Angela Merkel kicked off Davos today by taking on the bond market and promising more Europe as the solution to Europe's problems. And while we've heard public concerns over the ills of crony capitalism, don't you worry, Davos has found just the man to defend it, and Lauren Lyster, live from Davos, is just the woman to do it!
And back in washington, America just had it's state of the union address, delivered by president Barack Obama. And although there might have been a lot of good rhetoric, what was the substance? Government assistance for home owners, or more backdoor bailouts for the banks? Is this just another way to roll over more debt onto an already bloated government balance sheet? It's one of the questions that we pose to Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital. And speaking of bloated balance sheets, the FOMC concluded its two-day meeting this morning. You know what they say about the buck stopping with the president? It's a sign that Harry Truman had displayed prominently on his desk, but few people remember that it's less important where the buck stops. It's more important where it starts, and Alan Greenspan, former federal reserve chairman, understood this all too well, which is why he reportedly had a sign "the buck starts here" displayed prominently on his desk as a parody. Operation twist continues and so does the financial repression of zero percent interest rates at least until 2014, but how long will the bond market continue to submit to the whims of policy makers, and are the fed's policies just moving us from zombie banks to a zombie economy? Again, we speak to Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital for some answers. Source
Earlier today: