DAVID WALKER: WHY HIS OPINION COUNTS -- Walker served as Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from 1998 to 2008. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, his tenure as the federal government's chief auditor spanned both Democratic and Republican administrations. While at the GAO, Walker embarked on a Fiscal Wake-up Tour, partnering with the Brookings Institution, the World Future Society, and the Heritage Foundation to alert Americans to wasteful government spending. Walker left the GAO to head the Peterson Foundation on March 12, 2008. Walker has compared the present-day United States with the Roman Empire in its decline, saying the U.S. government is on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, expensive overcommitments to government provided health care, swelling Medicare costs, the enormous expense of a prospective universal health care system, immigration, and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon.
AT LEAST READ THIS ONE!
The Collapse of America? The Dire Message of Mr. David Walker
Detroit sets record for unemployment--28.9% - Don't worry. The government will make sure your money takes care of them.
Arnold Holds Great California Garage Sale To Help Economy
How Goldman Sach's Problems are Hurting You
US Economy: Spending Climbed in July Due to Clunkers Program
Japanese Economy Hit by "Double Nightmare"
Bankers' Excesses...At Our Collective Expense
Tsunami of Broke and Desperate Americans
Fed urges secrecy on banks in bailout programs - The truth will hurt the economy.
Japan Unemployment Hits Record High
US Prisoners Get Cash To 'Boost Economy' - Their brilliance knows no end.
Summer 'Recovery' Will Turn to Cold, Long Winter
Investment Crash Points to Economic Pain
UK Financial Watchdog Backs World Transaction Tax
Can The Financial Soufflé Rise Again?
UK Sleepwalking Toward Decade of Economic Misery
Germany to Lend Directly as Second Credit Dive Looms
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
FED To Steal State Pension Funds
Fed to Steal State Pension Funds? If this doesn't give you an idea of just how desperate times are...
By the way, to answer a question: Putting your money in gold and silver is about "protecting your assets", not making a profit. You should see profit as just an added benefit. When an economy collapses and its currency drops in value, it takes more of that currency to buy gold, and initially that gold will buy a lot more stuff because the prices of items haven't caught up with the reality of the situation. Eventually however, the price of every necessary item increases (inflation), and ultimately tries to catch back up with gold and silver, putting gold right back at the same place it was before - in purchasing power. One other huge benefit though, is when currency has NO buying power at all, gold and silver have all of the buying power.
Most sound advisors recommend that you have at least 20% of your investments in gold. Gerald Celente says he has 80% of his in gold at the moment.
Fed to Steal State Pension Funds - You think the average person would have predicted this? Heck, most of them won't be aware of it after-the-fact.
Celente: 2.5 Million Jobs Lost Since Obama's Presidency - as the government reports it. He's being careful.
The Travails of Small Business Dooms the Economy
So Long, California
Pens and Notebooks Put on Layaway - People just don't have money.
The Dollar: Soon to Swoon? - You think Bernanke lays awake at night thinking about this?
Feds, 10 States Join to Fight Mortgage Fraud
Pyongyang's Booming Trade in Fake US Currency A fascinating article.
Without prospects, they’re prospectors: Metal’s high price and economy’s low ebb create new California gold rush
Cash for Clunkers: Dumbest Program Ever?
Even Warren Buffett Is Now Saying Bonds Could Crack
Bullish Stampede Persists - In a market kept afloat by mere faith in the government.
Here's a pretty good website to keep up with: http://urbansurvival.com/week.htm
By the way, to answer a question: Putting your money in gold and silver is about "protecting your assets", not making a profit. You should see profit as just an added benefit. When an economy collapses and its currency drops in value, it takes more of that currency to buy gold, and initially that gold will buy a lot more stuff because the prices of items haven't caught up with the reality of the situation. Eventually however, the price of every necessary item increases (inflation), and ultimately tries to catch back up with gold and silver, putting gold right back at the same place it was before - in purchasing power. One other huge benefit though, is when currency has NO buying power at all, gold and silver have all of the buying power.
Most sound advisors recommend that you have at least 20% of your investments in gold. Gerald Celente says he has 80% of his in gold at the moment.
Fed to Steal State Pension Funds - You think the average person would have predicted this? Heck, most of them won't be aware of it after-the-fact.
Celente: 2.5 Million Jobs Lost Since Obama's Presidency - as the government reports it. He's being careful.
The Travails of Small Business Dooms the Economy
So Long, California
Pens and Notebooks Put on Layaway - People just don't have money.
The Dollar: Soon to Swoon? - You think Bernanke lays awake at night thinking about this?
Feds, 10 States Join to Fight Mortgage Fraud
Pyongyang's Booming Trade in Fake US Currency A fascinating article.
Without prospects, they’re prospectors: Metal’s high price and economy’s low ebb create new California gold rush
Cash for Clunkers: Dumbest Program Ever?
Even Warren Buffett Is Now Saying Bonds Could Crack
Bullish Stampede Persists - In a market kept afloat by mere faith in the government.
Here's a pretty good website to keep up with: http://urbansurvival.com/week.htm
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
What are You Expecting?
Sooner or later, you'd think "they" would figure out that they'd better tell us what's coming, kind of like people are told to tape up their windows and fill their bath-tubs with water before a hurricane hits. But keep in mind also, that before Hurricane Katrina hit, only a few experts said to evacuate New Orleans, and that was literally at the last minute causing massive traffic jams a hundred miles long. The earliest to sound the alarm were the weathermen - saying, "GET OUT!!! " 3 days before it hit. If you recall, FEMA didn't really get on board until a few days after it was a full blown disaster. So don't wait on the Feds to tell you to get ready for an economic disaster. If history serves as a guide, they will do so with a bullhorn from a pile of rubble, with their sleeves rolled up and their ties loosened as if they're actually going to do some work. Lying is part of the job.
Preparing for the Worst - Robert Kiyosaki - "I believe the stock market is being manipulated. I suspect the government, banks, and Wall Street are doing everything they can to keep the market from crashing. Our leaders know that nothing makes the world feel better than a raging bull market." (In other words, they aren't allowing the "bad" to get worked out of the free market system, which in turn sets us up for a worse fall in the future.)
Krugman: Economy in Purgatory: “Anybody who says that we are out of the woods or even moving out of the woods has got to be lost at sea,“ Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, said on ABC’s This Week. “I mean, there’s no evidence that this economy is doing much better. The best that can be said is we’re getting worse more slowly. And that is small consolation to people who are losing their jobs.”
Tsunami of Home Foreclosures to hit U.S.
Court Orders Federal Reserve to Disclose Emergency Loan Details (It's about time!)
Slums of Suburbia Sorting through the rubble of California's foreclosure tsunami.
White House, Congress project record deficits; Both see the overall national debt nearly doubling over the next decade
Senator warns of hyperinflation rivaling the 1980s
Rhode Island governor to shut down state government for 12 days
Labor Leader Named Head of New York Fed - Oh good, a Union Boss is in charge of a Federal Bank. (!?!?)
Oil Falls 4% After Hitting 10-Month Peak of $75
Latest in Stimulus: Cash for Refrigerators
Brookings "Experts" Admit Stimulus a Bust
Federal Reserve Paying Interest on Excess Reserves, Why Lend When You Can Earn Interest For Holding on to Funds With Low Risk
CBO Warns of Higher Unemployment; DC Worries About the Deficit
Basket Cases (The Mogambo Guru)
Gross National Debt to Top $12 Trillion
Craig Harrington | 08/25/09
With the gross national debt expected to top $12 trillion in the next two weeks, America can ill-afford to accumulate the additional $9 trillion the White House predicts over the next 10 years.
