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TexasTowelie

(112,394 posts)
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 06:05 AM Aug 2015

Global Ponzi scheme threatens to implode

Asian stock markets opened Monday with another sharp selloff. As of this writing, China’s Shanghai Composite index had dropped by over 8 percent and Japan’s Nikkei, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Australia’s All Ordinaries were all down by more than 3 percent. China’s central bank was preparing another round of cash infusions into the country’s financial markets.

The global panic, which has wiped out over a trillion dollars in stock values in the US alone, has shattered the claim that the US and world economies are in the midst of an economic recovery.

Prompted by decelerating economic growth in China, a collapse of financial markets and currencies in the so-called emerging market countries, and a continuing fall in the price of oil and other commodities, the plunge in stock prices is an expression not simply of passing conditions, but rather the inability of governments and central banks to address the fundamental contradictions of the capitalist system that led to the Wall Street crash and recession of 2008–2009.

What appears to be coming to an end is the period when massive infusions of cash by central banks into the financial markets, combined with a ruthless assault on the living standards of the international working class, could paper over the systemic character of the crisis and produce a boom in stock prices, corporate profits and the wealth of the financial aristocracy—even as the real economy continued to stagnate.

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/08/24/pers-a24.html

34 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Global Ponzi scheme threatens to implode (Original Post) TexasTowelie Aug 2015 OP
The Chinese stock market is back to where it was a year ago. Was it imploding then? (nt) Recursion Aug 2015 #1
Oil was $102 a year ago, now $39 GreatGazoo Aug 2015 #9
Wait until the housing market crashes davidpdx Aug 2015 #2
"they are building faster than they can sell" Javaman Aug 2015 #29
I've seen construction projects go bankrupt here in Korea because they were either davidpdx Aug 2015 #32
It's sad, but Obama's presidency might end on a sour note. reformist2 Aug 2015 #3
True...but realize he gets blamed for eveything bad that happens anyway. BlueJazz Aug 2015 #5
Don't worry about Obama. jeff47 Aug 2015 #26
Well, that certainly doesn't sound good. CentralMass Aug 2015 #4
Another snippet from the article wilsonbooks Aug 2015 #6
I'm fully expecting another Lehman style event. GliderGuider Aug 2015 #7
Any so-called investment management firms that go bust? Time for CLAWBACKS. reformist2 Aug 2015 #8
We must act quickly to protect the bankers and hedge fund managers Orrex Aug 2015 #10
This is true. Enthusiast Aug 2015 #12
Exactly! ctsnowman Aug 2015 #14
To protect the precious feet of a Wall Street banker... gregcrawford Aug 2015 #15
The Chinese stock market was in a bubble. BillZBubb Aug 2015 #11
And the 2nd shoe drops fasttense Aug 2015 #13
I completely agree with you. TexasMommaWithAHat Aug 2015 #16
Yup, fasttense Aug 2015 #31
Elizabeth Warren was warning about this when she was a still a Harvard law professor. no_hypocrisy Aug 2015 #20
In other words Gman Aug 2015 #17
I would be financially bereft. I am very scared. All my savings are with Morgan Stanley. And my late WinkyDink Aug 2015 #18
I would speak with a financial advisor at MS. You may be able to do things like a quick switch stevenleser Aug 2015 #21
Really? James48 Aug 2015 #19
You're asking for it. TexasTowelie Aug 2015 #22
China's cooked books are finally getting reset. joshcryer Aug 2015 #23
Exactly tammywammy Aug 2015 #25
Same as Japan in the 80's 4Q2u2 Aug 2015 #27
Inflation of stock market via cheap money /= Recovery n/t FlatBaroque Aug 2015 #24
Not even slightly surprising, was predicted years ago. Half-Century Man Aug 2015 #28
Dow down 1000 at open wilsonbooks Aug 2015 #30
That is what ponzi schemes do. PowerToThePeople Aug 2015 #33
Good madville Aug 2015 #34

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
2. Wait until the housing market crashes
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 06:33 AM
Aug 2015

They are building faster than they can sell. The average Chinese can't afford the newer buildings. Someone is going to get stuck with the short end of the stick.

Javaman

(62,534 posts)
29. "they are building faster than they can sell"
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 10:34 AM
Aug 2015

I just learned something recently about just that. china bases part of it's GDP on construction of property, NOT sale.

so as long as they keep building ghost towns, all is right in Beijing.

It's a very scary prospect considering their economy is now slowing down.

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
32. I've seen construction projects go bankrupt here in Korea because they were either
Tue Aug 25, 2015, 12:14 AM
Aug 2015

not pre-selling enough units or just plain mismanagement. A building over by where I used to live sat half done for year. One of these days I'll have to get back over there to see if it is done.

I personally think China is in for some very rocky times, which is going to effect all of their trade partners including the US.

jeff47

(26,549 posts)
26. Don't worry about Obama.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 10:01 AM
Aug 2015

Worry about how poorly incumbent parties do when there is an economic downturn at election time.

wilsonbooks

(972 posts)
6. Another snippet from the article
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 06:48 AM
Aug 2015

An article published Sunday in the New York Times (“Investors Race To Escape Risk In Global Bonds”) sheds light on a significant factor behind the crisis atmosphere on global markets. The Times explains that some of the biggest bond mutual funds based in the US, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Pimco, are massively invested in emerging market government bonds whose values are now collapsing.
The article raises the very real possibility that one or more of these firms could be bankrupted by demands from investors for the return of their cash, under conditions where the firms cannot offload their emerging market bonds and meet these demands. Such an event would be comparable to, if not worse than, the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

 

GliderGuider

(21,088 posts)
7. I'm fully expecting another Lehman style event.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 06:56 AM
Aug 2015

Now is when we get to see who's been hiding their risky games behind a curtain. The world economy can withstand a good deal of downward pressure so long as it's evenly applied. However, with one good sharp shock the nut is likely to crack. I think it's coming.

