Category: Economics & Investing

U.S. dollar ‘seriously overvalued’ From SurvivalBlog reader GG: The next great crisis: America’s debt. At this rate, your share of the load will be $155,000 in a decade. How chronic deficits are putting the country on a path to fiscal collapse. Another from GG (also sent by KAF): Get Ready for Inflation and Higher Interest Rates. The unprecedented expansion of the money supply could make the ’70s look benign Fam sent us this: Treasury Secretary’s Secret Talking Points Reveal That Banks Were Forced to Surrender Ownership Stakes to Government From DD: Foreclosures hit the upscale market Items from The Economatrix: …

Mr. Rawles, Just a quick comment on Gentleman Jim’s excellent letter. He wrote:” [U.S. Silver Eagles] are obviously more valuable than the pre-1965 junk silver coins, and thus you can get a great store of value into fewer coins. … Plus, they get very heavy very fast.” Silver is silver is silver. You shouldn’t be too concerned with what particular impression or markings are on the coin, or where it was minted, or what year, etc etc. All those things have their place, but when it comes to investing in silver and gold for the type of wealth storage and …

From “Kevin Lendel”: China airs fears on US debt, dollar: lawmaker 10 big banks get OK to repay $68B in bailout money (Thanks to H.D.K. for the link) “Experts say allowing 10 banks to return $68 billion in bailout money illustrates some stability has returned to the system but caution that the crisis isn’t over. Some worry the repayments could widen the gap between healthy and weak banks.” Cheryl N. notes. “Just remember, these banks suddenly were able to pay their bills after the FASB changed some accounting rules. It’s just more “green shoots” based on falsified accounting records. HPD …

The new class divide: Debt; In hard times, how much money you make matters less than how much you owe. Many of today’s have-nots are yesterday’s gotta-have-it-alls Matt B. and Cheryl both sent a link to an animated map that shows job growth and losses for the past few years. Cheryl’s comment: “As the timeline progresses to August , 2009, it looks like a nuclear blast map.” Correlate that map with my Recommended Retreat Areas. Where will crime be higher in the next few years? Items from The Economatrix: Obama, Facing High Unemployment, Defends Stimulus Betting The Fed Bankruptcy Filings …

traded for crack, Syracuse police say The Hardest Jobs to Fill in America: If you’re looking for work in any of these fields, you’re in luck. Items from The Economatrix: Weiss: Feds Giving “Lip Service” to Fiscal Responsibility “Weiss recommends everyone ‘make severe sacrifices in order to save money and to build up cash reserves for future bad times.’” Appeals Court Upholds Sale of Chrysler to Fiat Federal Jobs Lost in May: 345,000 Is “a little better” now the measure of success? Securitization: The Biggest Rip-Off Ever; Financial Dereg Has Opened Pandora’s Box “The former head of the FDIC, William …

Reader Ken M. mentioned that the full text of the book When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Collapse is available at the Ludwig Von Mises Institute web site. Frequent content contributor KAF suggested a piece at the Fuelishness blog: Oil Prices Continue to Spike Despite Massive Surplus – Outpacing Economic Recovery Items from The Economatrix: Illinois Bank of Lincolnwood Fails, 37th For Year, 6th in State Dr. Gary North: Stock Market Investors Mindset of Guaranteed Economic Destruction “And when things turn out much worse than even most newsletter writers are forecasting, you will be hated. Are you prepared …

The editor of the Mountain Steps Blog recently presented an interesting timeline of the Weimar Republic Hyperinflation. “The Frontman” sent us a link to an interesting article about the coinage shortage in Argentina. Americans take note: This could happen here, too! Currie sent us this from The Times: Swedish banks fear writedowns; Financial turmoil in the Baltics is rocking Sweden’s banks, after Latvia’s failure to raise money in a bond auction. Currie’s comment: “Another domino tumbles…” Items from The Economatrix:s Temporary Work Masks Joblesseness Unemployment hits “9.4%” GM to Sell Saturn Brand to Roger Penske Chain Stocks Waver After Better-Than-Expected …

The welfare state, firmly entrenched: Benefit spending soars to new high (1 in 6 dollars of income come from governments checks. Let’s not forget: Every dollar that is “given”, must first be “taken” from someone.) Thanks to G.H. for the link. Currie sent us this: Latvian debt crisis shakes Eastern Europe. When sovereign debt markets disintegrate, you can expect governments to topple. And it won’t just be pipsqueak nation states like Iceland and Latvia that are at risk. From reader C.S.: Medical bills underlie 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies: study Julian Robertson’s Steepener Swap Play (Shorting US Treasuries) When Julian …

Frequent content contributor GG sent this: Toxic assets ‘bridge too far’ Also from GG: come this from mainstream (Wall Street Journal) commentator Brett Arends: Is Your Portfolio Ready for Hyperinflation? Germany Blasts ‘Powers of the Fed’ Reader A.C. flagged this: Experts Fear U.S. Will Suffer Zimbabwe-Level Inflation From Trapper Mike: Dollar Declines as Nations Mull Reserve Currency Alternative Items from The Economatrix: Bernanke: Start Work Now to Curb Deficits “Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the panel’s highest-ranking Republican, raised concerns about the budget deficits and the Fed’s own actions to stimulate the economy, including buying government debt. “This can be …

GG sent this: Europe Unemployment Rate Rises to Highest Since 1999 Also from GG; India Exports Fall by Record Amid Global Recession Wow! Spot silver is pushing $16 per ounce. I stand by my long-term prediction: The Dollar in the dumpster, and silver “sky high.” Note that there will probably be another sell-off during the upcoming Summer Doldrums for the precious metals. It is just about as predictable as the hills turningbrown golden in California each summer. Just look at that dip as another buying opportunity. Items from The Economatrix: Peter Schiff: Wall Street Unspun GM Bankruptcy Watch: Woe to …

In what must be one of the the most monumentally bad investments in history, the American taxpayers are now the majority owners of General Motors (GM), which presently has a market capitalization of around $480 million. The cost? We bought our 70% stake in GM for a paltry $50 billion. When I last checked, shares of GM were selling at 64 cents each, and GM (now nicknamed “Government Motors”) has filed for bankruptcy protection. I suppose that they’ll tell us that we can “make up for it, on volume.” Not wanting to miss out on a piece of the action …

Reader DEK sent this: Zoellick Warns Stimulus ‘Sugar High’ Won’t Stem Unemployment Long known as a propaganda outlet, Pravda occasionally gets a few things right: American capitalism gone with a whimper.(This piece was mentioned by more than a dozen SurvivalBlog readers.) Items from The Economatrix: GDP Drops For Second Consecutive Quarter Troubled Bank Loans Hit Record High BofA Lead Director Resigns; More Pressure on CEO Jefferson County, Alabama, Out of Money in Two Weeks After Tax Repealed Financial Markets And Economic Crash, The Next Leg Down Will Be Worse “Make no mistake – we are selling off our future and …

Leap in U.S. debt hits taxpayers with 12% more red ink GG flagged this: Silver poised for biggest monthly gain in 22 years; gold rises Items from The Economatrix: Economy Shrinks 5.7% in First Quarter Taxpayers Could Lose Billions in GM Revamp “GM expected to file bankruptcy on Monday.” Ford’s Top Supplier Files for Bankruptcy “Visteon bankruptcy protection filing is another blow to auto supply base.” Bond Markets Defy Feds as Treasury Yields Spike “The US Federal Reserve may soon be forced to launch fresh blitz of quantitative easing whatever the consequences for the US dollar, or risk seeing economic …