10-Year Deficit: $9 Trillion and Rising
Dustin Ensinger | 08/25/09
The Obama administration raised its 10-year debt projections estimating that the federal government will need to borrow $9 trillion over the next decade.
Preparing for the Worst - Robert Kiyosaki - "I believe the stock market is being manipulated. I suspect the government, banks, and Wall Street are doing everything they can to keep the market from crashing. Our leaders know that nothing makes the world feel better than a raging bull market." (In other words, they aren't allowing the "bad" to get worked out of the free market system, which in turn sets us up for a worse fall in the future.)
Krugman: Economy in Purgatory: “Anybody who says that we are out of the woods or even moving out of the woods has got to be lost at sea,“ Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, said on ABC’s This Week. “I mean, there’s no evidence that this economy is doing much better. The best that can be said is we’re getting worse more slowly. And that is small consolation to people who are losing their jobs.”
Tsunami of Home Foreclosures to hit U.S.
Court Orders Federal Reserve to Disclose Emergency Loan Details (It's about time!)
Slums of Suburbia Sorting through the rubble of California's foreclosure tsunami.
White House, Congress project record deficits; Both see the overall national debt nearly doubling over the next decade
Senator warns of hyperinflation rivaling the 1980s
Rhode Island governor to shut down state government for 12 days
Labor Leader Named Head of New York Fed - Oh good, a Union Boss is in charge of a Federal Bank. (!?!?)
Oil Falls 4% After Hitting 10-Month Peak of $75
Latest in Stimulus: Cash for Refrigerators
Brookings "Experts" Admit Stimulus a Bust
Federal Reserve Paying Interest on Excess Reserves, Why Lend When You Can Earn Interest For Holding on to Funds With Low Risk
CBO Warns of Higher Unemployment; DC Worries About the Deficit
Basket Cases (The Mogambo Guru)
Gross National Debt to Top $12 Trillion
Craig Harrington | 08/25/09
With the gross national debt expected to top $12 trillion in the next two weeks, America can ill-afford to accumulate the additional $9 trillion the White House predicts over the next 10 years.
10-Year Deficit: $9 Trillion and Rising
Dustin Ensinger | 08/25/09
The Obama administration raised its 10-year debt projections estimating that the federal government will need to borrow $9 trillion over the next decade.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Swiss Bank Secret
At this point, are you really surprised that there's still so much bad news?
Cash for Clunkers to end on Monday - "Kill it - kill it - it wasn't supposed to be this way!" LOL
Germany braces for second wave of credit crunch - Someone just told me the other day, "But Germany has recovered...."
The Week in Charts, Buckle the Heck Up!
U.K. Has Record July Deficit as Recession Curbs Taxes
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose by 15,000 to 576,000
FDIC May Add to Special Fees as Mounting Failures Drain Reserves
Swiss to reveal UBS accounts to settle U.S. tax battle "Switzerland has agreed to reveal the names of about 4,450 wealthy American clients of UBS AG to U.S. authorities in a tax dispute settlement that pierces Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks."
Citigroup To Initiate Fees on Some Cards To Reduce The Dent To Their Income
Buffett: We'll Be Crushed Under a Mountain of Debt - Yeah, this is what Peter Schiff has been saying since 2005.
Debt Revolt Haunting Europe
NY Car Dealers Pulling Out of Clunkers Program
Stocks Creep Higher Amid Economic Worries
Sears Shares Drop as Recession Drags Down Sales
Pension Plans' Private-Equity Cash Depleted as Profits Shrink
Insurers' Biggest Write-Downs May Be Yet to Come - This is always a phrase you want to pay attention to: "may be yet to come". It never means anything good.
Cash for Clunkers to end on Monday - "Kill it - kill it - it wasn't supposed to be this way!" LOL
Germany braces for second wave of credit crunch - Someone just told me the other day, "But Germany has recovered...."
The Week in Charts, Buckle the Heck Up!
U.K. Has Record July Deficit as Recession Curbs Taxes
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose by 15,000 to 576,000
FDIC May Add to Special Fees as Mounting Failures Drain Reserves
Swiss to reveal UBS accounts to settle U.S. tax battle "Switzerland has agreed to reveal the names of about 4,450 wealthy American clients of UBS AG to U.S. authorities in a tax dispute settlement that pierces Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks."
Citigroup To Initiate Fees on Some Cards To Reduce The Dent To Their Income
Buffett: We'll Be Crushed Under a Mountain of Debt - Yeah, this is what Peter Schiff has been saying since 2005.
Debt Revolt Haunting Europe
NY Car Dealers Pulling Out of Clunkers Program
Stocks Creep Higher Amid Economic Worries
Sears Shares Drop as Recession Drags Down Sales
Pension Plans' Private-Equity Cash Depleted as Profits Shrink
Insurers' Biggest Write-Downs May Be Yet to Come - This is always a phrase you want to pay attention to: "may be yet to come". It never means anything good.
Influential American
Buffett: We're Going to Be Crushed Under Mountain of Debt
Posted Aug 19, 2009 11:51am EDT by Henry Blodget
A highly influential American has finally hit the panic button about the tremendous mountain of debt the country is piling up.
Last year, Warren Buffett says, we were justified in using any means necessary to stave off another Great Depression. Now that the economy is beginning to recover, however, we need to curtail our out-of-control spending, or we'll destroy the value of the dollar and many Americans' life savings.
Some not-so-fun facts from Buffett's editorial today in the New York Times:
Congress is now spending 185% of what it takes in
Our deficit is a post WWII record of 13% of GDP
Our debt is growing by 1% a month
We are borrowing $1.8 trillion a year
$1.8 trillion is a lot of money. Even if the Chinese lend us $400 billion a year and Americans save a remarkable $500 billion and lend it to the government, we'll still need another $900 billion.
So, where's it going to come from? Most likely the printing press. And, ultimately, Buffett says, that will destroy the value of the dollar.
Posted Aug 19, 2009 11:51am EDT by Henry Blodget
A highly influential American has finally hit the panic button about the tremendous mountain of debt the country is piling up.
Last year, Warren Buffett says, we were justified in using any means necessary to stave off another Great Depression. Now that the economy is beginning to recover, however, we need to curtail our out-of-control spending, or we'll destroy the value of the dollar and many Americans' life savings.
Some not-so-fun facts from Buffett's editorial today in the New York Times:
Congress is now spending 185% of what it takes in
Our deficit is a post WWII record of 13% of GDP
Our debt is growing by 1% a month
We are borrowing $1.8 trillion a year
$1.8 trillion is a lot of money. Even if the Chinese lend us $400 billion a year and Americans save a remarkable $500 billion and lend it to the government, we'll still need another $900 billion.
So, where's it going to come from? Most likely the printing press. And, ultimately, Buffett says, that will destroy the value of the dollar.
