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

FOOD INFLATION: COMING TO THE USA?

Food prices have doubled in the last 10 years. It’s been a nearly unprecedented increase in food prices. Is it happening in the USA? Yes, but to a far lesser degree. Food prices in the USA are up 33% in the last 10 years.

http://pragcap.com/food-inflation-coming-to-the-usa

Thoughts of the day?

---The economy is to serve the people, not the people to serve the economy.
---Development is about people, and not about objects.
---Growth is not the same as development, and development does not necessarily require growth.
---No economy is possible in the absence of ecosystem services.
---The economy is a subsystem of a larger finite system -- the biosphere, hence permanent growth is impossible.

Silver looks ready to rip

BNP Paribas obviously thinks the price of silver is about to go on a tear.

It has agreed to pay $US20.58 an ounce for 680,000 ounces of the white metal to be delivered from December through to June 2012. That compares with a closing price on Friday in New York of $US20.79/oz (although intraday it poked its head above $US21/oz).

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/silver-looks-ready-to-rip/story-e6frg9ex-1225926785632

Shiller Warns Seven Years of Economic 'Bad Times' in Store for US

Seven years of “bad times” may lie ahead for the U.S. economy as it recovers from the financial crisis that started in 2007, according to Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale University.

http://www.moneynews.com/Headline/Shiller-Warns-Bad-Times/2010/09/22/id/371194?s=al&promo_code=AD16-1

The Government Tapeworm

there is a point at which government loses money by raising tax rates, and that point is not far from where we are now.

An academic study found that a tax increase of just 1% of GDP causes a recession and then a permanent loss of 1.84% of GDP compared to what it would have been without the tax increase.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/09/the_government_tapeworm.html

Dollar on skids

Dollar on skids after Fed, market eyes Japan---Dollar drops to lowest since Japan intervened last week.

TOKYO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The dollar fell on Wednesday to its weakest level on the yen since Japan intervened last week after the Federal Reserve signalled it was ready to stimulate the economy more, raising expectations it would print more dollars.

The dollar hit its lowest in seven weeks against the euro and a basket of currencies, and fell below 85.00 yen JPY=, which spurred speculation Japanese authorities may intervene to curb yen gains after they resumed yen-selling for the first time since 2004 last week.

The 85.00 yen level has been regarded as a potential trigger for intervention but authorities were so far not seen in the market on Wednesday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE66Q00F20100922?bcsi_scan_24DE46460B4E2EF0=XkJOPN9AYmXIo9ksmnQp7zNKLeEcAAAAOyOtEA==

Quantitative Easing "QE" = fancy term for "stimulous" which means print more money which means your money loses value!

U.S. dollar slumps amid gloomy economic prospect, Fed hint

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S dollar slipped against major currencies this week as economy recovery was still vague, while the Fed signaled a further quantitative easing (QE) policy after its meeting on Tuesday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2010-09/25/c_13528024.htm

Curreny Crisis Has Begun

http://goldscents.blogspot.com/2010/09/currency-crisis-has-begun.html

What More Fed Easing Means For Markets: 'America On Sale'

"Most commodities are benchmarked against the US dollar, so basically America is on sale," says Todd Horwitz, chief strategist at the Adam Mesh Trading Group in New York. "The Fed is going to do whatever it takes to support this market. They don't care what it is."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39308738

20 Signs That The Economic Collapse Has Already Begun For One Out Of Every Seven Americans

http://theintelhub.com/2010/09/18/20-signs-that-the-economic-collapse-has-already-begun-for-one-out-of-every-seven-americans/

US Government 'hiding true amount of debt'

http://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/us-government-hiding-true-amount-of-debt/story-e6frfkur-1225926567256

Legislative Hearing on H.R. 6149, the “Precious Coins and Bullion Disclosure Act”

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a legislative hearing on H.R. 6149, the “Precious Coins and Bullion Disclosure Act” on Thursday, September 23, 2010, in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building. The legislation addressed the sale to consumers of gold and other precious metals for investment purposes.

http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2124:legislative-hearing-on-hr-6149-the-precious-coins-and-bullion-disclosure-act&catid=129:subcommittee-on-commerce-trade-and-consumer-protection&Itemid=70

UK Proposes All Paychecks Go to the State First

The UK's tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39265847

Charlie Munger on US Economy: Pain Not Over

A day after Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett made headlines about his views on the economy, his long-time business partner Charlie Munger is weighing in.

