DEOP's Blog

FROM: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/2003052

8-9.html

MAY 2003

FROM: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/2003052
8-9.html

MAY 2003

Barclays warns of disaster as Fed loses all credibility

By cpowell

Created 2008-06-27 02:02

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The Telegraph, London
Friday, June 27, 2008

FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/

2008/06/27/cnbarclays127.xml

Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below zero."

"We're in a nasty environment," said Tim Bond, the bank's chief equity strategist. "There is an inflation shock under way. This is going to be very negative for financial assets. We are going into tortoise mood and are retreating into our shell. Investors will do well if they can preserve their wealth."

Barclays Capital said in its closely-watched Global Outlook that US headline inflation would hit 5.5pc by August and the Fed will have to raise interest rates six times by the end of next year to prevent a wage-spiral. If it hesitates, the bond markets will take matters into their own hands. "This is the first test for central banks in 30 years and they have fluffed it. They have zero credibility, and the Fed is negative if that's possible. It has lost all credibility," said Mr Bond.

Barclays warns of disaster as Fed loses all credibility

By cpowell

Created 2008-06-27 02:02

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The Telegraph, London
Friday, June 27, 2008

FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/
2008/06/27/cnbarclays127.xml

Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below zero."

"We're in a nasty environment," said Tim Bond, the bank's chief equity strategist. "There is an inflation shock under way. This is going to be very negative for financial assets. We are going into tortoise mood and are retreating into our shell. Investors will do well if they can preserve their wealth."

Barclays Capital said in its closely-watched Global Outlook that US headline inflation would hit 5.5pc by August and the Fed will have to raise interest rates six times by the end of next year to prevent a wage-spiral. If it hesitates, the bond markets will take matters into their own hands. "This is the first test for central banks in 30 years and they have fluffed it. They have zero credibility, and the Fed is negative if that's possible. It has lost all credibility," said Mr Bond.

Somebody posted the following email making the rounds among the right wing zealot web sites. Hilariousy, whoever wrote this doesn't think that their fellow right wingers have enough intelligence to even prepare a Form 1040EZ, & sadly, from the cut & pastes & the comments posted they are correct. Yes, the dumbing of America can be humorous.

Taxes...Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these
statistics enlightening and amazing.

http://www.taxfound ation.org/ publications/ show/151. html

Taxes under Clinton                            Taxes under Bush 2008

Single making 30K - tax $8,400                Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000             Single making 50K - t ax $12,500
Sing le making 75K - tax $23,250              Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax $16,80 0            Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000            Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750          Married making 125K - tax $31,250
Both democratic candidates will return to the higher tax rates

It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above
think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest
President ever.  If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they
will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that
fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen. This is
like the movie, The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of
some money and they don't even know what happened.

This is nothing more then normal typical right wing zealot BS - throw out crap & hope someone believes it.   Whoever wrote this is either a lame little liar, or is just plain stupid enough to write about a subject he knows nothing about. 
  The writer of this crap certainly showed his complete lack of knowledge concerning income taxes. He listed a link: www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html



  knowing that some will blindly believe that his following calculations are shown on that web site. What the link actually brings you to is a report titled “Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History“ from 1913-2008. It shows all the tax brackets for each year, but it does not, for example, say how much tax a single taxpayer making 30K actually paid any year.     Here is where the laughs really take off. He claims:
Taxes under Clinton 1999                     Taxes under Bush 2008  

Single making 30K - tax $8,400            Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000          Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250          Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax $16,800        Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000        Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750      Married making 125K - tax $31,250  

ALL OF THESE AMOUNTS ARE INCORRECT!  

Let’s examine one of the claims - that in 1999, a single taxpayer making 30K paid income taxes of $8,400. The writer looked at the 1999 tax brackets showing that 30K for a single taxpayer was in the 28% bracket. So he multiplied $30,000 times 28%, and claimed $8,400 of taxes was paid. FUNNY, FUNNY STUFF!  

First, the writer doesn’t even know that tax brackets are based on taxable income, not what someone makes. In 1999, the single standard deduction was $4,300 & 1 personal exemption was $2,750. So this single taxpayer making 30K had taxable income of $22,950.  

So this single taxpayer who made 30K in 1999 was actually taxed on $22,950 (or less if he itemized deductions) which was taxed @ 15%.   Therefore his tax was $3,446, not $8,400.  

