Category: Economics & Investing

Those pesky derivatives: Wall Street Journal says Comex has been classified as ‘too big to fail’. (“Taxpayers Now Stand Behind Derivatives Clearinghouses.”) More About Banksters and Derivatives: Taxpayer Supported Gambling How Crumbling U.S. Dollars Bailed Out Zimbabwe. (Thanks to Gregg P. for the link.) Adam Brown of Forbes reports: European Crisis: A Greek Exit Would Only Be The Start, Not The End Spain: Five banks downgraded, Bankia seeks 19 billion euros in aid. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Turn Out The Lights:  The Largest US Cities are Becoming Cesspools of Filth, Decay, and Wretchedness The …

Jim W. forwarded this link: Gerald Celente: EU Collapses In 90 Days, Bank Holiday and War B.B. sent this: Real Federal Deficit Dwarfs Official Tally Also from B.B.: Marc Faber: 100% Chance of Global Recession Three items from SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate, G.G.: 100 Million Americans Without Jobs Peter Schiff: The Housing Bust Was Just A Preview For The Coming Catastrophe Mogambo Editorial Genius (MEG) Items from The Economatrix: The Top Five Gold Commentators Google Trends Show Why The Status Quo “Powers That Be” Should Be Scared Why Gold Prices Could Be Going Below $1,430, And Possibly $1,390 May Consumer Sentiment …

The UK is making contingency plans: Theresa May: we’ll stop migrants if euro collapses I missed seeing this lengthy interview when it was first posted back in January: Chris Hedges “Brace Yourself! The American Empire Is Over And The Descent Is Going To Be Horrifying. Note that Hedges is a “Classical Liberal”–the only sort of liberal that I can really respect. Don’t miss his comments–about four minutes in–about what he calls a corporate coup d’état. Also see his comments on “Faux Liberals” and “Inverted Totalitarianism” starting at around 11:30. While I don’t agree with everything Hedges espouses (since I advocate …

Debt Contagion Ahead! (Conveniently timed for after the U.S. Presidential election.): Citigroup Economists Say Greece To Exit Euro Zone On Jan. 1, 2013. (Thanks to K.A.F. for the link.) From G.G.: Poverty Increasing Among Retirees G.G. sent this: Smith & Wesson booms as firearms owners fear prez crackdown Sean B. flagged this: Vallejo, California, once bankrupt, is now a model for cities in an age of austerity. Buried in the story, not surprisingly, is the revelation that the local sales tax was raised by 1% to a whopping 8.375% to bail out the spendthrift city government. (Only a leftist Washington …

G.G. sent this piece by Peter Schiff: Why America Should Declare Bankruptcy Now Writing in Sovereign Man, Simon Black points out that Senator Schumer’s proposed “Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy” is written retroactively, for anyone that has expatriated in the past ten years! Perhaps Mr. Schumer missed reading Article 1, Clause 3 in the U.S. Constitution. (Which bars any ex post facto laws.) Jim W. sent us this: Japan is Broke – Highest Debt Ratio of Any Industrialized Nation China Warns Australia to Choose “Godfather” – China or U.S. CDV sent this: Greece: Top Three risks …

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Recovery or Economic Collapse? Bet on Collapse — The Financial Crisis Could Destroy Western Civilization Using the young as a shield for hitting the deficit spending wall – the bill will come due for the young. Government spending prioritizes old American immediate needs and will send the bill to the young. Merkel Heads for Debt Showdown with Hollande at EU Summit David Stockman: We are Coping With the Crash of a 30-Year–Long Debt Super-Cycle Items from The Economatrix: War-gaming Greek Euro Exit Shows Hazards in 46-hour Weekend (Reader Sue C. noted about this same article: “The …

A Greece euro exit could make Lehman’s collapse ‘look like a tea party’ K.A.F. sent this: U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders Several readers sent this link: Secret Central Bank Aid Props Up Greek Banks OECD sees euro crisis threatening world recovery Items from The Economatrix: Gold’s Fortunes Will Soon Turn Around Panic Like It’s March 2009 Fears Of Bank Runs Increase In Southern Europe Gasoline Prices Keep Falling But Relief Could Be Short Lived

