Bit of macro stuff, nothing to do with the XJO - but whatever.
Past year, I've been to countries in Africa, Asia and South America on some projects/trade missions.
The things I've seen cross my path:-
1) Baby-boomer life insurance policies bought and sold under the guise of bonds. Stamped double AA, by someone we all know. They mature in 10 years/15 years tranches - collected, and segregated into 5 year islamic or rolling bonds, yielding 5% with a face value of the full insurance policy, bought at a 60% discount, funded by debt and re-insured. These bonds are then pledged as security and collateral under Safe Keeping Receipts, to extricate cash to prop up economies.
2) Sovereigns issuing bank guarantees through locally owned banks - adding NPL (Non performing loans) on the said bank's balance sheet, but borrowing ridiculous amounts of money for PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) projects while escaping IMF scrutiny that may dampen its sovereign rating.
3) Sale and purchases of fresh cut 1 year Bank Guarantees from ringfenced assets marked at a book value of 100% above its actual mark to market value, for a face value of 60%, leaving the bank to make up the 40% difference from the cash it receives upfront.
4) Chinese straw men, who move around in villages collecting money from naive people, promising them 10% per annum for a certain period, but collecting all the money within a business, and listing their companies all over the world, classifying them as cash rich, and repaying back all the small villagers with scrip which they will of course find it extremely difficult to liquidate being stuck in the middle of limbo.
5) So many electoral changes this year, driving new PPP initiatives, and re-allocation of budgetry requirements for certain factions - allowing for the burst of new found wealth created on debt that is manufactured by all the above.
6) Chinese and South American banks calling back their short term loans from their clients via the use of money lenders to alleviate their debt levels for end of year for loan-book review, promising to re-lend the money out in January and cover the cost of the loan shark's interest fees for clients.
Conclusion? No one country actually OWNS their money. It's all layer of debt upon layer of debt. Repackaged, rejigged and re-rated. It's so confusing, that after reading what I wrote, even I don't understand it.
(20min delay)