Silicon Investor - The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory

[S. maltophilia] EPA Is ‘100 Percent’ Union-Busting, Workers Say After ending their ...

S. maltophilia — 8/25/2025 2:09:56 PM

EPA Is ‘100 Percent’ Union-Busting, Workers Say After ending their collective-bargaining agreements, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered employees to seek prior approval for protected union activities on non-duty time.

by James Baratta

August 25, 2025

prospect.org

[Genricxs] Great site. Santiago

Genricxs — 6/2/2025 9:59:48 PM

[Genricxs] Silicon Investor. You are awesome.

Genricxs — 5/7/2025 8:11:01 AM

[Genricxs] Is there no other safe route to handle this? Just curious ...

Genricxs — 4/28/2025 7:47:42 AM

[Genricxs] I hope this won't get worst ...

Genricxs — 3/11/2025 7:09:07 PM

[Harshu Vyas] OK, I usually like keeping my ideas to myself cos I'm quite paranoid but at this...

Harshu Vyas — 4/2/2022 6:39:58 AM

OK, I usually like keeping my ideas to myself cos I'm quite paranoid but at this point in time, I think it's time to lay a few cards on the table.

Here's what I think will happen:
Sovereign bonds from EM countries (SL, Ethiopia, Congo) will default. It is important to keep in mind which are dollar-denominated and which aren't. As protectionism by the USA will rise and international trade will fall, countries possessing debts will find it increasingly difficult to meet terms agreed under more favourable economic conditions. We are already starting to see it happen.

As for all of these mergers, most will fail. These mergers don't actually increase growth nor efficiency. If you know any bankruptcy lawyers, they're in for a treat! I know this sounds quite speculative but it's what I truly believe and in a market that is RIDICULOUSLY layered with speculation, what's the harm?

Credit card delinquencies will start to creep up (at least in the UK, anyway) as inflation starts to run away. I don't know enough about CLO's and credit card securitisation* but I sure as hell will be watching companies such as AXP and JPM. (* I do know enough to make me worried.)

Also, many long bonds were issued after the crash. 50 year bonds. Who has the time to invest in them? By the time they mature, the holder may be dead! What's the average company life expectancy? I wouldn't expect them all to be here. The same thing happened with governments. The assumption that governments won't go bust is a stupid one! VaR is still used today - the risk models used in the run up to the GFC. More derivatives and financial instruments have been brought into the picture as risk appetites soared during 2020 and 2021- look at wrapper contracts.

I'm trying to work out life insurance companies- each year their annual statement gets significantly longer which means there are more numbers and footnotes to crunch. In 2014, they were only about 200 pages long. Believe me, when you get to one that's 1000 pages it's mid numbing especially if you think you've misread something or you don't understand...

Companies with negative cashflow are in trouble when rates rise. Why? Banks and short term lenders control their future. You tell me what that means.

Interesting stat:
Housing +non-housing debt significantly higher than the peak of the GFC. It's not unexpected with ultra-low interest rates and QE.
Outstanding derivatives roughly the same as before the GFC.

IPO and merger market is a symptom of inflation but it will come crushing down. Much like crypto. Is there a future in crypto? Probably, but the time isn't now.

I hope I've given you enough ideas to run off with.

[ggersh] Forbearance......the new way of saying everything is coming up roses wolfstre...

ggersh — 11/18/2020 7:02:09 PM

Forbearance......the new way of saying everything is coming up roses

wolfstreet.com

No Payment, No Problem: In Rosy World of Forbearance, Official Delinquencies Plunge, Credit Scores of Delinquent Borrowers Jump by Wolf Richter • Nov 18, 2020 • 39 Comments Credit-score algos got fooled by forbearance. Weirdest economy ever where no one knows what’s going on anymore. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. So what happens to debt when borrowers stop making payments on their mortgage, credit card debt, auto loan, or student loan, and the lender puts the delinquent loan into forbearance or into a deferral program, and notes the loan as “current,” despite past-due payments, because there is no payment due this month since the loan is now in forbearance? Well, the algo of credit bureaus, such as Equifax, sees that the borrower who was delinquent has “cured” the delinquency and has become “current,” and it then raises the borrower’s credit score. A brave new world, but here we are.

Delinquent loan balances have plunged across all loan types, as these delinquent loans have been moved into forbearance or deferral programs, according to data from the New York Fed’s household credit report for the third quarter.

No Payment, no Problem for Student Loans. The percentage of student loans that are 90 days past due plunged from 11% of total loan balances before the Pandemic to 6.5% in Q3 2020. And the percentage of newly delinquent student loans plunged from 9.4% of total loan balances before the Pandemic to 4.5%, by far the lowest in the data going back to 2004:

Student loan forbearance – the program also included 0% interest on outstanding balances and cessation of collection efforts – was originally scheduled to end on September 30 but has been extended through December 31. Now among student loan borrowers, the hope of student-loan forgiveness has turned into a feeling of near-certainty, and to heck with the idea of making payments even after the forbearance programs ends.

Best of Times for auto loans delinquencies. Auto loans are not backed by the government, and the deferral and forbearance programs have been implemented by private-sector lenders and loan servicers. Newly delinquent auto loan balances dropped to 5.8% of total auto loan balances, the lowest in the data going back to 2003. Note the delinquencies of auto loans during the prior crisis, when they exploded into the double digits. But this crisis now is the Best of Times:

With auto loans there are two factors: Voluntary loan deferral programs by private-sector lenders and government cash sent to households.

In terms of lenders, for example, Ally Financial reported last summer that in its second quarter about 21% of its auto-loan customers were enrolled in its deferral programs where they would not have to make payments for 120 days. The programs ended on September 30. For its third quarter, Ally reported that 8% of the borrowers exiting its deferral programs were 30 days or more delinquent.

In terms of the government cash sent to households, this included the $1,200 per adult and $500 per child in stimulus checks, plus the extra unemployment benefits sent under federal programs, including the extra $600 a week through July, then the extra $300 a week starting in late August, plus the other special federal programs established under the CARES Act, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program that has been surrounded by fraud allegations. This government money helped many households keep their auto loans current.

