Grain Prices Heading Higher In 2011 On Tight Supplies

Prices for grains other agricultural commodities will probably continue rising in 2011 as “precariously balanced” fundamentals and a La Nina phenomenon contribute to wide price swings, Rabobank analysts said.

Corn, soybeans and coffee hold the most potential upside among about 10 commodities, Rabobank Agri Commodity Markets analysts led by Luke Chandler said in a Dec. 21 report. While corn, soybean and wheat supplies appear sufficient for the time being, record crops are likely needed next year to keep inventories from tightening further.

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Article.aspx?oid=1293601&publishdate=2010-12-22&urltitle=Grain-Prices-Heading-Higher-In-2011-On-Tight-Supplies--Rabobank-Says&tid=Archive

Energy, agriculture, gold and silver bullion - protectors from the coming crisis

The Gold Report: Much has happened since our last discussion in September. The election, with the Republicans taking the House and the super majority in the Senate. QE2 (quantitative easing) not only discussed but actually released. The U.S. assisting in the financing in Europe. The benefactors of the 2008 bailout money finally published. And then the hottest topic in Washington for a while, extending the Bush tax credits along with an Obama unemployment tax credit. Have any of these developments changed or firmed your opinion of the U.S. economy or the international monetary crisis?

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=117559&sn=Detail&pid=72068

Lehman 'prophet' fears second crisis if US interest rates are kept low

America is storing up a second financial crisis by keeping interest rates at record low levels, according to David Einhorn, the hedge fund manager who first publicly warned about the financial catastrophe facing Lehman Brothers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8224338/Lehman-prophet-fears-second-crisis-if-US-interest-rates-are-kept-low.html

Outraged Yet? What if Fed Buys Munis?

California’s delay of a $10 billion municipal bond sale has only fueled existing chatter on trading floors that the Federal Reserve would take the extraordinary step of buying these securities just as it has with Treasuries.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40259606

111th Congress Added More Debt Than First 100 Congresses Combined

The federal government has accumulated more new debt--$3.22 trillion ($3,220,103,625,307.29)—during the tenure of the 111th Congress than it did during the first 100 Congresses combined, according to official debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.

That equals $10,429.64 in new debt for each and every one of the 308,745,538 people counted in the United States by the 2010 Census.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/111th-congress-added-more-debt-first-100

Naked emperor and a conspiracy of silence

America's competitors have seen the erosion of American power as if through a time-lapse camera, and they don't like it at all. Obama's self-shrinkage of American influence may give us a civil war in Iraq, a new Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, a nuclear-armed Iran, a replay of the Cuban missile crisis in Venezuela, an unshackled rogue state in North Korea, an ungovernable Pakistan, and - worst of all - another American recession as the US Treasury struggles to fund a government deficit in excess of 12 percentage points of gross domestic product.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LL23Ak04.html

Quantitative Easing 2 as Projected and Announced

http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/bud-conrad/quantitative-easing-two-as-projected-and-announced

The US Economy Is A Complete Horror

It details the depths of the crisis the U.S. economy is truly facing, including its massive debt problem, the declining value of its currency, the unemployment crisis, and the housing crisis.

http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-gundlach-doubleline-2010-12

Control Government Spending or Face 'Apocalyptic Pain'

"Apocalyptic pain" from an out-of-control debt could cause 18 percent unemployment and a massive contraction in the economy that would destroy the middle class, a leading Republican deficit hawk said in an interview that aired Sunday.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/26/coburn-control-government-spending-face-apocalyptic-pain/?test=latestnews

'We the people' to open next Congress

The Constitution frequently gets lip service in Congress, but House Republicans next year will make sure it gets a lot more than that - the new rules the incoming majority party proposed this week call for a full reading of the country's founding document on the floor of the House on Jan. 6.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/23/we-the-people-to-open-next-congress/

Citigroup fears fresh wave of sovereign defaults and bank failures in eurozone

Citigroup has warned of a fresh wave of bank failures and a string of sovereign defaults in Europe unless EU leaders come up with a credible response to the crisis.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8217505/Citigroup-fears-fresh-wave-of-sovereign-defaults-and-bank-failures-in-eurozone.html

$2tn debt crisis threatens to bring down 100 US cities

More than 100 American cities could go bust next year as the debt crisis that has taken down banks and countries threatens next to spark a municipal meltdown, a leading analyst has warned.

US states have spent nearly half a trillion dollars more than they have collected in taxes, and face a $1tn hole in their pension funds, said the CBS programme, apocalyptically titled The Day of Reckoning.

"There's not a doubt on my mind that you will see a spate of municipal bond defaults. You can see fifty to a hundred sizeable defaults – more. This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of defaults."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/20/debt-crisis-threatens-us-cities

Mortgage deduction: A sacred cow whose time is up?

Perhaps the most sacred of all the sacred cows in the tax code, the home mortgage deduction has long been seen as critical to a major element in the American dream — owning your own home. It's also a boon to home builders, construction workers, the financial services industry and local governments that benefited from fatter real estate tax revenue.

But after nearly a century, the mortgage deduction may face a day of reckoning. Though out of the spotlight for the moment while the lame-duck Congress thrashes to an end, the mortgage deduction issue is likely to resurface next year when new representatives — including a lot more deficit-hawk Republicans — take their seats.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/sc-dc-adv-home-mortgage-deuction-20101219,0,2988379,full.story

Killing the penny makes little cents in digital world

The recommendation last week from the Senate finance committee that Canada eliminate the pesky penny may seem like a no-brainer when you consider its shrinking value, but getting rid of it is likely to create a bigger problem than the one our un-elected senators are trying to solve.

Earlier this year the committee was charged with investigating the penny's usefulness, because the cost to produce it now exceeds its actual value. During hearings, representatives from the Bank of Canada, industry, consumer groups and charities all told the committee that they wouldn't miss the penny if it were discontinued.

That problem is hoarding. According to the Bank of Canada there are a staggering 20 billion pennies in circulation. Unfortunately the vast majority are sitting in piggy banks, ice cream pails (I've got one of those) and other assorted containers instead of earning their keep.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Killing+penny+makes+little+cents+digital+world/4007089/story.html

Prices soar as investors rush for commodities

COMMODITY prices are breaking records in an investment stampede inspired by extreme weather, demand from China and rising speculation.

The price surge is sweeping almost all commodity markets -- both minerals and farm goods -- and raises the prospect of government and Reserve Bank forecasts proving conservative

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/markets/prices-soar-as-investors-rush-for-commodities/story-e6frg91o-1225975188123

Massive Selling of US Currency Lies Ahead

John Williams today was dispatching information regarding gold, silver, M3, nearby massive selling of dollars and inflation. Here is a portion from his commentary, “Despite November 9th’s historic high gold price of $1,421.00 per troy ounce (London afternoon fix) and the multi-decade high silver price of $30.50 per troy ounce (London fix) on December 7th, gold and silver prices have yet to approach their historic high levels, adjusted for inflation.”

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2010/12/15_John_Williams_-_Massive_Selling_of_US_Currency_Lies_Ahead.html

Debt Pyramid Scheme Now the Norm in U.S.:

The tax compromise that the president, after protracted bargaining with Congress, signed into law Friday represents the worst of each party’s principles. Democrats agreed to forgo their insistence on raising taxes to narrow the widening budget deficit. Republicans forgot (again) that they are supposedly the party of smaller government.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-20/debt-pyramid-scheme-now-the-norm-in-u-s-commentary-by-roger-lowenstein.html

Director of United States Mint Resigns

Washington, DC-Director of the United States Mint Edmund C. Moy announced today that he has submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama. He also informed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios of his resignation, effective January 9, 2011. Moy has accepted a position in the private sector.

http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=1190

Public Pensions Face Underfunding Crisis

An analysis by Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Rochester and Joshua Rauh of the Kellogg School of Management finds that public pension plans for America's 50 biggest cities and counties are underfunded by $382 billion--or $14,000 for every household in those same cities. Some of the biggest plans may run out of money to pay promised benefits in as little as five to eight years.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/city-pensions-americas-50-biggest-municipal-pension-shortfalls/story?id=12366160

Doomsday for the US Dollar: Post Mortem for the World's "Reserve Currency"

Paul Volcker is worried about the future of the dollar and for good reason. The Fed has initiated a program (Quantitative Easing) that presages an end to Bretton Woods 2and replaces it with different system altogether. Naturally, that's made trading partners pretty nervous. Despite the unfairness of the present system--where export-dependent countries recycle capital to US markets to sustain demand---most nations would rather stick with the "devil they know", then venture into the unknown. But US allies weren't consulted on the matter. The Fed unilaterally decided that the only way to fight deflation and high unemployment in the US, was by weakening the dollar and making US exports more competitive. Hence--QE2.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22402

16 Reasons Why California Is The Next Greece

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-california-is-the-next-greece-2010-05#california-has-a-20-billion-budget-gap-despite-last-years-ravaging-cutbacks-1

16 Nightmarish Economic Trends To Watch Carefully In 2011

A Scary Thought Provoking List

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/16-nightmarish-economic-trends-to-watch-carefully-in-2011

Citigroup: Dollar May Drop 11 Percent in 2011 as Treasurys Fall

The dollar may drop 11 percent versus the euro next year as investors shun U.S. assets and drive bonds lower, according to Citigroup Inc.

“It’s a bearish U.S. asset dynamic led by the bond market,” Tom Fitzpatrick, chief technical analyst, said in a telephone interview. “This period has a set-up that is amazingly like what we saw in the ‘70s, and is similar to what we saw around 1993.”

The dollar will follow trading patterns from the 1970s, when the housing market experienced a decline similar to the recent drop, and the 1990s, which also saw a slump in the bond market, technical analysts led by New York-based Fitzpatrick wrote in a note to clients. U.S. two-year yields doubled from a low of 3.7 percent in September 1993 to a high of 7.7 percent in December of 1994, pushing bond prices lower.

http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Citigroup-Dollar-Drop-2011/2010/12/15/id/380047?s=al&promo_code=B4DA-1

General Mills to raise prices

Starting Jan. 3, General Mills /quotes/comstock/13*!gis/quotes/nls/gis (GIS 36.38, +0.00, +0.01%) plans to raise prices by up to 3% on everything from its frozen vegetables to hot snacks, a move intended to offset commodity inflation and to strengthen gross margins that have taken a hit from price wars. In November, the Minneapolis-based company raised some cereal prices.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/general-mills-profit-rises-on-tax-benefit-2010-12-16

Inflation surges at record pace in December

Inflation accelerated in December at a record pace, prompting worries that interest rates might rise sooner than expected, though the surge was largely due to an unflattering comparison with a year earlier. The jump left markets keenly eying a speech due later from central bank governor Mervyn King for signs of the impact on the bank's medium-term inflation outlook, but most were still upbeat on the chances of inflation eventually coming back to target.

http://news.stv.tv/business/151359-inflation-at-9month-high-in-december/

Food prices rise sharply - and there's more to come

Grocery prices grew by more than 1 1/2 times the overall rate of inflation this year, outpaced only by costs of transportation and medical care, according to numbers released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But it makes sense. Since November 2009, meat, poultry, fish and eggs have surged 5.8percent in price. Dairy and related products have gone up 3.8 percent; fats and oils, 3 percent; and sugar and sweets, 1.2 percent.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/MN571GQRDL.DTL

Interesting Junk Silver article by Ol' Remus

It's doomsday plus a few weeks. Say you need to bribe the border guards at the state line but they seem to have all the wristwatches and free range eggs they can use. Hah! There's nothing like a few good ol' silver coins to become their number one tourist, let this man through. Or your gas station's not accepting Visa and the ATMs have gone dark from sea to shining sea and you've got a hard to get reservation at a fallout-free retreat. Hah! Dazzle 'em with the sheen of silver my friend, fill 'er up and happy motoring to you.

http://woodpilereport.com/html/index-194.htm

Derivatives: The Quadrillion Dollar Financial Casino Completely Dominated By The Big International Banks

The New York Times has just published an article entitled "A Secretive Banking Elite Rules Trading in Derivatives". Shockingly, the most important newspaper in the United States has exposed the steel-fisted control that the big Wall Street banks exert over the trading of derivatives. Just consider the following excerpt from the article....

