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