tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28215911770219827412024-03-05T01:59:14.820-05:00Elder Financial NewsRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-4097435003255240172011-03-11T09:47:00.000-05:002011-03-11T10:55:09.915-05:00U.S. Dollar Collapse Could Occur at Any TimeChina this morning reported 4.9% price inflation for the month of February, exceeding analyst expectations of 4.8%. With China now mimicking the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and taking steps to artificially manipulate their consumer price index (CPI) numbers as low as possible, it is likely that real price inflation in China is now closer to 10%. China was at least smart enough to raise interest rates last month by 25 basis points to 6.06%, while the Federal Reserve continues to leave interest rates near zero with there being absolutely no talk of the Federal Reserve ever raising interest rates again. China will be successful at containing inflation, as U.S. inflation spirals out of control and becomes the greatest economic crisis in American history.<br /> <br />China this week reported a $7.3 billion trade deficit for the month of February, its largest trade deficit in seven years, which surprised many global economists. NIA believes China's trade deficit is temporary and that China will quickly return to having a trade surplus. The Federal Reserve's QE2 along with China's destructive monetary policies, which artificially devalue the yuan, have led to a massive rise in China's raw material costs this year. NIA believes that in the upcoming months, Chinese manufacturers will raise the prices of their products that get exported to the U.S., to counteract rising commodity prices. With most products used by Americans today having been manufactured in China, this will mean Americans will soon see massive price inflation in just about all consumer goods they use. NIA projects that by the end of 2011, we will begin to see the U.S. CPI increase by 4.9% or higher on a year-over-year basis, with real U.S. price inflation rising north of 10%.<br /> <br />The mainstream media is proclaiming that China's trade deficit will silence calls for the Chinese to allow their currency to strengthen against the U.S. dollar. The fact is, China's government has for long been making the major mistake of printing too many yuan in order to artificially prop up the U.S. dollar. Their fear was, if the U.S. dollar was allowed to decline too rapidly, prices of Chinese goods would rise in terms of U.S. dollars and Americans would no longer afford to import them.<br /> <br />The truth is, if China allowed the yuan to strengthen, the Chinese would have enjoyed a much higher standard of living. Sure, prices would rise in dollars and Americans would import less, but the Chinese would have the ability to consume more of their own products. Now, as a result of China expanding its own money supply in order to keep the yuan pegged to the U.S. dollar, Americans will be forced to pay a much higher price for Chinese goods anyway. The same higher prices Americans were going to pay as a result of exchange rate appreciation, Americans will now pay as a result of inflation. For the Chinese, the exchange rate appreciation route would have been a much better route to take than the inflation route, because now the Chinese will also be forced to pay higher prices. In the very short-term, China might actually suffer more than the U.S. because they lack the social safety nets that have been implemented here in America.<br /> <br />The U.S. government has been successful at temporarily paying off Americans into not rioting in the streets like in Arab nations. It was just announced a few days ago that the number of Americans on food stamps in the month of December of 2010 was a record 44,082,324, up 13.1% from one year earlier and 1.1% from one month earlier. That is more than 14% of the total U.S. population! Combined with President Obama extending unemployment benefits up to 99 weeks, American citizens are too busy and distracted playing with their iPad 2s and gossiping on Twitter about Charlie Sheen, to have any time to protest in Washington, DC.<br /> <br />NIA believes the U.S. government's entitlement spending is currently having the unintended consequence of making Americans dependent on government. It is like when you take wild animals into captivity and you feed them, teach them to do tricks and take care of them for a period of many years; if you just dump them one day back into the wild, it will be very difficult for them to survive. Americans who have become dependent on unemployment checks and food stamps will likely soon abruptly find out that they must begin to fend for themselves without any help from the government. The result will be many Americans turning into wild animals and becoming so desperate that they will have to rob and burglarize their fellow neighbors who were smart enough to prepare, or else they will risk starving to death.<br /> <br />As a result of QE2, the Federal Reserve is now buying 70% of U.S. treasuries, up from previously only buying 10% of treasury bonds. Foreign central banks are now buying just 30% of U.S. treasuries, compared to previously buying 50% of treasury bonds. The U.S. budget deficit in the month of February reached a record $222.5 billion or $2.67 trillion on an annualized basis. With the Federal Reserve now monetizing our debt in full swing, a complete and total loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar could be imminent.<br /> <br />Just like how nobody in the mainstream media was calling for the collapse of Egypt's government a few months ago, almost nobody in the media believes a collapse of the U.S. dollar could possibly take place anytime soon. NIA members are educated enough to see that the writing is on the wall. The Federal Reserve can deny all it wants that the U.S. is experiencing inflation, but with the cost to print a single U.S. dollar paper note rising by 50% since 2008, massive inflation is here right under Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's nose. Every day that goes by, China is quietly implementing more and more steps that expand the yuan's use in cross border trade, in order to position the yuan as the world's next reserve currency.<br /> <br />So few Americans are presently preparing for hyperinflation that if hyperinflation broke out today, approximately 90% of Americans won't have the means to put food on the table or put fuel in their automobiles. During the upcoming hyperinflationary crisis, food stamps will no longer have any value at all and all U.S. entitlement programs will come to a complete halt. Americans will take to the streets like the world has never seen before.<br /> <br />The biggest question NIA has today is, will the U.S. government resort to firing at its own citizens, if major riots take place in Washington, DC. On Thursday, police in Saudi Arabia shot and wounded three protesters. The price of oil rose by a few dollars per barrel as soon as this news hit the wire, which shows just how nervous the world's financial markets have become in recent weeks. The fact that the Dow Jones has declined significantly in recent days, in our opinion means that the odds of QE3 being launched as soon as QE2 is over, are now much higher than they were several weeks ago.<br /> <br />The other big question NIA has today is, if in the unlikely event there is no QE3, who will fill in for the artificial buying demand currently coming from the Federal Reserve. After all, with no QE3, the Federal Reserve will go from buying 70% of treasury bonds to being a seller of U.S. treasuries. NIA is 100% sure that foreign central banks aren't itching to jump back in to fill the hole. While in the past, the private sector may have picked up the slack, we believe individual investors will now be more reluctant to jump into government bonds, especially with bond king Bill Gross reducing the government bond holdings in his Pimco Total Return Fund down to zero. The bottom line is, no QE3 means interest rates will fly sky high and destroy the phony so-called "economic recovery".<br /> <br />From April to August of 2010, the last time the Federal Reserve allowed its balance sheet to shrink, the Dow Jones fell by over 1,000 points. If Bernanke doesn't soon begin to leak out the strong likelihood of QE3, we could see the stock market decline by 1,000 points or more, which will force Bernanke into launching QE3. If we see a major sell off in stocks, NIA doesn't necessarily think that precious metals prices will follow. In fact, we could see gold and silver rise along with the Dow Jones falling. NIA projects the Dow Jones to gold ratio to decline to 6.5 in 2011. This means even if the Dow Jones fell to below 11,000, we still believe gold is likely to rise to around $1,600 to $1,700 per ounce this year, with silver soaring to around $42 to $44 per ounce. NIA believes the worst decision any American can make is to sell their gold and silver and go long U.S. dollars, hoping to buy their precious metals back at a lower price in the future.<br /> <br />It is important to spread the word about NIA to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, if you want America to survive hyperinflation. Please tell everybody you know to become members of NIA for free immediately at: http://inflation.usRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-4648003316483710192011-03-04T07:36:00.001-05:002011-03-04T07:58:57.605-05:00An economic collapse is coming and you had better get ready.When Barack Obama, the Federal Reserve and the mainstream media tell us that we are in the middle of an economic recovery, is that supposed to be some kind of sick joke? According to newly released numbers, <a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/29SNAPcurrPP.htm">over 44 million Americans</a> are now on food stamps. That is a new all-time record and that number is 13.1% higher than it was just one year ago. So how many Americans have to go on food stamps before we can all finally agree that the U.S. economy is dying? 50 million? 60 million? All of us? The food stamp program is the modern equivalent of the old bread lines. More than one out of every seven Americans now depends on the federal government for food. Oh, but haven't you heard? The economy is showing dramatic improvement. Corporate profits are up. The stock market is soaring. Happy days are here again. <p>It just seems inconceivable that anyone can claim that the economy is improving when the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set a brand new record every single month. But the food stamp program is not the only indicator that the economy is still having massive problems. The following are 10 more reasons why the U.S. economy is simply not getting any better....