Secondly, the writer thinks that if your total income figure is within a higher tax bracket, then all your income is taxed at that rate. MORE FUNNY, FUNNY STUFF!

As you read the following, remember this:
In January 2006, per the Energy Information Administration  (eia.doe.gov),  the average of the weekly reports on gas prices was $2.32

FROM:http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm
/20911/sec_id/20911
The Oil bubble is largely the product of uncontrolled speculation by hedge funds, US pension funds and oil patch principals like T. Boone Pickens in the oil commodity futures and derivative markets. It has been fostered by two exemptions granted by the chief regulator of the US commodity markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission created by the Commodity Exchange Act of 1974 (CEA). The first exemption was, ironically, that granted to Enron in 2000 that enabled Over The Counter (OTC) energy derivatives trading. The second occurred in 2006 when, according to Business Week, the CFTC allowed ”unlimited speculation through a swaps loophole that exempted Wall Street investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch from reporting requirements and limits on trading positions that are required of other investors to the oil derivative traders on Wall Street vis a vis the ‘swaps’ exemption.” According to the Treasury Department, the top five Investment banks who dominate swap dealing in oil futures include: Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC America Holdings and Wachovia.

Witness this comment from the Engdahl report about how trading on the London-based ICE compounded the Enron loophole:
In January 2006, the Bush Administration’s CFTC permitted the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the leading operator of electronic energy exchanges, to use its trading terminals in the United States for the trading of US crude oil futures on the ICE futures exchange in London – called “ICE Futures.”
Persons within the United States seeking to trade key US energy commodities – US crude oil, gasoline, and heating oil futures – are able to avoid all US market oversight or reporting requirements by routing their trades through the ICE Futures exchange in London instead of the NYMEX in New York.
Is that not elegant? The US Government energy futures regulator, CFTC opened the way to the present unregulated and highly opaque oil futures speculation. It may just be coincidence that the present CEO of NYMEX, James Newsome, who also sits on the Dubai Exchange, is a former chairman of the US CFTC. In Washington doors revolve quite smoothly between private and public posts.
In January 2006 when the CFTC allowed the ICE Futures the gaping exception, oil prices were trading in the range of $59-60 a barrel. Today some two years later we see prices tapping $120 and trend upwards

FROM:http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&ai
d=9042
The chief market strategist for one of the world’s leading oil industry banks, David Kelly, of J.P. Morgan Funds, recently admitted something telling to the Washington Post, “One of the things I think is very important to realize is that the growth in the world oil consumption is not that strong."

Just a few days earlier, Lehman Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank had said that the current oil price bubble was coming to an end. Michael Waldron, the bank's chief oil strategist, was quoted in Britain's Daily Telegraph on Apr. 24 saying, "Oil supply is outpacing demand growth. Inventories have been building since the beginning of the year.”

In the US, stockpiles of oil climbed by almost 12 million barrels in April according to the May 7 EIA monthly report on inventory, up by nearly 33 million barrels since January. At the same time, MasterCard's May 7 US gasoline report showed that gas demand has fallen by 5.8%. And refiners are reducing their refining rates dramatically to adjust to the falling gasoline demand. They are now running at 85% of capacity, down from 89% a year ago, in a season when production is normally 95%.

The May 8 report from Oil Movements, a British company that tracks oil shipments worldwide, shows that oil in transit on the high seas is also quite strong. Almost every category of shipment is running higher than it was a year ago. The report notes that, "In the West, a big share of any oil stock building done this year has happened offshore, out of sight." Some industry insiders say the global oil industry from the activities and stocks of the Big Four to the true state of tanker and storage and liftings, is the most secretive industry in the world with the possible exception of the narcotics trade.

Through a convenient regulation exception granted by the Bush Administration in January 2006, the ICE Futures trading of US energy futures is not regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, even though the ICE Futures US oil contracts are traded in ICE affiliates in the USA.