How to Choose an Economic Prophet
Track Record: Basically, what I've spent the last year (5 hours a day) doing is going back and looking at individual track records for predicting economic trends. The best macro-economic prophets are: Schiff, Celente, Rogers, Faber, Ron Paul and a couple of other lesser known names. It's also prudent to listen to economists and heads of State outside of the US, since their observations are not swayed by US public opinion and reaction. [Listen to a dozen or more, and take the consensus of what they predict.] Schiff and Celente are at the top in my book. Short term rises and dips are anyone's guess, and most people get it wrong, so we can't depend on those predictions. But if Schiff says stocks will crater, then you need to listen. DO NOT listen to Jim Cramer. Everything that he knows about the Stock Market only works in a 90's economy. Since we are in uncharted territory, its best to listen to people who understand the macro-economic situation, and make long term moves based on their outlook.
Peter Schiff: Hyperinflation Risk High, Stocks Will Crater - Print this one and stick it on your refrigerator. We can't have people claiming they weren't warned.
L.A. ranks near bottom among big cities for finding a job, website says - How fitting. All counties and the State went to Obama.
The Next Crisis in the Making - "... if governments keep throwing trillions down these rat holes, we’ll end up with a financial and economic catastrophe much larger than the current one."
FDIC Sees Ag Banks as Next Crisis - Farmers will have a much harder time get credit necessary to run a farm. That means less food available. Plant a garden, learn to can, and stock up.
Stock Market Still a Chump's Game
Bernanke Says US Economy on Cusp of Recovery. - What he says means NOTHING. If you look back over his history, he always says things are going to get better, and utterly failed to predict this crisis in the first place.Don't read the article. Watch the videos.
Brown Shoots: US Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High
A rush for black gold in the Gulf - Every country except the USA will be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to Obama's no offshore drilling policy. Now WHAT could possibly motivate him to make a decision like that, ...........except maybe......he's trying to put this country into economic turmoil? The logical thing to do to help the economy long-term would be to allow offshore drilling. It makes no sense to cut off the supply until you have other energy sources in place
Peter Schiff: Hyperinflation Risk High, Stocks Will Crater - Print this one and stick it on your refrigerator. We can't have people claiming they weren't warned.
L.A. ranks near bottom among big cities for finding a job, website says - How fitting. All counties and the State went to Obama.
The Next Crisis in the Making - "... if governments keep throwing trillions down these rat holes, we’ll end up with a financial and economic catastrophe much larger than the current one."
FDIC Sees Ag Banks as Next Crisis - Farmers will have a much harder time get credit necessary to run a farm. That means less food available. Plant a garden, learn to can, and stock up.
Stock Market Still a Chump's Game
Bernanke Says US Economy on Cusp of Recovery. - What he says means NOTHING. If you look back over his history, he always says things are going to get better, and utterly failed to predict this crisis in the first place.Don't read the article. Watch the videos.
Brown Shoots: US Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High
A rush for black gold in the Gulf - Every country except the USA will be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to Obama's no offshore drilling policy. Now WHAT could possibly motivate him to make a decision like that, ...........except maybe......he's trying to put this country into economic turmoil? The logical thing to do to help the economy long-term would be to allow offshore drilling. It makes no sense to cut off the supply until you have other energy sources in place
The Road to Ruin
Watching the economy fall apart is kind of like watching a glacier melt. It's not an overnight process to say the least.
However, with certainty, it will continue to melt.
AP source: White House projects lower deficit. Another case of “The deficit is growing slower than we originally thought.” They fail to point out its still growing exponentially. They “saved” $250 billion but we will be $2 trillion in the hole by year’s end. And that's 66% of what the entire deficit was when Bush became president!
Marc Faber "in China there is an investment bubble ...the total collapse is ahead of us and probably a world scale war..." - While perhaps the "world war" prediction is a bit extreme, you can't ignore the fundamentals that lead to Faber making this prediction.
Obama to raise 10-year deficit to $9 trillion. The bailouts just won't quit growing.
Stiglitz: Dollar Reserve System Falling Apart
Iceland: What Ugly Secrets Await Being Revealed in the Meltdown
The Consumer Has Dug in His Heels
Frustrations Rising Over Mortgage Relief
More Shoppers Getting Cold Feet in Checkout Line
Global credit quality continues slide, Fitch says – Reuters
Watch out below – CaseyResearch
Fiscal Ruin – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - "The imperative for the debt-bloated West is to cut spending systematically for year after year, off-setting the deflationary effect with monetary stimulus. This is the only mix that can save us. My awful fear is that we will do exactly the opposite, incubating yet another crisis this autumn, to which we will respond with yet further spending. This is the road to ruin. "
Southern Georgia, US, Schools Swine Flu Outbreak
Can you read between the lines in this following sentence: "Thus, the policy of keeping schools open, and using fever as one of the key symptoms, may lead to extensive spread by patients who have low or no fever. Moreover, most of the students have mild illnesses, so they are not tested, which may allow important genetic changes to silently spread."
What it says is - the swine flu isn't the pandemic we thought it would be, but we want to keep the hysteria going. If this flu is going to get bad, it will be in the Fall and Winter months. But copious secretions and respiratory complications don't seem to be a major factor at this point. Remember how big of a deal they made of SARS? Well, only 70 people died worldwide. We lose twice that many every day in the US from auto accidents. Just recently a 15 year old girl died on a flight from the US to Brazil. The mighty eye of the media descended on that case. Do you have any idea how many people drop dead globally every minute!? That's a very misleading way of observing a potential pandemic. The data set must be HUGE to give a real overview of what we're dealing with. Not n = ~1. (sample size of one)
I don't blame them for being jumpy. A true pandemic with just the right properties could kill a billion people and wipe out a tremendous amount of medical resources. But I don't think this is it. We will continue to observe.
--------------------------------end transmission
However, with certainty, it will continue to melt.
AP source: White House projects lower deficit. Another case of “The deficit is growing slower than we originally thought.” They fail to point out its still growing exponentially. They “saved” $250 billion but we will be $2 trillion in the hole by year’s end. And that's 66% of what the entire deficit was when Bush became president!
Marc Faber "in China there is an investment bubble ...the total collapse is ahead of us and probably a world scale war..." - While perhaps the "world war" prediction is a bit extreme, you can't ignore the fundamentals that lead to Faber making this prediction.
Obama to raise 10-year deficit to $9 trillion. The bailouts just won't quit growing.
Stiglitz: Dollar Reserve System Falling Apart
Iceland: What Ugly Secrets Await Being Revealed in the Meltdown
The Consumer Has Dug in His Heels
Frustrations Rising Over Mortgage Relief
More Shoppers Getting Cold Feet in Checkout Line
Global credit quality continues slide, Fitch says – Reuters
Watch out below – CaseyResearch
Fiscal Ruin – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - "The imperative for the debt-bloated West is to cut spending systematically for year after year, off-setting the deflationary effect with monetary stimulus. This is the only mix that can save us. My awful fear is that we will do exactly the opposite, incubating yet another crisis this autumn, to which we will respond with yet further spending. This is the road to ruin. "
Southern Georgia, US, Schools Swine Flu Outbreak
Can you read between the lines in this following sentence: "Thus, the policy of keeping schools open, and using fever as one of the key symptoms, may lead to extensive spread by patients who have low or no fever. Moreover, most of the students have mild illnesses, so they are not tested, which may allow important genetic changes to silently spread."
