seven hours of often passionate, bad-tempered debate, all through the …

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New Issue Brief Finds that Even Projections for Paltry Gains from TTIP Are Greatly Overstated

Washington, D.C.– A new issue brief from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) examines widely cited studies on the potential gains from the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and finds that they would deliver just 40 cents per person per day in the U.S., and 0.2 euros per person per day in the EU. Supporters of the …

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Walden Bello – Europe’s Big Banks Are Fueling the Continent’s Far-Right Fascists

For a moment this summer, it appeared that Greece had cornered its creditors. In a hotly contested vote in which their European neighbors openly intervened, Greeks overwhelmingly voted to reject more austerity. In a controversial turnaround, however, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras then submitted to the demands of eurozone leaders for more austerity measures in return for a bailout loan …