The Road of Inflation Will Only End in Tears

Cycles of booms and busts are planned, unpayable debts in many nations, we predicted the demise of the bond market months ago, Ron Paul looks at bogus CPI and PPI stats, world problems affect us here, recent low for the US dollar, near misses at leaky nuclear plant at home at Indian Point, a brutal labor war being waged in Wisconsin.

http://theinternationalforecaster.com/International_Forecaster_Weekly/The_Road_of_Inflation_Will_Only_End_in_Tears

US Cost of Living Hits Record, Passing Pre-Crisis High

A special index created by the Labor Department to measure the actual cost of living for Americans hit a record high in February, according to data released Thursday, surpassing the old high in July 2008. The Chained Consumer Price Index, released along with the more widely-watched CPI, increased 0.5 percent to 127.4, from 126.8 in January. In July 2008, just as the housing crisis was tightening its grip, the Chained Consumer Price Index hit its previous record of 126.9.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42130406

Currency Meltdown Coming

The situation in Japan is getting worse, not better. There are shortages in food, fuel and warm dry shelter. To make matters exponentially worse, nuclear power plants there continue to burn out of control and emit high levels of radiation. Japan is a stark reminder of how fast a modern technologically advanced society can be brought to its knees by an unforeseen calamity.

http://usawatchdog.com/currency-meltdown/

Enron Accounting: D.C. Politicians "Just Wasting Time" on Budget, BU's Kotlikoff Says

The Senate on Thursday is expected to pass another continuing resolution that will fund the government until April 8 and avert a shutdown. But that won't solve the need for a budget to fund the remainder of the fiscal year, much less address America's true fiscal woes, says Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff.
The ongoing budget debate in Washington is "really a food fight between Democrats and Republicans in order to shield what's going on, which is we are stealing from our kids," Kotlikoff says. "What these guys in Washington are doing is just wasting time."

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/enron-accounting-d.c.-politicians-%22just-wasting-time%22-on-budget-bu%27s-kotlikoff-says-536041.html;_ylt=A2KJjammK4JNUD4AqJOTmYlQ?tickers=^DJI,^GSPC,TBT,TLT,XLV,GLD,TIP&sec=topStories&pos=10&asset=&ccode=

U.S. Debt and Deficits Ensure Violent Dollar Sell-Off Ahead

Monetization can be done in two ways. First, there is outright monetization as is now being conducted by the Fed through its POMO program; that is, its daily purchase of $4–$8 billion of Treasury debt. Indeed, the Fed’s QE2 bond purchases have been so massive that it is literally buying Treasury paper in the secondary market almost as fast as new bonds are being issued. During January, for example, fully 40% of the Fed’s $100 billion bond buy was from CUSIP numbers less than 90 days old.

Needless to say, putting brand new treasury bonds in the Fed’s vault before they have paid even a single coupon is functionally equivalent to printing greenbacks. After all, under this type of high-speed round trip, virtually all the coupons from newly issued bonds will end up as incremental profit at the Fed and be remitted back to the Treasury at year end.

Stated differently, in the present era of massive quantitative easing, newly issued Treasury securities amount to non-interest bearing currency without the circulation privilege.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26902.html

It's Not Your Imagination: The Number Of Disasters Just Keeps Rising

The seventh largest quake ever occurred this week. The eighth largest quake occurred last year. The third largest quake occurred in 2004. Add to this hurricanes and floods, and it seems like natural disasters are on the rise

http://www.businessinsider.com/rise-of-natural-disasters-2011-3

US backing for world currency stuns markets

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner shocked global markets by revealing that Washington is "quite open" to Chinese proposals for the gradual development of a global reserve currency run by the International Monetary Fund.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/5050407/US-backing-for-world-currency-stuns-markets.html#

The Silver Door Is Closing

A time will come when the value of silver is so strong and the value of the dollar so weak, that only a fool would ever trade silver for the dollar.

http://dont-tread-on.me/the-silver-window-is-closing/

This sums it up...

http://perotcharts.com/issues/

Bank of America says nearly half its mortgages are 'bad'

Bank of America Corp. is segregating almost half its 13.9 million mortgages into a “bad” bank comprised of its riskiest and worst-performing “legacy” loans, Bloomberg News reported, citing Terry Laughlin, who is running the new unit.

“We are creating a classic good bank, bad bank structure,” Laughlin told investors at a meeting in New York Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. He was promoted last month to manage the costs of resolving disputes stemming from the company’s 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. “We’re going to get after this, we’re going to do it the right way and we’re going to put it to bed in the next 36 months,” he said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/morning_call/2011/03/bank-of-america-says-nearly-half-its.html?ana=twt

Price INCREASE

The price of just about every major agricultural commodity has been absolutely soaring during the past year....
*The price of corn has doubled over the last six months.
*The price of wheat has more than doubled over the past year.
*The price of soybeans is up about 50% since last June.
*The price of cotton has more than doubled over the past year.
*The commodity price of orange juice has doubled since 2009.
*The price of sugar is the highest it has been in 30 years.

Financial dismantling of the American middle class in 8 charts

The American economy runs on high octane debt. Debt has been welcomed by many with open arms and things seemed to be going well until people realized they actually had to pay the debt back. Average Americans trying to keep up with the picket white fence image of Leave it to Beaver were largely relying on debt to keep up with this lifestyle that was unsustainable with current incomes.

http://www.mybudget360.com/financial-dismantling-of-the-american-middle-class-in-8-charts-peak-debt-credit-card-cash-banking-finance-wealth/

US Wants to Take Your Dollars -- and Replace Them With Coins

So in order to replace the paper currency with dollar coins -- a long-advocated move that could save the government an estimated $5.5. billion over 30 years -- the General Accountability Office called on Congress, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to help yank the $1 note from circulation.

