Is Sam Bankman-Fried Another Bernie Madoff? Buyer Beware Or Rely On Government For Protection? (FTX Held Less Than $1bn In Liquid Assets Against $9bn In Liabilities)

Like the disastrous Bernie Madoff debacle where investors lost millions of dollars, Sam Bankman-Fried has apparently cost investors like Steph Curry, Shaq and Tom Brady considerable sums as well.

What do Bernie Madoff and Sam Bankman-Fried have in common? Greedy investors who apparently didn’t bother to monitor what was going on.

Yes, had they monitored FTX, Bankman-Fried’s company, they would have noticed that FTX held less than $1bn in liquid assets against $9bn in liabilities.

Generally, with buyer beware, the onus falls on investors to monitor what is going on. But The Fed’s completely dropped the ball on Bernie Madoff where investors didn’t seem at all curious about earning supercharged returns. The same is the case for FTX.

FTX had partnered with Ukraine to process donations to their war efforts within days of Joe Biden pledging billions of American taxpayer dollars to the country. Ukraine invested into FTX as the Biden administration funneled funds to the invaded nation, and FTX then made massive donations to Democrats in the US.

The SEC’s Gary Gensler blew it again. After his agency failed to warn investors about Terra and Celsius—whose collapses this spring sparked a trillion-dollar investor wipeout—the Securities and Exchange Commission chair allowed an even bigger debacle to unfold right under his nose. I’m talking, of course, about the revelation this week that the $30 billion FTX empire was a house of cards and that its golden boy founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is the crypto equivalent of Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes (Stanford University is where Holmes was an MBA student and Stanford Law School is where both SBF’s parents are professor).

To be fair, Gensler was not the only one suckered by SBF. Nearly everyone else fell for the narrative that SBF, with his cute afro and aw-shucks demeanor, was exactly the savior crypto needed to shake off its dodgy reputation and emerge as part of the mainstream financial system. The problem is that cop-on-the-beat Gensler not only failed to spot the crime—he appeared set to go along with a legislative strategy that would have given SBF a regulatory moat and made him king of the U.S. crypto market.

While it is easy to blame Gensler, the onus still falls on investors (and their managers) to MONITOR. Buyer beware.

What will happen to Sam? Likely nothing. He is a golden child of Democrats and was the second biggest donor to Biden and the Democrats after America-hating George Soros. Just like Biden’s son Hunter will never pay for his many inappropriate antics, I doubt that Merrick “Double Standard” Garland will do much to Sam.

Steph Curry, Shaq and Tom Brady should fire their investment advisors and possibly sue then for failure to monitor. No one noticed $1bn in assets against $9bn in liabilities??

Gary Genslar is more like Inspector Clouseau than a serious regulator.

Here is the SEC’s Gary Genslar interviewing Sam Bankman-Fried about FTX.

Maybe Sam’s Stanford law school professor parents didn’t tell him that it is against the law.

Bankrupt FTX Hit by Mysterious Outflow of About $662 Million (Yellen Calls For Regulation But Ignores Obvious Inflation and Debt Crisis) At Least Dogecoin Is Up Today

Sam Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt digital-asset exchange FTX was hit by a mysterious outflow of about $662 million in tokens in the past 24 hours, the latest twist in one of the darkest periods for the crypto industry.

Customers still coming to terms with the platform’s Friday plunge into Chapter 11 proceedings were subsequently confronted with what the general counsel of its US arm, Ryne Miller, described as “abnormalities with wallet movements.”

Miller said on Twitter that FTX had begun moving digital assets into cold storage — wallets that are unconnected to the internet — following its bankruptcy filing on Friday. The process was later expedited “to mitigate damage upon observing unauthorized transactions.”

Blockchain analytics firm Nansen, which gave the overall estimate of $662 million in withdrawals, said the coins flowed out of both FTX’s international and US exchanges. A separate analysis by Elliptic stated that initial indications showed almost $475 million had been stolen from the exchange in illicit transactions, with the stablecoins and other tokens that were taken being rapidly converted to Ether on decentralized exchanges — “a common technique used by hackers in order to prevent their haul being seized.”

And like that, O’Biden’s Treasury secretary Janet Yellen FTX Debacle said that it shows need for crypto regulation. Or Yellen could suggest a “buyer beware” tactic, but she is part of the most aggressively regulatory administration in history, MORE regulation is needed! /sarc

Regulate, regulate, dance to THEIR music!

At least Yellen is noticing Bankman-Fried (a new twist on Kentucky-Fried) and FTX since she is seemingly oblivious to the harm being done by The Federal Reserve and The Federal government with regards to inflation and debt growth. She is a Bird of War.

