Coffee Talk Shop…

Foreign exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign currency deposits held by central banks and monetary authorities…

Well here is a tidbit of info: China’s foreign exchange reserves hit 3.04 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of March, an increase of 24.4 percent year on year, China’s central bank said on Thursday…

America we are in trouble with a capital T…

Coffee Talk!

From healthcare to closing Guantanamo to defending labor rights, US President Barack Obama promised many things, but has failed to deliver.

Brought into office on a cloud of hope, change and positive thinking, voters lifted Obama into the White House with high expectations.

Two years into his presidency and as he enters his reelection campaign many supporters have being forced to grapple with the reality that is the Obama presidency – broken promises.

Recent public opinion polls show less than half of Americas believe Obama deserves reelection, conservatives continue to despise him, liberals and moderates are increasingly becoming disillusioned.

Obama continues to lead among likely Republican contenders, but those match-ups are highly flawed given no leading Republicans have officially entered the race. Obama’s presidential office is quite vulnerable in 2012.

Looking back to 2008 candidate Obama and flash forwarding to today, there are some very clear broken promises, some of which were cornerstones to his campaign.

Hope, change and healthcare for all – the promise spread across America like a virus has not come to be a reality. Despite the passage of Obama’s health care reform plan many Americans still find it challenging to see a doctor or pay for necessary medical needs.

Obama wanted to ensure no American was without access to medical care. It was the goal behind his push for healthcare reform. His health bill however did not grant such coverage. Although Obama’s party once controlled the Congress, he was unable to push through healthcare for all. While the new law addresses some much needed issues with the US health system, such as eliminating pre-existing condition clauses, much of the measure will not take effect until 2014. At that point in time, the Congressional Budget Office estimates over 22 million Americans will still be without proper access to basic medical care.

After initiating a two year freeze on military trials of detained terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Obama has lifted the ban just in time to try self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. On the 2008 campaign trail Obama promised not only to cease the trials permanently, he said he would close the base too. He has gone in a completely different direction. While his Democratic Party controlled Congress Obama could have tackled the trials and military base, but dialed to do so. He caved to pressures from Republicans and military leaders.

“Understand this,” Obama said at a campaign rally in 2007. “If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, I’ll will walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America.”

States across the Union however recently passed laws cracking down on labor rights and union workers, eliminating benefits, abolishing collective bargaining rights and more. Obama was nearly silent. After pressure mounted he issued a statement, expressing his opposition to Republican bills across the county, but did little more to support organized labor.

Obama failed to show up at the picket line and march as promised.

Also along the campaign trail Obama praised his belief in civil liberties, transparency and judicial prudence. However, he has continued to stand by the Bush-era PATRIOT Act with restricts the above.

The US President called for changes to warrantless searches and wiretaps. He called for a greater respect for the people. But, at every chance to kill these rules instituted by former President George W. Bush, Obama opted to extend them instead of letting them expire.

In addition to his call for a restoration of American civil liberties, Obama called for an end to America’s wars abroad. Afghanistan and Iraq however remain conflict zones, and now Pakistan and Libya have been added to the list. The anti-war pro-peace American President extended US military operations overseas. 60 percent of American deaths in Afghanistan have occurred under the Obama presidency. Conflicts have expanded, locations increased and violence escalated.

Thus far, Obama has failed to deliver on his top promises and yet to even address other he committed too in the 2008 campaign season.

http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-campaign-broken-promises/

Coffee Talk!

Wake up America! Wake up America! Wake up America…

“People who voted for Obama got 4 more years of Bush… ”

How is that Change?

Coffee Talk!

Germany is no longer playing the Anglo-American game. We earlier cited the refusal to increase bailout aid and the proposal to cut proposed aid. That was followed by an abstention on the UN Security Council vote to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The cohesion that bound the US, UK, France and Germany may well be breaking apart. The dominance of Deutsch Bank in German affairs could be coming to an end. There were two very paramount moves by Germany. Merkel and the CDU sold out the German people and now the anger of the voters is manifest in the CDU’s losses in Hamburg. German elitists are in serious trouble. Germany’s underwriting of the debts of the inefficient and corrupt welfare states of the south are over and that event signals the end of the euro and perhaps even the EU. In the next election the CDU and Merkel will be out of power and the helm will be handed to the Socialists. After having lived for a long time and having observed it for more than 50 years we expect a revolt against elitist rule in Germany. German banks and banks across Europe are in serious trouble and have been for 3-1/2 years, and as we shall see this week, by court order, who was bailed out in Europe and why.

http://theinternationalforecaster.com/International_Forecaster_Weekly/Japan_Rebuilds_While_The_Fed_Tears_Down?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theinternationalforecaster%2FiJUr+%28theinternationalforecaster.com%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Another fall in January for the US-wide 20-city house price index could be followed by more

US single-family home prices fell for the seventh month in a row in January, new statistics show.

Seasonally adjusted prices fell in 12 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the SP/Case-Shiller index.

In four cities, prices were at their lowest in 11 years, with the overall index down 0.2% in January from the previous month.

The average annual price fall across the 20 cities was 3.1%; only Washington DC saw a meaningful rise in prices.

House prices in the US capital city, which in general has fared better than the rest of the country during recent economic downturn, gained 3.6% over the year.

San Diego was flat at 0.1% above January’s price a year ago.

SP’s David Blitzer said worse declines could lie ahead.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Behind the declines, in part, is the continued impact of the implosion of the sub-prime lending market, including high house foreclosure rates.

But there is also a clear lack of confidence on the part of buyers – partly because they can see which way the wind is blowing and they are waiting to see if prices are going to fall again.

And unemployment is still at 8.9%, far too high to convince people that better times are around the corner.

“The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery,” he said.

“Keeping with the trends set in late 2010, January brings us weakening home prices with no real hope in sight for the near future.

“At most, we have seen all statistics bounce along their troughs; at worst, the feared double-dip recession may be materializing.”

In Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas, average house prices remain below 2000 levels. House prices in Phoenix, in the US state of Arizona, showed the most drastic decline with a 9.1% fall from the previous year.

The index tracks the prices of typical single-family homes in each of the metropolitan areas surveyed.

The declines come as other economic indicators show signs of recovery.

Consumer spending has been rising and manufacturing activity is growing at the fastest rate in seven years.

Doug Casey : “I’m of the opinion that most people are basically decent. The 80/20 rule. 80% of people are ok, basically. But now what about that 20%? Well, let’s call them potential trouble sources, because they can go either way. But we can take 20% of that 20%, ok. And these people are the sociopaths “…Good points as usual…I like the sociopaths leading the 20% idea. Makes sense. Lack of philosophical anchors-great way to put it, reigning fear of middle class, yep, reflexive belief in gov’t made up that some of those sociopaths. Got it. . 

Coffee talk!