Category: Economics & Investing

A bit more of the truth comes out: Geithner’s Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure. (Thanks to Shale for the link.) From GG: U.S. regulators warn banks on interest rate risk Brett sent us this bit of confirmation for the prevailing sentiment amongst Rawlesians: Krugman: 40 Percent Chance of Double Dip Recession Items from The Economatrix: Fed Wants Florida Bank to Boost Equity or Find Buyer Construction Spending Down Seven Straight Months Bank Lending Poised to Pick Up Bernanke Says Confident in Fed Strategy for Exit Blackstone’s Wien Sees Strong 2010 US GDP, Profits Fed’s Kohn Says Economy, Jobs …

GG sent this: Double-Dip Risk Seen in ‘Stall Speed’ Recovery: Stephen Roach Darryl C. suggested this: Time for Fed to disprove PPT conspiracy theory; Commentary: Analyst charges that government is manipulating markets Items from The Economatrix: GM Sales Fall 33% in 2009, Ford Up in December Pending Home Sales Fall 16% in November Pump Prices On Pace to Top 2009 High By Weekend US Public Pensions Face $2 Trillion Deficit IMF: Commodity Prices to Rise in 2010 Stores to Post Modest December Sales Gains European Stocks Remain Lower After US Jobs Data US Job Cuts Shrink to Two-Year Low in …

Frequent content contributor GG spotted this piece over at Zero Hedge: The Fed Is Preparing Quantitative Easing 2.0, MBS-Only Edition El Jefe Jeff E. sent this: Pending Home Sales Tumbled in November Joan mentioned this at Zero Hedge: US Avoids Technical Default By Three Days Items from The Economatrix: Robert Rubin: All Hell Could Break Loose Because of Huge Government Debt Something Evil This Way Comes Mortgage Demand Near Six-Month Low as Rates Jump Private Sector Sheds 84,000 Jobs in December If The Fed Missed that Bubble, How Will it See a New One? ECB’s Stark: No Bailout for Greece …

From GG: Personal Bankruptcy Filings Rising Fast Also from GG: Global Boom Builds for Epic Bust: Peter Boone and Simon Johnson Items from The Economatrix: BRIC to Rebuild New Economic World Order Banks to Blast Customers with New Bank, Check Fees US to Lose $400 Billion on Fannie, Freddie China’s 2010 Gold Rush Year-End Gold Charts 2010 Will Be Worse

Chad S. spotted this: Lower home appraisals appear to be up; Deals get killed as foreclosures, short sales make valuing property difficult. JWR’s Comment: The continuing waves of house foreclosures are bound to ratchet down both sales prices and in turn assessed valuations. This will lead to more state budget crises. The bottom line: If they can’t raise your home’ assessed value, then they’ll raise property tax tax rates. A corollary exists with income taxes. As more people lose their jobs or have their payroll hours cut back, then states will be forced to raise income tax rates. The 50 …

From G.G.: China provides 97 percent of the global supplies of rare earth elements, most coming from a single mine in Inner Mongolia I spotted this over at the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Unlocking the Foreclosure Box – The Most Comprehensive Shadow Inventory Housing Analysis for Los Angeles County. Items from The Economatrix: Taxpayers Hit Harder as Bank Shares Nosedive 20 Million+ in US Got Unemployment Checks in 2009 Washington Times Slashes Staff 40% US Stocks Drop as Crisis Causes S&P 500’s First Decade Loss US Dollar and Treasury Bonds at Risk Following Fannie and Freddie Debt Monetization A Year …

GG sent an article link which will not be a news flash to SurvivalBlog readers: What Americans might face next: inflation CNN: Three reasons home prices are headed still lower. (Thanks to FG for the link.) Monroe sent us this: Death and Taxes: 2010 Graph of Federal Budget. Monroe’s comment: “Not for the faint of heart… but then if you aren’t using real money…!” Items from The Economatrix: US Economic Disaster Worse than Weimar or Zimbabwe Cities, Counties Take Back Corporate Tax Breaks China Becomes World’s Biggest Gold Buyer in 2009 Eurozone Credit Contraction Accelerates The Economic “Experts” Who Stopped …

Flavio sent the linkio to a PDF on the Shadow Inventory of real estate. Thanks to RVL for this: Banks take big hit to replenish FDIC funds Jerry L. forwarded this item by Doug French from Mises Daily: Gold and Guns

