ufnsherlockholmes

ANALYSIS

News and commentaries that reveal historical facts and trends that place current events into perspective and make it possible to anticipate future events.

 

China’s yuan was added to the International Monetary Fund’s international basket of currencies in November, bolstering the prestige of the yuan. China’s central bank then proceeded to devalue its currency to stimulate the sale of Japanese products to foreign buyers, and that caused international traders and hedge funds to sell off the currency quickly, sending its value lower than planned. For the second time this week, the Chinese stock exchange abruptly shut down all trading in response to what was perceived as panic selling. China’s desire to control its economy instead of allowing a free market has caused the yuan to fall in value and stature. WSJ 2016 Jan 7 (Story) (Cached)

The movie The Big Short shows the inner workings of the banking industry and the bundling of toxic mortgages that led to the US housing bubble and the 2008 financial meltdown. The end of the film warns that Goldman Sachs and other banks now are reviving the scam under the name of “bespoke tranche opportunity” investments. [Why would they risk another meltdown? Because they know their losses will be, once again, covered by taxpayers and depositors.] World Policy 2016 Jan 7 (Story) (Cached)

Here is an analysis of the reasons behind Saudi Arabia’s move against Iran. It’s all about oil prices and profit margins. Forbes 2016 Jan 4 (Story) (Cached)

Hawaii is facing a homeless crisis. Housing is so expensive that an estimated 7,000 people are living in tent cities, even though many of them have jobs. A Catholic priest is interviewed who says that it is a government problem. He implies that the government should provide more housing and more welfare for these people. He is clueless to the reality that more government housing and welfare always leads to more people seeking those benefits and merely increases the problem. The only way to reverse this trend is to get the government, with its taxes and regulations, off the backs of citizens so they can create jobs, increase wages, build homes, and take care of those in need without political intervention. CBS News 2016 Jan 2 (Story)