US 13.4 TRILLION DEBT

S&P is taking a lot of stick from Investors for downgrading the U.S. Credit Rating but some analysts are saying they were only doing their job and the sell
off around the World is because of other problems, the EU, China, and a lot of panic selling is going on.

The Dow Jones is currently down 3% and across the World there has been a sharp drop in Share Prices, where it all ends is anyone"s guess but it is looking more and more like a double dip recession.

Bank of America in trouble, share price has dropped from $16 to $7 and two prominent shareholders who between them have lost $1.5 Billion are
to attend an urgent meeting to discuss. the DOW dropped over 5% yesterday and shares prices across Europe and Britain have fallen again today.

Sharma, the President of S&P has just been interviewed and is confident the right decision was made to downgrade the U.S. because he says the debt
is still rising and efforts to reduce it should have been made a long time ago.

Bernanke has agreed to hold the interest rate low until Sept. 2013 to try to stimulate House Building and buying , gains on the Stock Exchange
have narrowed as a result. Bank of America is being sued . Goldman Sachs also has legal issues. Because so many people are putting spare cash in their Bank rather than speculate on the Stock Exchange, the Banks are charging them .!!!!!!

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are being sued and in danger of having to pay huge damages.

One Investment Manager said the problem is, the rich are getting richer and the poor are having children....sums it up nicely.

The Security Exchange commission is to investigate S&P"s downgrading of America downgrade of triple A rating. Also, it will investigate why S & P
Staff met with Private Investors beforehand. Since Moody"s and Fitch did not downgrade there is speculation about S& P"s decision.

Warren Buffet has put the cat amongst the Pidgeons by saying the multi rich should pay highter Taxes. He says he made $7 million last year but only paid 17% which is immoral when middle class Americans are paying 30-40%. This is not going to please Wall Street and Banks, but he has a big following
in the States and makes sense.

There is an investigation going on in the Justice Dept. as to why S & P downgraded the U.S. and what methology was used. Sounds like they are looking
for a scapegoat now the U.S. is heading for a recession. The 3 rating Agencies have always been the method of obtaining creditworthiness and for me
this is a prime example of shooting the Messenger .

also, American Investors , particularly Hedge Fund Managers are investigating European Banks.

I just received this from my American Friend , it is times like this that strong Government is required , seems Europe, Britain and the U.S. are lacking
Leadership.


Well said

[size=9]Ed
Koch Commentary


August
15, 2011

[size=21]Mr. President, Please Listen And In the Words Which
Encouraged Harry Truman, “Give ‘Em Hell”[/size]



I watched the eight Republican
candidates debate among themselves last week.
Many of the opinion-makers of our country, early on decided to attack
many of these candidates, most of whom either are themselves card-carrying
members or adherents of the Tea Party as well as members of the Republican
Party. All are seeking Republican Party
support while advocating Tea Party positions on major issues, e.g., reducing or
eliminating entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
and slashing federal government expenditures.

Candidates like Congresswoman Michele
Bachmann (R-MN) and Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) have been described by some
observers of the political scene as wackos or crazies. I think those views are now changing. I must admit here that I have used those
words in describing the views of some candidates, but I won’t anymore. The eight participants in the debate handled
themselves extremely well. While I was
not persuaded by their arguments and views and remain a Democrat supporting many
Democratic programs, I can well understand why they and their supporters demand
changes in federal programs along the lines advocated by Tea Party
philosophy. Michele Bachmann won the
Iowa straw poll, coming in one percentage point ahead of Ron Paul. Tim Pawlenty came in third and has withdrawn
from the race.

Liberal philosophy has adopted the
Keynesian position that in times of recession and depression, government must
prime the pump and spend its way out to achieve better times. The Tea Party view and that of the
Conservative government of David Cameron in Great Britain adheres to the
old-fashioned view that my mom often expressed:
“You don’t spend money you don’t have.”
That was my view when I was mayor of New York City and in my personal
life. I have two credit cards. I have never paid charges on either of them
over and above my actual purchases. I am
one of those customers the credit card companies hate and may lose money on, if
they are dependent on the usurious rates of interest they receive from those
using their credit cards as access to bank loans.

When I was Mayor, I supported then and
do now a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) balanced budget imposed
by the state legislature requiring New York City to limit its operating budget
to what was reasonable to expect the City to receive the year of the adopted
budget. The Tea Party believes in a
balanced budget for the U.S. and wants to enact it into law by the adoption of a
constitutional amendment. Liberals are
horrified with the idea. My mother would
have loved it. It seems to me to make
sense, provided there is an exception when the U.S. is at
war.

