Category: Economics & Investing

Middle East Mirrors Great Inflation Revolutions Since 1200 A.D. (Thanks to Mark G. for the link.) Bobbi, South Dakota notes: “Six weeks ago, I could buy canned Progresso brand soup (ready to eat) for $1 per can. Yesterday it was $2.29. Gasoline (10% ethanol) was $3.06 four days ago. It is now $3.36. The “Cheap” white bread was regularly on sale for $.79 for a 24 ounce loaf. Now it is $.99 (as a “Hot Buy”) for a 16 ounce loaf. Navel oranges are still $.78/lb, but those in the latest batch are very small and even slightly green. Cucumbers …

A new age of uncertainty: Why Arab turmoil could mean an orgy of bloodletting and rocketing oil prices rather than a Utopian world order. (A hat tip to J.B.G. for the link.) K.A.F.send us a story about “voting with their feet”: Irish Remedy for Hard Times: Leaving U.S. crop boom not enough to rebuild thin supplies. (Thanks to Nick F. for the link.) Natural Gas: A Cure for America’s Crazy Oil Addiction Items from The Economatrix: Regulators Close Small Illinois Bank; Makes 23 in 2011   State and Local Budget Cuts are Slowing US Economy   Oil Prices Spike to …

Reader F.G. sent the link to this entertaining video clip: Investing Ferraris Versus Gold. FDIC: 884 ‘Problem’ Banks Remain Even as Profits Grow. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Reader Michael P. sent this from David Chapman: The End of the US Dollar? Analysis: Oil prices could be game-changer for world economy Paul Farrell: Market Crash 2011: It will hit by Christmas. (Thanks to Pat S. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: If all else fails, bribe them: Saudi ruler offers $36 billion to stave off uprising amid warning oil price could double Why I’m Buying Silver at $30 …

Jim Willie: QE2: The Road to a Gold Standard North African Turmoil Could Rocket Crude to $220 John R. recommended this article: Middle East Chaos: What To Learn And What To Expect Items from The Economatrix: Crude breaches $119 in frantic trading Market Jitters As Oil Price Heads For The Sky   UK:  Petrol to Hit £6.50 a Gallon; Mideast Crisis Cuts Supplies   (That is $10.52 USD, folks!) US House Prices Plumb New Depths   Video of Eric Sprott Speech: The Government Lied…There is No More Silver!

Trapped: The Fed Has Painted Itself Into a Corner Charles Kadlec reports at Forbes: Higher Inflation Is On The Way. Wegman’s freezes prices on 40 products. (JWR Asks: How long can that last?) Cost of…everything…about to go up Inflation-hit India gains new price measure tool

$4 Gasoline? Definitely in California, but Maybe Not for Everyone Else US House Prices to Continue Falling: Economist. [JWR Adds: That is, until mass inflation kicks in, and makes us all millionaires.] Englishmen warned: House prices ‘to fall by 20%’ De Borchgrave: Mideast $400 Oil Imminent With Mideast Upheaval John R. suggested this piece by Bob Chapman: Public debt: unsustainable and simply unpayable Items from The Economatrix: On-going Overnight Short Squeeze Takes Silver to Fresh 31-Year High   Credibility Blown (The Mogambo Guru)   Silver Bankers May Be Sitting On Big Derivatives Losses And The Fed May Be Funding Them …

Thor sent this bit of news on the global food supply: Planet could be ‘unrecognizable’ by 2050, experts say Luis (At Sea) sent us this link to Seeking Alpha: Case-Shiller: Home Price Declines Continue. Luis notes: “Notice that Washington D.C. had the only positive number, and even that was marginal.”   Several Items from Kevin S.: A Tipping Point Is Nearing   Food/Financial Crisis of 2011   The Collapse of America’s Labor Force   Items from The Economatrix: How Much More Demand Can Silver Handle?   Despite Oversupply, US Gasoline Prices Leap   Oil Surges 6% as Libya Tension Intensifies …

Dear Mr. Rawles, Regarding people eventually mailing U.S. nickel [5 cent coins] in bulk, you had asked: “Is there a box manufacturer that makes a sturdy corrugated cardboard box that fits tightly into a Medium size Priority Mail Flat Rate corrugated cardboard box?” At ULINE you can get a box to fit nicely inside the corrugated Medium Flat Rate Box (“FRB1″, with dimensions 11″ x 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2”). It is item #S-4517. It measures 10″x8″x5″. These boxes cost 54 cents each in lots of 25. (OBTW, leave it to the government to make two “medium” flat rate boxes. The longer, …

The short squeeze in silver that I recently mention seems to be on, in earnest. Check Monday’s spot silver chart. That is a 31-year high. KAF sent us a link to a great piece by Patrice Lewis over at WorldNetDaily: Connecting the dots to anarchy. (SurvivalBlog readers will recognize Patrice Lewis as the editor of the excellent Rural Revolution blog.) Companies Raise Prices as Commodity Costs Jump. (Thanks to Daniel S. for the link.) Anthony S. sent this sign of the times: Pan American Silver Shifts Assets to Canadian Dollars John R. suggested this: Six Charts Which Prove That Central …

Along The Watchtower reports on the COMEX‘s severe shortage of physical silver for delivery, amid strong open interest (OI) for March contracts: Wow! If a higher than normal percentage of buyers demand delivery, then the market will implode. There is already short squeeze in progress. The COMEX governors are likely to resort to drastically raising margin requirements to near 100% in an attempt to cool the market. (As precedent, they did this back during the Hunt Brothers silver short squeeze, three decades ago. Silver was then approaching $50 per ounce, and the COMEX hit the brakes hard.) A repeat of …

Reader C.D.V. mentioned this: Inflation: It’s Here. “This is an important topic because with an expanding money supply, one would expect to see price inflation, yet the official statistics reveal no substantial price increases. And that begs the question: Why not?” Deutsche Bank on the Imminent Inflationary Outbreak in America. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Why Are Food Prices Going Crazy? Cotton hits $2 a pound Cotton values surge owing to increased demand Following Beijing’s lead, news from Taipei: Prosecutors Office vows to crack down on food hoarding. (Hmmm… Could it be that double-digit inflation is on the horizon?)