Category: Economics & Investing

From reader G.M.H.: Recession Worse than Prior Estimates, Revisions Show Sven sent this: Card Companies Ready to Settle Up Items from The Economatrix: Middle Class Suicide The Collapse of Commercial Property: Towers of Debt Gold Will Hit $1,000 Again The Future Made Simple (The Mogambo Guru) Goodbye Bland Affluence Job Levels Won’t Rebound in California Until 2013 Unpaid Property Taxes Hit Localities Disney Earnings Drop 26% on Weaker Theme Park, Media Results Oil Slips Below $67 as Euro Stocks Falter

Mister Rawles: We know having a supply of junk silver is a good idea, and we’re working slowly toward that goal. What would you suggest for those that have inherited sterling flatware or serving pieces? Not many people seem to use them anymore, we sure don’t, but it’s hard to sell them for cash in today’s economic climate. Do they have any value as trade items in a SHTF scenario? What would you suggest doing with these old family items that don’t hold sentimental value for us? Thanks! – Susan W. JWR Replies: Unless they have sentimental value, I recommend …

Jim, CRW points out that: If you had $1,000 in 1900, you could have bought 50 ounces of gold with it, yet today, a thousand bucks will buy only about one ounce of gold Clearly, gold has held its value better than numbers on paper. Fine, but that’s a fairly useless observation. Consider: gold doesn’t hold its value as well as other things. The overall consumer price index has increased by a factor of only about 32:1 during the same time; that is, gold has failed to hold its value relative to consumer products, primarily because refined gold was already …

Sent by Chris H.: In this recession, older white males see jobs fade From GG: Doctor Doom: The Road Ahead for the Global Economy – Roubini says debt monetization will continue Also from GG: Insiders are selling at highest rate since top of market Items from The Economatrix: Obama Says GDP to Show Contraction, Job Losses Durable Goods Orders Tumbled in June Profit Reports Push Dow to Best July in 20 Years

Sir, Let’s look at a way to visualize inflation. Let’s say you had a $1,000 bill in 1900. At that time, this would be the equivalent of letting the government safeguard [about] 50 ounces of gold for you. In 1933, Franklin D Roosevelt devalued the dollar, and as a result gold’s price rose from $20/ounce to $35/ounce. Equivalently, you could also say the 50 ounces of gold the government held for you now became 28.57 ounces of gold. The government stole 21.43 ounces of gold from you overnight! In 1971, Richard Nixon ended the Bretton-Woods gold standard for good, and …

Mr. Rawles, I would first like you to know your family is in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you and your family for opening our eyes to what is happening all around us and for helping to prepare us for what could happen. To borrow a phrase, “The sleeper has awakened”. On to my topic. I am what may be described as a prepper and after reading many of the countless articles by investors on the accumulation of silver, I began to take your advice as well as their advice and have been purchasing silver whenever the budget allows. With …

I found this linked over at the Total Investor blog: After the fall; The collapse in world trade has stopped, but there is no sign of a recovery Thanks to Rebecca S. for this news link: Weak Treasury Auctions Raise Worries About US Debt Burden Reader Greg C. suggested this: Adrian Douglas: CFTC Conceals the Real Problem, the Infinite Dollar Items from The Economatrix: Weak US 5-Year Debt Auction Raises Worries Bernanke on the Record (video) The Hole in Our Universe (The Mogambo Guru) Commentary by John Browne: Dead Banks Walking Fed Report Suggests Recession May be Bottoming Out. [In …

GG spotted this piece by Axel Merk: Credit Crunch Part Deux Is the mainstream media catching a clue? Surviving the ‘End of Civilization’ 2050; Six rules for investing in the worse-case scenario. (thanks to Craig M. for the link.) Curtis sent us a link to a great video segment by Marty Weiss. Items from The Economatrix: Dollar Falls to 2009 Low as Economic View Reduces Safety Demand China Warns US on Budget Deficit Unemployment in June: Map of the Worst Hit Cities Housing Recovery: Sell Now or Your Capital Will Forever Be Trapped Fiscal Drops in the Bucket Deficit (The …

