Category: Economics & Investing

Friday (June 1st, 2012) was a banner day. Stocks plunged, but gold and silver rallied, hopefully signaling a change from May’s declines. With the credit market in turmoil, everyone is frantic for cash–among other things to meet CDS derivative margin calls. (I’ve been warning you about derivatives since 2006.) Hence the fire sale in stocks, metals, and even crude oil–both futures and spot markets. But the long term prospects for silver and gold look bullish. In the current era of “quantitative easing” monetization, the paper currencies are doomed to go down, and metals are the safe haven hedge. My favorite …

The Start Of An Economic Collapse In Europe, But It Will Deeply Affect The Entire Globe C.D.V. sent this: Germany Has A Generous Proposal To The Broke PIIGS: “Cash For Gold” Also from C.D.V. : Cramer: Europe Has Become a Black Box More monetization ahead: Early Fed Move Will Boost Gold Spain faces ‘total emergency’ as fear grips markets Money flies out of Spain, regions pressured Items from The Economatrix: When The Derivatives Market Crashes (And It Will) US Taxpayers Will Be On The Hook Consumer Confidence in the Economy Plunged in May A No-Confidence Vote For Obamanomics May Jobs …

Pierre M. sent this: Debt crisis: a $46 trillion problem comes sweeping in Pierre also suggested this by John Rubino: Welcome to the Currency War, Part 1: Iceland and the Tragedy of the Commons Insight: European firms plan for Greek unrest and euro exit. (Thanks to Sue C. for the link.) Ex-employees punish JPMorgan via CDS derivatives trades Food stamp Usage Remains at All Time High, Record Number uf Households Receive $277 in Poverty Assistance Monthly Items from The Economatrix: Home Prices in US Fell at Slower Pace in Y/E March Consumer Confidence in US Fell in May to Four-month …

Dr. Walter E. Williams: Our Nation’s Future. Williams begins his latest essay: “Our nation is rapidly approaching a point from which there’s little chance to avoid a financial collapse.” G.G. flagged this: 18 Staggering Charts On The Rise Of Government Dependence Simon Black: Why We’re Nowhere Near The Mania Phase In Precious Metals One Out Of Every Ten Banks Is A “Problem Bank” – FDIC Issues 56 Enforcement Actions In April Lloyd’s ‘has plans for euro collapse’. (Thanks to Andre D. for the link.)

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