Category: Economics & Investing

I heard about this piece over at the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Marketing Consumerism in the Boom and Bust Economy: Four Advertisements Showing the Shift in Consumer Buying Habits: Pizza, Airlines, Real Estate, Toxic Assets, and the Simpsons. The bit about Homer Simpson’s home equity line of credit (HELOC) was priceless. Eric H. flagged this one: Chinese re-embracing Marx and Mao in face of economic woes. Eric’s comment: “So much for all those ‘relax, they are becoming more like us and our differences are disappearing’ stories we were told in the past decade or so.” HPD alerted us to a …

From reader H.P.D. Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: Treasury to Delay Reporting Bank Stress Test Results G.G. sent this: Businesses Gird for Depression Also from G.G.: IMF gold sale may push down prices below $800 Items from The Economatrix: Wed. Stocks End With Modest Gain CEOs Expect More Job Cuts Through End of Year Coupons.com Sees 190% Increase Over Last Year Cereal and baby food top the list Few US Cities Escape Recession’s Reach Treasury to Offer Limited Aid to Certain Insurers (Only if the insurers own banks or savings & loans) New Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected to …

Matt B. suggested this video clip of Argentinean economist Adrian Salbuchi: Global Financial Collapse Greg C. sent this item from McPaper: Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing D.G. suggested this from Eric Margolis at The Toronto Sun: Wall Street Ticks Off the World From G.G.: A Night with the Bears: Meredith Whitney, Nouriel Roubini, Ian Gordon and Eric Sprott put on quite a show this evening in Toronto. Items from The Economatrix: Derivatives, the New Ticking Time Bomb Politicized Accounting: No End to the Scams Soros: “Zombie” Banks Could Suck Lifeblood Out of Economy The Question that …

Laura H. suggested this Wall Street Journal piece: From Bubble to Depression?, by Steven Gjerstad and Vernon L. Smith Kevin A. sent us this: Geithner’s Stress Test “A Complete Sham,” Former Federal Bank Regulator Says Items from The Economatrix: West Must Deal with $600 Trillion in Derivatives Bernanke’s Financial Rescue Plan: The Growing Prospect of a US Default. Here are two keyquotes: “It is impossible to know what the long-term effects of Bernanke’s excessive spending will be, but his plan has the potential to trigger hyperinflation or spark a run on the dollar.”, and: “The recent 22 percent uptick in …

G20 Summit Recovery Package: A Global Plan of Unprecedented Scale Derivatives will have to go through a central clearinghouse. Concern Grows Over New IMF Power G20: Fat Cats Brought Down to Earth with a Bump ” …the declaration shows how little political influence is now wielded by the once powerful vested interests of Wall Street and the City of London.” President of European Commission Warns Millions More Europeans Will Lose Jobs G20 Laid Foundation for Next, Bigger Crisis Banks Could Bet on Toxic Assets with Taxpayers’ Money “Making Work Pay” Won’t Change Many Spending Habits (Most won’t notice a $10 …

Laura H. suggested this WND article: Families learning of $163,000 tax ‘bomb’, Economics prof says deficits heading toward ‘banana republic levels’ From reader AC: Social Security Surplus Already Gone Reader Jon M. flagged this, over at Seeking Alpha: Did the ECB Save COMEX from Gold Default? Items from The Economatrix: Congress, Bankers Just Don’t Get It “Changing the way you account for losses on bad assets doesn’t mean the losses have gone away. If anything, the obfuscation of those losses will drive investors away because balance sheets in the financial sector will become more opaque.” What to Buy Before the …

Courtesy of reader D.D.: Faint signs the economy has a pulse? Better-than-expected factory orders, but job market still a worry. From G.G.: U.K. News: Interest Rates Set to Soar, Warns Bank’s Chief Economist M.A.M. suggested a piece that was linked at the Naked Capitalism blog: On the Urgency of Restructuring Bank and Mortgage Debt, and of Abandoning Toxic Asset Purchases. (Hussman’s approach is a bit interventionist for my taste, but at least it underscores the broad implications of the current crisis.) In my view, malinvestment must be worked out the system naturally, through bankruptcies. The fractional reserve credit system and …

Now this is downright sinful: Woman Cashes in Rare U.S. Double Eagle $20 Gold Coins for Face Value. I’m glad to see that the bank teller was fired. Parenthetically, it has now been 76 year since gold coins were taken out of public circulation in the US. At the time, the difference between he value of a $20 bill and a $20 gold piece was small. But today, the enormity of FDR‘s grand larceny scheme is apparent. Perhaps that is the greater sin that should have been highlighted in this news article. (Thanks, BTW, to Josh for the link.) D.D. …

A couple of years ago, I created the acronym MOAB (for “Mother of All Bailouts”). I predicted that once started, it would “continue to grow uncontrollably”, but even in my worst nightmares, I didn’t fully anticipate this headline: Financial Rescue Approaches GDP as U.S. Pledges $12.8 Trillion. I have trouble imagining the enormity of one Trillion US Dollars. That is quite a pile of money. But $12.8 Trillion? To borrow a line from Bart Simpson: ¡Ay carumba! JHB forwarded a link to this government psychology site: A Guide to Getting Through Tough Economic Times. But I have a much better …

Reader D.D. spotted this: A [GM} Bond Bustin’ Worry From Michael W.: Why gold prices will keep rising – MSN Money Also from Michael W.: What’s a P/E? (And nine other ‘dumb’ questions) Michael’s comment: “The author of this article is too funny, especially when he talks about gold and survivalists. He just does not get it” Items from The Economatrix: Wall Street Begins 2Q Slightly Higher GOP’s Alternative Budget Seeks to Undo Stimulus Spending G-20 Protesters Break Into Royal Bank of Scotland US, UK Fiscal Deficits Cast Long Shadow Over Recovery US Property Prices Down 29% and Still Dropping …

Soros: The Recession Will Last Forever. Thanks to Kevin A. KAF sent this: Dinah Lord: The next financial shoe to drop? Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Economist Tim Lee: Gold: ‘How I am hedging my portfolio against hyperinflation’ (a hat tip to G.G. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Wall Street Rebounds on Last Day of Quarter GM, Chrysler Failing to Recover AIG Crisis Tip of Insurance Iceberg? Obama’s Remarks on US Car Industry Auto Producing State Politicians Stunned By Obama “Tough Love“ Oil Tumbles Below $50 First Time in a Week Morgan Stanley Suggests Major Stock Sale Federal Pension …

Dear James, Do you still recommend saving nickels [as you suggested in SurvivalBlog, in 2007]? Thanks for all you do. I’m planning on ordering the new edition of your novel on April 8th, and I’m currently re-reading the original [edition]. May God continue to bless you and your family. Sincerely, – Steve B. JWR Replies: Yes, nickels (American five cent pieces) are still “the pauper’s silver”. Since base metals prices pulled back in advance of current the recession and have remained low, it looks like we may have another one or two years available to amass nickels. (For now, they …

From BNL: ‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years SF mentioned this: NYSE Runs Out of Gold Bars: What Happens Next? K.A.F. mentioned a photo essay from Time magazine: The Dangers of Printing Money Items from The Economatrix: Stocks Tumble as Automaker’s Plans are Rejected G20 Targets Hedge Funds as Leaders Near Consensus [British] Banking and Finance Sector to Axe 30,000 Jobs in Six Months Fresh Flight From Risk Hit Global Equities London Shares Slide as Global Bull Run Fades GM CEO Resigns at Obama’s Behest Hedge Funds Vow to Fight as G20 Gathers Germans Wreck Global “New …