The Basic Economics of Bank Robberies

By Joseph Salerno

Friday, September 12th, 2014

FBI statistics reveal that over the eight years concluding with 2011, the number of bank robberies in the U.S. fell dramatically, declining from 7,500 in 2004 to 5,000 in 2011. During the same period the total cash haul from bank robberies dropped even more precipitously from $78 million to $37 million. The sharply downward trend appears to be continuing. In 2012, 3,870 banks were robbed, down from 9,400 in 1991. One causal factor in the decline is the increase in the costs of robbing a bank including better bank security, bullet proof barriers at teller stations, exterior cameras, and more severe criminal penalties. Meanwhile, the benefits of bank robbery have decreased–thanks in some measure to inflation. According to the FBI a bank robbery averaged a take of $4,000 in 2009, which may not have been sufficient to yield the thieves a positive return on their enterprise. You see, at today’s prices, the robbers would need to expend $4,442 for the guns, bullets, and masks used in a typical bank robbery.

@cnn - elliot wave theory is a nice TA tool that is quite accurate and even more powerful when combined with volume spread analysis.

This market is rallying into the resistance forest (5000 - 5500 zone) without EABL and Mpesa bank participation as well as a lot of price gap ups in several counters as panic buying ensues (signs of buying climax phase). On TA a lot of divergence is appearing on the RSI (relative strength) meter which is putting the bullish strength into question. Also 3 indices (NSE20, NASI and FTSE KE NSE15) are exhibiting rising wedge chart patterns (ending diagonal) which all point to a pending snappish reversal.

When the reversal comes people will not believe it when they get trapped i.e. price moving down faster than they can issue sell orders.

The bull trap has been setup nicely with market cap at this rate going to clock the same as GDP as the meltup continues?!? KES and KE econ are red signs which mr market has chosen to jump at the highway!

seems we are many of us.exit exit exit.

I need to regain my confidence of the NSE some day later.

Back after a week's hiatus. Sorry if u missed me. Was playing hide and seek in Cherangany hills.