Obama: The Most Polarizing President. Ever. – Washington Post   Not my comment, but the Washington Post’s!  “President Obama ran — and won — in 2008 on the idea of uniting the country. But, each of his first three years in office have marked historic highs in political polarization, with Democrats largely approving of him and Republicans deeply disapproving.”

EU Stumbles as Merkel Signals Greece Debt Deal Delay – Bloomberg   “European leaders sparred with Greece over a second rescue program, clouding progress toward a permanent aid fund and tougher budget rules designed to stabilize the euro.”

Investors Face More than 70 Pct Loss in Greek Deal – Breitbart   “Investors participating in a deal to slash Greece’s massive debt would face an overall loss on their bond holdings of more than 70 percent, a person involved in with the negotiations said early Tuesday.”

The $1.2 Tril Gap: Obama’s Subpar Recovery Continues – Investor’s Business Daily   “The latest economic data make it clear that President Obama’s policies aren’t helping the country get stronger. Rather, they’re smothering what should have been a solid recovery.”  This finding is not that surprising!

The Harsh Realities Of a Buffet Tax – Washington Post   “So, raise tax rates on Warren Buffett and others to upper-middle-class levels. But recognize that the anti-wealthy populist rhetoric is mostly political expediency. It distracts from the serious issues the country faces – creating jobs and closing long-term budget deficits. The anti-rich backlash is growing; a Pew poll finds 66 percent of Americans see “strong” conflicts between rich and poor, up from 47 percent in 2009. Pandering to this is easier than dealing with the future.”

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By Charles Hugh Smith

The widening divide between the Upper Caste and everyone below is not just of income and wealth–it is also cultural and values-based.

A recent Wall Street Journal article entitled The New American Divide by demographer Charles Murray described a widening cultural divide between the “haves” (the upper middle class, roughly the top 20% managerial/creative class) and the “have-nots,” what many would call the lower middle class and Read More »

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Consumer Spending in U.S. Stalls as Americans Save – Bloomberg   “Consumer spending stalled in December as Americans used a jump in incomes to restore depleted savings, indicating the biggest part of the economy will not be a driver of the expansion.”

IMF Lagarde:No One Is Immune; It’s Not Just A Eurozone Crisis – Deutsche Borse   “No one is immune in the current situation. It’s not just a Eurozone crisis, it’s a crisis that could have spillover effects around the world. No country is immune and everyone has an interest in making sure that this crisis is resolved adequately.”

Europe Signs Up to German-Led Fiscal Pact – Reuters   “Chancellor Angela Merkel cemented her political ascendancy in Europe on Monday when 25 out of 27 EU states agreed to a German-inspired pact for stricter budget discipline, even as they struggled to rekindle growth from the ashes of austerity.”

The Neverending Bailout: The U.S. Is Still Owed $133 Billion from Crisis Fund – TIME   “If you thought the bank bailout that started in late 2008 was long gone, you would be far from wrong. The special investigator for TARP, the government fund that was created in the wake of the financial crisis, released a report last week that said the government is still owed $133 billion from the fund.”  You probably forgot about this, didn’t you?

Banks Fight to Exempt Half of Swaps Books – Bloomberg   “More than half of the derivatives- trading business of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and three other large banks could fall largely outside the Dodd- Frank Act if they succeed in lobbying regulators to exempt their overseas operations, government records show. “  Does this make any sense to you?

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EDITOR’S COMMENT: Here is a rather contrarian thought-process by Alan Caruba on whether President Obama really wants to win another term in November. While all outward signs strongly indicate that Obama and his political machine are gearing up for a major effort this year, Caruba has some interesting comments and facts, the sum total of which leads to his conclusion. Accurate or not, his thinking makes for an interesting read!

By Alan Caruba

It Read More »

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By Eric Fry

Whoops!…Oh dear!…It looks like Ben fell off the wagon again!

Such a shame. He had been doing so well ever since he put that bottle of “Old Q.E.” back on the shelf last June… and got sober. But a few weeks back, he tripped up on his 12-step program and started nipping at the bottle again. Slowly at first… then to excess.

Yes, it’s true, dear reader, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Read More »

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The Silent Anschluss: Germany Formally Requests That Greece Hand Over Its Fiscal Independence – Zero Hedge   “The source added that under the proposals European institutions already operating in Greece should be given ‘certain decision-making powers’ over fiscal policy.” This is exactly what Greece was worried about: an annexation by Germany!

Obama’s Low-Ball Distributionist Vision – Real Clear Markets   “You would think that with one of the weakest economic recoveries on record, President Obama would be desperately searching for ways to promote economic growth. It is, after all, an election year. Most pundit and pollsters agree that it’s economy stupid.”

Obama’s New Shame Police – Orange County Register   “When the administration issued vast new rules and regulations about who insurers have to cover and what services they have to provide, it apparently never realized those things would cost money, and a lot of it, which would have to be obtained from individuals in the form of higher premiums. Instead of revisiting whether these policies were all that necessary to begin with and worth the pain, all they propose to do now is blame the other guy.”

Simpson Says ‘Terrified’ Obama Walked Away From Deficit in State of Union – Bloomberg   “President Barack Obama ‘walked away’ from his bipartisan U.S. deficit-cutting commission’s plan ‘because he knew he’d be torn to bits,’ said former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, who was co-chairman of the panel.”

EU and US Economic Leaders Spar at Davos – Channel News Asia   “Key policy-makers from Europe and the United States thrashed out ideas for pulling the eurozone out of its debt crisis at the Davos forum on Friday, days ahead of a key European summit.”

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By John Rubino

The Fed just spoke. Here’s a slightly edited transcript:

Blah blah blah … the economy has been expanding moderately … blah blah blah boilerplate inanity blatant lie … the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability ….

To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with the dual mandate, the Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary Read More »

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Fitch Cuts Italian, Spanish Ratings – Bloomberg   “The credit ratings of Italy, Spain and three other euro-area countries were cut by Fitch Ratings, which said the five nations lack financing flexibility in the face of the regional debt crisis.”

Investors Fear Mounting Losses in Portugal as Second Rescue Looms – Telegraph   “Portugal is fighting a losing battle to contain its public debt and may be forced to impose haircuts of up to 50pc on private creditors, according to a top German institute.”

Losing the Future: Obama Proposes to Spend More Money We Don’t Have – Chicago Tribune   “For that matter, the promise to “pay down our debt,” which the president made twice in his address, is false. Republicans and Democrats are not arguing about how to pay down debt. They’re arguing about how quickly or slowly we will continue to accumulate debt.”

Republican Leaders Expect Payroll Tax Deal – Reuters   “Top Republican lawmakers on Sunday said they expect to forge a deal with Democrats to extend the payroll tax cut before it expires at the end of February but offered no specifics on how they would pay for it.”

Will Buffett Avoid the Buffett Rule? – Wall Street Journal   “The sage of Omaha is already positioned to shield most of his rising wealth from such a tax.”

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By Peter Morici

Preliminary estimates indicate GDP growth was a disappointing 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter—analysts had expected 3.2 percent.

A huge jump in inventories accounted for 65 percent of all growth, indicating perilous overstocking. Consumers are expected to pull back a bit in the first quarter owing to mounting credit card debt.

Over stocking in the fourth quarter plus slower consumer spending, indicate growth will likely be less than 2 percent in Read More »

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