Business
The big quiet bail out – Euro/Japan central banks propping up stock markets, is the US next?
You’d think that the golden age of markets, if there was one, would be something like the post WWII economic expansion era. That was pretty impressive, driven by baby boomers and the gigantic wave of consumption that enveloped them. Never before in history had parents worried so much about the outfits that New Baby would wear, and it only got crazier from there.
Fundamentally though, the late 1700s were far more earth-shaking. Not in the consumerist sense; those austere horse-travelers managed to survive somehow without the likes of either Apple or Lululemon, for example, but consider the free-market achievements of that period. The United States came into existence, a profound new experiment in governance and free(ish) markets. In academic circles, famed economist/philosopher Adam Smith coined the term “the invisible hand of the market” in his book The Wealth of Nations. It was a reference to the ability of a market economy to provide benefits far beyond those that accrue to the creator. That is, an inventor of something that becomes wildly successful enriches not only the inventor, but society as a whole. Plus, it is an indirect reference to the ability of markets to efficiently allocate capital.
We tend to forget that wonder of capital markets, particularly as the world drifts into one defined more and more by government intervention. Since the 2008 financial meltdown, governments have gone kind of berserk in attempting to keep the financial world afloat, causing markets to gyrate in increasing spirals through wild-eyed policy guidance as the dollars at stake become stupefyingly large. We no longer have economist/philosophers at the helm; we have economist/desperados who have convinced the world their alchemic ways will work, and they don’t know that it will, but they’re really really hoping.
The new breed of economist has introduced an all new Invisible Market Hand – not one that provides infinite benevolence, but one that is like a forklift driver feeling confident in his/her ability to pilot a fighter jet because the seats are similar.
The strategy of which I speak began in Japan over the past decade. After years of trying to kick start the Japanese economy in various ways, including dropping interest rates to zero, the central bank began buying up treasuries as a means of supporting debt markets. When that didn’t get things going, they took the next step and actually began buying up equities to prop up stock markets. Since then, Europe has started a similar program. And yes, you heard that right – in those jurisdictions, if stock prices fall too much, the market is prevented from self-correcting, and governments are, in effect, breaking the fingers of the original Invisible Hand.
They appear to be stepping in to keep critical sectors of the economy in good shape, and also to enhance the “wealth effect”. The wealth effect refers to how citizens tend to spend more drunkenly when they feel wealthy, and for many that means a healthy portfolio. If someone sees their retirement nest egg shrink from $100,000 to $50,000 in a severe market downturn, those people tend to lockdown spending – a wise reaction. But as we’re seeing, the world keeps turning because we are consumers, and like it or not, consumption makes our world go round. So by making those portfolios stay healthy one way or another, governments seek to put the population in a semi-drunken spending stupor in order to keep the party going. Anyone who’s witnesses a true boom economy will recognize the phenomenon – at the peak of the oil boom 6 or 8 years ago, there were direct flights from Fort McMurray to Las Vegas, and thousands of twenty-somethings were purchasing vacation properties. Suffice it to say that those days are gone.
Don’t expect the new Invisible Market Hand to bail you out if your brother-in-law convinces you to load up some hot stock tip he got from a friend who got it from a friend who got it from a friend, because the “friend” at the end of that chain will be some dubious stock promoter that may or may not end up in jail, and even panicked governments won’t save those souls.
With the new strategies for propping up markets however, we’re starting to see the lengths governments will go to in order to maintain financial stability. You’d think the mountains of debt will lead to a day of reckoning, but, emboldened by the global government response to the 2008 financial crisis, the high priests of finance are becoming more emboldened. That our fate depends so heavily on a squadron of tweedy economists is truly frightening, but we’re all in the same boat, so enjoy the ride…
For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.
From Resource Works
Barry Penner doesn’t posture – he brings evidence. And lately, the evidence has been catching up fast to what he’s been saying for months.
Penner, chair of the Energy Futures Institute and a former B.C. environment minister and attorney-general, walked me through polling that showed a decisive pattern: declining support for electric-vehicle mandates, rising opposition, and growing intensity among those pushing back.
That was before the political landscape started shifting beneath our feet.
In the weeks since our conversation, the B.C. government has begun retreating from its hardline EV stance, softening requirements and signalling more flexibility. At the same time, Ottawa has opened the door to revising its own rules, acknowledging what the market and motorists have been signalling for some time.
Penner didn’t need insider whispers to see this coming. He had the data.
