Trump and Sanders have whipped up a lot of popular support by opposing “free trade” agreements.
But it’s not just politics and populism … mainstream experts are starting to reconsider their blind adherence to the dogma that more globalization and bigger free trade agreement are always good.
UC Berkeley Economics professor Robert Reich – Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor – wrote last month:
Two weeks ago we hinted at the flashing red warning coming from 'a 4,000 year old' financial indicator. The Gold/Silver ratio had reached extremely high levels, which at the time we explained...
This isn’t normal.
In modern history, the gold/silver ratio has only been this high three other times, all periods of extreme turmoil—the 2008 crisis, Gulf War, and World War II.
This suggests that something is seriously wrong. Or at least that people perceive something is seriously wrong.
Authored by Danielle DiMartino Booth,
“Originate-to-sell practices are not and have never been prevalent.”
That’s a quote from Citi’s Mary Kane who, in a note out in late January, sought to dispel the notion that subprime auto was the next “Big Short.”
While it may be true that ABS as a percentage of total auto loan origination has been range-bound between 15% and 30% for more than a decade, there’s almost no question that the ability to securitize certain loans is helping to fuel subprime auto.
Submitted by Jeffrey Snider via Alhambra Investment Partners,