Economic/financial data and education

Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:36 am by MAAA

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This post will contain a compendium of reliable information and data on the financial world. Having been trained as a scientist and having managed an investment firm, I believe data and Numbers are not only fundamental to any problem but it is also necessary to have a good handle on them in order to make rational decisions. Unfortunately, economic and financial data is amply and often manipulated and skewed (like GDP and CPI readings as notorious examples). Nevertheless, one must still consult the “respected” and “established” data sources first, and this page aims to provide you with sources that I have found to be of use. Remember, though bodies such as the IMF, World Bank, the Fed, etc are authoritative data sources, always consider who they work for and what their aims are.

I will continue to add to this list in the coming weeks/months and welcome any comments/suggestions/requests on this! Play! Enjoy!

Global Macro-Economic Data:
These are the places to get raw economic data. It’s a good discipline to look at the numbers first before you read anyone’s opinions, lest you get hoodwinked!

1. FRED Database at the St. Louis Federal Reserve:
Comprehensive database on all important financial data in the US (fiscal, monetary, GDP, demographics, banking, etc, etc) going as far back as the 1800s for some series. Data can be downloaded or plotted
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/

2. Global economic data at the New York Federal Reserve:
Very nice PDF that’s frequently updated. Contains main economic indicators for the US, Euro Area, Japan and the UK. All the data is presented in charts, visually pleasing and easy to digest.
http://www.ny.frb.org/research/directors_charts/global_all.pdf

3. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Data and Statistics
Arguably the most comprehensive source on global economic data covering basically every country and all reported economic variables. A must-consult reference for the curious economic mind. Data can be exported
http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm

4. Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Statistics:
The BIS serves as central bank to the world’s central banks and as such has access to information no one else has. Very detailed and thorough stats on cross-border lending and borrowing, international and domestic debt securities, effective exchange rates, external debt positions, etc.
http://www.bis.org/statistics/index.htm

5. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Quarterly Report on Bank Derivatives
This is a very specific but VERY important report covering the $500 trillion derivative market (yes, trillion with a “t”). More than 80% of derivative activity is controlled by 5 banks. Can you guess who!? You got it!
http://www.occ.gov/deriv/deriv.htm

Global Market Data:
The following are useful links to obtain prices and/or other market indicators. The difference from the “economic data”, is that these are more short-term, security-specific and more useful for “trading” and other such activities.

1. Yahoo! Finance:
Stock charts from around the world, compendium of info about each security.
http://finance.yahoo.com/

2. Bloomberg:
It’s data is “broader” than Yahoo’s since it covers bonds, currencies, stocks, etc. However, it is not as versatile.
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/index.html?Intro=intro_markets

3. Financial Times:
Better than Bloomberg in my opinion, looks nicer, probably more comprehensive and you can download historical data.
http://markets.ft.com/markets/overview.asp

Basic economic UNeducation:
These links provide useful starter articles on a wealth of topics pertaining economic education. Very useful resources when encountering pesky little terms we’ve never heard of before.

1. Library of Economics and Liberty
Very thorough and well-written encyclopaedia that covers most topics by the hand of respected authors and luminaries.
http://www.econlib.org/

Economic and Financial Research:
These are sources for original papers/publications/research. Technical difficulty varies, but mostly for the enthusiast!

1. Economic Research at the St. Louis Federal Reserve:
This site provides many publications that are quite niche-specific (covering topics from monetary to regional economics) as well as many other individual research papers.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/

2. IMF Publications
A wealth of periodicals and other research on a variety of topics from around the world. Especially noteworthy are the quarterly World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report, both hefty volumes that provide the most comprehensive overview of the current state of the world – at times highly technical, always highly recommended.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubind.htm

3. Peterson Institute for International Economics
Often referred to as the world’s TOP think thank, what the PIIE says the US usually does. Their Board of Directors features such notable characters as Granpa Volcker, Judy Greenscam, David Rockefeller, Lynn de Rothschild and much more! It is very enlightening to keep abreast of what these “talking” heads are “proposing”, since they are likely indicators of policy in the future.
http://www.piie.com/

Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:54 pm by whitewave

I hope I'm not mucking up your lovely thread by adding my questionable two cents but I ran across this today and thought it important. Would be interested in your financial analysis of how it affects the overall economy. Thanks.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091229/D9CSMKP80.html

"MIAMI (AP) - It was a rough year for Ponzi schemes. In 2009, the recession unraveled nearly four times as many of the investment scams as fell apart in 2008, with "Ponzi" becoming a buzzword again thanks to the collapse of Bernard Madoff's $50 billion plot. In all, more than 150 Ponzi schemes collapsed in 2009, compared to about 40 in 2008.
The 2009 scams ranged in size from a few hundred thousand dollars to the $7 billion bogus international banking empire authorities say jailed financier Allen Stanford orchestrated, as well as the $1.2 billion scheme they say was operated by disbarred Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The financial meltdown has resulted in the exposure of numerous fraudulent schemes that otherwise might have gone undetected for a longer period of time," said Lanny Breuer, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division.
The FBI opened more than 2,100 securities fraud investigations in 2009, up from 1,750 in 2008. The FBI also had 651 agents working in 2009 on high-yield investment fraud cases, which include Ponzis, compared with 429 last year."

Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:16 pm by MAAA

whitewave, my first reaction to the story was this. All these cases of ponzi schemes falling apart is nothing but distractionary tactics of the usual "HERE-ITS-RIGHT-IN-FRONT-OF-YOUR-EYES-SLAVE" variety that TPTB usually employ. They laugh hysterically behind the scenes knowing how stupid we all are that the truth is right in front of us, yet we fail to realize the full magnitude of it. As Hitler said, the great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one. The fact of the matter is that the FBI, or even the SEC for that matter, are little more than beaurocratic buffoons, as evidenced even in the handling of the Maddof case, through the SEC's either a) sheer and UTTER ineptitude and complete lack of 7th-grade math or b) blatant complicity or c) both after having years of evidence shoved down their thoats.

In any case, the reality is that our entire financial world is in reality a Ponzi scheme. United States Treasuries are NOTHING but a Ponzi scheme, as the US runs enormous fiscal and CA deficit, therefore RELYING on issuing more debt in order to pay off the earlier victims, err, I mean creditors. The fact is that there is no MORE money, NOTHING to pay the debt with except with Uncle Benny's DIGIdollars which lose value by the second, or through MORE debt. And I am being very strict about my application of the definition of Ponzi scheme, as found here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme. The gold markets are another Ponzi scheme, though under a "softer" definition, just as bad though. Derivatives markets, about $500TR in value (or 10% more than TOTAL global real production), are also arguably Ponzi.

The world is backed by dollars, which in turn are backed by US Treasuries. The financial world is a Ponzi scheme. I would LOVE any debate on this matter. So, what are the effects of the largest Ponzi schemes unravelling, well SHTF!!!! The Scott Rothsteins and even Maddoff of the world are nothing but the common criminals hanged in the town square to quelch/satisfy public indignation.

Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:03 pm by wyleecoyote

A lot of great links here, but I had to chuckle when I got to the Basic economic education link. Everything that I see going on now, there is no education for. This is a whole new, very manipulated ball game that we have to learn as we go. Glad to have you aboard, we need all the help we can get.

Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:32 pm by whitewave

Thanks MAAA. I suspected as much but it's always good to get another opinion.
The 7 trillion in bailouts that we were able to come up with almost overnight to cover the gambling debts of the uber rich seem like just another scam to relieve the rest of us of any remaining cash.
Do you see the bailouts as an opportunity/excuse to collapse the dollar thereby giving rise to an entirely new form of monetary system? It's really not large a leap from digidollars to implantable chips, imho.

Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:05 pm by MAAA

wylee, you are totally right! Check out the new subheading. ;)

whitewave, I absolutely see bailouts as such an excuse. Its all interwoven see. The bailout money itself helps the uberrich banksters hold on to their lifestyles for as long as possible, while for the very top, it gives them enough time and money to make necessary preparations for SHTF. The MONEY for that bailout was squeezed from tax payers, and from average citizens as their mortgages were sold to benny and the banksters for NOTHING (this is equivalent to the fact that you are a SLAVE to your creditors, at the risk of losing your shelter, and you were just sold for cheap). And when there was no more blood to be let from the stone, the ancient wizards of the black arts created the imaginary money out of thin air, thus setting in motion the wheels that will collpase the USD, and YES lead to a new monetary system, overwhelmingly likely, a global one.

Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:51 pm by whitewave

A global monetary system would almost have to be digital and the assets (people) "tagged". When the asset or human commodity becomes a liability (through illness, injury or inability to "produce") their credits could be electronically invalidated. With such a system in place, no one has to be "rounded up" or jailed or dealt with at all. They simply won't be able to function in that society; won't be able to buy or sell.

The slaves won't need physical shackles. Just like our current paper money has a readable strip denoting its' worth, human beings will eventually have some form of readable strip or chip to denote our worth. And just like certain denominations and worthless bills are destroyed every year, when human beings have reached the end of their value they too can be destroyed. It won't even require anything so barbaric as actually shooting us; just hack into our info and remove all our operating credits.

I believe that the economy is being deliberately destroyed to usher in such a scenario as described above. It's all about power and control. Money is just the tool to obtain that. Once you actually have all the power and control, money is not necessary.

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