Like this chart of the Purchasing Power of the US Dollar CPI. Janet?

Or how about this chart of US Public Debt Outstanding and Real GDP growth per capita? The Fed and Federal government broke the bank, so to speak, by bailing out the banks in the financial crisis (pink box) and then again for the Covid crisis (orange box). Janet?

Damn it, Janet. Why don’t you discuss the Medicare and Social Security crisis (remember Joe Biden said Republicans may try to fix it which Biden turned into a nasty attack claiming that Republicans were going to take away your Social Security).

Lastly, the US has $172.6 TRILLION in unfunded Federal promises. Janet? A least FLA Senator Rick Scott tried to address the problems with Social Security, but Nasty Joe Biden “yelled Republicans are going to take away your Social Security!” I argue that O’Biden, Yellen and Democrats are going to let SS blow-up rather than take on politically challenging issues. Social Security liability is $22.23 trillion yet O’Biden just promised $500 billion per year to third-world countries and keeps sending billions to Ukraine. Janet?

On the crypto side (that Yellin’ Yellen wants to regulate), at least Dogecoin is up 10.37%.

They call Yellen “The Breeze” because she breezes by the hard decisions and focuses on the easy problems like calling for regulation of cryptos.

Perhaps Sam Bankman-Fried could be ordered to do KFC ads as “The Colonel.”

Next US Inflation Report After Midterm Elections Likely To Remain High (Projection For Headline Inflation = 7.9%, Core Inflation = 6.5%) As Diesel Prices UP 102% Under Biden And Inflation UP 486%

The US midterm elections are Tuesday. I was denied an absentee ballot for some reason, but I will get my disabled body over to the local precinct to cast my ballot.

Fortunately for Democrats, the next inflation report is not due out until November 10th. Because the forecast for the next inflation report is ugly.

Headline CPI YoY = 7.9%

Core CPI YoY = 6.5%

These numbers are slightly lower than the last inflation report, but Americans are still suffering mightily under Biden’s Reign of Error.

Diesel fuel prices, the lifeline of the food industry, is up 102% under Biden’s mandates with the inventory of diesel fuel down 36%.

Inflation is relentless like Jason from Halloween.

Inflation is UP 486% under Inflation Joe, The Bully of DC.

I am going for a few Tequila shots on Wednesday.

How Biden And The Fed Defanged The FANG Index And Clobbered Growth And Real Estate ETFs (Cousin Eddie And Clark Griswold Strike Again!)

There is no doubt that Biden is the Cousin Eddie of politics with his gifts that keep on giving. Like rampant inflation, soaring food, gasoline and diesel prices, and Pelosi/Schumer’s helping hand in creating price controls that will kill potential cures for illnesses.

In addition to rampant 40-year highs in inflation, we have the Clark Griswold of the economy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, slamming his foot on the economic breaks to combat inflation created by Biden’s energy mandates and reckless Federal spending (like the aforementioned, laughable “Inflation Reduction Act.”

So, Biden helps creates massive inflation and Powell and the Gang counterattacked by raising their target rate with more to come (at least until May 2023). And with the implied Fed Funds rate soaring (red line), we are seeing the FANG stocks (Facebook or Meta, Amazon, Netflix and Google) falling more rapidly (white line) than the S&P 500 index. Which is also falling like a rock (yellow line). All this is happening as M2 Money YoY crashes and burns.

How about growth versus value under Cousin Eddie and Clark Griswold? The Vanguard Growth ETF and Vanguard Real Estate ETF are plunging with Fed tightening (red line). Vanguard’s Value ETV (yellow line) is down too, but not by as much.

Yes, Washington DC elites. The gift that keeps on giving … bad things.

Thanks to my former GMU student Andrew Edwards for the Cousin Eddie suggestion!

Alarm! US Productivity Declines For 3rd Straight Quarter While Unit Labor Costs Rose 7.60% YoY, Fastest Since 1982

Alarm!

Even Joe Biden’s hate speech towards Republicans can’t mask the horrid inflation on his watch. As if Biden watches anything other than ice cream cones.

On a YoY basis, US Productivity is down for the 3rd straight quarter (and 4th quarter of the last 5).

On the mirror image of productivity, unit labor costs rose 3.5% QoQ (a notable slowing from the 8.9% QoQ growth in Q2). This was the 6th quarter in a row of rising unit labor costs (but was less than the +4.0% QoQ expected)…

However, on a YoY basis, that is the fastest growth since Q3 1982.

