Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Fairewinds Arnie Gundersen Tears TEPCO Apart; Japan Moves To Delete Any Information They Deem Critical Of Their Policies; North Korean TV Reports Seriousness Of Radioactive Leaks; Greek Bond Yields Tell All; Bernanke Avoids The Cold Turkey; China Warns, Toyota Resumes

Although the catastrophe in Japan is far from over - it's just getting started - it's a well established fact that humans tend to reach a point where they just would rather not hear anymore about an event; this is precisely what the Japanese gov't was counting on as they now begin to slowly release drips and drabs of critical information, such as TEPCO now admitting "there is little doubt plutonium has leaked from the plant." Questions arise now such as, where did it leak to and how much leaked? We may never no for sure but the impacts will be seen and felt shortly.

Not to be missed today is a new video from Fairewinds Associates Arnie Gundersen, who explains in detail what is still occurring. The good news is, reactor 3 seems to be stabilizing, but reactors 1, 2 and 4 are just heating up, quite literally. The most interesting aspect of the way he explains the situation is by breaking down the information TEPCO and the Japanese gov't publicly release, into easily digestible pieces and by using logic and science, shows why you're not getting the truth from them. Of course, this could be why Japan is moving to delete any information from the internet that exposes their lies goes against their policy and official news. And we thought internet censorship was only for hard line third world communist nations.

In a turning of the tables event, North Korean TV is reporting the seriousness of the radiation. A North Korean expert said, "What is most serious is that even a month after the accident, we see no prospects of getting radioactive leakages under control." For once, most of the world agrees.

Supply chain disruptions, which forced many plants around the world to shutdown, are still a big concern for the global economy and we expect to see the impact of those shutdown in the upcoming quarterly reports. The world's largest auto manufacture however, has restarted all factories in Japan once again albeit at 50% capacity. Toyota is projecting a production loss of 260,000 cars since then.

Of course, radioactive news about Japan isn't the only news that still makes tsunami waves. As Fukushima went critical in March, so did the European (Dis)Union as bond yields in the peripheral members went vertical. Greece, which has been insolvent since May of last year, has seen yields skyrocket. The 10yr exploded to almost 15% and the 3 month bond at auction went to the stratosphere - 4.1%. Needless to say, Portuguese bonds followed and the most critical 10yr bond now yields a completely unsustainable 9.31%. It's only a matter of time before Spain follows suit despite ECB intervention. Look for a Greek restructuring (read: default) in a month or two.

In sideshow news yesterday, the S&P cut the US debt outlook to negative and China warned the US to get its house in order or else. Again, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Speaking of curtain, Bloomberg is reporting that Dr. Deficit Bernanke will continue with QE to avoid "cold turkey." No surprises here. Quantitative Easing (aka money printing) will likely continue indefinitely. Even if a brief pause of QE takes places, it will begin again. After all, what else can the central banker of the world do for an unsustainable economy but print? Let's hope no more big earthquakes occur around the world, especially in the US - California is the most likely to be hit. The debt ceiling is already being knocked on as national debt is ebbing and flowing by a few billion dollars on a daily basis, but Hu who is counting? If the sun shoots off a mega X flare CME that is earth directed, an earthquake(s) of 9.0 magnitude can be expected for a certain. It may help to have a few extra gold/silver pieces in your pocket.

6 comments:

  1. Awesome site, awsome INSIGHT, checking it daily. Are you on ZH and what handle if so?

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  2. found your site too. i check in daily. you hit all the right topics

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  3. @Anon- Thank you. I always appreciate the kind words. My name on ZH is FiatsFire same as my blog. I did not post yet but I am a member.

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  4. @Anon- Thank you. I try to write back often. Regards

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  5. Just found you! I'm impressed!
    Should be an interesting summer...
    At some point the world will hit a debt wall.

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  6. @Indenture- We are all indentured already. Thank you! Should be an interesting next few weeks! ;)

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