Tag: Mish

How Much Free Money Stimulus Still Hasn’t Been Spent?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://mishtalk.com/economics/how-much-free-money-stimulus-still-hasnt-been-spent

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Excerpt:

The question is not as straight forward as it looks. The gap between spending and income isn’t constant. 

Free money that goes to bottom rung households tends to immediately get spent. The higher the rung, the more the savings. This is complicated by the fact that most of the money was supposed to go to lower tiers, and further complicated by corporate fraud, especially in round one. 

More importantly, personal spending does not count mortgage paydowns, stock market or Bitcoin purchases, capital expenses for businesses, drug money, other illegal uses, or money sent to relatives overseas. 

….

The Peterson Foundation reports direct checks were $292 billion in round one, $164 billion in round two, and $411 billion in round three.

There was $850 billion of direct payments to taxpayers with the biggest and most unwarranted round the last.

Spending data suggests free money, at least most of direct payments, already did enter the economy. 

However, that does not factor in unpaid rent via eviction moratoriums or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly Food Stamps, which I will address in a separate post. 

So yes, there still could be a pile of unspent stimulus savings, possibly much higher than my $2 trillion summation estimate, again with my caveats on investments, sending money overseas, etc.  

Author(s): Mike Shedlock

Publication Date: 22 Apr 2022

Publication Site: Mish Talk

The Reddit Inspired Attack on Shorts Exposed Wall Street Sleaze and Corruption

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thestreet.com/mishtalk/economics/the-reddit-inspired-attack-on-shorts-exposed-wall-street-sleaze-and-corruption

Excerpt:

The big players are overleveraged because the Fed encouraged them. The whole thing is propped up by stimulus and bailouts of consumers and companies alike.

This coordinated short squeeze pushed two hedge funds and Robinhood to the brink. It revealed for all to see how broken the stock market has been..

You know it’s serious when the New York Times puts a stock chart at the top of the page in a Saturday morning edition.

Traders who follow prudent strategies are ridiculed and have zero returns. The Fed is the biggest manipulator out there.

Those traders on Reddit have succeeded in showing how completely broken the stock market is.

The Fed is a big proponent of this through its monetary policy for the wealth effect. It is responsible for reckless leverage, crazy trading strategies, and the huge incentive to manipulate.

Author(s): Mish

Publication Date: 1 February 2021

Publication Site: Mish Talk Global Economics Trend Analysis

Naked Shorting is Illegal: So How the Hell was GameStop 140% Short?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thestreet.com/mishtalk/economics/naked-shorting-is-illegal-so-how-was-gamestop-140-short

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Excerpt:

It is illegal to be naked short in excess of float except for market makers who have to take the other side of a trade.

It was not the market makers who were naked short. It could be in theory, but not in this case, at least not yet.

Hedge funds wanted to short and they have to borrow stocks to do so.

The hedge funds get those shares from somewhere. Where? The brokerages and the market makers such as Goldman Sachs.

It should be the responsibility of the brokerages and market makes to not let hedge funds get 140% short. But they did, and I believe on purpose.

Since the public cannot be 140% long, except via options, who was effectively long the other 40% of the shares?

The brokerages and the market makers. To get even more shares for themselves, they restricted trading.

So while these Redditt traders did well, the market makers also gained immensely on the meteoric rise. The more the merrier. They screwed the hedge funds big time and purposely so.

A side artifact of points #1 and #2 is when the shorts are all squeezed out the market makers are the only ones who are short.

When that happens, the bids plunge and the market makers cover lower. 

Author(s): Mish

Publication Date: 30 January 2021

Publication Site: Mish Talk Global Economics Trend Analysis