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/derivatives-the-quadrillion-dollar-financial-casino-completely-dominated-by-the-big-international-banks

Water, Meet Blood - JP Morgan Admits To, Reduces Massive Silver Short Position, Proves Millions Of Conspiracy Theorists Correct

JPMorgan was an attempt to deflect public criticism of the bank’s dealings in silver, a person familiar with the matter said. The person added that the bank’s position in silver would from now on be “materially smaller” than in the past." Of course, the latter is pure and total bullshit: as Bart Chilton indicated over the weekend, it is JP Morgan who at one point or another (and possibly very recently) controlled as much as 40% of the silver market, via a massive short.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/jp-morgan-admits-defeat-cuts-silver-short-position-proves-millions-conspiracy-theorists-abso

Market alarm as US fails to control biggest debt in history

US Treasuries last week suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The borrowing costs of the government of the world’s largest economy have now risen by a quarter over the past four weeks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/8196283/Market-alarm-as-US-fails-to-control-biggest-debt-in-history.html

Gold, silver and copper hit record highs on fears of weakening dollar

Gold reached an intra-day high of $1,432.50 an ounce, an all-time record, before profit takers moved in. Silver futures hit $30.75 - the highest level since March 1980 - before easing in afternoon trade.

In an interview on Sunday night on US television, Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, hinted that the central bank may launch further asset purchases to prop up the ailing US economy, although he also said that "it doesn't seem likely" that the economy would fall back into recession.

Copper prices also rose to a record in London on Tuesday, with futures for three-month delivery rising to $9,044 a tonne in intraday trade, beating the previous high of $8,966 set on November 11. Fears are mounting of a future copper squeeze as demand is soon expected to exceed supply.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/8187488/Gold-silver-and-copper-hit-record-highs-on-fears-of-weakening-dollar.html

Fed´s QE Ponzi Scheme begins to Backfire

In a taped interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on December 5th, Federal Reserve chief Ben “Bubbles” Bernanketried to brainwash the American public, into believing that “Quantitative Easing” (QE), is absolutely necessary in order to prevent further losses of jobs, and tried to assure his listeners that he has the skills to keep inflation under control. The US-jobless rate would have been far higher, “something like it was in the Depression, at 25%,” -- had the Fed not provided tens of trillions in loans to Wall Street banks and other financial companies, he said.

Two-years ago, the Wall Street Oligarchs played the central role in the greatest financial scandal in the history of the world, - one which wiped out tens of trillions of dollars in wealth, nearly bankrupted giant corporations and entire countries, and plunged the world into the deepest slide in global trade since the Great Depression. Huge profits were made in sub-prime mortgages, based on a Ponzi scheme of exotic financial derivatives and packages. When it came crashing down, the public treasury was looted to cover the financial aristocracy’s losses.

http://www.sirchartsalot.com/article.php?id=149

Taking down America

A soft landing for America 40 years from now? Don't bet on it. The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines. If Washington is dreaming of 2040 or 2050 as the end of the American Century, a more realistic assessment of domestic and global trends suggests that in 2025, just 15 years from now, it could all be over except for the shouting.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LL07Ak01.html

Folding the Fed Central bank isn't equipped to save the economy

The Fed does have the tools to increase or decrease the money supply, which means it can control the rate of inflation or deflation. However, the Fed has done a poor job of maintaining the value of the currency, as the dollar is now worth only about one-twenty-second of its 1913 value. The Fed also was supposed to maintain a sound and stable banking system; however, since the Fed was created in 1913, bank failures have been at a higher rate than during the pre-Fed period.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/6/folding-the-fed/?page=1

U.S. Posts $150.4 Billion November Budget Deficit

The U.S. government ran its 26th straight monthly budget deficit in November amid wrangling over a package that would extend big tax cuts to Americans trying to recover from recession.

The Treasury Department, in its regular budget monthly statement, said the government spent $150.4 billion than it collected in the second month of fiscal 2011.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704457604576011683555582342.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLTopStories

J.P. Morgan and the Great Silver Caper

By selling massive amounts of paper silver in the futures market,” SFGate continues, “J.P. Morgan has been able to suppress the price of the precious metal. It is believed that these short positions are naked (i.e. they are not backed by any physical silver).”

If the silver price were falling, Morgan’s (alleged) short position would be lauded as a stroke of genius. But since the silver price is soaring, Morgan’s (alleged) short position looks much less laudable.

Read more: J.P. Morgan and the Great Silver Caper http://dailyreckoning.com/j-p-morgan-and-the-great-silver-caper/#ixzz17fwAeH00
“In recent days,” SFGate notes, “rumors have been swirling on the Internet that J.P. Morgan’s massive short position is about to blow up in its face in the form of an almighty short squeeze and potential COMEX default, as large traders demand physical delivery of silver that COMEX does not have in its vaults.”

http://dailyreckoning.com/j-p-morgan-and-the-great-silver-caper/

Ron Paul, Author of `End the Fed,' to Lead Panel Overseeing Central Bank

House Financial Services chairman-elect Spencer Bachus, an Alabama Republican, selected Paul, 75, to lead the panel’s domestic monetary policy subcommittee when their party takes the House majority next month, the committee chairman said today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-09/ron-paul-author-of-end-the-fed-to-lead-fed-oversight-panel.html

Tighter food supplies, high prices to persist

World food prices are set to remain high in 2011/12 with supplies tightening and demand running strong, the United Nations' food agency economist told Reuters on Wednesday after a new jump in prices.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B02GY20101201

No end in sight to U.S. economic crisis as 'scariest jobs chart ever' shows post-recession unemployment is at its worst since World War Two

As unemployment in the U.S. nears the dreaded 10 per cent mark, it is a chart to chill the bones of any job hunter.

Comparing previous recoveries from all 10 American recessions since 1948 to the current financial crisis, the stark figures show almost no improvement in employment figures in the past year.

Some commentators have described the comparison as 'the scariest jobs chart ever', pointing to the fact that only the 2001 recession took longer to bring employment back to pre-crisis levels.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336078/Post-recession-unemployment-scariest-job-chart-worst-WW2.html

U.S. Military Prepares for Economic Collapse

Ever since the crash of 2008, the Defense Intelligence establishment has really been paying a lot of attention to global markets and how they could serve as a threat to U.S. National security interests. At one upcoming seminar that we’re going to see here next month, they’re going to be taking a look at a lot of the issues … [including] the use of sovereign wealth funds to manipulate markets, currencies; nation state economic collapse, sovereign default, nation state instability; U.S. Allies’ budgets, deficits, national security infrastructures.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/politics/5418-us-military-prepares-for-economic-collapse

At Least One Swiss Bank Has Started Refusing To Hand Over Physical Gold To Clients

“Correct, and through all of that eventually the individual did get his gold...it took lawyers, it took threats of publicity, it took a lot of pressure to do that, which my inference is that that gold was not there. The bank had to scramble, go out and find it somewhere before they could make good delivery.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/jim-rickards-take-gold-out-of-the-bank-2010-12

Food Stamp Rolls Continue to Rise

More people tapped food stamps to pay for groceries in September as the recession and lackluster recovery have prompted more Americans to turn to government safety net programs to make ends meet.

Some 42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee – the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits – more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/12/08/food-stamp-rolls-continue-to-rise/

US Treasuries hit by biggest sell-off in two years

US Treasuries suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, following a torrid month that has seen borrowing costs for western governments soar.

Germany, Japan and the US have all seen their benchmark market interest rates rise by more than a quarter in the past month while the UK’s has risen by nearly a fifth.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e550f996-0304-11e0-bb1e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz17ZwUNafO

Firewall needed as eurozone stands on brink of meltdown

Unless Europe’s policymakers seize the initiative to secure the position of Spain and Italy, we could see a new seizure in bank funding markets which would force the euro area either to underpin monetary union with some mutual fiscal guarantees or to fragment.

In the first half of 2008, the banking industry seemed to be recovering from the initial sub-prime shock. Capital was raised and interbank spreads narrowed. Liquidity support and the rescues of Bear Stearns and European banks demonstrated the authorities’ determination to stabilise markets if necessary with public funds.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8182445/Firewall-needed-as-eurozone-stands-on-brink-of-meltdown.html

Banks to taxpayers: Get over it

In the throes of an investor panic in the fall of 2008, U.S. financial institutions stuck to their story: We’re fine, trust us.

Last week, more than two years later, the Federal Reserve unveiled how those same financial institutions tapped emergency lending programs to survive. The final tally — $3.3 trillion in loans — exceeded even the most skeptical analyst expectations.

The Fed had been hesitant to release the data for fear it could rattle the markets. But the markets actually rose on Wednesday, the day of the release. I have a theory why, which we’ll get into later.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mind-boggling-losses-at-the-banks-2010-12-06?link=kiosk

We're all doomed!!! We still haven't woken up to how much poorer the West is going to be in the future...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336300/Were-doomed--We-havent-woken-poorer-West-going-future-.html

Bond Prices Plunge for 2nd Day on Deficit Fears

U.S. Treasurys plunged Wednesday, extending Tuesday's sharp losses and pushing benchmark yields to a six-month high, after a deal in Washington to extend tax cuts fueled fears of inflation and a swelling budget deficit.

