Category: Economics & Investing

Forecaster predicts the next crisis Bob Chapman: A Nation Exclusively Run For Corporate Interests. (Thanks to John R. for the link.) G.G. sent this: Egypt and the growing problem of global inflation. John also mentioned a guest post over at Zero Hedge: The Road to Madness Is Paved With $100 Bills Your Cheat Sheet to the 11 Countries Which Could Follow Egypt’s Lead Huge Winter Storm Threatens Wheat, Cattle Items from The Economatrix: Nine Signs that the Price of Oil is About to Soar Beyond $100 a Barrel   Less Than a 3% Drop in Asset Values Could Wipe Out …

Authoritarian governments start stockpiling food to fight public anger Nearly 11 Percent of US Houses Empty (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Bank of America dealt another foreclosure blow in Nevada Items from The Economatrix: Energy Stocks Push Indexes Higher   Oil Prices Rise on Egypt Unrest, Brent Tops $100   Consumer Spending Up 0.7% In December   Egypt’s Economy Hurt as Travelers Avoid The Unrest   World Stocks Fall on Egypt Turmoil   Gold Premiums Highest Since 2004; China Stock Up

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions G.G. flagged a piece by veteran investing guru Richard Russell (of Dow Theory fame): The Dollar Has Lost All Stability And Is Ready For A Crash B.B. sent this: Why the Smart Money is Trading Dollar Bills for Hard Assets Items from The Economatrix: All 100 Oz. Bars of Silver Gone in a Matter of Days Davos 2011: Roubini Says G-20 Has Become G-0   America Faces Biggest Deficit in History   Federal Reserve Concerned Over US Job Creation   UK Retailers Cut 10,000 Jobs Last Month   …

Rocky Mountain Power asks for 13.7% rate hike Reader Steve C. pointed us to a blog written by Barry Ritchie, a missionary in Honduras. Ritchie mentions that staple foods like rice and beans have nearly quadrupled just in the past year. Steve’s comment: “Food inflation is most certainly on the rise, and apparently even faster in those areas where folks can even less afford the increase.” The Downsizing of America:  Manufacturers Learn Creative Methods of Repackaging Inflation  

Bryan E. noted that Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has proposed a list of budget cuts that will total $500 Billion dollars in savings. “The Houston Cannonball” mentioned a link at Zero Hedge for a map of the dozens of riots in recent weeks across the globe that can be attributed to price hikes as well as a few price hikes in the US. Sue C. sent this: Budget deficit to hit $1.48 trillion. The congresscritters in Washington D.C. now have us swimming in red ink! Items from The Economatrix: Mike Ruppert:  The Beginning of Systemic Failure Regulators Shut Down …

G.G. suggested: Silver Coin Sales, ETF Outflows Show Divergence In Markets Jerry Robinson: State of the Union: Four Absurd “Solutions” to America’s Debt Crisis Foreclosure Document Fraud Drives Notaries to Take the Fifth Items from The Economatrix: Paper Money Madness:  Inflation-Fueled Economic Growth Does Not Indicate That An Economy Is Getting Stronger   Marc Faber Expects 10% Drop in S&P 500   Market Manipulation, Why Gold And Silver Have Declined   Roubini Says US Risks “Train Wreck” From Bond Vigilante Wrath   Financial Meltdown Was “Avoidable,” Inquiry Concludes 

Reader Donald M. sent this: The Fed Won’t Be Able to Combat Inflation by Raising Fed Funds Rate In the latest Daily Bell: US Panel Blames Banks for ’08 Meltdown, but not Central Banks John Browne: The Great Debt Shift. Here is a quote: “Two of the world’s largest economies, the EU ($16 trillion) and the US ($14 trillion), have become the leading practitioners of private-to-public debt shifting. The US has assumed the debts of banks, insurers, mortgage holders, and even entire industrial sectors. The European Union has done the same for entire states. The resulting public debt levels are, …

Watch Out For Hidden Inflation Costs As Packaging “Shrinks” World moves closer to food price shock Top 25 countries that could get crushed by food inflation World Food Prices Reach Nominal High What China’s Rising Inflation Means for You

