War and its aftermath is probably the greatest cause, followed by incompetent political leadership leading to capital flight and/or a foolish currency peg to a much stronger economy's currency How so? Please explain the mechanics of how war, etc cause hyperinflation while peacetime money printing d...

Gumby wrote: It's just an asset swap.

LOL. I would like to "swap" back my TLT for the cash I paid for it last May. Can you do that for me Gumby ? No loss to you right? It's just a swap!

"You can profit from a monetary crisis" explains this all brilliantly. But don't take Browne's word for it, take Hitler's (under 4 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdFVu-s_97E I've never been so entertained while disagreeing so vehemently with a video. The movie it's from is German an...

CBO Report Makes Clear: Sea of Red Ink Threatens Economy and Security quote: How long the nation could sustain such growth in federal Debt is impossible to predict with any confidence. At some point, investors would begin to doubt the government’s willingness or ability to pay U.S. Debt obligations...

While a traditional "default" is not in the cards what if, as Lord Turner - the former chief of the Financial Services Authority in Britain -  has suggested, the Fed simply writes off its Treasury portfolio financing "prior" deficits. This could be done with a flick of a switch, ...

And, again, you've not explained how the assessment of QE as an asset swap that has no effect on inflation is flawed. Geez I spent all day explaining how all assets are not the same thing.  An "asset swap" as you describe it is a misnomer. It is not a "swap". One is cash the oth...

Doesn't every asset depend on the value of other factors? A stock's value depends on the value of the underlying company. A currency-issuer bond's value depends on the stability of the government. A currency user bond's value depends on the issuing entity having enough money to pay. A piece of real...

When Switzerland had negative rates one had to pay them to keep your money. It was a variable rate, not your standard "maintenance fee". We are getting close to that here as on average bank fees exceed interest earned

Pointedstick wrote: Buy shares of CBS, TWX, and FOX

+1

You are exactly right. It is not liquid. It is an asset whose value depends on other factors . And its mere presence on the balance sheet as an asset does not mean much without looking at the underlying factors, just as you described.  That is my objection to CullenRochism. To equate an obligation ...

WiseOne wrote: Let's get some definitions down... <snip rest of great post>

Wow. Excellent post. We are doomed.

I need ideas please. How shall we trade/play this one?

If I may jump ahead/back... We are here, yes? To bring it back... How does this fit into the discussion of the monetary system?  Or the distinction between currency and debt?  Again, I have a guess, but I think it would be advantageous if you were explicit. Accounts receivable is debt on the balanc...

"Doesn't change enough " ? But it changes. And a T-bond? why does it change? It is also debt. That was my original question. You changed it from T-bond to T-bill to help your point of view since T-bill variation is smaller. So the value of a highly liquid cash-like financial asset changes...

Exactly how much more are $100,000 of 4-week or even 90-day T-Bills worth than yesterday? Who cares how much. Red herring.  Are you denying that a T-Bill changes price? Short term debt doesn't change enough to make a difference in our highly liquid purchasing power. It just doesn't. That's why HB h...

If I may jump ahead/back... We are here, yes? Okay, but the mechanics are all that I'm talking about. The distinction between currency and debt is, I assume, only relevant when trying to figure out what the inflation risk is (why else would it matter in the first place?).  That's not a mechanical i...

Gumby wrote:

Mdraf wrote:In other words: they are worth more than yesterday and people will trade more cash for them today than yesterday.

Exactly how much more are $100,000 of 4-week or even 90-day T-Bills worth than yesterday?

Who cares how much. Red herring.  Are you denying that a T-Bill changes price?

Fraud, inefficiency, U.S. consumers of health care subsiding international drug development, high cost of liability insurance, doing unnecessary diagnostic procedures, doctors prescribing expensive drugs when cheaper drugs are available, and spending a lot on end of life care. Those are a few thing...

Bond prices went up today.  Why do you think that is? Oh wait. In your universe they didn't. Sigh... You still don't understand what "broad liquidity" is. Broad liquidity generally means "short term" debt (T-Bills and Money Market Funds) whose face value is highly liquid and wit...

Kshartle wrote:

Gumby wrote: Look, Mdraf, you are a Monetarist that believes in Metallism.

He's also a doo-doo head.

With a hot, drunk wife

It's unfair. Only the devotees are lobbying on this thread. We  should have a rule. You can't stand near the polling place holding clubs.

Look, Mdraf, you are a Monetarist that believes in Metallism . I just happen to understand that Credit Theory or Money , and you don't. That wouldn't normally be a problem if it weren't for the fact that our monetary system is a credit-based monetary system — our current system isn't based on metal...

And yet, if your business has $100K in Treasury Bonds, suddenly the story is very different. How come my T-Bonds are more valuable today than they were yesterday ? If they are the same as cash they should always be worth the same.. Yet my balance sheet just miraculously increased! Who said that you...

Exactly. And the $100K in Accounts Receivable has no value without knowing who the debtor is and how good they are for payment. What if it's Solyndra? This is why if your business has $100K in accounts receivable and you go to the bank and ask for it in cash they will double up laughing. And yet, i...

Looks like the spigot is open. Good for our PP !