The dip in prices brought some buyers to the table in an auction of $21 billion of reopened 10-year notes, which was part of $66 billion of coupon-bearing securities sales this week. Trade was volatile and prices bounced off the lowest levels of the day after the auction, which analysts said saw about average demand.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40565833

Metal hoarders playing a dangerous game

Several banks and funds, including JP Morgan and BlackRock Asset Manangement have signalled that they plan to create exchange-traded products in physical copper. Like the gold exchange-traded products, investors will be able to buy an amount of real metal, held on their behalf in warehouses, rather than copper futures and it is the need to acquire the physical product that has roused suspicion that it is a financial institution hoarding physical metal in preparation for the launch of its ETP.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/carl-mortished/metal-hoarders-playing-a-dangerous-game/article1827727/?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=d+cs4Aw7/suWcjs/Vs90bd9Vn48SAAAAL5feDA==

How To Prepare For The Coming Financial Apocalypse

Apocalypse Preparation #1: Become Less Dependent On Your Job
Apocalypse Preparation #2: Get Out Of Debt
Apocalypse Preparation #3: Reduce Expenses
Apocalypse Preparation #4: Purchase Land
Apocalypse Preparation #5: Learn To Grow Food
Apocalypse Preparation #6: Find A Reliable Source Of Water
Apocalypse Preparation #7: Explore Alternative Energy Sources
Apocalypse Preparation #8: Store Supplies
Apocalypse Preparation #9: Protect Your Assets With Gold And Silver
Apocalypse Preparation #10: Learn Self-Defense
Apocalypse Preparation #11: Keep Yourself Fit
Apocalypse Preparation #12: Make Friends

http://www.munknee.com/2010/12/how-to-prepare-for-the-coming-financial-apocalypse/

Will governments buy silver?

Over the last several months we have been pondering if governments will come into the silver market. Before we get into that, it is important to note that governments are very different animals and there are over two hundred of them out there. Therefore, it is a very liberal generalization to lump them all together as if their needs, objectives and agendas were the same, thus expecting them all to act in the same fashion for the same reasons, is a big stretch. That said, it's the stigma, the psychological effect, the sentiment and the message it would send to markets that prompts us to group them together in investors' minds as a market force.

http://news.silverseek.com/SilverStrategies/1291311666.php

H.R. 6162: Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-6162&tab=summary

Why Americans Should Expose J.P. Morgan By Buying Silver

The Federal Reserve, an unconstitutional fourth branch of government, is a plague upon our land that operates under the guise of legitimate authority while reaping great rewards for its private shareholders, among whom J.P. Morgan Chase is one of the biggest.

J.P. Morgan Chase, a company whose roots are about as American as Sputnik or Mao Tse Tung, has directly profited from printing enormous sums of money to the Central Government in D.C. and loaning each cursed dollar with interest on the backs of our children. (Morgan himself owned only 19% of Morgan assets. The rest was owned by the European Rothschild family after a series of bailouts and rescues.) Despite the warnings, cries and curses of leaders from Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson, the American people have handed the International Bankers control of our nation, our foreign policy and the protection of our liberties.

http://statesmansentinel.com/americans-expose-jp-morgan-buying-silver?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=eIBxHCqKL+Nw/XWs69ipaqwkF2USAAAAlC7QDA==

Global Food Prices About To Break An All Time High

Inflation in emerging markets is hitting food prices hard, and now we have raw data from the UN to confirm.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-un-food-price-index-2010-12

America Bails Out A Thankless World

So America has once again saved the rest of the civilized world — this time financially. But don't expect to hear many thank-yous from the recipients of trillions in secret Federal Reserve cash.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/555577/201012021902/America-Bails-Out-A-Thankless-World.htm

Government can’t print money properly

Now this is interesting. Was this a mistake, a heist or a way to remove US dollars from the system?


As a metaphor for our troubled economic and financial era -- and the government's stumbling response -- this one's hard to beat. You can't stimulate the economy via the money supply, after all, if you can't print the money correctly.

Because of a problem with the presses, the federal government has shut down production of its flashy new $100 bills, and has quarantined more than 1 billion of them -- more than 10 percent of all existing U.S. cash -- in a vault in Fort Worth, Texas, reports CNBC.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101206/us_yblog_thelookout/government-cant-print-money-properly;_ylt=AhAYvdfipB.tOnoQMmiSNCms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNmZXBpN2tyBGFzc2V0A3libG9nX3RoZWxvb2tvdXQvMjAxMDEyMDYvZ292ZXJubWVudC1jYW50LXByaW50LW1vbmV5LXByb3Blcmx5BHBvcwM4BHNlYwN5bl9tb3N0X3BvcHVsYXIEc2xrA2dvdmVybm1lbnRjYQ--#mwpphu-container

Consumer Price Inflation: The Wolf at the Door

And things must be heating up over here in the USA, too, as James Turk of The Free Gold Money Report notes that “since the date of its March 18, 2009 QE announcement, the CRB Continuing Commodity Index has risen 61.7%. Gold has risen 54.0%, while the US Dollar Index has dropped -7.2%.”

http://dailyreckoning.com/consumer-price-inflation-the-wolf-at-the-door/

A Day of Reckoning

One European country after another has been forced to swallow painful and abrupt spending cuts after years of borrowing too much. That borrowing spree came to an ugly end in Greece where the public reacted angrily when the government had to cut pensions and other spending.

And many worry that the U.S. is headed in the same direction.

And he notes that being that far in debt sends us down a dark economic road. "We do face a future that looks like stagnation, high unemployment, low wage growth, and a real problem with inflation and high interest rates."

"And we don't have any money left over," says economist Doug Holtz-Eakin. "So that things we think of as government -- building roads, educating our kids, national defense and securing the borders -- there's no money for that."

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/12/02/day-reckoning

America’s Leading Export: Inflation

Inflation is on everyone’s lips these days…everyone in Asia, that is. Because Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke is so busy pumping up the US money supply to battle a perceived deflationary threat here at home, he is putting pressure on overseas economies to print money at the same pace, in order to prevent their currencies from appreciating against the dollar and, thereby, become less “competitive.” The mechanics of all this are a bit complicated, but suffice it to say that the US is “exporting inflation.”

http://dailyreckoning.com/americas-leading-export-inflation/

Rice May Triple in 18 Months as Supplies Tighten

Rice, the staple food of more than three billion people, may as much as triple in 18 months as flooding in exporters including Thailand tightens supplies and demand climbs, according to Duxton Asset Management Pte.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-01/rice-may-triple-in-18-months-as-supplies-tighten-duxton-s-peter-forecasts.html

Federal Reserve reveals trillions dished out to world banks to aid financial crisis

The Federal Reserve has revealed details of the trillions of dollars it gave in emergency aid to U.S. and foreign banks during the financial crisis.
New documents show it paid out a staggering $1.5trillion (almost £1trillion) to British banks - over a third of the total money lent - in an effort to prop up the financial sector.

The Fed dished out $2.2trillion to banking giant Citigroup, $2.1trillion to Merrill Lynch and $2trillion to Morgan Stanley.
In addition, payments have also be made to Bear Stearns ($960billion), Bank of America ($887billion), Goldman Sachs ($615billion), JPMorgan Chase ($178billion) and Wells Fargo ($154billion).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1334929/Federal-Reserve-reveals-trillions-dished-world-banks-aid-financial-crisis.html

Euro slide gathers pace on debt crisis fears

The currency fell to $1.2997 against the dollar during trading on Tuesday morning, its lowest point in two months although it later clawed back losses after US consumer confidence brightened in November to the highest level in five months.

One area of concern is that Spain’s economy is twice as big as that of Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined, prompting fears the euro region’s €750bn safety net may not be big enough if the country requires aid.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8170267/Euro-slide-gathers-pace-on-debt-crisis-fears.html

Mounting State Debts Stoke Fears of Looming Crisis

The State of Illinois is still paying off billions in bills that it got from schools and social service providers last year. Arizona recently stopped paying for certain organ transplants for people in its Medicaid program. States are releasing prisoners early, more to cut expenses than to reward good behavior. And in Newark, the city laid off 13 percent of its police officers last week.

While next year could be even worse, there are bigger, longer-term risks, financial analysts say. Their fear is that even when the economy recovers, the shortfalls will not disappear, because many state and local governments have so much debt — several trillion dollars’ worth, with much of it off the books and largely hidden from view —that it could overwhelm them in the next few years.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40514947/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times

Mystery trader captures 80pc of London's copper market

The unknown buyer has been building up the dominant position since at least last week, putting a squeeze on the market.

According to the rules of the London Metal Exchange, the trader must lend out copper if it holds between 50pc and 80pc of the total to maintain day-to-day liquidity in the market. The trader is currently lending at a 0.5pc premium to the cash price.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/8178797/Mystery-trader-captures-80pc-of-Londons-copper-market.html

The U.S. Economy: Stand by for more worse news

http://www.opinion-maker.org/2010/11/the-u-s-economy-stand-by-for-more-worse-news/?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=AgVmUkD3hmJGXpNCdZqZQsqfpPMQAAAAzRyTCw==

More than 8 million drop out of credit card use

An analysis by credit reporting agency TransUnion found that use of general purpose credit cards bearing MasterCard or Visa logos, or issued by Discover or American Express, fell more than 11 percent in the third quarter, compared with the July to September period last year.

About 62 million people now have an active card, compared with 70 million a year ago.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/More-than-8-million-drop-out-apf-2027074900.html?x=0

China’s gold imports surge fivefold

The surge, which comes as Chinese investors look for insurance against rising inflation and currency appreciation, puts Beijing on track to overtake India as the world’s largest consumer of gold and a significant force in global gold prices.

The size of the imports – more than 209 tonnes of gold during the first 10 months of the year, a fivefold increase from an estimate of 45 tonnes last year – was revealed on Thursday. In the past, China has kept the volume secret.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9742847e-fe3e-11df-abac-00144feab49a.html#axzz171Ea6BLb

Fed aid in financial crisis went beyond U.S. banks to industry, foreign firms

The Fed's efforts to prop up the financial sector reached across a broad spectrum of the economy, benefiting stalwarts of American industry including General Electric and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, Harley-Davidson and Toyota. The central bank's aid programs also supported U.S. subsidiaries of banks based in East Asia, Europe and Canada while rescuing money-market mutual funds held by millions of Americans.

The biggest users of the Fed lending programs were some of the world's largest banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Swiss-based UBS and Britain's Barclays, according to more than 21,000 loan records released Wednesday under new financial regulatory legislation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/01/AR2010120106870.html

Why Owning Cash Is More Speculative Than Owning Gold

This sums up the problem. Instead of gold, people commonly think of paper money as the only medium of exchange and as a store of value; cash is after all their unit of account. They see the gold price rising when they should be seeing the value of paper money falling. Because cash is everyone’s unit of account it is wrongly seen as the ultimate risk-free asset. This is also the fund manager’s approach to investment: his/her investment returns are calculated in paper money, so she/he cannot account for a superior class of asset.

http://www.munknee.com/2010/12/why-owning-cash-is-more-speculative-than-owning-gold/

US Ready to Back Bigger EU Stability Fund

"There are a lot of people talking about that. I think the European Commission has talked about that," said the U.S. official, commenting on enlarging the 750 billion euro ($980 billion) EU/IMF European stability fund. "It is up to the Europeans. We will certainly support using the IMF in these circumstances."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40454469

Fed ID's companies that used crisis aid programs

New documents show that the most loan and other aid for U.S. institutions over time went to Citigroup ($2.2 trillion), followed by Merrill Lynch ($2.1 trillion), Morgan Stanley ($2 trillion), Bear Stearns ($960 billion), Bank of America ($887 billion), Goldman Sachs ($615 billion), JPMorgan Chase ($178 billion) and Wells Fargo ($154 billion).

