Category: Economics & Investing

If the US markets are considered the “safe haven” amidst all the recent EU turmoil, then why isn’t the US Dollar Index skyrocketing? (Mr. Market has some foresight.) And if the global economy is in “recovery”, then why is the Baltic Dry Index for shipping rates back in the dumpster? (JWR’s Comment: Sounds like more like a “Lohan” recovery to me, to wit: she’s checked into rehab, but there is no willingness to actually change.) US Begins Regulating BitCoin, Will Apply “Money Laundering” Rules To Virtual Transactions I found this linked over at Gold-Eagle: The Dark Truth About The Safety …

Cyprus banks shut until Tuesday [March 26th] amid scramble for Plan B EU gives Cyprus bailout ultimatum, risks euro exit British Politician’s Warning to Europeans With Cash in the Bank: ‘Get Your Money Out While You Can’ Diana V. sent: For Jittery Spaniards, Bitcoin Is Looking Better and Better The Revenue Deficit From Progressive Tax Rates Items from The Economatrix: Inflation Picks Up, But Still Hovers In The Fed’s Comfort Zone Jobless Claims Fall Again As Labor Market Improves Americans Spent More On Gas, Less At The Mall ADP:  Private Sector Job Growth Remains “Sturdy” Ick!  America’s Economic Signals Are …

A new record: 13 Million Silver American Eagles Sold in First Three Months of 2013. (Thanks to Doug C. for the link.) Reader Mark in Rochester wrote this reminder to Americans: “With all this talk of Cyprus and the sovereign debt levels in Europe’s southern tier, we shouldn’t got forget that our debt-versus-GNP rate is higher. (See this article from last November.) And remember that Bernanke is still creating $85,000,000,000 per month ($272 per person, per month) via Quantitative Easing monetization to bail out his buddies in the banking industry.” G.G. flagged this from Bill Freeza in Forbes: How To …

The Cyprus Depositor Legalized Ripoff saga unfolds: Only for the “Rich Ones” with €20,000 in Savings National planning Cyprus-style solution for New Zealand After Cyprus Vote, ECB Says Ready to Offer Liquidity Within Rules Items from The Economatrix: The Young Are Going To Get Screwed-Part 1 Cyprus “Bail-In” Is Rattling Markets Everywhere; Coffee Bean Jitters Why The Cyprus Bail-In Is A Bigger Deal Than You Think

U.S. Game Changing Renewable – Geothermal Power. Note that the preponderance of the nation’s geothermal potential is in the Rocky Mountain States and the Intermountain West. The American Redoubt just keeps looking better…. Signs of the Times: Food stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle Could The “Cyprus Fiasco” Occur In The U.S.? Brian S. like this piece by Charles Hugh Smith: The Deeper Meanings of Cyprus A 15% Haircut for Italian depositors? Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge mentioned this quote in a Handelsblatt newspaper article from Commerzbank chief economist Jörg Krämer: “‘So it would make sense, in …

Denouement of the “austerity” measures in Euope’s southern tier: The planned seizure of of up to 9.9% of bank account holdings in Cyprus (and the revelation that Germany and IMF’s initially demanded 40%) revealed a paradigm shift: banksters and bureaucrats are no longer bound by a core tenet of the Social Contract. While for years most of us meekly went along with gradually increasing taxes, we had the solace that one thing was sacrosanct: We only pay taxes on our earnings ONCE. Apparently, this is no longer true. (Yes, Mojo Nixon was right, albeit crude and premature.) My oft-repeated advice: …

Ryan warns of financial collapse over debt, urges Congress to avert ‘moral failure’ Cypriot bank customers get fleeced: Europe Announces Stunning Bailout For Cyprus — Bank Depositors To Get Instant 10% Tax Before Banks Reopen This Week. (Beware, this could happen in other countries–even our own! Thanks to Andre D. and the other readers that sent this link.) And, inevitably, we read: Cash machines emptied across Cyprus after savers learn 10 billion euro bailout agreement includes levy on all bank accounts. (Thanks to Tim R. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Housing Foreclosures Start To “Flare Up” Again Private …

H.L. sent this Reuters article: More US States Weigh Gasoline Taxes. Unfortunately this superficial article failed to detail the aggregate gas taxes–it only talks about the recent and planned increases, such as Wyoming’s 10 cent cent rate “leap.” But this map from 2012 gives a more complete picture. In fact, Wyoming merely normalized its gas tax rate with its seven contiguous neighboring states. It is noteworthy that the Northern Rocky Mountain states have taxes that range from 40 to 46 cents per gallon, which is well below the national average of 48.8 cent and far below the west coast states …

James Turk: Gold to $11,000 – We Are in a Fiat Currency Bubble We all know it is going to end badly Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves: Americans Can’t Afford the Future Items from The Economatrix: The Coming Crash Of The Bond Market The Chart That Proves The Mainstream Media Is Lying About Unemployment Like All Sleight-Of-Hand Games, It Cannot Continue Forever

Dr. Gary North: A Civil War Inside Austrian Economics G.H. flagged this over at Time: If There’s No Inflation, Why Are Prices Up So Much? Kyle Bass Warns “The ‘AIG’ Of The World Is Back” Items from The Economatrix: Mark Levin:  Government Is “Simulating The Collapse Of Our Financial System, The Collapse Of Our Society And The Potential For Widespread Violence The Economic Un-Recovery: A Novel Perspective Jobless Claims Drop, Signaling Labor Market Gains

Kyle Bass: Yen could hit 200 Vs. US Dollar Eric Sprott: Is the West Dishoarding Its Sovereign Treasure Coin Hoarding Idea: Nickels I missed this when it was posted last August: The Two Things Your Broker Doesn’t Know About Silver Items from The Economatrix: What A Difference For Jobs $1.2 Trillion In Debt Makes The Coming Debt Collapse Payrolls Rise As US Jobless Rate Reaches Four-Year Low Italy Downgraded To BBB+

Bitcoin Reaches Half Billion Dollar Market Capitalization B.B. sent: Jim Rogers: We’re Wiping Out The Savings Class Globally, To Terrible Consequence And A.K.H. suggested this (also at Zero Hedge): Fed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week Items from The Economatrix: A Year Of Improving Payroll Growth Starts Tomorrow ECRI Still Insists We’re In A Recession–We Just Don’t Know It Yet ECRI’s Achuthan:  US Recession Began In Mid-2012

John Michael Greer: The Hard Road Ahead. (A piece recommended by Jeremy M. in New Zealand.) The new Dodd-Frank rules on collateral requirements for derivatives were scheduled begin in January, 2013. This legislation was passed in 2010, in reaction the 2008 Mortgaged Backed Securities (MBS) fiasco that had triggered the global credit market collapse of 2008. Perhaps this in part explains why the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve selected MBSes as their junque de jour for Quantitative Easing Round 3 (QE3) “out of thin air” purchases. MBSes will remain solid as long as Uncle Sugar keeps buying them, month …