</p> <p><strong>#1</strong> Some recent statistics actually indicate that the number of unemployed Americans is still going up. According to Gallup, unemployment in the United States rose <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/146453/Gallup-Finds-Unemployment-Hitting-February.aspx" target="_blank">to 10.3%</a> at the end of February. That is the highest number Gallup has reported since early last year.</p> <p><strong>#2</strong> The housing industry is still a complete and total disaster. In fact, new home sales in the U.S. in January were <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/24/real_estate/january_new_home_sales/index.htm?iid=EL">11.2%</a> lower than they were in December. Not only that, the number of new home sales in January was <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/24/real_estate/january_new_home_sales/index.htm?iid=EL">18.6%</a> lower than the number of new home sales in January 2010. That is not a sign of improvement.</p> <p><strong>#3</strong> There wouldn't even be much of a housing industry at all at this point if it was not for the U.S. government. Right now the U.S. government is either writing or guaranteeing <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/03/97-of-all-us-mortgages-are-backed-by.html">well over 90 percent</a> of all mortgages in the United States. So what would the housing market look like in 2011 if the government was not in the picture?</p> <p><strong>#4</strong> In 2010, <a title="more than a million U.S. families" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/credability-consumer-distress-index-economic-recovery-failing-to-ease-financial-stress-on-average-us-households-116298504.html" target="_blank">more than a million U.S. families</a> lost their homes to foreclosure for the first time ever, and that number is expected to go even higher in 2011.</p> <p><strong>#5</strong> Due to rampant economic decay and record numbers of foreclosures there are areas in most of our major cities that now look like "war zones". For example, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/02/chicago-vacant-reo-property_n_829343.html">the Huffington Post is reporting</a> that there are now approximately 15,000 vacant buildings in the city of Chicago and there are approximately 60,000 vacant houses and apartments in the city of Las Vegas.</p> <p><strong>#6</strong> According to the Oil Price Information Service, U.S. drivers spent an average of $347 on gasoline during the month of February, which was 30 percent more than a year earlier. This represented <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/03/pf/high_gas_prices_hurt/index.htm">8.5%</a> of median monthly income. So what is going to happen when gas prices go even higher? Sadly, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. has risen <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/03/news/economy/gas_prices/">another 4 cents</a> since yesterday and it is likely to go much higher from here.</p> <p><strong>#7</strong> The U.S. trade deficit continues to grow. The trade deficit <a href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=267889">was about 33 percent larger</a> in 2010 than it was in 2009, and the 2011 trade deficit is expected to be even bigger.</p> <p><strong>#8</strong> The CredAbility Consumer Distress Index, which measures the average financial condition of U.S. households, <a title="declined in every single quarter" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/credability-consumer-distress-index-economic-recovery-failing-to-ease-financial-stress-on-average-us-households-116298504.html" target="_blank">declined in every single quarter</a> in 2010.</p> <p><strong>#9</strong> The number of Americans that have become so discouraged that they have given up searching for work completely now stands <a title="at an all-time high" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/03/unemployment-2011_n_803473.html" target="_blank">at an all-time high</a>.</p> <p><strong>#10</strong> The U.S. national debt is growing faster than ever. The Obama administration is projecting that the federal budget deficit for this fiscal year will be a new all-time record <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/tables.pdf">1.65 trillion dollars</a>. It is hard to even imagine how much money that is. If you went out today and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you over 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. Long ago the U.S. government should have been getting these deficits under control, but instead they are just getting even larger.</p> <p>So in light of the statistics above, can anyone really claim that we are in the middle of an economic recovery?</p> <p>The truth is that there is no sign that any of the long-term trends that are destroying the U.S. economy are even slowing down.</p> <p>Millions of jobs continue to be shipped overseas.</p> <p>The U.S. dollar continues to be devalued.</p> <p>The federal government continues to go into more debt.</p> <p>State and local governments continue to go into more debt.</p> <p>Our trade deficit continues to grow.</p> <p>Our cities continue to be transformed into wastelands as they are being systematically deindustrialized.</p> <p>The number of Americans that are dependent on the government continues to soar.</p> <p>The U.S. middle class continues to shrink.</p> <p>I know that I harp on these themes over and over, but it is vitally important that everyone understands that the mainstream media is lying to us.</p> <p>The U.S. economy is dying a very painful death and there is no hope on the horizon.</p> <p>Things are not going to be getting better. Well, they may get a bit better for the boys down on Wall Street, but for the rest of us our standards of living are going to continue to decline.</p> <p>The best days for the U.S. economy are already behind us. What lies ahead is a whole lot of pain.</p> <p>We are going to pay the price for decades of corruption and incompetence.</p> <p>An economic collapse is coming and you had better get ready.</p><h1><a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/mob-robbers-and-rampant-looting-is-this-the-future-of-america">Is This The Future Of America?</a></h1>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-75810141390545785022011-02-11T02:09:00.008-05:002011-02-11T04:25:50.297-05:00Protect Your Ass-ets, The March Toward Capital Controls is Quickening<span style=";font-family:verdana,geneva;font-size:85%;" >A little while back I told you how what <a href="http://www.estateofdenial.com/">EstateOfDenial.Com</a> calls <a href="http://www.estateofdenial.com/involuntary-redistribution-of-assets-ira/">IRA, Involuntary Redistribution of Assets</a>, and which I call confiscation is taking place, as they were a little less subtle with me when they mailed me the confiscation letter which reminded me of Castro's Cuba in 1960 when my families assets were confiscated the first time.<br /><br />For those of you not familiar with the 'Confiscation Letter' here is a link to it for your cultural enlightenment=>><a href="http://elder-abuse-cyberray.blogspot.com/2009/10/consfiscation-letter.html">Confiscation Letter</a><br /><br />For those of you who think that when your parents assets were confiscated was due to an anomaly and because of a few bad apples within the system, and that some new legislature in the works will solve your problem so that it will not happen to you, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your assets are being confiscated right now as we speak.<br /><br />Allow me to explain: last summer in June 2010 you could buy an ounce of silver for under $18 dollars today it would take $29.00 of your devalued dollars to buy that same ounce of silver, likewise it would take $8.63 to buy a bushel of wheat, roughly twice what it cost last summer, when I get letters like these from my highly regarded Capital Research Companies, it triggers alarms bells and I feel compelled to pass the warning on to those of you who will listen:<br /><br /></span>Dear Ray,<br /><br />I've said before that the US Dollar was in BIG trouble... but as of<br />tonight, it's on DEFCON 1 RED ALERT TROUBLE.As the below chart shows, the greenback needs to rally and rally hard if we're not going to head into a SERIOUS collapse shortly.<br /><br />What you're looking at is the US Dollar right on its multi-year trendline. If we take this out now, then we are heading into an inflationary death spiral in very short order.<br /><br />Indeed, once we take out this line, we're just a few ticks away from triggering the MASSIVE Head and Shoulders pattern the greenback has formed over the last 20 years.<br /><br />In case you're wondering, this pattern has an ultimate target of 40...<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">a full 50% lower than where the US Dollar is today. </span><br /><br />We're talking about hyper-inflation on an order that would make<br />Weimar Germany proud. And if we break the green line above, we're THAT much closer to this becoming a reality.<br /><br />As you can see, we're literally on the ledge of a cliff. Do not, I repeat DO NOT put off preparing for this now. I've long thought the US Dollar had one last rally in it, but looking at the charts<br />tonight I could very likely be wrong.<br /><br />Indeed, inflation is already exploding worldwide, which means paper<br />money in general is going to be worth less and less on its way to <span style="font-weight: bold;">worthless</span>.<br /><br />If you think the US is immune to this situation, you're in for a very RUDE<br />surprise in the coming months. Indeed, the Fed just announced it might even implement QE 3!!! And this came from one of its supposedly ANTI-QE members!?!?<br /><br />Let's be blunt... the end game is fast approaching if not already here.Smart folks are already preparing their families and portfolios for what's to come, which is why I've recently published four reports designed to help folks cover all the bases in terms of protecting their loved ones,<br />savings, and portfolios for what's coming.<br /><br />To find out more about Capital Research's work click here=>><a href="http://www.gainspainscapital.com/MARKETING/privatewealthadvisory.html">Capital Research</a><br /><br />Point being that even under normal circumstances "Inflation has now been institutionalized at a fairly constant 5 percent per year. This has been determined to be the optimum level for generating the most revenue without causing public alarm. A 5 percent devaluation applies, not only to the money earned this year, but to all that is left over from previous years. At the end of the first year, a dollar is worth 95 cents. At the end of the second year, the 95 cents is reduced again by 5 percent, leaving its worth at 90 cents, and so on. By the time a person has worked 20 years, the government will have confiscated 64 percent of every dollar he saved over those years. By the time he has worked 45 years, the hidden tax will be 90 percent. The government will take virtually everything a person saves over a lifetime."