Demetri Kofinas: "That's why we have evolution."

'I'm basing this on one, and only one, criteria – the rate of acquisition of new accounts is slowing. That's all I need to know and it should be all you need to know – the company filed the S-1 as soon as they detected this slowdown in December. In addition participation is narrowing; there were 1.74 users monthly per daily user in 2011, but 1.86 a year prior. These are potential signs of leveling off. The company identifies no particular need for the capital; it has cash. This strongly implies that the only reason to IPO is for the insiders to monetize their position.'

'As the "problem" is marketed, the elites begin to create solutions, well funded private companies that appear to be brainchildren of alert entrepreneurs. In some cases they are; in other cases, the elites may have, initially, a direct hand in the creation of the companies; they are certainly involved in the venture capital funds and hedge funds that provide funding to these start ups. Eventually, these companies are directed toward stock exchanges and the initial, elite partners cash out. The cash-outs is then directed toward markets where it can be swapped for more substantial assets like real estate and gold. The real estate may be held or exploited; the gold is stored in countries like Switzerland using elaborate off-the-books accounting methods. Many such banks work directly for the elites; their other businesses are just for "show." This methodology is well beyond the understanding of most people, unfortunately. The scale at which it operates is almost inconceivable.'

'After reading the SEC Goldman complaint I came to the conclusion that the "overview" fraud has not been addressed. Instead we have implications based on the "verbiage" of representations instead of the very structure of instruments which are no more than schemes. These pieces of paper are so toxic they cannot be netted without exposing fraud, and the loss of money. I then go over something I call a "spiral reaction" which is the process of compounding mistakes to cover up fraud and lies. My question is what event will trigger the next spiral.'

'"When I see a bubble, I buy that bubble, because that's how I make money," Soros blurts out. One takes Soros literally at one's peril. He may "sell" the bubble as well—short it. But the point of this is that Soros recognizes bubbles and expects to take advantage of them and he is one of the best at doing so, or so his track record would seem to illustrate. He is also, from our point of view, somewhat cynical about it in that his public rhetoric is all about the value of government interference in the markets while his private investment actions are definitively market oriented. Soros, in our opinion, utilizes techniques we regularly suggest. Yes ... Soros analyzes dominant social themes, determines the likelihood of their success or failure, and then overlays them on top of the business cycle itself to determine where they fit and whether the timing is right. (He also cynically manipulates public opinion, squeezes governments if he can, etc., but that is an article for another day.)'

"...this post is highly speculative ...the best answer that I could find is that the Japanese government wants to dump US bonds on the quiet. As such, they sought to transfer them to Switzerland, where they could then sell them, and disguise the point of origin of the selling. In doing so they would avoid spooking the markets by making a Japanese sell-off of US bonds visible. As a large holder of US debt, any significant sell-off would potentially commence a $US rout. -- In the meantime, the Japanese have suddenly started talking up the prospects for the $US... In all of this, it should be remembered that Japan is the world's second largest holder of US treasuries. Any public selling by Japan would therefore result in a $US crash, and would wipe out the value of much of the value of Japanese reserves. In the meantime, how will the US and Japan handle the situation, if the bonds are real? The important point is that it is not in the interest of either country to admit to the operation."