Munger, Berkshire's vice chairman, said the job market is likely to stay "lousy" for an extended period, and that he doesn't see anything that would prompt employers to hire in the immediate future.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39180384

Look Around: There's Major Commodity Inflation Happening Everywhere

Since the end of August, commodity prices have surged supported by high real demand in developing economies like China and India as well as investors searching for yield in a weak equities market.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/commodity-price-boom-2010-9#ixzz102Mj1300

http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland28.1.html

Have you ever wondered what would happen if most of the claimed US gold reserves do not really exist? Can Washington continue to operate under its own questionable and often non-existent accounting rules if it doesn’t have the gold reserves as promised? Should we worry about the old idiom, "When the chickens come home to roost" when a person, entity or a government pays dearly for a mistake or something bad they have done in the distant past?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland28.1.html

A Palin Truth: Alaska’s Welfare Queen and Redistributionist

http://statesmansentinel.com/palin-truth-alaskas-welfare-queen-redistributionist

OBAMA ENDORSES GLOBAL TAXES ON EVE OF UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT

In a classic case of misdirection, while the media are preoccupied with the fate of the Bush tax cuts, President Obama is preparing to attend a United Nations summit next week to endorse “innovative finance mechanisms”—global taxes—to drain even more wealth out of the U.S. economy.

A draft “outcome document” produced in advance of the September 20-22 U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) commits the nations of the world to supporting “innovative financing mechanisms” to supplement foreign aid spending.

http://www.libertynewsonline.com/article_301_29393.php

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-global-tax-proposal-up-for-senate-vote/

Why governments love inflation and you should love gold

What's worrying gold?
Watch out for deflation
There's more money printing to come


http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/precious-metals-and-gems/merryn-somerset-webb-inflation-and-gold-price-03707.aspx

Retirement Fund Trillions Lure Government Grabbers

Is the government making plans to confiscate your retirement money? The Obama administration is certainly exploring the idea.

Would Obama, Dems Kill 401(k) Plans?

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/10/23/would-obama-dems-kill-401k-plans.html

Preventing Your Government From Stealing Your Gold

Once we recognize this obvious truth, it leads to another, equally obvious truth. If the government believes it has the right to tax our capital gains we make in gold vs. paper, then it must allow claims made on the commensurate capital losses in our paper, "fiat" currencies versus gold.
In fact, our tax codes refuse to acknowledge those equally valid capital losses -- and for an obvious reason: it would amount to receiving a tax deduction for inflation. Since inflation is the vehicle which governments and bankers use to steal our wealth in the first place (which creates the need to buy gold and silver), the last thing they want to do is to slow down that theft.

Long article but very interesting.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10803963/1/preventing-your-government-from-stealing-your-gold.html

One abyss, then another

"As per the August 31 DTS statement, the US ended the month with a new all-time record of $13.45 trillion in debt, an increase of $210 billion from the beginning of the month (or $225 billion in public debt, net of intragovernmental holdings). With just 30 days left in fiscal year 2010, the US has added $1.54 trillion in the 11 months ended August 31, a monthly average increase of $140 billion.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/LI11Dj01.html

'Cabbagegate': Man Fined $5K for Home Garden

His neighbors call it "Cabbagegate." And it cost Steve Miller a lot of green. The Clarkston, Ga., man was fined $5,200 for growing too many vegetables in his backyard.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/georgia-man-steve-miller-fined-for-backyard-garden-in-cabbagegate-saga/19633544

Obstacle to Deficit Cutting: A Nation on Entitlements

Efforts to tame America's ballooning budget deficit could soon confront a daunting reality: Nearly half of all Americans live in a household in which someone receives government benefits, more than at any time in history.

At the same time, the fraction of American households not paying federal income taxes has also grown—to an estimated 45% in 2010, from 39% five years ago, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791804575439732358241708.html?mod

Silver taking investor precedence over gold as GSR breaks downwards?

A feature of the recent movement in precious metals prices is that silver has been perhaps more in demand than gold and the gold:silver ratio has fallen back a couple of points.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=111209&sn=Detail&pid=32

There is no soft option when confronting our economic reality

Forecasters may disagree, but some harsh truths are unavoidable, writes Jeff Randall.

