Fantabulous infographic via The Economist April Fool’s day goof . .
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Source:
The Economist Group expands
Economist.com, April 1st 2009
http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13395767&source=features_box4
While yesterday's US stock market close was poor, Asia and Europe didn't follow today as debt in Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc... rallied, their CDS narrowed and stocks bounced. The Greek finance minister said January tax revenues came in above expectations and that spending was below target for the month and said "that means the deficit reduction for January is well within what we have promised." The euro is rising in turn. Also helping is the story that Trichet is headed to the European Union leaders summit a day early in order to address Greece's problems even as the Greek finance...
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April 3rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Where was this enlightened critique ten or twenty years ago?
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
impermanence,
good Q:
I think this is one of the Policy Papers being referred to in the ‘toon.
“The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any “critical” information network “in the interest of national security.” The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.
The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce “access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access.” This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.
Rockefeller made cybersecurity one of his key issues as a member of the Senate intelligence committee, which he chaired until last year. He now heads the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which will take up this bill.
“We must protect our critical infrastructure at all costs—from our water to our electricity, to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records—the list goes on,” Rockefeller said in a statement. Snowe echoed her colleague, saying, “if we fail to take swift action, we, regrettably, risk a cyber-Katrina.”
But the wide powers outlined in the Rockefeller-Snowe legislation has at least one Internet advocacy group worried. “The cybersecurity threat is real,” says Leslie Harris, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), “but such a drastic federal intervention in private communications technology and networks could harm both security and privacy.”…”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/should-obama-control-internet
Why don’t we cut out the Middleman, declare Fascist Dictatorship, hand everyone a Plantation Security #, and be done with it?
Save Time, at least..or, should we remain in our Hope 4 Change holding pattern until further notice?
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
The Fantasyland is about to add some new rides. My grandkids will get the bill for these thrills and spills; I’m sure they won’t think it much fun.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Yeah, where is the Bond Market Collapse? What about the Golden Moonshot?
Ah, that ride is coming next year.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
forgot a few things.
like sending as many jobs as you can offshore?
or just laying off as many you can?
or deflating incomes as much as possible?
or deflation?
and then trying find willing and able consumers to but their stuff
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Where’s the many tentacled TBTF octopus ride that inverts everyone while shaking all the money out of their pockets? How about the Wall Street Fun House full of smoke and mirrors? Or the Congressional burlesque show where it’s the audience that gets stripped of their worldly belongings?
@MEH: Did that pass the House? I suppose it will and that will be the end of that. Lockdown. They are setting up the “you will comply in a politically correct way” or we will shut you down rule of law. Cut their communications channels. And continue preparing for the Martial Law phase where blogs such as this one will be deemed terrorist because it incites people to anger.
The Center for Democracy and Technology has become more of a sham paper tiger every year. Stocked with too many former congressional aides and insiders to do anything more than pretend to influence outcomes. The very, very weak voice of the people. That’s been true for decades. Ever since the positioned themselves as the voice of the people in the CALEA wiretapping deliberations. They meow loudly enough to be heard and then cave. And Bush steamrolled them.
Someone inside DC is making a lot of money now fearmongering to our fearful leaders that the “enemy is us”. The intelligence and military communities are turning inward. It’s the American way. Homeland Security is the new growth market that gets the funding. Ralph must be totally giddy over this. Most have no concept of how much surveillance has already been turned inward. Microcameras. And BO rolled over on this one months ago.
Where’s our soma when we need it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I will say, though, the left side of that art is hiliarously well done..
up the escalator, under the banner (a base ruse/appeal to their crass greed), right past the book (a total disclaimer available for anyone with a spirit of Inquiry), to what amounts to the best view of the whole charade–though they, still, haven’t figured it out..and, instead of paying attention, they’re, by their distractedness, are fixin’ to pay, the highest price, as the ‘mountain of debt’ is fixin’ to grind them on its rock-hard molars..
even the Title is right..
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:59 pm
US PHX,
you know how it works, no Soma until you’re done Saluting~
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
And so few going to prison.
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Speaking of humorous charts, first one in this article is my own new metric – trying to explain our current mess to artists
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
buzzp,
Mainstream ‘Economists’ no doubt~
If they had 1/2 a clue they’d draw the parallel between Disney’s Magical MIA act on this guy:
http://www.toonopedia.com/jiminy.htm
20 years ago, and the subsequent, ever-amplifying, wayward path we’ve been travelling since..
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Don’t forget the TARP/TALF whirly gig. Citi takes TARP funds, adds a TALF kicker, and buys BofA distressed assets. BofA takes TARP funds with a TALF kicker, and buys Citi distressed assets. The more failing banks that get in the circle – the faster the ride spins.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I am confused about mark to market. Specifically, will it not ensure that banks will show a profit this quarter since they can mark the assets to what they feel like. Appreciate any comments or links
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Tony,
Good question. Another interesting question is how will the market respond to any earnings statement by the banks. Given the relaxation of M2M, how can you gauge performance at all? This isn’t to say that the market won’t respond positively to any hint of positive earnings, even if bogus. But how could anyone possibly hold bank shares confidently, with zero transparency into earnings or balance sheet? Should we base our valuations on trust? Haha, that’ll be the day.
