Economics and Investing:

We saw this coming: Global Market Rout Spreads

Reader Denise in Florida spotted this: Ceiling suspended: US takes on $300 billion in new debt after hitting $16.7 trillion. The article begins: “America’s ticking debt bomb has been reset. Washington has suspended the debt ceiling, setting a date, and not a concrete dollar sum as a deadline, an unprecedented first in US history.”

Fed’s Dudley: Will Take 3 to 4 Months to Decide on Tapering. JWR’s Comment: In my estimation The Fed, Treasury, and their derivatives trading clients are now so addicted to QE that they will utterly destroy the Dollar before they quit.

File under Unintended Consequences: How The Obama Gun Boom Pushed the Fortune of Two Brothers to $1.2 Billion

Chris Martenson: Four Signs That We’re Back in Dangerous Bubble Territory

Items from The Economatrix:

Don Coxe: Buying Gold May Have Downside Risks, “But The Upside Is Going To Be Enormous”

10 Scenes From The Economic Collapse That Is Sweeping The Planet

View From Main Street From One Small Town