Category: Economics & Investing

James Wesley, I have just recently came across your blog. Thank you. I also just started saving nickels. I am a bit confused. Do you save all nickels or just pre-1965? I just finished Patriots this morning. Are the silver pieces used for barter in your novel nickels? Thanks, – Brent H. JWR Replies: You aren’t the only one that is confused about nickels, since outwardly, they appear as if they might be made of silver. To clarify: In general, it is just pre-1965 dimes, quarters, half dollar and dollars are 90% silver. The only nickels with silver content were …

Readers Greg C. and FJR both sent us this “must read” piece by Chris Hedges: The American Empire is Bankrupt KAF sent this key indicator of some incipient unraveling: Standard & Poor’s cuts ratings on 18 banks From frequent content contributor GG: China sells US bonds to ‘show concern’ Also from GG: Russia’s industrial output drops massive 17 per cent in May despite government reassurances Items from The Economatrix: Californian Hard Times Driving People Back to the “Dust Bowl” US Mortgage Applications Plunge to Near Seven-Month Low That Worrying Wall of Debt “…the leveraged loan market is fixated on one …

Obama unveils broad financial oversight plan; blames current financial crisis on ‘a culture of irresponsibility’. New powers for the Federal Reserve? Wait a minute! Weren’t they the private banking cartel that got us into this mess, with artificially-low interest rates? AIG Refuses Crash Claims “That division [airline insurance] didn’t get any bailout money.” Black Swan Trader Bets Reputation on Inflation This one is a “must see”: Peter Schiff on The Daily Show (Thanks to GG for the link.) GG also sent this from Barron’s: Will Bad News Be Good for the Dollar Again? Foreigners exited U.S. assets in April as …

F.G. sent this: Restaurants on the Ropes Thanks to for this link: Airlines adjust as demand slides. “Nevertheless, IATA expects passenger yields to fall by 7% this year and cargo yields to decline 11%” The manufactures also expect fewer orders for planes. Also from F.G. comes this Wall Street Journal piece: Retailers Flee a Dying Detroit KAF flagged this: U.S. likely to lose AAA rating: Prechter Items from The Economatrix: German Newspaper Article Thinks [Ponte Chiaso] Bonds May Be Real. Timeline of Events and Updates as they Happen Weisenthal Talks the $134.5 Billion Bond Seizure on Glenn Beck Treasury: Can’t …

Don W. sent this: US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive. Bulldozing whole neighborhoods? This sounds like a land developer’s dream come true. Talk about “stimulating demand” for new housing… Maybe we ought to crush half the cars in the country while we are at it, just to make sure that the Detroit auto makers will get plenty of business. Oh, but wait! SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: House ‘cash for clunkers’ plan to boost car sales. Mike’s comment: ” They really are insane. The sheer conceit that makes them believe they …

Reader Ben M. mentioned: World Bank sees even worse slump. All the recent talk of a “nascent recovery” is balderdash. China’s Commodity Buying Spree. Well, gosh , if given the choice between dollar-denominated paper assets and buying useful tangibles, which would you choose? Jim B. sent us a link to an essay titled The Coming Economic Collapse, by Graham Summers. “To give you an idea of how big a problem these deficits are, consider that the US government could tax its citizens 100% of their earnings and not have a balanced budget.” From the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Foreclosure Reality …

From frequent content contributor KAF: Federal Deficit Soars to May Record of $189.7 Billion D.S. mentioned an interesting piece on the decline of collective net worth, over at Michael Panzner’s blog: The Big Wipeout Items from The Economatrix with an Emphasis on the Ponte Chiasso Bond Smuggling Case: 2 Japanese Carrying $134 Billion In U.S. Bonds Detained In Italy. “In a suitcase were 249 bonds of the ‘Federal Reserve‘ American in the nominal value of 500 million each, and 10 ‘ bond Kennedy ‘ of the nominal value of $ 1 billion each, in addition to what is described as …

Jack B. sent a link to a brilliant little essay by “Innocent Bystander”, posted over at The Silver Bear Café, titled Economics. From Greg J.: US government seeks to rein in executive pay. Greg asks: “When will this stop? If the Benevolent State can declare both a minimum wage and a maximum salary, then what is to stop them from controlling all wages? This is madness! “Punishing” the rich will just push funds and eventually people and entire corporations offshore. As you’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog, wage and price controls have an ugly history. They’re indiscriminate. They’re ineffective. They’re anti-freedom. And …

Ray T. sent this: US long-term interest rates hit high. We haven’t seen anything yet! To attract bond buyers in the future, I predict that Banana Republic level rates may be coming. I found this linked over at TSLRF: Bernanke Freaks Out About Obama’s Spending and Debt Plans. Don’t miss the accompanying Tech Ticker video commentary on the risk of debt monetization leading to hyperinflation. Items from The Economatrix: GOP Rep. Kirk Warns: China Is Investing Away From Dollar…Buying Gold And Oil Fed Lost $5.3 Billion on AIG, Bear Stearns in 1Q No More Federal Money Planned for GM, Chrysler …

JWR, That was an excellent post by Gentleman Jim! His view of insurance is right on and should be reinforced. I’ve come to realize that the best way to conceptualize prepping is in terms of insurance. As Jim stated, just like every family needs home insurance, auto insurance, medical insurance, etc., you must also have survival insurance. In fact, this should be the most important insurance you carry. If you have a family, you owe it to your spouse and your children to ensure that they will be safe no matter what life throws at you. There are several good …

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 …