<br /><br />Let me put it to you another way, Janet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Phelan's</span> mother had meant for the fruits of her sweat,blood and tears, a lifetime of savings, to be passed on to Janet as her lawful legacy before it was confiscated! Likewise Dr.A.J and Clara Fernandez also had a legacy to pass on to their heirs before it was confiscated, only myself having lived through prior confiscations (Communist Cuba 1959)I was able to wise up a lot quicker than a lot of you will and left the country before the totality of the Estate could be confiscated, others like Bonnie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Reiter</span> and too many to mention all here weren't so lucky.<br /><br />However I have no doubt had I NOT stayed one step ahead of the guardians and dissolved my mother's trust and transferred the 'Trust' overseas where is now earning 40% annual interest , in order to be sure that my mother Clara now 94 is well taken care of! that there would be nothing left as the guardians was openly gunning for the 'Trust' after he exhausted all others liquid assets and allowed others like Real Estate to be lost by being auctioned off on their courthouse steps by the "Guardian" of my mother's assets, yeah what a joke, right! to be sold off by their failure to maintain and pay Real Estate Taxes on a timely basis... Real Estate Auction happens after three years of nonpayment of real estate taxes, my mother Guardianship battle lasted 5 years.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ok</span>, my point is this, had Janet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Phelan's</span> mother moved her assets overseas on a timely basis, (Before, she became incapacitated) do you have any doubt that Janet would be in complete control of her legacy, as it should be, out of reach from the greedy Guardianship Cartel that knows no bounds and knows of no decency and is inhumane to human suffering?Even going to the point of prematurely ending the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">elder's</span> life after the money is gone? As documented here,here and here :<ul class="mostread"><li class="mostread"> <a href="http://janetphelan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51:probate-murders-2&catid=1:probate-murders&Itemid=50" class="mostread"> The Probate Murders: Part Two</a> </li><li class="mostread"> <a href="http://janetphelan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52:probate-murders-3&catid=1:probate-murders&Itemid=50" class="mostread"> The Probate Murders: Part Three</a> </li><li class="mostread"> <a href="http://janetphelan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54:another-probate-murder&catid=3:melodie-scott&Itemid=41" class="mostread"> Another Probate Murder?</a></li></ul><br />For those who have already experienced asset confiscation , either subtly or not so subtly , those like Tom Fields whose legacy was subverted and opportunists struck while his father lay in bed on a morphine drip , See his Facebook Page=>><a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=157401274309275&comments&ref=mf">here </a><br /><br />To those who have eyes to see and those who have ears to listen here is a letter from Simon Black that you will all do well to heed, if you wish to say NO Thanks and leave the lemmings pack before they jump off the cliff..........<br /><span style=";font-family:verdana,geneva;font-size:85%;" ><br />-------------------------<br /><br />Date: February 10, 2011<br />Reporting From: Santiago, Chile</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">In the late 1920s, the economy of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Weimar</span> Republic was beset by numerous fiscal troubles. The global depression spread quickly to Germany, undermining the government's ability to make its reparation payments from the Great War.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Fearing a return to hyperinflation, many Germans who had spent the last decade building up a small fortune during the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Weimar</span> Republic's own 'Roaring 20s' decided to pack up and leave; they remembered the days when banknotes were used as wallpaper and had no desire to repeat the experience.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">In 1931, Chancellor Heinrich <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Bruning</span> imposed a 'flight tax', which levied a 25% tax on the value of all property and capital for Germans leaving the country. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Total revenue collected from this tax amounted to roughly 1 million <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Reichsmarks</span> (RM) in its earliest days ($56 million today). By the late 1930s under Hitler's rule, flight tax revenue soared to RM 342 million ($21.5 billion today) as more people headed toward the exits.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">This flight tax constitutes one of the earliest modern examples of capital controls. They've evolved substantially since the days of Hitler, but the end goal is the same-- governments controlling the flow of capital across borders.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Governments impose these for a variety of reasons-- rapidly developing nations may want to restrict the flow of capital into their country, preventing 'hot money' from pumping up prices and affecting local markets. We see this today in places like Brazil and Thailand.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">In other instances, bankrupt governments seek to trap capital within their borders, maximizing the amount available for subsequent taxation or other forms of confiscation. This tactic is usually employed when lost confidence has impaired the government's capability to borrow. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">We're seeing strong indications of both examples today, though the latter is the most alarming. As I scan the headlines and hear from colleagues in the US and Europe, it's clear to me that the march towards stricter capital controls is quickening its pace.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">The British government, for example, just announced an increase to its bank levy that taxes UK-domiciled banks on their worldwide balance sheets. In response, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">HSBC</span> has indicated that it may move its headquarters elsewhere.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">I suspect the British government will enact legislation to discourage or prevent this from happening, likely with a modern day corporate flight tax (albeit with a more patriotic sounding name). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Capital controls can take a variety of other forms-- including taxation on outward remittances, restrictions on the movement of financial instruments, bureaucratic approval processes for foreign transactions, reporting requirements for foreign assets, and government control over banks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">This last is important-- when politicians and bankers are in bed with each other, banks can be compelled to loan a portion of their deposits to the treasury at unrealistic terms, sticking bank customers with sub-optimal yields below the rate of inflation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">In the US, I think retirement accounts will be the first to go. They're the easiest to grab because most people hold their retirement accounts domestically with a large financial institution that will happily sell every customer down the river when the government comes calling.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">The way they'll do this is simple-- the next time there's a market meltdown (bear in mind that insiders are selling like crazy right now...), the government will step in with new legislation that requires these institutions to invest a portion of their accounts in the 'safety' of government securities.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Insider <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">politiconomists</span> like Teresa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Ghilarducci</span> have already strongly advocated for government managed retirement accounts in the US, and we've seen numerous examples of other bankrupt nations from Argentina to Hungary moving to seize their citizens' pensions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">The next step would be against retail bank accounts, specifically setting up provisions that discourage moving money overseas... and eventually restrict it altogether. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">This would happen through new approval processes at the banking level, additional reporting requirements for foreign accounts, and disincentives for foreign banks to accept US customers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Curiously, all of these have started to happen. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">For example, while there are still a multitude of banks around the world who happily accept US customers, Americans are unwelcome at most foreign financial institutions thanks to continuous threats and pressure from the IRS. As one banker in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Hong</span> Kong told me recently, 'they are very <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">scaaaaary</span>'...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Also, the new HIRE Act legislation imposes additional reporting requirements and restrictions for foreign accounts that gradually phase in over the next two years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">This certainly jives with the timeline of the US government's ticking debt bomb; at a minimum, the market will require higher yields, and politicians will need cheap sources of capital to continue financing their waste.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">I've said before-- it's imperative that everyone establish a foreign bank account, even with a small deposit. There are several banks like Caye Bank in Belize where you can open an account through the mail with just a nominal deposit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">This way, if you ever need to move the bulk of your funds in a hurry, you'll at least have the established infrastructure to do it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">For US taxpayers, I think the more immediate threat is to your retirement account. If you have an IRA, you can set up an Open Opportunity structure, take back control over your own savings, and be free to move your funds overseas.