Reader David H. reminded me that the text of Murray Rothbard’s book The Case Against the Fed is available free, online. From Kevin A.: Why Monday’s housing numbers are meaningless Nolan S. mentioned this piece on a fundamental change in the gold-to-silver price ratio: DIVORCE! The new ‘retirement’ plan: Just keep working. (Thanks to DD for the link.) Also from DD: Bank of America to cut 10% of branches From GG: China takes baby step to reduce dependence on dollar Items from The Economatrix: Biden: “Long Way” to Recovery Bernanke: About 25 Financial Firms are Systemically Vital Lender Failures Reach …

Eric S. spotted this: Five Firms Hold 80% of Derivatives Risk, Fitch Report Finds A reader from South Carolina sent this: The weak dollar and the economy Items from The Economatrix: Michael Panzner: Wall Street’s Gains Equal Main Street’s Losses? “In sum, while a growing number of investors seem to believe that Main Street is on the mend, many of corporate America’s senior executives — who are normally not prone towards pessimistic outlooks — are maintaining that they see no real evidence of a revival where it counts — on the ground. In fact, amid an almost single-minded focus on …

From GG: Regional banks on the brink Also from GG: UK GDP continues large declines Another Seven US Bank Closures Announced on Friday: Regulators Shut Six Georgia Banks, One in New York State Items from The Economatrix: Fiction Upon Fiction (The Mogambo Guru) Experts Float Debt Bubble Fears Hollywood Celebs Filing for Bankruptcy E-Trade Reports Quarterly Net Loss of $143 Million Discount-brokerage company has lost 94% of its market value in past two years Asian Stocks Rise [Friday] on US Home Sales, South Korean Growth Consumer Sentiment Falls on Jobs Concerns Stock Trading Slowdown Steepest in Two Decades; Rally May …

GG recommend this three-part YouTube video: Hyperinflation Nation Greg C. spotted this item from New Zealand: $190,000 withdrawn in $20 bills; Irate bank customer hits back From GG: Poll: Americans lacking in emergency funds Items from The Economatrix: Retail Industry Braces for Shopping Center Collapse California Hotels Flood the Market Biden, Oh Biden! (The Mogambo Guru) Toyota Said to Plan to Shut California Car Plant on First Ever Closure Gary North: The Coming Great Government Debt Default TARP Watchdogs Criticize Treasury Over Transparency Minimum Wage Hike Could Threaten Low Earners’ Jobs CalPERS, Teachers’ Retirement Loses Almost $100 Billion Guaranty’s Collapse …

Frequent content contributor Kevin A recommended this piece by Doug Casey: Street Fighting Man. It has some observations that sound a lot like what you’ve read in SurvivalBlog, such as: “I’ve long believed that this depression would not only be much different but much worse than the unpleasantness of the ’30s and ’40s. In those days, only a few people were involved in the financial markets; now almost anyone with any assets at all is a player. In those days, there were no credit cards, consumer debts, or student loans; now those things are ubiquitous. It’s true that nobody will …

Reader P.D. spotted this: Global Exposure in Financial Derivatives Surpasses One Quadrillion Dollars This was linked at the Total Investor blog: Economist Shiller Sees ‘Bad Recession,’ Stocks Could Drop Again. “Shiller says that this is a dreaded “liquidity trap.” The MOAB keeps growing: Fannie & Freddie: The most expensive bailout (Thanks to Charlie W. for the link.) From “HP” comes this piece by Mish Shedlock: Bernanke Terrified Over Commercial Real Estate, Seeks Still More Power Over Consumers Heather flagged this: Cash-strapped states raid 911 funds Items from The Economatrix: Global Exposure in Derivatives in Excess of One Quadrillion Dollars 24 …

I recently bookmarked the Total Investor blog. It is has become my favorite aggregation sites for economic and investing news. Yesterday, they featured a video clip: Marc Faber On CNBC: “Marc Faber is expecting an ‘ultimate crisis’ that will ‘clean the system. ‘If you pump money into the system and you create large fiscal deficits, you create volatility,’ Faber said’” Items from The Economatrix: Making Sense of Second Quarter Earnings, So Far “As you can see, a consumer retrenchment is happening here. And in my opinion, that is an even bigger story than the individual earnings reports or big profits …