Category: Economics & Investing

Kevin S. sent this: Fed clears China’s first US bank takeover Faber Sees ’87-Type Crash if U.S. Stocks Rise Without QE3 Andre sent this: Banks prepare for the return of the drachma From G.G.: Postal Service quarterly loss widens to $3.2 billion Items from The Economatrix: Housing Bottom?  Fannie Mae Won’t Seek Tax Dollars Wages Bolster Spending as Americans as Americans Extend Hours US March Wholesale Inventories Rise 0.3%, Sales Climb 0.5% Home Prices Rise in Half of U.S. Cities as Markets Stabilize

F.G. sent this: Postal Service: Will keep rural post offices open Michael A. sent this: Liberty Dollars may be subject to seizure. | AmEx (American Expat) spotted this: Dutch With Food Aid Shows New Economic Reality Engulfing Europe Items from The Economatrix: The Countdown To The Break Up Of The Euro Has Officially Begun Economic Alert:  If You’re Not Worried Yet, You Should Be Analyst:  US Still Headed For Recession Oil Falls To Near $97 Amid Weak US, Europe Demand

A.K.H. sent this: Testimony cites savings from using steel: House holds hearing on future of coin production. JWR Urges: Get your nickels, soon! Michele Bachmann claims Swiss citizenship. It is always nice to have a Plan B. Mayo downgrades JPMorgan Items from The Economatrix: Baby Boomers:  “A Gray Wave,” Now Permanently Jobless Gas Prices Falling:  Next Stop $3 A Gallon? Oil Falls For 5th Day, Down 2%

Americans Pay More in Taxes than for Food, Clothing, and Shelter Combined. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) G.G. sent this: Two Charts Exposing America’s Record Shadow Welfare State Grace sent us this sobering video: United States Budget Dilemma. Jim Rogers: Central Banks are Unleashing an Inflationary Holocaust

Several readers wrote to send this: Canada Stops Making Cents as Flaherty Lets Penny Drop. JWR’s Comment: Don’t miss the last line of the article: “The penny, with two maple leaves on one side and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the other, has lost 95 percent of its purchasing power since it was first produced by the mint.” If journalist Quinn were more discerning and incisive, he could and should have written: “Since 1902, the citizenry of Canada has been slowly robbed of 95% of the purchasing power of their currency, through insidious inflation. The worthlessness of the …

Mr. Rawles, The following paragraph is excerpted from John Mauldin’s excellent FrontLineThoughts.com newsletter this week: “The longer-term picture of labor force withdrawal is kind of shocking. Total household employment is down by 4.4 million since the Great Recession began in December 2007, and the number of unemployed is up by 4.9 million. The civilian population is up 9.6 million – but the labor force is up just 447,000. The number classed as not in the labor force is up by 9.2 million – and those not in the labor force and wanting a job is up 1.7 million. In other …

G.G. flagged this: Delaying retirement: 80 is the new 65 Reader AmEx sent this: Taxmageddon: Massive Tax Hikes on the Horizon The chicanery between the Fed and ECB – twin balance sheets near peak levels and many European nations back in recession Items from The Economatrix: Gross Says US Economy Suffering From “Structural” Unemployment (Not “Cyclical”) April Jobs Report: What It All Means US Economy Faces “Fiscal Cliff”:  Fed Officials Warren Buffett’s right-hard man, Charlie Munger doesn’t grok gold: “…Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you’re a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939, but I …

Mr. Rawles, Gil G. had some very informative information and almost all of his instructions can be transferred to purchasing silver in a local coin shop. I have had nothing but a positive experience with buying “junk” silver on eBay. On two separate occasions, my order was missing some required coins. I had purchased $5 face value (FV) in dimes. In one order, I had only received 49 dimes. I sent an email to the seller and they promptly (within hours) refunded my account with the price of the dime. In another order, one of the 50 dimes was a …

Spain’s poorest region suffers 32% unemployment. (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.) People Not In Labor Force Soar By 522,000, Labor Force Participation Rate Lowest Since 1981 Each Child Born Today will Inherit $1.5M of National Debt, Study Shows Items from The Economatrix: Euro-area Unemployment at 15-year High as Slump Deepens Private-sector Hiring Slows In April, Stirs Concern April Turns Weak For Retailers Jobs Report Preview:  Traders Fear Evidence of a Downtrend

B.B. suggested a piece over at Zero Hedge: Hugh Hendry On Europe “You Can’t Make Up How Bad It Is” Also from B.B. came a link to this piece by Monty Pelerin: The Economic Charade is Almost Over. His essay begins: “As we near the end point, the point where the economy collapses, government becomes more desperate to convey the myth of a recovery. Government data have always been suspect because of the political ramifications of a good vs. bad economic report. Fudging the numbers, or at least the ways of measuring various statistics, likely began once government began issuing …

When I put some serious thought into purchasing silver as a hedge against the rapid inflation of the US dollar, I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the task. Go to eBay’s web site and type in the search criterion “junk silver” and you will be slammed with about 2,000+ different auctions on an average day advertising everything from “face value” (FV), to Troy weight and standard weight, to vials of silver flakes and silver jewelry from someone’s estate sale.  A little bit of knowledge goes a long way when it comes to buying precious metals, especially if you’re shopping …

When currency isn’t current: Old $50 bill found real, but not before bearer arrested. SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: Wealthy Americans Queue to Give Up Their Passports C.D.V. suggested this commentary from Jim Powell at Forbes: Obama’s Plan to Seize Control of Our Economy and Our Lives Items from The Economatrix: What if a Collapse Happened and Nobody Noticed? Jobs Growth Seen Rebounding in April Factory Growth Best in 10 Months; Bolsters Outlook Smart Money Banking Big on Gold and Silver to Soar

G.G. flagged this: The Media Won’t Touch this Story About the End of the US Dollar Coincidentally, M.E.W. noted one large paper that just did: How US debt risks dollar doomsday: The US dollar is getting perilously close to losing its status as the world’s reserve currency. Should it cross the line, the 2008 financial crisis could look like a summer storm. Mac Slavo: What is America’s Economic Breaking Point? Items from The Economatrix: The Illusion of an Economic Recovery Jim Sinclair Has Something to Say US Economy Grows at Tepid 2.2%, Misses Estimates Oil Prices Rise On Improvement In …