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">(I think this is a no-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">brainer</span>; you can read more about how to protect yourself with an Open Opportunity structure from my friend <a href="http://www.passportira.com/unleash.html" target="_blank">Terry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Coxon's</span> book Unleash your IRA</a>, which he's now offering at a steep discount for Sovereign Man readers.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">Government playbooks are limited-- when confidence falters, new taxes fail to produce substantial revenue, and inflation causes a loss of popular support, capital controls are the answer. Problem is, we live in a world where legislation passed late at night can take immediate effect while we all sleep. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:small;">I know it's easy to kick the can down the road, but as the political and economic support for capital controls is spreading around the globe, I would urge you to take action immediately.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:verdana,geneva;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><br />Until tomorrow,<br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="width: 152px; height: 48px;" alt="Simon Black" src="http://www.sovereignman.com/images/sig.jpg" /><br /><br />Simon Black<br />Senior Editor, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">SovereignMan</span>.com </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Did you receive this email from a friend? <a style="font-family: Verdana;" href="http://www.sovereignman.com/">Sign Up</a> to receive Notes From The Field. </span></span></span><br /><br /><br /></span></span>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-4185227775262361262011-02-11T01:59:00.000-05:002011-02-11T02:00:27.485-05:00How Your Assets Are Being Confiscated/Devalued"Inflation has now been institutionalized at a fairly constant 5 percent per year. This has been determined to be the optimum level for generating the most revenue without causing public alarm. A 5 percent devaluation applies, not only to the money earned this year, but to all that is left over from previous years. At the end of the first year, a dollar is worth 95 cents. At the end of the second year, the 95 cents is reduced again by 5 percent, leaving its worth at 90 cents, and so on. By the time a person has worked 20 years, the government will have confiscated 64 percent of every dollar he saved over those years. By the time he has worked 45 years, the hidden tax will be 90 percent. The government will take virtually everything a person saves over a lifetime."<br /><br />And this is not factoring in the probate courts or guardianship program.......in case there is anything left over.....Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-64598910425966613402011-02-04T07:45:00.000-05:002011-02-04T07:46:42.152-05:00Egypt: Preview of America in 2015The rioting and looting currently taking place in Egypt is primarily a result of massive food inflation and shows what all major cities in the United States will likely look like come year 2015 due to the Federal Reserve's zero percent interest rates and quantitative easing to infinity. On December 16th, 2009, NIA named Time Magazine's 2009 'Person of the Year' Ben Bernanke our 'Villain of the Year', saying he created "unprecedented amounts of inflation in unprecedented ways" and "When it costs $20 for a gallon of milk in a few years, Americans will have nobody to thank more than Bernanke."<br /> <br />What started out a few weeks ago as protests in Algeria with citizens chanting "Bring Us Sugar!" and five citizens being killed, quickly spread to civil unrest in Tunisia which saw 14 more civilian deaths, and has now spread to riots in Egypt where 300 Egyptian citizens have been killed. Food inflation in Egypt has reached 20% and citizens in the nation already spend about 40% of their monthly expenditures on food. Americans for decades have been blessed with cheap food, spending only 13% of their expenditures on food, but this is about to change.<br /> <br />NIA was the first to predict the recent explosion in agricultural commodity prices in our October 30th, 2009, article entitled, "U.S. Inflation to Appear Next in Food and Agriculture", which said we have a "perfect storm for an explosion in agriculture prices". A couple of months later in 'NIA's Top 10 Predictions for 2010' we predicted "Major Food Shortages" and said, "Inventories of agricultural products are the lowest they have been in decades yet the prices of many agricultural commodities are down 70% to 80% from their all time highs adjusted for real inflation". Over the past year, agricultural commodities as a whole have outperformed almost every other type of asset, with silver being one of only a few other assets keeping pace with agriculture. (On December 11th, 2009, NIA declared silver the best investment for the next decade at $17.40 per ounce and it has so far risen 64% to its current price of $28.39 per ounce).<br /> <br />The world is at the beginning stages of an all out inflationary panic. Wheat, which NIA previously called on 'NIAnswers' its favorite investment besides gold and silver, is now up to a new 30-month high of $8.63 per bushel and has doubled in price since June of last year. Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat this past week, bringing their total purchases for the month of January up to 1.8 million tonnes, which was quadruple expectations. Saudi Arabia is also beginning to stockpile their inventories of wheat. Rice futures have gained 8% during the past few days with Bangladesh and Indonesia placing extraordinary large orders. Indonesia's latest rice order was quadruple its normal allotment and Bangladesh plans to double rice purchases this year. Meanwhile, the U.S., which is the world's third largest exporter of rice, is expected to cut production by 25% in 2011.<br /> <br />NIA considers rice to be one of the world's most undervalued agricultural commodities at its current price of $15.96 per 100 pounds and forecasts a move back to its 2008 high of $24 per 100 pounds as soon as the end of 2011. NIA believes cotton, at its current price of $1.80 per pound, may have gotten a bit ahead of itself in the short-term. In NIA's first ever article about agriculture on February 17th, 2009, we said that cotton's "upside potential is astronomical" at its then price of $0.44 per pound. NIA pointed to increasing sales to textile companies in China and the fact that cotton was down 70% from its all time high as reasons to be very bullish on cotton at $0.44 per pound. Early NIA members could have made 309% on cotton, but today we see much bigger potential in rice. The recent spike in cotton reminds us of the 2008 spike in oil. Although we believe cotton will ultimately rise above $3 per pound later this decade, we could possibly see a dip to below $1.40 per pound first.<br /> <br />Many people in the mainstream media have been criticizing NIA's recent food inflation report, claiming that agricultural commodity prices have very little to do with prices of food in the supermarket. CNBC's Steve Liesman, in particular, claims that "rising commodity prices won't cause inflation". Liesman has it backwards. NIA has never claimed that rising commodity prices cause inflation. Soaring budget deficits that the U.S. government can't possibly pay for through taxation causes inflation when the Fed is forced to monetize the debt by printing money.<br /> <br />Rising commodity prices are only a symptom of inflation. The reason NIA was so bullish on agricultural commodities going back two years ago when we produced our first documentary 'Hyperinflation Nation', is because while gold is the best gauge of inflation and is often the best tool for predicting future money printing, agriculture is where the majority of the monetary inflation ends up going after the Fed's newly printed money trickles down to the middle-class and poor. With gold prices already surging two years ago when we produced 'Hyperinflation Nation', NIA said in the documentary "food prices have the potential to surge most during hyperinflation".<br /> <br />One thing NIA is almost 100% sure of is that come year 2015, middle-class Americans will be spending at least 30% to 40% of their income on food, similar to Egyptians today. As NIA warned in its latest documentary 'End of Liberty', if you don't have enough money to accumulate physical gold and silver, it is important to begin establishing your own food storage, and store enough food to feed you and your family for at least six months during hyperinflation. Many store shelves in Egypt are now empty after recent panic buying, with shortages of nearly all major staple items throughout the country.<br /> <br />The U.S. Treasury is getting ready to sell $72 billion in new long-term bonds next week, as the U.S. rapidly approaches its $14.29 trillion debt limit. The debt limit is now expected to be reached by April 5th and Treasury Secretary Geithner warned the U.S. will see "catastrophic damage" if it isn't raised. With the Federal Reserve now surpassing China and Japan as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, the real "catastrophic damage" ahead will be hyperinflation as a result of the U.S. government doing absolutely nothing to dramatically reduce spending. It is an absolute joke that Obama during his State of the Union address announced $400 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, but then the very next day, the Congressional Budget Office increased its 2011 budget deficit projection by $400 billion to $1.48 trillion.<br /> <br />Not raising the debt limit would be a good thing, as it would force Washington to live within its means. Sure, the stock market would collapse and the U.S. economy would enter into its next Great Depression, but at least it would save the U.S. dollar from losing all of its purchasing power. In fact, the standard of living for middle class Americans might actually improve if the government allowed the free market to put our economy into a depression, because goods and services would get cheaper.<br /> <br />The U.S. economy has become a drug addict that is dependent on cheap and easy money from the Federal Reserve. While Wall Street bankers took home a record $135 billion in total compensation in 2010, up 5.7% from $128 billion in 2009, this money was stolen from middle-class and poor Americans through inflation. The more monetary inflation (heroin) the Federal Reserve creates in order to satisfy the (in the words of Gerald Celente) "money junkies" on Wall Street, the more middle-class and poor Americans become dependent on unemployment checks and food stamps just to survive. Millions of American students are graduating college with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt but no jobs. Luckily for them (but not holders of U.S. dollars), NIA is hearing reports from both unemployed and underemployed college graduates with student loans that the government is reducing their required monthly payments by sometimes 90% or more based on their current incomes.