Foreign banks also benefited from the Fed's aid. They included Swiss bank UBS, which borrowed more than $165 billion, Deutsche Bank ($97 billion) and the Royal Bank of Scotland ($92 billion).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101201/ap_on_bi_ge/us_fed_crisis_lending

European banks took big slice of Fed aid---AMAZING

Foreign banks were among the biggest beneficiaries of the $3,300bn in emergency credit provided by the Federal Reserve during the crisis, according to new data on the extraordinary efforts of the US authorities to save the global financial system.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4dd95e42-fd6d-11df-a049-00144feab49a.html#axzz16wOOtIT9

Fed made $9 trillion in emergency overnight loans

WOW---this is AMAZING!!!

The Federal Reserve made $9 trillion in overnight loans to major banks and Wall Street firms during the financial crisis, according to newly revealed data released Wednesday.

The loans were made through a special loan program set up by the Fed in the wake of the Bear Stearns collapse in March 2008 to keep the nation's bond markets trading normally.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/01/news/economy/fed_reserve_data_release/index.htm?hpt=T2

Spain could be forced to seek a bail-out within months, warns Barclays

The weight of bank debt needing refinancing next year could threaten Spain's solvency and force it to become the next European country to seek a bail-out, according to a report from the investment banking arm of Barclays.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8163705/Spain-could-be-forced-to-seek-a-bail-out-within-months-warns-Barclays.html

Save The Dollar, Not The Fed

The problem with government is that when it isn't benefiting politicians, bureaucrats and special interests at the expense of everyone else, its handy work is aimed at the symptoms of problems rather than at the problems themselves. This misdirection not only masks the true cause of problems it also exacerbates them, which, as Ronald Reagan said, makes government part of the problem, not the solution. The more problems government attempts to solve, the more new problems it creates for itself to solve, a sort of bureaucratic perpetual motion machine.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/24/dollar-inflation-federal-reserve-opinions-contributors-lawrence-hunter.html?boxes=Homepagelighttop

Pension reserve funds to be spent on banks

UP to €15 billion from the National Pensions Reserve Fund, set aside when the Celtic Tiger was still roaring, is likely to be used to recapitalise three of the country’s banks.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/home/pension-reserve-funds-to-be-spent-on-banks-137796.html

Caterpillar issues first note in Chinese currency

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- A finance subsidiary of heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. will issue its first-ever medium-term note that is denominated in the Chinese currency, the yuan.

Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. said Wednesday that the issuance was conducted in Hong Kong for institutional investors and totaled 1 billion yuan, or about $150 million. The issuance is at a coupon rate of 2 percent, maturing in December 2012.

Cat Financial said its transaction is one of the first yuan-denominated issuances of this size by a multinational company. The company will use proceeds from the deal to fund Cat Financial as it provides competitive financing options for Caterpillar customers in China through its subsidiary, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Caterpillar-issues-first-note-apf-3193389494.html?x=0

Silver Shortages Accelerate As Wholesale Supplies Plunge:

Is the Kriger/Keiser "Short Squeeze JPM to Oblivion" plan working? Judging by the wholesale availability of silver (or lack thereof) the answer is a resound yes. In Coin Updates News we read that "as of today, there are no longer any regular wholesale supplies of the 1 ounce through 100 ounce silver rounds and bars available for immediate delivery. It may be possible to locate incidental quantities of some product, but most wholesalers are now promising two to four weeks delivery to allow time for the silver to be fabricated."

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/silver-shortages-accelerate-wholesale-supplies-plunge-kriegerkesier-1-jp-morgan-0

BOB RUBIN: "US In Terribly Dangerous Territory," Bond Market May Be Headed For "Implosion"

Warning of the risk of an "implosion" in the bond market, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says the soaring federal budget deficit and the Fed's quantitative easing are putting the U.S. in "terribly dangerous territory."

Rubin, who issued a similar warning about the bond market at The FT's "Future of Finance" conference in October, said Congress' vote on raising the deficit ceiling next spring could be the "trigger" for a rout in the Treasury market. Several Republican and Tea Party candidates vowed to not increase the government's debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to sharp cuts in spending that may not be politically tenable.

http://www.businessinsider.com/rubin-bond-market-implosion-2010-11

Why You Should Save Your Nickels – Massive Inflation Ahead

What is inflation you may ask? Rather than explain using complicated economic terms and charts I will show you first hand. Allow us to take a time machine back to the year 1960. A used car costs close to $800, a gallon of gas $0.31, a gallon of milk $0.49, and the cost of a new home was a mere $16,000. Reach into anyone’s pocket at that time and you will find something very different than you would today…Real Money. Quarter’s and dime’s were both made of 90% silver. By today’s current silver prices ($16.50 / oz) a single quarter would be worth about $3.00 and a dime would be about $1.20. Now just imagine if you could return to today’s time with a pocket full of 1960′s quarters and dimes.

http://recessionreadyamerica.com/2009/09/why-you-should-save-your-nickels-massive-inflation-ahead/

Dollar to Become World's `Weakest Currency,' Drop to 75 Yen JPMorgan Says

The dollar may fall below 75 yen next year as it becomes the world’s “weakest currency” due to the Federal Reserve’s monetary-easing program, according to JPMorgan & Chase Co.

The Fed said on Nov. 3 it will buy $75 billion of Treasuries a month through June to cap borrowing costs. The central bank has kept its benchmark rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008. The Bank of Japan on Oct. 5 cut its key rate to a range of zero to 0.1 percent and set up a 5 trillion yen ($59.9 billion) asset-purchase fund.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-18/dollar-to-become-world-s-weakest-currency-drop-to-75-yen-jpmorgan-says.html

Food price index jumps 10.30%

India's food price index rose 10.30%, while the fuel price index climbed 10.57% in the year to Nov. 6, government data on Thursday showed.

In the prior week, annual food and fuel inflation stood at 12.30% and 10.67%, respectively.

The primary articles price index was up 13.30% in the latest week compared with an annual rise of 14.87% a week earlier.

The wholesale price index , the most widely watched gauge of prices in India, rose 8.58% in October from a year earlier compared with 8.62% in September, data on Monday showed.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/food-price-index-jumps-1030-_499955.html

China to subsidize food after price spike

BEIJING – China's government announced food subsidies for poor families Wednesday as it tries to cool a double-digit surge in prices that communist leaders worry might stir unrest.

The Cabinet promised to ease shortages of vegetables and grain that helped push up food prices by more than 10 percent in October. It promised more supplies of diesel to end fuel shortages that have disrupted trucking and industry.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101117/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_inflation

WHAT’S REALLY BEHIND QE2?

The deficit hawks are circling, hovering over QE2, calling it just another inflationary bank bailout. But unlike QE1, QE2 is not about saving the banks. It’s about funding the federal deficit without increasing the interest tab, something that may be necessary in this gridlocked political climate just to keep the government functioning.

On November 15, the Wall Street Journal published an open letter to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke from 23 noted economists, professors and fund managers, urging him to abandon his new “quantitative easing” policy called QE2. The letter said:

We believe the Federal Reserve’s large-scale asset purchase plan (so-called “quantitative easing”) should be reconsidered and discontinued. . . . The planned asset purchases risk currency debasement and inflation, and we do not think they will achieve the Fed’s objective of promoting employment.

http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/qe2.php

Ireland fears civil unrest as bank crisis deepens

One of Ireland's biggest trade unions warned today that the nation was on the brink of civil unrest as government officials negotiated a multibillion euro bailout for the country's ailing banks.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union said further "draconian" public sector cuts of €15bn (£13bn) over four years could lead to street disorder. It urged a campaign of civil disobedience unless the taoiseach, Brian Cowen, calls an immediate election. An emergency cabinet tomorrow will discuss the new round of cuts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/20/ireland-union-devoy-bank-crisis

Fed Warns of 4.25 Million More Foreclosures Through 2012

The Federal Reserve expects about 4.25 million more foreclosure filings through 2012, and problems with the home-seizure process may threaten the U.S. housing and economic recovery, Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke said in prepared testimony.

http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Fed-Warns-Foreclosures/2010/11/18/id/377430?s=al&promo_code=B263-1

Silver Sales to Surge as Investors Seek Protection, Perth Mint Forecasts

Silver-coin sales will climb as investors seek to protect their wealth from weakening currencies, according to the Perth Mint, producer of about 6 percent of the world’s gold bullion.

The mint’s outlook adds to signs that global demand for silver, which trades for about 50 times less than gold per ounce, will increase. The Royal Canadian Mint said last week that silver-coin sales will jump more than 50 percent this year. The Perth Mint may match that gain, Currie said in an interview.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-22/silver-sales-to-surge-as-investors-seek-protection-perth-mint-forecasts.html

Pessimistic Fed to slash growth forecasts

The US Federal Reserve will slash its growth forecasts and predict higher unemployment when it releases updated economic projections this week.

The Fed will release the latest forecasts made by members of its rate-setting open market committee on Tuesday, alongside the minutes of their November meeting, giving a complete picture of why they launched a new $600bn round of asset purchases.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b92ecb0c-f596-11df-99d6-00144feab49a.html#axzz15yI1tXii

Bernanke Takes Aim at China

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke fired back amid criticism at home and abroad of the Fed's easy-money policies, arguing that China and others are causing global problems by preventing their currencies from strengthening as their economies boom.

By keeping their currencies artificially weak, Mr. Bernanke argued in Frankfurt Friday, China and other emerging markets are allowing their economies to overheat, preventing trade imbalances from adjusting and worsening what he called a "two-speed" global recovery.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703374304575623144102357582.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

Gary Shilling Sees `Significant' Stock Selloff Within 12 Months

“I don’t think it’s enough to make a great deal of difference,” Shilling, 73, president of the investment research firm A. Gary Shilling & Co. in Springfield, New Jersey, said in a telephone interview. “The earlier QE1 didn’t and I don’t think this will, either. The economy is weak and it doesn’t take very much of a shock to push it into negative territory. I don’t think that’s enough to justify where stocks are now.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-12/gary-shilling-sees-equity-selloff-within-year-as-fed-fails-to-fix-economy.html

Gap, Wal-Mart Clothing Costs Rise on `Terrifying' Cotton Prices

Gap Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and other U.S. retailers may have to pay Chinese suppliers as much as 30 percent more for clothes as surging cotton prices boost costs.

“It’s a little terrifying to deal with cotton suppliers now,” said Vicky Wu, a sales manager at Suzhou Unitedtex Enterprise Ltd., a closely held, Jiangsu province-based clothes maker that counts Gap and J.C. Penney among its clients.

