Rising
Rates: Econometrics of the Cryptic Carry Trade This reality realty missive is an epic aside about three suckling sibling pigs. They finance homes at larcenously low variable rates giving rise to speculative excess. The result of this being ever burdensome, yet manageable debt loads in appreciating, low rate environments. Their demise is brought on when the big bad wolf and his associates decide actions are necessary to impede (ANTI)[i] further price hikes. The lame attempt to rig the whole process quickly spins up and out of control, as a result of ‘too much intervention’ with regulator’s meddling conclusions that corrective measures always need extra oomph (NEO)ii. Rising financing charges obsess new (CON)iii entrants as a result of decreases in disposable income. Dampened demand and the resulting economic drag create winds of change, blowing down the desirability of home ownership. This trio of completely careless contemptuous portly (CCCP)iv pigs had long been known for erecting unstable structures. They all ply their trade in a small town on an Isle known properly as Greater Saint Enronv. Most folks refer to this piggery of a place as GSEvi for short. And for all of you smart ones out there, don’t bother looking for GSE on the map. The Isle of Greater Saint Enron only exists in the minds of its portly residents, and the books of its accountants, making it a squalid and loosey-goosey association, fudgingly formed (S&LGAFF)vii by the pandering trio’s bogus (PTB)viii derivatives building blocks. Feeling Groovyix So don’t get tricked into a false sense of security or semblance of community, as this offshore Nirvana is all a deceptive sham. After all, in the world today, when are things ever as they appear to be? Precipitous price increases (PPI)x and the appearance of strength and quality construction practices ingratiates (CPI)xi these swindling swine, permitting an idle life of self adulation. From every deception (FED)xii of pompous excess they engender their followers to a life of destruction, peasantry and servitude. So be warned, they curry favor of mighty circumstance (FOMC)xiii and fend for themselves - always. They only answer to their own ranging, ubiquitous, shifting ends (RUSE)xiv and those of their masters. The Players Lend A Hand in the Blame Game The three portly piglets’ names, coincidentally, are Fannie, Freddie and lest we forget the most affable of the family, Ginnie Mae. Being hindered under debt (HUD)xv, any visual measure (AVM)xvi used to access their health is woefully inadequate. Further investigation requires reading every analysis (FIRREA)xvii of their structural integrity and ultimately deciding in time (AUDIT)xviii the true condition of these swindling swine. Have these enterprises become exemplars of sound business practice, or repositories for toxic business waste [under the guise of two-tiered structured finance, bundled loans, and the derivative counter-party plutonium]? As spiraling costs increase anew (CIA)xix, we must remember we’re talking about pure adulterated range raised, trough tainted indulgent pork. They’re so obscene in fact, that if you painted them gray and opted (GAO)xx to give them trunks instead of feed bags, you might even mistake them for elephants [or in DemoPublican-ease, Fat Jackasses with long Pony Tails]. Sending Out a SOS or Rearranging RMS Titanic Deck Chairs? It isn’t by coincidence that when ever you find such an unsavory sty of swine (SOS)xxi, there’s usually going be a big bad wolf or two somewhere close in tow. Wolves hunt in packs. An alpha male resides/rules in each pack. While our leading villain doesn’t always come across like the sharpest knife in the drawer, he would stab you in the back, whilst praising you – quicker than you can say “offshore special purpose entityxxii”. Sly indeed, but listening to this wolf howl is less exciting than watching mold growxxiii. He seems to revel in this cryptic cacophony, like he fancies himself as a knighted astrologer (AKA)xxiv or lyrical soothsayer, always speaking c*o*d*exxv. Omega Manxxvi or Captain Kangarooxxvii? Could it be his desire to take over the free world and become a really important figure? It’s been written that this wolf craves ‘centre stage’ and allegedly needs the green. Perhaps important people make him green with envy? Maybe he couldn’t give a pig’s poke? Even if he is a big old bad wolf, masterfully disguised (WMD)xxviii in sheep’s clothes, I just personally might (JPM)xxix like to call him Greeny – the languid talking carefree maestroxxx (LTCM)xxxi! As for the maestro’s other furry friends (Roger the Raccoon (R.R.)xxxii, Lucifer the Snake (L.S.)xxxiii and Johnny on the Spot (J.S.)xxxiv) and their pathetic play toys (PPT)xxxv, they too reside beyond the Rubicon delineating ethically sound fair (ESF)xxxvi play from insidious fraud. Alea Iacta Est. – Julius Caesar Elvis Has…. Left the Buildingxxxvii The foundations of Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie Mae may not be up to the Buffetting that lies in their path (past?). Together they face the same capital adequacy and illusory concerns. Their foundations are weakened. They have been dilapidated not only through regulatory neglect and careless oversight, but particularly the geometric additive weight of increasingly complex engineered layers of derivatives. In a sense this has left them as hollowed out veneered silhouettes of their former selves. Much of their portfolios’ contents belong in sewage (BIS)xxxviii holding ponds, where at least their toxic effects could be isolated, removing the systemic dangers they pose to the international monetary financial (IMF)xxxix system. Their diluted capital and weakened collateral held insinuate necessary acceptance (CHINA)xxxx of their derivative building blocks -- which is notably silly (WINS) since derivatives have failed in the past (when it Raines we will all get poor). While the big bad wolf is not (IN) known to be both irrationally determined and exuberantly long winded -- time hastens erudite (THE) action. Harvardxxxxi beckons. If he makes good on his claim, perhaps he still can huff and puff and blow the house down (or up?). At the end of the day, huffing, puffing, and blowing might not be required at all. It is quite possible and may come to pass that his fondness for enrapturing notional derivatives (END)xxxxii, or maybe the snake oil for the squeaky wheel getting the grease that will cryptically conclude this game of Charlatan Charades instead -- not to be confused with the Myth of the Rule of John Lawxxxxiii. DeDuhhhhh….
