Economics and Investing:

Congress To Eliminate The Debt By Not Counting It Anymore… Does End of Cent Mean End of Coins? (Thanks to RBS for the link.) What Is The Timeframe For US Dollar Collapse? Mike Maloney Items from The Economatrix: Obamacare Rationing: Seniors’ Doctors Get Booted From Medicare Advantage Look Out Below: Home Sales Plunge: “Biggest Drop in 40 Months” Means-Tested Recovery: Over 108,000,000 Americans Received Means-Tested Benefits In Latest Report From Census Bureau, More Than Are Currently Employed Full-Time.




Economics and Investing:

Tiberius Used Quantitative Easing To Solve The Financial Crisis Of 33 AD Detroit Pensioners Face Miserable 16 Cent On The Dollar Recovery Setting the Dollar up for a fall: In Fed and Out, Many Now Think Inflation Helps. (Thanks to John E. for the link.) Perpetual Assets Interviews James Wesley Rawles Items from The Economatrix: Gas Prices Slip Below $3 In Missouri Unemployment Falls But Hiring Slows Wal-Mart Moms Vent On Economy And ‘Disgusting’ Politics




Using Auctions, Goodwill and Second Hand Stores to Stockpile Prepping Supplies at Bargain Prices, by Chris M.

I was unexpectedly laid off two years ago.  Although I eventually landed another position after months of searching, losing my job was perhaps the most humbling and painful experience I’ve been through in recent years.   Truth be told, I was also bitter.  The frustrations of hunting for a new job in a tough market, starting up a sideline family business and wondering where in the world my family of six will end up really began to take their toll.  I sorely needed a distraction and an excuse get out of the house! On a whim, I started going to auctions. …







Economics and Investing:

Bob in Virginia sent: A Frightening New ‘Shadow Consensus’ Is Emerging On The Future Of The American Economy. (There is more talk of a “QE Trap” — now coming from mainstream economists.) Chart: Here’s How Much the Fed Is Affecting the Stock Market H.L. suggested this by John Rubino: A Tale of Two Charts: Are We 2007 America or 2006 Zimbabwe? Census Bureau: Means-Tested Government Benefit Recipients Outnumber Full-Time Year-Round Workers Items from The Economatrix: Another One Trillion Dollars ($1,000,000,000,000) In Debt McJobs For McAmerica – Fastest Growing Jobs In Low Wage Sectors. Of 10 Largest Occupations In US Only …




Economics and Investing:

Citi forecasts Greek devastation, unstoppable debt spirals in Italy and Portugal Reader Susan R. suggested this news: Seattle uses eminent domain to turn a parking lot into a parking lot Items from The Economatrix: Man Who Predicted Surge In Gold Says Rally Just Beginning Chaos Now Ready To Explode As The West Begins To Collapse The Growing Rift With Saudi Arabia Threatens To Severely Damage The Petrodollar




Economics and Investing:

Measured Against Gold, US Dollar Purchasing Power Drops By 99.9% Sometimes a graph shows it best: The Size of the Problem Pierre M. sent: Could Prepping Become Illegal Here Too? Venezuelan Gov’t To Detain “Hoarders” Items from The Economatrix: How To Build Wealth In This Economy: “Rattle Snake Investing” De-Crowning The Dollar, And The ‘Collapse’ Ahead Kiss The Dollar Goodbye




Economics and Investing:

EU leaders to set tight timetable on completing banking union Reader M.M.E. like this piece at ZeroHedge: Shocking Clues What America Will Look Like When Next Great Economic Crisis Strikes G.G. flagged this: Study: 15 Percent of U.S. Youth Out of School, Work Also from G.G.: How the Dollar Could Eventually Collapse




Economics and Investing:

Steve in Georgia liked this commentary from Bill Freeza, at Forbes: The International Monetary Fund Lays The Groundwork For Global Wealth Confiscation. Steve says: “This reminds me of the taxes levied in the movie Popeye.” AmEx (American Expat) suggested this state-by-state data: How Will You Fare in the Obamacare Exchanges? Marc Faber: Fed could up QE to $1 trillion a month Items from The Economatrix: The Carlyle Group’s Latest Investment… Trailer Parks Hospitals cut thousands of jobs




Economics and Investing:

Faber: Fed’s QE Causing ‘Colossal Asset Bubble’ (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) Andre D. sent: Down and out: the French flee a nation in despair. Mike Williamson wrote to mention that it is pitiful to see young Frenchmen actively seeking job experience in Vietnam, because of the relative economic freedom versus socialist France. Also from Andre: Barroso in urgent push for extra €2.7bn Commission budget – EC no longer able to shoulder financial obligations, says parliament president Items from The Economatrix: Maguire Predicted Gold Surge – Now Says West Is Collapsing The Frightening Reality About What Is Happening In …




News From The American Redoubt:

Not too late to register! Nampa, Idaho Appleseed October 26-27, 2013. (BTW, you’ve got to love a state where television stations list events like that, at their web site. Somehow, I don’t think that would be likely for a television station in New Jersey.)    o o o Wyoming apparently got a bad “homophobic” rap, in the much-publicized death of Matthew Shepard. In The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard, the author documents how Shepard’s death was at the hands of another man with whom he’d had sexual relations, and was about retribution in an …




Economics and Investing:

S. recommended: Imperial Understretch and the Fall of Great Powers G.G. suggested: U.S. debt jumps a record $328 billion in a single day — tops $17 trillion for first time   Items from The Economatrix: The US Cannot Avoid A Soft Default Even If A Hard Default Is Avoided: Debt Ceiling Already Breached And US Treasury Operating In Emergency Mode While US Is Paying $415 Billion In Annual Interest Expenses. Nothing Left To Financially Lose: Biggest Drop In Confidence Since Lehman Brothers And Why Some Are Unmoved By Government Shutdown. Government shutdown took $24 billion bite out of economy




The Time Has Come To Fully Diversify: Retreating From Banks And From The Dollar Itself

The recent political crisis over the delayed raising of the U.S. debt ceiling was just a precursor of a much larger crisis that will occur when interest rates inevitably rise. Once they do rise, it will become impossible for the Federal government to service its debt without massive monetization and concomitant mass inflation. There may also be some draconian stopgap measures such as levies on bank accounts (a.k.a. “bail ins”), nationalization of private pension funds, nationalization or forced common stock purchases for IRA and 401(k) plans, currency controls, bank holidays, bank withdrawal limits, currency recalls, limited access to safe deposit …




Credit Market Derivatives: The Eve of Destruction

Interest rate turmoil again affected holding company trading revenues heavily in the first and second quarters of 2013. According to the latest report from the U.S. Office of the Compttroller of the Currency (OCC), rate trading derivatives losses were $3.018 Billion in 1Q 2013 and $3.804 Billion in 2Q 2013. It is noteworthy that the present-day casino in credit derivatives has built up in the era of ZIRP, where interest rate changes have been miniscule. The losses reported in the first two quarters were apparently triggered by the unexpected rate moves of less than 20 basis points. (Two tenths of …




Some Brief Advice on Establishing Trusts

I often have readers and consulting clients write to ask me about establishing family trusts. These are used to shelter assets including land, houses, vehicles, and firearms. In the context of present-day America, one of the goals of any good trust is anonymity. So I recommend that you pick a generic “vanilla” name that is innocuous and that is un-related to your family surname, your locale, the nature of the included assets, your politics, your religion, or your personal interests. The goal here is to have name that won’t trigger suspicion or scrutiny. Some good choices would be “The Hallifax …