Credit card delinquencies also plunge. In this era of deferral programs and government cash sent to households, newly delinquent credit card balances also dropped during the crisis, instead of surging, as they did during the last crisis. Credit card delinquencies had been on the rise since 2016, during the Good Times. Then the Pandemic and the unemployment crisis hit, and surprise, instead of spiking, newly delinquent credit card balances fell to 5.7% of total credit card balances, the lowest since 2016:

Forbearance pushes mortgage delinquencies to record low. The government guarantees or insures the vast majority of residential mortgages issued in the US, and these mortgages became eligible for forbearance programs under government rules, which provide forbearance for six months, extendable for another six months, so in total for a year. These borrowers can live in their homes without making a payment for one year. When borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage enter forbearance, the lender can choose to mark the loan as “current.” This “cures” the delinquency though no catch-up mortgage payments have been made. Newly delinquent mortgages therefore dropped to a record low of 2.5%, despite the crisis:

Who are the borrowers seeking forbearance? The New York Fed looked into which borrowers relied on forbearance to deal with their mortgages and auto loans and found that borrowers that are now in forbearance had lower credit scores and higher outstanding balances in March before forbearance, than had non-forbearance borrowers:

Auto-loan borrowers now in forbearance had an average credit score of 652 in March, compared to 693 of the non-forbearance borrowers.
Mortgage borrowers now in forbearance had an average score of 708 in March, compared to 754 of non-forbearance borrowers.
Forbearance participants had outstanding balances that were about 30% higher for both types of loans in March than those not participating in forbearance.

Confused algos raise credit score of borrowers with delinquent loans in forbearance. The New York Fed found that for both types of loans, “troubled borrowers were far more likely to opt in to forbearances as evidenced by the higher delinquency rates of participants three months prior to the first forbearance month.”

But then, once the delinquent loans are in forbearance, lenders mark them as “current,” and the delinquency is “cured,” as seen in the charts above, which the New York Fed also noted.

And this curing of the delinquent balances by moving the loans into forbearance has a salubrious effect on the delinquent-but-not-delinquent borrowers’ credit scores.

The New York Fed found that, “On average, delinquent borrowers whose loans were converted to ‘current’ upon entry into forbearance saw an average 48-point increase in their credit scores (here, Equifax Risk Score 3.0).”

But for borrowers who were not delinquent when they entered forbearance, their credit score was unchanged.

Yup, the algos that Equifax and others use to arrive at their credit scores, and that lenders rely on when they extend new loans, got fooled, and these algos improved the credit scores of borrowers whose delinquent loans moved into forbearance while they did not change the credit scores of borrowers who were not delinquent. Just another distortion in the Weirdest Economy Ever, powered by government-sponsored loan deferments and government stimulus payments, where in the end no one really knows what’s going on anymore.

My 13 whiplash-charts on retail sales by retailer category. Read… Stimulus Fatigue? Retail Sales Wane at Many Brick & Mortar Stores. Department Stores Progress to Zombiehood. But Online Sales Surge to Record

Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? Using ad blockers – I totally get why – but want to support the site? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer and iced-tea mug to find out how:

[ggersh] Forbearance......the new way of saying everything is coming up roses wolfstre...

ggersh — 11/18/2020 5:27:32 PM

Auto-loan borrowers now in forbearance had an average credit score of 652 in March, compared to 693 of the non-forbearance borrowers.
Mortgage borrowers now in forbearance had an average score of 708 in March, compared to 754 of non-forbearance borrowers.
Forbearance participants had outstanding balances that were about 30% higher for both types of loans in March than those not participating in forbearance.

[bruiser98] 7 days in Iraq: How US-Iran conflict led to general's death In one week, the U.S...

bruiser98 — 1/4/2020 10:48:26 PM

7 days in Iraq: How US-Iran conflict led to general's death In one week, the U.S.-Iranian confrontation heated up and ended with an Iranian general's death.

usatoday.com

[bruiser98] Danielle DiMartino Booth of Quill Intelligence on Fed Reserve consideration in p...

bruiser98 — 1/3/2020 10:36:48 PM

Danielle DiMartino Booth of Quill Intelligence on Fed Reserve consideration in purchasing treasuries

[ggersh] wolfstreet.com US National Debt Spiked by $1.3 Trillion in 12 Months, to $23 Tn...

ggersh — 11/19/2019 12:43:54 PM

wolfstreet.com

US National Debt Spiked by $1.3 Trillion in 12 Months, to $23 Tn. But Who Bought This Pile of Treasury Securities?

[bruiser98] What the Fed Knows and Isn't Telling: Danielle DiMartino-Booth, Pt-1 [youtube v...

bruiser98 — 8/3/2019 10:29:38 PM

What the Fed Knows and Isn't Telling: Danielle DiMartino-Booth, Pt-1

[bruiser98] The Global Collateral Trap & An Asset Market Collapse (w/ Michael Howell) Publi...

bruiser98 — 7/7/2019 2:20:18 PM

The Global Collateral Trap & An Asset Market Collapse (w/ Michael Howell)

Published on May 15, 2019

[bruiser98] Ominous Outlook for Autos & the Economy (w/ Danielle DiMartino-Booth & Daniel Ru...

bruiser98 — 7/6/2019 4:50:26 PM

Ominous Outlook for Autos & the Economy (w/ Danielle DiMartino-Booth & Daniel Ruiz)

[bruiser98] Bitcoin could cost us our clean-energy future grist.org Interesting rebuttals ...

bruiser98 — 12/12/2017 4:27:45 PM

Bitcoin could cost us our clean-energy future

grist.org

Interesting rebuttals and other bitcoin info in the comments.

[John Pitera] How do you feel about the Nikkei is now -333.99 (-2.00%) TIA. JP

John Pitera — 6/10/2017 11:30:27 PM

[bruiser98] Endless Fed Deceit - Craig Hemke sprottmoney.com The video is interesting. [y...

bruiser98 — 3/7/2017 10:27:25 PM

Endless Fed Deceit - Craig Hemke

sprottmoney.com

The video is interesting.