<br /> <br />China and Japan recently saw their credit ratings downgraded, while the U.S. credit rating remains at "AAA". NIA believes it would make far more sense for the world's largest debtor nation to be downgraded instead of the world's two largest creditor nations. The Federal Reserve's second round of quantitative easing has yet to even reach the halfway point and the Fed already holds about $1.11 trillion in U.S. treasuries. By the time QE2 is over at the end of June, the Fed will own $1.6 trillion in U.S. treasuries, about what China and Japan own combined. Shockingly, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig is already dropping hints about QE3. According to Hoenig, the Fed may consider extending treasury purchases beyond June 30th, 2010, (the scheduled completion date for QE2) if U.S. economic data looks disappointing.<br /> <br />With the Fed taking over as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, China is beginning to rapidly move away from the U.S. dollar and into gold. In just the first 10 months of 2010, China imported 209 metric tons of gold compared to 45 metric tons in all of 2009, a stunning five-fold increase. While the western world is downplaying the threat of inflation as much as possible, Asian countries understand that hyperinflation is the most devastating thing that can possibly happen to any economy. The demand for gold in Asia right now is the most intense it has ever been, as they look to tackle rising inflation before it becomes hyperinflation.<br /> <br />The Chinese are so smart that families are now giving each other gold bullion as gifts instead of traditional red envelopes filled with cash. China is now on track to soon surpass India as the world's largest consumer of gold. The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently gave Beijing-based Lion Fund Management Co. approval to create a fund that will invest into foreign gold ETFs.<br /> <br />U.S. stock mutual funds saw $6.7 billion in net inflows during the past two weeks, the most in any two week period since May of 2009. The rioting, looting, and civil unrest in Egypt is now making the U.S. look like the safe haven of the world, even though it should be considered the riskiest place to invest. From the Dow's low in August until now, about $38 billion was actually removed from U.S. stock mutual funds, despite the stock market rising 20%. The Dow Jones has been rising from September until now solely due to the Federal Reserve printing around $350 billion out of thin air. When central banks print money, stock markets often act as a relief valve due to there being too much inflation going into the hands of financial institutions.<br /> <br />The U.S. M2 money supply surged by $46.6 billion during the week ending January 17th to a record $8.8623 trillion, following a rise during the previous week of $7.6 billion. The rise in the M2 money supply over the past two weeks of $54.2 billion equals an annualized increase of 16%. The M2 multiplier now stands at 4.218 compared to a long-term average of 10. When QE2 is complete, the Fed's monetary base will likely stand at $2.59 trillion. A return to the long-term average M2 multiplier of 10 means we are due to see a 192% increase in the M2 money supply and that is not even including a possible QE3 and QE4.<br /> <br />The U.S. economic ponzi scheme could unravel very quickly in the years ahead, with the velocity of money increasing much faster than anybody expects. As more Americans learn about NIA and become educated to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation, a complete loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar could occur very suddenly. It is important for all Americans to prepare as if hyperinflation will be here tomorrow. At least in Egypt, their currency still has purchasing power and their citizens are trying to implement a regime change before it is too late. By 2015 in America, it will already be too late and the civil unrest here has the potential to be many times worse.<br /> <br />It is important to spread the word about NIA to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, if you want America to survive hyperinflation. Please tell everybody you know to become members of NIA for free immediately at: http://inflation.usRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-91909175916396850992011-01-19T08:10:00.002-05:002011-01-19T10:41:58.632-05:00Austerity In America: 22 Signs That It Is Already Here And That It Is Going To Be Very Painful<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/030610top2-300x186.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 186px;" src="http://www.pakalertpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/030610top2-300x186.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span>Posted:</span> 18 Jan 2011 04:50 AM PST <div style="line-height: 140%; margin: 0px; font-family: Georgia,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px;">Over the past couple of years, most Americans have shown little concern as austerity measures were imposed on financially troubled nations across Europe. Even as austerity riots erupted in nations such as Greece and Spain, most Americans were still convinced that nothing like that could ever happen here. Well, guess what? Austerity has arrived in America. At this point, it is not a formal, mandated austerity like we have seen in Europe, but the results are just the same. Taxes are going up, services are being slashed dramatically, thousands of state and city employees are being laid off, and politicians seem to be endlessly talking about ways to make even deeper budget cuts. Unfortunately, even with the incredibly severe budget cuts that we have seen already, many state and local governments across the United States are still facing a sea of red ink as far as the eye can see.<br /><br />Must read=>><a href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/2011/01/18/austerity-in-america-22-signs-that-it-is-already-here-and-that-it-is-going-to-be-very-painful/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pakalert+%28Pak+Alert+Press%29">Source</a><br /></div>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-80272919751391731942010-06-15T17:09:00.007-04:002010-06-15T17:30:57.795-04:00Take Control of Your Financial Future<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="mailto:%20georgearies77@hotmail.com">by George Daniel<br /></a><style><!-- .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } --></style><br />Note what the author of the article below, says about the USD and VIX; Although VIX is showing a possible bottom, it is an Hourly Chart, so a bottom would not necessarily project into a test of the April Hi. Instead, I am seeing a correction, possibly even to the 50% level, before heading down again. Price Action on the Daily Chart is at a Lower Channel Line and Horizontal Support Line, which should translate into at least a bounce up. From there, we will have to monitor for a Balance Point to get an exact Target and Reversal Low.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/vermeulen060610.html">http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/vermeulen060610.html</a><br /><br />The following Article is confirming what I have been SCREAMING at my Friends to heed, for the past couple of years --<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/baltin060710.html">http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/baltin060710.html</a><br /><br />As he notes, "<span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,128,0)"><b>All battles are won BEFORE they are even fought.</b></span></span>" Buying Gold is the ULTIMATE safe hedge, but he does not extrapolate the coming <b>Mother of All Bubbles</b> in Equities. That is a train that we all <b>must</b> get on, in order to maximize returns --<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thegreatbustahead.com/">http://www.thegreatbustahead.com/</a><br /><br />So we will watch with keen interest, for signs of the Market Bottom, which I expect to come in no later than this autumn, but possibly even as early as beginning of August.<br /><br />There is a Target in the S&P Futures at 960, which is about 9,600 in the Dow. I give it 60% odds to manifest. Meanwhile, we can expect a decent Retracement back up to about the 50% level from the Top in April. So a hedge against higher prices, would be to BUY Equities or Call Options at this time, up to 1/3 of our Allocated Capital. THEN be sure to put a Trailing Stop at 50% of profits. We shall see. Charts attached.<br /><br />Good Trading,<br />George<br /><style><!-- .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } --></style><a href="mailto:georgearies77@hotmail.com">georgearies77@hotmail.com</a><br /><br /><div align="center"><em>Click to enlarge:</em><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJ6LSAFMgKqDT0dybqy2wXkvHsdUznCsk347wAFjmQVAARbb4QshuudOter18bZmFAZEC7HNZ0bII2Yp6VIP1c0vF7gQVi_-ZiIMHtdp5Dh6SBoAHj_7ZdO6JjbFQof-114R2OtkZSt3b/s1600/ES-D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483111808732347122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 509px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 380px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJ6LSAFMgKqDT0dybqy2wXkvHsdUznCsk347wAFjmQVAARbb4QshuudOter18bZmFAZEC7HNZ0bII2Yp6VIP1c0vF7gQVi_-ZiIMHtdp5Dh6SBoAHj_7ZdO6JjbFQof-114R2OtkZSt3b/s400/ES-D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRpvVkBzs5u58gbgVsRcuFdJlhtE9pE9lKFhk3hkWRUEW-C9nfDwdIu-CxvKjho7mF4jLcA__46UxltJhNZzqAnQx6gYpxjTjlYwfImPlbn-Mv8CV1c6SQ0Ub8v89xbDKsN5FZDprKSw_/s1600/ES-M.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483112104160488402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 490px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 367px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRpvVkBzs5u58gbgVsRcuFdJlhtE9pE9lKFhk3hkWRUEW-C9nfDwdIu-CxvKjho7mF4jLcA__46UxltJhNZzqAnQx6gYpxjTjlYwfImPlbn-Mv8CV1c6SQ0Ub8v89xbDKsN5FZDprKSw_/s400/ES-M.jpg" border="0" /></a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-71223032602634776182010-02-03T15:39:00.000-05:002010-02-03T15:40:05.472-05:00PREDICTING DATE OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE<div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#008000;"><b><a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/elliott020210.html">PREDICTING DATE OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE</a> (TSHTF)</b></span></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img src="http://www.gold-eagle.com/images/clear.gif" border="0" width="1" height="12" /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><b>Ray Elliott</b></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img src="http://www.gold-eagle.com/images/clear.gif" border="0" width="1" height="12" /></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;">The event that many would like advance warning on is economic collapse. It is an event that most informed economists say is inevitable due to U.S. deficits that are too large to be paid back. Yet, those of us that must work and pay our bills cannot stop what we are doing and dig a hole to hide in every time a new event happens that appears to be the beginning of the Economic Collapse.