besson lee
Glasgow
Richard Wolff on Socialism ( plus economic growth in USSR & China Vs debt ridden US etc ) , 2019
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVo0YNZK_oY
There isn't much to rejoice these days, and I completely agree with the following view on world economy :
The world economy should have entered the trough at the end of last year. Look: the British general election led to Johnson taking control, and since then, both domestic and foreign affairs are equally messy. The German automobile industry faces dual threats of trade barriers and electrification. Exports have reduced a lot, making the economy sluggish and virtually on the verge of recession. Social unrest in France lasts for well over a year. India's financial system is basically paralyzed, having to pay for the carnivals they had in the past five years. Japan is even worse, suffering a direct decline of 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ever since the new year, it's clear that the Novel croV is even more detrimental than SARS, and China's first quarter growth is hitting a new low for many years. But the United States is alone outstanding. Why?
As I explained last year, it was the Federal Reserve. Last year, the Yield Curve was inverted (that is, the short-term interest rate was higher than the long-term interest rate), which was considered the hallmark of Recession. But the Repo market stopped them from going further, and the Fed flipped its stance on the anti-QE operations of the last two years and instead pumped $ 500 billion or so into the market. This huge amount of US dollars, 2.5% of annual GDP, released within a quarter, the equivalent of 10% of the country's total output... No wonder the US economy "rebounded".
The heroes of the current US financial bubbles are essentially corporate debts, for the people's ability to borrow and consume has not come to a dead end yet. The latest statistics 5 days ago shows that the consumer debts have reached 14 trillion, which is numerically higher than the 2008 financial crisis. However, if inflation is taken into account, it is actually slightly lower, and the default rate is only half of what we had 12 years ago. So it is possible that the bubbles could drag on without bursting for another year or so.
Meanwhile, the Fed's printing and releasing money is highly skillful. Instead of buying long-term Treasury bonds as in QE of the past, it is buying short-term government bonds directly or indirectly (ie through the Repo market). This has two advantages. First, you can pretend and say seriously that it's not a QE. Second, you can also lower short-term interest rates eliminating the Inverted Yield Curve (the higher the bond price, the lower their interest rates) pacifying the worries of the investors worldwide. In the first quarter of 2020, however, as the money printing process goes down a bit, and the Yield Curve went reverting again. This again confirms how devoid of vitality is the US financial sector. And major market players are nevertheless generally pessimistic about world economy ahead. Had it not because the US dollar is the international reserve currency, and as such, US could print as much money they wish with no limit, US would have followed the footsteps of India ( which has got into serious disaster since the end of 2018 ).
*
Josef Suk plays Sarasate´s Romanza Andaluza
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfs9BjorJl0
Christa Ludwig :
Norma : Mira, o Norma....Sì, fino all'ore estreme (Act II)
duckduckgo.com/?q=christa+ludwig+on+Callas&t=ffab&...
"Wie Melodien zieht es mir" Brahms
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc4ovO-7UQU
Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYG7NYt1_5c
Last Concert (2003)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTK6ffHQucs
1980 Zurich Recital
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH7r1gX5_b0
Elisabeth Grümmer sings Brahms's Wiegenlied
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVglLyTqkfM
Elisabeth Grümmer sings Schubert's Wiegenlied D.867
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmRyc0jf6bU
"Der Winter mag scheiden"; Solveigs Song; Peer Gynt; Grieg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDr5EDi70ys&list=RDYtps6gYzSn...
Ingrid Bjoner
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujWQ-sdhPzM
Marita Solberg - Solveig's Song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap_jsOnws-A
Mirella Freni : O mio babbino caro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow1niq0mOwE
Vissi d'arte Tosca- Mirella Freni
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QlnFR6PwrI
Callas : Carmen Habanera
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EseMHr6VEM0&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
Norma
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-9IvuEkreI&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
Oh Mio Babbino Caro, 1965
www.youtube.com/watch?v=69pxWVjlbNo&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
London Farewell Concert 1973
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR2estxUcXI&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
JON VICKERS - Fidelio "Gott! Welch Dunkel hier..." (1962)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1QqZbkgeag
Cilea - L'arlesiana, 'Lamento di Federico'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI0VPz2tjjQ
*
Ludwig on Callas
"Callas is probably the only one I admire: her voice was the tragedy of her life.”