We were a lower-middle class family
when I grew up in Brooklyn. Perhaps even
poorer than we thought. My father made
$65 a week. Our rent in Flatbush in 1941
was $65 a month – the then accepted ratio – and my parents were able to lead a
reasonably decent lifestyle, bringing up three children and sending them to
college. I believe my parents values
would be described as politically liberal.
Early on in my political career, I referred to myself as a liberal with
sanity.

Mr. President, the country we all love
is hurting enormously, with huge unemployment.
Isn’t it possible to create work programs like the WPA (Works Progress
Administration) and spend monies on infrastructure for bullet trains, repairing
roads and bridges that are falling down and other truly needed capital programs
by creating what we don’t have now – a separate capital budget (which states and
cities have) that would permit borrowing and pay the cost of a capital item over
its expected life, instead of maintaining the single unified budget which the
U.S. currently has? I am not an
economist, but shouldn’t that be considered?
The need for jobs with our unemployment rate in excess of 9 percent is
universally accepted.



People everywhere are asking why don’t
you call the Congress back from their unearned vacations to address the huge
problems now facing the nation. You can
still win back the support of the public by publicly setting forth in detail
your plan to address these enormous problems.
It should be a plan fashioned not on consensus, but your plan and if your
political adversaries oppose it, so be it.
Then you must go over their heads to the vast public, appealing to its
common sense, asking them to support you.
Take your plan into the next election and make your proposed programs the
referendum on which the public will be voting in the presidential election of
2012.

Remember what Harry Truman did in 1948
with the do nothing Congress? While
Harry Truman is my political hero, you are far more eloquent than he was. You can bring the nation to your side if you
convince people that what you are asking them to do is to join hands in
self-sacrifice, sharing the nation’s burden proportionately to their economic
status. We are a generous nation, a
patriotic nation, a nation like no other in our diversity. Today, we are so divided and feel
leaderless. You can bring us together
and lead us to the promised land.

Mr. President, doesn’t it appear
strange to you that the war in Afghanistan has been going on for ten years and
this month of August, we have already sustained 51 deaths there? We spend billions annually on the military
budget. Indeed, our military budget is
equal in the aggregate to the military budgets of the next 17 nations. I suspect the Taliban spends less than $10
million on its military, maybe $50 million annually, and yet, they have fought
us to a standstill. Shouldn’t we be
getting out this year, instead of waiting for 2014, or as appears to be the
case, staying permanently in a land where the people hate
us?

Mr. President, we have been in Iraq
for eight years. We have spent hundreds
of billions fighting the insurgents in Iraq.
Probably over a trillion dollars for the two wars – Afghanistan and Iraq
– that are bleeding us, killing and injuring our young soldiers, ripping off the
billions we send to rebuild their country, while our people are suffering in an
economic crisis. Within the past week,
Iraq’s premier aligned Iraq with Syria and Iran, our declared enemies. Syria is now engaged in killing its own
citizens, shooting them down in the streets of Hama and other cities. Does it make sense that you criticize Bashar
al-Assad, President of Syria, and now our supposed ally, the new Iraq, is
supporting the butcher of Syria? While
he is doing that, The Times reports we are negotiating with Iraq to stay past
the end of this year with no date set for our leaving.

We are told Iraq needs our soldiers to
protect it until Iraqi soldiers become able to do so. Mr. President, what happened to the Iraqi
soldiers’ ability? That army eight years
ago was the terror of the region. Mr.
President, our country is hurting.
Please take the actions needed to assure us someone is in
charge.






[/size]

Hedge Fund Managers in the U.S. are furious with the EU for being so indecisive about how to deal with the problem of some Countries probably
defaulting and have asked the Federal Reserve to intervene because their Clients are losing so much money . There is a persistent rumour that
Deutchebanke and Societe Generale have more debt than they are letting on and in the U.S. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are in trouble.

During the Lehmann Bros. crisis it has been revealed that the Federal Reserve Bank lent $1.2 TRILLION to various Banks including several European Banks and RBS who already had a massive bailout from the BOE.

How can we ever trust Banks again?

There are 19 Economic Laureates holding a Meeting in Lindau, Germany to discuss the World crisis. Edmund Phelphs was interviewed and said the
situation in the U.S. is dire. Debt and Entitlement total $ 66 TRILLION and some drastic measures must be taken. Banks lend to Government at very
good interest and when the money runs out there is no liability on the Government. CEO"s should learn to invest long term instead of 3 months and
Corporate Governance must change and look more to lending to innovative Businesses and Production Companies.

George Soros, who famously made £1 million in 1987 on a currency deal is saying Banks around the World are Stressed and cannot function properly
which will worsen the Crisis. Emerging Markets are afraid to take action for fear of being drawn into the crisis.