In the past 20 years, the GAO, Congress' investigative arm, has issued four recommendations for a switch to metal dollars in order to save all the money spent to replace worn-out dollar bills. Dollar bills last longer than they used to and now have a life span of up to 40 months. But the coins have an average life span of 30 years.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/07/us-wants-to-take-your-dollars-and-replace-them-with-coins/

"No Way Out" of Debt Trap, Gross Says: U.S. Living Standards Doomed to Fall

In the U.S., states across the country face a collective $125 billion shortfall for fiscal 2012, while Congress is facing a budget gap nearly 10 times that size.

PIMCO founder Bill Gross -- one of the world's largest mutual funds managers, who focuses mostly on bonds -- has previously said that if the United States were a corporation, no one in their right mind would lend us money. For the last decade, we’ve been “relying on the kindness of strangers” to help cover our debts,

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/%22no-way-out%22-of-debt-trap-gross-says-u.s.-living-standards-doomed-to-fall-536001.html?tickers=%5eDJI,%5eGSPC,%5eTNX,GLD,GDX,TLT,MUB

Maine gets break in federal health care overhaul

The federal government Tuesday granted Maine a waiver of a key provision in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, citing the likelihood that enforcement could destabilize the state's market for individual health insurance.

The U.S. Health and Human Services department said in a letter it would waive the requirement that insurers spend 80 cents to 85 cents of every premium dollar on medical care and quality improvement. Instead, the letter said, the state could maintain its 65 percent standard for three years, with the caveat that HHS intends to review the figures after two years.

The decision makes Maine the first state to receive a waiver of the requirement. Similar requests are pending from Kentucky, Nevada and New Hampshire.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41978227

Hoyer Says Federal Budget May Not Be Balanced for 20 Years

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Tuesday that it may take as many as 20 years to balance the federal budget after years of deficit spending in Washington.

At Hoyer's weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com noted that President Obama's latest budget proposal does not balance at any time in the next 10 years

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/hoyer-says-federal-budget-may-not-be-bal#

Warning Of 'Food Price Riots In The UK

"Even in the developed world I think we have very, very low wage growth, so people aren't getting more in their pay packet to compensate them for food and energy, and I think we could see social unrest certainly in parts of the developed world and the UK as well."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/A-Senior-HSBC-Economist-Warns-Of-Food-Riots-In-The-UK-If-Prices-Continue-To-Soar/Article/201103215948496?lpos=Business_Employment_First_Article_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15948496_A_Senior_HSBC_Economist_Warns_Of_Food_Riots_In_The_UK_If_Prices_Continue_To_Soar

Traders ‘short’ dollar as currency loses attraction

Hedge funds and forex dealers are betting record amounts against the dollar, reflecting a growing belief that the US currency has lost its haven appeal and that eurozone interest rates will soon rise.

As the crisis in the Middle East has worsened, the latest exchange data show that traders are selling “short” the currency. The big US fiscal deficit and concerns about the effect of rising oil prices have been blamed by some for the dollar’s slide.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e050b72e-4823-11e0-b323 00144feab49a.html#axzz1FsQ5F8cv

World Food Prices Climb to Record as UN Sounds Alarm on Further Shortages

Global food prices rose to a record in February and grain costs may continue to rise in the next several months, with only rice keeping the world from a repeat of the crisis three years ago, the United Nations said.

An index of 55 food commodities rose 2.2 percent to 236 points from 230.7 in January, the eighth consecutive gain, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said today. Wheat rose as much as 58 percent on the Chicago Board of Trade in the past 12 months, corn gained 87 percent and rice added 6.5 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-03/world-food-prices-climb-to-record-as-un-sounds-alarm-on-further-shortages.html

Manufacturing growing at fastest pace in 7 years

U.S. manufacturers expanded at the fastest pace in nearly seven years last month, but a sudden rise in the price of raw materials could threaten their profits.

The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 61.4 in February, up from 60.8 the previous month. That's the highest reading since it reached the same level in May 2004. The ISM's index bottomed out at 33.3 in December 2008, its lowest point in nearly 30 years.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Manufacturing-growing-at-apf-689542114.html?x=0

Oil prices jump on Middle East, Bernanke comments

Oil prices climbed Tuesday as Iran clamped down on anti-government protesters and unrest in the Middle East threatened to keep energy prices high for months to come.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery gained $2.66 to settle at $99.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude gained $3.62 to settle at $115.42 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The recent surge in oil has pushed up gasoline prices in the U.S. by nearly 20 cents per gallon in the past week. That's the sharpest increase since September 2008, when Hurricane Ike shut down Gulf Coast refineries, according to the Oil Price Information Service. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina sent prices soaring about 45 cents per gallon in one week.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-jump-on-Middle-apf-1296176780.html?x=0

Oil drops, but gasoline prices keep rising

Oil prices fell below $97 per barrel Monday just days after spiking above $100. Last week's surge continued to ripple through global pipelines, however, as gasoline prices jumped 8 cents over the weekend.

Crude dropped on reports that Libya was still exporting oil. Shipments were thought to have halted last week as protestors clashed with the government and strongman Moammar Gadhafi lost control of many of the country's oil fields. But industry officials said Monday that a tanker bound for China was loading oil in the Libyan port of Tobruk. Saudi Arabia also was boosting exports.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery lost 91 cents to settle at $96.97 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude fell 34 cents to settle at $111.80 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Traders said there is a "fear premium" of $15 to $20 per barrel built into the price of oil to account for further disruptions in shipments as pro-reform movements sweep through North Africa and the Middle East. Oil prices should slide as the situation in Libya stabilizes, analysts said.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-drops-but-gasoline-prices-apf-489242950.html?x=0

History tells us that a surge in fuel costs makes a US recession likely

Ever since the early 1970s, every single time oil prices have spiked sharply (rising by 80pc or more), regular as clockwork the US has entered recession.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/8349612/History-tells-us-that-a-surge-in-fuel-costs-makes-a-US-recession-likely.html#

Oil drops, but gasoline prices keep rising

Oil prices fell below $97 per barrel Monday just days after spiking above $100. Last week's surge continued to ripple through global pipelines, however, as gasoline prices jumped 8 cents over the weekend.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-drops-but-gasoline-prices-apf-489242950.html?x=0

What Are We Getting for an Extra $1 Trillion in Federal Spending?

