You freaks know it's going to be a great week when we get to start it out with a fresh edition of Brendan's 🔥Threads. In this thread, Brendan dives into the disorienting effects that global central banking policy have had on equities and bond markets around the world in recent history and paints a pretty scary picture of the current state of the global economy.
2/ Bc. the stock market is so critical to capitalism this has profound 2nd order effects
— Brendan Bernstein (@BMBernstein) October 5, 2018
Mises: "A stock market is crucial to the existence of capitalism and private property. For it means that there is a functioning market in the exchange of titles to the means of production”
4/ BTW, the US isn't too far behind pic.twitter.com/4TPr5uwwKK
— Brendan Bernstein (@BMBernstein) October 5, 2018
What's most frightening, to me at least, is that the nature of central banking policy has evolved into a game of hot potato between central bankers who don't want to be at the helm when all of this eventually meets its day of reckoning. Instead of drafting and implementing policy that may be truly beneficial for their economies in the long run, these "leaders" are choosing to perpetuate policies that distort risk and delay the inevitable reckoning that is coming to a world filled to the brim with debt, and bad debt at that.
The fact that these central banks are all beginning to hold significant portions of their balance sheets in their native stock markets is truly appalling and it really illuminates just how complacent the world has become. This should not be okay to anyone. Central banks are supposed to serve as the lender of last resort, which means helping banks facilitate loans when the economy needs to stoke business growth. These institutions have no business getting into stocks. It is a dangerous game that will have catastrophic repercussions when the hens come home to roost one day and we have another systemic credit crisis.
Do yourselves a favor and make sure you peep the whole thread. Our boy Brendan does a good job of painting a broad picture with many cool charts and headlines.
Final thought...
The feeling of joy that occurs when you realize you don't have to move your car as your walking towards it at 7:30AM on a holiday is indescribable. Having a car in the city is very MEH.