What it says is - the swine flu isn't the pandemic we thought it would be, but we want to keep the hysteria going. If this flu is going to get bad, it will be in the Fall and Winter months. But copious secretions and respiratory complications don't seem to be a major factor at this point. Remember how big of a deal they made of SARS? Well, only 70 people died worldwide. We lose twice that many every day in the US from auto accidents. Just recently a 15 year old girl died on a flight from the US to Brazil. The mighty eye of the media descended on that case. Do you have any idea how many people drop dead globally every minute!? That's a very misleading way of observing a potential pandemic. The data set must be HUGE to give a real overview of what we're dealing with. Not n = ~1. (sample size of one)
I don't blame them for being jumpy. A true pandemic with just the right properties could kill a billion people and wipe out a tremendous amount of medical resources. But I don't think this is it. We will continue to observe.
--------------------------------end transmission
Days Away from Economic Chaos
Rumors of a "Bank Holiday" are picking up. If it were ONLY fear of such a thing driving the rumors, I wouldn't be concerned. In particular, you want to keep your eye on "Potential Trigger Events". In this case, one occurs on August 25th. Maybe America's notorious apathy will once again reign supreme and nothing will happen. But it wouldn't hurt to stand close to an exit.
The Mother of all Bank Runs - "
Days Away From Economic Chaos?
by Bill Sardi
America is just a few days away from a possible day of reckoning. I again call attention to this day, August 25, when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issues its 2nd Quarter report for 2009 on the state of health of American banks.
It has not particularly alarmed Americans that its growth and prosperity have been built upon debt. The American public is a bit desensitized, particularly since the Y2K threat fizzled. We must wait and see how Americans respond to the upcoming FDIC report.
The following charts tell the story. There are roughly 8400 American banks that set aside a small portion of their profits to aggregately insure bank depositors should their local bank fail. A plethora of bank failures has depleted the FDIC reserve fund from $52.8 billion in 2008 to $13 billion in the 1st Quarter of 2009. (Click on the link "Mother of All Bank Runs" to see the whole article.)
===================================================
Uh Oh. ... Trouble Dead Ahead - ".....foreigners are rejecting virtually all forms of US debt, most specifically corporate and agency (mortgages.)....... What we're now seeing is outright rejection - it began slowly, but as it has become clear that The Fed was hellbent and determined to go to the wall, consequences be damned, that trickle of rejection has turned into a veritable flood."
==========================================================
A few other interesting, but now seemingly trivial articles:
Seller, beware: Feds cracking down on garage sales
US Helps Spanish Company Buy Failured Texas Bank by Putting $9.7 Billion Loss on Taxpayers
Workplace Suicides Surge by 28%
Folks are stealing hay in Texas - Signs of the times are popping up all over. It's the collection of events like this that make up the big picture.
The Mother of all Bank Runs - "
Days Away From Economic Chaos?
by Bill Sardi
America is just a few days away from a possible day of reckoning. I again call attention to this day, August 25, when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issues its 2nd Quarter report for 2009 on the state of health of American banks.
It has not particularly alarmed Americans that its growth and prosperity have been built upon debt. The American public is a bit desensitized, particularly since the Y2K threat fizzled. We must wait and see how Americans respond to the upcoming FDIC report.
The following charts tell the story. There are roughly 8400 American banks that set aside a small portion of their profits to aggregately insure bank depositors should their local bank fail. A plethora of bank failures has depleted the FDIC reserve fund from $52.8 billion in 2008 to $13 billion in the 1st Quarter of 2009. (Click on the link "Mother of All Bank Runs" to see the whole article.)
===================================================
Uh Oh. ... Trouble Dead Ahead - ".....foreigners are rejecting virtually all forms of US debt, most specifically corporate and agency (mortgages.)....... What we're now seeing is outright rejection - it began slowly, but as it has become clear that The Fed was hellbent and determined to go to the wall, consequences be damned, that trickle of rejection has turned into a veritable flood."
==========================================================
A few other interesting, but now seemingly trivial articles:
Seller, beware: Feds cracking down on garage sales
US Helps Spanish Company Buy Failured Texas Bank by Putting $9.7 Billion Loss on Taxpayers
Workplace Suicides Surge by 28%
Folks are stealing hay in Texas - Signs of the times are popping up all over. It's the collection of events like this that make up the big picture.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Banking Crisis of Historic Proportion
I run into people all the time that are "getting ready". I've met so many; it's really kind of refreshing. Don't stay in denial. Don't procrastinate. Begin doing whatever you can. I was telling one friend yesterday that the reason that I'm recommending silver now is that, for small time players, it's best to have a form of portable wealth, one that's not tied up in the system. Also, it's a small enough amount ($15 per 1 oz coin), that it can be used for barter if need be. In a worst case scenario of a severe collapse, martial law and wealth confiscation, Congress has already tipped its hand that it will confiscate 401(k)'s, and who knows what else. Of course we know that gold was confiscated in the first depression, even though only 20% of what the public held was turned in. A black market will emerge if that's the case this time.
1.Lowe's Profit Plunges as Consumers Stay Away - I'm sure very few houses are being built nationwide.
2.Wholesale Prices Drop More than Expected in July - This is for things we don't need, like plasma televisions.
3.Coming Soon: Banking Crisis of Historic Proportions - Next time you're in a group of your friends, mention this and see what kind of reactions you get. Probably very little, which is part of the reason we're going to go down the tubes. The average citizen has little or no understanding of how the economy works, or what matters.
4.Reader's Digest Going Bankrupt
5.Fed Shut Down "Minority" S&L
6.New AIG CEO Pay $7 Million, Will be Reviewed, Obama Spokesman Says - If you'll pay attention to this, you'll find out who BHO's friends really are. They are making sure that Wall St. elite are not going to lose a dime. By now you should know that anyone who can raise almost half a billion dollars for a presidential campaign has friends in the banking world.
7.Treasury Prices Post Modest Decline
8."Chicken Underground" Emerges in Indiana
1.Lowe's Profit Plunges as Consumers Stay Away - I'm sure very few houses are being built nationwide.
2.Wholesale Prices Drop More than Expected in July - This is for things we don't need, like plasma televisions.
3.Coming Soon: Banking Crisis of Historic Proportions - Next time you're in a group of your friends, mention this and see what kind of reactions you get. Probably very little, which is part of the reason we're going to go down the tubes. The average citizen has little or no understanding of how the economy works, or what matters.
4.Reader's Digest Going Bankrupt
5.Fed Shut Down "Minority" S&L
6.New AIG CEO Pay $7 Million, Will be Reviewed, Obama Spokesman Says - If you'll pay attention to this, you'll find out who BHO's friends really are. They are making sure that Wall St. elite are not going to lose a dime. By now you should know that anyone who can raise almost half a billion dollars for a presidential campaign has friends in the banking world.
7.Treasury Prices Post Modest Decline
8."Chicken Underground" Emerges in Indiana
Saturday, August 15, 2009
US Suger Supplies Running Out
US sugar supplies 'running out' - time to start those honey bee colonies.
