Why Investors Are Paying Nations to Lend Them Money

The trio are investors in Senone, a £2.5 million venture put together by Ian Currie, a former director of Bolton Wanderers, with each thought to have contributed about £200,000 to the partnership, which has been lending to small business for more than a year and has given loans to more than a dozen different companies.

The LTRO may have ignited the bond markets and the stock market but it did not do anything for bank lending. The New York Times reports Survey of European Banks Shows a Sharp Cut in Lending

Stephen Hester has waded into the controversy about an apparent lack of lending for smaller businesses, saying Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) £20bn of cash it was “desperate” to lend out, but companies were not prepared to borrow as they lacked faith in the economic recovery.

The Chinese service sector expanded last month causing many to believe the worst news regarding China was over. I think it has barely started.

By Jack Holland:When I hear IMF and Europe spoken in the same sentence, I reach for my laptop to buy more shares of SPXU. I am amazed that bankrupt nations are able to lend the IMF money so they can borrow it back to bail themselves out. How does that work? Sounds a bit like money laundering to me. But these are just rhetorical questions.

Several readers have ask me to comment on a King World interview of Michael Pento. Before I offer my comments on Pento's thoughts, let me say upfront that Eric King is a world-class interviewer. King lets his interviewees have their say, no matter what it is. It is up to listeners to decide whether the message makes any sense or not. King merely wants the position to be well stated. Email Request From US