Category: Economics & Investing

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 …

Inflation eats away the new peak in stock market: Dow is down 11 percent since 2000 adjusting for inflation. Items from The Economatrix: US Economy Grew 0.1% in 4th Quarter Study Shows More Americans Raiding 401(k) Accounts To Pay Bills Jobs, Factory Data Offer Hope For The Economy

The Ten Worst States for Taxes (Nine Are Blue States) And it is no great surprise that none of them are American Redoubt States. Time To Buy Silver Coins? Items from The Economatrix: Spending Cuts:  It’s About To Get Weird Bernanke:  Spending Cuts Add “Significant” Burden To Recovery For The Middle Class, Expenses Grow Faster Than Paychecks

Debt based delusion: Fed spending far outstripping revenues, balance of trade, and business inventories decline. Analyst: Bitcoin Took A Key Step Towards Going Mainstream, And That’s Why It’s Been Going Crazy The Last Two Day . Wow!: I just checked at CoinMill and the BTC to USD ratio was at 40.91 to one! (Almost $41 to buy one BitCoin.) Gold Core reports: Russia, Korea And Central Banks Accumulate Gold On Dip Below $1,600/oz Items from The Economatrix: Service Industries In US Grow At Fastest Pace In A Year JPMorgan:  The Consumer Spending Slowdown Is Here Billionaires Dumping US Stocks, Economist …

Just as I predicted: E-mail tells feds to make sequester as painful as promised G.G. suggested: The Pentagon’s Metals Gap Keep Your (Milk) Powder Dry!: Milk Powder Surges Most in 2 1/2 Years on New Zealand Drought. (Thanks to Eric G. in New Hampshire for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: US Economic Growth Basically Flat Construction Spending Falls In January Factory Expansion Spurs Growth As Budget Cuts Loom