Business

Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

In the 21st century Americans have been distracted by the hyper-expensive “war on terror.” Trillions of dollars have been added to the taxpayers’ burden and many billions of dollars in profits to the military/security complex in order to combat insignificant foreign “threats,” such as the Taliban, that remain undefeated after 15 years. All this time the financial system, working hand-in-hand with policymakers, has done more damage to Americans than terrorists could possibly inflict.

From Bahamian crawfish to Mexican shoes, and from Argentine soybeans to Ethiopian coffee, the world makes (and trades) in far more than just crude oil and petroleum products. However, given the current deflationary world, it is very notable how many countries in the world are dependent on commodities as the primary source of foreign income.

The following map of the world shows each country's major export...

Source: BofA

Submitted by Brian Hunt via InternationalMan.com,

Have you heard of “negative interest rates”?

It’s become a phenomenon with economists and the media.

There’s a good chance you’ve read an article about it. We’ve covered it many times in the Dispatch.

I’m writing to tell you something about negative interest rates you haven’t heard. You certainly won’t hear about it in the mainstream press.

Last week, we learned that vehicle leasing as a percentage of monthly light-vehicle sales hit a record in February at 32.3%.

In other words, a third of the over 1 million cars and light trucks “sold” during the month were leases, according to J.D. Power.

This is indicative of what is now a long-term trend. Have a look at the following chart from WSJ, which shows that since 2009, the share of monthly auto leases as a percentage of vehicle sales well more than tripled:

Via ConvergEx's Nicholas Colas,

While the world’s central banks struggle with deflation, millennials (those born between 1980 – 2000) are busy creating a world where persistently lower prices will be an economic cornerstone.  “A feature, not a bug,” as they say in the tech world.