As every constituency fights to protect its herd of sacred cows, there's certainly no shortage of political jockeying in the battle over the 2012 federal budget. What's missing, however, is this simple question: What exactly are we getting for the extra $1 trillion a year the federal government is now spending?

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/what-are-we-getting-for-an-extra-1-trillion-in-federal-spending/19859822/

Oil prices could be game-changer for world economy

Soaring oil prices are reaching levels that could threaten to brake improving but tentative global economic recovery, with an outside chance of a new recession or that most destructive of conditions, stagflation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-economy-oil-idUSTRE71N2SB20110224

The End of the US Dollar?

The turmoil across North Africa and the Middle East is threatening not only to overthrow aging dictatorships, autocracies and monarchies, but also to upset the geopolitical balance between the countries of that region and the Western powers that has existed since at least the 1950s. For the West, the issue has always been the security of oil. For the US there is a second issue, and that is the security of Israel. Now both are under threat.

http://news.goldseek.com/UnionSecurities/1298563200.php

State and local budget cuts are slowing US economy

Deep spending cuts by state and local governments pose a growing threat to an economy that is already grappling with high unemployment, depressed home prices and the surging cost of oil.

Lawmakers at state capitols and city halls are slashing jobs and programs, arguing that some pain now is better than a lot more later. But the cuts are coming at a price -- weaker growth at the national level.

The clearest sign to date was a report Friday on U.S. gross domestic product for the final three months of 2010. The government lowered its growth estimate, pointing to larger-than-expected cuts by state and local governments. The report suggested that worsening state budget problems could hold back the recovery by putting more people out of work and reducing consumer spending.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/State-and-local-budget-cuts-apf-4195423316.html?x=0

U.S. crop boom not enough to rebuild thin supplies

ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) – Huge U.S. corn and soybean plantings this spring will likely fail to refill razor-thin stocks enough to quell the surge in grain prices, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday.

In updated forecasts for the world's biggest crop exporter, the USDA warned that it could take several years to restore inventories to comfortable levels. It mostly maintained earlier forecasts on how many acres farmers would sow this spring, but said stocks at the end of the 2012 season would remain tight.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110224/bs_nm/us_usda_forum

Companies concerned about rising fuel costs

Companies around the world have begun to warn about the impact of higher fuel costs on their businesses, raising fears about profits and inflation.

Companies in the most energy-intensive sectors, such as airlines, have been the first to raise the alarm, but analysts warned that a sustained period of high oil prices would have a widespread effect on earnings.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de612ac2-410f-11e0-bf62-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1F1fyO85o

US Will Be the World's Third Largest Economy

The world is going to become richer and richer as developing economies play catch up over the coming years, according to Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup.

"We expect strong growth in the world economy until 2050, with average real GDP growth rates of 4.6 percent per annum until 2030 and 3.8 percent per annum between 2030 and 2050," Buiter wrote in a market research.

"As a result, world GDP should rise in real PPP-adjusted terms from $72 trillion in 2010 to $380 trillion dollars in 2050," he wrote.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41775174

Cost of...everything...about to go up

A new report from The Labor Department indicates its concern about inflation, and businesses are claiming they can't absorb the rising cost of commodities alone. Many say they'll have no choice but to raise prices and shrink packages. Frustrating stuff for an economy that's supposed to be recovering.

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14071185

Higher Inflation Is On The Way

The stakes have seldom been higher. With the unemployment rate still above 9%, and federal debt at record levels, this latest error by the monetary authorities is likely to be the most costly since the Great Inflation of the 1970s. Monetary instability will slow employment growth and further erode confidence in government at the same time that higher interest rates will add billions of dollars to the interest cost on the national debt. Yet, failure to act in a timely basis will lead to an even greater crisis.

http://blogs.forbes.com/charleskadlec/2011/02/22/higher-inflation-is-on-the-way/

Markets get jitters as oil price heads for the sky

Fears that the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East could seriously disrupt oil supplies and throttle the world economy turned to reality yesterday and propelled the price of oil to more than $108 a barrel during trading, the highest since September 2008. It was $85 at the start of the year. The region supplies a third of the world's oil needs.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/markets-get-jitters-as-oil-price-heads-for-the-sky-2222905.html#

Food/Financial Crisis of 2011

World food inflation is smashing down on the world’s populations as prices rise precipitously in the face of increasing shortages and absurd monetary policies. Prices are rising everywhere. It is not millions but billions of people who must tighten their belts because they have no choice but to eat less. Billions of people on our planet have no discretionary funds so they just cannot afford the increased prices. They have to get by with less to eat. They have no choice.

http://agriculture.imva.info/food-prices/foodfinancial-crisis-of-2011

Why Are Food Prices Going Crazy?

Global wheat prices more than doubled in the second half of last year, according to a new report from the World Bank. The price of corn, sugar and cooking oil also soared.

Why are global food prices skyrocketing? Who is going to go hungry as a result? And what does it mean for the U.S.?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/16/133744524/why-are-food-prices-going-crazy?ps=cprs

Inflation makes comeback as prices rise for food, fuel

Inflation is making a quick comeback after touching the lowest levels in decades last fall.

Fast-rising prices for food, fuel and other basic necessities, stoked by rapid growth in emerging countries, are coming home to American consumers despite reluctance by U.S. businesses to raise their prices.

A report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in each of the past two months — or a 4 percent annual rate over the last quarter f fed by the biggest gains in food prices in two years and surging energy prices.

