Economics and Investing:

Reader Burt J. sent a link to a list on the CIA web site, showing positive and negative foreign trade balances. Look who is at the very bottom of the list with the largest trade deficit, by a wide margin. This can’t go on much longer without a currency collapse.

Notutopia flagged an article that demonizes perfectly legal incorporation: Special Report: A little house of secrets on the Great Plains. (To some statists, financial privacy and economic freedom are foreign concepts.)

Yishai was the first of several readers to send this: Inside the Fed’s Vault: $1 Billion Worth of Unused Coins. JWR’s Comment: If you check the value of the base metal content at Coinflation.com, you’ll see that nickels are a much better hedge on inflation. My advice: Stock up on five cent pieces that are worth seven cents rather than one dollar coins that are worth seven cents!

Items from The Economatrix:

Unemployment Benefit Applications Stuck Above 400,000

Oil Drops 11% in 2nd Quarter

How The Bailout Killed Local Lending

Gold & Silver Ownership & Prices Not Be Affected By Dodd-Frank Legislation On July 15th