Category: Economics & Investing

US faces ‘disastrous’ $3.4tn pension funding hole o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: U.S. Runs $108 Billion Budget Deficit in March, Treasury Says Video: The April Emergency The Fed Doesn’t Want You To Know About – Mike Maloney – Interesting take.. Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Auditor: Government Will Owe More than Entire Economy Produces (Washington Free Beacon) Excerpt: “The audit also called into question the reliability of the government’s financial statements.” “Mr. Social Security” Indicted in $600 Million Disability Fraud Scheme (Washington Free Beacon) Excerpt: “The defendants are charged with designing an intricate scheme, using their expertise …

Why Obama is forgiving the student loans of nearly 400,000 people – G.G. o o o The education and employment myth: Almost two-thirds of people in the labor force do not have a college degree. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News US Government Banking Program Facilitates Remittances to Mexico (Judicial Watch) Excerpt: “The program is called “Directo a Mexico” (Direct to Mexico) and the Federal Reserve, the government agency that serves as the nation’s central bank, launched it nearly a decade ago.” The Salary Needed to Buy a Home in 27 Different US Cities (Visual Capitalist) Excerpt: …

12 frugal lessons from the Great Depression o o o Goldman-Sachs fined $5 billion. But, since they took $10 billion in bailout money from tax payer dollars, they still profited $5 billion plus what they initially stole prior to the crash. – DMS o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News What Harry Potter Can Teach the Federal Reserve (Mises) Excerpt: “Given the monetary dark arts being practiced around the world, I would much prefer my money in the hands of a Gringotts goblin, than at the mercy of our Federal Reserve Chairman Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. “ US Readies Bank Rule …

“The Greater Depression Has Started” – Comparing 1930s & Today – J.C. o o o Government Will Owe More Money Than Entire Economy Produces – G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News The $1 Trillion Short Underlying Stocks’ Spring Awakening (Bloomberg) Excerpt: “Amid its biggest about-face in nine decades, a funny thing has happened in the U.S. stock market, where rather than loosen their grip bears have grown ever-more impassioned.” Obama Administration Pushes Banks to Make Home Loans to People with Weaker Credit (The Washington Post) Excerpt: “The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to …

JWR, One of the catalogs that I receive has been listing .999 copper rounds (1 1/2″ dia) for sale. All have designs cast into them, with some borrowing classic currency designs like the Morgan and Walking Liberty dollars, and others are more commemorative or political in nature. Are these worth purchasing as a medium of exchange along with the more widely known and accepted silver dollars and rounds? – T.S.G. JWR Replies: In my estimation those are just a sort of lame collector’s coin, with only marginal resale value. You would be paying up to 10 times the spot value …

It’s the end of cash and all your purchases will now be tracked and stored. Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’ – DMS o o o James Rickards-Gold $10,000 to $50,000 per Ounce – G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News US Factory Data Signals Further Slowdown in Economic Growth (Reuters) Excerpt: “The Commerce Department said on Monday new orders for manufactured goods declined 1.7 percent as demand fell broadly, reversing January’s downwardly revised 1.2 percent increase. Orders have declined in 14 of the last 19 months. They were previously reported to have increased 1.6 percent in …

Big Trouble Ahead For Copper Is Good For Silver o o o The Boomer Retirement Meme Is A Big Lie – Sent in by B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Charting the Automation Potential of US Jobs (Visual Capitalist) Excerpt: “In last week’s Chart of the Week, we noted that 1.3 million industrial robots would be installed between 2015 and 2018, and this would more than double the stock of active robots around the world.” Automation is Killing these Jobs (Fox News Business) Excerpt: “We all love technology. In most cases, it helps make life easier …

Items from Mr. Econocobas: Obama Administration Pushes Banks to Make Home Loans to People with Weaker Credit – This is both stupid, and desperate…. Venezuela Orders Long Weekends to Stave Off Power Crisis U.S. Braces for Worst Earnings Season Since 2009 Crisis: Chart Items from Professor Preponomics: A Brief Commentary from Professor Preponomics Currency valuation is a topic of great interest among economists and is both simultaneously simple (within the framework of free market exchange) and complex (especially when economic engineering is involved). Included here are a selection of articles that make for interesting reading and some variation in points …

Fort Knox Paradox – “If the Bullion Depository still contains over 147 million ounces of gold, why not audit it, prove the existence of the gold, and eliminate speculation?” o o o 19 Facts That Prove Things In America Are Worse Than They Were Six Months Ago o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News From Regulating Uber to Subsidizing It (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) Excerpt: “This misguided year-long initiative has a budget of $500,000 and will cover 20 percent of each fare for rides within the city’s limits and 25 percent of each fare for rides that …

Was There A Run On The Bank? JPM Caps Some ATM Withdrawals – DSV o o o The Boomer Retirement Meme Is A Big Lie o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Fed Loosens Key Post-Financial Crisis Banking Rule (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “The impact of the rule will be to increase demand for such bonds, lowering the interest rates that states and cities must pay to finance roads, bridges, buildings and other spending projects. It will also make it easier for banks to meet the liquidity requirement.” Wall Street’s Latest Dirty Word – Stagflation (CNBC) Excerpt: “Stagflation, or …

Retail job cuts spike 41% in Q1 o o o Will TurboTax Boycott Lead To Free Government-Prepared Tax Returns? – PLC o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News America is Facing a Pension Time Bomb (Nerd Wallet) Excerpt: “Of the 50 states, only Wisconsin’s pension system has a surplus. Other states, such as Illinois, have pension debt that is over 50% unfunded, meaning that unless changes are made, the state will be able to pay less than half of promised retirement payments to current workers.” Philadelphia’s $5.7 Billion “Quiet Crisis” (Financial Times via CNBC) Yellen’s New Emphasis for …

Brace For Higher Gold & Silver Prices As The Markets Crack o o o Social Security Benefit Cut Looming for Seniors – Sent in by RBS. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News 1 Out of 3 American Households Can No Longer Afford Rent, Food, and Transportation (My Budget 360) Excerpt: “People are struggling to get by and while the Fed is obsessed with interest rates, most families are seeing the impact of crony capitalism devastating their wallets.” 1 in 4 Americans 25-54 Not Working (The Weekly Standard) Excerpt: They either became so discouraged that they left the …

Cutting Through Bls Bull – Sent in by B.B. o o o Avoid putting your money in these banks o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News 4 Outrageous Examples of Government Waste (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) Among them, million dollar training retreats. Excerpt: “International Relief and Development collected billions of dollars from the government to help rebuild impoverished and war-torn countries around the world. At the same time, the company also billed over a million dollars to the government for retreats and parties at lavish resorts.” Judicial Watch: Obama Family 2015 Honolulu Christmas Vacation Cost Taxpayers $3,590,313 …

Worst Case Scenario = 73% Down From Here o o o How Mainstream Economic Theories Regularly Miss The Mark o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Professor Preponomics’ Reading Recommendation Available on Amazon: Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy (5th Edition) by Thomas Sowell US News $10 Mil to End “Diaper Disparity” After Free Diaper Laws Fail Twice in Congress (Judicial Watch) Excerpt: “To get the ball rolling, the administration announced this month that it plans to spend $10 million to “test effective ways to get diapers to families in need and document the health improvements that …