The report also showed a broadening of price pressures as airlines jacked up their fares by an average of 2.2 percent to pass on the cost of higher fuel and retailers raised clothing prices by 1 percent to reflect the higher costs of cotton and other fabrics.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/17/inflation-makes-comeback-prices-rise-food-fuel/

Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel and the Slow Death of Money

A huge opportunity to hedge against both inflation and deflation is lying out there in the open. There are no transaction costs and right now there’s even a built-in discount. But most people will never realize any of this.

In 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, which made it illegal for U.S. citizens to hold gold bullion.

Prior to that, the $20 bill was essentially a warehouse receipt for a one-ounce gold coin. Prior to the Federal Reserve Act of 1914, the $20 bill actually told you this.

http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/gold-silver-copper-nickel-and-the-slow-death-of-money/

Oil rises to $104 a barrel amid Middle East tensions

Brent crude rose above $104 a barrel late on Wednesday and remained there on Thursday after Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, said two Iranian warships planned to sail through the Suez canal en route to Syria.

Aside from fresh Israel-Iran tensions, oil traders are also worried about unrest in Bahrain, where riot police killed protestors, and oil-rich Libya.

They fear the kind of disturbances that toppled the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia could spread to other oil-producing Middle East nations.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/8329359/Oil-rises-to-104-a-barrel-amid-Middle-East-tensions.html#

Rising wholesale prices spur inflation concerns

Steady improvement in the economy may soon come at a price -- faster inflation.

Shoes, clothes, tires, plastics and other products all cost more at the wholesale level last month, putting pressure on businesses to pass the increases along to their customers.

The hikes also give ammunition to critics who fear that the Federal Reserve's bold steps to strengthen the economy have started to feed inflation and need to be reined in. Those critics include some Fed officials.

A widely watched measure of wholesale inflation, the core Producer Price Index, rose 0.5 percent last month, the largest monthly increase since October 2008. The entire index, which includes volatile gas and food prices, rose 0.8 percent.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Rising-wholesale-prices-spur-apf-2005267013.html?x=0

The Food Crisis is a Dollar Crisis

At this week’s hearing on Capitol Hill, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke demonstrated a lack of understanding about what causes inflation. His comments reflected a belief that GDP growth causes inflation.

But true economic growth is production-driven, and adds to the supply of goods and services in the economy. True economic growth is not inflationary. Rather, inflation is driven by runaway government deficits and bloated central bank balance sheets. And right now, we have plenty of both. So we have every reason to expect the CPI, even with all of its window-dressing shenanigans, to soar past 2% in short order.

http://dailyreckoning.com/the-food-crisis-is-a-dollar-crisis/

China sells $34.2bn of US treasury bonds

China sold $34bn (£21.5bn) worth of US government bonds in December, raising fears that ­Beijing is using its financial ­muscle to signal that it has lost confidence in American economic policy.

US treasury figures for the period ending in December 2009 show that, following the sale, China is no longer the largest overseas holder of US treasury bonds. Beijing ended the year sitting on $755.4bn worth of US government debt, compared to Japan's $768.8bn.

Since the sub-prime crisis that began on Main Street USA grew to engulf the global economy, China's leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns about US policy. December's $34bn sell-off made only a tiny dent in Beijing's total holdings of US assets, which amount to well over $1tn when stakes in American companies, as well as treasury bills, are taken into account.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/17/china-sells-us-treasury-bonds

U.S. Economy: Consumer Prices Rise More Than Forecast

The consumer-price index advanced 0.4 percent for a second month, led by the biggest increase in food costs in more than two years, according to figures today from the Labor Department in Washington. Other reports showed manufacturing is bolstering the expansion, and consumer confidence is being buffeted by rising household expenses.

Americans are paying more for air travel and clothing as growing economies in Asia and Latin America boost demand for commodities like oil and cotton. Another report today showing more people than projected filed claims for jobless benefits last week indicates workers don’t have the power to seek bigger pay increases, evidence inflation is unlikely to flare.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-17/consumer-prices-in-u-s-rise-more-than-forecast-on-higher-food-fuel-costs.html

World Bank: Food prices at "dangerous levels"

The World Bank's food price index rose by 15 percent between October and January alone. The increase has been driven by volatile global trading in wheat, corn and soybeans. Global corn futures more than doubled since this summer, from $3.50 to $7 a bushel, in part because of higher demand from developing countries and a growing biofuels industry.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_food_prices

Oil prices fall on economy, supply concerns

Oil prices retreated Tuesday on concerns about growing supplies of crude in the U.S. and weak retail sales numbers that suggested consumers were spending less because of high energy prices.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell 66 cents to $84.15 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $85.98 earlier in the session. In London, Brent crude fell 79 cents to $102.29 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9LDBTU02&show_article=1

Precious Metals Get Heavy

Investors have been flocking to precious metals as a safe haven, boosting prices for the likes of gold and platinum.

But that's putting a squeeze on companies that use the metals in industries as varied as construction equipment and film making.

Precious metals tend to keep their value even as inflation and economic uncertainty hurt investments like stocks and bonds. That has fueled a flood of investment in exchange-traded funds, which track benchmark indexes, that are backed by gold and other metals.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/precious-metals-weigh-on-manufacturers-2011-02-15

Obama budget plan shows interest owed on national debt quadrupling in next decade

Interest payments on the national debt will quadruple in the next decade and every man, woman and child in the United States will be paying more than $2,500 a year to cover for the nation's past profligacy, according to figures in President Obama's new budget plan.

Starting in 2014, net interest payments will surpass the amount spent on education, transportation, energy and all other discretionary programs outside defense. In 2018, they will outstrip Medicare spending. Only the amounts spent on defense and Social Security would remain bigger under the president's plan.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/16/AR2011021606897.html?nav=rss_email/components

Ross Perot - ECONOMIC crisis 2008 WOW

Giant Sucking Sound - Ross Perot 1992 Presidential Debate.flv

Economic Collapse - Peter Schiff - We "Probably" Won't Make It To 2012

Roubini’s Next Crisis Is Scary Food for Thought: William Pesek

Forget Egypt for a moment. Skip the water crisis in China. Look past angst on the streets of Bangladesh. If you want to see how extreme the effects of surging food prices are becoming, look to wealthy Japan.

