Category: Economics & Investing

Jim: I am not surprised that ordinary people in Dallas, Texas (or anywhere else in the US) are not aware that pre-1965 US quarters and dimes are 90% silver. After 40 years of continual dumbing down the average high school graduate today probably couldn’t tell you what the word “sterling” means either. I just checked Dex Online for coin dealers in Dallas, Texas. Dex brought up 18 coin dealers. Dex also brought up 18 antiques and collectibles dealers (who always know the value of old coins.) I don’t think there would be a problem converting pre-1965 “junk” silver coins into …

Tamara (of the View From The Porch blog), linked to this by Les Jones: Three tales of inflation From DD: Retraining roulette: New skills, no new job Trent forwarded this video link: Bullish Today, Marc Faber is “Highly Confident” the Future Will Be Very Bleak Items from The Economatrix: Weiss: From Deflation to Inflation. This is a significant change, because up until just recently, Marty Weiss had for more than two decades been warning about deflation. World Stocks Lower as Investors Eye Fed Meeting Oil Falls Below $71 Amid Weak Demand House Moves to Extend Unemployment Benefits IRS Extends Amnesty …

Unemployment in California at 12%, Highest in Nearly 70 Years GG flagged this: UK Public debt hits £800 billion – the highest on record Tom B. sent this item: Charts predict: “Risk of Full- Fledged Dollar Crisis” Items from The Economatrix: Obama: G-20 Good Time to Assess Economy Low Expectations for New Loan Help Program Regulators Seize Two Banks; 94 Failures This Year Irwin Financial’s Two Bank Units Seized Ohio Town Struggles After Package Giant DHL Leaves Meredith Whitney: “Roaring Recover”? Unlikely Fed Eyes Sweeping Bank-Pay Regulations Summers: Troubled Firms Should be Allowed to Fail Obama Adviser Blasts Big Business …

Greg sent us this: FDIC Considers Borrowing From Treasury to Shore Up Deposit Insurance Chaz liked this one: The U.S. Balance Sheet: Households See Net Worth Down by $12 Trillion Since Peak and Total Debt Floating in the Market of $33 Trillion Items from The Economatrix: Housing, Jobless Data Point to a Slow Economic Recovery Stocks Zigzag After Rally as Jobless Claims Dip FedEx First Quarter Profits Fall, Sees Improving Economy Oil Edges Higher on Hints of Economic Improvement Paul’s “Audit The Fed” Bill One Co-Sponsor Away from Being Veto Proof A Deluded G-20 Odds ‘n Sods: Federal Judge Rules …

“Option” mortgages to explode, officials warn. (This is not a news flash for SurvivalBlog readers–I first warned you about this in March of ’07, and several times since.) A picture is worth a thousand words. BTW, I have found that this chart link is very useful to send to any deluded relatives who have bought into the lie that the real estate market has “bottomed” and that are planning to buy back into the market. US residential real estate is presently a playground for idiotic contrapreneurs. The very earliest that real estate could turn around in the US is 2013, …

More trade war rumblings: China Condemns U.S. Tariffs on Tires as ‘Protectionism‘. (Our thanks to KAF for the link.) Reader Laura H. mentioned: In 2009, US public debt will be approximately 90% of GDP “In 2009, US public debt will be approximately 90% of GDP. It will quickly approach and surpass 100% of GDP in the near future.” Items from The Economatrix: Getting Better Bargains Easier in this Economy Government Home Loan Agency Faces Cash Squeeze. “The Federal Housing Administration said Friday that its financial cushion will sink below mandatory levels for the first time in its history, but officials …

Pete A. spotted this one: Map: Household incomes by state. Look for some coming shifts in this map as the recession cum depression deepens. I think that the steepest declines in come will be on the coasts and in The Rust Belt. But a lot of my Recommended Retreat Areas may do better. From Krys W.: US credit shrinks at Great Depression rate prompting fears of double-dip recession Items from The Economatrix: Money Market Funds No Longer Guaranteed. “… the US Government will no longer guarantee Money Market Funds. The key points are that the smart money is getting out …

U.N. calls for replacement of U.S. dollar; Joins Russia, China and G20 with demands IMF step forward (Thanks to Laura H. for the link.) Reader John M. suggested a Market-Ticker link that clearly describes the urgency of the financial situation: Warning: Deflationary Collapse Ahead. Items from The Economatrix: Derivatives Still Pose Huge Risk, BIS Says How the Collapse of Lehman Bros. Averted a Second Depression Geithner Exaggerates US Government Retreat Natural Gas Prices Spike 12% (Even with warehouse tanks bulging!) Stocks Subdued Amid US-China Trade Tension Wall Street Crisis One Year Later: Lehman, WaMu Lead List of Biggest Bankruptcies Wall …

Wow! Take a look at the latest market tickers for spot silver and spot gold. We might soon witness some profit-taking that could temporarily drive silver back to the $12 per ounce range. But consider that a buying opportunity. The next leg up will probably be in November, when The Chartist Gnome predicts silver over $18 per ounce and gold over $1,070. For those that already have bought metals: Do not attempt to “time” such a volatile market. Just hang on, and as the Gnome says, “Be ready for a roller coaster.” Items from The Economatrix: The Ghost Fleet of …

Monty recommended this piece over at Seeking Alpha by J.S. Kim: The Coming Consequences of Banking Fraud More about insider selling, courtesy of Pete S.: Insiders sell like there’s no tomorrow; Corporate officers and directors were buying stock when the market hit bottom. What does it say that they’re selling now? GG sent this: U.S. Foreclosure Filings Top 300,000 for Sixth Straight Month Items from The Economatrix: Analyst: It’s Too Late to Save Sears The Ripple Effect: What One Layoff Means for a Whole Town Wholesale Inventories Drop in July; Sales Grow UK: Higher Oil Prices Feed Inflation Fear Cash …

“The Other Jim R.” was the first of several readers that sent us this: Federal deficit hits $1.38 trillion through August. Mr. W. sent this: Three more down: 2009 Bank failure tally hits 92 Items from The Economatrix: Treasury Sees Millions More Foreclosures Job Openings Down 50% From their Peak in 2007 Why $200 Per Barrel Oil is Just Around the Corner A Year After the Financial Crisis, a New World Order Emerges “System Risk Laundering” — Systemic Root Causes, Part II Forbes: The Dollar Collapses Gold Climbs to 18-Month High as Dollar Weakens US Growth to Slow After “Clunkers” …

You might have noticed that gold set a record weekly closing price on Friday at $1,005 per ounce, and silver closed at a respectable $16.70. I expect some profit-taking in the next two weeks, so be ready to buy on this dip! From Jeff D.: Treasury sees millions more foreclosures Ben M. spotted this piece quoting Mr. Magoo Alan Greenspan. Market crisis ‘will happen again‘ Items from The Economatrix: Government Paid Dealers $1.2 Billion for “Clunkers” NYC’s Tavern on the Green Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Trade, Jobless Claims Figures Show Recession Fading Money Market Fund Guarantee Program to End …

This piece, sent to us by Damon S., should come as no surprise to SurvivalBlog readers: The Dollar Collapses; Commodities, stocks and foreign currencies all rise as investors sell dollars. As I’ve stated before, the magic number to watch for on the US Dollar Index (USDI) is 72. The territory south of 72 is terra incognita. “There Be Dragons.” Phil G. sent this: Swiss topple U.S. as most competitive economy U.S. ‘unlikely’ to recoup auto outlay, panel finds Lack health coverage? You may pay; “Americans would be fined up to $3,800 for failing to buy health insurance under a plan …