There is no way we'll get into hyperinflation BEFORE debt deflation has run its course. There is no way the Federal Reserve (or ECB, Bank of Japan) can print enough money, electronically or physically, to fabricate hyperinflation, as long as the debt deflation train hasn't finished running over our economic systems. After that train is done, it's anybody's guess; the damage done will be so severe there may not be a Fed left to inflate even a party balloon.

David Rubin, accused of rigging hundreds of investment contracts for local governments across the U.S., is at the center of investigations by city and federal authorities into a Los Angeles housing development.

The $31 million subsidized project for the poor and homeless was put on hold by local officials after the Oct. 29 federal criminal indictment of Rubin, 47. He is the founder of Los Angeles-based CDR Financial Products Inc. and one of the first targets charged in a three-year Justice Department probe of alleged anti-competitive practices in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., two of the biggest traders of over-the- counter derivatives, are exploiting their growing clout in that market to secure cheap funding in addition to billions in revenue from the business.

Both New York-based banks are demanding unequal arrangements with hedge-fund firms, forcing them to post more cash collateral to offset risks on trades while putting up less on their own wagers. At the end of December this imbalance furnished Goldman Sachs with $110 billion, according to a filing. That’s money it can reinvest in higher-yielding assets.

Arriving at Harv’s Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. “They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,” says Harv’s owner, Aaron Zeff.

The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff’s on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was … 4 cents.