“…the markets are basically run by algorithmic trading these days… Nobody’s making investments in the stock market thinking they’re getting a long term investment in the company that they’re buying a stock for. So all we’re looking at is trading on news.”-Catherine Mann, Brandeis University International Business School, and former member of the Federal Reserve bank Board of Governors

“…what you have right now is massive amount of liquidity around the world sitting on the sidelines with very cheap equity markets. So any time there’s a little bit of positive news, you see this explosion in stock markets, and because it’s so cheap and there’s so much money just sitting there ready to move.”-David Smick, economic policy strategist

PBS Newshour interviewed two ‘experts’ on why the stock markets are seeing huge swings up and down.  Both basically said it had nothing to do with economic recovery, it’s basically a war being fought with cash, and is the new way the 1% are making even more money. It’s being done without the labor or services of the 99%, by simply day trading on the World’s stock markets instead of creating new products or hiring more employees.  If you’re a rich bastard or bitch and you could make more money day trading than actually making a product or service (requiring you to spend money on employees and transportation and benefits and other costs associated with traditional enterprise) then why not?

“…that’s the way that banks fund themselves, is that they borrow in the overnight market from each other. And since the summer, we have been looking at the interest rate that they charge each other has been rising and rising and rising. It’s now at a level or was earlier today at the level right before the crisis with Lehman Brothers.”-Catherine Mann

“If you look at today and you say, when’s the last time that the global central banks got together, it was three days after the Lehman crisis in 2008.”  “The problem is…a solvency [the ability to pay your bills] problem in Europe, not a liquidity [cash, meaning the 1% have plenty of cash on hand] problem.”-David Smick

“…one of the downsides of this additional liquidity being put into the global marketplace is that it provides more ammunition for the traders in the marketplace who want to bet against the central bank, or against the European Central Bank in particular, or, want to bet against some of those sovereign governments in Europe that are running some difficulties.  So this excess liquidity, or a lot of liquidity, does have a downside. And I think that we aren’t thinking exactly how that ammunition is going to be used. We’re thinking it’s going to be used for good [like providing more jobs, creating new products and services, etc.], but there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be used for good.”  “…this intervention in Europe…doesn’t even come close to addressing the political problem that they face…National governments have spent too much money, they have borrowed too much over a long period of time.”-Catherine Mann

“It’s a little bit like the house is on fire, and…the pluming is backed up. Well, today, we took care of the plumbing [referring to the central banks of Europe, North America and Japan/Pacific Asia Group (the three member regions of the one world government seeking Trilateral Commission) agreeing to provide dirt cheap loans to the 1%] , but the house is still on fire.”-David Smick