Category: Economics & Investing

America’s Pension Problem – A story of two ants. o o o China Is Hoarding Crude At The Fastest Pace On Record o o o Apple reports first revenue decline in 13 years – Sent in by RBS o o o Costco likely to raise annual membership fee – They still rate higher than their rivals, but they are obviously feeling the squeeze of this non-recession recession. They did, however, leave the door open to not raising the fees if they need to avoid it due to the competition. o o o Dollar Stores Defy Retail Headwinds – In the …

Items from Mr. Econocobas: What Americans Spent The Most Money On In Q1 U.S. Economy Slows, with GDP Growing 0.5% in First Quarter This Is Where America’s Runaway Inflation Is Hiding Video: Greg Hunter USA Watchdog – Bill Holter-Without Price Suppression Gold Would be $5,000 to $10,000 Video: Greg Hunter USA Watchdog – Gregory Mannarino-We Are Living In an Environment Where Nothing Is Real Items from Professor Preponomics: US News United Healthcare Cries Uncle (Citizens Against Government Waste) Excerpt: “More than half of the non-profit Obamacare-created CO-OPs have collapsed, wasting billions of tax dollars. It’s predicted that most will eventually …

The Real Reason To Invest In Silver… It’s The Fundamentals o o o Video: The Shocking Rail Data That Screams Recession Is HERE – Sent in by P.M.e o o o Fed Statement Could Offer Clues Toward June Rate Decision (Note: You’ll need to sign in or subscribe to read this one.) o o o Yellen Scope for Summer Rate Hike Widens as ECB Signals Hold – Excerpt: “Investors see zero probability the Federal Open Market Committee will hike at its April 26-27 meeting and only about 20 percent chance of a move at its gathering in June, eight days …

Unions’ $15 Minimum Wage About-Face – Sent in by B.B. Note: The link will require that you either have an account or have ad-blocker disabled. o o o The lack of inventory in housing: 5.9 percent fewer homes for sale in the U.S. than there were a year ago. You also have flippers asking for ridiculous prices on homes the size of closets. All this brings back memories of 2006 and 2007. o o o No One Works in 1 in 5 U.S. Families – G.G. Excerpt: “There were 81,410,000 families in the United States in 2015. Of those, there …

Why I Believe the American Dream Just Died. – Sent in by G.G. – Excerpt: “My breaking point came yesterday, upon reading a Legg Mason survey of affluent investors, which Legg Mason defined as individuals with more than $200,000 in investment assets. It found that 55% of those surveyed believe that the American Dream no longer remains within reach, with only 23% “strongly agreeing” that they are living proof of its existence.” o o o U.S. stocks fall on oil, earnings; dollar retreats. o o o Dangerous Divergence. The Fed’s policy of “Save a Wall Street Banker” is beginning to …

Sears, Kmart closing 78 more stores in bid to restore profitability – Go ahead, and don’t let the town/city door knob that once supported your operations hit you in the rear on your way out of there. Perhaps the other insult is how this firm manipulates its “CLOSEOUT” liquidation process…further jabbing the last dollar out of the already suffering local community. – RBS o o o Obama Boasts In Britain: I Saved The World Economy As President – I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. – B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News …

Continued Financial Market Deterioration Impacts Gold Eagle Sales In A Big Way – Excerpt: “While some of individuals believe that the Fed and U.S. Government will continue rigging the markets for the next decade or more, I believe we will witness a financial dislocation or black swan event within the next year.” o o o Pension Cuts – Excerpt: “The Washington Post reports that the Treasury Department is on the verge of approving an application from the Central States Pension Fund – a plan that covers Teamster truckers in several states – to cut worker pensions by an average of …

Many Middle-Class Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck – RBS o o o Why Are Bankrupt Oil Companies Still Pumping? o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: A Brief Commentary by Professor Preponomics Property rights are not only enumerated within and protected by the Constitution, they are essential to economic liberty. I hope you will follow the subject of civil forfeiture with attention and interest, and proactively (and with all due respect and civility) communicate with your county and municipal authorities, state legislatures, and members of Congress. Write editorials and post them to your local papers. Vigorously encourage the protection …

