Economics and Investing:

Unified Savings and Accountability Act Includes Coin Related Provisions. – K.N. Just as I predicted, the days of the penny and nickel appear to be numbered. – JWR o o o RadioShack plunges after brokerage cuts price target to $0. – T.P. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Government Health Care Inc: The Chart Which Explains It All A Historic First: Bank Of Japan Monetizes Debt At Negative Rates How the China Boom Unravels: One Person at a Time Mortgage Applications Plunge To 14-year low







We Aren’t All Farmers, Soldiers, or Master Gardeners, by Sootgrinder

I would like to share some of my observations, feelings, and plans for dealing with the current and future difficult times that we face. As I have read and studied the survival plans and strategies of the fine members of the SurvivalBlog community, as well as other sources, I have frequently been overwhelmed and discouraged about my ability to deal with the inevitable trouble that is barreling toward us faster every day. I read the stories of people moving to a fully-stocked and well-equipped retreat with their ex-military buddies, who are also master gardeners, trained medical personnel, and have every …




Letter: Composition of Nickels

Hugh, JWR has previously spent some time talking about the conversion of the American nickel to use a different metal content, with predictable results on the value of the existing nickels. I have not seen any discussion of this issue for a long time. Any update? Is it still being planned? – R.H. o o o James, How about an update on the nickel page? Are we still good, or should we be looking for old nickels now? THANKS and God bless!! – K.P. JWR Replies: Surprisingly, the composition of nickels still has not yet changed, but I do expect …




Economics and Investing:

Europe Takes the QE Baton o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: A Gasoline Tax Map Explains Why The Cost Difference Jobs Still Biggest Worry For Home Buyers Revised: Japan Says Economy Contracted 7.1 Percent in 2Qhttp://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-says-economy-contracted-7-1-percent-2q-002102022–finance.html The American Family Makes $200 More a Year Than It Did in 1989– Other great charts, too.




Economics and Investing:

What $1 Used to Get You vs. What It Buys You Today. – G.P. HJL adds: Bear in mind that this infographic does not indicate the relative “value” of the items; it only addresses their worth as designated by the U.S. dollar. The relative value of the items has not decreased much at all when you use a denominator that is generally not affected by inflation (such as precious metals). o o o Labor Participation Rate Drops To Lowest Since 1978 o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Most People Don’t Believe It, But We Are Right On Schedule For …




Economics and Investing:

Currency reform in Ancient Rome . – A.D. An excellent read! One of the most remarkable things about Rome was that as her currency was debased, there were reformers that attempted to bring back the stability and glory to the Roman status. Every one of them was assassinated after a short reign, due to their unpopularity, either from the masses who no longer got “free stuff” or from the generals who were held back from war. It sounds hauntingly familiar to me. ~HJL o o o Financial System Upside Down-Blame Game on Coming Crash-Bill Holter. – J.W. o o o …




Economics and Investing:

From our friends at Mac Slavo’s blog: Economist: “This is Far From Over… They Know There Is a Problem Coming”. – J.W. o o o Here’s Why the Market Could Crash–Not in Two Years, But Now. – J.W. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Fast-Food Protests: Dozens of Workers Arrested in Strike for Higher Pay Abenomics Approaches a Moment of Reckoning Draghi Sees Almost $1 Trillion Stimulus as QE Fight Waits– Article lamenting the fact that inflation isn’t high enough in Europe.




Economics and Investing:

Video: China’s Unbelievable Ghost City on the Coast. (JWR’s Comment: This is the sort of malinvestment that a “command driven” economy creates. It is one of more than a dozen ghost cities in China that combined have an estimated 60 million empty apartments. Note that the only flourishing market in the city is the free street market, operated by independent merchants who cannot afford to rent any of the millions of square feet of vacant retail space.) o o o I just noticed that spot silver dipped below $19 per troy ounce in NY after-hours trading. I consider that a …




Letter: Fears for the Future

Hugh, First let me say “thank you” to you and the staff at Survival Blog for all that you do. I rarely miss your daily posts, and even then it is because occasionally I must work away from home. Second, I wanted to respond to something said in today’s (9/1) post from the pastor from eastern Washington. He commented about how frequent we seem to hear of people’s concerns about our leadership and of the lack of hope, the concern, and despair that seems to be echoed in faces and voices of people around the country. During my work day, …




Economics and Investing:

Why Raising the Minimum Wage Will Increase Inflation and Hurt the Economy o o o Are Margin Debt Levels Signaling A Market Collapse? o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: CBO Forecasts $506 Billion Budget Deficit For 2014 U.S. Second-Quarter Growth Revised Higher Dethrone ‘King Dollar’ – This is an interesting Op-Ed; however, he clearly either doesn’t understand the consequences of what he is advocating or is severely overestimating the fundamentals of the U.S. economy to absorb such a shock– probably both. S&P Tops 2000 But Weary Consumers On Strike: The Recovery Delusion Gets Obvious




Economics and Investing:

Are you Ready for the September Selloff? o o o Video: ‘Mortgage crisis’ is coming this winter: Bove. – CDV o o o Video: US consumers have decided to ‘hoard money’. – G.G. Items from Mr. Econocobas: Japan Wages Rising Most Since 1997 Not Enough to Beat Inflation U.S. Hikes Fee To Renounce Citizenship By 422% U.S. Consumer Spending Falls for First Time in Six Months Survey: Americans’ Pessimism on Economy Has Grown – I believe this highlights the difference between the “recovery” for Main Street vs. Wall Street and those with lots of money in the market







August In Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins.

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 silver, and we examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. The July closing price for precious metals were: Gold: $1280 Silver: $20.38 Platinum: $1456 Palladium: $870 August began on a Friday, with non-farm payrolls coming in far below expectations. Gold jumped $15 to regain the losses taken on July 31, while stocks tanked 2%, as investors moved into dollars. On the 5th, gold saw a $20 jump on …