Category: Economics & Investing

Caterpillar sales drop for the fourth year in a row because of China: Those good years won’t come back. sent in by RBS o o o Sent in by B.B. – Fed To Hold An “Expedited, Closed” Meeting On Monday “As we are sure to be told: ‘It’s probably nothing!’ “ – Uhh, sure… o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Auto Loans and Mortgages Push Household Debt to Highest Levels Since 2010 (Bloomberg) Baltic Dry Index Drops to Record Low (Bloomberg) Iron Ore Price Craters (Mining) Lifetime Cost of Refugee Settlement: $55B (Breitbart) Resettling Middle Eastern Refugees Costs Taxpayers …

They would have you believe that the U.S. economy is recovering and strengthening. Actually, the dollar is strengthening because everyone else is debasing their currency faster than we are; however, it’s all downhill. The Fed Induced Farce. Link sent in by J.Q. o o o The Baltic Dry Shipping Index Just Collapsed To An All-Time Record Low o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Barclays to Pay $150M More to Regulator in Forex Probe (Reuters) Citrix to Restructure: 1,000 Pink Slips Coming (Triangle Business Journal) Los Angeles and the Crisis of Homelessness (Los Angeles Times) Chinese Paddy Wagons Pick Up …

The Pension Problem Is Worse Than You Think – G.G. o o o If The Economy Is Fine, Why Are So Many Hedge Funds, Energy Companies And Large Retailers Imploding? – M.A. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Video interview: USA Watchdog -Craig Hemke-Get Physical Metal Because the End is Coming Video- Mike Maloney Hidden Secrets of Money- Episode 6.. – If you have not seen the first five episodes, I would strongly encourage you to do so… They are all very well done. Items from Professor Preponomics: Terrorists: A Dangerous and Costly Economic Threat (Fox News) WSJ Reports: …

War on Cash: Here are the latest disturbing developments Sent in by D.S. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: Requiem for QE: Seeds Sown for Future Economic Troubles (Cato Institute) DC Settles Civil Forfeiture Suit for $855K (Forbes) Value of Civil Forfeitures Exceeds Burglaries (Zero Hedge) Rent Control Policies: Ineffective and Unjust (Washington Examiner) Restoring Federal Fiscal Sanity Requires New Approaches and Strong Leadership (Washington Examiner) Oil Production in North Dakota Falls YOY for First Time in 11 Years (Business Insider) A Billionaire’s Post-Apocalypse Shelter: Here It Is (Zero Hedge) Puerto Rico is Running Out of Options (Bloomberg) Greece …

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. …