Category: Economics & Investing

J. in The East suggested: Rethinking Gold: What if It Isn’t a Commodity After All? EMB sent us this from the Calculated Risk blog: Unofficial Problem Bank List increases to 817 institutions. G.G. sent this: 15 Signs the U.S. Housing Market is Headed for Complete and Total Collapse. Items from The Economatrix: Jobless Rate Drops in 18 States, Rises in 14 Gasoline Prices Should Fall After Labor Day Stocks Slide as Investors Continue Sell-off Fidelity: 401(k) Hardship Withdrawals, Loans Up Investors Defensive With Data in Focus Return of the Great Bond Conspiracy World Stocks Slide on Economic Worries This Economy …

News from England: Interest rates ‘may reach 8% by 2012’ adding £900 to the average mortgage as economists warn of need to curb ‘runaway inflation’. (Our thanks to Jean S. for the link.) Doug D. wrote to report: “I found a Costco receipt from three months ago, so decided to compare prices on similar items. What I found was shocking: + 5.7% – Bounty Paper Towel. Reduced from 968 sq ft to 915. + 8.2% – Charmin Toilet Paper. Reduced from 937 sq ft to 866. + 6.6% – Frozen Blueberries + 6.9% – Batteries, AA – 2.5% – Batteries, …

Justin N. sent us a link to a Japan Times article: Consequences of U.S. debt. From frequent contributor KAF: Death of the ‘McMansion’: Era of Huge Homes Is Over S.M. sent a recent piece from NY Times Business Day: In Striking Shift, Small Investors Flee Stock Market Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Fluctuate on M&A Activity, Economic Worries Broke US Cities Sell Parking, Airports, Zoos Gerald Celente: We Are Heading For The GREATEST Depression Rense And Celente Prepare For The Worst Gloomy US Industrial Data Rattles World Markets A Permanent Housing Collapse? Bankruptcy Filings Soar in US and California Central …

The fallacy of cheap home prices and the two income trap – dual income households underscore massive housing inflation. Nationwide home prices overvalued by 25 percent. Reader Judy G. sent this: “My family likes the Rice-a-Roni mixes. I would get them at Kroger often for $1.00 a box. Suddenly the price went to $1.47 a box. I switched to Wal-Mart (I hate to shop there) and found them for $1.12 a box. After many weeks, the Kroger price went to the” everyday low price” of $1.25. I am working on a substitute. I make a veggie cornbread for my parrots …

K.T. sent this: The New Auto IRA Is Just Highway Robbery. Here it comes, folks. This is just first step in nationalizing IRAs and 401(k)s! Brett G. suggested this item: Many Homeowners Expect Home Values to Fall Further. Items from The Economatrix: Spike In Layoffs Feed Fear of Faltering Recovery California Home Sales Drop by 22% in July It’s Going to Get Worse…A Whole Lot Worse UK Sinks Deeper Into the Red Entering A Death Spiral? Tensions Rise In Greece as Austerity Measures Backfire Death and Joblessness Regulators Shut Down Big Chicago ShoreBank, 7 Others And So it Begins: Gold …

“David 5.7” wrote: “I live here in the north east. all brands of toilet paper have gone from 4.5 inches in width to 4 inches, with a slight increase in price. so if you buy and 8 pack roll your are actually getting one roll less per pack than you would have 10 months ago.” Attributed to inflation: China Current Account Surplus Declined 8%. (Stocks in China region dropped after Shanghai city inflation increased to 3.9% and China’s current account surplus declined 8%.) South African Linked Bonds Get Bids for 7 Times Amount Offered. (Thanks to Damon for the link.) …

Ellen Brown: Could 62 Million Homes Be Foreclosure-Proof? (Thanks to J.H.B. for the link.) Brian F. forwarded this: Jobless claims rise to highest level in nine months. RBS sent this: Sugar beet growers worried there might not be 2011 crop Items from The Economatrix: Obamanomics is Why There is No Recovery Connecticut May Have Just a Week’s Worth of Cash Double-digit Jump in Bankruptcies 12 New Ways to Safeguard Your Money China Doubles Korea Bond Holdings as Asia Switches from Dollar

Reader B.L.W. notes that the price of a box of girl scout cookies will be $4 per box this year. Gee, 12 Tagalong or Samoa cookies for $4. That is 33 cents per cookie! BLW also mentioned that Troops are required to sell cookies, or else they can’t hold any other fund raising events this year. As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog: Wal-Mart Quietly Raises Prices. (A whopping 5.8%) Speaking of Wal-Mart, Kelly in Kansas mentioned: Okay, so I know Wal-Mart can be tricky, but I bought a 25 lb bag of Great Value Sugar (I am canning like a crazed …

Yikes! $1.342 trillion budget deficit for 2010. (Our thanks to Rourke for the link.) B.B. suggested this article over at Zero Hedge: The Dallas Fed Reminds That The Economy Is Doing Much Worse Than In The Administration’s Worst Nightmare US Says Bankruptcies Reach Nearly Five-Year High. (A hat tip to KAF for the link.) M.L. recommended: When Will Financial Armageddon Begin? Norman A. spotted this: Marc Faber – “Don’t touch US bonds” Also from Norman: Tensions Rise in Greece Ex-Bank of England Official: Dumping Bush Tax Cuts May Bring Depression Items from The Economatrix: Unemployment Spreads Like a Plague Accountability …

Reader Tyson R. notes: While shopping with my wife, I picked up a bag of corn chips for the girls and didn’t notice a big difference in price, $3.99. That has always been the price as long as I can remember. The bag was the same color, about the same size as before and assumed it was the typical 16 ounce bag, to my dismay when I looked at the content weight it was only 10 ounces. Inflation doesn’t always come in the price tag but in the shrinking of the volume you get. Calculating the inflation on corn chips …

KAF sent us this: Barney Frank: Abolish Fannie and Freddie California Governor Schwarzenegger Orders Furloughs After Top Court Rules. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: The Horrific Derivatives Bubble that Could Destroy Entire World Financial System The Bond Market Is Signaling Trouble Ahead Oil Falls on Report of Rise in US Supplies US Economy Nears Point of No Return The Only Investment Worth Having

Today I’m launching a new blog column, titled Inflation Watch. It is intended to expose the myth that “there’s no inflation” at present here in the United States and in other First World countries. I’m not sure if this column will become a permanent fixture at SurvivalBlog, but given the recent massive government overspending and monetization, I suspect that I’ll have plenty of material for Inflation Watch.. If you have any present-day personal accounts, or if you spot any news items that show significant inflation, then please e-mail the links to me. These can include details on the shrinking sizes …