It was J K Galbraith, the American economist and diplomat, who concluded that there are two classes of forecasters: "Those who don't know – and those who don't know they don't know." He was right, but only partially. In today's febrile financial environment, a third class of forecaster has emerged. Those who thought they knew, but now know they didn't.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/7992902/There-is-no-soft-option-when-confronting-our-economic-reality.html

CBO Predicts U.S. Debt Crisis If Deficits Are Not Controlled

The Congressional Budget Office is warning that unless the federal government can control its appetite for deficit spending, the accumulated national debt could spark a fiscal crisis similar to those experienced by Greece and Ireland earlier this year.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75143

Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground

Economists peddling dire warnings that the world's number one economy is on the brink of collapse, amid high rates of unemployment and a spiraling public deficit, are flourishing here.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.a64b6fa820c23d9ef2058a22276ce3a1.2c1&show_article=1

Central Banks Leading New Gold Rush

Russia, India, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines follow Soros and Paulson into the metal.

So far in 2010 Russia has increased its gold holdings by 2.8 million ounces, $3.6 billion at current prices. Total holdings by the Putin government total almost $30 billion. Saudi Arabia and the Philippines have disclosed new gold buying in 2010, plus India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius bought gold in 2009.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/10/barrick-gold-mining-markets-china-india.html?feed=rss_business_commerce

The Muni Bond Crisis Has Officially Begun

This is just the beginning. Collectively US states continue to face massive budget short-falls in spite of massive Federal Aid. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, US states are expected to run deficits of $144 billion and $119 billion in FYs 2011 and 2012 respectively, unless they can cut spending further or raise taxes dramatically to close these gaps.

Remember, the muni bond market is $2-3 trillion in size, so we’re not talking about a minor issue here.

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Summers/sept092010.html

Nervous Americans want easy access to their cash

People are bailing out of bank certificates of deposit and parking their cash in checking and savings accounts that earn little or no interest but also don't exact penalties for early withdrawal.

It's another signal of how nervous Americans are about their finances as the U.S. economy struggles. Consumers are stuck with few options to make their money work. The Standard & Poor's 500 is down 0.5 percent for the year, one big reason why people have pulled a net $145.3 billion out of mutual funds in the first eight months of the year, according to Lipper Inc.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012861707_apuscashjitters.html

Silver at $21 an ounce this September

Soon after briefly touching a nearly 30-month high of $20.04 an ounce early in the trading session Tuesday, silver dipped as low as $19.68. The white metal managed to make a bid back up to its earlier highs, scratching $19.90 before falling back down to a close of $19.82 an ounce on the COMEX.

http://silverinvestingnews.com/4082/silver-at-21-an-ounce-this-september.html

Confiscation of Private Retirement Accounts: US Departments of Labor and Treasury Schedule Hearing

On August 26, the US Department of Labor issued a news release:

It lists the agenda for the joint hearings being held with the Department of Treasury September 14-15, 2010 on what is euphemistically called “lifetime income options for retirement plans.” The hearings are being conducted by the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. I don’t like speaking in tabloid-style terms, but the unstated agenda of these hearings, as I understand it, is to push for the US government to eventually nationalize (confiscate) all assets in private Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401K plans!

http://www.libertynewsonline.com/article_301_29362.php

5 Doomsday Scenarios for the U.S. Economy

1. Housing's Mini-Bubble Pops
2. You Break the Economy
3. Toxic Assets Return
4. Europe Falls Apart
5. Debt Finally Catches Up to Us

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110581/5-doomsday-scenarios-for-the-us-economy

How Hyperinflationary Hell – and Commodity Heaven – Will Happen (Before the End of 2011!)

How Hyperinflation Will Happen---enlightning list:

http://www.munknee.com/2010/08/how-hyperinflationary-hell-and-commodity-heaven-will-happen-before-the-end-of-2011/

Gold Will Go To $5,000 and the Dow To Above 27,000 by 2015

A MIX of good and bad news...VERY OPTIMISTIC...

http://www.munknee.com/2010/08/gold-will-go-to-5000-and-the-dow-to-above-27000-by-2015/

More than 400 US Banks Will Fail: Roubini

Even if the US and European economies manage to avoid a double dip, it will still feel like a recession, while more than half of the 800-plus US banks on the "critical list" are likely to go bust, according to renowned economist Nouriel Roubini of Roubini Global Economics.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38986777

Investors Head for Bunkers, Driving Up 'Shelter Shares'

Amid the market tumult, a handful of stocks have seen their share prices ratchet up to record highs in recent weeks. And many of them are connected by a curious, if disconcerting, thread: Between them, they provide an investor with essentials for any respectable fallout shelter—makers of bottled water, canned goods, dehydrated broth, gas masks and auxiliary generators.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703418004575455942651218872.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_personalfinance

Ron Paul questions whether there's gold at Fort Knox, NY Fed

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said he plans to introduce legislation next year to force an audit of U.S. holdings of gold.

