Category: Economics & Investing

The Government Netted $4.5 Billion in Cash, Cars and Houses – Sent in by B.B. o o o The remaking of an American housing bubble: Home prices are up 78 percent since 2000 and 30 percent since 2012. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: $195M Pension Payment May Derail Detroit’s Post Bankruptcy Recovery (Detroit Free Press) Blackstone: Now the World’s Largest Owner of Real Estate(Business Insider) China Welcomes IMF Backing to Make Yuan World Currency (Yahoo News) Japan Relapses Into Recession (Reuters) California: Study Finds Half of Illegal Immigrants Qualify for Medicaid Benefits(Fox News) 38% of All Comex Gold …

Items from Mr. Econocobas: China Welcomes IMF Backing to Make Yuan World Reserve Currency Car Loans Hit $1 Trillion for First Time Japan Relapses into Recession in July-September, a Blow to ‘Abenomics’ Items from Professor Preponomics: Nordstrom: The Religion of Consumption Has Proven Unfulfilling (Market Watch) It’s Official. Obama Wants to Help You Manage Your Retirement Savings. (Zero Hedge) Jury Finds Ernst & Young Liable for Millions in Damages Related to the Madoff Ponzi Scheme (Reuters) Postal Service Tallies $5.1B Loss Even As Revenues Rise (U.S. News) 100 American CEOs Have More Wealth Than 116 Million Americans (My Budget 360) …

Americans are buying tons of gold November 12 Sent in by G.P. o o o Despite their own economic woes, the Chinese continue to chip away at the U.S. dollar dominance on the world scene: China welcomes IMF backing to make yuan world reserve currency – P.S. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Four U.S. Firms with $4.8B in Debt May Default at Any Time: Energy Sector Losses Continue (Zero Hedge) Social Security: The Long Slow Default (Mises Institute) Obamacare’s Co-op Failure Contagion (Wall Street Journal) ECB Says Further Policy Easing is Coming to European Markets Next Month (Reuters) …

Hello, Your Nov 10 blog entry contained a link to Wikipedia’s “free rider problem“. That article in wikipedia is extremely biased. I’d like to suggest you also provide a link to this article as well. I had one experience that might be illustrative. I lived on a gravel road with eight other families. Eventually, we decided (after a lot of discussion) that we wanted it paved with asphalt. The decision was that everybody should pay equally. As we went around to get contributions, it turned out one would not pay and another would only pay $1000. The first was understandable, …

Sent in by G.P. – Fed Official Says Gold Standard Touted By Cruz Is ‘Unworkable’ “Doesn’t provide stability” is the answer given. I can sort of see that too. To just map the current money supply onto physical gold would push the price of physical gold into astronomical numbers simply because of all the free printing that has gone on in the last 30 years. o o o How Many More Recession Confirmations Do You Need? Yep. Every time I buy groceries, I am reminded that this is not a recovery. Sent in by J.Q. o o o Items from …

Hugh, Another reason for just underpaying your taxes is the increasing amount of tax fraud from people who will file a return as if they are you and claim your refund. What they never do is file for you and pay the small amount due. – C. C. S. o o o Hugh, It’s never, ever good to respond in a fit of anger. So, now that I’m calm, let me quote your letter writer in part: “If one must have a (pretend) “windfall” in April because of one’s lack of discipline or psychological needs…” Hey fella, the tax refund …

Americans are buying tons of gold – Sent in by G.G. o o o Macy’S Imploding, Catching Down To Sears & Penney’s – Sent in by RBS (Warning: Some foul language) o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Why Did the EPA Spend $1.4M on Guns? (The Daily Signal) What Copper Prices Say About the World Economy (Market Watch) The Legendary American Consumer is Out of Cash in these Cities (Zero Hedge) China’s Economy isn’t Responding (Business Insider) Macy’s Cuts Full Year Forecast (Reuters) When the Government “Accidentally” Pays Too Much, Everyone Pays (Waste Fraud and Abuse) It’s a Bloodbath: …