Cotton futures in China have surged more than 70 percent this year and were at a record earlier as the global economy emerged from recession, allowing people to spend more on clothes. Production of the fiber in China, the world’s biggest user and importer, is forecast to lag behind demand for a 12th year, cutting its stockpile to the smallest since 1995, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-16/gap-wal-mart-clothing-suppliers-raise-prices-on-terrifying-cotton-costs.html

Secret Walmart Survey Shows Inflation Already Here

There might not have been a second round of quantitative easing, if Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shopped at Walmart.

A new pricing survey of products sold at the world’s largest retailer [WMT 54.13 -0.21 (-0.39%) ] showed a 0.6 percent price increase in just the last two months, according to MKM Partners. At that rate, prices would be close to four percent higher a year from now, double the Fed’s mandate.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40135092

World economy faces 'difficult and dangerous times' warns Mervyn King

The world economy still faces "difficult and dangerous times" Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned today, although Britain's economic recovery is expected to remain on track.

Economists said the Bank's quarterly inflation report, published this morning, left the door open for more quantitative easing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/10/world-economy-difficult-dangerous-times

Bernanke's Cowardice Has Sealed Our Fate

The day after the election, the Federal Reserve launched QE2, the second round of Quantitative Easing. This public relations euphemism attempts to hide the fact that the Fed is "printing money" (the Fed actually does it electronically these days). "Cheating, debasing, and inflating," as in stealing from the public, is a more accurate description.

Bernanke indicated that from 600 to 850 billion additional dollars would be created. To put this in perspective, the TARP package was in this range. The total Federal Reserve balance sheet was $829 billion at the end of 2004 and only $869 billion in August 2007. At the end of 2009, it had ballooned to over $2,200 billion. This announcement means it is headed to $3,000 billion (3 trillion).

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/11/bernankes_cowardice_has_sealed.html

Markets alert for credit crunch 2.0

Is there a second credit crunch looming? Between now and the end of 2012, UK banks and building societies must find ways of refinancing between £750bn and £800bn of lending. That's a number approaching half GDP.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeremy-warner/8118430/Markets-alert-for-credit-crunch-2.0.html

Bernanke's worst nightmare: Ron Paul

Ben Bernanke has had his hands full since his first day on the job as Federal Reserve chairman nearly five years ago. It's about to get even tougher.

His harshest critic on Capitol Hill, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, is about to become one of his overseers.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/12/news/economy/Bernanke_Paul/index.htm?hpt=T2

G-20 faces urgent task of averting trade war

Leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies faced the urgent task at their summit Friday of resolving a U.S.-China currency dispute that has raised the specter of a global trade war.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/G20-faces-urgent-task-of-apf-3884406748.html?x=0

Will You Be Able To Heat Your Home This Winter? Millions Of American Familes Will Not

Will you have a warm house to come home to this winter? If so, you should consider yourself to be very fortunate. With the United States experiencing the highest levels of long-term unemployment that it has seen since the Great Depression, millions of Americans families are simply out of money. All across America this winter, families are going to be forced to make some heart breaking decisions. For many, the choice will come down to either heating their home or putting food on the table. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, more than 10 million U.S. households will not be able to afford to heat their homes this winter without assistance, which would be a new all-time record. So, if you are in a position to easily heat your home this winter, be very, very thankful.

http://www.benzinga.com/10/11/587191/will-you-be-able-to-heat-your-home-this-winter-millions-of-american-familes-will-not

Modern day debt serfdom and rising prices not seen through the consumer price index.

Most Americans enjoy a good cup of coffee. Yet very few realize that coffee futures are now up over 50 percent for 2010. Creative packaging that includes smaller quantities but offers the same price helps delude many Americans into thinking their dollar still has the purchasing power of better days. This all occurs in a relatively subtle and typically hidden process. Cotton for example is now up 90 percent for the year. Corn is up over 40 percent. It would be one thing if this was all based purely on demand but more of this increase in price is coming from the Federal Reserve pursuing actions that are punishing the U.S. Dollar. The below chart is rather startling and shows that even though the CPI has remained weak, principally because of the crashing housing market, many other areas are seeing incredible price increases.

http://www.mybudget360.com/dark-ages-for-a-modern-middle-class-modern-day-debt-serfdom-and-rising-prices-not-seen/

No Inflation? Grocery Stores, Gas Prices Tell Different Story

From grocery stores to gas stations and most other consumer stops in between, price inflation is shaping up to be the biggest economic story ahead.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40132000

The Price Of Oil Is Going Up, The Price Of Food Is Going Up And Now Here Comes Quantitative Easing

Millions of American families are about to be broadsided by rising gas and food prices and most of them don't even realize it. You see, most Americans stop listening when terms such as "quantitative easing" and "agricultural commodities" are brought up, but when millions more Americans are faced with a choice of either feeding their families or heating their homes this winter, maybe then they will start listening. Even before the Federal Reserve announced the latest round of quantitative easing, the price of oil has been going up and the price of food has been going up. Now that the Federal Reserve has announced plans to flood the economy with hundreds of billions more dollars, the inflation monster is going to get even hungrier. The household budgets of scores of American families are going to be stretched beyond the breaking point as prices rise. Meanwhile, the vast majority of U.S. employers will not be giving their workers raises to keep up with inflation. After all, why should they? If someone wants to quit there are hordes of unemployed Americans out there who would just love to take that job in a second.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-price-of-oil-is-going-up-the-price-of-food-is-going-up-and-now-here-comes-quantitative-easing

Food Sellers Grit Teeth, Raise Prices

Packagers and Supermarkets Pressured to Pass Along Rising Costs, Even as Consumers Pinch Pennies

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/10_Food_Water/101104.foodsellers.grit.teeth.html

Food price fears as US warns on crop yields

The spectre of inflation loomed over agricultural markets after the US slashed key crop forecasts and warned of shortfalls in grains.

The agriculture department on Tuesday cut estimates of US corn yields for a third successive month, forecast record soyabean exports to China and warned of the slimmest cotton stocks since 1925.

"The combined production shortfalls and dramatic potential stock drawdowns mean a much tighter supply picture than just a few months ago," the agency said in a separate grains report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/11/09/food.price.fears.crop.ft/index.html?hpt=T2

Gold, Agriculture Are `Safest Long Positions,' Deutsche Bank's Lewis Says

Precious metals including gold and agricultural commodities may extend gains in the coming months as a declining dollar and tight supplies boost demand, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

A lot of agricultural commodities including corn, soybeans and wheat are “still cheap” even after recent rallies, Michael Lewis, global head of commodities research, said in an interview. The surge in gold, which touched a record this week, is not yet extreme, Lewis said yesterday in Tokyo.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-11/gold-farm-commodities-to-extend-rallies-deutsche-bank-s-lewis-forecasts.html

Rising food prices cause headaches for local stores

General Mills says come next week, 25 percent of its cereals will see a single digit price increase, the first in three-and-a-half years.

Kraft foods is looking at price increases on almost half of it's products.

Corn, which is in nearly everything, is at a 26 month high price in commodities.

Soybeans are priced higher, sugar is at a demand it hasn't seen in 20 years and pork is expected to jump up in cost by 4.5 percent.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=881411&catid=14

Greenspan warns over weaker dollar

The US is pursuing a policy of weakening its currency which is driving up exchange rates in the rest of the world, according to Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Writing in today’s Financial Times ahead of the G20 meeting in Seoul, Mr Greenspan argues that with China also holding down the renminbi, the upward pressure on currencies elsewhere risks a return to widespread trade protectionism.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b6e3d086-ed12-11df-9912-00144feab49a.html#axzz14wHk2SXy

Bankruptcy of U.S. is ‘Mathematical Certainty,’ Says Former CEO of Nation's 10th Largest Bank

John Allison, who for two decades served as chairman and CEO of BB&T, the nation's 10th largest bank, told CNSNews.com it is a “mathematical certainty” that the United States government will go bankrupt unless it dramatically changes its fiscal direction.

Allison likened what he sees as the predictable future bankruptcy of the United States to the problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose insolvency he also said was foreseeable to those who studied their business practices and financial situation.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/former-bbt-ceo-bankruptcy-us-mathematica

14 Pieces Of Bad Economic News

One Piece Of Moderately Good Economic News And 14 Pieces Of Bad Economic News That Are So Horrifying You Might Not Want To Read Them Standing Up

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/one-piece-of-moderately-good-economic-news-and-14-pieces-of-bad-economic-news-that-are-so-horrifying-you-might-not-want-to-read-them-standing-up

The Coming Fiscal Catastrophe in the United States

This phenomenon arises from a straightforward application of conventional supply-side economics. Government borrowing absorbs private saving that would otherwise be used for capital formation. The diminished capital stock reduces productivity, growth, and competitiveness.


http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2010/11/sullivan-the-.html

Food price fears as US warns on crop yields

The spectre of inflation loomed over agricultural markets after the US slashed key crop forecasts and warned of shortfalls in grains.

The agriculture department on Tuesday cut estimates of US corn yields for a third successive month, forecast record soyabean exports to China and warned of the slimmest cotton stocks since 1925.

“The combined production shortfalls and dramatic potential stock drawdowns mean a much tighter supply picture than just a few months ago,” the agency said in a separate grains report.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/249211fc-ec1d-11df-9e11-00144feab49a.html#axzz14r1QJG56

The Growing Threat of Food Insecurity in America

When discussing the Great Recession, there are two standards for measuring its impact on the average household. The first is unemployment, which is currently hovering at 9.6%, down from a high of 10.1% in October 2009. The second is foreclosures, which hit a 50-year high in 2007 and have risen every year since then.

For much of the past three years, the recession narrative has been told in terms of these two dire numbers, showing how a failing economy has made it harder and harder to cling to the middle-class ideal of homeownership and a steady job. Recently, however, a third, even more disturbing figure has gained relevance: the number of Americans on food stamps.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/food-insecurity-in-america/19703458/

Germany, China, Brazil and South Africa have criticised US plans to pump $600bn (£373bn) into the US economy.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the US policy was "clueless" and would create "extra problems for the world".

The US Federal Reserve could weaken the US dollar and hurt exports to America.

