Frequent content contributor GG sent this: Toxic assets ‘bridge too far’
Also from GG: come this from mainstream (Wall Street Journal) commentator Brett Arends: Is Your Portfolio Ready for Hyperinflation?
Germany Blasts ‘Powers of the Fed’
Reader A.C. flagged this: Experts Fear U.S. Will Suffer Zimbabwe-Level Inflation
From Trapper Mike: Dollar Declines as Nations Mull Reserve Currency Alternative
Items from The Economatrix:
Bernanke: Start Work Now to Curb Deficits “Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the panel’s highest-ranking Republican, raised concerns about the budget deficits and the Fed’s own actions to stimulate the economy, including buying government debt. “This can be a dangerous policy mix,” Ryan warned, adding it could lead to “runaway inflation.” With the recovery likely to be subdued, inflation will remain low, Bernanke predicted.”
Signs of a New Financial Storm for September Coming from Dubai and Saudi Arabia
California’s Day of Reckoning a Warning to Europe
31-Year-Old “Almost Law Student” in Charge of Dismantling GM
Citigroup Stuck with Bernanke Plan Rivals Plan to Refuse
US Newspaper Revenue Slide Continues
GM Shuts Part of US “Arsenal of Democracy” “During its finest hour in World War II, the retooled Willow Run car factory here could make an operational B-24 heavy bomber in just 59 minutes.”
Chinese Students Laugh at Geithner
Stock Market Dissonance: Why The Market No Longer Reflects Main Street Economics And The Dow Jones Industrial Average “One of the biggest bankruptcies in history occurred on June 1st yet you would not know this by looking at the stock market. In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shot up by 220 points. If we look at total assets, this is the fourth largest bankruptcy in history. The Dow is made up of 30 companies that show a supposedly wide cross section of the American economy. The company that filed for bankruptcy was General Motors and was actually one of the 30 components. A company that dates back to 1908 and survived the Great Depression. So how can it be that a company that employs 250,000 filing for bankruptcy is actually good for the stock market and makes the DJIA rally so strongly? The easy answer is the stock market no longer reflects the economic reality on main street.”
Dollar Declines as Nations Mull Reserve Currency Alternatives “The dollar weakened beyond $1.43 against the euro for the first time in 2009 on bets [that] record U.S. borrowing will undermine the greenback, prompting nations to consider alternatives to the world’s main reserve currency.”
The Simple Solution (The Mogambo Guru)
Northwestern Mutual Insurance Makes First Gold Buy in 152 Years! [As a hedge against further asset declines] “Gold just seems to make sense; it’s a store of value,” Chief Executive Officer Edward Zore said in an interview following his comments at a conference hosted by Standard & Poor’s in Brooklyn. “In the Depression, gold did very, very well.”