As you read the following, remember this:
In January 2006, per the Energy Information Administration  (eia.doe.gov),  the average of the weekly reports on gas prices was $2.32

FROM:http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm
/20911/sec_id/20911
The Oil bubble is largely the product of uncontrolled speculation by hedge funds, US pension funds and oil patch principals like T. Boone Pickens in the oil commodity futures and derivative markets. It has been fostered by two exemptions granted by the chief regulator of the US commodity markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission created by the Commodity Exchange Act of 1974 (CEA). The first exemption was, ironically, that granted to Enron in 2000 that enabled Over The Counter (OTC) energy derivatives trading. The second occurred in 2006 when, according to Business Week, the CFTC allowed ”unlimited speculation through a swaps loophole that exempted Wall Street investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch from reporting requirements and limits on trading positions that are required of other investors to the oil derivative traders on Wall Street vis a vis the ‘swaps’ exemption.” According to the Treasury Department, the top five Investment banks who dominate swap dealing in oil futures include: Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC America Holdings and Wachovia.

Witness this comment from the Engdahl report about how trading on the London-based ICE compounded the Enron loophole:
In January 2006, the Bush Administration’s CFTC permitted the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the leading operator of electronic energy exchanges, to use its trading terminals in the United States for the trading of US crude oil futures on the ICE futures exchange in London – called “ICE Futures.”
Persons within the United States seeking to trade key US energy commodities – US crude oil, gasoline, and heating oil futures – are able to avoid all US market oversight or reporting requirements by routing their trades through the ICE Futures exchange in London instead of the NYMEX in New York.
Is that not elegant? The US Government energy futures regulator, CFTC opened the way to the present unregulated and highly opaque oil futures speculation. It may just be coincidence that the present CEO of NYMEX, James Newsome, who also sits on the Dubai Exchange, is a former chairman of the US CFTC. In Washington doors revolve quite smoothly between private and public posts.
In January 2006 when the CFTC allowed the ICE Futures the gaping exception, oil prices were trading in the range of $59-60 a barrel. Today some two years later we see prices tapping $120 and trend upwards

FROM:http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&ai
d=9042
The chief market strategist for one of the world’s leading oil industry banks, David Kelly, of J.P. Morgan Funds, recently admitted something telling to the Washington Post, “One of the things I think is very important to realize is that the growth in the world oil consumption is not that strong."

Just a few days earlier, Lehman Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank had said that the current oil price bubble was coming to an end. Michael Waldron, the bank's chief oil strategist, was quoted in Britain's Daily Telegraph on Apr. 24 saying, "Oil supply is outpacing demand growth. Inventories have been building since the beginning of the year.”

In the US, stockpiles of oil climbed by almost 12 million barrels in April according to the May 7 EIA monthly report on inventory, up by nearly 33 million barrels since January. At the same time, MasterCard's May 7 US gasoline report showed that gas demand has fallen by 5.8%. And refiners are reducing their refining rates dramatically to adjust to the falling gasoline demand. They are now running at 85% of capacity, down from 89% a year ago, in a season when production is normally 95%.

The May 8 report from Oil Movements, a British company that tracks oil shipments worldwide, shows that oil in transit on the high seas is also quite strong. Almost every category of shipment is running higher than it was a year ago. The report notes that, "In the West, a big share of any oil stock building done this year has happened offshore, out of sight." Some industry insiders say the global oil industry from the activities and stocks of the Big Four to the true state of tanker and storage and liftings, is the most secretive industry in the world with the possible exception of the narcotics trade.

Through a convenient regulation exception granted by the Bush Administration in January 2006, the ICE Futures trading of US energy futures is not regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, even though the ICE Futures US oil contracts are traded in ICE affiliates in the USA.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are a product that offers consumers a way to save on their health care costs. If you meet the qualifications and open a HSA, you receive a deduction on your income tax return which lowers your taxable income. In effect, the monies you then use from your HSA to pay medical expenses is tax free income, the same as employee health insurance deductions taken out of a pay check before tax.

One of the qualifications for opening an HSA is that your health insurance policy qualifies as a “high-deductible” policy - the deductible for 2007 must be at least $1,100 for individual coverage or $2,200 for families.

Presidents and their families are entitled to free government health care. Not only do they not have a “high-deductible” policy, they have a no deductible policy - as in FREE.

Yet on the tax returns on George & Laura Bush for 2007 & 2005, they claimed a deduction for an HSA. http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/President

ialTaxReturns

Since we all know our President obviously wouldn’t cheat on his taxes, I was wondering if anyone knew how the average taxpayer could legally claim this tax deduction & also lower their taxable income while not having to pay this “high-deductible amount” out of their pockets?