Barry Penner, Chair of the Energy Futures Institute
B.C.’s mandate remains the most aggressive in North America: 26 per cent ZEV sales by 2026, 90 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035. Yet recent sales paint a different picture. Only 13 per cent of new vehicles sold in June were electric. “Which means 87 per cent weren’t,” Penner notes. “People had the option. And 87 per cent chose a non-electric.”
Meanwhile, Quebec has already adjusted its mandate to give partial credit for hybrids. Polling shows 76 per cent of British Columbians want the same. The trouble? “There’s a long waiting list to get one,” Penner says.
Cost, charging access and range remain the top barriers for consumers. And with rebates shrinking or disappearing altogether, the gap between policy ambition and practical reality is now impossible for governments to ignore.
Penner’s advice is simple, and increasingly unavoidable: “Recognition of reality is in order.”
- Now watch Barry Penner’s full video interview with Stewart Muir on Power Struggle here:
From LifeSiteNews
By Matt Lamb
Chevrolet’s new Christmas ad portrays the ups and downs of family life and the fun of parenting.
Car company Chevrolet launched its Christmas ad campaign with a beautiful commercial that highlights the messiness of raising kids while championing the value of having a family.
The ad, titled “Memory Lane,” shows a middle-aged married couple loading up their decades-old Chevy Suburban with food to head off to a family dinner. At this point, the ad switches between the couple in the present day and grainy, recorder-quality video of family memories.
It begins with a young family, including a baby, loading up into the same car. As the couple begins to drive, the wife and mom is reminiscing. The husband asks her not to “keep all the good stuff” to herself.
From there, the ad reflects on the ups and downs of the family’s life, including memories of mistakenly tying a Christmas tree to the car door and comforting their college-aged daughter about a break-up. As the couple pulls up to a house at the end of their trip, the wife turns to her husband and says: “They never made it easy, did they?”
“Did you want it to be easy?” he replies.
“No, I wanted it to be just like it was,” she says, before they exit the car to meet family, including a grandchild and a new dog that looks like their old dog.
“The greatest journey is the one we take together,” the ad ends.
Commercial accurately portrays that family life isn’t easy, but it is fun
Anyone who has kids knows that it is not always easy raising them, but it is enjoyable. They scream, they cause messes, they wake you up in the middle of the night. And that’s just before they turn five years old. It only gets more enjoyable, and more difficult, as they age (from what I can tell).
Even if you do not have kids, you can probably remember your own life and think about the ways you caused your parents headaches (getting a bad grade in a class or breaking the curfew), but also the ways you brought them joy (graduating from college, joining the military, or getting married).
The truth is that families are messy, and no one is guaranteed an easy life. But the important thing is to persevere by sticking together.
Another thing that stuck out is that both parents remained married throughout their life and are celebrating Christmas with both of their children.
One of the kids did not avoid Christmas because dad voted for Trump or because mom has strongly held religious beliefs – something that does happen to the glee (and detriment) of leftist writers. The entire family, not just those who perfectly agree with each other, were together for the holidays. In fact, this is one way we honor our father and mother, by getting together over the holidays and at other family gatherings.
As a parent myself, I sometimes wish it would be “easy,” but the truth is the ups and downs are what make it enjoyable.
Thank you to Chevy for reminding me, and other parents, of this lesson.
From Underdog to Top Broodmare
Federal major projects list raises questions
Alberta and Ottawa ink landmark energy agreement
Poilievre says West Coast Pipeline MOU is no guarantee
Afghan Ex–CIA Partner Accused in D.C. National Guard Ambush
Man overboard as HMCS Carney lists to the right
Health Canada indefinitely pauses plan to sell unlabeled cloned meat after massive public backlash
-
Business18 hours agoRecent price declines don’t solve Toronto’s housing affordability crisis
-
Bruce Dowbiggin2 days agoSometimes An Ingrate Nation Pt. 2: The Great One Makes His Choice
-
National2 days agoMedia bound to pay the price for selling their freedom to (selectively) offend
-
Daily Caller17 hours agoTech Mogul Gives $6 Billion To 25 Million Kids To Boost Trump Investment Accounts
-
C2C Journal2 days agoLearning the Truth about “Children’s Graves” and Residential Schools is More Important than Ever
-
Business2 days agoWhy Isn’t There a Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease?
-
armed forces1 day agoGlobal Military Industrial Complex Has Never Had It So Good, New Report Finds
-
Alberta2 days agoNew era of police accountability