John R. suggested this piece by Rick Ackerman: Finally, It’s the Fed That Has Become Too Big to Fail Reader AmEx (American Expatriate) sent this: Gold Holdings in ETPs Plunge Amid Signs of Recovery Nevada Unemployment: The Worst Gets Worse Items from The Economatrix: Second Wave of Housing Bust Hammers More Cities   Consumer Confidence Index Hits Eight-Month High   US Economy Contracting, Pound Plunges   World’s Economy Recovery Continues, Says Think Tank  

Higher taxes in Australia: Queensland flood levy ‘crazy’ amid price rises Dead ahead: State and city pension FAILURES! QE2, QE3,… The Most Predictable Financial Calamity in History. (Thanks to Siggy for the link.) John R. suggested this: Paper Money Madness: Inflation-Fueled Economic Growth Does Not Indicate That An Economy Is Getting Stronger John also set this: Peter Schiff: China to Unleash US ‘Inflation Nightmare’ Items from The Economatrix: Oil To Exceed $150 A Barrel, “Probably Go Over $200”   The Day After The Dollar Crashes–A Survival Guide For The Rise Of The New World Order   Dow Average Nears 12,000 …

Reader J.B.G. sent this great video clip about silver market: Off-the-Grid Economic Indicators Speaking of silver, I noticed that spot silver dipped below $27.40 per ounce on Monday. Buy on these dip days! G.G. flagged this: An Ugly Side Effect of New 1099 Law: More Tax Evasion. The latest from The Daily Bell: ‘Super Stagflation’ End Game? To stop “Global Warming”, they say: Brits Ponder Fuel Rationing. (Thanks to Chris T. for the link.) Lisa L. sent a lesson in how not to do offshore banking in Panama: American Arrested in Mexico for Carrying 150 Gold Coins; Coins Seized. (And …

End of Euro? … Ireland Prints Own Notes Fed Hides Major Accounting Change John R. kindly sent us a whole raft of items: The “Independent” Fed Admits The Truth (Karl Denninger) What Really Happened to 15 Million Jobs?   Which Of The Currencies Of The World Is Going To Crash First? (The Economic Collapse Blog)     Obama Said to Push Congress to Curb Debt, Boost Competitiveness Bonuses for bankers, bankruptcy for public services (Professor Richard D. Wolff) The Politics of Deflation (Vijay Boyapati)   What Every American Needs to Understand About the Economy (Richard Duncan) UN wants new global …

The MOAB that never ends: Thomas Sowell: Fed Trapped in Endless Easing Cycle. (Thanks to Brett G. for the link, that includes an interview clip.) The FDIC Friday Follies continue with bank closures in Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia Reader Mac F. sent this item: Stimulus Writ Small: Tiny California Town Prints Its Own Currency Germany Should Prepare for Greek Default, Adviser Feld Tells Handelsblatt. (A hat tip to John R. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Is Silver Bottoming?   Silver Up as US Mint Reports January Eagle Sales Reach Record High   Fear And Love …

12 Economic Collapse Scenarios That We Could Potentially See In 2011 J.D.D. recommended this by Charles Hugh Smith: Social Security in far worse shape than you think Pierre M. was the first of several readers to send this: A Path is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens. (That “path” is declaring bankruptcy and defaulting on their pension obligations!) Meanwhile, we read: DeMint: There Will Be No Bailout for the States. Social Insecurity: Inside the ‘Trust Fund’ Illusion Rick Ackerman: Bullion shorts in over their heads, says our man in London Items from The Economatrix: Home Sales Hit 13-Year …

Mark T. suggested: No Surrender on Debt Ceiling. Here is a key quote: “…as one senior Chinese banking official recently noted, in some ways the U.S. financial position is more perilous than Europe’s. ‘We should be clear in our minds that the fiscal situation in the United States is much worse than in Europe,’ he recently told reporters. ‘In one or two years, when the European debt situation stabilizes, [the] attention of financial markets will definitely shift to the United States. At that time, U.S. Treasury bonds and the dollar will experience considerable declines.’” Frequent content contributor Sue C. sent …