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are a product that offers consumers a way to save on their health care costs. If you meet the qualifications and open a HSA, you receive a deduction on your income tax return which lowers your taxable income. In effect, the monies you then use from your HSA to pay medical expenses is tax free income, the same as employee health insurance deductions taken out of a pay check before tax.

One of the qualifications for opening an HSA is that your health insurance policy qualifies as a “high-deductible” policy - the deductible for 2007 must be at least $1,100 for individual coverage or $2,200 for families.

Presidents and their families are entitled to free government health care. Not only do they not have a “high-deductible” policy, they have a no deductible policy - as in FREE.

Yet on the tax returns on George & Laura Bush for 2007 & 2005, they claimed a deduction for an HSA. http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/President
ialTaxReturns

Since we all know our President obviously wouldn’t cheat on his taxes, I was wondering if anyone knew how the average taxpayer could legally claim this tax deduction & also lower their taxable income while not having to pay this “high-deductible amount” out of their pockets?

Analysts predict vehicle repossessions this year will rise as much as 15 percent to about 1.6-million cases nationwide. That's on top of a 10 percent increase last year — yet another sign of the growing economic stress on consumers.

And Florida is one of the states where the trend is most obvious. Although the state doesn't track the number of vehicle repossessions, the number of people applying for licenses to either become a recovery agent or to start a recovery business has risen dramatically. Florida now has 390 interns seeking to become "recovery agents," the most the state has ever had.

FULL ARTICLE @ http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/workinglife/artic

le636031.ece

The increase in car repossessions is putting some repo companies and car auctioneers in a bind about where to park them all….

Florida locksmith Amy Palmer, who makes new keys for repossessed vehicles, told USA Today that business is "phenomenal." She added, "If you're not paying for your house, who is paying for the car?"

Full Article @ http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive

/2008/02/21/subprime-fallout-vehicle-repossessions-on-t

he-rise.aspx

"Look at what’s going on. Food prices are up. Job creation has slowed. People are losing their jobs. And gas is up. It’s all these factors combined," said Carol Kaplan, the bankers association’s spokeswoman.

Last year’s 1.51 million repossessions marked one of the biggest increases in a decade, 10 percent, and the growth is projected to continue this year, to 1.6 million, said economist Tom Webb of wholesale car auctioneer Manheim Consulting.

FULL ARTICLE @ http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jun/20080613Busi015

.asp

It is also an increasingly common story as more Americans, under growing economic pressure, are deciding to surrender their rides rather than the roofs over their heads

Lenders, meanwhile, are writing off billions of dollars in defaulted loans, and some analysts worry this could escalate to a foreclosure crisis on wheels.

Analysts predict vehicle repossessions this year will rise as much as 15 percent to about 1.6-million cases nationwide. That's on top of a 10 percent increase last year — yet another sign of the growing economic stress on consumers.

And Florida is one of the states where the trend is most obvious. Although the state doesn't track the number of vehicle repossessions, the number of people applying for licenses to either become a recovery agent or to start a recovery business has risen dramatically. Florida now has 390 interns seeking to become "recovery agents," the most the state has ever had.

FULL ARTICLE @ http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/workinglife/artic
le636031.ece

The increase in car repossessions is putting some repo companies and car auctioneers in a bind about where to park them all….

Florida locksmith Amy Palmer, who makes new keys for repossessed vehicles, told USA Today that business is "phenomenal." She added, "If you're not paying for your house, who is paying for the car?"

Full Article @ http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive
/2008/02/21/subprime-fallout-vehicle-repossessions-on-t
he-rise.aspx

"Look at what’s going on. Food prices are up. Job creation has slowed. People are losing their jobs. And gas is up. It’s all these factors combined," said Carol Kaplan, the bankers association’s spokeswoman.

Last year’s 1.51 million repossessions marked one of the biggest increases in a decade, 10 percent, and the growth is projected to continue this year, to 1.6 million, said economist Tom Webb of wholesale car auctioneer Manheim Consulting.

FULL ARTICLE @ http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jun/20080613Busi015
.asp

It is also an increasingly common story as more Americans, under growing economic pressure, are deciding to surrender their rides rather than the roofs over their heads

Lenders, meanwhile, are writing off billions of dollars in defaulted loans, and some analysts worry this could escalate to a foreclosure crisis on wheels.