The Problem with Sticking it to Your Creditors
Panel Warns Smaller Banks Face Whole-Loans Threat
"We" Broke The Bank
Bleak Sales are Another Reality Check for Economy
Climate Bill Could Cost Two Million Jobs
Pressure (Countdown) to Breakdown
California to Stop Issuing IOUs
Fed Reverses Plan to Buy US Debt
James Turk: Gold to hit $1,000 this fall – Hard Assets Investor
The Problem with Sticking it to Your Creditors
Panel Warns Smaller Banks Face Whole-Loans Threat
"We" Broke The Bank
Bleak Sales are Another Reality Check for Economy
Climate Bill Could Cost Two Million Jobs
Pressure (Countdown) to Breakdown
California to Stop Issuing IOUs
Fed Reverses Plan to Buy US Debt
James Turk: Gold to hit $1,000 this fall – Hard Assets Investor
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Obama Mocks US Military Personnel
Obama Mocks US Military Personnel
This Is From The Man Who Is Commander-In-Chief?
By Paul D. Williams
Master Sergeant USMC (Ret.)
8-10-09
Obama is Surprised [that] Vets do not want to pay their own Medical Expenses!
Here's his response when he backed-off his decision to let the military pay for their war injuries. What an empty headed person he is. Bad press, including major mockery of the plan by comedian Jon Stewart, led to President Obama abandoning his proposal to require veterans' private health insurance to cover the estimated $540 million annual cost to the federal government of treatment for injuries to military personnel received during their tours on active duty.
The President admitted that he was puzzled by the magnitude of the opposition to his proposal..
"Look, it's an all volunteer force," Obama complained. "Nobody made these guys go to war. They had to have known and accepted the risks. Now they whine about bearing the costs of their choice? It doesn't compute." "I thought these were people who were proud to sacrifice for their country," Obama continued. " (Just like the suicide bombers. sounds like his Muslim influences surfacing.) "I wasn't asking for blood, just money. With the country facing the worst financial crisis in its history, I'd have thought that the patriotic thing to do would be to try to help reduce the nation's deficit. I guess I underestimated the selfishness of some of my fellow Americans."
Typical of an individual who never served a day of his life on active duty. What more could one expect from a politician at the public trough?
Send this to everyone you know, particularly every veteran you know, to show them just what President Obama thinks of our military people who fight for our country and are hurt and/or disabled protecting OUR freedoms.
If you read nothing else in this message, read the portion I highlighted in red bold print. This is shocking! Why am I not surprised?
Semper Fi'
Paul D. Williams
Master Sergeant USMC (Ret.)
Glasgow, Kentucky 42141
Marine@glasgow-ky.com
The retired Master Sergeant's remarks above, become far more important, when the real numbers for the dead and damaged troops, in Iraq alone, are looked at - for the nineteen-plus-years that the Department of Veterans Affairs has been keeping them. Obama's suggestion would apply to roughly 1.5 million troops that Obama thinks ought to "just pick up- the check." Something on this scale would bankrupt most very wealthy families trying to treat just one family member - yet Obama seems to think this is on the same level as 'picking up the check for losing a game of golf' - he's just a boy with no life experience whatsoever. That has been clear since he began to run for office - which was some two year and eight months ago. He ran against Bush, against the war, in favor of single-payer health care and he wanted to rescind the criminal excesses of his predecessor:
What actually happened however was a total refersal of EVERYTHING he said he stood for or wanted to acomplish - and this tiny piece of his tiny mind makes it very clear that he does not belong in the chair of the puppet in chief for the USA. The US military needs to form a very special unit composed of every politician that voted for these wars, both male and female. They need to be given uniforms & three days training, and then despite age or infirmities they all need to be flown to the battle-zones in the Middle-East and kicked out over Fallujah in Iraq or dropped into the disputed mountains in Afghanistan and Pakistan, This very senior 'division' or divisions - will not be furnished with any supplies, and will be given only as much ammo as they can personally carry. They will all be micro-chipped so that we can track what happens to them, but there will be no need for them to communicate with others, as they will not be coming back. This would have a tendency to put an end to wars - of course it would never happen.
What is astounding is the fact that; "this could never happen" is as much of a fact - as is the certainty that those 1.5 million damaged troops will have to take care of themselves, because we all KNOW that there will soon no longer be any money to pay for things like dismemberment or brain damage - or anything that does not directly feed the coffers of the global One World Order.
kirwan
US Dept. of Veterans Affairs: 73,846 US troops dead, 1,620,906 disabled
http://quebec.indymedia.org/en/node/28224?PHPSES
SID=42cf5d64711fa8ffa6d3baa065657e95
http://www.rense.com/general87/obbrm.htm
This Is From The Man Who Is Commander-In-Chief?
By Paul D. Williams
Master Sergeant USMC (Ret.)
8-10-09
Obama is Surprised [that] Vets do not want to pay their own Medical Expenses!
Here's his response when he backed-off his decision to let the military pay for their war injuries. What an empty headed person he is. Bad press, including major mockery of the plan by comedian Jon Stewart, led to President Obama abandoning his proposal to require veterans' private health insurance to cover the estimated $540 million annual cost to the federal government of treatment for injuries to military personnel received during their tours on active duty.
The President admitted that he was puzzled by the magnitude of the opposition to his proposal..
"Look, it's an all volunteer force," Obama complained. "Nobody made these guys go to war. They had to have known and accepted the risks. Now they whine about bearing the costs of their choice? It doesn't compute." "I thought these were people who were proud to sacrifice for their country," Obama continued. " (Just like the suicide bombers. sounds like his Muslim influences surfacing.) "I wasn't asking for blood, just money. With the country facing the worst financial crisis in its history, I'd have thought that the patriotic thing to do would be to try to help reduce the nation's deficit. I guess I underestimated the selfishness of some of my fellow Americans."
Typical of an individual who never served a day of his life on active duty. What more could one expect from a politician at the public trough?
Send this to everyone you know, particularly every veteran you know, to show them just what President Obama thinks of our military people who fight for our country and are hurt and/or disabled protecting OUR freedoms.
If you read nothing else in this message, read the portion I highlighted in red bold print. This is shocking! Why am I not surprised?
Semper Fi'
Paul D. Williams
Master Sergeant USMC (Ret.)
Glasgow, Kentucky 42141
Marine@glasgow-ky.com
The retired Master Sergeant's remarks above, become far more important, when the real numbers for the dead and damaged troops, in Iraq alone, are looked at - for the nineteen-plus-years that the Department of Veterans Affairs has been keeping them. Obama's suggestion would apply to roughly 1.5 million troops that Obama thinks ought to "just pick up- the check." Something on this scale would bankrupt most very wealthy families trying to treat just one family member - yet Obama seems to think this is on the same level as 'picking up the check for losing a game of golf' - he's just a boy with no life experience whatsoever. That has been clear since he began to run for office - which was some two year and eight months ago. He ran against Bush, against the war, in favor of single-payer health care and he wanted to rescind the criminal excesses of his predecessor:
What actually happened however was a total refersal of EVERYTHING he said he stood for or wanted to acomplish - and this tiny piece of his tiny mind makes it very clear that he does not belong in the chair of the puppet in chief for the USA. The US military needs to form a very special unit composed of every politician that voted for these wars, both male and female. They need to be given uniforms & three days training, and then despite age or infirmities they all need to be flown to the battle-zones in the Middle-East and kicked out over Fallujah in Iraq or dropped into the disputed mountains in Afghanistan and Pakistan, This very senior 'division' or divisions - will not be furnished with any supplies, and will be given only as much ammo as they can personally carry. They will all be micro-chipped so that we can track what happens to them, but there will be no need for them to communicate with others, as they will not be coming back. This would have a tendency to put an end to wars - of course it would never happen.