</span> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">We must first make assumptions on what Economic Collapse is. History tells us. All paper money falls into one of two catagories, those that have failed and those that are going to fail. They failed in the past (including United States currency) in a spiral of constantly losing value. The federal government continually increases the obligations that it must pay for. Buyers of federal debt slowly back away from buying long term debt and later will not purchase even short term debt. The government begins buying its own debt by issuing new paper money. As more paper money is issued it loses more and more of its value. When the public becomes aware that the issuance of paper money is out of control, and that holding it weeks or days will result in a loss of value, they attempt to convert the paper money that they have into assets that retains some value. To do this, they have to remove any cash they have from banks and other institutions and convert it to something else. What ensues is a run on the banks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">When will this happen? We have some clues because of the process that will take place prior to the event. To understand this process, we must look at a recent event that changed the politics of the United States. Scott Brown, a Republican was elected to the Massachusetts senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy. Just thirty days prior to this, he was thirty points behind in the polls. The mainstream media (MSM) have more influence on the general public than any other source. Generally the MSM support the liberal and socialistic candidates and ideas. So why was Senator Brown elected thirty days after he was 30 points behind?</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p><span style="font-family:arial;">The last thirty days created a change in the MSM reporting. Brown ran against Obama's unpopular policies. MSM broadcast and print articles began appearing that supported Brown. Incidents showing his opponent (Coakley) in an unfavorable light began appearing. The MSM and the liberal majority changed their minds in the last few weeks and Brown was elected. Loss of confidence in the paper dollar will occur in a similar fashion. However; it can occur at a much faster pace such as days and weeks instead of months.</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p><span style="font-family:arial;">The MSM generally is in favor of big government spending and supports the socialistic policies of the Obama administration. The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money (Margaret Thatcher). At the point that MSM begins to see the hazards of the uncontrolled printing of money, the beginning of the end is near. Then the MSM will begin to report the REAL MONEY CRISIS. For those that ask, "When will the SHTF?" That is when.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">The events that follow this are events that you will not want to be a part of. Long lines will appear at banks for those trying to get their money out while it still has some value. Paper money will be issued in greater and greater denominations. Food and other necessities of life will skyrocket in price. Soon a bank holiday will be declared while the government attempts to control the panic. Rules will be enforced that restrict how much money may be withdrawn at a time. Attempts will be made to "freeze" food prices. Payment for all good and services will be turned upside down. Everything will rapidly increase in price. Soon, the paper money you have will not buy the things that you need. At some point, $1,000 will not buy a pair of shoes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">The events that follow this are also predictable because they have happened before. Gold and silver become extremely valuable. Pre 1965 silver coins (they still have some silver in them) will become a known standard of value that is accepted by those that still have something to sell. The barter system for goods and services will return. People that want to eat will grow gardens. Most people who have had life savings in 401Ks will be poor again. The winners are the ones that have planned in advance and the ones that still have outstanding loans or mortgages. The mortgages will no longer have any value. Homeowners will be able to send a million dollar note to a mortgage holder and tell them to keep the change. The change will not buy a loaf of bread. Large cities will become dangerous places to be.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">Those that plan ahead can avoid the most severe aspects of this scenario. It is up to each individual to plan ahead early enough to survive. A following article will outline some suggested courses of actions that any individual can implement.</span></p> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /> </span><p><span style="font-family:arial;">February 2, 2010</span></p>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-87548350258823687862010-01-25T09:23:00.000-05:002010-01-25T09:25:07.598-05:00Gimme The Gold, Here And Now!Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-89895457834717340772010-01-24T02:42:00.000-05:002010-01-24T02:44:34.855-05:00America's Impending Master Class DictatorshipAmerica's Impending Master Class Dictatorship<br /><br />By Stewart Dougherty<br />Jan 22 2010 2:24PM<br /><br />www.kitco.com<br /><br /><br /><br />FOREWORD: At certain times, focusing on the big picture is important not just for investment success, but for personal welfare, and even survival. We believe such times are here. It is estimated that 98% of Americans have never held a gold coin in their hands. Yet 100% of Americans regularly handle Federal Reserve Notes. From a contrarian standpoint, the financial message from those two statistics is clear. Even so, gold is much more than money or an investment medium; it stands for liberty and throughout history has facilitated escape and ensured freedom. Never having touched a gold coin is the monetary equivalent to never having breathed fresh air, felt the warmth of sunshine, looked up at the stars or risen from the gutter. Fiat Federal Reserve Notes are becoming nothing more than sewage decomposing in the vast, toxic septic tank of predatory Washington politics, epic Federal Reserve arrogance and error, blatant Wall Street fraud and outright Master Class plunder. Below, we outline America’s troubling and compounding predicament, and urge you to think about how to protect yourself from its consequences, both financially and personally.<br /><br />Thanks to the endless barrage of feel-good propaganda that daily assaults the American mind, best epitomized a few months ago by the “green shoots,” everything’s-coming-up-roses propaganda touted by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, the citizens have no idea how disastrous the country’s fiscal, monetary and economic problems truly are. Nor do they perceive the rapidly increasing risk of a totalitarian nightmare descending upon the American Republic.<br /><br />One stark and sobering way to frame the crisis is this: if the United States government were to nationalize (in other words, steal) every penny of private wealth accumulated by America’s citizens since the nation’s founding 235 years ago, the government would remain totally bankrupt.<br /><br />According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent report on wealth, America’s private net worth was $53.4 trillion as of September, 2009. But at the same time, America’s debt and unfunded liabilities totaled at least $120,000,000,000,000.00 ($120 trillion), or 225% of the citizens’ net worth. Even if the government expropriated every dollar of private wealth in the nation, it would still have a deficit of $66,600,000,000,000.00 ($66.6 trillion), equal to $214,286.00 for every man, woman and child in America and roughly 500% of GDP. If the government does not directly seize the nation’s private wealth, then it will require $389,610 from each and every citizen to balance the country’s books. State, county and municipal debts and deficits are additional, already elephantine in many states (e.g., California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York) and growing at an alarming rate nationwide. In addition to the federal government, dozens of states are already bankrupt and sinking deeper into the morass every day.<br /><br />The government continues to dig a deeper and deeper fiscal grave in which to bury its citizens. This year, the federal deficit will total at least $1,600,000,000,000.00 ($1.6 trillion), which represents overspending of $4,383,561,600.00 ($4.38 billion) per day. (The deficit during October and November, 2009, the first two months of Fiscal Year 2010, totaled $296,700,000,000.00 ($297 billion), or $4,863,934,000.00 ($4.9 billion) per day, a record.) Using the GAAP accounting method (which is what corporations are required to use because it presents a far more accurate and honest picture of a company’s finances than the cash accounting method primarily and misleadingly used by the U.S. government), the nation’s fiscal year 2009 deficit was roughly $9,000,000,000,000.00 ($9 trillion), or $24,700,000,000.00 ($24.7 billion) per day, as calculated by brilliant and well-respected economist John Williams. (www.shadowstats.com) Fiscal Year 2010’s cash- and GAAP-accounting deficits will likely be worse than 2009’s, given government bailout and new program spending that is on steroids and psychotic.<br /><br />Putting Fiscal Year 2009’s $9,000,000,000,000.00 ($9 trillion) deficit another way, 17% of America’s private wealth, accumulated over a period of 235 years, was wiped out by just one year’s worth of government deficit spending insanity.<br /><br />Given this, is it any surprise that Treasury Secretary Geithner has announced that the release of the nation’s FY 2009 supplemental GAAP financial statements has been delayed? Remember, this is the same Secretary Geithner who bullied people to cover up the sordid details of the AIG, or more accurately, the taxpayer-funded, multi-billion dollar, Santa Claus bailout and bonus bonanza for Goldman Sachs. Do you really think this government, characterized as it is by fiscal and monetary secrecy, lies, chicanery, cronyism and stonewalling, wants the people to know what is actually happening? Obviously, it does not, so it hides from the public the inexcusable facts.