Category: Economics & Investing

H.L. sent a video from Belarus that was apparently shot just after a currency revaluation. It illustrates what life can be like during a mass inflation: The Most Tolerant Cashier John Rubino: We Created The Conditions For Catastrophic Failure It Begins: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed California’s “Prevailing Wage” – Floor Vacuuming At $45.93/Hour Items from The Economatrix: If The Fed Stops Printing, The Collapse Would Be So Incredible That People Would Eat Each Other In The Street Box Demand As Economic Gauge Shows US Output Gains Stimulus From Jobless Aid Fades As US Hiring Grows

Washington state bank closes; first failure of 2013 H.G. flagged this: New data show 1 in 4 children on food stamps in FY 2011 Greeks Raid Forests in Search of Wood to Heat Homes. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Powerful “Indicators” Suggest A Stock Market Sell-Off And Inflation Could Be Just Around The Corner Beware The Bond Bubble In 2013 US May Default On Its Debt A Half-Month Earlier Than Expected, New Analysis Shows

An excellent piece by Dr. Gary North that gets to the heart of the preparedness mindset, even when disasters are personal rather than national: Budgeting for a Lifestyle Contraction Anthony Wile of The Daily Bell: The Trillion Dollar Coin Is a Great Idea! Items from The Economatrix: The Economic Implosion Of Europe Is Accelerating Economic Forecaster:  US Has Gone Over The “Demographic Cliff.”  Market Crash Will Start In Summer “Dr. Doom” Faber Sees A Possible 10% Gold Correction

A major theorem of cryptography is that anything that be done with a trusted authority can be done without1 a trusted authority.  This theorem can be applied to currencies, too. Anything that can be done by a central bank can be done without a central bank .  The central bank for the United States of America, as you probably already know, is the US Federal Reserve.  The stated dual mandate of the US Federal Reserve System is:   “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the …

Real estate horror continues with ‘zombie foreclosures’ Peter Schiff: ‘The Dollar Is Not The King Of Anything, Except Maybe Depreciation Zero Hedge reports of the bigger, deeper crater that once was Greece: Greek Unemployment Soars To New Record, 56.6% Of 15-24 Year Olds Without Job Items from The Economatrix: Highest Ever One-Day Sales For American Silver Eagles? BofA Freezes Gun Manufacturer’s Account Cracking The 2013 Tax Code

After the Fall: What Do You Do When You Conclude America Is (Temporarily or Permanently) Kaput?(Thanks to Linda U. for the link.) Carney on coin gambit: ‘There is no backup plan’. [JWR’s Comment: This is beyond bizarre. It is now obvious that we are entering the fiscal Twilight Zone.] Items from The Economatrix: Inflation By Any Other Name-Central Banks Around The World Increase Balance Sheets From $2 Trillion In 2008 To $6 Trillion In 2013 This Will Cause Oceans Of Paper Money To Panic Into Gold Consumer Credit Rose In November On US Auto, Student Loans

Peter Schiff: Even if you raise taxes to 100%, we couldn’t pay it off. We’re going to default. Dr. Gary North details the latest legislative travesty in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln Obama: A Bill to Register Buyers of Gold and Silver Coins. Just as with guns, they have it down to a science: they register, they tax, and then they confiscate. Federal Reserve May Pause Quantitative Easing. JWR’s Comment: Yes, and your local crack head may try to kick his habit by going cold turkey. They’ll both have about the same chance of success. Hedge funds face suspicious activity …

H.L. sent: Silver Prices in the Event of a Comex Default Jim W. suggested this article about the underground economy: My Name is Cash A Graphic View of How Shale Gas Could Change the Future Obamacare Guarantees Higher Health Insurance Premiums — $3,000+ Higher Items from The Economatrix: It’s Not Too Early To Worry About The End Of Fed Easing Economy Adds 155,000 Jobs In December:  “It’s A Slow And Steady Recovery” Social Security: It’s Worse Than You Think

Tiny gold bars latest rage for jittery investors G.G. mentioned this at Zero Hedge: Here Comes The Student Loan Bailout Also from G.G.: Spain Drains Fund Backing Pensions WSJ: Who Pays More Tax in 2013? Items from The Economatrix: The Middle Class In America Is Being Wiped Out — Here Are 60 Facts To Prove It Max Keiser & Jim Sinclair & Bill Gross:  USD Will Collapse In 2013 Housing A Sweet Spot For US Economy As Recovery Expands After The Fiscal Cliff, Challenges To Economic Growth Remain

Tom Cloud: How to Sell Gold Without Reporting It. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) The Political Implications of America’s Oil & Gas Boom – James Kwak Interview Euros discarded as impoverished Greeks resort to bartering Forget discouraged, 3 million workers hopelessly unemployed Items from The Economatrix: Fed Becoming Worried About Stimulus Side Effects Private Sector Job Gains Offer Hope for Labor Market 65 Percent Of Americans Believe That 2013 Will Be A Year Of Economic Difficulty Retirement No More: Median Net Worth At Lowest Since 1969 The Difficult Part Is Still Ahead…Many Wall Street Experts Expect The Bond Bubble …

75 Economic Numbers From 2012 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe Reader “Rock Farm” recommended a piece by Victor Davis Hanson: Very Scary Times Putin Saves French Actor From Tax Slavery With Russian Citizenship Items from The Economatrix: My Name Is Cash New Gold for a Scary New World Moody’s Says “Fiscal Cliff” Deal Doesn’t End Credit Downgrade Risk 2013 Predictions:  S&P 500 Plunges, Gold Soars “Panic Buying” In Gold, Just Four Days Into 2013, A New Gold Milestone Has Already Been Passed

News from Greece: Communities set up local currencies and exchange networks in attempt to beat the economic crisis Jim W. recommended: The Dow to Silver Ratio By way of Tyler at Zero Hedge: Why Did a Train Carrying Biofuel Cross the Border 24 Times and Never Unload? Items from The Economatrix: Swan Dive of 2013 Economy Billionaires Dumping Stocks, Economist Knows Why Three Landmines Hidden In The Fiscal Cliff “Fix” How The Budget Deal Will Push Up Unemployment

Steve B. suggested: Analysis: After “fiscal cliff” dive, more battles, new cliffs Peter Schiff: US Economy Living On Borrowed Time Jim W. suggested this from Sovereign Man: When Priced in Gold, the US economy is at Depression-Era Levels Items from The Economatrix: Peter Schiff:  Congress Sells America Down The River to Avoid the Fiscal Cliff Roubini:  The Longer-Term Picture is Bleaker and the Next Crisis Could be Just Two Months Away The Good, The Bad & The Ugly From The Fiscal Cliff Deal

Diana V.: suggested: Storing Nickels by David Hathaway Rick in New York recommended a 46-minute documentary: Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis Fiscal Cliff: The U.S. Debt Ceiling Is The Real Issue Still Ahead Venezuela’s Inflation Rate Hit 19.9% Items from The Economatrix: A Massive EMP Blast Could Collapse The Economy In A Single Moment Happy New Year Middle Class:  The Fiscal Cliff Is Going To Rip You To Shreds 16 Things About 2013 That Are Really Going To Stink