Category: Economics & Investing

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 …

Bailout nation continues: Schwarzenegger to seek federal bailout of California on threat of deep cuts. (Thanks to GG for the link.) Also from GG: Austria nationalises Hypo in ECB-backed rescue deal because of “systemic importance in the former Yugoslavia”. Items from The Economatrix: Fitch: Britain and France Risk Losing AAA Rating Thrifty Families Accused of Prolonging the Recession UK: Families Hit By Worst Wages Crash in 50 Years By way of Steve Quayle‘s web site: National Irish Bank Stops Handling Cash Lack of Bank Liquidity Threatens Commercial Real Estate Market States’ Jobless Funds Going “Absolutely Broke” Economic Data Dump For …

Treasury removes cap for Fannie and Freddie. (Thanks to Jeff R. for the link.) GG sent this piece in The New York Post by fellow near future novelist Ralph Peters: 2010: The year of bankrupt governments. (And coincidentally, Ralph and I have the same literary agent, Robert Gottlieb.) Items from The Economatrix: Shoppers Give Stores Last-Minute Sales Surge Jobless Claims, Goods Orders Signal Modest Rebound Stocks End Shortened Session at New 2009 Highs Mortgage Rates Inch Above 5% Congress Raises Debt Ceiling to $12.4 Trillion Ford Sells Volvo to China Geithner: Job Growth Should Resume By Springtime Britain Joins Italy …

Arrow Trucking suspends operations leaves hundreds of drivers stranded. (Our thanks to HPD for the link.) El Jefe Jeff E. spotted this: Consumer Spending in U.S. Climbs Less Than Forecast From Chris J.: Economy revised downward (AGAIN!). Chris’s comment: “It looks like the men in the know have yet again revised the third quarter downward, from 3.5% to 2.8% to 2.2%. Of course this CNN article doesn’t mention that the cash-for-clunkers and home buyer’s credits are estimated to be worth 2.0 to 2.5 percentage points. It takes faith though; the “experts” who didn’t get it right last time assure us …