Yikes! The 2s10s Yield Curve Inversion Is the worst since the 1980s.

Powell’d! S&P 500 Index Drops -2.35% On Failure Of Fed Pivot (“Very Premature To Be Thinking About Pausing)

Markets are getting stranger than the Paul Pelosi hammer attack.

The S&P 500 index tanked -2.35% after Powell and The Fed failed to pivot.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened a new phase in his campaign to regain control of inflation, saying US interest rates will go higher than previously projected, but the path may soon involve smaller hikes.

Addressing reporters Wednesday after the Fed raised rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row, Powell said “incoming data since our last meeting suggests that ultimate level of interest rates will be higher than previously expected.”

Powell said is it would be appropriate to slow the pace of increases “as soon as the next meeting or the one after that. No decision has been made,” he said, while stressing that “we still have some ways” before rates were tight enough.

“It is very premature to be thinking about pausing,” he said.

Fed Funds Futures data point now to a June peak in the target rate of 5.055%, then a decline.

US 30Y Mortgage Rate Rises To 7.22% As Fed Combats Near 40-year High Bidenflation, BUT 10Y Treasury Yield DOWN -12 BPS This AM (US Treasury 10yr-3mo Curve Falling Further Into Inversion)

US 30-year mortgage rates are above 7% as The Federal Reserve slowly withdraws its Covid-related monetary stimulus and attempt to combat near 40-year highs in inflation under Biden (aka, Bidenflation).

However, the US Treasury 10-year yield is down -12 basis points this morning.

And we have an important predictor of recession, the Treasury 10yr-3mo yield curve.

And if the Republicans win The House (and maybe the Senate) at the midterms, Biden can blame Republicans for the recession.

Joe Biden, Hunter and Biden’s brother James must be singing “Damn, it feels good to be a Biden!“

Fed Is Losing Billions, Wiping Out Profits That Funded Spending (Agency MBS Prices Falling While Duration And Convexity Soar)

As I told my Chicago, Ohio State and George Mason University finance and real estate students, repeatedly, “Watch out when The Fed begins to tighten monetary policy. It will be a bloodbath for taxpayers.”

Well, here we are. I argue that Biden’ green energy knucklehead policies are driving inflation, or it could be the insane level of Federal spending that Obama economist Larry Summers warned us about, or rising wages (in part due to Federal spending) is to thank for inflation. Or all of the above.

Regardless of the cause, the bond market is enduring its worst selloff in a generation, triggered by high inflation and the aggressive interest-rate hikes that central banks are implementing. Falling bond prices, in turn, mean paper losses on the massive holdings that the Fed and others accumulated during their rescue efforts in recent years.

Rate hikes also involve central banks paying out more interest on the reserves that commercial banks park with them. That’s tipped the Fed into operating losses, creating a hole that may ultimately require the Treasury Department to fill via debt sales. The UK Treasury is already preparing to make up a loss at the Bank of England.

The Reserve balance has crashed into negative territory.

And Fed losses are skyrocketing.

Agency MBS prices are up today, but are down since August 2022. But risk measures duration and convexity are zooming upwards.

Bloomberg Recession Probability Is 100% Over Next 12 Months, Conference Board Registers Third Straight Negative Read (Here Comes The Night!)

To quote Van Morrison, “Here comes the night.”

Bloomberg’s recession probability over next 12 months is … 100%.

And how about the Conference Board’s Leading index of 10 economic indicators YoY? Third negative read ALWAYS followed by recession.

The Federal Reserve may be forced to pivot. This may be one reason why the Dow is up 565 points today (+1.86%) as recession and pain become ever more likely.

Look at commercial banks deposits. Wonder why liquidity is drying up?

And to paraphrase Van Morrison, Biden/Pelosi/Schumer please go.

And to paraphrase Van Morrison, Biden/Pelosi/Schumer please go. Powell too.

Need to hear Them’s “Gloria” for the weekend.

This One’s Going To Hurt You! US Dollar Continues To Rise, Hurting Investors (US Dollar UP 25.2% With Bidenflation)

This one’s going to hurt you for a long, long time.

Over the past year, the dollar has been on a tear: The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of foreign currencies, is up 18%. And up 25.2% under 80-year old US President Joe Biden (well, he will be 80 in November).

For tourists, a strong dollar is great news. It means you get more for your money abroad.

But for investors, a beefed-up buck is decidedly bad news.

When the dollar strengthens, that means foreign revenues are going to translate into fewer dollars. Those earnings are going to come in lower and any overseas investment you own is going to hurt you in a rising dollar environment.