So big are the increases that economists are buzzing about them pushing deflationary Japan toward inflation. Yes, rising costs for commodities such as wheat, corn and coffee might do what trillions of dollars of central-bank liquidity couldn’t.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-13/roubini-s-next-crisis-makes-food-for-thought-commentary-by-william-pesek.html

Major Food Distributor Sysco: “Immediate Volatile Prices, Expected Limited Availability, and Mediocre Quality at Best”

Adding to already rising food prices due to monetary inflation and weather related supply problems around the globe, one of the world’s leading food distribution companies, Sysco Corporation, is advising clients and their customers that the recent freeze across North America has significantly impacted growing operations in Mexico (as well as parts of the U.S.) leading to 80% - 100% crop damage:

http://www.shtfplan.com/commodities/major-food-distributor-sysco-immediate-volatile-prices-expected-limited-availability-and-mediocre-quality-at-best_02132011

Kraft says more price increases ahead

The company reported Thursday that price increases it made to cope with higher ingredient costs are not going to be enough to sustain its profitability and it plans further hikes this year.

As one of the world's largest food companies, Kraft is feeling the pinch from higher costs for wheat, corn, sugar and other commodities.

The company already raised prices on most of its products in Europe and more than half in North America. But it said its input costs rose nearly $500 million during the fourth quarter and its profit margins suffered accordingly.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Kraft-says-more-price-apf-2318617575.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=6&asset=&ccode=

Another blow for families: Fastest rise in prices of staple foods in five years

Bread, pasta, and packets and tins of food increased in cost by 2.7 per cent between December and January to reach an annual rate of 6.3 per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Overall, the annual rate of food inflation jumped from 4 per cent to 4.6 per cent, despite claims of supermarkets to be waging a new year price war. This was the largest monthly increase in two years.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1355055/Food-prices-fastest-rise-5-years-blow-families.html

McDonald's likely to raise prices in 2011

Food prices are rising around the globe and the comments from the world's biggest restaurant chain overshadowed weaker-than-expected December sales at established European and U.S. restaurants, as poor weather hurt demand, and a reported fourth-quarter profit that was in line with expectations.

McDonald's expects its costs to rise 2 percent to 2.5 percent this year in the United States and 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent in Europe.

Beef, chicken, pork, bread and milk products, paper, cola, ketchup and other sauces, and fruits and vegetables top McDonald's U.S. shopping list.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/McDonalds-likely-to-raise-rb-1008649378.html?x=0

China's Wheat Basket Faces Its Worst Drought In 200 Years

China's wheat basket, Shangdong Province, is stuck in the worst drought in 60 years. If weather forecasts hold true, this will be the worst drought in 200 years, according to Xinhua.

The government has already declared a state emergency to send relief to the province, including trucks full of drinking water and special equipment to irrigate the fields.

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-drought-20-years-2011-2

Seven Things That Will Cost More in 2011 and What You Can Do About Them

1. A Trip to the Grocery Store
2. The Cost of Gas and Heating Fuel
3. Health Insurance and Medical Costs
4. The Cost of Clothing
5. Colleges and Universities
6. Raising Kids
7. Bank and Bank Card Fees

http://www.walletpop.com/2011/01/07/seven-things-that-will-cost-more-in-2011-and-what-you-can-do-abo/

Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices

The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

The revelation comes as the oil price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East. Many analysts expect that the Saudis and their Opec cartel partners would pump more oil if rising prices threatened to choke off demand.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks

Silver in complete backwardation

We are in the process of pouring over the data from this week, and just below is something we are going to be hearing a lot more about in the coming days and weeks. As of Friday, February 4, 2011, there was near zero contango in the COMEX silver futures market.

http://harveyorgan.blogspot.com/2011/02/silver-in-complete-backwardation.html

Jim Rickards On Inflation And Currency Wars

Jim Rickards: I think there is a definite and highly significant danger of inflation coming from QE and QE2 specifically. A lot of people have said, in fact, the Fed has said, that, if you look at the key price indices, the Producer Price Index (PPI), Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the Personal Consumption (PC) price deflator, they are very, they use the phrase, “well behaved”. For the past year and a half, the critics, and I would include myself, have been saying that this situation is dangerous and unstable. The Fed has been pointing to the price indices and saying that you can’t find inflation under a rock, you can’t find inflation with a microscope, so what are you worried about?

http://investmentwatchblog.com/interview-jim-rickards-on-inflation-and-currency-wars/

Supermarket surprise: smaller servings, same price

Product Old Size New Size Difference
Tropicana orange juice 64 oz. 59 oz. 7.8%
Ivory dish detergent 30 oz. 24 oz. 20%
Kraft American cheese 24 slices 22 slices 8.3%
Kirkland signature paper towels 96.2 sq. ft. 85 sq. ft. 11.6%
Haagen Dazs ice cream 16 oz. 14 oz. 12.5%
Scott toilet tissue 115.2 sq. ft. 104.8 sq. ft. 9%
Lanacane first aid spray 113 grams 99 grams 12.4%
Chicken of the Sea salmon 3 oz. 2.6 oz. 13.3%
Classico pesto 10 oz. 8.1 oz. 19%
Hebrew National franks 12 oz. 11 oz. 8.3%

http://news.yahoo.com/s//fool/20110124/bs_fool_fool/rx109081/

More Investors Position for Possibility of U.S. Default

The net notional amount of derivatives used to hedge or speculate against a default on U.S. government debt rose 12% in late January, according to Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. figures.