<br /><br />It is estimated that the top 1% of Americans control roughly 40% of the nation’s wealth. In other words, 3 million people own $21,400,000,000,000.00 ($21.4 trillion) in net private assets, while the other 305 million own the remaining $32,000,000,000,000.00 ($32 trillion). 77,000,000 (77 million) Americans (the lowest 25%) have mean net assets of minus $2,300 ($-2,300.00) per person; they live from paycheck to paycheck, or on public assistance. The lower 50% of Americans own mean net assets of $27,800 each, about enough to purchase a modest car. Obviously, it would be impossible to retire on such an amount without significant government or other assistance. Meanwhile, the richest 10% of Americans possess mean net assets of $3,976,000.00 each, or 143 times those of the bottom 50%; the top 2% control assets worth more than 1,500 times those in the bottom 50%. When you combine these facts with Wall Street’s typical multi-million dollar annual bonuses, you get an idea of wealth inequality in America. Historically, such extreme inequality has been a well-documented breeding ground for totalitarianism.<br /><br />If the government decides to expropriate (steal) or commandeer (e.g., force into Treasuries) America’s private wealth in order to buy survival time, such a measure will be designed to destroy the common citizens, not the elite. Insiders will be given advance warning about any such plan, and will be able to transfer their money offshore or into financial vehicles immune from harm. Assuming that the elite moves its money to safety, there would then be $120,000,000,000,000.00 ($120 trillion) in American debt and liabilities supported by only $32,000,000,000,000.00 ($32 trillion) in private net worth, for a deficit of $88,000,000,000,000.00 ($88 trillion). In that case, each American would owe $285,714.29 to balance the country’s books. (Remember to multiply this amount by every person in your household, including any infant children.)<br /><br />If the common people suspect that something diabolical was in the works, a portion of the $32 trillion in non-elite wealth could be evacuated as well prior to a government expropriation and/or currency devaluation, resulting in less money for the government to steal. What these statistics mean is that it is absolutely impossible for the government to fund its debt and deficits, even if it steals all of the nation’s private wealth. Therefore, the government’s only solutions are either formal bankruptcy (outright debt repudiation and the dismantling of bankrupt government programs) or unprecedented American monetary inflation and debt monetization. If the government chooses to inflate its way out of this fiscal catastrophe, the United States dollar will essentially become worthless. You can be absolutely certain that a PhD. in economics, such as Dr. Bernanke, is well aware of these realities, despite what he might say in speeches. For that matter, so are Chinese schoolchildren, who, when patronized by Treasury Secretary Geithner about America’s “strong dollar,” laughed in his face. One day, perhaps America’s school children will receive a real education so that they, too, will know when to laugh at absurd propaganda.<br /><br />The government has announced that during the fiscal years from 2010 through 2019, it will create an additional $9,000,000,000,000.00 ($9 trillion) in deficits, an amount that is almost certain to be understated by trillions given the country’s current economic trajectory. The government assumes that this vast additional deficit will be funded by others, such as the Chinese, as it is a statistical fact that the United States will be incapable of funding it.<br /><br />Furthermore, with the budgetary equivalent of a straight face, the Office of Management and Budget reports in its long-term, inter-generational budget projection that the United States government will experience massive, non-stop deficits for the next 70 (SEVENTY) years, requiring the issuance of tens of trillions of dollars of additional debt. The OMB does not project even one year of surplus during the entire seventy year budget period.<br /><br />These deficits and debts are now so gargantuan that they have become surreal abstractions impossible even for sophisticated financiers to begin to comprehend. The common citizen has absolutely no idea what these numbers mean, or imply for his or her future. The people have been deluded into thinking that America’s arrogant, egomaniacal, always-wrong-but-never-in-doubt fiscal witch doctors and charlatans, including Greenspan, Rubin, Summers, Geithner and Ponce de Bernanke, have discovered a Monetary Fountain of Youth that endlessly spits up free money from the center of earth, in a geyser of good will toward the United States. Unfortunately, this delusion is false: there is no Monetary Fountain of Youth, and contrary to the apparent beliefs of the self-deified man-gods in Washington, D.C., the debt and deficits are real, completely out of control, and 100% guaranteed to create catastrophic consequences for the nation and its people.<br /><br />When government “representatives” deliberately sell into slavery the citizens of a so-called free Republic, they have committed treason against those people. This is exactly what has happened in the United States: the citizens have been sold into debt slavery that they and their descendants can never escape, because the debts piled onto their backs can never, ever be paid. Despite expensive and sophisticated brainwashing campaigns emanating from Washington, claiming that America can “grow” out of its deficits and debt, it is arithmetically impossible for the country to do so. The government’s statements that it can dig the nation out of its fiscal hole by digging an even deeper chasm have become parodies and perversions of even totally discredited and morally disgusting Keynesianism.<br /><br />The people no longer have elected representatives; they have elected traitors.<br /><br />The enslavement of the American people has been orchestrated by a pernicious Master Class that has taken the United States by the throat. This Master Class is now choking the nation to death as it accelerates its master plan to plunder the people’s dwindling remaining assets. The Master Class comprises politicians, the Wall Street money elite, the Federal Reserve, high-end government (including military) officials, government lobbyists and their paymasters, military suppliers and media oligarchs. The interests and mindset of the Master Class are so totally divorced from those of the average American citizen that it is utterly tone deaf and blind to the justifiable rage sweeping the nation. Its guiding ethics of greed, plunder, power, control and violence are so alien to mainstream American culture and thought that the Master Class might as well be an enemy invader from Mars. But the Master Class here, it is real and it is laying waste to America. To the members of the Master Class, the people are not fellow-citizens; they are instruments of labor, servitude and profit. At first, the Master Class viewed the citizens as serfs; now that they have raped and destroyed the national economy, while in the process amassing unprecedented wealth and power for themselves, they see the people as nothing more than slaves.<br /><br />America’s public finances are now so completely dysfunctional and chaotic that something far worse than debt enslavement and monetary implosion, terrible curses unto themselves, looms on the horizon: namely, a Master Class-sponsored American dictatorship.<br /><br />Throughout history, the type of situation in which America now finds itself has been a fertility factory for tyranny. The odds of an outright overthrow of the people by the Washington and Wall Street Axis, or more broadly, the Master Class are increasing dramatically. The fact that so few people believe an American dictatorship is possible is exactly why it is becoming likely.<br /><br />Dictatorships have blighted history and ruined lives since the beginning of civilization. In recent times alone, tyrants such as Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Ceausescu, Amin, Hussein, Mussolini, Tojo, Kim, Pinochet, Milosevic, Tito, Batista, Peron, Pol Pot, Mugabe, Marcos, Somoza, Mengistu, Bokassa, Sese Seko, Franco, Ho Chi Minh, Mao, and Castro have power-sprayed blood onto the screen of time and ravaged mankind with murder, torture and human oppression. A full catalog of history’s tyrants would require a book of hundreds of pages. In the past 100 years alone, over 200 million human beings have been annihilated by wars, ethnic cleansings and government assassinations. Just when we think that civilization has been able to rise above tyranny’s inhumanity and disgrace, a new dictator appears on the scene to start the process all over again. Every time this happens, fear and submission paralyze the vast majority of the affected masses, leading them to “follow orders” and lick autocracy’s blood-stained boots.<br /><br />History has proven to tyrants that oppression works. In fact, it is easy to control a populace, once you control the money, markets, military (including police), media and minions (the recipients of welfare, social security, free health care, government jobs and the like, who are dependent upon the state and likely to be compliant). This is exactly where the United States is today.<br /><br />Recent American events paint an ominous picture of a Master Class that is now in total control.<br /><br />When 90% of the American people vehemently rejected the $700,000,000,000.00 ($700 billion) TARP bailout plan, the Master Class put it on a fast track and approved it anyway.<br /><br />When a clear majority of the American people said no to a government takeover of Chrysler and GM, the Master Class poured billions of taxpayer dollars into those corporate sinkholes and took them over anyway.<br /><br />When the people said no to multi-trillion dollar crony bailouts for the bankers and insurers whose corruption had caused global financial mayhem, the government pledged to those elite insiders more than $13,000,000,000,000.00 ($13 trillion) of the people’s money anyway.<br /><br />When the people expressed astonishment and anger that Wall Street planned to pay itself record 2009 bonuses, in the midst of America’s worst-ever fiscal and financial crisis caused by them, Wall Street stuffed its pockets with taxpayer-supported bonus money anyway.<br /><br />When the people said no to a proposed $40,000,000,000.00 ($40 billion) bailout of AIG and its elite trading partners such as Goldman Sachs (an amount that subsequently exploded to $180,000,000,000.00+ ($180+ billion)), the Master Class went underground, covertly misappropriated taxpayer money and made the payoffs anyway.<br /><br />When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalized at enormous taxpayer expense, the government approved $6,000,000.00 individual pay packages in 2009 (150 times the average American wage) for the CEOs of both failed companies anyway.