Day: September 16, 2008

Notes from JWR:

Warning: Today’s blog posts will exceed the Recommended Daily Allowance of Gloom and Doom. Congrats to Tom H., the high bidder in our recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction. Today we begin a new auction, for a mixed lot that includes: Special Mixed Vegetable Case-Six #10 Dehydrated Food Cans (Retail Price $105.95) This special Mixed Vegetable Case contains six #10 (96-ounce) cans–one can of each of the following: Mixed Vegetable Blend, Green Beans, Sweet Garden Peas, Mixed Peppers, Potato Dices, and Sweet Potatoes and a EZ-Towels 10 Pack Combo (10 bags of 50 towels. Retail value: $99.95). These items were donated by …


Dear Mr. Fuld: It’s The End of the World As We Know It

The recent news headlines about the investment banking crisis have answered the question that I often get from readers: “Why do you spend so much time talking about economics?” In my estimation, an economic crisis is the most likely trigger for a societal collapse, in the short term. The Lehman Brothers debacle is just a microcosmic preview of the global credit collapse. It is also a good illustration of the derivatives risk that I’ve been warning about for many years. How many times do I have to say this? The entire credit system is broken and it will be a …


A Quantum Leap Toward Socialism, by Michael Pento

Unfortunately, we Americans now realize that the decision by Ben Bernanke to slash the Fed Funds rate to 2% (a three hundred twenty five basis point reduction) was just the opening act in this Republican administration’s socialism play. At the time some wondered why the government didn’t just allow home prices fall to historical averages rather than seeking to lower the value of the U.S. dollar and send inflation to a 17-year high. Now we have learned just this past weekend that the Department of the Treasury has come up with a plan for conservatorship of the GSEs, enacting the …


Letter Re: Tropical Storm Ike’s Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio

Hi James! I heard you this morning on WLW [in Cincinnati, Ohio] radio when you did your quick interview. Nice job. It is amazing here in Cincinnati the level of chaos that exists. The power is still out to over half a million people. My power just came back on about 10 minutes ago, but I’m waiting until it stabilizes before shutting down my emergency power system. We had quite a mess with lots of downed trees and power lines, but overall it wasn’t as bad as Houston – thank God! There has been quite a run on gasoline, and …


Letter Re: Just In Time Greenback Cash Supply for American Banks

Mr. Rawles, I worked for Loomis/Fargo as an armed security technician. That means I was a member of an armored car crew. We serviced nearly the whole quarter of a certain state [un-named–not my current state of residence]. This included a major US Air Force base. Once a week we made runs to the area banks to deliver cash. Usually our load [included] 1 to 2 tons of coins. Cold cash totals were in the 1 to 3 million area each week and sometimes up to 5M seasonally. Very often we would arrive at a bank and the tellers would …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From Naish Piazza’s blog: I Love This Little Girl… and So Will You. OBTW, speaking of Front Sight, don’t miss out on their “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer. This offer will probably end soon, so don’t hesitate any longer!    o o o Our hard working Economic Editor Cheryl N. sent us an enormous batch of news and commentary. Note, BTW, how many of these highlight the derivatives market: Meltdown Shakes Up Wall Street Workers—Wall Street Crisis Could Put Fed Rate Cut Into Play—Stocks Tumble Amid New Wall Street Landscape—Obama, McCain Blame Economic Woes on Greed, Policy—Greenspan: …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“In financial crises, your actual capital adequacy and liquidity does not matter. Both Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns — and Lehman particularly — were felt to be adequately capitalized only days before their fall. But once people thought that the end was near, the trading stopped, liquidity dried up, and the capital fled.” – Steven M. Davidoff