[bruiser98] Richard Werner: Monetary Policy Revolution - QE, Nominal GDP Targeting and the I...

bruiser98 — 9/17/2016 6:51:37 PM

Richard Werner: Monetary Policy Revolution - QE, Nominal GDP Targeting and the Impact on Markets

This guy reminds me of Steve Keen. Illuminating points about QE presented.

[bruiser98] Richard Werner at the Rhodes Forum 2015 Interesting part about money creation b...

bruiser98 — 9/17/2016 5:34:00 PM

Richard Werner at the Rhodes Forum 2015

Interesting part about money creation by banks begins around 09:00.

[bruiser98] Can banking be this absurdly lucrative? You loan me $10k at 10% simple interest...

bruiser98 — 9/7/2016 9:44:40 PM

Can banking be this absurdly lucrative?

You loan me $10k at 10% simple interest for a year.

You have to take $10k from your stash.

One year later I pay you 11K. Your return on investment is 10%.

The bank loans me $10k at 10% simple interest for a year.

The bank credits $10k to my account by just typing figures into a computerized bookkeeping ledger. The bank contributes $0.00 from its stash.

A year later I pay the bank $11k. The bank's return on investment is ?

[Elroy Jetson] You can understand why so many Americans want all Catholics deported. They don't...

Elroy Jetson — 6/24/2016 12:57:55 AM

You can understand why so many Americans want all Catholics deported. They don't really fit in and make up a disproportionate percentage of violent crimes.

I know we're supposed to be politically-correct and stay mum about the the Papist cancer which has been destroying America. People even claim the Klu-Klux-Klan is racist and call them terrorists simply because they've always made deporting Catholics one of the major beliefs. As you point out, that's reverse discrimination.

Even the gunman from Indiana who had filled his car with explosives is Catholic - but we're supposed to ignore that and pretend Catholics will eventually be able to assimilate - but most of them have already been here for generations and still carry the violent anti-American gene.

[Broken_Clock] methinks the Feebs have zero credibility [youtube video]

Broken_Clock — 6/23/2016 8:24:30 PM

[FreedomForAll] So now we are supposed to accept that the perp was not a Muslim terrorist and th...

FreedomForAll — 6/23/2016 7:36:39 PM

So now we are supposed to accept that the perp was not a Muslim terrorist and the FBI was blameless.It wasn't their fault, poor things. Can't blame the FBI. At least they didn't burn 100 people to death this time.
Oops, the FBI says its not so.

touch.latimes.com

[Elroy Jetson] Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was allegedly captured on surveillance cameras durin...

Elroy Jetson — 6/23/2016 12:15:05 PM

Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was allegedly captured on surveillance cameras during at least one hook-up with a man at a hotel on December 2015, at 11pm.

Miguel, who spoke in fluent Spanish and broken English, said he had met Mateen on Grindr before they became 'friends with benefits', meeting up to 20 times at the hotel in Orlando.

He told Univision's Maria Elena Salinas: 'In my opinion he did the shooting for revenge.' Pulse is where Mateen could inflict the most damage against the people he felt rejected by, Miguel said.

Before the massacre, Miguel insists, Mateen seemed 'adorable' and 'sweet', adding that they often had oral sex and that Mateen 'loved to be cuddled... he loved to be embraced'. Their first date, he said, was at a bar in Orlando called Parliament. 'It was like any other date,' he recounted. Every other meeting was at the Ambassador Hotel, where they met 15 to 20 times between October and December 2015.

Univision said a representative for the hotel confirmed that Omar Mateen was a familiar face, and that he had stayed there at least 63 times last year.

Miguel said the 29-year-old eventually revealed to him that he was married with one child. After an argument, he said, Mateen apologized to him and even told him his wife his dates with men. Asked if Mateen's father knew he was gay, Miguel said he couldn't be sure but he thought so. During their casual relationship, Miguel said Mateen spoke about Islam, describing it as 'a beautiful religion in which everyone is welcome - gays, trans, bisexuals, heteros, everyone.'

But it became clear that Mateen fostered a deep hatred for his own sexuality and for Puerto Rican gay men. 'He was always there and he was there because he liked Latinos and he was attracted to dark skin. But sadly, from what he told me, he felt used and rejected. He felt anger, a lot of anger towards Puerto Ricans.'

Miguel said he has reported his entire story to the FBI, and is currently being interrogated by federal officers. The FBI has apparently obtained footage from the hotel, both TMZ and Univision reported.

[John Pitera] Big Hedge Fund Bridgewater Approved to Set Up Shanghai Subsidiary Company regist...

John Pitera — 5/22/2016 1:05:00 PM

Big Hedge Fund Bridgewater Approved to Set Up Shanghai Subsidiary
Company registers with $7.6 million in capital

By JAMES T. AREDDY
Updated May 16, 2016 10:59 p.m. ET

SHANGHAI—The U.S. hedge fund Bridgewater Associates recently won approval to register a wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai, providing new access to China’s often volatile financial markets for the large firm.

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio registered Bridgewater (China) Investment Management Ltd. on March 7 with capital of 50 million yuan ($7.6 million), according to a filing at the Shanghai office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Z-Ben Advisors, a Shanghai market research firm that tracks the investment-fund industry, pointed to the new registration in a report published on Monday.

Bridgewater couldn’t immediately be reached.

Another filing at the commercial bureau showed that the name adopted by Bridgewater for its subsidiary was approved in October, as China was still recovering from severe midyear stock-market turmoil and a devaluation of the yuan. Though foreign-run hedge funds in China are rare, the industry came in for a drubbing by Chinese officials who said foreign traders had added to the market volatility.

Bridgewater may plan to service Chinese institutional clients with its new Shanghai office, Z-Ben said. But the market-research firm said the likelier scenario is that Bridgewater will take advantage of opportunities recently granted by Chinese authorities to permit foreign institutions to more easily trade the country’s yuan-denominated debt securities.

“While there are concerns over credit quality in certain segments, China still does offer comparatively high-quality bonds and with decent yields,” Z-Ben said in its report.

Bridgewater’s 20-year license is technically within the Shanghai free-trade zone, which today includes all of the city’s Pudong district. The firm’s registered address is in an office tower in the Lujiazui financial district.