Obama speech yesterday said an extra $477 billion was to be spent by reducing taxation etc and he called on the Republicans to stop grandstanding
and agree the proposals for the sake of their Country. Bernanke says there is a a likelihood of the Economic crisis getting worse and said the
Government should stop playing Politics and work together. U.S. Stocks ended slightly lower so all the other Countries have started in negative territory.

The Wall Street Journal has issued an anonymous Report that BNP Paribas is unable to borrow U.S Dollars which the Bank has denied. European
stocks started a small gain but after this news Banks across Europe declined .

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are in trouble , GS dividend reduced by 97%!!!

American stocks in decline overnight, Europe will follow suit today. 46 million people in the U.S. living below the poverty line. That"s almost
1 in 4 people, very surprising.

China has said it will not help in bailouts until these Countries put their house in order and ensure stable economies.Europe needs to take action
to stabilise the Euro.

An Investment Analyst on T.V. today said the situation in America is like the 1929 Wall street crash because something like 1% of the population
owns 99% of the Country"s wealth. These Multi billionaires pay the lowest taxes, find tax havens to hide their money and until a fairer system can
be found 40 odd million Americans will continue to live below the poverty line.

He says the U.S. is in a Plutocracy

Obama"s plan to reduce the deficit is not going very well , 75% of the population agrees with his plan to tax the rich more. An orderly protest march
by young people has a lot of support. They are protesting against Wall Street dictating Government Policy which should be applauded and I have no
doubt it will remain orderly.

Moody"s has cut the rating for Bank of America and Wells Fargo . other Banks ,including Goldman Sachs are suspect and if more European Banks
need bailing out the repercussions are enormous.

It appears Bank Shares around the World are declining and Goldman Sachs in particular, one of America"s biggest Banks , is in trouble. This Bank misled
shareholders by not declaring all it"s borrowings from the Lehmann crisis and is yet another reason why Banks around the World MUST come under strict control, investment gambles like" Hedge Funds " etc to be banned and Investors start investing for the long term, not the quick profit which is the norm.

Bank of America and JP Morgan are being sued over Mortgage Security deals.........these Banks are already short of cash. More analysts are saying the U.S. is heading for recession.

Peter Bernholz, an economist at Basel University in Switzerland, has
studied every episode of hyperinflation in recent history. Poland,
Germany, Brazil, Greece, and dozens more ...


Dr. Bernholz’s work shows that in nearly all cases, there is a
common “tipping point” signaling hyperinflation is imminent. It occurs
when a country borrows 40 cents of every dollar they spend.


Today, the U.S already borrows 42 cents of every dollar spent.


Hyperinflation is not just a remote possibility. It’s becoming more
likely by the day. We have only begun to print our way out of this
mess, and prices are already soaring. (ignore the official data; it is
biased, as we will argue in this free report).


Look at food prices, which are up 34% in the last year, according to The Economist.


Or simply look around you. $200 for your monthly cable bill, $2 for
a soda, $100 for a night of bowling. Yet salaries are stagnant.


Something is fundamentally wrong with the system. And if history is
any sort of a guide, it may take another decade or more to sort out.


IMPORTANT: Rampant inflation WON’T be the end of the world.


BUT it is likely to mean a lower standard of living, for an extended period.


There is no easy solution to a 40+ year debt binge. The money must
be paid back, and inflation is often viewed by politicians as the path of least resistance.


There may be a period of market turmoil as the economy adjusts to the “new normal”.


This is why it is absolutely critical to have a plan in place to
preserve, even grow your family’s assets during these chaotic times.


I’m not talking about just owning gold and silver, either. We like
precious metals, but they’re only one piece of the pie. And they have
their limitations.

A protest movement calling itself "occupy Wall St" held a March yesterday in protest at the lack of jobs for young people and the bail-out of the Banks.

Several hundred marched from Wall Street but when they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge the Police intervened and arrested several protesters although there was no violence by them and THEY didn"t smash Windows, pour paint over Shop Fronts and Police, set fire to Police cars etc.

Another sign of the severity of the financial problems around the World and the lack of vision and leadership by Politicians.

Panda wrote:A protest movement calling itself "occupy Wall St" held a March yesterday in protest at the lack of jobs for young people and the bail-out of the Banks.

Several hundred marched from Wall Street but when they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge the Police intervened and arrested several protesters although there was no violence by them and THEY didn"t smash Windows, pour paint over Shop Fronts and Police, set fire to Police cars etc.

Another sign of the severity of the financial problems around the World and the lack of vision and leadership by Politicians.

I read on Sky News that the protesters were told by police to keep to the walkways on the Brooklyn Bridge, but that a few hundred walked into the traffic. The police then cut them off with nets and started handcuffing.

I think there will be more protest marches and the police will get heavier and heavier.