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