The approval comes as many commercial bureaus around China have stopped taking applications from firms seeking to establish businesses that operate in the financial sector, though that policy appears aimed mostly at stopping a proliferation of smaller investment firms.

Z-Ben said the Bridgewater approval is likely to encourage other firms to consider whether they should look at the China market.

“What this will most likely mean is continued frustration among global managers when it comes to understanding what is actually possible,” the note said.

—Yang Jie in Beijing contributed to this article.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/big-hedge-fund-bridgewater-approved-to-set-up-shanghai-subsidiary-1463384986

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(editorial thought by JJP... Just about no comment in the financial press regarding Bridgewater setting this up this Foreign owned operation and it has no chinese partners...... The cost of establishing it strikes me as very very reasonable... actually a downright steal, in that $7.6 million dollars in the world where the $160 Billion in assets Bridgewater runs, is less than they spend on the high tech coffee/ tea machines they have as a benefit to employees. ...... China is the world's 3rd largest Debt Market and so this business initiative imo has an excellent risk/reward profile.

In a world hungry for yield, there are Chinese debt instruments that should offer 300 plus basis points of return. The Bridgewater license is technically within the Shanghai free-trade zone. Looks to me like a brilliant move.

Dalio comes from a fixed income background, as does Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, and innumerable other really saavy Capital markets CEO's , executives and best of breed asset managers.)

[bruiser98] Some economic lessons here? The slow and deadly dzud in Mongolia bbc.com

bruiser98 — 5/14/2016 12:46:12 PM

[bruiser98] The Great Ponzi Scheme of the Global Economy Michael Hudson counterpunch.org

bruiser98 — 4/2/2016 12:46:25 PM

[ggersh] Cool

ggersh — 3/23/2016 11:09:26 AM

[FreedomForAll] Another statist. Does not appeat to be a relevant response to my post. (Of cours...

FreedomForAll — 3/23/2016 11:01:30 AM

Another statist. Does not appeat to be a relevant response to my post.
(Of course we can disagree.)

[ggersh] [graphic]

ggersh — 3/22/2016 11:14:14 AM

[FreedomForAll] No reason to vote for HRM clown or lying traitor. There is a third choice with i...

FreedomForAll — 3/22/2016 11:11:42 AM

No reason to vote for HRM clown or lying traitor.
There is a third choice with integrity and ethics all statist candidates lack.
garyjohnson2016.com

[Broken_Clock] Apparently Utahans would rather vote for a mass murdering genocidal bitch than a...

Broken_Clock — 3/22/2016 3:41:18 AM

Apparently Utahans would rather vote for a mass murdering genocidal bitch than a pompous swindling clown.

[Elroy Jetson] Why Utah Mormons' distaste for Trump could turn a red state reluctantly blue - t...

Elroy Jetson — 3/22/2016 1:14:26 AM

Why Utah Mormons' distaste for Trump could turn a red state reluctantly blue - theguardian.com

Republican frontrunner’s outlandish anti-immigration policies and bombastic style fueling ‘anyone-but-Trump’ mentality ahead of state’s GOP caucuses

The aversion to Donald Trump is so strong among Utah Mormons that if the Republican frontrunner secures the party’s presidential nomination, it could produce a general election outcome that has not happened in half a century: the state could go blue.

“The Bible says if you’ve got a wicked leader, the nation suffers,” said Chris Herrod, a former Utah state representative and a Utah campaign coordinator for Ted Cruz. “I’m not saying Donald Trump is wicked, but for most Utahns, the moral character of a leader makes a big difference.”

At the state’s high-stakes GOP caucuses on Tuesday, political experts say many conservative Mormon voters like Herrod will be motivated by their distaste for the real estate billionaire’s vulgar style, bombastic comments and outlandish anti-immigration policies – fueling an “anyone-but-Trump” mentality that has spread across the political spectrum in the very red state.

Mitt Romney says Trump's 'third-grade theatrics' not worthy of presidency

A new Deseret News/KSL poll found Trump would lose to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in Utah, while Kasich or Cruz would both win the state by sizeable margins against either Democrat.

At Brigham Young University (BYU), a college in Provo owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), young Republican voters said Trump’s behaviors and actions are fundamentally at odds with Mormon values.

“Trump is despicable – he makes me sick to my stomach,” said Cameron Moon, a 26-year-old Mormon who plans to vote for Cruz. “He’s just really disgusting and vile.” Considering Trump’s racism, sexism and bigotry, Moon said, he would be forced to vote for Clinton over Trump in November.

Jake Lee, a 25-year-old BYU senior and self-described “Tea Party guy”, said he would also – very reluctantly – pick Clinton over Trump. “I’m willing to swallow a pill of four years of bad to allow the Republican party to not have 20 years of horrible,” said Lee, a Cruz supporter, arguing a Trump presidency would damage his party for decades.

“It’s four years of bad with Hillary. It’s four years of despicable with Donald Trump,” added Moon, sitting in a lounge on the BYU campus, where hallways are lined with religious quotes and paintings.

Ashley Busby, a 22-year-old BYU senior and Republican, said she would even go so far as to consider becoming a Democrat if Trump were the GOP candidate. “My vote comes down to making sure Trump isn’t the nominee,” said Busby, who had supported Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio and now plans to vote for Cruz.

“The hatred from the Republican party that I’ve seen during this election – and 90% of it centered around Donald Trump – has made me so sad to be a member of this party,” said Busby, adding that Mormonism teaches basic compassion for others – which Trump completely lacks.

Trump’s 678 delegates have him comfortably ahead in the race – Texas senator Cruz has 423, and Ohio governor John Kasich has only 143. But anti-Trump Republicans are hoping Utah will take a defiant stand against the businessman from New York who has struggled to gain traction among Mormon voters in the west.
Analysis How a contested convention could allow Republicans to snatch Trump's crown
If no candidate gets to the magical threshold of 1,237 party delegates, the Republican national convention would become very messy indeed – and insiders can’t even agree on how it would play out

On the heels of a Cruz victory in Idaho – which has the second-largest Mormon population in the US and delivered significant losses for Trump in heavily Mormon areas – Utah could potentially offer an even bigger upset for the frontrunner.