China's Central Bank head Zhou Xiaochuan urged global currency reforms, while South Africa said developing countries would suffer most.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11697483

Zoellick Suggests Return To Gold Standard

In a commentary piece in Sunday's Financial Times, Robert Zoellick laid out five effective reforms, and added that a new system, "should also consider employing gold as an international reference point of market expectations about inflation, deflation and future currency values. Although textbooks may view gold as the old money, markets are using gold as an alternative monetary asset today.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/08/gold-standard-zoellick-markets-currencies-g20-dollar-world-bank.html?boxes=Homepagechannels

The age of the dollar is drawing to a close

It's a strange, Alice in Wonderland world that sees one of the planet's richest economies borrowing from one of the poorest to pay for goods way beyond the reach of the people actually producing them. But that process, in effect, came to define the relationship between America and China.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeremy-warner/8111918/The-age-of-the-dollar-is-drawing-to-a-close.html

Right Now, A Complete Collapse Of The Financial System Is Not Out Of The Question

In recent weeks, the explanation for the financial and economic crisis that has gripped the world economy has shifted sharply from deregulation and lack of governmental oversight of financial institutions to fraud and criminal activity. In truth, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation began to warn of an “epidemic” of mortgage fraud back in 2004,

http://www.businessinsider.com/complete-collapse-not-out-of-the-question-2010-11

1Homeland Security To “Regionalize” Emergency Supplies Over Next 90 Days

According to some reports, there has been an acceleration within the emergency planning elements of our government, as if they are anticipating some type of event in the near future. Anecdotal evidence from freeze dried food manufacturers and private bunker construction firms indicates that the government is rapidly purchasing supplies, often leading to shortages for civilians trying to do the same.

http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/homeland-security-to-regionalize-emergency-supplies-over-next-90-days_11012010

Jim Sinclair - Gold Bottomed, Dollar Index Headed to 56

An interview with Jim Sinclair...

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2010/11/3_Jim_Sinclair_-_Gold_Bottomed,_Dollar_Index_Headed_to_56.html

When the Price of Silver Doubles in a Month

“Are you buying gold, silver and oil in fearful response to the Federal Reserve creating so much money that the wholesale debasement of the purchasing power of the dollar, popularly perceived as inflation in prices, is going to cause the gigantic inflation in consumer prices that was actually predicted earlier in the same sentence, spooky and Nostradamus-like, thus proving everything I said?”

http://www.finance-insurance-loans.com/finance/mortgage/when-the-price-of-silver-doubles-in-a-month/

Doubts grow over wisdom of Ben Bernanke 'super-put'

The early verdict is in on the US Federal Reserve's $600bn of fresh money through quantitative easing. Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds jumped 20 basis points to 4.07pc.

!!!READ THE LAST 3 PARAGRAPHS!!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8111153/Doubts-grow-over-wisdom-of-Ben-Bernanke-super-put.html

Citi: Central Banks Are Going To Start Dumping Dollars In The Coming Weeks

With FOMC out of the way and largely meeting expectations, investors are looking for what comes next. We think that reserve managers will contribute to the next stage of USD weakness as QE2 confirms their worst fears about the Fed’s intentions and the quality of their reserves portfolios. To exacerbate their concerns, Global reserves have been growing very rapidly, on a headline basis about 11% over the last year and now are close to USD9trn (Figure 1). While Chinese reserves growth gets a large amount of attention, other countries reserves are growing similarly rapidly.

http://www.businessinsider.com/citi-central-bank-reserve-selling-2010-11?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=IPKfojC3PU7Zp1dAaUNYYroeXQkHAAAAlmKqBA==

China tees up G20 showdown with US

China has curtly dismissed a US proposal to address global economic imbalances, setting the stage for a potential showdown at next week’s G20 meeting in Seoul.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/03567a28-e8a3-11df-a383-00144feab49a.html#axzz14YXljYT4

Dollar at Risk of Crashing, Triggering Inflation:

Federal Reserve policies have put the US dollar the risk of crashing, which will hammer consumers through higher prices, strategist Axel Merk told CNBC.

Investors should brace for a much weaker dollar [.DXY 76.59 0.71 (+0.94%) ] by diversifying out of the greenback and into currencies of other countries, said Merk, chairman and chief investment officer of Merk Investments, of Portland, Maine.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40007252

Gold, Silver Surge After Goldman Recommends Buying Gold... Again

Gold continues its push to $1,400. The catalyst: Goldman's David Greely has just released a report on gold saying that: "we expect that gold prices will continue to rise over the next 12 months to our $1650/toz target as US monetary policy remains accommodative and US real interest rates remain low. Further, the Federal Reserve’s return to quantitative easing and the movement of gold prices to these new record highs could spark renewed investor demand for gold, which has been remarkably subdued in recent months. This represents upside risk to both our forecasts and to gold prices." As Goldman's last call on gold marked a temporary peak in the appreciation, as we expected, this time the top ticking effect will likely be lost. We believe that $1,400 gold to be breached as soon as today.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gold-jumps-after-goldman-recommends-buying-gold-again

The BBC bunker they don't want you to know about

It all makes sense, once you know what you're looking at. The 200 acres of thickly wooded hillside, inaccessible by public footpath; the radio mast strategically poking out on top; the hidden entrance, just off the A44 near Evesham, in Worcestershire, surrounded by CCTV cameras and a high-security barrier. But to the passing motorist, there is nothing about Wood Norton Hall to identify it as the site of the BBC's secret nuclear bunker.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/the-bbc-bunker-they-dont-want-you-to-know-about-2121187.html

Freddie Mac Says Net Loss $4.1 Billion

Freddie Mac, the second-largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Wednesday said ongoing weakness in housing resulted in a $4.1 billion third-quarter net loss and another draw from the Treasury to maintain positive net worth.

Costs may increase "significantly" as snags in the foreclosure processes at major loan servicing companies increase delays in working with troubled borrowers and selling properties, it warned.


http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/11/03/freddie-mac-says-net-loss-billion/

30 Reasons Why People Should Be Getting Really Nervous About The State Of The U.S. Economy

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/30-reasons-why-people-should-be-getting-really-nervous-about-the-state-of-the-u-s-economy

Caught In A Lie: Bernanke Promised Congress The Federal Reserve Would Not Monetize The Debt But Now That Is Exactly What Is Happening

On June 3rd, 2009 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke promised the U.S. Congress that the Federal Reserve would not monetize the debt of the U.S. government. On November 3rd, 2010 the Federal Reserve announced a massive quantitative easing plan which will involve the purchase of 600 billion dollars of U.S. Treasury securities by the middle of 2011. Creating 600 billion dollars out of thin air and using them to buy up U.S. government securities is monetizing the debt. So Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been caught in a lie. Will we ever be able to trust a single word that he says ever again?

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/caught-in-a-lie-bernanke-promised-congress-the-federal-reserve-would-not-monetize-the-debt-but-now-that-is-exactly-what-is-happening

U.S. home prices expected to slide another 8%

Nevertheless, the housing market still faces many problems: a weak economy, sluggish hiring, tight mortgage underwriting, falling home prices, and slowing sales.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-home-prices-expected-to-cnnm-28872967.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

How Western Powers May Have Blown It

QE2 risks currency wars and the end of dollar hegemony ... As the US Federal Reserve meets today to decide whether its next blast of quantitative easing should be $1 trillion or a more cautious $500bn, it does so knowing that China and the emerging world view the policy as an attempt to drive down the dollar. The Fed's "QE2" risks accelerating the demise of the dollar-based currency system, perhaps leading to an unstable tripod with the euro and yuan, or a hybrid gold standard, or a multi-metal "bancor" along lines proposed by John Maynard Keynes in the 1940s. China's commerce ministry fired an irate broadside against Washington on Monday. "The continued and drastic US dollar depreciation recently has led countries including Japan, South Korea, and Thailand to intervene in the currency market, intensifying a 'currency war'. In the mid-term, the US dollar will continue to weaken and gaming between major currencies will escalate," it said. – UK Telegraph

http://www.thedailybell.com/1498/How-Western-Powers-May-Have-Blown-It.html

Quantitative Easing is Economic Suicide

The question being asked all across the world of business news is: Will QE2 be successful? Because this policy is literally economic suicide, the question becomes: Will the Federal Reserve be successful in the assisted economic suicide of the U.S. government? I find this an utterly appalling question -- which highlights the intellectual bankruptcy of government policymakers and the bankers who goad them onward.

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2010/11/03/quantitative_easing_is_economic_suicide_98740.html

Risk of Inflation, Potential 'Commodity Shock'

Rising inflation in emerging markets, coupled with marked increases in commodity prices, could hurt developed economies, as companies struggle to keep input costs down while seeing precious investment dollars heading overseas, analysts told CNBC.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39984721

Opium Wars Revisited: Will China Corner The Gold Market?

http://blogs.forbes.com/investor/2010/11/02/opium-wars-revisited-will-china-corner-the-gold-market/

Food Sellers Grit Teeth, Raise Prices

Packagers and Supermarkets Pressured to Pass Along Rising Costs, Even as Consumers Pinch Pennies

Prices of staples including milk, beef, coffee, cocoa and sugar have risen sharply in recent months. And food makers and retailers including McDonald's Corp., Kellogg Co. and Kroger Co. have begun to signal that they'll try to make consumers shoulder more of the higher costs for ingredients.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704506404575592313664715360.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Gold, silver surge as Fed move punishes dollar

Gold futures surged to a record close Thursday after investors used the U.S. Federal Reserve’s new $600 billion quantitative-easing program as a fresh reason to sell the U.S. dollar.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-rallies-as-price-drop-lures-investors-2010-11-03

Fed's Lockhart: Quantitative easing must be big

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said on Tuesday that further easing by the Fed has to be large enough to help boost demand, and purchases of $100 billion of securities a month would be a possibility.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69E28A20101019

China Plans to Reduce Its Exports of Minerals

HONG KONG — The Chinese government plans a further reduction, of up to 30 percent, next year in its quotas for exports of rare earth minerals, in an attempt to conserve dwindling reserves of the materials, the official newspaper China Daily said Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/business/global/19mineral.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

The 19 Countries Most Likely To Default: Ireland Surges Higher

Ireland's bank bailout and the failure of its austerity budget has been the big sovereign debt story since September.

This country's place on CMA Datavision's cumulative probability of default rankings has spiked as from 14th place in July, to 5th place by the end of Q3.

http://www.businessinsider.com/19-countries-most-likely-to-default-2010-10

27 Signs That The Standard Of Living For America’s Middle Class Is Dropping Like A Rock

Very Interesting

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is being rapidly assimilated into the emerging one world economy.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/205/391/27_Signs_That_The_Standard_Of_Living_For_Americas_Middle_Class_Is_Dropping_Like_A_Rock.html

Wal-Mart ends profit sharing with employees

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest private employer, plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions for its employees in a revamp of its benefits package that it says will give workers more chance to share in its financial success.

The discounter will replace profit-sharing starting in February with retirement plan contributions of up to 6 percent of pay -- as long as workers sign up and contribute an equal amount, Wal-Mart said in a memo it provided The Associated Press late Friday.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/WalMart-ends-profit-sharing-apf-3150722021.html?x=0

Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt “Situation

This sums it up...financial death spiral. No way out...