What is astounding is the fact that; "this could never happen" is as much of a fact - as is the certainty that those 1.5 million damaged troops will have to take care of themselves, because we all KNOW that there will soon no longer be any money to pay for things like dismemberment or brain damage - or anything that does not directly feed the coffers of the global One World Order.
kirwan
US Dept. of Veterans Affairs: 73,846 US troops dead, 1,620,906 disabled
http://quebec.indymedia.org/en/node/28224?PHPSES
SID=42cf5d64711fa8ffa6d3baa065657e95
http://www.rense.com/general87/obbrm.htm
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
The Story Tell It Self
They may say one thing, but the headlines tell another story.
CBS Ad Revenue Plunges 96% - How can they possibly stay on the air!?!
Blatant Monetization Uncovered: Federal Reserve bought back half of the seven-year issue this week.
Goldman employees told no big purchases. "...this is a sensitive time for us, and wants to make sure that we're not being seen living high on the hog."
Southern States Becoming Epicenter of Job Losses
The Greenback is Broken
Is Gold Gearing Up (Again) to Break $1,000?
Skip the Happy Talk, this Depression is Just Beginning
Wealth for the Sensible
Obama Administration Withholds Data on Clunkers Most buyers not picking Ford, Chrysler, GM
Bank Regulators Dig in Against Obama Shake Up
US Stocks Retreat on Worse-Than-Expected Jobs, Services Data
Georgian Bank Says Bad Loans Surged 10 Times in Six Months, Seeking Cash
Factory Orders Increase 0.4%, Ex-Transport Increases 2.3%
Senate Poised to Add $2 Billion to "Clunkers" Program.
Biggest Recession Blunders
CBS Ad Revenue Plunges 96% - How can they possibly stay on the air!?!
Blatant Monetization Uncovered: Federal Reserve bought back half of the seven-year issue this week.
Goldman employees told no big purchases. "...this is a sensitive time for us, and wants to make sure that we're not being seen living high on the hog."
Southern States Becoming Epicenter of Job Losses
The Greenback is Broken
Is Gold Gearing Up (Again) to Break $1,000?
Skip the Happy Talk, this Depression is Just Beginning
Wealth for the Sensible
Obama Administration Withholds Data on Clunkers Most buyers not picking Ford, Chrysler, GM
Bank Regulators Dig in Against Obama Shake Up
US Stocks Retreat on Worse-Than-Expected Jobs, Services Data
Georgian Bank Says Bad Loans Surged 10 Times in Six Months, Seeking Cash
Factory Orders Increase 0.4%, Ex-Transport Increases 2.3%
Senate Poised to Add $2 Billion to "Clunkers" Program.
Biggest Recession Blunders
Daily Intel
Sometimes I wonder how long it will take for everyone (in my circle) to get on board. Precedents are being established daily. This is new stuff. It's not part of our history, and that's why people don't recognize the severity of it. This is nothing like the depression of the 30's. Currently it's delayed, to which I say, "Great!". That buys me more time.
Unless you are actually getting emails like this, there's just no way you can know the depth of this situation. It's kind of like a cancer patient. Without x-rays and blood work, you don't know they have it. For all intents and purposes, most of the US looks just like it did yesterday.
If You Hated Gasoline at $4 a Gallon, Imagine it at $20 - BLOOMBERG - Get your KLR 650's now.
Cash for Clunkers Gets $2 Billion Refill
Job Losses Slow to 247,000; Jobless Rate Dips - It looks like we will have job losses monthly for years. Thankfully, its slowing down, but by November it will probably pick back up.
AIG Reports 2Q Profits, First Since 2007 - Good thing they got all that taxpayer money. Now they can show a "profit". What would they show without it?
Oil Rises Over $72 as Job Loss Slows
Fannie Mae Loses $15 Billion, Seeks $10.7 Billion in Aid After 2Q Loss The Mother of All Bailouts will not stop growing for at least a decade!
Mish Shedlock: Weekly Unemployment Claims Portend Disaster
Fed Laundering Money Through the Big Banks into the Stock Market - Think about this -- the average person looks at this headline and moves on. They have no idea what this really means.
Unless you are actually getting emails like this, there's just no way you can know the depth of this situation. It's kind of like a cancer patient. Without x-rays and blood work, you don't know they have it. For all intents and purposes, most of the US looks just like it did yesterday.
If You Hated Gasoline at $4 a Gallon, Imagine it at $20 - BLOOMBERG - Get your KLR 650's now.
Cash for Clunkers Gets $2 Billion Refill
Job Losses Slow to 247,000; Jobless Rate Dips - It looks like we will have job losses monthly for years. Thankfully, its slowing down, but by November it will probably pick back up.
AIG Reports 2Q Profits, First Since 2007 - Good thing they got all that taxpayer money. Now they can show a "profit". What would they show without it?
Oil Rises Over $72 as Job Loss Slows
Fannie Mae Loses $15 Billion, Seeks $10.7 Billion in Aid After 2Q Loss The Mother of All Bailouts will not stop growing for at least a decade!
Mish Shedlock: Weekly Unemployment Claims Portend Disaster
Fed Laundering Money Through the Big Banks into the Stock Market - Think about this -- the average person looks at this headline and moves on. They have no idea what this really means.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Stay Focused on the Facts
International forecaster August 2009
Recession Worse than Prior Estimates, Revisions Show
Do not be fooled, another major economic collapse could be coming soon
Card Companies Ready to Settle Up
Middle Class Suicide
The Collapse of Commercial Property: Towers of Debt
The Future Made Simple
Goodbye Bland Affluence
Job Levels Won't Rebound in California Until 2013
Unpaid Property Taxes Hit Localities
Disney Earnings Drop 26% on Weaker Theme Park, Media Results
Oil Slips Below $67 as Euro Stocks Falter
Gold to break $1,000 this August
Gold Will Hit $1,000 Again
Recession Worse than Prior Estimates, Revisions Show
Do not be fooled, another major economic collapse could be coming soon
Card Companies Ready to Settle Up
Middle Class Suicide
The Collapse of Commercial Property: Towers of Debt
The Future Made Simple
Goodbye Bland Affluence
Job Levels Won't Rebound in California Until 2013
Unpaid Property Taxes Hit Localities
Disney Earnings Drop 26% on Weaker Theme Park, Media Results
Oil Slips Below $67 as Euro Stocks Falter
Gold to break $1,000 this August
Gold Will Hit $1,000 Again
The Three Triggers of the Global Gold Bubble
The Three Triggers of the Global Gold Bubble
http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/07/28/gold-bubble/
http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/07/28/gold-bubble/
Waiting on a Trigger Event
After the fall?; The collapse in world trade has stopped, but there is no sign of a recovery
Weak Treasury Auctions Raise Worries About US Debt Burden
Adrian Douglas: CFTC Conceals the Real Problem, the Infinite Dollar
Weak US 5-Year Debt Auction Raises Worries
Bernanke on the Record (video)
The Hole in Our Universe (The Mogambo Guru)
Dead Banks Walking
Big Banks Cashing in on Rash of Smaller Bank Failures
Copper Peaking as Inventories Signal Market Top
Detroit Area Jobless Rate Tops 17%
The Human Footprint - In N. America, less populated areas tend to be safer areas.