DeDuhhhhhh…. DeDuhhhhhh….
[i][i]
ANTI Meaning against or not
condone, usually used in conjunction with or to describe something
which is menacing to society. See Google search results for anti:
Link
ii
NEO Not
to be confused with near earth objects.
Literally translated as “new”.
When combined with the word ‘Nazi’ or ‘con’ the word
takes on ‘new’ meaning connoting extreme or ultra variations of
the predicate. See iii,
Con.
iii
CON Noun,
short for convict. Also when used with neo, as in neo-con meaning
‘right wing’ or ultra conservative.
Test yourself, take the Neocon quiz:
Link
iv
CCCP Letters
symbolizing the former Soviet Union or Communist Russia.
A great link to all things Russian, see: Link
v
Enron The ‘energy
giant’ that filed chapter 11 in 2002.
The company was ostensibly set up as a ‘ponzi scheme’
utilizing offshore financial accounts to inflate earnings and hide
losses from regulators. See:
The Collapse of Enron. Link
vi
GSE Government Sponsored
Enterprise. A privately
held corporation created for a public purpose.
See: Link
vii
S&LGAFF The
savings and loan debacle of the 1980’s that featured HUD and was
headlined by the law suits against Mike Milken, Charles Keating et
al. See Full Faith and
Credit: Link
viii
PTB Powers That Be or
leadership. Often
accused of having no visible method to their madness.
"Why 99, you
know we have to murder and kill and destroy in order to preserve
everything that's good in the world." --Maxwell Smart to Agent
99 See: Confronting the
Powers at: Link
x
PPI The Producer Price
Index (PPI) program measures the average change over time in the
selling prices
received by domestic producers
for their output. Occasionally
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics when it suits the PTB
(see note viii). See: Link
xi
CPI The Consumer Price
Index. Published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Conversion factors to determine the value of dollars of 1965
to estimated 2014 in dollars. See:
Link
xii
FED The Federal
Reserve AKA the central bank of the United States of America which
is a private concern and is neither ‘Federal’ nor a
‘Reserve’ of any kind. See:
The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin at:
Link
xiii
FOMC Federal Open
Market Committee. A
committee of Fed. Governors who meet at scheduled intervals to chart
the movement and direction of the Federal Funds (inter bank) lending
rate. See Monetary
Policymaking at the Federal Reserve Board at:
Link
xv
HUD U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. See
The Negative Return Economy: A
Discourse on America’s Black Budget by Chris Sanders and Catherine
Austin Fitts: Link
xvi
AVM Alternative
Valuation Model The
‘new math’, so to speak as means and justification for the
“cookie cutter approach” to valuing of real estate.
See: Rule Ties
Lenders To Appraisals at: Link
xvii
FIRREA Financial
Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989.
Legislation passed by Congress in the wake of the S & L
debacle to prevent appraisal abuse.
See Larry Levy, The Fraud of Appraisal Regulation: Link
xviii
AUDIT See Chris Sanders
and Catherine Austin Fitts, The Negative Return Economy:
A Discourse On America’s Black Budget at:
Link
xix
CIA Central
Intelligence Agency Ibid,
Sanders and Fitts, The Negative Return Economy (Apparatus of A
Command Economy) Link
xx
GAO Government
Accounting Office. Tries to apply ‘general accepted accounting
principles’ to different departments within government.
Both the Pentagon and HUD cannot ever pass this test.
Ibid., Sanders and Fitts, The Negative Return Economy (Blame
the Bookkeeper) Link
xxi
SOS Literal translation,
Save Our Ship. This
Morse code message was first transmitted by the ill fated RMS
Titanic in 1912. See the
history of Morse code at: Link
xxii
Offshore special purpose entity or offshore special purpose vehicle.
Along with Structured Finance, the preferred method of
obscuring financial truths from regulatory oversight by Enron, their
accountants and their bankers.
See Price Waterhouse Coopers:
Link
xxiii
More boring than watching mold grow.
Figure of speech. Richard
Nixon is known to have articulated that Alan Greenspan was one of
the most boring public speakers he had ever heard.
Paper written by contemporary of the Fed Chairman, Pierre A.
Rinfret, see: Link
xxiv
AKA Also Know As or
Alias The
deception or deceptive practice of making things appear as they are
not. See Sanders and
Austin Fitts, The Negative Return Economy at:
Link
xxv
c*o*d*e It is said
that Alan Greenspan communicates the intentions of The Federal
Reserve in a convoluted manner.
