Category: Economics & Investing

Economics and Investing:

Simon Black’s Sovereign Man e-letter reports: “It’s official. The United States government closed out the 2016 fiscal year that ended a few days ago on Friday September 30th with a debt level of $19,573,444,713,936. ??That’s an increase of $1,422,827,047,452 over last year’s fiscal year close. ??Incredible. By the way, that debt growth amounts to roughly 7.5% of the entire US economy.” JWR’s Comment: Or look at it this way: The $1.4 Trillion in new debt surpasses all of the debt that the Federal government accumulated inclusively from 1787 to 1979—yes, and all in just one year. In all, in his …


Economics and Investing:

Some quite bad news has come from an oft-cited “tax free” offshore haven: Vanuatu to impose their first ever payroll and income taxes—without any public comment. The plan is for a payroll tax, beginning in 2017, and then an income tax, beginning in 2018. Vanuatuan officials claim that the offsetting revenue generated by these new taxes will allow them to do away with the current rent tax and also to “reduce” import duties. They say that they also “hope” to eventually reduce the hated Value Added Tax (VAT), but they are making no promises. In sum, these new taxes make …


Economics and Investing:

A FOREX update: It is noteworthy that following the recent British Pound plummet, the Swiss Franc just jumped to 98.075 to the Dollar.  It was closer to 96 cents, just a few weeks ago. Methinks that a fairly durable Dollar/CH Franc parity trading range can’t be far off! (Parity was touched once briefly on July 27th.) I now have no regrets whatsoever about having hedged into Swiss Francs back when they cost me around 77 cents each. – JWR o o o Many of the pundits who are bashing candidate Donald Trump’s economic plan seem uninformed. This analysis by Peter …



Economics and Investing:

THE FALLING EROI: Say Goodbye To Military Secret Weapon Boondoggles o o o $30,000 Was Just Stolen From You – B.B. o o o America’s ‘quiet catastrophe’: Millions of idle men – B.B. o o o The Resurrection Of Putin: What It Means For The Oil Markets o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Economics and Investing:

A Notable Hidden Force – Will Lehr Interviews Jim Willie o o o U.S. has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000 – B.B. o o o What goes up must come down! Global debt ‘at record high’: IMF – A.S. o o o MasterCard rolls out Identity Check Mobile biometric payments – B.B. o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


September in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Cochran of Gainseville Coins where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in September? Gold was pulled out of a 2-month low by the non-farm payrolls report that was substantially under predictions. Prices were slowly worn down as the month went on, until the Federal Reserve FOMC meeting on the 22nd. When the Fed did not raise interest rates, gold jumped $20 an …



Economics and Investing:

WARNING: The Coming Collapse Of U.S Net Worth Will Wipe Out Millions Of Americans – o o o From: Wells Fargo, Re: Closing The Accounts We Secretly Opened For You – DSV o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Backlash to World Economic Order Clouds Outlook at IMF Talks – Here is Globalism on the defensive. The world’s economy has been destroyed by globalist policies and now they want to blame the impending recession/depression on others who are rejecting globalism. Video Interview : Is Canada’s Economy on the Verge of a Financial Crisis? – This is a very good interview …


Letter Re: Moving to Alaska

Good Afternoon Hugh, This is a response to the Letter regarding Alaska as a Survival Location. I am sure you are getting piles of letters from people in Alaska who claim many things. We have owned our property in Alaska for eight years. Here are some pointers for being successful in Alaska, which people down in the States don’t seem to understand. Location – Most people think that the only places to relocate to Alaska are in the “mainland” part. We live in Southeast Alaska, which is a rainforest. Water is plentiful here. Getting here is not difficult and the …


Economics and Investing:

Gold Price Reversal o o o Winners Of The Oil Bust: How Much Oil Did China Store? New satellite images suggest that China might be able to store much more crude oil than previously thought o o o Three reasons why the banking system is rigged against you – DSV o o o Deutsche Bank Received a U.S. Bailout Twice as Big as Lehman Brothers – P.M. o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Economics and Investing:

Smoke And Mirrors: What Did OPEC Really Agree On? Oil prices shot up more than 6 percent this week on the news that OPEC reached a deal to cut oil production, but in reality the deal is fairly shapeless o o o The Trumped-Up Myths Behind “Trickle-Down” Economics. The critique of “trickle-down” economics relies on a mistaken zero-sum view that more income for some must reduce incomes to others. o o o Some Deutsche Bank Clients Unable To Access Cash Due To “IT Outage” o o o The retirement gamble: 30 percent of American adults have no retirement savings. Half …


Economics and Investing:

China’s yuan joins elite club of IMF reserve currencies – E.S. o o o This is insane! Taxpayers pay rent for Somalis who feel the need to visit Somalia (for months!) – B.B. o o o Hillary’s Huge Estate-Tax Hike o o o Consumer Spending Falls Flat, Economists Surprised Again o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Economics and Investing:

Ah, Switzerland! Secret Alpine Gold Vaults Are the New Swiss Bank Accounts. Speaking of Switzerland, my suggestion of hedging into Swiss Francs seems to be paying off. According to the Forex ticker, it now takes 96 Cents (USD) to buy one Swiis Franc. But back when I bought most of my 200 Franc notes, a Swiss Franc cost only 77 cents. – JWR o o o U.S. Bond Market’s Biggest Buyers Are Selling Like Never Before – G.G. o o o The Federal Deficit Is Set to Explode o o o The domino teeters: This Is How Much Liquidity Deutsche …


Economics and Investing:

The Top Four Precious Metals: Which Will Be The Best Investments During The Next Financial Crash o o o Reader GJM sent in these links about Deutsche Bank: Stocks Are Crashing – Led By Banks The Run Begins: Deutsche Bank Hedge Fund Clients Withdraw Excess Cash Major Dollar Shortage Exposed In Europe As Deutsche Bank Contagion Spreads Some Deutsche Bank Clients Reduce Collateral on Trades Stock Quote: Deutsche Bank AG Now, to start watching the VIX…multiple times a day. (And to start stockpiling everything you’d want if you knew you were about to wake up in about 480 AD. o …