End of the World
Page 29
Mikaela Bradford
Chief of World Commodities for AB Jorday.
Ethan Cohan
Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Peter Simmons
Secretary of the Treasury (to 2008).
George Tamblin
Secretary of the Treasury (from 2009).
Thomas Turin
President of the New York Fed.
Edward Brechter
Chairman of the FDIC.
Jim Martin
Chief Economist at the Federal Reserve.
Samual Ross
Chairman of the Federal Reserve. (2018)
James Duncan
Secretary of the Treasury (2016)
Tim O'Brien
Stock trader.
Lori Fellows
Stock trader.
Joe Miller
Just an average 'Joe'.
Jane Miller
Just an average 'Jane'.
Mark Shannon
Aide to U.S. Congressman.
Sheryl Barclay
Aide to U.S. Senator.
Tim
Survivor.
Squirt
Survivor.
Jim (old man)
Survivor.
... And a cast of thousands ...
* * *
[1] Hedge funds are generally used to mitigate risk against downturns in the markets. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive returns under all market conditions.
[2] An investor would receive a margin call from a broker if one or more of the securities purchased (with borrowed money) decreased in value past a certain point. The investor would be forced either to deposit more money in the account or to sell off some of his assets.
[3] This refers to the write down of Mortgage Backed Securities whose underlying values have declined. With these declines, banks and investors must cover their losses. This is done by the injection of 'liquidity' into the markets. Liquidity is a term that means 'money' and 'credit'.
[4] As was shown in Book One - GREED, the world looks to gold and silver as a primary measure of wealth. A high valuation for precious metals results in a low valuation of paper assets (such as the dollar), causing a loss of confidence in paper. Thus, high prices for precious metals is a central threat to the Bankers' schemes, which is why the bankers expend so much energy to manipulate downward the price of gold/silver.
[5] The Federal Reserve system is a cartel of privately owned banks. As a cartel, it uses its monopoly power to increase its market presence and control while decreasing the power of non-affiliated banks. The Federal Reserve is a privately-owned corporation that operates for the benefit and profit of its shareholders. It is created by Congress, but has no affiliation with the U.S. government.
[6] A set of economic theorems, put forth by John Maynard Keynes, that proposes to avoid economic downturns by employing ever-more debasement of the currency and government growth at the expense of the private sector. According to Austrian economic thinking, Keynesianism led to Japan’s lost decade (of the 1990’s) and substantially extended the great depression of the 1930’s.
[7] LTCM – Long Term Capital Management was bailed out under Alan Greenspan’s watch, circa 1998. This was recounted in Book One, GREED.
[8] Selling an asset ‘short’ occurs when the seller borrows the asset and then sells it into the market, usually expecting that he can reacquire the asset later at a lower price. A ‘naked short’ occurs when the asset is sold into the market without the seller actually possessing or holding the asset. In this case, the seller must ultimately cover the short position with purchases from the market.
[9] All other things being equal, increased demand for an asset will cause a rise in its price.
[10] Inflation hurts people on fixed incomes and those who save their wealth in paper currency. It also destroys the middle class; but it benefits the banks and the wealthy.
[11] Futures on stock indices anticipate the price at which the underlying stocks will open for trading.
[12] In finance, sub prime lending (also referred to as near-prime, non-prime, and second-chance lending) means making loans to people who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. These loans are characterized by higher interest rates and less favorable terms in order to compensate for higher credit risk.
[13] In this context, capitalism encompasses central banking, government control, anti-trust laws, and other restrictive economic and trade practices. Whereas ‘free markets’ refers to laissez faire economic trade.
[14] GLD is the Exchange Traded Fund. Investors may purchase shares of this fund. GLD holds an interest in a physical quantity of gold, and the price of GLD therefore tracks the value of gold.
[15] Capitol Hill Campus. Washington D.C.
[16] Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a secret 'scenario and drill'. It was developed by the U.S. federal government to suspend the U.S. Constitution, declare martial law, place military commanders in charge of state and local governments, and detain large numbers of American citizens who would be deemed to be 'national security threats'; all in the event that the President declares a 'State of Domestic National Emergency'.
[17] DJIA, or Dow Jones, refers to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is a group of 30 stocks that (supposedly) are representative of the stock market as a whole. It is referred to as an 'Index' of stocks.
[18] Fitch Ratings is a global rating agency that provides independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data.
[19] AIG - American International Group, Inc.
[20] WaMu – Washington Mutual.
[21] As of this writing, a trade embargo existed between the U.S. and Cuba; meaning that Cuban cigars were contraband in the U.S.
[22] Liquidity is nothing more than additional money loaned into the financial industry. They use this to paper over financial shortcomings.
[23] A ‘carry trade’ exists when one can borrow at zero or near-zero interest and safely invest it elsewhere at a small (or not so small) return. When the carry trade comes to an end, the investments benefiting from the carry trade are sold; resulting in a drop in asset prices. The drop in asset prices will, in turn, cause a further unwinding of other investments, causing a general decline (or collapse) in the markets.
[24] ESF – Exchange Stabilization Fund is tasked with maintaining a stable dollar against other currencies world-wide. It maintains a cache of off-book cash and other assets for this purpose.
[25] This refers to bailout legislation for the banks. On the first vote, the House of Representatives voted it down. Total package was near $1 trillion.
[26] Leverage – in this context means that money was borrowed to hold securities. As the price of a leveraged security falls, the holder will receive a 'margin call', and is required either to sell the security or provide still more cash to offset the drop in price.
[27] Commercial paper – an unsecured short-term promissory note normally used to transact trade, meet payroll, and other short term commercial obligations.
[28] With pressure from the Bush Administration, the $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program passed Congress on October 3, 2008. This program authorized the Treasury Secretary to purchase distressed (i.e., worthless) assets from the banks and infuse cash into the banking system – a transfer of junk debt from the banks to the U.S. taxpayer.
