In the United States, state and local government budgets have been suffering the repercussions of the economic downturn that hit the world since 2008. Lagging revenues have resulted from lower property and income taxes as real estate values and the size of the job market precipitously fell for the past three years. Moreover, public spending at local and state levels had been rising, much thanks to the government’s massive stimulus of fiscal appropriations on the state level, supporting and expanding public payrolls for the past year.

There’s one aspect to financial markets and individuals’ livelihood, which has become commonplace to economies around the world. Like the proverbial 900 pound gorilla in the room, the risks tied to stagnant labor markets are obvious. This week we’ll be focusing on the state of the labor market in Korea and how it compares to other developed markets abroad. We will identify differences in labor conditions and data collection, then look at ways that Korea can improve its employment situation for future success.

In 1933 the Gold Standard was pushed aside and the United States Dollar (USD) officially became tied to nothing. Later in 1944, during a gathering of global leaders in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, international exchange rate policies were put in place to assure the system of “floating” global currencies. Yet it would be the Mr. John Maynard Keynes who went on to define this exchange of paper money as “fiat currency”, or money where the “material substance… is divorced from its monetary value”.

From a Western financial professional’s perspective, South Korea has traditionally been overlooked. The most familiar big three finance hubs in the East were forged in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. However, Korea is redefining itself as a major marketplace for a specific breed of financial product, broadly labeled as “derivatives”. Here we’ll give a crash course on derivatives and their place in financial markets, inspect their recent appearance in emerging markets, and theorize as to the effect they will have on Korea’s global financial presence and the economy as a whole.

It’s becoming clearer by day that there is little sanity left in the realm that had once been hailed a “free market”. Traders suck up the “good news” of more QE from the Federal Reserve in the U.S., like a junky celebrating one more smack filled syringe he hopes will be soon smuggled in by his big brother. How much longer can the lunacy persist?

Korea’s borders surround just under one-hundred-thousand square kilometers, making the land mass a bit larger than the U.S. state of Indiana, with a population of approximately 48,000,000; over seven times that of Indiana. It’s safe to say that the result of these basic observations has for years been a high demand for real estate in Korea. This week we’ll discuss the state of the South Korea real estate market by investigating the Korean “Jeonse” (key money) lease process, and look for answers to the looming supply of unfilled apartment skyscrapers in years to come

urprising the world now twice in six months by leading rather than following the G20 nations, South Korea has spearheaded dual mandates which have put the central Bank of Korea (BOK) on the offensive. Clearly Korea hasn’t forgotten the woes of 1998 and 2008, when the KRW dropped precipitously and twice scarred the investment portfolios of international players. It is now certain that currency protection is the name of the game in Seoul. This week we’ll identify how Korea’s monetary policy stacks up against its rival “Asian tigers”, and determine where Korea may find itself tomorrow as a result of today’s environment.

First, I like the title a lot, “ignorance is liberal bliss”… It’s definitely witty. I know that you might expect for me to have taken a clear stance defending Barry, but I promise you I am very critical of Obama, Tiny Tim, and Benny Boy on a regular basis in my analysis of the U.S. economy. However, I also don’t fit into the camp that lambastes liberals for their ignorant or economically unintelligent platforms.

Positions currently held at DS Financial are SDS, DTO, and VXX. Refer to our DS Trading Ledger, a new page where you can track the results of calls we’ve made, to see the entry points on these three positions. As of Monday’s close our positions are as follows:

Constructed by years of fiscal white lies and monetary insanity, the body bags have yet to be filled. Municipal governments in China still depend on increasing real estate values, while European banks holding large debts of failing Southeastern states still stand. The United States Economy has “recovered faster than anyone could have imagined” and the S&P 500 at one time had nearly doubled from it’s lows. But still the whispers; 10 year U.S. Treasuries nearing 3% yields, LIBOR trending higher, market technicals showing a shift towards negative confidence, and this weeks economic data hanging in the balance…