With Rubio, Ben Carson and Jeb Bush out of the race, pundits say Cruz could potentially win all 40 of the delegates in Utah, where 63% of the population is Mormon.

“Trump will finish third in Utah,” said Mike Leavitt, former Utah governor and adviser to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. “Utah voters are not comfortable with the demeanor that he’s portraying, and it’s just very clear that there’s a big chunk of the Utah population that would rather vote for a Democrat.”

In a rare move, the Mormon church, which generally remains neutral in politics, issued a statement in December defending religious freedom and indirectly condemning Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the US.

“We’re concerned about radical Muslims as well,” said Herrod, whose Ukrainian father-in-law was born into a Muslim family and would be presumably be barred from the US if Trump were elected. But Trump, he said, went too far.

In its rebuke, the church referenced a quote from Mormon founder Joseph Smith: “I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any denomination.”

“The LDS population is a worldwide population,” said Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. “A significant number of families here in the state of Utah have children in other parts of the world on missions.”

Trump’s extreme rhetoric on immigration has also been a turnoff for some voters in Utah, which has increasingly emphasized dual-language programs in schools and worked to lure international companies to the state.

Romney’s passionate criticisms of Trump and recent endorsement of Cruz could also sway the state’s voters, and Trump’s comment questioning Romney’s Mormon faith could further hurt him at the Tuesday night caucuses.

Some Utah Mormons are also arguing LDS principles should guide voters to not only snub Trump this week – but to consider crossing the aisle.

Warner Woodworth, a BYU business school professor emeritus, argued Mormon values of equality and “communal care for others” clearly align with Bernie Sanders. “God through our scriptures says that the world lies in sin because of the great gap [in wealth].”

At the least, Woodworth, said he hoped Mormons would be disgusted enough by Trump’s tone that they would make it harder for him to secure the nomination. “The way he talks, the curse words he uses, his racism, his bragging – all of those are so antithetical to Mormon religious values about humility, peace, listening to each other and coming together.”

[FreedomForAll] Wouldn't vote for either statist candidate. Doubt we will see Trump as candidate...

FreedomForAll — 3/21/2016 11:07:45 PM

Wouldn't vote for either statist candidate.
Doubt we will see Trump as candidate unless the GOP gets enough dirt to use blackmail to control him. Instead it will be a brokered convention, with GOP leadership choosing someone they can control. GOP doesn't allow anyone they can't control to represent the party.
Neither do the Dems.
Evil looters all.

[Broken_Clock] Evasion is evasion Trump is an unknown Killary is a diehard war freak

Broken_Clock — 3/21/2016 10:20:48 PM

[Elroy Jetson] What was it Donald Rumsfeld said? "You go to war with the candidates you have,...

Elroy Jetson — 3/21/2016 9:27:50 PM

What was it Donald Rumsfeld said?

"You go to war with the candidates you have, not the candidates you wish you had."

It was something like that.

[Broken_Clock] Do we really need to run this experiment again, expecting different results? The...

Broken_Clock — 3/21/2016 9:25:49 PM

Do we really need to run this experiment again, expecting different results?

Then why vote for a menopausal bitch that bombed 7 different countries and overthrew the duly elected gov'ts of Ukraine and Libya while running the State Dept. and in her spare time stacked the largest post WW2 armament build up in NATO history right on Russia's border?

An actual answer rather than a deflection would be nice.

[Elroy Jetson] We've already run the experiment where we elected a self-described terrific busi...

Elroy Jetson — 3/21/2016 9:10:24 PM

We've already run the experiment where we elected a self-described terrific businessman and good negotiator whose "vision of leadership was bringing people together.

George W Bush did finally bring Americans together as both Republicans and Democrats were both sickened by the thoughtless ways he started wars and drove the American economy off a cliff.

Do we really need to run this experiment again, expecting different results?

[Broken_Clock] Of course you are free to vote for Killery. She's never seen a war she didn't li...

Broken_Clock — 3/21/2016 5:30:15 PM

Of course you are free to vote for Killery. She's never seen a war she didn't like. Now that Obomber and Killary have positioned NATO forces on Putin's doorstep, overthrown ukraine, etc., perhaps President Killary will kick off WW3.

[Elroy Jetson] George W. Bush promoted the "Ownership Society Real Estate Bubble" in a panic to...

Elroy Jetson — 3/20/2016 12:29:56 PM

George W. Bush promoted the "Ownership Society Real Estate Bubble" in a panic to prop-up the economy after 9/11. When the post-9/11 real estate bubble collapsed Bush used almost unimaginable amounts of government and central bank money to bail-out the banking system.

Resentful taxpayers blame the banks who cooperated with George W. Bush. Many voters wish to register their protest by refusing to vote for any candidates with past experience or success, candidates like John Kasich or Hillary Clinton.

Voters want to elect someone with no experience apart from a series of business failures after inheriting a tremendous amount of money earned by his Grandfather who was a big-time Pimp. Voters want to elect a man who shrewdly negotiated himself into partnership with Fat Tony Salerno and the Mafia, wiping-out the business investors and ruining his own reputation.

Is this self-hate, or celebrity worship?

Some psychotherapists have listed several reasons why a con-man and failed Businessman like Donald Trump has attracted this level of support.

1.) Many voters supporting Trump have a series of business failures like Trump himself, often in spite of inheriting money as Trump did.

2.) Other supporters are attracted to Trump's presentation of simple solutions to complex answers, an attraction which has led many people to invest their life savings in Trump ventures which cost them everything.

3.) Some supporters are attracted by his celebrity, others by the disregard successful business people have for Trump, or his willingness for incite violence. But how many of these traits would make Trump a successful President?

Let's also be frank. Other Republican candidates proposing to restrict or end Medicare and scale-back benefits for Fox News viewers with and average age of 68, would incline these voters to support anyone offering an alternative - even someone without any qualifications.

Some Republican strategists now say the only candidate who could beat Trump at a brokered convention Is Kim Kardashian who has a higher Q-Score among low-information voters than Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and even higher than the Q Score for Bill Cosby at the height of his popularity, preceding his current rape allegations.

