Extremely well written piece on the potential up-coming battle between deflationary/inflationary forces:

http://www.rgemonitor.com/financemarkets-monitor/254618/quantitative_eas...

Obama's Public work plan are not so welcomed by American though. Critics questioned how "read to go" is the plan. Have they defined the project requirement and specifications? Have they chosen the architectural/engineering and construction firms ? Have the responsible firms developed detailed drawings?
If the infrastructure plan enacted, it does create labor-intensive and engineering works. What is the percentage of this category of job in the unemployment market? What are the opportunities that created for the downsized corporate employees?

Efforts to turn around the US housing foreclosure rate are 'floundering'

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28112901

Perhaps the 'Obama effect' needs to be re-directed at the root of the problem, rather than at its distal manifestations?

Andrewj; tis just out suggests things are rapidly worsening in China (but then again how could that not fail to happen?)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abgmrMVPWrQw&refer=home

This from this mornings automaticearth

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) issued a report on global lending and bond issuance that says both are down 70-80%, with bonds in Euros dropping 94%. This means companies can't borrow from banks, nor can they expect to raise capital in the bond markets. The result should be obvious: tons of companies, from small to large, will inevitably have to declare bankruptcy. This is true in the US, in Europe, in Japan, and the bankruptcy and job loss wave will spread from there to the rest of the planet, in a self-reinforcing manner, feeding off itself.

The most disconcerting words these days concern the credit default swap market. Yves Smith linked to an article by the pretty brilliant and solid voice of Christopher Whalen at Institutional Risk Analytics that lays out the risks loud and clear. He quotes a large investor who claims three banks, two French and one German are so deep in the CDS casino that EU officials ponder a moratorium on CDS payments. The banks would then need, and get, 10 years(!) to clean up the mess they've made. Which is an illusion, of course: once you cut the payments, the whole machine grinds to a halt. Whalen thinks that's a good idea, and I fully agree, as you all know, since such a policy would force the exposure of all Atlantic City toilet paper.

But it will be extremely painful. Chris Whalen calculates that a very conservative, absolute minimum tab for the players in the CDS market will be $15 trillion. A more likely scenario, though, is this:

The rise in loss rates for all type of collateral over the next 24 months could easily make the portion of CDS "in the money" grow to more like 60-70%. That is $40 plus trillion in notional payments vs. a recovery rate in single digits.

And before you knee-jerk that the central banks and Treasuries will simply print these amounts: the EU payment moratorium will come because the countries can't pay: "the positions are beyond the ability of the EU governments to bail them out without a cessation of CDS payments". They can't, it's end of the line, no hyper-inflation, a giant default wave, more morose attempts to save banks that should have been thrown out the window years go, and no money to take care of the millions of desperate citizens roaming the streets. Note that Whalen's focus is only on the CDS market, and there is a quadrillion dollars more in other derivative instruments aimlessly floating around out there, certain to hit a shore somewhere one stormy day soon.

Banking and investing as we've known it won't be back for at least decades. The upcoming round of bank failures, which will leave very few, if any, standing, cannot be prevented. A lot of the suffering among ordinary people can, if only through using the current bail-out funds to make sure every American and European can get at least their basic needs fulfilled . But no politician anywhere is even looking at this reality, and the citizenry has been kept in the dark. It makes the implosion of entire societies an easily predictable fact.

and from the Uk

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3691219...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3691546...

We have such a long way to go, these CDS need keeping an eye on.
Tonz isnt it poetic justice that the country that gave us the carry trade and caused so much of the mess in the world, is now going to be badly affected. So maybe now Asia wont be lending money to the west so we can afford to buy their products?