Survival is more than just having supplies, it is possessing knowledge, and specifically knowledge about free market (Austrian) economics and banking. One of the fundamental reasons for past productive success in the United States is because there were less intrusive government regulations, a smaller court system, and the division of labor was less cumbersome. Individuals were able to gravitate to where there was a demand that wasn’t currently being met, and were able to meet it without Big Brother wanting to not just regulate the behavior, but also steal a piece of the action if it was successful. If TSHTF, …

Even More MOAB Money: Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank The Economist: A turbulent year in the currency markets is coming. (A hat tip to frequent content contributor G.G.) Bill R. sent us this from The Wall Street Journal: Banks Risk Storms in Safe Havens From Reader F.G.: California gears up to charge “Use Tax” on items purchased out of state Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Edge Higher as Jobless Claims Fall Fannie, Freddie Proving Too Big to Shrink North Korea Bans Foreign Currencies in Market Clampdown $36 Charge for Not Using Your Credit Card Goldman Sachs Denies …

Morrie recommended a web page that he found by way of Dan Denninger’s site: Move Your Money. SJR spotted this: Government moves closer on fresh aid to GMAC El Jefe Jeff E. sent this: Economists React: Prices Have Further to Fall. Also from Jeff come this in The Wall Street Journal: State, Local Tax Revenues Decline 7% Items from The Economatrix: Government Gives GMAC $3.8 Billion in New Aid, Boosts Stake Chinese Firm Says it Won’t Pay Goldman on Derivatives Losses Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It, and Won World Stock Market Rally Seizes Up Consumer Confidence Up, House …

The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) continues to grow: U.S. may prop up housing further via Fannie, Freddie; Unlimited support may presage more aggressive action in mortgage markets. (A tip of the hat to Randy F. for the link.) Adjusted for Inflation Dow’s Gains are Puny. (Thanks to James B. in Colorado for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Retailers Stores Thinly Stocked, Profits Won’t Be Stocks Edge Higher As Shoppers Step Up Spending Holiday Sales Rose Estimated 3.6% “Reasonably High Chance” Economy Will Contract in 2010 Cash-Strapped US Running Out of Unemployment Money Home Equity Lines Of Credit Have …

Charley S. recommended this R. Taggart Murphy article over at Japan Focus: In the Eye of the Storm: Updating the Economics of Global Turbulence Damon sent this: Burlington Northern’s Tepid Outlook is a Warning Several more readers have suggested that I link to this 30 minute YouTube video: The Dollar Bubble, which was mentioned once before in SurvivalBlog. It features clips of Peter Schiff, Ron Paul, Dr. Marc Faber, Gerald Celente, and Jim Rogers. Items from The Economatrix: Schumer Urges Wall Street Banks to “Get That Money Out There” US Stocks Rise, S&P 500 Reaches 15-Month High on Commodities Berkshire …

The Other Jim R. mentioned a piece in the SHTFPlan blog: Hyperinflationary Depression – No Way of Avoiding Financial Armageddon Markus suggested this piece over at 321 Gold: An Introspective Look at the Future of America Craig Harris. A recent post from the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Real Homes of Genius: Culver City Housing Bubble. Housing Shadow Inventory in Action. Countrywide Bank Owned home versus Duplex on Same Block. Foreclosure Holiday. Items from The Economatrix: Geithner: Tight Lending Threatens US Recovery Global Food Crisis 2010 Means Financial Armageddon Bob Chapman: The Credit Crisis is Not Over Global Markets Face Rising …

The Other Jim R. was the first of several readers to alert us to this article: We’re Screwed! ShadowStats.com founder John Williams explains the risk of hyperinflation. Worst-case scenario? Rioting in the streets and devolution to a bartering system. [Gee, what blog has Mr. Williams been reading?] YRC Has Until Yearend to Corral Bondholders, Avert Bankruptcy. Items from The Economatrix: Retailers Slash Prices After Christmas Shoppers Return to Malls, Looking for Deals Stores Hope Gift Cards Will Give Post-Christmas Lift Credit Crunch: Home Equity Lending Evaporates China Closer to Becoming World’s Second Largest Economy US Removes Caps on Fannie, Freddie …