True Size of the Shadow Banking System Revealed (Spoiler: Humongous) 387
KentuckyFC writes "The banking system is closely regulated and monitored by central banks and other government agencies. But it has become common practice for banks to get around this by doing business in ways that don't show up on conventional balance sheets. This so-called shadow banking system is thought to be huge, but nobody knows exactly how big. Now three econophysicists have discovered that the size distribution of the world's largest financial firms significantly differs from the size distribution of smaller ones or indeed non-financial firms. And they hypothesize that the difference is the result of the hidden transactions that make up the shadow banking system. By this new measure, the shadow banking system has grown dramatically since the financial crisis and was worth over $100 trillion in 2012, significantly more than had been thought and more even than the GDP of the entire planet. Nothing to worry about, then."
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Score:5, Funny)
AHAHAHAHA Stop it! Yer killing me!
Econophysicists. WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
I did my masters in non-Newtonian budget surpluses.
Re:Econophysicists. WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
Shadow banking system (Score:4, Funny)
Let's give the government a lot of power to regulate cash flow so they can protect us.
Re:Shadow economies (Score:4, Funny)
There is a guy in a corner office somewhere that is apparently making my $40k share of the underground banking economy.
I would guess to say he's also making the $40k share of many most of the people in my 5 square miles as well.
Re:Econophysicists. WTF? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:"Quantitative easing" my ass (Score:4, Funny)
To so much as imply otherwise means you must be a communist.
I am not amused (Score:5, Funny)
At what point can we end the delusion that fiat currencies are worth anything at all?
Let's just go back to bartering. How many chickens do I need to give my Cox Cable for my internet access?
Re:BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Score:5, Funny)
"Econophysicists" - That's the REAL punchline.
We Slashlinguists understand the term perfectly, you insensitive clod!
Re:Shadow economies (Score:5, Funny)
The banker initiation involves kicking a puppy and stealing a little old lady's pension check.
Re:BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I am not amused (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Econophysicists. WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
No... Econophysicists. Dark money
Re:Econophysicists. WTF? (Score:4, Funny)
botanopsychologists
laugh all you want, but when the triffids start taking over who's going to talk them down, huh?
Re:Econophysicists. WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
Nono.
It's the non-neutonian version of fluid capital.
It really isn't that difficult; just imagine cornstarch and water.
Ok, now imagine that as money, aka, liquid assets.
This non-neutonian liquid asset appears firm and to have substance as long as it is traded quickly, or placed under high trade pressures, but for anyone attempting to hold onto it, it melts into a sticky mess, and they are left with little to show for it.
There is a considerable degree of interest and research into such non-neutonian liquidities, as everyone seems hell bent on finding ways to make ever more of the stuff. This means that the rate of exchange and the overall economic force behind the trading have to continue to rise to accommodate the inclusion.
We non-neutonian econophysicists deal almost exclusively with these kinds of liquidities, and often work very closely with non-euclidian geometric market analysists to see new angles to the market that others failed to see or exploit before.
It's really quite technical deep down, so don't feel bad if you can't quite comprehend it all.