Category: Economics & Investing

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?)

From Peak to Valley. Dr. Housing Bubble reports: Beverly Hills real estate selling for 1989 price levels. Home sold for $920,000 in June of 1989 and has a pending sale at $920,000 in 2011. [JWR Adds: So much for oft-touted “buy and hold” strategy! Oh, by the way, how much did the owner(s) of that house cumulatively pay in mortgage interest, property taxes and insurance, for those 22 years? Doubtless somewhere north of a million bucks. And how much has the purchasing power of the Dollar declined in those 22 years? So… Cui bono?] J.B.G. sent this: Government Has Borrowed …

Jim, Thanks for the blog. I’m a huge fan, and your blog is literally a rock-solid anchor for me and my family during all this turmoil. I took “Rick in Kentucky’s” claim that he could get $190 worth of nickels into an ammo can as a challenge. My ammo is flat green can has yellow paint on it which reads as follows: “200 CARTRIDGES, 7.62 MM, NATO 0 M80…” I took out a full can that I have where the coins are arranged laying down, dumped out the rolls, and started stacking vertically as described by Rick. It was quite …

Loyal reader “OSOM” (“Out of Sight, Out of Mind”) pointed us to an eloquent piece by Bill Bonner (of The Daily Reckoning) titled: “Where to Be When Black Swans Appear” OSOM’s comment: “This is a great introductory article for those folks who don’t yet read SurvivalBlog.” Daniel H. flagged this evidence of flight from the U.S. Dollar: China sells $34.2bn of US treasury bonds. Jon R. mentioned this at The Daily Reckoning: The Food Crisis is a Dollar Crisis The latest FDIC Friday Follies: Regulators shut two small banks in Georgia; makes 20 US bank failures this year. (Thanks to …

Mr. Rawles:   Like the ridiculous commercials touting Internet stock trading in the recent past, today the sheeple are treated to commercials extolling the wisdom of investing in gold, all the while the economic world is apparently heading for a meltdown of epic proportion.  As an ardent fan of your novel “Patriots” and a daily reader of your site, I must question the wisdom of investing in either physical gold or rolls of nickels as one will not be able to eat either. And frankly, if someone appears at most doorsteps offering either as payment for goods or services after the …

Brett G. sent this: John Hussman: Stocks Too Expensive, Correction Due Frequent content contributor John R. recommended this analysis by Monty Pelerin: Faking Our Way to Sovereign Bankruptcy Karl Denninger reports on the collapse of the MERS house of cards: MERS Caves Items from The Economatrix: Dim View of Housing Market Weighs on Economy A Tipping Point is Nearing Oil Prices Fall on Economy, Supply Concerns   Bartering, Inflation & Growing A Garden

The latest from Gonzalo Lira: Ballsy or Crazy? Where are We on Inflation and Hyperinflation. (Be forewarned that Mr. Lira uses some crude language.) Reader Brett G. sent us a snippet from an e-mail that he received from a friend who lives in Alaska: “[Rapid price inflation is] really happening up here [in Alaska], overnight: $3.91 [per gallon] for gas $4.89 [per pound] for butter and that was with it ‘on sale’. Milk is $3.89 [per gallon]. It had been $2.99 [per gallon] until this week. Plant seeds! Get ready. Tomatoes will be $7.75 per pound soon, but people just …

James,   I read on your blog where you said that you can fit $178 worth or nickels into a standard U.S. .30 cal ammunition can.   Well, I’ve been able to stuff $190 worth into every can so far. I don’t know why others can only get 89 rolls while I can get 95 rolls into the same space. Might I suggest stacking them directly on top of each other instead of letting the next row rest in the previous rows’ valley. Visualize stacking them not like a rack of pool balls or bowling pins, but rather like a brick of AA batteries. Whether …

Pierre M. mentioned: The Worst Hyperinflation Situations of All Time. JWR Adds: I often slip a Zimbabwean $100 Trillion bill inside the front cover of autographed copies of my novel when I send them as gifts. That serves as a reminder that mass inflation isn’t just in the realm of fiction. Thanks to Kelly D. for spotting this: World Bank: Food prices at “dangerous levels” World Bank report says food prices are at “dangerous levels” after rising 29 percent in a year Evan D. suggested this piece: Collective financial insanity – FDIC backing $5.4 trillion in total deposits on pure …

Five Reasons Investors are Going Crazy for Farmland. (Thanks to Don W. for the link.) Frequent content contributors Sue C. and C.D.V. both sent this: Housing Crash is Hitting Cities Once Thought to Be Stable. “Few believed the housing market here would ever collapse. Now they wonder if it will ever stop slumping.” J.M.A. mentioned this essay over at American Thinker: A Tipping Point Is Nearing Pierre M. pointed us to this: Roubini’s Next Crisis Is Scary Food for Thought: William Pesek Geithner Quietly Tells Obama Debt-to-GDP Cost Poised to Increase to Record. Here is a quote: “It’s a slow …

Mr. Rawles,   I took your advice and, this week, bought a large quantity of [U.S. Five cent piece] nickels for investment. I thought your readers might want to know how surprisingly easy it was. I only had to contact two branches (in a major East coast city) of a large US bank. I have had an account with that bank for a long time, but I had no personal relationships there. The nice lady at the first branch said that she was happy to help but, because the branch had a small vault, she could only get me three boxes ($300) at a time. …

Produce prices skyrocket with freeze in Mexico, Southwest. Stock up on dehydrated veggies, now! Sid C. sent a link to some more about those fake Morgan Silver Dollars made in China. This television news piece mentions a couple of key indicators that you can use to detect fakes. G.G. sent this: White House Expects Deficit to Spike to $1.65 Trillion Goldrunner: The Golden Parabola F.G. flagged this one: Will Chocolate once again become a rarefied luxury? SAA Joe mentioned: U.S. Corn Reserves at Lowest Level in More than 15 Years J.D.D. spotted this: Alan Simpson: U.S. Deficit Is ‘a Disaster’

John R. sent a Seeking Alpha article with some confirmations of my warnings to SurvivalBlog readers since 2006: Derivatives: The Real Reason Bernanke Funnels Trillions Into Wall Street Banks. Here is a quote from the article: “Of course, Bernanke tells the public and Congress that the reason we need low interest rates is to support housing prices. He doesn’t mention that $188 TRILLION of the $223 TRILLION in notional value of derivatives sitting on the Big Banks’ balance sheets is related to interest rates. Yes, $188 TRILLION. That’s thirteen times the US’ entire GDP, and nearly four times WORLD GDP.” …