See Translating Fed Speak at Newsday.com:
Link
xxvii
Captain Kangaroo A
1950’s kids TV. show that ran for 30 years.
A comedy, joke or Ruse.
Starred Bob Keeshan. See
MSNBC: Link
xxviii
WMD Weapons of
Mass Destruction. The
infamous weapons that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was alleged to have
but could not be found by occupying forces.
In a different sense, the financial ‘neutron bomb’
affectionately known as derivatives.
See International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA)
at: Link
xxix
JPM Short for J. P.
Morgan Chase. A U.S.
based international banking concern with market capitalization of
139 billion and a derivatives book at March 30, 2004 of 39.6
trillion dollars. See
JPM Derivatives Monster Grows at:
Link
xxx
Maestro Find
out more about Bob Woodward’s book, Maestro here.
I prefer to think of Maestro in terms of Play
It Again Sam, another essay penned by Rob Kirby paralleling the
fall of the Roman Empire to the situation in modern day America.
xxxi LTCM Long Term Capital Management a hedge fund ostensibly managed by 2 Nobel laureates (econ) that collapsed in the wake of the Russian financial crisis in the late 1990’s. They employed derivatives to achieve spectacular leverage in their investment strategies and allegedly ‘shorted gold’ before their collapse which very nearly collapsed the Global Financial System. See Not Free, Not Fair Pg. 29 by John Embry and Andrew Hepburn, Sprott Securities at: Link
xxxii
R.R. Robert
Rubin Former
Treasury Secretary in Clinton administration.
Former Co-chairman of Goldman Sachs.
Current chairman of Citibank.
One of seven members of the Harvard Corporation (with
Lawrence Summers) which is the largest non profit org. in the world
next to the Roman Catholic Church with assets of approx 21 billion.
See: Link
xxxiii L.S. Lawrence Summers. Former Treasury Secretary under the Clinton administration who succeeded Robert Rubin in that role in 1999. Renowned for his academic work with Barsky relating to the importance of gold and gold pricing in a market economy. Currently the president of HarvardUniversity, a post he has held since 2001. One of seven members, with Robert Rubin, of the Harvard Corporation which is the largest non profit org. in the world next to the Roman Catholic Church with assets of approx. 21 billion. See: Link xxxiv J.S. John Snow Current Treasury Secretary in the Bush administration. He assumed the role from Paul O’Neill who resigned/was fired in 2003.
xxxv
PPT Plunge
Protection Team Also
known as the Working Group on Financial Markets.
This body was established in the wake of the stock market
crash in 1987 ostensibly to prevent financial melt downs.
This group consists of the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve,
the Secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the SEC and CFTC
(commodities futures trading commission)
See the Washington Post at:
Link
xxxvi
ESF
Exchange Stabilization Fund
A pool of capital operated at the discretion of the Secretary
of the Treasury of the U.S. with the consent of the President and
approved by Congress. See
the U.S. Treasury at: Link
xxxvii
Elvis Has Left The Building
Phrase coined by Al Dvorin.
It was in the early 1970s that the
star’s manager Colonel Parker asked Dvorin to inform fans after a
gig that Elvis would not be appearing for an encore.
Dvorin took the stage and made his now
legendary announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the
building. Thank you and goodnight.”
See: Link
xxxviii
BIS Bank
For International Settlements
The BIS
is an international organization which fosters cooperation among
central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and
financial stability. Headquartered
in Basel, Switzerland. See:
Link
xxxix
IMF International
Monetary Fund The
IMF is an organization of 184 countries, working to foster global
monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate
international trade, promote high employment and sustainable
economic growth, and reduce poverty.
Until very recently the fund was headed by Horst Koehler, who
suddenly resigned (in the middle of crucial negotiations of debt
rescheduling with Argentina) to accept the nomination to become
President of Germany. See:
Link
xxxx
CHINA Last
year, China consumed 40% of the world's cement, 7% of the world's
total consumption of crude oil (surpassing Japan as the #1 importer
of oil), 31% of global coal, 30% of iron ore, 27% of steel products,
and 25% of aluminum. See
John Mauldin, China Syndromes at:
Link
xxxxi
Harvard The
University and more specifically the ultra secretive Harvard
Corporation-overseer of the Harvard Endowment Fund. The non
profit's Endowment Fund is the largest pool of private capital in
the world, save the Roman Catholic Church. Among its 7 managers are
Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, both former Treasury Secretaries
of the U.S. The fund achieves investment returns which no one in the
institutional investment universe can come close to rivaling. The
Fund has been intimately
linked to such illustrious failed institutions as Harken Energy
and the Enron debacle - but always manages to 'walk away' smelling
like a rose. See return comparisons at: Link
xxxxii
END The
U.S. Department of Commerce today reported that the merchandise
trade deficit reached a record level of $631 billion at an annual
rate in the first half of 2004, an increase of 15.3% over the
same period in 2003. The
U.S. trade deficit with the rest of the world and specifically China
is not sustainable. See:
Link
©
2004 Rob Kirby |
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GLOBAL
REAL ESTATE MARKETS FORUM