Category: Economics & Investing

Reader Bryan E. reports: Wholesale prices rise 1.6% due to biggest jump in food costs in over 36 years. Reader Greg C. notes: “I live in the Tampa Bay area in Florida.  Today I went to a fast food restaurant to grab a quick lunch and noticed a sign saying they would only put tomatoes on your sandwich if requested.  Curious, I inquired about it and they said that a case of tomatoes went from $20 to $50 due to the freeze in Mexico.  That got me to thinking.  If even low levels of fallout hit the farms from Japan, …

Readers in France or elsewhere in the EU might be interested in acquiring some of the new “10 euro des 26 régions” coins as both a silver investment and as an inflation hedge, with no downside risk. They are 10-euro coins, weighing 10 grams and are sterling silver (92.5% fine). These coins are available at face value in post offices, but are region-specific and some regions might have already run out. I’ve read that in Brittany the new collector coins are still available, and you can purchase limited quantities at their face value. A SurvivalBlog reader mentioned that he was …

Power to the Pinko People (and to their wall outlets): Demonstration In Detroit Demands End to Utility Shutoffs. R.G. forwarded a sobering economic forecast from the CBO: The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2021. (As my friend the late Chuck Brumley was fond of saying: “If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall.”) Coburn: Government ‘Stole’ From Social Security. (A hat tip to R.P.B. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Michigan Bill Would Impose “Financial Martial Law”  Investor Portfolio Preparation For Hyperinflation, Assets For Protection And Profits   Silver Bullion Coin …

Several readers mentioned this piece by Chris Martenson, over at Zero Hedge: Alert: Nuclear (And Economic) Meltdown In Progress. These are Martenson’s strongest- ever admonitions to get seriously prepared. James Turk: Gold $8,000 Per Ounce and Hyperinflation a Sure Thing. Business Insider: It’s Not Your Imagination: The Number Of Disasters Just Keeps Rising Items from The Economatrix: As Treasury Cash Drops to Just $14.2 Billion, And No Bond Auctions Until Next Week, is America About to Run Out of Cash?   US Debt and Deficits Ensure Violent Dollar Sell-Off Ahead   The Gathering Political and Economic Storm   Tsunami May …

F.G. suggested this: Golden Years–People have had a fascination with gold for thousands of years. Here are some milestones along the way. C.D.V. sent this bit of gloomage: Mandatory Spending to Exceed all Federal Revenues — 50 Years Ahead of Schedule. From John R.: Europe debt risk hits $2.5 trillion Items from The Economatrix: The Silver Door Is Closing Sprotts On Silver — The Door Is Closing      14 Reasons Why The Economic Collapse Of Japan Has Begun   Around The World Graphs 

The latest at Dr. Housing Bubble: The financial psychology of negative equity – 1,880,000 California mortgage holders have no equity in their homes. California home prices will fall 15 to 25 percent in the coming years. 1 out of 3 California mortgage holders at risk of walking away or defaulting. What’s the Difference Between 1 Gold Karat, 1 Diamond Carat and 1 Troy Ounce? Ben S. suggested this: Normal Interest Rates Would be a Disaster for U.S. Debt Items from The Economatrix: Fears of a Slowdown in Japan Push Stocks Lower   Quake Selloff Wipes $287 Billion Off Tokyo Stock …

John R. recommended a piece over at Lew Rockwell’s site by David Stockman: Why Deficits Do Matter. Tamara over at the View From the Porch blog mentioned this: Normal Interest Rates Would be a Disaster for U.S. Debt. “None of this can go on forever. The Fed can’t print money forever. The U.S. can’t borrow huge fractions of GDP forever. Austerity is coming. The only question in my mind now is whether we’ll have a currency collapse and hyperinflation first.” Greg in Vermont sent a link to a piece in the leftward-leaning Washington Post, where columnist E.J. Dionne tells us …

Mr. Rawles,   The U.S. Treasury has announced that it is seeking public comment on revised compositions for U.S. coinage. They are seeking comments from us mere citizens about what we think of changing the metal content of coins to even cheaper metals than the copper, zinc and nickel currently used.  I think that all Survival Blog readers should comment – let the Treasury and the rest of The Powers That Be know that we don’t like how they’ve already debased our currency, and we don’t want them to do it to an even greater extent.   Of course, the …

Dear Mr. Rawles The Inherent Value of U.S. Paper Currency I have recently decided to obey the law–Gresham’s Law and start converting my paper dollars into “Golden Dollars” including the Sacagawea and Presidential Dollars as well as into the Kennedy Half Dollar. I am mostly doing this for symbolic reasons but I have found that it is a way to get people to talk casually about concepts like inflation, fiat currency and fiscal policy without scaring them off. A US dollar weighs 1 gram, on average. From Earth Works Recycling‘s web page we find that paper is worth between 0 …

  Items from The Economatrix: Quake & Tsunami Blow To Fragile Japanese Economy  Regulators Close Small Banks in Oklahoma and Wisconsin   More People Sought Unemployment Aid Last Month   January Trade Deficit Jumps To $46.3 Billion   21 Signs Of Impending Doom For The 2011 Economy   8 Reasons Why Silver Is The Investment Of The Decade  Q.E. Money Printing Negative Feed Back Loop To Hyper-Inflation Oblivion 

Five Things Every American Should Do, But Won’t’. John R. suggested this at Zero Hedge: Paul Mylchreest’s Latest Must Read Report: Gresham’s Law Squared – Gearing Up For Game Over Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) suggest a piece by Charles Krauthammer on the Social Security fraud: Et tu, Jack Lew? Items from The Economatrix:  Libya’s Revolt Squeezing World Oil Supplies   The Driver For Gold You’re Not Watching   Unemployment Rate Falls In 24 States, Rises In 10  

JWR,   Last week, legendary investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway was asked in an interview (cited in blogs and articles now all over the Internet) why he was not investing in gold. Here was his reply:   “If you took all the gold in the world, it would form a cube 67 feet on a side, worth $7 trillion. For that same amount of money, you could own other assets with far greater productive power, including:   All the farmland in the US, about 1 billion acres, which is worth $2.5 trillion.   Seven Exxon Mobil’s (XOM), the largest …

Bank of America says nearly half its mortgages are ‘bad’. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Also from G.G.: Number of U.S. Expatriates Doubled in 2010. JWR Adds: I suspect that a lot of these were long-term ex-pats who had heard about the planned increases in the Federal income tax brackets. (Which thankfully were cancelled at the 11th hour.) Tony B. recommended this essay by Seth Lipsky: The Floating Dollar as a Threat to Property Rights Items from The Economatrix: Unrest In The Middle East Continues / Silver Prices Exceed $36 Gold $1,500?  The World Is Changing   Pocket Money …

21 Signs Of Impending Doom For The 2011 Economy Roy M. sent this: Hoarding Nickels, Collecting stamps? Is this the best investment for America’s working poor? Economist warns of double dip recession if oil hits $140 (Thansk to C.D.V. for the link.) Gasoline cost to jump $700 for average household. January trade deficit jumps to $46.3 billion Items from The Economatrix: People Aren’t Buying Economic Lies Told By The Government   Is Buffett Ignorant?  Gold on its Way to $6,000?   Spiking Oil, Plunging Economy Spiking Oil, Plunging Economy   Underwater Mortgages Rise As Home Prices Fall