But what is this Q Score of brand affinity based on apart from his carefully practiced free association riffs taken from "Storm Trooper" magazine?

Trump’s purported lack of business acumen has been a major sticking point recently, with Marco Rubio (may his career rest in peace) even calling Trump out for his shoddy record: - counterpunch.org

“I mean this is a guy that’s taken Trump airlines bankrupt, Trump vodka, nobody wanted it, Trump mortgage, was a disaster, Trump university was a fraud.” Rubio’s right — but he’s also barely scratched the surface.

Of course, everyone is familiar with Trump’s real estate failings ( more generally known as Atlantic City), - phillymag.com

but it’s the business ventures where his recklessness really shines. The man licensed his name to hundreds of trademarks (like the game show below that lasted but a year) and incorporated countless businesses-to-be, but only a select few (dozen) were actually led by the hand of the Donald himself.

So to commemorate our country’s imminent President Trump-wrought downfall, we’ve compiled every major, non-real estate-related Trump business disaster out there (we think). Because while we aim for completeness, the man has failed—a lot. If you know of anything we missed, please do let us know down below. And Donald, good luck with that wall. - gawker.com

Trump Steaks
Launched: 2007
Service rendered: Steaks
Years in business: 1
What went wrong: Trump filed the trademark nearly ten years ago, noting that it would be used for “meat, namely, beef, veal, lamb, and pork.” The meat itself came from the Sysco-owned Buckhead Beef, and after first (and presumably, unsuccessfully) attempting to sell the Trump-branded meat on a custom steak-centric website......Trump decided to work out an exclusive deal with—where else but—The Sharper Image. A bizarre pairing, sure, but The Sharper Image had nothing to lose. From Think Progress:

[Sharper Image CEO Jerry] Levin described the licensing agreement as “unique,” noting that it lacked the kinds of things he had seen in traditional agreements, like minimums, which would have required the Sharper Image to pay the Trump Organization a set amount regardless of how many steaks they sold.

As you would expect of anything worthy of bearing the Trump name, the steaks didn’t come cheap. For instance, $1,000 would buy you 24 burgers, 16 steaks, and the dull pangs of regret.

For whatever reason, the wildly expensive steaks sold by a novelty electronics chain didn’t fly off the shelves. Or, as Levin put it, “The net of all that [media attention] was we literally sold almost no steaks,” Levin said. “If we sold $50,000 of steaks grand total, I’d be surprised.”

But how did they taste? According to one reviewer, “They are really greasy, have no flavor, over-priced and just gross!!”

GoTrump.com
Launched: 2006
Service rendered: Travel search engine
Years in business: 1
What went wrong: Remember Orbitz? Expedia? What about Travelocity? GoTrump.com provided exactly the same service but with significantly more Trump (i.e. pictures of his face, a delightful mustard-gold trim, and “ Trump Picks,” which highlighted “specific hotels and vacation packages that are his personal favorites”).

As Trump explained in the website’s About section, “I only put my name on the best, and at GoTrump.com you will get the best information and the best online rate available.” Unfortunately for the Donald, “the best” doesn’t really mean much of anything when you’re boasting both private jets and cheap hotel deals.

When the site launched, a financial analyst told The Washington Post that it seemed like “a vanity site” that “won’t make much money.” He was right. The site shut down the following year.

Trump Airlines
Launched: 1989
Service rendered: Hourly flights between Boston, New York City, and Washington D.C.
Years in business: 4-ish
What went wrong: This was another case of Donald Trump attempting to turn a service that already exists into something a little more Trump-y. But this time, rather than build something entirely new, Trump purchased Eastern Air Lines Shuttle, which had been offering hourly flights on the East Coast since 1961 with moderate success. That all changed with Trump’s magic touch.

The airline had succeeded largely because of its no-frills service—you didn’t need a reservation ahead of time, there were no seat assignments, no check-ins, and no boarding passes. You’d show up and hop on a plane for relatively cheap . When Trump bought 17 of the company’s Boeing 727s for $365 million in 1988, “he added maple-wood veneer to the floors, chrome seat-belt latches and gold-colored bathroom fixtures.”

Apparently, customers who appreciated the service’s ease weren’t into the over-the-top makeover. Alienated customers combined with the high fuel prices of the late 80s translated to Trump Airlines never turning a profit. As Time explains, “The high debt forced Trump to default on his loans, and ownership of the company was turned over to creditors. The Trump Shuttle ceased to exist in 1992 when it was merged into a new corporation, Shuttle Inc. No word on whether the gold-plated faucets survived the merger.”

Trump Vodka
Launched: 2006
Service Rendered: Drunk
Years in business: 5
What went wrong: After labeling the drink as “The World’s Finest Super Premium Vodka” and proudly quintuple-distilling it in Holland from “select European wheat,” Trump was proudly telling anyone who’d listen that T&Ts (Trump and tonic) were about to become the number one drink in the country.

Trump was supposedly attempting to rival Grey Goose for a spot on the nation’s top shelves. No one else seemed to have gotten that message, though, and the drink went out of production in 2011 when no one ever wanted to drink it.

Trump Mortgage
Launched: 2006
Service rendered: Residential and commercial real estate financing
Years in business: 1.5
What went wrong: Even someone as deluded as Donald Trump probaby should have been able to predict this one. While the bubble hadn’t burst quite yet, in 2006, market prices were already starting to fall. And a few months after that is when Trump Mortgage decided to make its debut, with Trump telling CNBC that it was “a great time to start a mortgage company. I’ve been hearing about this bubble for so many years from you and everybody else in your world, but I haven’t seen it. I will let you know when I see it.”

“I’ve been hearing about this bubble for so many years from you and everybody else in your world, but I haven’t seen it. I will let you know when I see it.” A year and a half later, after failing to hit any of its financial targets, Trump apparently decided he saw it, and Trump Mortgage shut down for good. Although if you ask him about it now, Trump calls the business a “tiny deal” that “he never ultimately moved forward with”—which is objectively untrue. Trump did move forward with the company, it’s just that no one wanted to follow.

