Economics and Investing:

Greenspan Accuses U.S. of Dollar Weakening (Thanks to F.J.D. for the link.) Sue C. spotted this: Currency Disputes Hang Over G-20 Summit Amherst’s Goodman: One in five distressed homeowners at risk of losing home. (A hat tip to B.B. for the link.) John R. sent this: The Scariest Crash Is The Muni Bond Crash Items from The Economatrix: Doug Casey On Gold’s New High, The Fed, And The Greater Depression   Economic Irony:  Creating Bubbles To Maintain Stability  




Inflation Watch:

Food inflation sees Ben & Jerry’s break through £4 Duane sent: NIA Projects Future U.S. Food Price Increase M.B. pointed us to: Bacon Math. Why your toilet paper is shrinking. (Thanks to Ferd for the link.) Secret Walmart Survey Shows Inflation Already Here




Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate sent this: Markets Alert for Credit Crunch 2.0 German Finance Minister Warns: The US Has Lived on Borrowed Money for Too Long Chocolate Poised to Become a Scarce, Luxury Commodity B.B. sent this: World To Fed: Stop Printing All That Money (A hat tip to Kimberly for the link.) A recent piece over at The Daily Bell: Nouriel Roubini vs. the Mises Institute? John Embry: Die Was Cast Before Elections. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Bernanke’s Cowardice Has Sealed Our Fate Items from The Economatrix: Is The Fed’s Debt-Buying Unconstitutional? World Economy Faces “Difficult And Dangerous …




Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent this: Dark Ages for a modern Middle Class – Modern day debt serfdom and rising prices not seen through the consumer price index. Coffee up 50 percent for the year. What Will Cause the Next Crisis? Jonathan C. sent: California: The Lindsay Lohan of States The Wall Street Journal reports: Ireland’s Fate Tied to Doomed Banks Steve K. sent a link to a very scary mortgage fraud deposition. Super-sized pensions, and a doomsday scenario. (Thanks to Ben G. for the link.) More FDIC Friday Follies: Three bank closures in Arizona and Georgia. Items from The Economatrix: Hiring Remains …




Economics and Investing:

G.G. forwarded this link: The rest of the world goes West when America prints more money. Here is a key quote: “This crazy money-printing is going to be seen as the primary cause of Western inflation, food riots and a commodity price spike.” Reader J.B.G. sent this: Is Soros Betting on U.S. Financial Collapse? Also from J.B.G.: Two Million People About to Be Denied Unemployment Benefits Frequent content contributor B.B. sent this: Chinese Credit Rater Downgrades U.S. Jon in New York flagged this: Centro, facing money problems, plans to combine, eliminate routes north and west of Syracuse. Jon noted: “Comments …




Economics and Investing:

Market pundit Robert Wiedemer recently had the nerve to call gold “the biggest, baddest bubble of them all.” What myopia. He’s looking up at gold’s position only because his vantage point is from the veritable crater formed by the collapsing U.S. Dollar. Gold is simply rising to its natural level, amid a bevy of fiat currencies that are in a frantic race to the bottom. The precious metals are nowhere near the end of the current bull market. China Says Fed Easing May Flood World With `Hot Money’ Fed Will ‘Self Destruct,’ Policy ‘Deeply Flawed’: Ron Paul Sullivan: The Coming …




Economics and Investing:

Ay, Carumba!: California borrows $40 million a day to pay unemployment benefits. No doubt, higher payroll taxes will be coming soon for Californians. Obama returns fire after China slams Fed’s move. [JWR’s comment: The Obama Administration’s position on the Quantitative Easing monetization scheme is like a teenager claiming that he can pay his VISA Card balance with his MasterCard.] I guess you’ve all seen the recent jump in the spot price of silver. FWIW, I’ve been touting silver since February 2001, just before it bottomed. I’m standing by my prediction of $50+ silver. I’ll grant that I was early when …




Economics and Investing

A Daily Bell interview: Rick Rule on Scarce Commodities, the High Price of Gold and the Sale of Global Resources Several readers sent this: Zoellick seeks gold standard debate Quantifying What QE 2 Means for Future Inflation and Gold and Silver Prices  JBG sent this from a Wall Street Journal blog: Number of the Week: $10.2 Trillion in Global Borrowing Items from The Economatrix: Fed’s Trillions Purchase of Bonds is a Fraud Caught In A Lie: Bernanke Promised Congress the Federal Reserve Would Not Monetize the Debt But Now That is Exactly What is Happening Currency Wars, Debase, Debt Default …