“Look at Maria Callas – she did not have a nice voice, but what she made of it, these INTERPRETATIONS – incredible! When Callas sings a Bellini recitative, I begin to cry. But sometimes you cannot describe what a singer has or does not have. Is it called charisma? Or personality? ‘It’s a secret,’
Ludwig on Jon Vickers
“When Jon Vickers sang ‘Gott, welch Dunkel hier’ [God, what darkness here – in Fidelio], I began to weep on the stage... This had nothing to do with BEAUTIFUL SINGING, that was EXPRESSION… If, on the other hand, I hear the stretta from Il Trovatore with the high C, I am delighted, but I do not admire him... "
温铁军 (in Chinese)
Glasgow
Richard Wolff on Socialism ( plus economic growth in USSR & China Vs debt ridden US etc ) , 2019
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVo0YNZK_oY
There isn't much to rejoice these days, and I completely agree with the following view on world economy :
The world economy should have entered the trough at the end of last year. Look: the British general election led to Johnson taking control, and since then, both domestic and foreign affairs are equally messy. The German automobile industry faces dual threats of trade barriers and electrification. Exports have reduced a lot, making the economy sluggish and virtually on the verge of recession. Social unrest in France lasts for well over a year. India's financial system is basically paralyzed, having to pay for the carnivals they had in the past five years. Japan is even worse, suffering a direct decline of 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ever since the new year, it's clear that the Novel croV is even more detrimental than SARS, and China's first quarter growth is hitting a new low for many years. But the United States is alone outstanding. Why?
As I explained last year, it was the Federal Reserve. Last year, the Yield Curve was inverted (that is, the short-term interest rate was higher than the long-term interest rate), which was considered the hallmark of Recession. But the Repo market stopped them from going further, and the Fed flipped its stance on the anti-QE operations of the last two years and instead pumped $ 500 billion or so into the market. This huge amount of US dollars, 2.5% of annual GDP, released within a quarter, the equivalent of 10% of the country's total output... No wonder the US economy "rebounded".
The heroes of the current US financial bubbles are essentially corporate debts, for the people's ability to borrow and consume has not come to a dead end yet. The latest statistics 5 days ago shows that the consumer debts have reached 14 trillion, which is numerically higher than the 2008 financial crisis. However, if inflation is taken into account, it is actually slightly lower, and the default rate is only half of what we had 12 years ago. So it is possible that the bubbles could drag on without bursting for another year or so.
Meanwhile, the Fed's printing and releasing money is highly skillful. Instead of buying long-term Treasury bonds as in QE of the past, it is buying short-term government bonds directly or indirectly (ie through the Repo market). This has two advantages. First, you can pretend and say seriously that it's not a QE. Second, you can also lower short-term interest rates eliminating the Inverted Yield Curve (the higher the bond price, the lower their interest rates) pacifying the worries of the investors worldwide. In the first quarter of 2020, however, as the money printing process goes down a bit, and the Yield Curve went reverting again. This again confirms how devoid of vitality is the US financial sector. And major market players are nevertheless generally pessimistic about world economy ahead. Had it not because the US dollar is the international reserve currency, and as such, US could print as much money they wish with no limit, US would have followed the footsteps of India ( which has got into serious disaster since the end of 2018 ).
*
Josef Suk plays Sarasate´s Romanza Andaluza
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfs9BjorJl0
Christa Ludwig :
Norma : Mira, o Norma....Sì, fino all'ore estreme (Act II)
duckduckgo.com/?q=christa+ludwig+on+Callas&t=ffab&...
"Wie Melodien zieht es mir" Brahms
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc4ovO-7UQU
Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYG7NYt1_5c
Last Concert (2003)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTK6ffHQucs
1980 Zurich Recital
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH7r1gX5_b0
Elisabeth Grümmer sings Brahms's Wiegenlied
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVglLyTqkfM
Elisabeth Grümmer sings Schubert's Wiegenlied D.867
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmRyc0jf6bU
"Der Winter mag scheiden"; Solveigs Song; Peer Gynt; Grieg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDr5EDi70ys&list=RDYtps6gYzSn...
Ingrid Bjoner
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujWQ-sdhPzM
Marita Solberg - Solveig's Song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap_jsOnws-A
Mirella Freni : O mio babbino caro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow1niq0mOwE
Vissi d'arte Tosca- Mirella Freni
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QlnFR6PwrI
Callas : Carmen Habanera
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EseMHr6VEM0&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
Norma
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-9IvuEkreI&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
Oh Mio Babbino Caro, 1965
www.youtube.com/watch?v=69pxWVjlbNo&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
London Farewell Concert 1973
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR2estxUcXI&list=RDEseMHr6VEM...
JON VICKERS - Fidelio "Gott! Welch Dunkel hier..." (1962)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1QqZbkgeag
Cilea - L'arlesiana, 'Lamento di Federico'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI0VPz2tjjQ
*
Ludwig on Callas
"Callas is probably the only one I admire: her voice was the tragedy of her life.”
“Look at Maria Callas – she did not have a nice voice, but what she made of it, these INTERPRETATIONS – incredible! When Callas sings a Bellini recitative, I begin to cry. But sometimes you cannot describe what a singer has or does not have. Is it called charisma? Or personality? ‘It’s a secret,’
Ludwig on Jon Vickers
“When Jon Vickers sang ‘Gott, welch Dunkel hier’ [God, what darkness here – in Fidelio], I began to weep on the stage... This had nothing to do with BEAUTIFUL SINGING, that was EXPRESSION… If, on the other hand, I hear the stretta from Il Trovatore with the high C, I am delighted, but I do not admire him... "
温铁军 (in Chinese)