Trump: The Game
Launched: 1989
Service rendered: Family fun
Years in business: 1
What went wrong: In 1989, Donald Trump decided that if people love Monopoly, surely they’ll love what is essentially the same thing but Trump-themed. He convinced Milton Bradley to release the game, assuring them that this face could move 2 million units off shelves in a year.

His face, of course, could not, and the game went out of production after a year. But for the Trump purists among us, you can still buy a (lightly used version of) the game for an appropriate $69 on Amazon.

Trump Magazine
Launched: 2007
Service rendered: Entertainment for luxury-enthusiasts
Years in business: 2-ish
What went wrong: The magazine launched in late 2007—just after his mortgage company was forced to shut its doors. Most people might see a failing market and a just-failed business venture as a sign that maybe it’s not a great time to start a print publication dependent on a general interest in luxury goods. Donald Trump, however, is not most people.

While the magazine “saw early success, cashing in on the booming advertising market for yachts and other high-end commodities” (at least according to the closing press release), in actuality, it... did not. As it turns out, people suffering from a major recession aren’t too keen on “yachts” or “high-end commodities” or “anything that requires money.” Who knew.

Trump University
Launched: 2005
Service rendered: For-profit, non-accredited fake business degrees
Years in business: 6
What went wrong: For a “school” that can’t actually give you any sort of recognized degree, $35,000 is a hell of a lot of money to spend on tuition. Especially when that school, according to the lawsuit four students filed against the business in 2010, consists of classes described as “extended infomercials,” sells “non-accredited products,” and takes “advantage of these troubled economic times to prey on consumer’s fears.”

Once the lawsuit hit, state education officials started hammering the school for operating under the name “university,” since it was never chartered as such and was operating as an “illegal educational institution.” So that same year, Trump changed the name to the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. Already outed as a fraud, though, the business shut down a year later.

Trump Ice
Launched: 2004
Service rendered: Hydration
Years in business: Less than 1
What went wrong: In 2004, Donald Trump decided that people were crazy about the water available in his hotels and casinos, announcing that “it was so good that people wanted to buy cases of it.” Attempts to distribute widely failed, and the water is once again relegated to Trump’s own properties.

The New Jersey Generals
Owner: 1984-1985
Service rendered: Football
Years in business: 2
What went wrong: Since Trump couldn’t buy an NFL team of his own, he settled on the next best thing—the short-lived United States Football League established to challenge the NFL. Realizing he had a million other projects on his plate, though, Trump quickly sold the team only to buy them back again in the very same year.

Things only got worse from there, according to Business Insider, “The team folded one year later, in 1985, along with the entire USFL. People blamed Trump for the demise of not only the team, but the entire league. Allegedly, he was trying to pull the Generals into the NFL — and made poor investment decisions in the process.”

Talking about the ordeal now, Trump notes that he “did something I rarely do with the USFL. I went into something that was not good.” As rare as every single endeavor on this list.

Tour de Trump
Launched: 1989
Service rendered: Bike races
Years in business: 2
What went wrong: Keeping with the theme of taking an iconic, wildly successful established tradition and turning it into a fucking mess, Donald Trump decided that he’d bring the Tour de France to us, just—you know, Trump-ier. When asked why he didn’t go with something that made sense, like the Tour de America, for instance, Trump said, “We could, if we wanted to have a less successful race. If we wanted to down-scale it.”

The first year, which sent riders from Albany to Atlantic City, actually managed to bring in some bag names, but unfortunately for Donald Trump, he just didn’t have the money to keep his name attached. Two years after starting the circuit, he was forced to sell his race to the DuPont Corporation, which then changed the name and removed every last trace of Trump.

Trump on the Ocean
Launched: 2012
Service rendered: Restaurant/catering hall
Years in business: 0.3
What went wrong: Located on the boardwalk in Jones Beach, Long Island, the gargantuan dining space totaled 80,000-square-feet with a 14,000-square-foot basement, all of which we’re sure looked great for the four months before Hurricane Sandy hit. According to Eater, the state had actually shot down Trump’s proposal four separate times since 2006. Once the hurricane took down Trump, though, he agreed to kill his plan—much to the delight of the surrounding community who never wanted it there in the first place.

The Trump Network
Launched: 2009
Service rendered: Vitamin pyramid scheme
Years in business: 2
What went wrong: Since the folding of Trump Magazine proved that people clearly didn’t have money to spare after the bubble burst, Trump decided to change strategies. With the Trump Network, Trump offered a get-rich-quick scheme centered around what else but nutritional supplements. The motto: Discover the Difference between Opportunity and Success.

The supplements came from Ideal Health, Inc, which Trump purchased in 2009. In addition to the supplements, though, Trump also offered the PrivaTest, which Trump’s site described as “a scientific window into your personal biochemistry.” A test that the Trump Network recommended be repeated every nine months for $100 a pop, which would be outrageous even if the test actually worked. But as Dr. Stephen Barrett, of health watchdog site Quackwatch, noted, “No single test can provide a rational basis for dietary supplement recommendations.”

What’s more, the company didn’t even deliver on its promised scam. A FOIA by Quackwatch in 2004 turned up the following complaint on Ideal Health filed in 2001:

The consumer states that she was working for this company trying to sell their dietary supplement products. The consumer states that she paid the company $5,412.50 for promotional leads, and marketing programs. The consumer states that the company never did the promotional leads, and took the consumers [sic] money and ran.

And that’s what Donald Trump decided would be a great investment.

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Trumped! Launched: 2004
Service rendered: Talk radio
Years in business: 4
What went wrong: Trump’s radio “show” was really just a two-minute-long segment (sponsored by Office Depot) of Donald Trump talking about whatever came into his head. Donald Trump, however, called it “the biggest launch in radio history.”