Paul, a longtime critic of the Federal Reserve and U.S. monetary policy, said he believes it's "a possibility" that there might not actually be any gold in the vaults of Fort Knox or the New York Federal Reserve bank.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/116341-ron-paul-plans-bill-to-audit-us-gold-reserves

Obama Needs Your 401(k) to Balance His Budget

The Obama administration is “taking the first steps to confiscate retirement dollars,” according to Dr. Jerome Corsi who predicts that the end result will be retirees with 401(k) plans holding near-worthless government debt “that will be paid off in a devalued currency worth … pennies on the dollar.”


http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/congress/4413-obama-needs-your-401k-to-balance-his-budget

Dow Faces Bouncy Ride to 5,000

Stocks are currently in a bear-market rally, and looking at charts and past trends, unemployment and leading indicators suggest the Dow will drop to 5,000 in the next two to two-and-a-half years, Nenner told CNBC in an e-mail.

Deflation will arrive, along with a sharp double-dip recession, pushing the Dow lower, although, like the Japanese market, stocks will see several jumps of 30 percent to 40 percent, he said.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38826988

US Said Preparing New Laws To Seize Americans Retirement Accounts

First They Destroy Private Healthcare in America – Yes, the socialist Democrats won their first battle to destroy the private healthcare system in the US but the automatic IRA bill now in Congress is their next attack to also control, confiscate and destroy the private retirement system. Ultimately, nationalizing healthcare is designed to create a major new government revenue stream by replacing private health insurance with a nationalized, mandatory, government program and their goal is identical with your retirement plan.

http://www.eutimes.net/2010/08/us-said-preparing-new-laws-to-seize-americans-retirement-accounts/

Co-chair of Obama 310 million tits

An advocacy group is calling for the ouster of former Sen. Alan Simpson, the co-chairman of President Obama's bipartisan debt commission, who described Social Security as a "milk cow with 310 million tits!" in an email.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/25/news/economy/alan_simpson_fiscal_commission/index.htm

Morgan Stanley Says Government Defaults Inevitable

Investors face defaults on government bonds given the burden of aging populations and the difficulty of increasing tax revenue, according to a Morgan Stanley executive director.

“Governments will impose a loss on some of their stakeholders,” Arnaud Mares in the firm’s London office wrote in a research report today. “The question is not whether they will renege on their promises, but rather upon which of their promises they will renege, and what form this default will take.” The sovereign-debt crisis is global “and it is not over,” he wrote.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-25/morgan-stanley-says-government-bond-default-is-question-of-how-not-if-.html

Ron Paul Calls for Audit of US Gold Reserves

This is not the first time the congressman has made his pitch. “In the early 1980s when I was on the gold commission, I asked them to recommend to the Congress that they audit the gold reserves – we had 17 members of the commission and 15 voted not to the audit,” said Paul. “I think there was only one decent audit done 50 years ago,” he said.

http://www.kitco.com/reports/KitcoNews20100824DC.html

"Enron Accounting" Has Bankrupted America: U.S. Deficit Really $202 Trillion

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts the U.S. budget deficit will hit $1.3 trillion this year. An astronomical figure, to be sure, but that’s lower than was projected in March. It’s also less than last year’s record $1.41 trillion deficit, which was close to 10% of GDP.

And, that's the good news.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/%22enron-accounting%22-has-bankrupted-america-u.s.-deficit-really-202-trillion-kotlikoff-says-535354.html;_ylt=AkIrP5.B3xpwlgX_5f3J.kq7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2MDRmbzdqBHBvcwMxMQRzZWMDdG9wU3RvcmllcwRzbGsDZW5yb25hY2NvdW50?tickers=udn,tlt,tbt,uup,TIP,^gspc,GLD&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=

How Hyperinflation Will Happen

In other words, Treasuries are now the New and Improved Toxic Asset. Everyone knows that they are overvalued, everyone knows their yields are absurd—yet everyone tiptoes around that truth as delicately as if it were a bomb.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-how-hyperinflation-will-happen

Americans eating through beef, pork surpluses

Do you think these increases get passed on to the customer...you be they do!

Cattle and hog prices continue to reflect the tighter supplies. Live cattle for October delivery opened up 55 cents per hundredweight Wednesday to $96.50 on the Chicago Board of Trade. That price is almost $15 per hundredweight more than cattle brought a year ago.

Live hogs for October delivery opened up $1.50 per hundredweight in Chicago this morning to $77. A year ago hog prices were headed for a decade-low of $46 per hundredweight.

