Category: Economics & Investing

Economics and Investing:

Washington’s Endgame: First Your Guns, Then Your Cash? This is an eye opening article. Use cash wherever you can, and resist the removal of cash from your life, because it gives you a type of freedom you need. It keeps the government from complete dictatorship. – H.L. o o o Harvard Economist: US Should Phase-Out All Currency Larger Than $10 Bills. Eliminate “filthy lucre?” – D.S. o o o Free Trade Brings Abundance — Protectionism Brings Scarcity o o o Beijing desperately needs a recession to shift the economy o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment …


Economics and Investing:

California added 63,000 jobs in August, 42% of U.S. total – B.B. o o o Food stamps may soon be available for online shopping – G.S. o o o IRS Numbers Show Little Income Growth for Americans o o o China’s Plan For Gold And A New Monetary System o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Economics and Investing:

Foreign Central Banks Sell A Record $343 Billion In US Trasuries In The Last Year – G.G. o o o Beware Central Banks’ “Illusion Of Control”; Spitznagel Warns “If The Fed Hikes, Markets Will Go Down Very, Very Hard” – B.B. o o o Gold Prices: Timing The Next Bottom o o o Three ways the banks are scamming you o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Bitcoins Are Now Available for Anyone to Buy, by G.S.

I saw an article today announcing PayPal will be accepting Bitcoins (BC) in the future through a BC payment platform called Coinbase. I am using Ebay sales to fund my preparations and supplement my income, so I already have a significant online signature. (I know, I know.) Many of you may be using Ebay and PayPal as well, so you may be interested in how you would also accept Bitcoins for your sales or purchases. Others out there might be interested in investing in Bitcoins, and Coinbase makes that possible for all on a limited scale. You may be interested …


Economics and Investing:

The Hidden Costs Of Obama’s Cheap Gas. President Obama graciously thanked himself for cheap gasoline at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, but he may be exaggerating just how popular cheap gasoline is. o o o The US has signaled support for digital currencies – B.B. o o o Former Treasury Secretary says banks may be riskier now than in the 2008 crisis o o o Bayer Clinches $66 Billion Deal For Monsanto That Could Reshape The Farming Industry – RBS o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page …


Economics and Investing:

Here’s a great example of how they’ll default on Social Security o o o The Gold To Housing Ratio As A Valuation Indicator o o o Venezuela’s “Death Spiral” – B.B. o o o Forget Alpha: Billionaires Deliver Bedlam Warnings Instead! – B.H. o o o CRUSH THE STREET: SRSrocco, Will We See A 10/1 Gold-Silver Price Ratio? o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Letter Re: Fireproof Safes

Hugh: I did some consulting for a well-known gun safe manufacturer. They make a premium product, and their clients never suffered loss due to either break-in or fire damage. The only heat resistant insulation they used was common sheetrock. They used multiple layers with offset corners and edges, similar to the wall between living space and garage in a modern home. They did not tape or use any mud, just a snug fit. It seems reasonable that the heat resistance of an ordinary inexpensive safe could be enhanced by fabricating a welded enclosure insulated with sheetrock and inserting the safe …


Economics and Investing:

Buffett Loses $1.4 Billion as Wells Fargo Tumbles on Scandal – DSV o o o U.S. credit card balances may soon top $1 trillion – B.B. o o o Census Bureau: 118,395,000 on ‘Government Health Insurance’ in 2015; 28,966,000 Uninsured for Entire Year – B.B. o o o Video: Why I Bought Silver NOW – Mike Maloney o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Letter Re: Storing Cash at Home

Hugh, Caution. My dad stored several mason jars around the property stuffed with $100 bills rolled tightly. When he moved from the old homestead, we helped him dig them up and found mold had invaded the jars so the outer eighth inch of $100 bills turned to dust. The bills were in so tight we had to break the glass to get them out. We will never know how much was lost, but if i were doing the same thing today I think I might look at vacuum packing to insure survival. – M.


Economics and Investing:

Wells Fargo scandal is just the beginning… here’s what else they’re hiding– o o o US Dollar Will Strengthen As Fed Funds Rate Rises o o o The Death Of The Bakken Field Has Begun: Means Big Trouble For The U.S. – K.T. o o o Bad News For The Bakken As Obama Administration Blocks Pipeline o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Letter Re: Storing Cash at Home

Hugh, Every small fire resistant safe I’ve found has a warning that the fireproofing material emits moisture, and they recommend putting papers in plastic to protect against mildew and rot. They also recommend airing the box out periodically, which might be difficult if it’s cached someplace. We use our Foodsaver to protect against this. Just wanted to mention it in case someone doesn’t read the instructions that come with the safes. Regards, – P.T.


Economics and Investing:

U.S. national debt is more than all the world’s physical cash, gold, silver, and bitcoin combined. – B.B. o o o Central Banks May Choose Helicopter Money Over Negative Rates o o o Case For -2% Rates, Banning Cash? Jim Grant Blasts Lunatic Proposals – DSV o o o An Explosion of Global Debt. Excerpt: “Whether we talk about Greek, Spanish, French, Italian or German banks, their balance sheets are all lumbered with billions of toxic assets with the only buyer being the ECB. This is why the current ECB printing program will not end in March 2017 but instead …


Letter Re: Storing Cash at Home

Hugh, A caution to those storing cash at home: Those “fire-proof” lock boxes are only relatively fire proof and are typically rated for temperatures up to 1000F for up to 20 minutes. High temperatures for long periods will completely destroy them. A severe house fire can easily exceed 1000F and take hours to extinguish. The best place to keep them is in a basement or crawlspace, which tends to remain (relatively) cool even in a devastating fire. Regards, Don in Oregon


Economics and Investing:

Major Problems Announced At One Of The Largest Too Big To Fail Banks In The United States – W.C. o o o Iranian oil output stagnates for third month amid OPEC bargaining o o o Oil Markets Brace As U.S. Looks To Sell 100 Million Barrels From SPR. Aging infrastructure could render the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) increasingly ineffective, leading to a potentially smaller reserve in the near future. o o o From steaks to furniture, Hanjin Shipping collapse to raise freight costs o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see …


Economics and Investing:

Police seize over 5,000 ounces of silver from man’s home o o o The Six Presidents Causing US Bankruptcy – A.D. o o o Gold Could Blast Through $1,350 And Be $1,500 In The Blink Of An Eye o o o Latin America’s Pink Tide Crashes on the Rocks o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.