Hi Hugh, I was just reading James’ blog on saving nickels again. I have about a year or more’s worth of coins I’ve been saving. My late wife had rolled $10 worth of halves which I’ve saved. Would it be wise to hold onto them? How about Canadian silver coins? Aren’t they mostly silver? HJL’s Comment: The base metal content of half dollars made from 1971 to 2014 is 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel with a current value of less than six cents. Unless you are able to procure coins of high silver content, they are most likely not worth …

Fed Issues An Ominous Warning To JPMorgan Chase And Leaders Flock To Secret Meetings – Submitted by JFJ o o o Sanctions Lifted, Now Iran Wants To Get Paid o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News How of Representatives Files Amicus Brief in Support of Judicial Watch Taxpayer Lawsuit to Prevent DC Government from Illegally Spending Taxpayer Money (Judicial Watch) Excerpt: “Regardless of whether it is sound policy for the District of Columbia to have budget autonomy, [the defendants] cannot ignore the law. Yet, they do.” Privatizing the US Postal Service (Cato) Excerpt: “…with the rise of electronic …

United abandons ObamaCare in most States – P.S. o o o How Mainstream Econ Promotes Socialism o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Obamacare Latest: Insurers Flee Exchanges, Uninsured Rate Projected to Rise, Co-ops Failing (Townhall) Excerpt: “Let’s take a quick spin through some recent Obamacare-related headlines, shall we?” Another Payout for Obamacare Cronies (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) Excerpt: “Contemporaneous documents show industry officials terrified they would miss the Obamacare train and eager to lock in favorable terms by sidling up to the negotiating table first.” $1.35B of Counterfeit Goods Seized in 2015 (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “The …

Items from Mr. Econocobas: Silver Heads for a Bull Market as Prices Rally to 10-Month High “This Will All Blow Up In The Fed’s Face,” Schiff Warns Peter Schiff: The Winter of Discontent Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Pensions for Public Servants to Force Government Failures (My Gov Cost) Excerpt: “The problem is surprisingly simple: States and cities overestimate returns on their pension fund investments, while systematically underfunding them.” Peabody Declares Bankruptcy, Could Leave Clean-Up Costs to Taxpayers (Taxpayers for Common Sense) Excerpt: “The company has a total of $2 billion in outstanding mine clean-up or reclamation liabilities, $1.4 …

Hungary Issues Sovereign Bonds Denominated In Yuan: Another Nail In US Reserve Currency Status? – G.G. o o o ‘Danger is rapidly building,’ wealthy flee cities – DSV o o o : Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Why Regulators Think JPMorgan is Still Too Big to Fail (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “They also said that the bank would have difficulty winding down its books of derivatives during a failure.” House Passes Bill to Add Section to Bankruptcy Code for Banks (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “The legislation ‘ensures that shareholders and creditors, not taxpayers, bear the losses related to the failure of …

Deutsche Bank Confirms Silver Market Manipulation In Legal Settlement, Agrees To Expose Other Banks o o o Obama Has Collected $18,764,164,000,000 in Taxes–$124,003 Per U.S. Job – Sent in by B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Shoe Company: Obama Admin Pressured Us to Stay Quiet on TPP (The Weekly Standard) Excerpt: “Tariffs on shoes are steep, and New Balance is one of a handful of shoe companies that still manufactures shoes in the United States.” Panama Papers Offer More Evidence that Free Trade isn’t Really Free (Huffington Post) Excerpt: “But what about the United States — …

Blackmail on a national scale: Saudi Arabia warns of economic fallout if Congress passes 9/11 bill – A.C. o o o Why Is The Msm Covering Up Recessionary Data? o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Arizona College Includes Fee to Pay for Illegal Alien Scholarships (Townhall) Excerpt: “If you’re attending Prescott College, you might want to tell mom and dad that a new fee has been added to the tuition bill, one that will help establish scholarships for illegal aliens.” Ten-Step Checklist for Revitalizing America’s Immigration System (The Heritage Foundation) Excerpt: “Exhibit one is the Border Security, …