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/08/18/americans-eating-through-beef-pork-surpluses/

Western Economies Face Hyperinflation: Gold Bull

The decline of the Western economic model will bring about hyperinflation and decades of painful readjustment, Egon von Greyerz, founder of gold investment intermediary Goldswitzerland.com told CNBC Thursday.

Fear of inflation causes investors to take refuge in gold. However, another analyst told CNBC that buying gold now is as pointless as the rush to buy tulips was in the 1630s.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38767004

Does Barack Obama want to be re-elected in 2012?

Few Americans consider themselves bigger than the presidency but Obama might be one of them. The man in the Oval Office, argues Toby Harnden, may already be preparing for a role as a post-president in a post-American world.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7958031/Does-Barack-Obama-want-to-be-re-elected-in-2012.html

New Normal: Bankrupt nation. Deflation. Zeros. Junk. No jobs. Depression

Yes, it's going to get worse, a whole lot worse ... Bill Gross warns this is the "New Normal. Forget 10% returns. Think 5%". ... Economist Larry Kotlikoff, author of The Coming Generational Storm, warns: "Let's get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending nor taxing will help the country pay its bills" ... Economist Peter Morici warns: "Unemployment is stuck near 10%. Deflation coming. Stock market threatens collapse. The Federal Reserve and Barack Obama are out of bullets. Near zero federal funds rates, central bank purchases, a $1.6 trillion deficit have failed to revive the economy." ... Simon Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers, warns: "We came close to another Great Depression, next time we may not be so lucky." Why? Because Wall Street's already well into the next bubble/bust cycle --
the "doom cycle."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-going-to-get-worse-a-whole-lot-worse-2010-08-17

Gold is glittering again. But why?

Still, gold prices aren't always tied to inflation expectations. The price of gold often spikes at times of fear. And with more and more concerns about how the economic recovery in the United States is losing steam, investor nervousness appears to be the most likely reason for gold's recent move higher.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/markets/thebuzz/index.htm

For Lean Budgets, a Plug-and-Play Solar Array

The Seattle-based clean tech start-up is developing a “plug-and-play” solar appliance called the Sunfish that will generate clean solar electricity for the home. “You bring it home and plug it in, just like a refrigerator, and it will cost about the same,” said the company’s president, Chad Maglaque.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/for-lean-budgets-a-plug-and-play-solar-system/?src=me&ref=science

US Says Bankruptcies Reach Nearly 5-Year High

There were 422,061 bankruptcy filings between April and June, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, up 9 percent from 388,148 in the prior three-month period, and up 11 percent from 381,073 a year earlier.

For the year ended June 30, there were 1.57 million bankruptcies, up 20 percent from 1.31 million a year earlier.

Consumer bankruptcies rose 21 percent to 1.51 million, and business bankruptcies rose 9 percent to 59,608.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38744090

When Will Financial Armageddon Begin?

“Never in US history has a recession struck after several extended months of emergency ultra-low interest rates. This will be the first such occurrence. The policy response from the USFed must therefore be limited. They cannot reduce the official interest rate, unless below 0% (which did happen briefly in Japan). The nation stands on the doorstep of hyper-inflation. The only available tool within the USFed tool bag is Printing Pre$$ activity, pure monetization of both USTreasurys and USAgency Mortgage Bonds.”

http://usawatchdog.com/when-will-financial-armageddon-begin/

More tough economic times forecast by CBO

The CBO forecast the U.S. budget deficit will hit $1.342 trillion this year, down slightly from its March projection of $1.368 trillion.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/More-tough-economic-times-rb-1122983085.html?x=0

Connecticut may have just a week's worth of cash

Connecticut this autumn probably would have just a little more cash than it needs to pay a week's expenses unless it issues $520 million of debt, according to the state comptroller.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67G50A20100817?type=domesticNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Obamanomics is why there is no recovery

How many more months must Americans endure near-double-digit unemployment, little or no new-job creation, economic stagnation, a topsy-turvy stock market, and sagging consumer confidence before Washington politicians concede the "summer of recovery" is mostly a mirage?

They've spent nearly $8 trillion since 2007, including nearly $2 trillion on economic stimulus programs and an equal amount for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and similar bailouts. They've effectively nationalized Fortune 500 corporations, taken over the health care sector, and set the regulatory stage for more bailouts and takeovers, but the needle is still stuck. Worse, recovery isn't likely for many months ahead because those same politicians are planning more of the same failing policies.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Obamanomics-is-why-there-is-no-recovery-471733-100652469.html#ixzz0xJtOUrn7


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Obamanomics-is-why-there-is-no-recovery-471733-100652469.html