The increase suggests investors are becoming more nervous about the quality of U.S. debt. It also threatens to cast a pall over the notion that Treasurys are risk-free assets investors should run to for haven from other instruments.

The net notional of credit default swaps bought and sold on U.S. debt rose from $2.67 billion to just over $3 billion between Jan. 14 and Jan. 21, ...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704775604576119960455333704.html

Fed chief Ben Bernanke denies US policy behind record global food prices

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has dismissed the idea that the central bank’s policies are to blame for the rise in global food prices to a record high that helped trigger political unrest in Egypt.

Mr Bernanke said that the rapid growth of developing economies was behind the increase in food prices, rather than the Fed’s decision to embark on a second, $600bn (£371bn) round of printing money. “Clearly what’s happening is not a dollar effect, it’s a growth effect,” Mr Bernanke said in a rare question and answer session with journalists at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8302111/Fed-chief-Ben-Bernanke-denies-US-policy-behind-record-global-food-prices.html#

Fed denies policy is causing food rises

Asset purchases by the US Federal Reserve do not cause rising food prices in countries such as Egypt, the central bank’s chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

“I think it’s entirely unfair to attribute excess demand pressures in emerging markets to US monetary policy, because emerging markets have all the tools they need to address excess demand in those countries,” he said.

Mr Bernanke’s comments are a firm retort to critics who argue that by driving down US interest rates with quantitative easing the Fed is pushing capital flows into commodities and emerging markets.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5c4aeaea-2fbd-11e0-91f8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1CztEsxVR

Companies Stock Up as Commodities Prices Rise

Companies contending with rising commodity prices are stockpiling rubber tires, cotton clothing and other goods, a maneuver that is aimed at insulating them from inflation but also could contribute to it.

John Anton, founder of Anton Sports, with his surplus supply of cotton T-shirts in Tempe, Ariz., last month.
Spice-maker McCormick & Co. stocked up on some ingredients and Monro Muffler Brake Inc. bought extra tires and motor oil, assuming prices of those goods will keep rising. Anton Sport, a small athletic-wear wholesaler in Tempe, Ariz., amped up its fabric purchases to avoid higher prices.

These pre-emptive purchases are a fraction of overall business activity, but the trend is being watched by economists and business executives. The stockpiling comes at a pivotal moment for the global economy, as central bankers scramble to judge the impact of raw-materials price increases and figure out whether or when to raise interest rates.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704775604576120533736097682.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

U.S. economy, inflation, China, euro, gold

U.S. Inflation Could Rise Twentyfold

Are We Seeing a Whiff of Inflation?

Economists are pointing out that January's super strong ISM manufacturing report could be signaling early signs of inflationary pressure.

The prices paid index jumped to 81.5 from 72.5, the highest level since 2008, when oil was spiking in the mid-$140s per barrel. In November, prices paid was at 69.5.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41370200

Four Reasons Why The Government Is Destroying The Dollar

1. Creating money out of thin air on a massive basis is all that stands between the current state of hidden depression, and overt depression with unemployment levels in excess of those seen in the US Great Depression of the 1930s.

2. It is the weapon of choice being used to wage currency war and reboot US economic growth.

3. It is the most effective way to meet not just current crushing debt levels, but to deal with the rapidly approaching massive generational crisis of paying for Boomer retirement promises.

4. Political survival and enhanced power for incumbent politicians.

http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/daniel-amerman/four-reasons-why-the-government-is-destroying-the-dollar

Authoritarian governments start stockpiling food to fight public anger

Commodities traders have warned they are seeing the first signs of panic buying from states concerned about the political implications of rising prices for staple crops.

However, the tactic risks simply further pushing up prices, analysts have warned, pushing a spiral of food inflation.

Governments in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa have recently made large food purchases on the open market in the wake of unrest in Tunisia which deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/8288555/Authoritarian-governments-start-stockpiling-food-to-fight-public-anger.html

The downsizing of America-manufactures learn creative methods of repackaging inflation.

There is a slow burn going on and it is happening in your wallet and also in the gas tank of your car. The US Treasury and Federal Reserve have made it their mission to slowly cut the value of each one of those green dollars you have. Since many Americans are struggling to make the monthly bills, many producers realize that they cannot up the price on regularly bought consumption products.

http://www.mybudget360.com/downsizing-of-america-oil-production-off-1980s-peak-repackaging-inflation-decline-us-dollar-purchasing-power/

Why the Smart Money is Trading Dollar Bills for Hard Assets

“With each passing day,” we observed last week, “inflation seems less and less a theoretical fiction, and more and more a genuine threat… No self-respecting economist or self-aggrandizing central banker is acknowledging any inflationary risk whatsoever,” we continued. “But the indifferent data points of real-world prices testify to the contrary.”

http://dailyreckoning.com/why-the-smart-money-is-trading-dollar-bills-for-hard-assets/

Silver Shortage This Decade, Silver Will Be Worth More Than Gold

A Silver Shortage?

The Most Predictable Financial Calamity in History

In November 2010, the Federal Reserve announced a second round of economic stimulus commonly referred to as Quantitative Easing (QE2). The reason, according to the Fed, was “progress toward its objectives has been disappointingly slow.” So, to try and turn the economy around, the Fed said, “. . . the Committee intends to purchase a further $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter (June) of 2011, a pace of about $75 billion per month.” QE means the Fed basically creates money out of thin air to buy debt. The current money printing orgy is financing more than half of U.S. government right now. The first round of QE bought toxic mortgage debt and bailed out the bankers.

http://usawatchdog.com/economic-stimulus-quantitative-easing-qe3/

Dead ahead: State and city pension Failures

Last week The New York Times dropped a bombshell, reporting that "policy makers are working behind the scenes to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers."

This is truly huge news, with far-reaching consequences. But it shouldn't come as a surprise if you've been reading my columns ...