This magnifies uncertainty entering earnings, and makes it impossible to compare results with any historical framework. Talk about gambling. And what if they still can’t massage their earnings as much as the market is expecting? God forbid they still can’t beat expectations….
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Great cartoon! Maybe the best that you’ve ever posted.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Tony — I don’t believe the new mark-to-fantasy rules are in effect in time to apply them to the earnings to be reported this month — even though the rules were almost certainly written by the banksters and they presumably have the software changes in place to produce the new earnings numbers. But by the June quarter, you can expect to see a ginormous improvement in banking solvency and profitability. All completely bogus, but it will be seized on by the MSM as “rock-solid confirmation” that the worst is behind us, and nothing but blue skies are ahead of us. The HappyTalk Express will slide into overdrive, even as unemployment soars past 10% with no sign of a slowdown in sight.
The confirmation of this was the recent waffling by the bankster CEOs on how well they have been doing this quarter. Back when they were talking up how “good” things were going for them, they obviously expected their rules to be placed in effect a bit sooner than they were. But the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Pitchmen wearing suits all over CNBC all day today reassuring the cute little hopeful anchors that the bottom is in this time, it really, really, really, really is in this time.
So get out there and start buying stocks now.
Talk about a thumb-sucking fantasy!
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Interesting story in the Huffington Post about the Bank CEO’s meeting with the President. If it’s true my favourite line is when the President tells them his administration is the only thing between them and pitchforks. Also liked the part where they were served one glass of water each, no ice. Nice touch.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 pm
@greg: totally believable. Keep the funding rolling in. I AM NOW IN CONTROL. And they will let him keep believing it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
New World Order (conspiracy theory)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Order_(conspiracy_theory)
wikipedia should explain:
Barack Obama’s New World Order
TIME – 5 hours ago
G-20 Shapes New World Order With Lesser Role for US, Markets
Bloomberg – Apr 2, 2009
G20 ushers in a ‘new world order’
Globe and Mail – 19 hours ago
Analysis: Crisis may lead to new world order
CNN International – Apr 1, 2009
New world order emerges from chaos
BBC News – 15 hours ago ordo ab chao
A New World Order… for some
France24 – 17 hours ago
A ‘Truly New World Order’ Emerges; Global Currency Closer
Worldmeets.us – 7 hours ago
New World Order: Still A Conspiracy Theory?
Prison Planet.com – 15 hours ago
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=new%20world%20order&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn
here’s the short story, in pictures:
http://mises.org/books/TRTS/
we’ve some serious problems afoot and at hand..
April 4th, 2009 at 6:49 am
infopornucopia:
http://flowingdata.com/2009/03/13/27-visualizations-and-infographics-to-understand-the-financial-crisis/
April 4th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Dow Jones roller coaster is freakin’ hilarious. Laughed my ass off. Thanks for posting this Barry.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:52 am
greg Says: April 3rd, 2009 at 10:37 pm
If it’s true my favourite line is when the President tells them his administration is the only thing between them and pitchforks.
Did they let him know yet that their hackers already had the codes to the nukes? It explains the arrogance
April 4th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Hey Barry,
Do you have the amount paid into retirement plans in the first quarter compared with 2008?
…just wondering..
Bruce in Tennessee
April 4th, 2009 at 7:47 am
One other financial fantasy…several are beginning to comment on it:
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/22030
Labor Markets Even Worse Than the Headlines
Healthcare will be next….the Obama administration is calling for denial of payments to hospitals for ill patients who are readmitted for serious illness sooner than the government feels they should be…it is just one of a chain of changes coming.
April 4th, 2009 at 8:10 am
And here is how we are going to pay for all these rides.
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2959
April 4th, 2009 at 9:06 am
When bankers build roller coasters
http://tinyurl.com/cwf9kp
April 4th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
two words:
WOW!
How to speed up firefox
http://firefoxpluginreviews.blogspot.com/
April 5th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Bruce,
to your point, see: http://clusty.com/search?input-form=clusty-simple&v%3Asources=webplus&query=Eugenics
for additional background, that this is coming via Executive Fiat, rather than Society-wide discussion/agreement, should tell us much..
http://clusty.com/search?input-form=clusty-simple&v%3Asources=webplus&query=Fascism
April 5th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Good god that makes me think of Pink Floyd’s The Wall for some strange reason.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
This might be a good place to examine the scheme “The Onion” has come up with to get us out of this financial mess. I must say it is a work of pure genius. Can’t think of why no one thought of it before.
http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/the_only_way_out_of_this_crisis