Category: Economics & Investing

Economics and Investing:

Glenn Reynolds: Cash is the currency of freedom o o o J.L recommended this at Zero Hedge: What’s The Real Unemployment Rate In The US? o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Another Economic Slump, Another Communications Test for Fed (Reuters) Get Used to an America Where Owning a Home is Not Part of the Dream: You Cannot Afford a Home on that Income! (My Budget 360) Did Free Markets Cause Flint, Michigan Water Disaster? (Mises) Michigan Senators Reach $220M Proposal Affecting Flint (The Detroit News) Detroit’s Latest Crisis: Its Dilapidated Schools Have Hit Their Debt Limit and …


Letter: A Forced Digital Currency Swap

Hugh and Jim, Yes, we can be effectively forced into a digital currency swap. Here is a real world example: In the early 1970s (as a young U.S. Army Captain) I was with the G2 Div, 2d Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea (ROK). In those days the military (and presumably civilian) personnel used Military Payment Certificates (MPCs) in lieu of US Dollars. This supposedly helped combat the local ROK black market which was notorious. A decision was made to make a change in the MPC (color, design, etc). The whole conversion process was initially classified until rollout. When …


Letter: Bullion Silver Coins Versus Pre-1965 Silver Coins

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Sir,I understand the need to have silver [available for barter] for the coming economic problems.  I have been obtaining silver Maple Leafs rather than pre-1965 US coins, mainly because they are less expensive [per ounce of silver].  However, many people I know and and bloggers say that people should have pre-1965 coins.To me when things get bad and the silver is used, it will be harder to explain the value of pre-1965 coins to normal people versus a 1 ounce silver coin. Is there a reason I am missing that pre-1965 coins are best? – JES JWR Replies: For anyone …


Economics and Investing:

Gregg sent this news link that illustrates that the U.S. is living in a financial fantasy-land: 31% of U.S. Govt Assets Are Student Loans o o o Reader T.A. spotted this:  Despite Initial Ruling, Venezuela Seeks to Silence US Website (Miami Herald) o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: This Is How Bad It’s Got In Latin America’s Socialist Utopia U.S. Has Record 10th Straight Year Without 3% Growth in GDP Fed’s Bullard Again Says It’s ‘Unwise’ to Raise Rates Items from Professor Preponomics: US News The Long History of Government Meddling in the American Marketplace (Mises) A $123B Chunk …


Economics and Investing:

Here is a fascinating three part podcast that has been put on YouTube: Verge of Collapse: Economy & Privacy: Ann Barnhardt o o o Israel’s Natural Gas Deposits Three Times Bigger than Estimated o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Displaced Worker Dishes Dirt on Disney’s H-1B Layoffs (Washington Examiner) Watch: Fired Disney Worker Breaks Down Describing Humiliation of Training Foreign Guest Worker Replacement (Conservative Review) New York Times Hits Donald Trump Over Guest Workers at MAR-A-LAGO (Breitbart) International News Global Finance Officials Promise to Shore Up Sagging Growth (AP via Drudge Report)  Venezuela’s Oil Market Participants are …


Rhodium: The Overlooked Precious Metal

The recent re-emergence of precious metals in the public eye has been underscored by an unprecedented divergence in the spot prices of gold and platinum. Traditionally, platinum has sold at a premium above the price of gold. But in today’s topsy-turvy financial world, platinum now sells at a deep discount below gold. (This is in part because platinum is considered more of a industrial metal, whereas gold is both an industrial metal and a monetary metal.)  As I’m drafting this, I see that gold is selling for around $1,200 per ounce, while platinum is just $915 per ounce. This disparity …


February in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in February? Gold had a very good February. Starting at $1,126 an ounce, it jumped as high as $1,261 an ounce. By February 11th, spot gold had closed over the $1,200 mark, and never looked back. Toward the end of the month, spot gold was parked above the $1,230 level Factors …


Economics and Investing:

UK’s exit from EU would be a “shock” to global economy: G20 o o o Bob Shapiro: Oil and The Dollar o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Fleeing Firms Put Pressure on Congress and Candidates (Washington Examiner) Bank of America is Preparing Big Layoffs in Investment Banking and Trading (Business Insider)  JP Morgan: We’re Bracing for Energy Losses (CNBC) Wells Fargo Girds for Oil & Gas Loan Losses (Morningstar) International News G20: Leaders Split on How to Kick-Start Global Growth (The Telegraph) 4,000 HSBC Staff Face the Axe (Daily Mail) Royal Bank of Scotland Hits Eighth Straight …


Economics and Investing:

Over at the TaxProf blog: IRS Says 114,000,334,000,724,000 Taxpayer Accounts Were Hacked Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Puerto Ricans Don’t Want a Bailout. They Want This… (CNN MONEY) Excerpt: “Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla claims the island is in a “death spiral” and there’s no way it will ever have enough money to pay all the debt back.” Household Debt Increases to $12T (Washington Free Beacon) Excerpt: “Household debt increased by $51 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, and now totals $12.12 trillion, or more than $40,000 per household, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of …


Economics and Investing:

Frequent content contributor B.B. suggested this: More Than 30 Blocks of Fiscal Irresponsibility o o o 45% of Americans pay no federal income tax. (Thanks to RBS for the link.) o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Student Debt Apocalypse: Median Wages Up 1.6% Over Last 25 Years While Median Student Debt is Up 163.8% (My Budget 360) Excerpt: “This idea of high tuition with low wages isn’t some made up propaganda to distract you.  This is reality.” Student Debt and Retirement Saving Don’t Add Up(CBS Money Watch) Study: Millennials’ Lack of Financial Knowledge Could Be a Big …


Economics and Investing:

Gold Will Overwhelm Dent o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Where Negative Rates Will Lead Us (Mises) Excerpt: “Despite zero-interest-rate-policy (ZIRP) and multiple quantitative easing programs — whereby the central bank buys large quantities of assets while leaving interest rates at practically zero — the world’s economies are stuck in the doldrums. The central banks’ only accomplishment seems to be an increase in public and private debt.” CAGW Releases February 2016 Wastewatcher (Citizens Against Government Waste) Obamacare’s Cerberus, Status Quo for Obama’s Last Budget, Solar Wars: Revenge of the Subsidies, Spring Cleaning at the Federal Government, Rethinking …


More About the Coming Forced Digital Currency Swap

The many recent headlines about doing away with the 500 Euro Bill and the $100 Federal Reserve Note, serve as confirmation of my January 28th Essay: Digital Currency: The Key Tool of 21st Century Monolithic Nanny State Tyranny. The Powers That Be are pushing to go cashless sooner rather than later. In this new era of negative interest rates, there is no point in leaving funds in a bank. However, this could create a shortage of physical cash, and since less than 1% of the money supply is in physical bills (the rest is just electronic ledger entries) there is …


Economics and Investing:

The Subprime Auto Loan Meltdown Is Here – Sent in by RBS o o o Japan’s Negative Interest Rates Are Driving up Sales of Safes – Sent in by G.P. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Central Banks Should Stop Paying Interest on Reserves (Mises) Excerpt: “In 2008, the Federal Reserve began paying interest on reserve balances held on deposit at the Fed. It took more than seven decades from the US leaving the gold standard — in 1933 — for the fiat regime to do this and thus revoke a cardinal element of the old gold-based …


Economics and Investing:

Student debt apocalypse: Median wages up 1.6% over last 25 years while median student debt is up 163.8%. o o o Bracken: Burning Down the House in 2016. Commentary: This article from Western Rifle Shooters Association has a lot of economic content and is well-written and hard-hitting. Warning: Some of the comments posted after the article contain racial references I found somewhat offensive, unnecessary and inappropriate. Sites that include open commentary are vulnerable to this. With this in mind, the article itself was a worthwhile read. – Submitted by K.F. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News The …


Economics and Investing:

It Has Begun! Excerpt: “The process of discovering true value has begun, as indicated by the decline in the S&P, decline in the Shanghai Index, rise in gold stocks, rise in gold, and rise in silver. Expect it to continue.” o o o We normally stay away from “zombies”, but this one is too good to pass up: No Way Out – B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News US Consumers Can’t Save the World Economy (Business Insider) Excerpt: “Consumption-led growth will help the U.S. economy expand by 2–2.5% again this year,” wrote Quinlan. “That’s good but …