In his recent article, My Experiences And Lessons Learned As A Suburban Prepper – Part 2, by CGman, the author states: “Depending on my tax refund this year…” Many people look forward to getting a tax refund from the government, seemingly because they regard this as “found money.” It is not; any refund on taxes paid is money you loaned the government tax free and have not had the use of some of it for as long as the full tax year. I recognize there are those among us who lack sufficient self-discipline to manage their finances, or who do …

It’s not just the young men in America who are living with their parents: Record share of young U.S. women living with relatives – Sent in by G.G. o o o SurvivalBlog reader R.V. wrote in to ensure the readers saw the third paragraph in the E&I article yesterday on “Banking Giants Learn Cost…” “Under the rule for total loss-absorbing capacity, or TLAC, most systemically important banks must have liabilities and instruments ‘readily available for bail in’ equivalent to at least 16 percent of risk-weighted assets in 2019, rising to 18 percent in 2022, the FSB said on Monday.” Remember …

Biggest Silver Supply Losers For 2015 o o o Have you seen the price of groceries lately? The Rapidly Rising Cost Of Living Is Absolutely Killing The Middle Class In America o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. National Debt is Actually $65T. “T” as in TRILLION. (Breitbart) Hint: Former U.S. Comptroller says Americans have lost touch with the reality of their spending. U.S. Debt: It’s a BIG PROBLEM (Zero Hedge) ADP Report Shows Latest Signs of Cooling Job Market (U.S. News and World Report) Commentary: There are curious conflicts among the jobs reports. A classic case of spin. …

Silly Season and Silly Fiscal Policy o o o Social Security Administration Spending Hit Record in FY2015; $6,345 For Every American With a Job – Sent in by G.G. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Millennials Ditch Big Banks and Go Local With Their Money – Personally, I have done the same thing howbeit for a different reason, but I don’t find this shocking at all being on the front end of the millennial generation. Get your money out of the big banks and get local, credit union or otherwise. More Misery Ahead for Greeks as Economy Set to …

SurvivalBlog reader GJM writes in: This is one example of what my “hegemony warnings” have been about. Like Brazil back in ’90s, it’s only one domino; but unlike anything else so far, it’s a game-changing big one. Ultimately, America either goes to war to maintain a slowly-degrading status quo…or accelerates to fast-fall… War with China means war with Russia means war with Iran means… Fast-fall has the likelihood of being very fast and falling very far. No military retiree would get a tiny shard of his expected retirement; no police officer will ever get a pension—or much of a paycheck, …

US labour force participation stays at a 38-year low Only 62.4% of American civilians over the age of 16 are either working or looking for work. – G.G. o o o Biderman: “Welcome To The First Global Recession Created By Central Bankers” Sent in by G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: The Fed Desperately Tries to Maintain the Status Quo (Mises Institute) Ensure Your Financial Strategy Passes the Sleep Test(Christian Science Monitor) Collapsing Obamacare Co-ops Signal Big Trouble to Come(Fiscal Times) U.S. Debt Ceiling Has Risen No Matter Who Was In Office (Visual Capitalist) How One Retailer is …

There is new data showing that the new typical home buyer in America is much older. When in 2005 the typical buyer was between 35 and 40, the typical buyer today is now closer to 40 or 45 (and older in some regions of the country). What this signifies is the pent up demand of young buyers never materialized because of high student debt and stagnant incomes: The typical home buyer is now a lot older than just a decade ago: Recent buyer and seller data shows an older population purchasing real estate across the country. We also see this …

I just noticed that the spot price of platinum has dipped to just $940 per ounce. Meanwhile, spot gold close at $1,089.40. Whenever you can buy platinum for less than gold, then it is a good time to hedge into some physical platinum! For the sake of recognizability in barter, my favorite platinum coins to buy are the 1/2-ounce and 1/4-ounce U.S. Liberty coins, from the U.S. Mint. It is best to buy them in PCGS or NGC slabs. – JWR o o o Obamacare – The Gift That Keeps On Taking Sent in by J.Q. o o o Items …