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/375/477/Dead_ahead:_State_and_city_pension_FAILURES.html

Second wave of housing bust hammers more cities

A second wave of falling home prices is battering some cities that had escaped the worst of the housing market bust.

Prices in Seattle, Charlotte, N.C., and Portland, Ore., have hit their lowest points since peaking in 2006 and 2007. Denver and Minneapolis are nearing new lows. High unemployment and rising foreclosures are taking a toll even on markets that never overheated during the boom years.

Home values are dwindling in nearly every American market. Prices fell in November in all but one of the 20 cities in the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. Eight of those markets hit their lowest point since the housing bubble burst.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Second-wave-of-housing-bust-apf-411171723.html?x=0

Gold Holdings in ETPs Plunge Amid Signs of Recovery

Gold held through exchange-traded products, or ETPs, tumbled by the most in more than two years amid speculation that improving prospects for the global economic recovery are undermining demand and hurting prices.

Assets in gold-backed ETPs fell 31 metric tons yesterday to 2,043.09 tons, the lowest level since Aug. 10, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from 10 providers. That’s the biggest drop in percentage terms since October 2008, the data show. Holdings have shrunk 3.4 percent from the record 2,114.6 tons on Dec. 20.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-26/gold-assets-in-etps-plunge-most-since-2008-amid-signs-of-global-recovery.html

Finally, It’s the Fed That Has Become Too Big to Fail

We’re still not sure whether CNBC was making a joke or simply advertising its ignorance with a recent headline, “Accounting Tweak Could Save Fed from Losses,” This was a tweak about as subtle and ingenuous as Bernie Madoff’s balance sheet.

http://news.goldseek.com/RickAckerman/1295938860.php

An Ugly Side Effect of New 1099 Law: More Tax Evasion

Tax pros now fear that tax evasion could go viral if the health-reform bill’s new 1099 requirement takes effect next year. They say more small businesses will likely opt to do all-cash transactions under the table to avoid the 1099 reporting requirement, and all of its onerous provisions, which are worse than small businesses may realize.

That's the direct opposite effect of what lawmakers had hoped for, and it would pose a bad development for the Internal Revenue Service, which for years has been under pressure from Congress to bring in more tax revenue. That revenue is needed now more than ever, as Social Security and Medicare teeter into the red, and as more states rely on federal revenue to fill their budget holes.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/01/21/new-ugly-effect-tax-evasion/#

Higher pump prices coming your way this spring

Pump prices have risen nearly 9 percent since Dec. 1 and topped $3.10 a gallon this week. That's the highest level since October 2008. The price may rise or fall a little over the next few months, but analysts expect it to range between $3.20 and $3.75 gallon by March and April ahead of the summer driving season.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Higher-pump-prices-coming-apf-1797090788.html?x=0

Which Of The Currencies Of The World Is Going To Crash First?

The U.S. and Japan are both steamrolling toward insolvency, and several European nations would have already defaulted on their debts if they had not been bailed out. So which of the major currencies of the world is going to crash first? Will one (or more) of the big currencies fall before the end of 2011? Once one major currency collapses will the rest start to fall like dominoes? The truth is that the world has never seen a sovereign debt crisis of this magnitude in all of human history. Almost the entire globe is drowning in a sea of red ink and it has brought us right to the brink of financial disaster.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/which-of-the-currencies-of-the-world-is-going-to-crash-first

Fed Hides Major Accounting Change

Concerns that the Federal Reserve could suffer losses on its massive bond holdings may have driven the central bank to adopt a little-noticed accounting change with huge implications: it makes insolvency much less likely.

The significant shift was tucked quietly into the Fed's weekly report on its balance sheet and phrased in such technical terms that it was not even reported by financial media when originally announced on Jan. 6.

But the new rules have slowly begun to catch the attention of market analysts. Many are at once surprised that the Fed can set its own guidelines, and also relieved that the remote but dangerous possibility that the world's most powerful central bank might need to ask the U.S. Treasury or its member banks for money is now more likely to be averted.

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/01/hot-fed-hides-major-accounting-change.html

Social Security Is in Far Worse Shape Than You Think

For years, politicians and policymakers have reassured the American public that the Social Security system, which sends monthly checks out to 53 million beneficiaries, is safely solvent -- and will be for decades to come. But federal spending and income data from the Treasury Department reveal that the Social Security program is already deep in the red, with outlays exceeding payroll tax revenues by $76 billion in 2010 alone.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/retirement/social-security-far-worse-shape-than-you-think/19804267/?icid=maing%7Cmain5%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%7C37184

12 Economic Collapse Scenarios That We Could Potentially See In 2011

So we had all better be getting prepared for hard times. The following are 12 economic collapse scenarios that we could potentially see in 2011....

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/12-economic-collapse-scenarios-that-we-could-potentially-see-in-2011

Germany Should Prepare for Greek Default, Adviser Feld Tells Handelsblatt

Germany should set funds aside to prepare for a Greek default, Lars Feld, a designated economic adviser to the German government, was cited as saying in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper.

“I don’t believe that Greece will manage to deal with its debts without a cut,” Feld, nominated by the Cabinet to a five- member panel of economists who advise the government and a professor at the University of Freiburg, was cited as saying. “And then German guarantees will come due.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-19/germany-should-prepare-for-greek-default-adviser-feld-tells-handelsblatt.html

Nowhere to Hide" from Rising Food Prices

"Corn is a big one" in the higher prices department, Bloomberg Businessweek Assistant Managing Editor Sheelah Kolhatkar told "Early Show on Saturday Morning" co-anchor Betty Nguyen. "The Agriculture Department released a report a couple of days ago about crop forecasts for the year and predicted corn production is going to go down very significantly, which led to a spike in prices."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/15/earlyshow/saturday/main7249451.shtml

Doom And Gloom

Most Americans may not care, but the food riots that are starting to erupt around the globe are actually very serious.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/doom-and-gloom

10 American Companies That Will Disappear in 2011

Saab USA
Office Depot
Dean Foods
Frontier Airlines
Sara Lee
Borders
Gateway
DollarThrifty
Answers Corp.
E*Trade

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/10-american-companies-that-will-disappear-in-2011/19798647/

Why supermarket stocks are getting squeezed

Rising food prices mean grocery store chains must absorb extra costs on items like meat, seafood, and produce, or they try to pass them along to customers. But many of those consumers are unemployed or have less money to spend, even on essentials. For now, the big chains are mostly choosing to absorb. As a result, profits are falling, and so are their stocks, making them one of the few dim lights in the market in 2011.

