Between The Lines

It seems to me that predominating now in the markets is something that could be called the “shrinking pie effect” (as I try my hand at my own version of Winterisms…) : basically this is the propensity of the credit bubble in the widest sense to continue deflating even as various bailouts and pumping schemes (i.e. by the central banks) enjoy some measure of success (with predictable cheers by the financial media). While these schemes may stabilize certain corners of the credit markets and avert near-term major money center bank failure, they cannot bring the markets back to their recent glory days of even a year ago. Too much “bid” is now gone, never to return, and the amount of such bid goes down with each passing month. Hence “shrinking pie.”

(Continued)