Category: Economics & Investing

An uncomfortable conversation on a plane ride: How to cut your taxes no matter what your situation o o o Is Another Bust Looming Over The Oil Industry? Global demand growth has been slowing over the last decades, which could spell trouble in the coming years if the oil industry does not plan for the change. o o o War on Cash: ECB, EU on collision course with Germany – DSV o o o Toshiba Warns Westinghouse Nuclear Losses Jeopardize Its Future. “The disclosure came Tuesday as the Tokyo-based company took the unusual step of reporting third quarter earnings without …

The U.S. Rig Count Is An Over-Rated Indicator Of Future Oil Prices. There are many other forces at play in global oil markets other than how a rising U.S. rig count and allegedly massive advances in rig productivity will suppress oil prices forever. o o o Cash Is Dead. Long Live Cash. The push to end hard-currency payments in favor of digital ones keeps hitting speed bumps – P.S. o o o U.S. Gold Bullion Exports To Hong Kong Surge, 82% Of Total Shipments o o o IMF Plan to Force a Cashless Society On World Unfolding – Here’s How …

How much is $100 worth in every state? Compare that to a similar report done in 2015: How much $100 is really worth in each state . You can see one of the huge reasons some states are losing population and others are gaining. – H.L. o o o Chart of the Day: Advance/Decline Line. The Advance/Decline line is diverging from the market. Odds strongly favor that the market will soon push higher to new all-time highs o o o Rent Control Makes for Good Politics and Bad Economics o o o Florida ‘Boutique’ Linked To South American Gold Smuggling …

The ultimate central bank: IMF De-Cashing: Soft-Selling Financial Enslavement – b.b. o o o Reader H.L. sent in this link that may help homesteaders and farmers gain a little extra income: Making Extra Income On Your Farm Or Rural Property o o o 5 Things to Watch in the March Jobs Report o o o Nobody Is Saying Anything About How U.S. Earnings Season Will Go. With such a drastic difference between the real-world and the published economic numbers, is it any wonder? o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our …

Illinois Revenue Freefall: Fiscal Year-to-Date -8.1% and Worsening. Sadly, my state of Connecticut seems to be going down the same path! Now they are talking about a HUGE tax on our hospitals! – H.L. o o o Time To Hedge State Reserve Funds With Gold. Excerpt: “Financially prudent individuals set aside surplus funds to protect against unforeseen expenditures. This way, when faced with loss of income, house repairs, car trouble, or anything else, they will have a buffer against unanticipated downturns.” – H.L. o o o Stores Are Closing at a Record Pace as Amazon Chews Up Retailers. Sad. Soon …

From Hubert Moolman: Gold and Silver Boom or Bust – A bit heavy on the charts but interesting nonetheless. o o o OPEC’s No.2 Goes Rogue: Plans 600,000 Bpd Oil Output Increase. Despite talks of an OPEC extension, Iraq, which is OPEC’s second-biggest exporter, has plans to boost crude production to 5 million bpd by the end of the year. o o o I listened to a sermon one time about the phases that many organizations go through. There is the time of passion in which men and women of great passion do extraordinary things and the organization grows like …

After having great success in finding silver half dollars, the intrepid young “Silver Searcher” is still at it. Most recently he found a bank in Oregon that had $2,800 in Eisenhower (“Ike”) dollars available. He really should be searching more carefully, for rare date coins. – JWR o o o When the broader markets crash, the value of the precious metals will really take off: Massive Stock Correction To Send Metals Surging & Elites Lose Control o o o What I learned about the US real estate market this week o o o Short And Sweet: Fed’s New Policies A …

The market marches on to oblivion, ignoring the warning signs: Stupid Is As Stupid Does o o o Permian Pipeline Bottleneck Forces Steep Discounts. Oil production in the Permian Basin has been rising rapidly, and now the pipeline capacity in the region is struggling to keep up, forcing producers to provide discounts. o o o Gold Price Forecast: Getting A Read Of The Next Quarter o o o Record $10 Trillion Paper Gold Trading Market Continues To Depress Price o o o The Next Subprime Crisis Is Here: 12 Signs That A Day Of Reckoning Has Arrived For The U.S. …

Over at Gold-Eagle: The Balance Of Gold And Silver JWR’s Comment: Silver is still grossly under-valued in relation to gold, and hence it has the best long-term investment potential. Part of this is because nearly all gold is recovered as scrap, while a lot of silver ends up in landfills. o o o You know that the markets have escaped reality when: The market capitalization of Tesla Motors now exceed Ford Motor Company. JWR’s Comment: Ford had $26 Billion in net income in past five years, while Tesla has racked up 2.6 Billion in losses. Something is horribly wrong with …

Moscow And Beijing Join Forces To Bypass US Dollar In Global Markets, Shift To Gold Trade. JWR’s Comment: Ruh-ro! (Link submitted by reader G.P.) o o o The War on Cash: Old and New. Excerpt: “It would be a mistake, nonetheless, to think that the outright ban of cash will be the preferred method of our fiat-money lords. The most efficient and vicious method they can use is simply inflation while refusing to emit any new banknotes with higher denominations.” – DSV o o o Baby boom or bust: Retirement withdrawals now exceed contributions. Since 2008 US public debt up …

The World’s First Pension Crisis – DSV o o o Multiple Bubbles Are Going to Bring America to Its Knees: “The Warning Signs Are There” – B.B. o o o Without Obama, once-booming gun industry poised to shrink. Excerpt: “Founder Marty Daniel, who employs about 310 workers and is more than doubling his manufacturing facility’s square footage, said he was prepared for the dips in sales and anticipates those will last through the year. But he considers the downturn part of a natural business cycle, like those that hit the housing market.” – T.J. o o o Is Gasoline Demand …

Caterpillar to close Illinois plant, lay off 800 workers – G.P. HJL’s Comment: This is news that has been expected. Caterpillar was making a killing selling product to China when China’s economy was booming. Now that China is feeling the effects of overspending and has quit buying the heavy equipment, Caterpillar has way too much capacity for the market. o o o Zuma’s Night of Long Knives Risks ANC Split, Credit Rating. JWR’s Comment: Note the huge drop in the value of the South African Rand (ZAR) versus the U.S. Dollar (USD) in the past week. This level of instability …

Senators Enzi & McCain Reintroduce The Coins Act JWR’s Comment: After years of inaction—and more than seven years after I first warned SurvivalBlog readers—it looks like the composition of the Nickel coin will be changed. (For all except during World War II, the five cent piece has been 75% copper and 25% nickel.) This next few months will probably be your last chance to get the current composition nickels in bulk quantities at face value. One of three things is bound to happen: A.) The nickel’s composition will change, B.) The nickel will be dropped from circulation, or C.) Least …