On Tuesday, Supervalu was the first of the grocers to report quarterly results, and the numbers for its fiscal third quarter were ominous: A loss of $202 million, or 95 cents a share, compared with a profit of $109 million, or 51 cents, in the same period a year earlier. The company, which operates Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Acme and other chains, also cut its forecast for the year.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Why-supermarket-stocks-are-apf-904020854.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode

The Black Swan Events of 2011?

Remember the sickening plunge in the stock market last spring, May 6, 2010, the mysterious flash crash?

Remember that day? It felt like the markets were in a massive power blackout.

Can it happen again? What are the Black Swan events of 2011, the unpredictable events that can wreak utter chaos in the markets?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/01/14/black-swan-events/?cmpid=cmty_email_The_Black_Swan_Events_of_2011%3F

China's control of rare-earth metals poses risk to U.S. solar future

China's tight control of rare metals may hurt developing domestic solar industries, according to a research director at the National Renewable Energy Lab.

"Folks are looking at, if we don't get it from China, how will we get it?" said Ryne Raffaele, director of the center for photovoltaics at NREL, the U.S. government's premier energy lab. "Can it easily be mined?"

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17108810?source=rss#ixzz1BJ6R5LVx

Next shock will be high food prices

You will pay for all this water. Unless you are insulated from the normal costs of living, you can expect sticker shock at some point this year, or next, when paying for the weekly food shopping. We've had oil shocks. Prepare for food shocks.

Ten years ago, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation's composite world food price index stood at 92. For the month of December it was 215.

The most expensive year on record was 2008, when 60 million people slid into poverty because of higher food costs. There were food riots. Over the past three months, the trend in the FAO's food price index was worse than 2008.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/next-shock-will-be-high-food-prices-20110116-19sen.html

World is 'one poor harvest' from chaos

Like many environmentalists, Lester Brown is worried. In his new book "World on the Edge," released this week, Brown says mankind has pushed civilization to the brink of collapse by bleeding aquifers dry and overplowing land to feed an ever-growing population, while overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide.
If we continue to sap Earth's natural resources, "civilizational collapse is no longer a matter of whether but when," Brown, the founder of Worldwatch and the Earth Policy Institute, which both seek to create a sustainable society, told AFP.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.999426eed38d24123132435f3d303867.31&show_article=1

'Explosive' Food Prices the Biggest Risk

Overheating emerging markets, in China in particular, pose the biggest threat to the market and political situation in 2011 according to Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets.

“These economies are clearly overheating and governments are putting measures in place to slow them down to fight inflationary pressure. More than anything else, food inflation is a problem," Gijsels told CNBC.com.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41089972

5 Simple Ways To Prepare For The Coming Food Crisis

The truth is that we are headed for large food production shortfalls, manipulated or not, while middle-class food demand grows massively in the developing world. For decades the world's agriculture community produced more than enough food to feed the planet, yet some now believe we are reaching "Peak Food" production levels. In turn, other experts believe the "food bubble" is about to burst, and not even the biotech companies can save us.

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/01/5-simple-ways-to-prepare-for-coming.html

Higher commodity prices may spur inflation

Rising wholesale prices for food and energy are putting pressure on manufacturers and retailers to pass higher costs to customers. It's a trend that could raise inflation in the United States and slow economies in Asia and Latin America.

U.S. gas prices have topped $3 a gallon, and grain prices have reached a 2 1/2-year high. Some lawmakers say the increases illustrate the need for tighter limits on speculation in commodities markets.

Airlines, clothing manufacturers and some grocery stores have already raised retail prices. And even those companies that have resisted increases because they worry that customers can't afford them may be more reluctant to hire because of the squeeze.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110113/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy%3B_ylt%3DAsYHP_zuePdWDreoVGhnWDGs0NUE%3B_ylu%3DX3oDMTFocGwwZ2V2BHBvcwMyNgRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNoaWdoZXJlbmVyZ3k-

At Least 10 States Have Introduced Gold Coins-As-Currency Bills

Legislators in at least ten states have introduced bills in the past few years to allow state commerce to be conducted with gold and silver.

As we reported, Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin (R) recently reintroduced legislation to force his state to conduct all monetary transactions with U.S. gold or silver coins -- including the payment of taxes.

The Georgia bill has a long way to go before become law -- but it's by no means the only state that's considering a future in gold. Lawmakers in Montana, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington have proposed legislation, mostly in 2009, to include gold and silver in its accepted currency forms.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/at-least-10-states-have-introduced-gold-coins-as-currency-bills.php#

Munis Crashing For Third Straight Day, And This Is The Worst Yet

For three days now, munis have tanked, and this is the worst one yet.

http://www.businessinsider.com/munis-crashing-for-third-straight-day-and-this-is-the-worst-yet-2011-1

S&P, Moody's Warn On U.S. Credit Rating

Investors bought Treasury debt nonetheless, ignoring the comments, which echoed prior statements by the companies and may still be months or years away from having any practical meaning.

"The warning on the U.S. rating is well-founded," said Brian Yelvington, chief fixed-income strategist at Knight Capital. "However, it will probably fall on deaf ears until the peripheral Europe story plays out."

Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Thursday that the U.S. will need to reverse the expansion of its debt if it hopes to keep its "Aaa" rating.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703583404576079311379009904.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection