Guest Posts U.S. Officially Hits Debt Ceiling ... Treasury Implements Emergency Measures to Raid Federal Pensions

The Treasury announced today:

As US Reaches Debt Limit, Geithner Implements Additional Extraordinary Measures to Allow Continued Funding of Government Obligations

Some of those "extraordinary measures" include raiding federal pensions.
Many pundits claim that governments cannot default on their debt. But as I've previously noted:

One of the world's leading economic historians - Niall Ferguson - has previously pointed out that too much debt can drive countries into default:

There are economic professors in American universities who think they are masters of the universe, but they don't have any historical knowledge. I have never believed that markets are self correcting. No historian could...

"The idea that countries don't go bust is a joke... The debt trap may be about to spring ... for countries that have created large stimulus packages in order to stimulate their economies."

And as I've previously shown, we can't just print our way of our debt crisis.

Guest Post: Exxon CEO Admits that Oil Should Be $60-70 Dollars a Barrel Based on Supply and Demand

Posted: 13 May 2011 09:16 PM PDT

→ Washington’s Blog


Under probing questioning by Senator Cantwell, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex W. Tillerson admitted that oil should be $60-70 dollars a barrel based on supply and demand:
Some of the increase in price above this “supply and demand” level price is due to companies using futures contracts to lock in oil prices to ensure certainty (which is a valid business purpose).
Some of it is due to speculation. Indeed, using high frequency trading, it is relatively easy to manipulate the price of oil.