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

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