From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When, by Scott in Wisconsin

It’s easy to see that the world may be heading for more trouble, and we need to prepare for hard times ahead.  But it can be daunting to decide what to do, what to stock, and when to get it. I’ve been working at this a while, and I’ve figured out a simple balance in what to buy, and when to buy it, that I think will help other Preppers move ahead with confidence. You could call it my 100/1,000/10,000 system, and I hope it helps you get going, and get to a place where you feel more prepared for …




Economics and Investing:

P.D. flagged this one: Right Now, a Complete Collapse of the Financial System is Not Out of the Question Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommended this article: Bernanke soft-pedals QE2 risks. The age of the dollar is drawing to a close. (Thanks to H.W. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Stiglitz:  We Have to Throw the Bankers in Jail or the Economy Won’t Recover Largest 15 States are Spending Over 220% of their Tax Revenue Microsoft CEO Sells $1.3 Billion of Shares World Blasts Deranged Madman’s Uncheckable Insanity German Minister Renews Fed Criticism Inflation Watch: Chris Mayer: …




Economics and Investing:

Thanks to B.B. for this link: Dollar at Risk of Crashing, Triggering Inflation G.G. spotted this recent post over at Zero Hedge: David Stockman Says The Fed is Injecting High Grade Monetary Heroin into the Financial System Susan H. flagged this: Citi: Central Banks Are Going to Start Dumping Dollars in the Coming Weeks Doubts grow over wisdom of Ben Bernanke ‘super-put’. The last line in the article is chilling: “If they start to act on this suspicion, they could push rates higher instead of lower, and overwhelm the Bernanke stimulus. That would precipitate an ugly chain of events for …




Economics and Investing:

Reader Michael A. suggested reading this commentary by Karl Denninger: Bernanke’s Folly: The End Game. K.T. liked this piece by Bix Weir at The Road to Roota Letters: A Final Checklist for Everyone. The article opens with this sobering words: “My Road to Roota analysis shows that we literally days away from the breakdown of the entire fiat monetary system and I thought it a great time to go over final preparations for the coming chaos. In the grand scheme of things you can never be fully prepared for what is about to transpire because nobody on earth has been …




Economics and Investing:

This article by Jeff Nielson is a must read!: Quantitative Easing is Economic Suicide. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate G.G.sfor the link.) The latest from our favorite Switzerdudes over at The Daily Bell: How Western Powers May Have Blown It Here is Sheepdog to rout those grievous wolves: Ron Paul Will Chair the Monetary Policy Subcommittee. Items from The Economatrix: Dow Hits Two-Year High as Fed Details Stimulus. How can investors think that stock gains will out-pace double digit inflation? What idiocy. The Fed’s Big Gamble: Here’s What Could Go Wrong US Quantitative Easing is Fracturing The Global Economy US …




Inflation Watch:

The Federal Reserve Stirs Poltergeist of Hyperinflation, Weimar Collapse Asset Inflation/Deflation: The Fed’s QE2 Versus $15 Trillion in Losses Fast Rising Food Prices Feed Inflation Fears Reader “Skyrat” notes: “Just today I purchased a Famotidine (an antacid OTC medication) refill, 20 milligrams, sixty tablets for $4.00 at Wal-Mart. This replaces the (now empty) bottle I purchased 20 August 2010, for $4.00. The kicker? The new bottle held only ninety tablets. Rising cost of living, anyone?” Corn, food and potential sticker shock Freakanomics: A Dunkin’ Donuts Store Exhibits Penny Sanity. JWR’s Comment: I believe this trend will continue until a zero …




Economics and Investing:

QE2: Many Americans Haven’t a Clue What It Means (Video) OBTW, they also don’t know what “Keynesian” means. (Another brief video) More Mainstream Media Nonsense: US Federal Reserve Decision Expected to Boost American Economy B.B. sent us this: Freddie Mac Says Net Loss $4.1 Billion Items from The Economatrix: It’s All About The Dollar US Pensions Reaching A Breaking Point? US Federal Reserve’s Latest Bubble Threatens Mayhem Fed Expected to Pump Up to $1 Trillion Into US Economy