JP Morgan the new Lehman Brothers: Why Make Money through Commercial Banking when you can become a taxpayer backed Investment Bank. How JP Morgan Really made the $3.6 Billion in Q3 Profits.
Toxic mortgages and credit card losses through defaults are rising at a rapid pace. This was also apparent in the earnings report from JP Morgan that reported positive earnings because of non-retail banking activities. Yet the media for whatever reason isn’t highlighting more carefully where the gains are coming from. For example, JP Morgan which swallowed up Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns, posted losses on credit cards and home mortgages yet doubled its earnings from last year in its investment banking division. Here is one of the key examples of why removing Glass-Steagall is such a major problem. The recent meteoric rise in stock prices merely reflects hot money trying to find ground. If we look at actual loan losses they are still on the rise:
Government Tax Receipts Down 20 Percent Year over Year: Wall Street Banks Earning Billions. The Unsustainable Economic Course.
The Congressional Budget Office puts out a long term analysis examining the economic health of the United States each year. In major recessions like the one we are in right now, these reports provide a projection into the future but the most important indicators like taxes are in a state of flux. It is also the case that we have never spent so much money with bailouts and fiscal stimulus in a time of peace. The U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve are betting it all that their actions will stabilize the economy. Wall Street has stabilized but the employment situation is still up for debate. Yet looking at the report it is clear that the bill is coming due. Either we increase taxes or cut spending. I’m not pushing one or the other but this is a basic math problem here.
Let us take a look at the projections as put out by the CBO:
Stag-Inflation: Japanese Employment Trends in the United States: Part-time, Dispatched, and Contracted Workers. A Decline in the American Consumer Standard of Living. Why the U.S. is not Japan and This is Not Good News.
There have been many comparisons between the lost decade experienced in Japan after the Heisei bubble boom and the current real estate bubble in the United States. On the surface, superficially things may appear the same. Japan had a technology led bubble that sent the Nikkei to record heights only to have a bust. We had the NASDAQ. Japan had a major real estate bubble which at one point it was rumored that the Emperor’s Palace had a value larger than the entire state of California. Given the budget situation in California, this isn’t hard to believe. However, Japan saw real estate values implode and we have seen our own real estate bubble burst.
Federal Reserve System: 12 Regional Banks with 1 Central Power Base. The New York Fed. Over 70 Percent of Assets with New York Fed.
The Federal Reserve Banks are broken up into 12 regional banks across the country by geographic location. Some excellent data has been provided from certain divisions including the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. Yet as we have found with the over 8,000 FDIC insured banks, the real power is held by roughly 100 banks. When we examine the actual assets the Fed currently holds, the only one powerful regional bank of all the 12 is the New York Fed.