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/three-horrifying-facts-about-us-debt-%E2%80%9Csituation%E2%80%9D

Doug Casey on the Violence of the Storm, the Destruction of the Middle Class and the Coming Gold Standard

http://www.thedailybell.com/1436/Doug-Casey-on-the-Violence-of-the-Storm-the-Destruction-of-the-Middle-Class-and-the-Coming-Gold-Standard.html?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=Qe4DXLzF2Bhsxfu0B8FN9Fy2ArADAAAAXF99AQ==&bcsi_scan_filename=Doug-Casey-on-the-Violence-of-the-Storm-the-Destruction-of-the-Middle-Class-and-the-Coming-Gold-Standard.html

Far More Derivative Exposure Today Than Two Years Ago

Harold Bradley, chief investment officer for the Kauffman Foundation, discusses the increase in derivatives held by commercial banks with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and Herb Greenberg.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/10/06/kauffman_foundations_harold_bradley_risks_from_derivatives_look_terrifying.html

Investors see silver lining in economic gloom

Silver prices have risen 31pc in 2010 to a 30-year high, outperforming gold, equities and most base metals. On Tuesday, the gold-silver ratio dropped below 60 for the first time in 11 months.

The ratio varies wildly. In 1970, it was about 20 and it peaked at just under 100 in 1991. The average is around about 40 – and that is the key to any silver bull's argument. Historically, it appears that silver is undervalued in relation to gold, they argue.

In 2010, the ratio has been as high as 72, recorded in February, and is now just below 60. Many believe it could have further to fall.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/8039595/Investors-see-silver-lining-in-economic-gloom.html

Base metals are more precious by the week

Why are tin, copper, lead, zinc, aluminium and nickel so expensive at the moment and is the general base metals rally sustainable?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/8053986/Base-metals-are-more-precious-by-the-week.html

Gold coins and quantitative easing

Governments keep printing more money, hoping to ignite an economic barbeque. But cheap cash – also known as quantitative easing – burns more like a highway flare. You want slow-burning, steady value? That's gold, not greenbacks.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Daily-Reckoning/2010/1011/Gold-coins-and-quantitative-easing

Poor Crops, Soaring Demand, Currency Wars: A Recipe for Food Shortages

Prices for agricultural commodities spiked so much on Oct. 8 that they triggered daily movement limits on the Chicago exchange. Options markets saw prices for commodities like corn soar more than 13% during the day following reports of supply shortages around the world.

Commodity-oriented exchange-traded funds like the PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA) leaped as well. The ETF surged almost 10% over the previous week, with more than 6% of the gains registered on Friday alone.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/poor-crops-soaring-demand-currency-wars-a-recipe-for-food-sho/19667693/

Finance Chiefs Fail to Resolve Currency Spat as G-20 Splits

Leaders of the world economy failed to narrow differences over currencies as they turned to the International Monetary Fund to calm frictions that are already sparking protectionism.

Exchange rates dominated the IMF’s annual meeting in Washington on concern that officials are relying on cheaper currencies to aid growth, risking retaliatory devaluations and trade barriers. China was accused of undervaluing the yuan, while low interest rates in the U.S. and other rich nations were blamed for flooding emerging markets with capital.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-10/global-finance-chiefs-fail-to-resolve-exchange-rate-spat-as-g-20-splinters.html

Fed Undaunted by Uncertain Prospects for Money Printing

The U.S. Federal Reserve runs the risk of diminishing returns from its next round of money printing to amplify the subdued economic recovery, but that won't stop it from trying.

Minutes due Tuesday from the Fed's most recent policy-setting meeting may reflect some divisions among officials over whether to launch another round of asset purchases, known as quantitative easing.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39604937

Dollar set for sharp decline, Goldman forecasts

The dollar will embark on a sharp decline over the next 12 months, Goldman Sachs forecast on Wednesday, as policy makers in Washington look poised to press the trigger on another round of printing money.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/8047468/Dollar-set-for-sharp-decline-Goldman-forecasts.html

The Top-10 Budget-Deficit Time Bombs

If you've read the press releases being put out by Washington these days, you'd be convinced that the big bad Bush-caused recession of 2008-2009 is now safely beyond us.

Tain't so.

If fact, the hoary mess which began under the last days of Bush & Democrats guarantees that Obama & Democrats will continue to take us down the rat-hole of national bankruptcy.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35666

U. S. Treasury Department report to Congress: U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015

GREAT SITE

http://www.federalbudget.com/

Lear Capital: Origin of Gold vs. Silver Ratio

Discussed more and more, as silver prices rally, is the ratio in value of silver to gold. Currently sitting at 60 ounces silver being equal to 1 ounce gold, some say that ratio is headed much lower. Why the optimism? Perhaps history explains.

http://blog.learcapital.com/blog/lear-capital/0/0/lear-capital-origin-of-gold-vs-silver-ratio

David Morgan: Silver Overdone Now, But Headed Higher in 2011

Gold's record highs might steal all the headlines, but savvy investors know the real story lies in silver, where futures for December delivery topped $22/oz earlier this week—their highest levels in 30 years.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/229059-david-morgan-silver-overdone-now-but-headed-higher-in-2011?source=yahoo

Middle Class Slams Brakes on Spending

Middle-class Americans made their deepest spending cuts in more than two decades, slashing spending on such discretionary items as restaurant meals and alcohol during the recession.

Households in the middle fifth of the population sliced their average annual spending to $41,150 in 2009, the Labor Department said Tuesday in its annual spending breakdown. That was down 3.1% from 2007 and 3.5% from 2008, the steepest one-year drop since records began in 1984. The drop came even as those households' after-tax income remained relatively stable over the two years, at an average $45,199

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298504575534341401915382.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories

Soaring prices threaten new food crisis

Fears of a global food crisis swept the world’s commodity markets as prices for staples such as corn, rice and wheat spiralled after the US government warned of “dramatically” lower supplies.

An especially hot summer in the US, droughts in countries including Russia and Brazil and heavy rain in Canada and Europe have hit many grain and oilseed crops this year. This has raising concern of a severe squeeze in food supplies and a repeat of the 2007-08 food crisis.

EDITOR’S CHOICE
Lex: Commodities: self-defeating rally? - Oct-08In depth: Global food crisis - Oct-08Wheat and corn rise as Ukraine limits exports - Oct-07Russia put to the test by grain shortage - Oct-04Japan faces food pressure from China - Oct-04beyondbrics: Food file - Oct-05The US Department of Agriculture, in a closely watched report, predicted that the country’s stocks of corn would halve to their lowest levels in 14 years.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/12b06cee-d300-11df-9ae9-00144feabdc0.html

Dollar Falls Below 82 Yen for First Time Since 1995

The greenback was headed for a fourth weekly decline against the euro in the longest stretch of losses since December 2008 as investors speculated the Federal Reserve will debase the currency by stepping up purchases of government debt. The yen and Swiss franc rose today versus most major counterparts as investors sought easily traded alternatives to the dollar.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-08/dollar-falls-below-82-yen-for-first-time-since-1995-on-u-s-payroll-report.html

Chris Hedges: Zero Point of Systemic Collapse

We stand on the cusp of one of humanity’s most dangerous moments.

https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/88/chris-hedges.html

87% of cities are Less Able to meet fiscal needs compared to last year

Frightening Charts Show Record Low Revenue, Worst-Ever Austerity Measures For US Cities

http://www.businessinsider.com/record-low-revenue-record-austerity-measures-for-us-cities-2010-10#87-of-cities-are-less-able-to-meet-fiscal-needs-compared-to-last-year-1

$162 million in stimulus funds not disclosed

WASHINGTON — Recovery.gov promised transparency on how the government spends every dollar of stimulus money, but there's $162 million the website doesn't disclose.
Recipients of 352 federal stimulus contracts, grants and loans have failed to report how they spent the money, the status of their projects or how many jobs were funded, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-10-06-stimulus06_ST_N.htm

Fed Officials Mull Inflation as a Fix

The Federal Reserve spent the past three decades getting inflation low and keeping it there. But as the U.S. economy struggles and flirts with the prospect of deflation, some central bank officials are publicly broaching a controversial idea: lifting inflation above the Fed's informal target.

The rationale is that getting inflation up even temporarily would push "real" interest rates—nominal rates minus inflation—down, encouraging consumers and businesses to save less and to spend or invest more.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704689804575536391713801732.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Goldman Sachs Says U.S. Economy May Be `Fairly Bad'

“We see two main scenarios,” analysts led by Jan Hatzius, the New York-based chief U.S. economist at the company, wrote in an e-mail to clients. “A fairly bad one in which the economy grows at a 1 1/2 percent to 2 percent rate through the middle of next year and the unemployment rate rises moderately to 10 percent, and a very bad one in which the economy returns to an outright recession.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-06/oldman-sachs-says-u-s-economy-to-be-fairly-bad-recession-is-possible.html

Fear undermines America’s recovery

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4524339a-d17a-11df-96d1-00144feabdc0.html

The State of Silver: Metal's price has widespread impact

Ted Binion, the eccentric son of legendary casino owner Benny Binion, was right: Silver is a good store of wealth.

Binion hid several million dollars worth of silver coins in an underground vault in Pahrump. Rick Tabish and two others were arrested while trying to steal the treasure after Binion died in 1998. Tabish and Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, later were convicted of murder and found innocent in a second murder trial, but both were convicted in the silver theft.

http://www.lvrj.com/business/the-state-of-silver-104401593.html

Rumours aside, something big is about to happen04Oct10

As I type this, a flurry of activity is taking place within security and financial circles around the world. Normally, this would signify just another busy day in the hard-working quarters of modern defence and finance, however this time there is good reason to suspect that the world may be about to witness something historic.

http://bretthenebery.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/rumours-aside-something-big-is-about-to-happen/

How the Housing Crisis Will End the U.S.A. as We Know It

http://johngaltfla.com/blog3/2010/10/05/how-the-housing-crisis-will-end-the-u-s-a-as-we-know-it/?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=zs/Hf+cvl0P4w6U0ZPzotZoixyYBAAAA43xcAA==

Perth Mint

DEMAND for gold investment products at the Perth Mint has risen as much as 25 per cent in the past month.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/perth-mint-inundated-as-gold-price-soars/story-e6frg8zx-1225934058127

The Fed is dead, maybe by 2012

OK, so Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the “Black Swan” author, actually said: “The Fed won’t exist in 25 years.” Warning: It’ll happen much sooner, fallout of the coming Second American Revolution.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-fed-is-dead-maybe-by-2012-2010-10-05

Buying Gold Before the “Blow Off Phase”

An interesting graph of “a useful road map to any secular bull market” appeared in Casey’s Daily Dispatch. It was a graph showing how investment interest in a developing bubble classically proceeds through four stages.

http://dailyreckoning.com/buying-gold-before-the-blow-off-phase/

$460B Shadow Inventory Will Take 41 Months to Clear

Um---yeah if the economy starts again. If there are no jobs nobody will be buying houses.