Buzzfeed recently tried to secure audio of the Trump’s hours of archived programs but couldn’t nail anything down but the demo. So we may never know exactly what Trump decided to share with the masses (since absolutely no one ever tuned in), but judging by segment descriptions such as “No More Viagra for Rapists” and “Stay out of the tabloids and, for goodness sake, don’t say hello to those little boys” (referring to Michael Jackson), it sounds like his stump speeches are the next best thing. - soundcloud.com

Trump New Media
Almost launched: 1998
Service rendered: Video-on-demand and high-speed internet
Years in business: None
What went wrong: Eager to get in on the exciting world of the information superhighway, Donald Trump was apparently about to dip his toes into the ISP world back in the summer of 1998, announcing that the newly formed Trump New Media would “wire his 20,000 residential apartments with high speed $30 monthly access.”

And sure, Trump could have gone with something vaguely within his realm of expertise—but why break with tradition? A local announcement at the time wrote that “Trump admits he’s hardly the man to head a new media firm. ‘I’ll tell you what I know about it: Absolutely nothing.’” He partnered with Freelinq Communications to launch the firm, but after getting shut out by his more competent competition, the endeavor failed to ever take off.

So what's the problem?

Many voters don't care that Trump is a bad businessman with a string of nothing but failure to show for his effort, or that he's a dishonest conman in business deals with the Mafia.

What matters is Donald Trump's Q Score. But as Bill Cosby can tell you, high Q Scores often give way to extremely low Q Scores.

[Pogeu Mahone] Surprised the hell out of my mother also:O)

Pogeu Mahone — 2/19/2016 6:24:58 PM

[Elroy Jetson] Ray Kurzweil and other technology types work with computers. I'm surprised to l...

Elroy Jetson — 2/19/2016 4:19:19 PM

Ray Kurzweil and other technology types work with computers.

I'm surprised to learn someone who worked in the OCR machine-reading field worked with "Computor Products".

[Pogeu Mahone] Poor me No one gave me anything... However I did form Kurzweil Computor Prod...

Pogeu Mahone — 2/19/2016 3:53:11 PM

Poor me

No one gave me anything...

However I did form Kurzweil Computor Products
with Ray

In 1972..

you are entertaining for a horse's ass

[Elroy Jetson] I've inherited a total of $40,000 or so so far from various family and friends, ...

Elroy Jetson — 2/19/2016 3:14:20 PM

I've inherited a total of $40,000 or so so far from various family and friends, which has probably given me a significant leg-up over someone like yourself.

It's not quite in the same realm as the $850 million Donald Trump inherited to help him get his started, but $40k is probably is far more than you've seen.

Being very smart and well-educated is what has given me my largest unfair advantage.

Immediately after college I started as a well-paid union worker in a Chevron refinery and 9 months later I was promoted to Chevron Shipping with a pay rise.

At the time Chevron's board had capped salary increases at 25% annually, so that was what I received during the years I worked there.

I finally had my own firm providing consulting services to major real estate developers, where I could finally earn what I was worth.

I'll be the first to admit that our economy doesn't provide this sort of opportunity to the less intelligent.

[Elroy Jetson] People who claim to be flying to Tokyo on a routine basis just so they can appre...

Elroy Jetson — 2/19/2016 3:02:39 PM

People who claim to be flying to Tokyo on a routine basis just so they can appreciate genuine Kobe beef may not be plutocrats, but they're also not typical Americans.

[John Vosilla] Yeah I totally agree, Kids in my school playground in first grade growing up ...

John Vosilla — 2/19/2016 12:20:38 PM

Yeah I totally agree, Kids in my school playground in first grade growing up threw snowballs at me during recess when teachers not around as I barely knew a word of English. Grandma from the old country looked after me. English was my third language back then. Very humble beginnings in that Catholic hood of more established Irish, Polish and Italian families than we who had just arrived a few years before I was born. I was different, the minority for that period, which was EUROTRASH back in the late 1960's. Rubio's story sounds compelling but really ain't given the hood he grew up down in Miaimi his people were the majority spoke their language all in the same boat literally as Rubio...lol Someone like EJ could never understand.either story of self empowerment from quite humble beginnings anyway...

[Pogeu Mahone] If elroy jetson did not game the system, his parents and grandparents must have....

Pogeu Mahone — 2/19/2016 11:59:08 AM

If elroy jetson did not game the system, his parents and grandparents must have.

Elroy a trust fund baby...?

Some jetson gamed the system..

WTBT.. ---lol

Got snakes-g-

[Pogeu Mahone] Great stuff:-s- "Of course, Plutocrats like yourself still fly to Tokyo for the...

Pogeu Mahone — 2/19/2016 11:51:25 AM

Great stuff:-s-

"Of course, Plutocrats like yourself still fly to Tokyo for the "authentic experience" as you look your long-pointed-nose at ordinary Americans."

Yes thankfully like you I lead a privileged life:O)

Kobe beef is not my thing, give me a good porterhouse.

John can take care of himself.

Elroy Jetson ordinary American:

[John Vosilla] It all started with trickle down plus financial engineering in part due to the f...

John Vosilla — 2/19/2016 11:31:52 AM

It all started with trickle down plus financial engineering in part due to the fed plus globalization and technology. Notice too the high cost areas constrain growth of affordable housing and NIMBY mentality prevails whether it is Marin County, Back Bay or Manhattan. Still confused does Elroy think people like you and me are privileged plutocrats who gamed the system or so called white trash bible thumpers who wished we could afford to live in his/her high cost liberal left coast utopia?

[Elroy Jetson] If you want to pay the price for Wagyu beef from Kobe Japan it's certainly avai...

Elroy Jetson — 2/15/2016 3:03:19 PM

If you want to pay the price for Wagyu beef from Kobe Japan it's certainly available, particularly in some Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles.

But Wagyu from Australia and Snake River tastes exactly the same to me. - en.wikipedia.org

Even in Japan, restaurants serve Wagyu beef from Mishima, Matsusaka, Kuchinoshima, Omi, and Sanda in addition to Kobe Wagyu. It's a regional designation like Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Of course, Plutocrats like yourself still fly to Tokyo for the "authentic experience" as you look your long-pointed-nose at ordinary Americans.

Perhaps you should hire an image consultant to remake yourself over as an "ordinary American" as John Vosilla claimed to have done recently to eliminate the stench of "real estate investor" from his profile.

He made this move after coming to the conclusion that the real estate investor class and the laws they implemented to favor themselves had destroyed America.