Orrex

(63,220 posts)
10. We must act quickly to protect the bankers and hedge fund managers
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 07:29 AM
Aug 2015

No taxpayer-funded bailout is too enormous if it saves even one of these noble job creators.

gregcrawford

(2,382 posts)
15. To protect the precious feet of a Wall Street banker...
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 08:04 AM
Aug 2015

... I will lay my coat over this open manhole.

BillZBubb

(10,650 posts)
11. The Chinese stock market was in a bubble.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 07:32 AM
Aug 2015

Economic growth in China had been running at an unsustainable 10%. It was going to revert to a more sustainable level. Unfortunately, Chinese stock buyers got caught up in the euphoria. Now, they'll pay for that.

There will be some repercussions in other markets, but this isn't 2007-2008. Westerners have little investment in the Chinese market.

The US market is also long overdue for a correction. Historically, we should have had a 20% correction years ago. Maybe now the time has come.

 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
13. And the 2nd shoe drops
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 07:43 AM
Aug 2015

This is the beginning of the 2nd crash that everyone warned us about. They said that if we didn't fix the economic problems from the last crash, the out of control banks and corrupt Wall Street, it would happen again. Some people predicted it to come near the end of Obama's term.

Nothing was done to prevent another crash except to pump money to the monied. This kept the rich safe, temporarily. And we called it a recovery. But nothing was done to keep the banksters and the uber rich from doing it again. So they did.

TexasMommaWithAHat

(3,212 posts)
16. I completely agree with you.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 08:10 AM
Aug 2015

And it's scary.

Our 401Ks already are pitifully low, and now we have to worry about losing what little we have and our jobs, as well.

Ain't Republican leadership grand?

 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
31. Yup,
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 11:01 AM
Aug 2015

When Hoover was in office he did nothing but bailout the banks during the RepubliCONS 1st Great Depression. It took a Democratic leader to get us out. If the bushes had not been appointed by the Dancing Supremes, I wonder if we would be in this economic mess now?

no_hypocrisy

(46,175 posts)
20. Elizabeth Warren was warning about this when she was a still a Harvard law professor.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 08:53 AM
Aug 2015

She was recommending new regulations on large banks but the bank lobby kept telling representatives and senators that they should trust the banks. The financial "products" were "too complicated" for the average person on Capitol Hill to understand and therefore instead of regulation, the banks should regulate themselves.

And the banks don't care about the tanking of the economy.

 

WinkyDink

(51,311 posts)
18. I would be financially bereft. I am very scared. All my savings are with Morgan Stanley. And my late
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 08:29 AM
Aug 2015

husband didn't "believe in" life insurance, preferring to invest in a company with a branch managed by a friend.

 

stevenleser

(32,886 posts)
21. I would speak with a financial advisor at MS. You may be able to do things like a quick switch
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 09:01 AM
Aug 2015

into money market funds or something like that.

TexasTowelie

(112,394 posts)
22. You're asking for it.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 09:05 AM
Aug 2015

The woo people are predicting the end of the world on either September 24 (comet impact) or October 7 (Biblical prophecy).

They really should meet up with each other and align their schedules.

joshcryer

(62,276 posts)
23. China's cooked books are finally getting reset.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 09:07 AM
Aug 2015

The Chinese economy hype was all based on false pretenses.

tammywammy

(26,582 posts)
25. Exactly
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 09:46 AM
Aug 2015

This has been an on-going discussion for a while now. The upside is the lower demand for oil from China is leading the price per barrel of oil down, which helps my pocketbook. And that's not new in the last week either.

The U.S. market was due for a slight correction as well, but overall the Chinese correction won't have a big effect, this isn't 2008.

 

4Q2u2

(1,406 posts)
27. Same as Japan in the 80's
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 10:09 AM
Aug 2015

When were heard non stop EXPERTS telling us that Japan would over take America as the #1 economy.
Call me crazy but when I have been looking at empty high rises in China for over a year now on the internet, as well as the level of corruption going on over there, I was not impressed.

Half-Century Man

(5,279 posts)
28. Not even slightly surprising, was predicted years ago.
Mon Aug 24, 2015, 10:20 AM
Aug 2015


Us not seeing it was mostly(70ish%) by intent(fluff pieces in the media, lowering of educational standards in citizenship); and 30 or so percent willful ignorance by largely ignoring the warnings.

Thom Hartmann, Max Kaiser, Mike Papantonio, and others have all been warning us of this for years.
 

PowerToThePeople

(9,610 posts)
33. That is what ponzi schemes do.
Tue Aug 25, 2015, 12:18 AM
Aug 2015

Not the first time and probably won't be the last. Every new generation has to have their wealth zapped by these schemes. It is a rule of western capitalism.

madville

(7,412 posts)
34. Good
Tue Aug 25, 2015, 12:19 AM
Aug 2015

China has kicked the can closer to the edge, maybe it will encourage some more manufacturing to return back to the U.S.

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