Commentary from Anthony Wile, Editor of The Daily Bell: If the Euro Ends, So Will the World as We Know It? G.G. flagged this: The Number of Those Working Past 65 is at a Record High John Williams: The Recovery is an Illusion 18 Signs That The Banking Crisis In Europe Has Just Gone From Bad To Worse How big will JPMorgan’s losses be? Reader S.S. in Mississippi pointed me to Wikipedia’s page on Sovereign Debt. The comparison’s of the debt levels of various nations are instructive, especially when seen as a percentage of GDP. By Abandoning the Gold Standard …

Ruh Roh: Europe’s Invisible Bank Run Accelerates. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) J.D.D. sent this: Nightmare foretold if Greece heads for euro exit The lingering legacy of the shadow inventory – homeownership rate will bottom in 2014. Goldman Sachs predicts homeownership bottom. AmEx (American Expat) spotted this: Gold & Silver Decline: George Soros Nearly Quadrupled Gold Stake in Q1 James K. sent this: Economist Nouriel Roubini predicts trouble ahead for economy Mr. Singh sent this link: John Embry interviewed by James Turk again (on the 18th May 2012) Embry notes: “If you are negative on gold, then you must …

JPMorgan’s losses grow Massive Inflation Coming, Warns Donald Trump. (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.) Ned M. suggested this: Geithner Comes Clean: “I Don’t Understand It” I found a link at The Drudge Report to this: $12,984–Increase in Debt Per Household Since First 2011 Bipartisan Spending Deal Items from The Economatrix: The $1.024 Billion Bank Run Why A Greek Exit From The Euro Would Mean The End Of The Eurozone Over 55 and Jobless, Americans Face Tough Hunt

Get Ready: We’re About To Have Another 2008-Style Crisis B.B. sent this: Cost of Greek Exit from Euro Put at $1 Trillion USD Spain falls into recession amid fears of eurozone bank run China’s Economic Slowdown Foreshadows Trouble for the U.S. Items from The Economatrix: Jimmy Rogers:  “Volume Is Not Going To Come Back.  We’ve Had A Great 30 Years.  That’s Not Going To Come Back!” TMFR Podcast #19:  Jim Willie. “Jim ties together today’s seemingly unrelated headlines of European sovereign debt, JPM hedging losses and paper gold price drops and ties them all together into a tidy little package …

Only Chuck Schumer could dream up legislation so repugnant: Schumer Introduces Ex-PATRIOT Act: Will Banish Those Who Renounce US Citizenship. Greg P. sent this news from Europe: The Next Money: As the Big Economies Falter, Micro-Currencies Rise Matt C. sent us this: JPMorgan Fiasco Means Higher Interest Rates Ahead JPMorgan, a counterparty to itself Over at Alt-Market: How The U.S. Dollar Will Be Replaced Items from The Economatrix: The Curious Calculus of the US Employment Numbers April Retail Sales Hint at Slower Spending Pace Here’s How the Whole Eurozone Could Unravel in Just a Few Months Oil Price Still Falling …

Those #&%*#^@ derivatives! JPMorgan exec disregarded warnings on portfolio risk MC in Florida suggested this Zero Hedge article: Japanese Pension Fund Switches to Gold for the First Time Ever B.B. sent this: U.S. has Two to Five Years Before Financial Meltdown. Items from The Economatrix: Bank Runs Hit Greece. (Another news article quotes Greek President Karolos Papoulias: “[Greek Central Bank chairman] Provopoulos told me that of course there’s no panic but there’s great fear which can evolve into panic.”) As Europe’s Economic Outlook Darkens, US Risks Grow Oil Drops a Fourth Day on Rising U.S. Supplies, Greek Elections S&P in …

The latest coinage debasement news, this time from The Philippines: Coin hoarding soon a crime? JWR’s Comment: With orchestrated currency inflation there comes the inevitable day when seigniorage costs advance to unacceptable levels, and the metallic value of any given coin greatly exceeds its face value. Rather than doing the honest thing–knocking a few zeroes off their paper currency–governments often resort to bans on coin melting and coin exportation. Anti-hoarding laws are much less common in First World countries as there are typically no limitations on the amount of a currency that someone holds in an ostensibly “sound” currency regime. …