Category: Economics & Investing

Chad S. was the first of several readers to mention: Feared “super spike” in rice prices Reader T.H. pointed us to this troubling piece: Sovereign Debt Defaults Likely Over Next Several Years, Says Rogoff From Brett: G.: Experts: Greece Going Bankrupt Could Doom Euro Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Climb as Investors Shrug Off Debt Concerns $700 Billion Bailout Extended Until October Crude Oil Falls to 2-Month Low Financial Markets Tumble After Fitch Downgrades Greece’s Credit Rating Ex-Fed Chief Volcker’s “Telling” Remarks On Derivatives Soros Warns Against Rebuilding Same “Humpty Dumpty” Financial System Few CEO’s Plan to Hire In Next …

Items from The Economatrix: Shockwave From Dubai Default About to Hit Markets The Great RBS Exodus: 1,000 Bankers Quit Over Pay Disagreement Dollar Rises Most Since 1999 Versus Ye as Fed Bets Increase “The” Bank Job Pockets of Rot John Galt: The Day The Dollar Died, Part 7 — Security For Liberty for All (Scroll down for Part 6, and earlier) Gold Rally is Not A Bubble, Mania Stage Ahead of Us

Carla alerted us to this article: Recent World Events Indicate Impending Market Chaos, by Giordano Bruno. F.G. and Matt C. were the first of several readers that flagged this apropos piece in The Wall Street Journal: Green Acres Is the Place to Be; The Recession Is Inspiring More Young Families and Singles to Head Back to the Country Thanks to GG for finding this: S&P says European companies face $1.5 trillion funding shortfall next year Items from The Economatrix: Geithner Slams Wall Street Bonuses, Says All Big Banks Could Have Failed A Deeper Look Behind The Jobless Numbers. Despite the …

Reader HPD mentioned this article: 24 States Borrow Money To Pay Unemployment Benefits. HPD’s comment: “Don’t worry. The Fed sees signs of recovery… Besides, Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi are on the scene to fix it. “ Another missive from Dr. Housing Bubble: Wall Street and Housing Neurosis: The Real Cost of California Homeownership. Extreme Foreclosures, Option ARMs, Renting Utility Costs, and Breaking the Financially Twisted Psychology. Noah C. spotted this: Heh, I Thought Dubai Was a Non-Event. Here is a quote: “Refusal to stand-still means there’s an immediate default, which means the [credit default swaps] go boom” Items from …

More Friday Follies: U.S. Bank Failures Continue Apace. “Cleveland-based AmTrust Bank, with 66 branches and roughly $8 billion in deposits, was closed by regulators Friday, as the ongoing credit crunch continued to claim victims.” Financial institutions urged to make banking accessible UN says global economy will bounce back in 2010. [Again, one for the Economic Humor section.] Items from The Economatrix: Goldman Sachs December Party Ban: No Groups of 12 Or More. So, 10 lords a leaping, nine ladies dancing is totally OK. But if you see 12 bankers — they’d better be banking! Most Americans Not Confident About Financial …

From reader J.D.: Rural America Surprisingly Prosperous, Study Finds Reader Ben M. suggested this article: How to Tell if You are Saving Enough. Items from The Economatrix: Retailers Report Surprise Drop In November Poor Report On Services Saps Stock Market Gains Services Sector Activity, Retail Sales Disappoint Weak Demand Puts Natural Gas Prices At 52-Week Low North Koreans In Shock As Cash Banned US Loses Another 169,000 Private Sector Jobs UN Economists Fear Hard Landing For Dollar Yen And Dollar Both Weaken US Service Industries Unexpectedly Contract Charting The Great World Trade Collapse As Housing Goes, So Falls The Economy …

A recent piece at the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Shadow Inventory in 10 Prime Southern California Cities. How Pent up Inventory and Option ARMs are the new Front for the California Housing Market. K.T. sent this from Dan Denninger: FDIC Deposit fund had negative $8.2B balance in Third Quarter Jeff B. spotted this: More Evidence Gold is Being Hoarded as Comex Fulfills Gold Contracts with Paper Items from The Economatrix: Where Dubai Leads, Britain Could Soon Follow Lloyds To Suffer Further Job Losses Fears Of Credit Card Crisis As Bank Write-Offs Double Peter Schiff: Bull Market in Gold or BS? …

HPD recommended these observations from Mish Shedlock: Virginia Borrows $1.26 Billion to Pay Unemployment Benefits; Detroit Loses $400 Million on $800 Million of Bonds; Detroit’s Easy Solution I’m sure that you’ve noticed the surge in spot silver and gold prices. The last time I checked, spot silver was at $19.26, per ounce, and gold was at $1,212 per ounce! There will likely soon be some profit taking, so be ready to buy on those dips! Chad S. sent these other links: Four Reasons Hyperinflation Hasn¹t Hit the U.S. Economy Yet What’s Worse? Hyperinflation or Deep Recession? National Inflation Association’s 10 …

From frequent content contributor GG: Gold acquires new investment aura: The weight of gold coins sold by the US Mint far this year has exceeded the one million ounce mark, up 40% year-on-year Sticker Shock at Pump: Gas Prices Poised to Soar Jeff mentioned this over at Zero Hedge: Is The Fed Facing Margin Calls From European Banks? Knocking off two zeroes. (BTW, don’t gloat, the US Dollar may be next to have a 100-for-1 exchange): North Korea Revalues Currency to Curb Free Trade. (A tip of the hat to SSK for the link.) Trent spotted this: What Recovery? U.S. …

GG sent this: Far from being a safe haven, the dollar is the likely source of the next financial crisis Also from GG: We must get ready for a weak-dollar world Items from The Economatrix: UAE to Back Banks Amid Dubai Meltdown Professor Advises Underwater Mortgage Holders to Walk Away From Mortgage (Back in August, 2005, JWR warned us that these walk-aways were coming.) Furious Investors Warn Dubai it Will Never Raise Another Penny How Much Longer Can the Dollar Defy Gravity? South Africa’s Golden Age Coming to An End Senator Opposes Bernanke’s Renomination Few Signposts Mark the Road to …

Frank S. sent this: FDIC cites Loveland’s Advantage Bank; Announcement states business uses unsafe and unsound banking practices Paul D. recommended a short but excellent article by financial advisor, Jeff Clark. “In short, his advice is to learn to grow a tomato!” Items from The Economatrix: Dubai Debt Fears Threaten Credit Crunch 2, and RBS is Exposed Dubai’s Troubles Hint at Troubles Elsewhere Forget Gold and Silver, Invest In Garlic–How to Get “Stinking” Rich Most US Stocks Retreat on Fears Dubai Will Default on Debt Dr. Gary North: Fiat Currency Money Printing Leading To Decentralization and Operational Secession Investors Buy …

Damon sent this: U.S. dollar collapse could devastate economy: book Chad S. spotted an article about indigent families now having to bury dead family members themselves. C.K. in Texas mentioned that there was a PBS mini-series this past summer (available online) about how money gained its importance over time. It was called The Ascent of Money and the fourth episode would be of interest to many SurvivalBlog readers. C.K.’s description: “It talks about the hyperinflation that occurred in Argentina years ago (so bad that ranchers wouldn’t bring their cattle to market) and also about the fragile economics of Chinese and …