DECLINE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE
Weak Treasury Auctions Raise Worries About US Debt Burden
Adrian Douglas: CFTC Conceals the Real Problem, the Infinite Dollar
Weak US 5-Year Debt Auction Raises Worries
Bernanke on the Record (video)
The Hole in Our Universe (The Mogambo Guru)
Dead Banks Walking
Big Banks Cashing in on Rash of Smaller Bank Failures
Copper Peaking as Inventories Signal Market Top
Detroit Area Jobless Rate Tops 17%
The Human Footprint - In N. America, less populated areas tend to be safer areas.
DECLINE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE
Your Money out of the Country
Move Your Money Out of the Country…and Soon.
The new ‘retirement’ plan: Just keep working
Facing Retirement: 70 is the new 65
The weak dollar and the economy
Five Firms Hold 80% of Derivatives Risk, Fitch Report FindsWall Street's Gains Equal Main Street's Losses? "In sum, while a growing number of investors seem to believe that Main Street is on the mend, many of corporate America's senior executives -- who are normally not prone towards pessimistic outlooks -- are maintaining that they see no real evidence of a revival where it counts -- on the ground. In fact, amid an almost single-minded focus on reported earnings results, many of which only appear favorable in comparison to the low-ball, company managed estimates that clueless analysts have come up with, Wall Street hasn't been paying much attention to just how dicey things look at the top of the income statement."
Dollar Dying, Gold Gleaming
UK Oil Giants' Profits Plunge $10 Billion
Guaranty Bank Warns it's on Verge of Failure
Small Business Loan Defaults Expected to Rise
School Budgets Dip, Class Sizes Grow
Weiss: The Great Global Gap
Atlas Vacant - The Commercial Real Estate Bust: Gearing up for a $3 Trillion Headache. Increase in Vacancy Rates and Higher Defaults
Negative Folly (The Mogambo Guru)
Treasuries Fall as US Begins Auction, New Home Sales Rise
Call for Rapid Recovery is Bubble All its Own
SIGN OF THE TIMES?: 3,000 Low Temp Records Set This July!
The new ‘retirement’ plan: Just keep working
Facing Retirement: 70 is the new 65
The weak dollar and the economy
Five Firms Hold 80% of Derivatives Risk, Fitch Report FindsWall Street's Gains Equal Main Street's Losses? "In sum, while a growing number of investors seem to believe that Main Street is on the mend, many of corporate America's senior executives -- who are normally not prone towards pessimistic outlooks -- are maintaining that they see no real evidence of a revival where it counts -- on the ground. In fact, amid an almost single-minded focus on reported earnings results, many of which only appear favorable in comparison to the low-ball, company managed estimates that clueless analysts have come up with, Wall Street hasn't been paying much attention to just how dicey things look at the top of the income statement."
Dollar Dying, Gold Gleaming
UK Oil Giants' Profits Plunge $10 Billion
Guaranty Bank Warns it's on Verge of Failure
Small Business Loan Defaults Expected to Rise
School Budgets Dip, Class Sizes Grow
Weiss: The Great Global Gap
Atlas Vacant - The Commercial Real Estate Bust: Gearing up for a $3 Trillion Headache. Increase in Vacancy Rates and Higher Defaults
Negative Folly (The Mogambo Guru)
Treasuries Fall as US Begins Auction, New Home Sales Rise
Call for Rapid Recovery is Bubble All its Own
SIGN OF THE TIMES?: 3,000 Low Temp Records Set This July!
The World and Dollar
World Prepares to Dump the Dollar
Brazil and Canada Begin Dumping US Treasury Bond Debt - Our good friends the Canadians don't think our economy is going to survive. So why do you?
Abandoned US Dollar and Paradigm Shift "The foreign creditors continue to protect their core US$-denominated reserves, while clearly undermining the US$ on the margin, as alternatives are chosen."
Graduates Move Back Home
Americans Now Pariahs of Foreign Banks
Out of House and Home
The Doctrine of Preemptive Bailouts and the Biggest Bailout you Haven’t Heard About: The U.S. Treasury Plan C and the $3.5 Trillion You Will be Paying
Global Exposure in Financial Derivatives Surpasses One Quadrillion Dollars
Economist Shiller Sees 'Bad Recession,' Stocks Could Drop Again. "Shiller says that this is a dreaded "liquidity trap."
Fannie & Freddie: The most expensive bailout
Bernanke Terrified Over Commercial Real Estate, Seeks Still More Power Over Consumers
Cash-strapped states raid 911 funds
Global Exposure in Derivatives in Excess of One Quadrillion Dollars
24 Trillion Reasons to Buy Gold
Strategist: China Politely Moves Away From Dollar
US Foreclosure Crisis Spreads to New States
Awash in Nonsense (The Mogambo Guru)
John Galt: Welcome to the Eye of the Storm "Welcome to the eye of the storm. And that storm, as displayed above, is Hurricane Wilma, the most intense storm in recorded history. That storm is getting ready to move again and the most powerful part of the eyewall is about to slam into our economic fantasy land at full force."
Massive Airline Cuts as Business Travel Plunges
New Fed Role: "Super Cop" to Police Banks
No Jobs, No Insurance; Hard Times for Young Adults
Bernanke Says Jobs, Consumers are Key - According to Peter Schiff and many others, the primary flaw in Bernanke's economic policy is thinking that "credit and spending" is the foundation of the economy, when in reality, the US was built on "production and savings".
Bernanke Fights Threat by US Congress to Audit Fed
Brazil and Canada Begin Dumping US Treasury Bond Debt - Our good friends the Canadians don't think our economy is going to survive. So why do you?
Abandoned US Dollar and Paradigm Shift "The foreign creditors continue to protect their core US$-denominated reserves, while clearly undermining the US$ on the margin, as alternatives are chosen."
Graduates Move Back Home
Americans Now Pariahs of Foreign Banks
Out of House and Home
The Doctrine of Preemptive Bailouts and the Biggest Bailout you Haven’t Heard About: The U.S. Treasury Plan C and the $3.5 Trillion You Will be Paying
Global Exposure in Financial Derivatives Surpasses One Quadrillion Dollars
Economist Shiller Sees 'Bad Recession,' Stocks Could Drop Again. "Shiller says that this is a dreaded "liquidity trap."
Fannie & Freddie: The most expensive bailout
Bernanke Terrified Over Commercial Real Estate, Seeks Still More Power Over Consumers
Cash-strapped states raid 911 funds
Global Exposure in Derivatives in Excess of One Quadrillion Dollars
24 Trillion Reasons to Buy Gold
Strategist: China Politely Moves Away From Dollar
US Foreclosure Crisis Spreads to New States
Awash in Nonsense (The Mogambo Guru)
John Galt: Welcome to the Eye of the Storm "Welcome to the eye of the storm. And that storm, as displayed above, is Hurricane Wilma, the most intense storm in recorded history. That storm is getting ready to move again and the most powerful part of the eyewall is about to slam into our economic fantasy land at full force."
Massive Airline Cuts as Business Travel Plunges
New Fed Role: "Super Cop" to Police Banks
No Jobs, No Insurance; Hard Times for Young Adults
Bernanke Says Jobs, Consumers are Key - According to Peter Schiff and many others, the primary flaw in Bernanke's economic policy is thinking that "credit and spending" is the foundation of the economy, when in reality, the US was built on "production and savings".
