Economics and Investing:

After much foot dragging, the Federal Reserve banking cartel finally fessed up to lavishing $3.3 trillion in new liquidity and in excess of $9 trillion in “short term” loans. But in doing so, they soft-pedaled the fact that a good portion of that was used to bailing out soured or failed mortgage-backed securities (MBS) derivatives contracts. Gee, even the biggest casino in the world can get insurance, these days. But I suspect that the next derivatives meltdown will be so big that it will bring down the global financial system.

C.D.V. suggested this article: Any Talk of Recovery is False. Here is snippet: “As you can see, the great retail recovery of 2010 is a sham. Comparable store sales increases of 3% are inflation-adjusted decreases of 5%. If you drive around with your eyes open, you would think the hot new retailer in America is called Space Available.”

Quest for Revenue Department: San Francisco plans tolls between Peninsula and the city. (Link courtesy of SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson)

Peter Schiff: The Dollar Threads a Needle

Items from The Economatrix:

10 Signs That Confidence In US Treasuries Is Dying And That Financial Armageddon May Be Approaching

Droughts, Floods, Cold, and Snow Hit Global Commodities  

The Fed’s Final Days  

Doomsday For The US Dollar:  Post Mortem for the World’s “Reserve Currency”

Dollar May Drop 11% in 2011 as Treasuries Fall, Says CitiGroup  

Chinese Take-out Of The US Economy, Debt Crisis Triggering Reserves Conversion Into Gold and Silver