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/sp-460b-shadow-inventory-will-take-41-months-to-clear-2010-09-29

Stocks surge to 5-month highs on Japan, services

U.S. stocks rallied right out of the gate and continued to surge Tuesday, with all three major indexes gaining about 2% and finishing at their highest levels since May. Investors welcomed a surprise move by the Bank of Japan to cut its key lending rate, as well as improved data for the U.S. service sector.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/05/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm?hpt=T2

ALL metals JUMPED BIGTIME yesterday

Gold UP $25.60 to $1340.60/oz
Silver UP $1.00 to $22.87/oz
Copper UP 0.0506
Zinc UP 0.0359
Nickel UP 0.3416

LETS HOPE SO

Pelosi's vote to adjourn could be her last hurrah

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Pelosi_s-vote-to-adjourn-could-be-her-last-hurrah-1072704-104165973.html

Super-rich investors buy gold by ton

The world's wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar -- and sometimes by the ton -- and by moving assets out of the financial system, bankers catering to the very rich said on Monday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6932NR20101004

Obama’s promise to end tax cuts for rich unravels

Nobody in Washington has put it quite so bluntly. But it seems almost certain now that Barack Obama will be unable to fulfil his pledge of reversing George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Last week, Democratic lawmakers returned home to prepare for next month’s midterm elections having failed in either chamber even to put the issue to a vote.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4931a1f8-cfee-11df-bb9e-00144feab49a.html

Health Care Suit Tests Basic Principles

As arguments begin Tuesday in a Florida District Court where 20 state attorneys general and the National Federation of Independent Business are challenging the constitutionality of the health care law, the American people can be forgiven for feeling a bit ill at ease about the direction their country is going. James Madison would feel the same way.

http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-health-care-lawsuit-tests-basic-constitutional-principles/19631832

IMF admits that the West is stuck in near depression

If you strip away the political correctness, Chapter Three of the IMF's World Economic Outlook more or less condemns Southern Europe to death by slow suffocation and leaves little doubt that fiscal tightening will trap North Europe, Britain and America in slump for a long time.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8039789/IMF-admits-that-the-West-is-stuck-in-near-depression.html

World Economy Decoupling From U.S.

Just three years since America began dragging the world into its deepest recession in seven decades, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Holdings USA Inc. and BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research are forecasting that this time will be different. Goldman Sachs predicts worldwide growth will slow 0.2 percentage point to 4.6 percent in 2011, even as expansion in the U.S. falls to 1.8 percent from 2.6 percent.

Underpinning their analysis is the view that international reliance on U.S. trade has diminished and is too small to spread the lingering effects of America’s housing bust. Providing the U.S. pain doesn’t roil financial markets as it did in the credit crisis, Goldman Sachs expects a weakening dollar, higher bond yields outside the U.S. and stronger emerging-market equities.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-03/world-economy-decoupling-from-u-s-in-slowdown-returns-as-wall-street-view.html

Enjoying the Weak Dollar? You Could Live to Regret It

Last week's Federal Reserve pledge to keep pumping money into the US economy was interpreted to mean future policies that would weaken the US currency. That in turn set off a wave of dollar selling that has been accompanied by a modest rise in stocks, new historical highs in gold and a substantial drop in Treasury yields.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39420847

Is The Federal Reserve Out Of Control?

Back in March 2009, the Federal Reserve announced that it would purchase $1.7 trillion worth of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities over the next 6 to 9 months. That was the first round of quantitative easing and Fed officials believe that it helped the U.S. economy avoid an even worse downturn.

But now Federal Reserve officials are talking about making quantitative easing a regular thing.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/is-the-federal-reserve-out-of-control-markets-across-the-globe-brace-for-impact-as-the-federal-reserve-powers-up-the-printing-presses

Peak Gold Is Upon Us

These are heady inflows into such a small space. All of the gold mined in human history, from King Solomon’s mines to the bars still in Swiss bank vaults bearing Nazi eagles (I’ve seen them) would only fill 2.5 Olympic sized swimming pools. That amounts to 5.3 billion ounces, about $6.3 trillion at today’s prices. For you trivia freaks out there, that is a cube with 65.5 feet on an edge.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/peak-gold-upon-us

China's Wen offers to buy Greek debt

China offered on Saturday to buy Greek government bonds when Athens resumes issuing, in a show of support for the country whose debt burden pushed the euro zone into crisis and required an international bailout.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE69100N20101002

Pentagon Loses Control of Bombs to China Metal Monopoly

VERY INTERESTING and SCARY

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-29/pentagon-losing-control-of-afghanistan-bombs-to-china-s-neodymium-monopoly.html

Wave of strikes cripples Europe as workers vent fury

Rallies were called in 13 capital cities and millions of Spanish workers went on strike in a mass action that hobbled public transport, paralysed building work and left streets littered with uncollected rubbish.

Some 100,000 workers, including German miners and Polish shipbuilders, brought Brussels to a standstill to protest against savage spending cuts they claimed would make workers the biggest victims of an economic crisis that they are blaming on bankers and traders in the financial markets.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/wave-of-strikes-cripples-europe-as-workers-vent-fury-at-budget-cuts-2093499.html

J.M. Smucker to close 2 plants, cut 150 jobs

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9IH4TS00&show_article=1

Fears of Chinese land grab as Beijing's billions buy up resources

State-owned Sinopec clinched the deal with Spain's Repsol yesterday to buy 40 per cent of its Brazilian business, giving China's largest oil company access to Repsol Brasil's estimated reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil and gas. The whopping price tag for Repsol Brasil – which values the company at nearly twice previous estimates – is a sign of China's willingness to pay whatever it takes to lock in its future energy supplies and avoid social unrest. It will give the company enough cash to develop all its current oil projects, including two fields in the Santos Basin.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/fears-of-chinese-land-grab-as-beijings-billions-buy-up-resources-2095451.html

America on the brink of a Second Revolution

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- “What’s distinctive about the Tea Party is its anarchist streak -- its antagonism toward any authority, its belligerent self-expression, and its lack of any coherent program or alternative to the policies it condemns,” warns Jacob Weisberg in Newsweek. But why not three cheers for the Tea Party Express?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/america-on-the-brink-of-a-second-revolution-2010-09-28

US Is 'Practically Owned' by China: Analyst

The US supremacy as the top world economy will end sooner than many people believe, so gold is a better investment than the dollar despite it hitting a new record, Tom Winnifrith, CEO at financial services firm Rivington Street Holdings, told CNBC.com Monday.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39376706

20 Hidden Taxes In Obamacare

Hidden Real Estate Sales tax in Health care bill – Surprise!There are already at least 20 hidden taxes in the Obama Health care plan coming down upon us the next few years. So, along with rationed care for seniors and forced health insurance, we now find there is a Real Estate Tax snuck into the Health care plan. You may ask, what in God’s green earth does health care have to do with Real Estate taxes??? Absolutely nothing, that is precisely why one got snuck in there.


http://www.firetown.com/blog/2010/09/26/20-hidden-taxes-in-obamacare/

Obama: Caterpillar to rehire if stimulus passes-YEAH RIGHT---they build factory in CHINA

2009---Obama speach saying Caterpillar will rehire laid off employees if stimulous aid is passed
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29139938/

Caterpillar CEO Rebuttel 2009
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6866995&page=1

2010---Caterpillar building plant in CHINA
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100929/ts_alt_afp/uschinacompanyinvestmentcaterpillar_20100929130112

The Currency Crisis of 2010-2011

Financial markets in the last two years have been absolutely nuts. Huge moves in currencies, bonds, stocks, commodities – every market went crazy as the world nearly fell into a dark age. Yes, it was very close to "guns, ammo and water" time, much closer than any of the CNBC pundits would let on.

The financial markets seem a bit calmer over the past few months. Even with people flooding into U.S. government bonds because of safety concerns, the markets aren't making the huge moves they made in 2008 and 2009. Yes, investors are avoiding the stock market, but it isn't like there is panic in the streets, like there was until May of this year. The markets have calmed a bit.

http://www.taipanpublishinggroup.com/tpg/taipan-daily/taipan-daily-092710.html?sub=TD&o=173912&s=176213&u=48412125&l=164441&g=183&r=Milo

Cold Hard Reality Hits Oregon

Borrowing money to cover operating expenses is just plain stupid. The results speak for themselves. Oregon is out of borrowing capacity until 2014 and it is currently deep in the hole on revenues. That is a toxic mix.

Just look at the nonsense labeled "pressing needs"

New state hospital
A collaborative research building at Oregon Health & Science University
A statewide emergency radio network
Slew of projects at community colleges

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/cold-hard-reality-hits-oregon-treasurer.html

Silver heading for supply deficit – Morgan

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Silver is likely heading for a supply deficit in the next decade or so, as demand growth gets a boost from new industrial uses for the metal, as well as increased investor interest, analyst and founder of Silver-Investor.com David Morgan said this weekend.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/silver-heading-for-supply-deficit-morgan-2010-09-28

U.S. Dollar Is `One Step Nearer' to Crisis as Debt Level Climbs, Yu Says

“Such a huge amount of debt is terrible,” Yu said. “The situation will be worsening day by day. I think we are one step nearer to a U.S.-dollar crisis.”

Yu also said China is worried about the safety of its foreign-exchange reserves including those invested in U.S. Treasuries as the U.S. currency weakens, reiterating his earlier views on the dollar assets. The U.S. will record a $1.3 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office said Aug. 19.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-28/u-s-dollar-is-one-step-nearer-to-crisis-chinese-former-adviser-yu-says.html

McDonald's Warns It May Nix Hourly Employee Health Coverage, Citing New Federal Rule

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703431604575522413101063070.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/29/mcdonalds-warns-nix-hourly-employee-health-coverage-citing-new-federal-rule/

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind

Just a few:

#2 Dell Inc., one of America’s largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.

#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.

#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cellphones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States? Zero.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/19-facts-about-the-deindustrialization-of-america-that-will-blow-your-mind

U.S Gold Buffalo coins sold out again

"The United States Mint has depleted its inventory of 2010 American Buffalo One Ounce Gold Bullion Coins," the Mint said in a statement, seen by Reuters on Monday.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page60?oid=111892&sn=Detail&pid=60

Gold is the final refuge against universal currency debasement

States accounting for two-thirds of the global economy are either holding down their exchange rates by direct intervention or steering currencies lower in an attempt to shift problems on to somebody else, each with their own plausible justification. Nothing like this has been seen since the 1930s.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8026324/Gold-is-the-final-refuge-against-universal-currency-debasement.html

‘Gold-to-Go’ taps into gold fever with ATMs

German firm plans to introduce machines in the United States this year...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39383743/ns/business-personal_finance/

European Central Banks Halt Gold Sales

Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39376353

Interview: Dr. Marc Faber on the Federal Reserve and Hyperinflation

GREAT ARTICLE

Dr. Marc Faber: The first action Mr. Bernanke should take is to resign. If I had messed up the system so badly, as he has done, I would have to resign. He has talked constantly about the Great Depression and what caused the depression but the problem is that he really doesn't understand what caused the depression, which was also excessive leverage at that time. I have to stress that in 1929 the debt to GDP ratio was of course minuscule in comparison what it is today. It was 186% of GDP but you didn't have Social security, Medicare and Medicaid and unfunded liabilities for Social Security and so forth. So, debt today, as a percent of GDP, is 379% and if you add the unfunded liabilities we are at over 800%.

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Hera/sep232010.html