Bernanke Fights Threat by US Congress to Audit Fed
Finally Fessing Up
I can show you statement upon statement by Bernanke from the last year where he is saying that everything will be under control, there will be a Summer recovery, etc. NOW, he says that this "may be worse than the Great Depression"?
Just remember WHO got that news to you months ago!!! The article is below. ~CH
Jul 26, 2009, 10:21 p.m. EST
Bernanke: This may be worse than Great Depression
Fed chief says growth will resume at 1% in the second half of this year
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed the economy with average Americans on Sunday, saying the current financial crisis could be even more virulent than the Great Depression.
"A lot of things happened, a lot came together, [and] created probably the worst financial crisis, certainly since the Great Depression and possibly even including the Great Depression," Bernanke said at the start of a town-hall meeting in Kansas City.
Bernanke defended the Fed's extraordinary moves, which have included slashing interest rates to zero, pumping billions of dollars to keep credit markets open, and buying Treasurys and mortgage debt to keep long-term interest rates low.
"I was not going to be the Federal Reserve chairman who presided over the second Great Depression," he said.
The event is being televised over three nights, beginning Monday, by U.S. public television network PBS. Members of the public, screened by PBS, were able to ask questions.
Many questioners expressed unhappiness with the "too big to fail" doctrine. One asked when Bernanke would get around to firing the leadership of banks that had to accept government assistance.
Another participant said the only thing that was clear to him in the whole crisis was that his small business was "too small to save."
At first, Bernanke tried to argue that the Fed moved to save big banks to protect the global economy, but by the end, Bernanke simply agreed that "too-big-to-fail has got to go."
First-of-its-kind meeting
The dialogue marked the first time that a sitting Fed chairman has sat down to answer questions on the record from the public. For the first 80 years of its existence, Fed officials operated under the rule that the less said, the better.
But recent economic research has indicated that Fed interest-rate policy actually works better if the public understands its basic thrust. This has led the Fed, in fits and starts, to try to open up.
The results at the town hall meeting were choppy at times, although Bernanke seemed to get better as the event went along.
The first questioner admitted she didn't "have a clue" what the Fed did. It is doubtful that Bernanke's laundry list response -- the Fed is monetary policy maker, bank supervisor, crisis manager and consumer protector -- helped her very much.
Asked when "this [recession] is going to end," Bernanke said growth would return in the second half of 2009, likely at a 1% pace. The unemployment rate won't peak until next year, he said.
The Fed has put the "pedal to the metal" to try to get the economy growing at a faster pace.
Maybe because his earlier answers were on the scary side, Bernanke then tried to be a cheerleader, saying that the U.S. economy "couldn't be held down" and would eventually return to a strong growth pace.
Strong-dollar booster
One odd moment came when Bernanke said he was a supporter of the Obama administration's "strong dollar" policy.
Fed officials typically steer clear of commenting on currency issues.
"We think the dollar should be strong, and the best way we think to get a strong dollar is to have a strong economy," Bernanke said.
"Our whole strategy right now is to get the economy out of doldrums and back onto a growth path that will attract foreign funds and keep [the dollar] strong," Bernanke said.
When asked about Bernanke, top Fed officials often use the word "decent" to describe him. This trait seemed to shine through and by the end of the event, at which point Bernanke was evoking gentle laughter from the audience.
Asked about the stock market, Bernanke said he was worried about getting sued for malpractice.
Bernanke has some other "never done before by Fed chairman" events under his belt. Earlier this year, he spoke at the National Press Club and took questions from the audience. And he took an interview for the CBS news program "60 Minutes," which included a walk down Main Street in Dillon, South Carolina, his hometown.
Bernanke did try to connect with the audience. When one member of the audience said he had been laid off and then found work, Bernanke stopped and congratulated him.
Asked what keeps him up at night, Bernanke explained he would probably get a good sleep tonight, saying: "I'm pretty tired."
Just remember WHO got that news to you months ago!!! The article is below. ~CH
Jul 26, 2009, 10:21 p.m. EST
Bernanke: This may be worse than Great Depression
Fed chief says growth will resume at 1% in the second half of this year
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed the economy with average Americans on Sunday, saying the current financial crisis could be even more virulent than the Great Depression.
"A lot of things happened, a lot came together, [and] created probably the worst financial crisis, certainly since the Great Depression and possibly even including the Great Depression," Bernanke said at the start of a town-hall meeting in Kansas City.
Bernanke defended the Fed's extraordinary moves, which have included slashing interest rates to zero, pumping billions of dollars to keep credit markets open, and buying Treasurys and mortgage debt to keep long-term interest rates low.
"I was not going to be the Federal Reserve chairman who presided over the second Great Depression," he said.
The event is being televised over three nights, beginning Monday, by U.S. public television network PBS. Members of the public, screened by PBS, were able to ask questions.
Many questioners expressed unhappiness with the "too big to fail" doctrine. One asked when Bernanke would get around to firing the leadership of banks that had to accept government assistance.
Another participant said the only thing that was clear to him in the whole crisis was that his small business was "too small to save."
At first, Bernanke tried to argue that the Fed moved to save big banks to protect the global economy, but by the end, Bernanke simply agreed that "too-big-to-fail has got to go."
First-of-its-kind meeting
The dialogue marked the first time that a sitting Fed chairman has sat down to answer questions on the record from the public. For the first 80 years of its existence, Fed officials operated under the rule that the less said, the better.
But recent economic research has indicated that Fed interest-rate policy actually works better if the public understands its basic thrust. This has led the Fed, in fits and starts, to try to open up.
The results at the town hall meeting were choppy at times, although Bernanke seemed to get better as the event went along.
The first questioner admitted she didn't "have a clue" what the Fed did. It is doubtful that Bernanke's laundry list response -- the Fed is monetary policy maker, bank supervisor, crisis manager and consumer protector -- helped her very much.
Asked when "this [recession] is going to end," Bernanke said growth would return in the second half of 2009, likely at a 1% pace. The unemployment rate won't peak until next year, he said.
The Fed has put the "pedal to the metal" to try to get the economy growing at a faster pace.
Maybe because his earlier answers were on the scary side, Bernanke then tried to be a cheerleader, saying that the U.S. economy "couldn't be held down" and would eventually return to a strong growth pace.
Strong-dollar booster
One odd moment came when Bernanke said he was a supporter of the Obama administration's "strong dollar" policy.
Fed officials typically steer clear of commenting on currency issues.
"We think the dollar should be strong, and the best way we think to get a strong dollar is to have a strong economy," Bernanke said.
"Our whole strategy right now is to get the economy out of doldrums and back onto a growth path that will attract foreign funds and keep [the dollar] strong," Bernanke said.
When asked about Bernanke, top Fed officials often use the word "decent" to describe him. This trait seemed to shine through and by the end of the event, at which point Bernanke was evoking gentle laughter from the audience.
Asked about the stock market, Bernanke said he was worried about getting sued for malpractice.
Bernanke has some other "never done before by Fed chairman" events under his belt. Earlier this year, he spoke at the National Press Club and took questions from the audience. And he took an interview for the CBS news program "60 Minutes," which included a walk down Main Street in Dillon, South Carolina, his hometown.
Bernanke did try to connect with the audience. When one member of the audience said he had been laid off and then found work, Bernanke stopped and congratulated him.
Asked what keeps him up at night, Bernanke explained he would probably get a good sleep tonight, saying: "I'm pretty tired."
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