Category: Economics & Investing

How Long Can OPEC Maintain Its Current Strategy? o o o Here’s a sad statistic from a Georgia think tank—Georgia Public Policy foundation: Cost of government: Federal regulation and intervention cost American consumers and businesses an estimated $1.88 trillion in 2014 in lost economic productivity and higher prices, according to “Ten Thousand Commandments,” by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. If U.S. federal regulation was a country, it would be the world’s 10th largest economy, ranking behind Russia and ahead of India. Given that our total national economy is somewhere in the $18 trillion range (GDP was listed as $16.7 trillion in …

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, 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. May was a dance between gold and the greenback, as the two fell back into a negative correlation. Gold traded in a tight range between $1185 and $1195 for the first part of the month, before a weakening dollar helped both gold and silver rally to a three-month high. The dollar hit a four-month low on May 15, then rallied into …

De-Dollarization Du Jour: Russia Backs BRICS Alternative To SWIFT o o o How To Survive a Banking Crisis o o o Investors Turning Away From Green Energy o o o Interview with Gerald Celente

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Warns Greece “Is Not Investable” As Germany Denies Any Deal Progress o o o Inflation acts as a pickpocket on the wallets of working Americans: Young Americans take a big hit given the small weight given to tuition in the CPI. o o o Millennials in Texas and in California reject home ownership for vastly different reasons. – H.L. o o o Lunch With Elvis (Sarcasm and fantasy) o o o This Is What Happens When A Millennial Tries To Get A Job. – H.L.

Two CEOs in one day…. Snapchat and Red Hat: Tech bubble will end badly o o o Why Russia Is On A Gold Buying Spree o o o IRS hacked, 100,000 taxpayers exposed o o o Meet the BLICS – New Source for Phony Dollar Support – By Jim Willie o o o Something BIG Is About To Happen To Silver o o o Greece Owes $1.2 Billion To Drugmakers As Government Can No Longer Afford Basic Medical Supplies. – H.L.

JWR/HJL, Here’s a nickel accumulation strategy that might be useful to SB readers building their piles. Instead of asking the bank teller for loose rolls, I have switched to $100 boxes. I get no eye-rolls from the tellers; they just walk to the vault and pick up a box. Boxes are not especially durable, but a few wraps of duct or strapping tape take care of that. Our local banks may be friendlier than some, but I have never been charged a fee for loose rolls or boxes. – AAA/Another Army Aviator

Venezuela’s Currency Collapsing as U.S. Companies Announce They Will Only Accept U.S. Dollars. – JBG o o o The Stress Index indicated a bottom in the gold and silver markets in March of 2015. – GC o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: China Blows Its Debt Bubble Bigger Yuan Now Most-Used in Asia for Payments to China, Swift Says Bloomberg, China and $64,000 Gold Greece Risk Timeline — Why July 20 Matters Most – Interesting data

Is The 505 Trillion Dollar Interest Rate Derivatives Bubble In Imminent Jeopardy? – B.B. o o o Suicidal Credit-Based Money System o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Video: David Stockman On Fox: How Washington Is Sowing The Whirlwind Bring Your Own Bed Sheets—–Athens Has Strip-Mined Every Dime Of Cash From Greece’s Health Care System – The Greek government is delusional thinking that its socialist agenda of government run healthcare is going to function in an already bankrupt country. Greece Hasn’t Got the Money to Make June IMF Repayment – While the situation is getting dire, I still expect a …

HSBC fears world recession with no lifeboats left. – G.G. o o o Are you looking to earn low wages? A college degree might be your ticket. College earning power dwindles over the last 15 years. o o o The world is drowning in debt, warns Goldman Sachs. G.P. o o o Having burned close to $30 trillion worldwide since 2008, banks and tax collectors are now keen to burn paper money for good.

America’s Trailer Parks: The Residents May Be Poor But The Owners Are Getting Rich. – H.L. o o o Why Most Gold Bugs Are Dead Wrong. – JBG o o o Congress needs a pay raise! $18T in op losses, $127T in unfunded liabilities, Losing $2.4B per day o o o Fed and CPI missing housing inflation yet again: The CPI is completely missing the increase in housing prices.

Stocks and bonds will ‘crash soon’. – R.S. o o o Feds Spent $100 Billion on Food Assistance Last Year. – G.G. o o o Wall Street R.I.P——The Bubble Is Dying At The Zero Bound. – RBS o o o Greek hospitals cannot afford painkillers, scissors or sheets as budget cuts bite. – JBG

Gold, and 3 Squirrels, 2 Vultures, and 1 Turtle o o o It Is Mathematically Impossible To Pay Off All Of Our Debt. – B.B. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: 4 Factors Signaling Volatility Will Return With A Vengeance Why We’re All in Big Trouble If Gas Prices Keep Going Up Video: David Stockman CNBC Interview: The Morning After Will Be Nasty Audio Interview – David Stockman: Progressive Defenses of Obamanomics Are Laughable

Banks fined over $5 billion for criminal activity, did you get any of it? o o o New University Of Texas President Rejects ‘Vulgar’ Salary Slurped Up By His Counterparts At Other Colleges. – PLC o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: For Many American States, It’s Like the Recession Never Ended Bubble Blowing to Continue So Long as Yellen Isn’t Raising Rates 5 Bubbles that Draghi’s QE Is Already Blowing The Gloves Come Off: Moody’s Warns Of Greek “Deposit Freeze” As Schauble “Won’t Rule Out Default”

Hugh, According to the CFPB at this link, interest is charged like a credit card, based on last month’s balance. The lesson here is to read your loan documents. It doesn’t matter what you are told, it only matters what is in the documents that you sign. “Each month, interest and mortgage insurance charges are calculated based on the current loan balance. These charges are added to your loan balance. The amount you pay in interest and mortgage insurance compounds the same way a balance on a credit card does. The loan balance used to calculate interest and mortgage insurance …

An Insane Financial World o o o No, JP Morgan Is Not Buying Silver Eagles. Ted Butler claiming that JP Morgan is the big Buyer of Silver Eagles and Maples takes the credit away from the public who are the real buyers. o o o China has overtaken Mexico as the source of the largest number of immigrants to the U.S. – the Far East is the new Southwest. o o o OPEC Struggling To Keep Up The Pace In Oil Price War o o o It’s Time To Hold More Cash and Buy Gold