Category: Economics & Investing

Photo of an Obamaville. Loyal contributor John R. sent us a capacious pile o’ links: Paul Ryan Speaks on the “Catastrophic Trajectory” of US Debt – ZeroHedge Our Peculiar State of Suspended Animation – Charles Hugh Smith What Will Happen When QE2 Ends? – Dave Cohen Obama’s debt-limit truth-twisting – Stephen M. Meister Kicking the Can to the End of the Road – John Mauldin      Social Security ‘Trust Fund’ to Add $5 Trillion to Debt – Investors.com Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Follow LinkedIn IPO Higher Commodity Rally Sends Stock Indexes Higher Central Banks Snap Up Gold in First …

More than a dozen blog readers suggested this must read piece: Hedge Farm! The Doomsday Food Price Scenario Turning Hedgies into Survivalists. Here is a quote from the article: “When asked if this is an end of the world scenario, the hedge-fund manager replied, “It really is. I tell my fiancée this from time to time, and I’ve stopped telling her this, because it’s not the most pleasant thought.” Reader Stephen M. wrote to mention: “One of my favourite indicators as to economic health is the Baltic Dry Index.  It is simply a measure of the shipping costs to move …

Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) sent this: George Soros dumps $800 million gold stake. (JWR Adds: Don’t be surprised if Soros quietly buys back in to the market, this summer. He is famous for trying to move markets, and later capitalizing on those moves. ) Is Another Housing Crash Coming? Oil prices fall on disappointing economic data Ted in Nashville sent this: Abandoned Houses Leave Neighborhoods in Limbo Foreclosures Prompt Four U.S. Cities to Sue Banks for Mowing, Home Repairs. (Thanks to Vitus for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: US Homebuilding, Manufacturing Slump in April World on …

Jeff Harding warns: The Economy is Sliding Into a Stagflationary Spiral Some talking hipster robot apocalypse, by way of Club Orlov: “What will a post-collapse society look like?” and How can we prepare for the collapse? Rigged-Market Theory Scores a Perfect Quarter: Jonathan Weil. (Kudos to Kevin S. for the link.) Sig mentioned: Three Reasons to Believe in $100 Oil Items from The Economatrix: Silver and Disasters Double-digit Inflation Has Arrived US Builders See Little to Like in Housing Market

Does this sound familiar?: Treasury to tap pensions to help fund government. It is notable that the mass media is presently full of headlines about a banking official arrested for rape. But who is going to bring Tim Geithner to justice for raping millions of taxpayers? (On a similar note, SurvivalBlog reader R.E.T. wrote to mention: “If a private company did this, it would rightly be called theft and the CEO would go to jail.” The Daily Bell interview: David Morgan on the Global Economy, Inflation, Recession and Where Silver Is Headed. File Under “Sweet Irony”: No, it’s not a …

JWR: Thanks to SurvivalBlog, I have stashed away my share of nickels, but I began to wonder if it could make sense to sort and store pre-1982 pennies, which are 95 percent copper.  I’ve done some hands-on research in this area, and I believe there’s a way to accumulate pennies, and do so relatively easily and from an investment point of view, more effectively than nickels. The Numbers First, the numbers: If one stashed away $1,000 in nickels, one would have 20,000 coins; each coin is 5 grams, of which 75% is copper and 25% nickel.  So, $1000 in nickels …

A 1980 copy of Playboy Predicts the Future for Silver David D. sent this: Speculation explains more about oil prices than anything else John R. recommended a series of charts, showing the sad decline of various currencies since 1970: Your Purchasing Power. JWR Notes: As I’ve written before, currency inflation is robbery in slow motion. Reader Paul G. suggested this by Dave Altig of the Atlanta Fed: Just how out of line are house prices? Clearly, house prices have farther to fall before we see bottom! Shadow Stat Misery Index Highest on Record Items from The Economatrix: Yishai sent a …

Stephen M. sent this: Alan Blinder Fires First Shot Across QE3 Bow: Says We Need More Stimulus To Boost Employment. Monetizing the debt is a governmental addiction. It won’t end until the U.S. Dollar is destroyed! Reader G.P. forwarded this: 50 Things Every American Should Know About The Collapse Of The Economy Sig sent us this: Roubini: Jobless Rate Will Jump to Near 10 Percent as Economy Slows. Some “Live Free or Die” news: Southeast Minn. man finds copper plate used to print money. The story gets very interesting when the lawyers get involved. (Thanks to Jim H. for the …

John Embry discusses gold and silver with James Turk. Don’t miss Embry’s comments on the gold to silver ratio (starting 4 minutes into the interview), and about the prospects for hyperinflation, (starting about 10 minutes in). H.D. pointed me to this New York Times article: Gold Mania in the Yukon. C.D.V. flagged this: Social Security deficits now ‘permanent’ Items from The Economatrix: Foreclosures Crush Home Prices Reports of Mortgage Fraud Reach Record Level Stocks Fall as European Financial Crisis Expands Asian Markets Subdued on US Mixed Signals Stocks Edge Higher as Commodity Slide Eases Dollar In Graver Danger Than Euro. …

Forbes Predicts U.S. Gold Standard Within Five Years. (Thanks to C.D.V. for the link.) C.D.V. also flagged this: PIMCO raises bet against U.S. government debt. Jerry Robinson: Meet the System That Will Collapse the U.S. Dollar. Items from The Economatrix: Slumping Oil, Commodity Prices Halt Stock Rally Gasoline Futures Tumble as Demand Slides Don’t Buy A House in 2011 Before You Read This We’re Nowhere Near a Top in Gold A Word on Precious Metals Corrections

Greg C. was the first of several readers to send this: Irish Bombshell: Government Raids PRIVATE Pensions To Pay For Spending. (A trend coming soon to America?) Wall Street View from the Dollar Vigilante, Jeff Berwick. Berwick asserts that The Canadian Dollar’s fate is tied to the U.S. Dollar. Check out his Dollar Vigilante blog. (Thanks to Dan S. for the video link.) Smithfield CEO: Higher Food Prices Are Here To Stay. (Thanks to Kelly D. for the news tip.) Europe prays for Easter rain in worst drought for a century Items from The Economatrix: China Buying Silver Overnight Home …

SurvivalBlog’s G.G. sent this: ‘Underwater’ Homeowners Rise to 28 Percent: Zillow. JWR’s Comment: Please don’t try to tell me that the U.S. housing market has “reached the bottom”. It will continue to deteriorate. The bottom won’t be reached until after hundreds of billions of dollars in bad debt unwinds. At this point, the only viable way for the government and the Federal Reserve banking cartel to extricate themselves from this morass is to inflate their way out. It will only be when houses start selling for more than they did in 2007 that the market will start to “turn around.” …

C.D.V. sent this: Housing crash is getting worse: report. Observations of the Silver Smack Down. Steve K. forwarded a link to: Doomsday Scenario (from the Treasury Department, of all places!) G.P. suggested: $2 Trillion Mile Marker on Road to Perdition Items from The Economatrix: Florida Bank Fails; 40 Shuttered In 2011 Global Economic Crisis to Worsen n Fall The Silver Bull:  Despite This Week’s Selloff, We See Higher Prices Ahead Hopes For A Quick Decline In US Joblessness Dims Signs Are Pointing to a Big Commodity Selloff