Category: Economics & Investing

Is OPEC Losing Influence? If one thing from the OPEC meeting becomes clear, it is that OPEC’s respect for a production ceiling does not exist anymore, the question rises whether OPEC is still able to regulate prices at all o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. News How Much Does a Boeing 747 Cost? (24/7 WallSt) Notes: An interesting read and a little insight into both the increasing cost of commercial aircraft over time and aviation economics. Non-Borrower Backed Mortgages? (Zero Hedge) Commentary: Taking into consideration the post-crash mortgage mind-set (and call for larger down payments and stricter lender …

Obama Care Will Implode and Kill the Economy-Karl Denninger – Link sent in by RBS o o o ISIS is obsessed with gold currency – Link sent in by G.P. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. News Travel Tab for the Obamas and the Bidens: $70,563,336.75 (Waste Fraud and Abuse) Commentary: This article details yet another way the federal government spends the hard earned money of the American people. Top 10 Wasteful Government Expenses (National Review) Commentary: …and yet another example. Among the programs described in this piece is one designed to answer the question of what bugs …

This Is What Happened The Last Time The Fed Hiked While The U.S. Was In Recession o o o Physical Silver Investment Demand Great Deal Higher Than Official Estimates o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. News Why This Sucker is Going Down. Again. (Contra Corner) Important Quote: “…permanent gains in wealth and living standards cannot be achieved by the kind of rampant speculation and debt-fueled financialization that had generated the phony boom of the Greenspan era.” ECB Fumbles the Stimulus Baton Hand-Off (Wall Street Journal) Commentary: Yellen’s plans for “lift off” may be based more on economic psy-ops …

If nothing else, we’ve all learned to look at the hand that is not waving in today’s politics. So what is the hidden hand doing while the attention is on the terrorism in California? S&P Downgrades Every Major US Financial Institution – Link sent in by J.C. Back that information up with this link sent in by A.L. which shoes the economy’s recovery in just eight charts. o o o Silver: We Need It! o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: U.S. News Puerto Rico Dodges Default But Faces Deteriorating Liquidity Situation (Washington Examiner) Commentary: There is little relief in …

Items from Mr. Econocobas: Watch for U.S. Recession, Zero Interest Rates in China Next Year, Citi Says What Money Means – This is actually an entire chapter from a new book called Prosper!, by the folks over at Peak Prosperity. Good read! Video Interview: USA Watchdog – Chris Martenson – Everybody Knows This Economy Is Unsustainable Items from Professor Preponomics: How Money Disappears from a Fractional Reserve Money System (Mises Institute) An especially outstanding link for an article from the Mises Institute about how money disappears in a fractional reserve system. U.S. Total Debt Soars to $674B in November (Zero …

HJL, I think Marks point was very Americanized and fits in with American beliefs that people have come to value dollars over gold and silver. If you look to people in other countries, you will see that silver and gold is considered and valued as money. In Africa years ago people were panning for gold and bought bread with the small nuggets that they found. In Asia silver and gold are considered a valuable currency to use as a hedge and to keep your wealth. In Europe with their history, it was considered a good thing to save silver and …

The IMF has given the go-ahead to the Chinese renminbi to be used as one of the worlds Main Currencies. The Euro and the British pound take the brunt of the move while the U.S. dollar remains steady at 42%. However, the move has deeper political ramifications. As the author of the piece states: “As the renminbi becomes more deeply woven into the global economy, it undermines the ability of the West to impose financial sanctions on countries accused of human rights abuses and other violations, like Sudan and North Korea. Such countries can increasingly carry out transactions in renminbi.” …

IMF to make Chinese yuan reserve currency in historic move – Sent in by G.G. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: China’s Yuan Approved by IMF for Special Basket Currencies– My question is, say the Yuan makes up 10% of the SDR, where does that 10% come from? The U.S. Dollar or who? How does that effect that currency(s) that is reduced? Hyperinflation Watch: Kazakhstan Unveils New 20,000 Tenge Banknote Items from Professor Preponomics: Negative Interest Rates in Switzerland Have Economists Proposing Scary Scenarios: Should Cash Be Abolished? (Business Insider) Trouble is Brewing in the Paper Markets for Gold …

Items from Professor Preponomics: Thanksgiving is a Celebration of Free Enterprise (Mises Institute) 1200 American Works Training Their Foreign Replacements (Breitbart) Why Federal Funds Pay for Empty Flights Out of Maryland and Virginia (Taxpayers for Common Sense) The Price of Copper May Hinge on a Single Precious Resource: Water (Market Watch) Feds Spend $460,809 Watching Preschoolers Outdoors (Washington Free Beacon) Debt Under Obama Up $8T (CNS News) Here Comes the $1 Letter (Business Insider) CoreLogic: Falling House Prices in Sydney and Melbourne Could Open the Way for a Rate Cut (Business Insider) UK Oil Industry ‘to Face a Wave of …

Target and other online retailers did well, but traditional brick-and-mortar retailers took a pounding this Friday. A chilly Black Friday for some brick-and-mortar retailers o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Beware of the Sure Thing: Possible Curve Balls for the December Market (Market Watch) U.S. Retailers Hunt for Attacks After Warning on Stealthy Malware (Reuters) Commentary: Take measures to protect your information When Financial Bubbles Burst: Real Estate Values are Plunging in Canadian Heavy Oil Patch (Contra Corner) Interest Rates to Stay Low Longer, Household Debt Remains a Concern – Says the Bank of England (The Telegraph) Glencore’s Oil …

“Brother, can you spare a dime?” is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. The question was commonly asked by drifters hoping to be able to use the dime to buy a meal or two as they wandered the country looking for work. However, that was the 1930’s. Thus, it begs the question: in today’s economy, what’s a dime really worth? Is it still worth just a meal or two? Up until 1965, most American coinage was comprised of 90% silver, which is commonly referred to today as “junk” silver. Starting in 1965, the U.S. Mint diluted …

Are Millennials as broke as the media says they are? The answer is a resounding yes for the following reasons. o o o Fourth Turning – Social & Cultural Distress Dividing The Nation – Sent in by J.Q. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Britain Sets 2018 Deadline for Claims in Country’s Costliest Bank Scandal (Reuters) European Banks Sitting on $1T in Bad Debt (Contra Corner) Switzerland is about to Launch a HUGE Experiment in the “War on Cash” (Business Insider) Commentary: The Swiss and the Swedes make for a very interesting contrast in the view of cash vs. …

Reader P.M. notes: Premera Blue Cross may have laid off over 300 people, and yet won’t talk about it. They are also rumored to be losing money on the individual line of business. The fallout from the poor design of Obamacare continues. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: A Shocking Number of Americans Don’t Have a Toilet (The Week) When Financial Bubbles Burst: Real Estate Values are Plunging in Canadian Heavy Oil Patch (Contra Corner) Interest Rates to Stay Low Longer, Household Debt Remains a Concern – Says the Bank of England (The Telegraph) Glencore’s Oil Deal in Libya …