The warning bells are ringing, and they are ringing loudly. We've already allowed bad economics to lead to bad politics. Now, it's high time to put a stop to the cycle where bad politics undermines an already fragile economy. [Let me explain.] Words: 1085

In today’s overleveraged world, greater deficits and government spending, financed by an expansion of public debt and the monetary base (“the printing press”), are not the answer to our economic woes. In fact, these policies have been proven to have a negative impact on growth. [Therefore] as long as we continue down this path, the “solution” will continue to be the problem. There is no miracle cure to our current woes and recent proposals by central planners risk worsening the economic outlook for decades to come. [Let us explain.] Words: 1510

"The U.S., with $15 trillion in debt, and roughly $1.5 trillion in tax revenues, is an enormous disaster waiting to happen. At 10% interest rates the U.S. would use 100% of its tax revenues to finance the debt....This is why money printing is guaranteed...and this time, like it has before, it will lead to a financial crash [which] will be of a worldwide magnitude.”

This post shows JPMorgan's estimated probabilities on four different fiscal cliff outcomes, conditional on who wins the presidential election in November.

The perfect storm is the real fiscal cliff that we’re going to go over. The real fiscal cliff is when we can’t borrow any more money because our creditors wake up to the fact that we’re no good for the debt and interest rates start to rise.

Nouriel Roubini is known for his pessimistic views on the health of the global economy and his nickname is Doctor Doom. Bloomberg TV recently put together a short video highlighting Roubini's most bold and sharpest quotes from the past year, which is definitely worth a watch (see here).

In a note to clients, BofA rates strategists Priya Misra and Shyam Rajan say the Fed is "waiting for the triple threat" - three key triggers that must be met before the Fed does any additional easing. They are...

"… those who are waiting for the Fed cavalry to ride over the hill and rescue the economy are doomed to disappointment....The banks are awash in loanable funds, businesses are cash-rich and opportunity-poor, and interest rates are already so low that lower still will not attract borrowing....More liquidity is unlikely to impart more impetus to the sluggish economy…. Congress and the President should not count on the Fed to bail them out of their mistakes…. Central banks are unable to help in the face of persistently flawed economic policies."

Fact #7: As of summer 2012, the federal government’s outstanding debt surpassed $15 trillion. Who are the nation’s creditors?

By threatening to drop money out of helicopters to fight deflation - to leave a paperweight on the "print" button if you will - Bernanke convinced the market and all of Wall Street that the Fed would always be there to step in and save the day. [In fact, however,] the whole thing was a bluff meant to prop up the markets - the famed Bernanke Put - and it was a lie. The markets will be realizing this in the coming months, if not sooner, and when they do, we'll see the REAL Collapse: the one to which 2008 was just a warm-up. [Let me explain.] Words: 444