[29] One of the tax-deferred retirement plans available to U.S. wage earners is the '401-k'. Under this plan, the U.S. government allows the investor to put money into the account, without paying taxes on the accumulations. The investor must pay taxes as money is withdrawn. After the stock-market collapse of 2008/2009, investors began referring to their '401-k' as a '201-k' – denoting that the value of their assets had been cut in half.
[30] HSBC - HSBC Holdings plc (commonly known as HSBC) is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London, Unit
ed Kingdom.
[31] IMF – International Monetary Fund.
[32] Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves. Its value is based on a basket of four key international currencies, and SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies.
[33] G20. is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies. They meet to plan the world economy and/or address crises.
[34] In the last book, GREED, Agent Kehoe of the U.S. Federal Government delivered an ultimatum to Bill and Brandy, that they cease their coin minting operations and dissolve the Freedom Money business, or else.
[35] Global Positioning System – uses satellites for location determination.
[36] A 'die' is an inverse metallic impression of the design on one side of the coin. It requires two dies, each with their own impression (design), to stamp a finished coin.
[37] Spot price – the current market price of a commodity.
[38] FDR confiscated gold held by the American people, using the authority granted by the Trading with the Enemy Act as amended in 1933. The American people were deemed to be enemies of the United States.
[39] London Good Delivery Bars conform to London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) standards. A standard for 'fineness' is part of the specification, which is a minimum of 995.0 parts per thousand fine gold. In contrast, a 90% gold bar consists of 900.0 parts per thousand fine gold.
[40] Counterparty – The other party that participates in a financial transaction.
[41] Force majeure is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term act of God occurs.
[42] Currency debasement results in price inflation - especially with food, energy, and health care.
[43] At this time, Ron Paul’s audit legislation had over 300 co-sponsors in the House, and allowed for complete and continuous audits of the Fed. Sanders’ legislation allowed for a one-time audit and limited the scope of the audit.
[44] Consumer Price Index. This is a government index that (arguably) measures the rate at which prices are increasing. Food and energy are not included.
[45] Chipped beef in cream sauce on toast, or ‘shit-on-a-shingle’.
[46] COMEX - Commodities Exchange.
[47] The ‘seller’ of the contract, in this case AB Jorday, would be eager to settle well above the spot price if it did not have physical for delivery. In settling above spot price, the seller nonetheless avoids an increase in the spot price; thus avoiding losses on silver that was sold short.
[48] NORFED is short for National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code. It is a firm that was founded by Bernard Von NotHaus for the purpose of providing an alternative currency to that which is issued by the U.S. Federal Government or Federal Reserve.
[49] QE-2. Quantitative Easing 2 was the second round of reduced interest rates and easy money. This was implemented as a matter of Fed policy to (supposedly) jumpstart the U.S. and/or world economy.
[50] Special drawing rights (SDRs) are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Not a currency, SDRs instead represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged.
[51] Excerpted from an interview on USA Watchdog.com, between Greg Hunter and Dr. Mark Skidmore; December 2, 2017.
[52] LBMA is short for London Bullion Market Association. The London bullion market is a wholesale over the counter market for the trading of gold and silver. Trading is conducted amongst members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), loosely overseen by the Bank of England. Most of the members are major international banks or bullion dealers and refiners.
[53] SLV – the three-letter symbol representing the silver exchange traded fund (ETF). This is a fund that (supposedly) holds silver and therefore tracks the spot price of silver. It is traded on an ‘Exchange’.
[54] Fractional reserve banking – A banking system in which only a fraction of bank deposits are backed by actual cash-on-hand and are available for withdrawal.
[55] The AR-15 is a lightweight, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle – usually of a black color and with a pistol grip. It is manufactured with the extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials. The rifle fires the 5.56 x 45mm NATO (.233 Remington), and is the civilian version of the fully-automatic M-16.
[56] The County Sheriff is the highest law in the county. One of the sheriff’s responsibilities is to protect the people of the county from unconstitutional actions by the federal government.
[57] Assay - a quantitative determination of the amount of a given substance in a particular sample. Assays are regularly used to determine the purity of precious metals.
[58]The flash crash was shown in Part 2, Chapter 8 of this novel. It tells the story about the stock market (DJIA) index drop of 1,000 points in a matter of 30 minutes.
[59] G8 – The Group of Eight is a forum created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States). In 1997, Russia was added, making it the Group of Eight (G8).
Table of Contents
Background from Book 1 (Greed)
END of the WORLD
Prologue
Episode 4 – Endgame
Part 1 – Crisis
Chapter 1 – Circa 2007/2008
Chapter 2 – Circa 2008
Interlude
Chapter 3 – March, 2008
Chapter 4 – September, 2008
Chapter 5 – September 29, 2008
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9 – March 10, 2009
Part 2 – Poverty
Chapter 1 – Circa 2009
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 – May 5, 2009
Chapter 4 – Circa 2009
Interlude
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 – Circa Late 2009/2010
Chapter 9
Interlude
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 – Headlines Of the Day
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15 – Sometime in the future
Chapter 16 – Stolen Money
Part 3 – Disintegration
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 – Friday
Chapter 6 – Friday Evening
Chapter 7 – Saturday Morning
Chapter 8 – Sunday
Chapter 9 – Monday
Chapter 10 – Tuesday
Chapter 11 – Wednesday
Chapter 12 – Ultimatum
Ultimatum – T minus 20 Hours
Ultimatum – T minus 16 Hours
Ultimatum – T minus 8 Hours
Ultimatum – T minus 3 Hours
Ultimatum – T minus 5 Minutes
Interlude
Ultimatum – Zero Hour Passes
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CAST OF CHARACTERS