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Perspectives on America, ‘Short Takes on Wealth – 110
A Nickels Worth of News
Daily financial headlines continue to provide a warning beacon, of things to come – but is America listening…
This is Jeff Bennett for the Preparedness Podcast, with another installment of Perspectives on America, ‘Short Takes on Wealth – 110.’
Today’s topic… “A Nickels Worth of News”
Small, midsize U.S. banks need to raise more capita
The U.S. financial system remains under stress, with small and midsize banks in particular potentially needing to raise more capital, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund that shows the continuing strains facing the U.S. economy. The IMF found that U.S. banks need to raise about $45 billion in new capital — most of it by regional and small banks — to ride out an “adverse” economic scenario that amounts to a dip back into recession while maintaining the fund’s recommended capital ratio. (Read Full Story)
Financial regs bill ignores root problems
Supporters of the massive 2,200-page bill say it will bring safeguards to consumers which led to the nation’s current financial crisis. But critics are reluctant to believe what President Obama and those supporters say about the Chris Dodd/Barney Frank-sponsored measure. Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at The CATO Institute, says the bill is worse than no changes at all. (Read Full Story)
Chavez: Financial Disaster
Anytime Congress passes a 2,300-page law that creates more than 500 new regulations and sets up a new, complicated bureaucracy, we should be nervous. And the major financial overhaul that has cleared the final hurdles in the Senate proves the rule. The legislation — the brainchild of Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. — is the biggest overhaul of the nation’s financial industry since the 1930s. (Read Full Story)
Historian warns of sudden collapse of American ‘empire’
“I think this is a problem that is going to go live really soon,” Ferguson said. “In that sense, I mean within the next two years. Because the whole thing, fiscally and other ways, is very near the edge of chaos. And we’ve seen already in Greece what happens when the bond market loses faith in your fiscal policy.” Ferguson said empires such as the former Soviet Union and the Roman empire can collapse quite quickly and the tipping point is often when the cost of servicing an empire’s debt is larger than the cost of its defense budget. “That has not been the case I think at any point in U.S. history,” Ferguson said. “It will be the case in the next five years.” (Read Full Story)