<br /><br />When a clear majority of the people said no to nationalized health care, even after being bombarded by a multi-million dollar, lie-drenched propaganda campaign designed to bamboozle them, the House and Senate passed nationalized health care bills anyway.<br /><br />When more than seven million American workers lost their jobs and were subsisting on unemployment benefits and food stamps, federal government employees, who now earn DOUBLE what private sector workers earn, were given another round of pay and benefits increases anyway.<br /><br />When private sector workers’ 401Ks and IRA retirement plans plummeted in value due to economic collapse and endemic Wall Street-orchestrated market corruption (including systemic front running, flash trading, naked short selling and other manipulations), government “defined benefit,” lifetime-cost-of-living-adjusted pension plans, despite already being underfunded by $2,000,000,000,000.00 ($2 trillion), were made richer than ever anyway.<br /><br />The long, shameful litany of events signaling the total divorce between the Master Class and the people of the United States doesn’t stop there. It goes on and on.<br /><br />The message from the American Master Class to the American people is simple and clear:<br /><br />We Defy You.<br /><br />Governments that openly defy the people are either already totalitarian or in the process of becoming so. Monetarily, the United States clearly functions as a totalitarian dictatorship already, with a Federal Reserve that operates in secrecy, creates limitless amounts of debt and currency at will, and showers trillions of dollars upon favored Master Class insiders with zero transparency or accountability whatsoever. The Federal Reserve is so shameless about its dictatorial powers that it flatly refuses to provide details about multi-trillion dollar bailouts and rescues of privileged elites, in open defiance of Congress and the people. The fact that they get away with these blatant acts of defiance demonstrates the true extent of the Master Class chokehold on America.<br /><br />If the Master Class were a benign despot and if its policies and programs actually worked, that would be one thing. But that is not the case. Rather, its programs are in a complete shambles.<br /><br />Every single government entitlement program in the United States is bankrupt. This includes Social Security ($17,500,000,000,000.00 underfunded; $17.5 trillion); Medicare Part A ($36,700,000,000,000.00 underfunded; $36.7 trillion); Medicare Part B ($37,000,000,000,000.00 underfunded; $37 trillion); Medicare Part D ($15,600,000,000,000 underfunded; $15.6 trillion), Government and military pensions ($2,000,000,000,000 underfunded; $2 trillion), Food Stamps (current underfunding difficult to measure because the number of recipients is exploding; hundreds of billions underfunded versus original projections, minimum); and the list goes on. The above underfunding amounts are NET of projected tax receipts over the next 50 years. But the current recession has invalidated virtually all long-term budget and tax receipt assumptions, meaning that the true underfunded amounts are now greater than current, already mind-boggling estimates.<br /><br />While the above statistics are terrifying enough to any citizen with a functioning brain, what is Twilight Zone-eerie and a far more serious cause for alarm is the casual indifference with which the Master Class is now making the country’s dire and irreparable fiscal circumstances even worse.<br /><br />The nationalized health care program will cost at least $1 trillion over the next ten years, and most likely multiples of that. It is being crammed down America’s throat by a bankrupt government that does not have the money today and will not have the money tomorrow to pay for it. Worse is the fact that the same government that has bankrupted each and every existing social program now intends to directly or indirectly control the health care of all citizens. Based on the government’s existing track record and the health care program’s enormous complexity, invasiveness and cost, the probability that it will become a national fiscal and humanitarian catastrophe is roughly 100%.<br /><br />“Cap and Trade” is a multi-trillion dollar tax scam being foisted onto the American public without a legitimate debate or popular referendum. You might be surprised to learn that “Climate Revenues” are already included in the federal budget, starting with $79,000,000,000.00 ($79 billion) in fiscal year 2012, which begins only 20 months from now. During fiscal years 2012 through 2019, the government expects to collect $646,000,000,000.00 ($646 billion) in “Climate Revenues,” a completely new tax category. Have any of your elected traitors told you that they have enacted $646,000,000,000.00 ($646 billion) in “Climate” taxes beginning twenty months from now and continuing forever? These “Climate Revenues” are based on junk science, lies and hysteria, and have been pimped by greed-diseased parasites who seek to make billions from operating and manipulating the Cap and Trade “marketplace.” Favored elitists such as Hank Paulson, Al Gore, General Electric and Goldman Sachs, among others, have positioned themselves to profit from the nation’s upcoming Cap and Trade tax misery and economic debilitation.<br /><br />The reality is that the giant Ponzi scheme called the United States of America is running out of money. In any Ponzi scheme, money must constantly be poured into the top of the funnel in order to pay the redeemers at the bottom. As the number of redeemers has grown, tax receipts have fallen far short of covering their withdrawals, a problem that has now become an outright government funding emergency further aggravated by the fiscal, financial and economic crises.<br /><br />If the Washington and Wall Street Axis were not legally able to create and distribute counterfeit American money, the Ponzi scheme would have collapsed already. Trillions of new, out-of-thin-air, printing-press and electronic “dollars” have bought the Axis additional time, but new sources of revenue must immediately be found to keep the scam alive. Congress is fully aware of this reality. Outright tax increases would be bad politics during a recession that is morphing into a depression, and also bad for 2010 re-election campaigns, so they cannot be implemented. Therefore, Congress continues to advance the health care and Cap and Trade agendas, which are nothing but taxation Trojan Horses festooned in righteousness and sanctimony, despite overwhelming popular opposition.<br /><br />If the nationalized health care program is passed, revenues and fees will kick in immediately in 2010, whereas costs will not begin to accrue until 2012 and later. The government plans to spend the revenues immediately to forestall a total fiscal collapse. Nationalized health care has absolutely nothing to do with health care; it has to do with creating an immediate revenue stream to help fix the current government funding crisis. Similarly, Cap and Trade has nothing to do with fixing the environment. It, too, is nothing more than a massive tax increase similarly designed to address the government’s epic funding shortfall, with thick slices of pork thrown in for privileged insiders and deceitful propagandists like bloated “Father of the Internet” and now “Savior of the World” Al Gore.<br /><br />The last thing the Master Class wants is for the people to understand the disastrous state of the nation’s finances. Master Class brainwashing tells the people that it is “negative” and “pessimistic” to look at the facts, despite the fact that psychological health is characterized by the ability to identify and deal with reality. The Master Class wants the people to put on Bozo the Clown happy faces and let sugar plums and green shoots dance in their brains as they write one check after another to pay for Cap and Trade, nationalized health care, and a mind-numbing assortment of other taxes and fees.<br /><br />On Sunday night, November 30, 2009, North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Il (a name that says it all, even better than Made-off’s), an international poster child of Master Class psychological illness, devalued his country’s currency by 99%. This vicious tyrant, who has given birth to a national hell on earth, is chauffeured in Mercedes Benz limousines, drinks the finest imported whiskies and dines in imperial dignity on foods prepared by personal chefs while his citizens starve to death on the streets or, at best, eke out a subsistence living. Kim became paranoid that the people were actually figuring out how to improve their pitiful, impoverished lives in tiny ways, so he decided to wipe them out. The people were given one week to exchange their money at a rate of 100 old Won for 1 new Won. Any lifetime family savings in excess of roughly $700.00 were simply confiscated by the North Korean government. To keep the people in line, the military and police were put on high alert, fully prepared to kill or arrest any protesters.<br /><br />On January 9, 2010, Venezuela’s strong man Hugo Chavez devalued his country’s currency by 50%, overnight and without warning, causing immediate inflation, shortages of food and supplies, and general financial chaos throughout the nation.<br /><br />While you might be shaking your head in pity over the plight of the citizens of North Korea and Venezuela, ask yourself this: could this not happen in the United States?<br /><br />On April 5, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an Obama hero, outlawed gold ownership overnight by signing Executive Order 6102, which gave the people three and one-half weeks to surrender all privately-owned bullion to the government for a price of $20.67 per ounce. On January 30, 1934, nine months after collecting the people’s gold, Roosevelt devalued the dollar 69% overnight, by raising the gold price from $20.67 to $35.00 per ounce.<br /><br />Since its founding in 1913, the Federal Reserve has devalued the dollar by 98+% thanks to endless money printing and debt creation, a corrosive and impoverishing process that is now accelerating. In the past year, the Fed has engineered $20+ trillion in bailouts, subsidies and guarantees for well-connected and lucky scavengers and opportunists, an amount equal to roughly 40% of the total private wealth created in this country since its inception. All because a few elitist government man-gods with an almost perfect record of error and failure have deemed in their imperial wisdom that it shall be so. The citizens, whose hard-earned wealth is being systematically destroyed by this continual, government-decreed monetary debasement were never invited to the debate or given a say, which is par for the course for dictatorships. This massive de facto devaluation now hangs over the people’s wealth like a great monetary sword of Damocles.<br /><br />Conceptually, whether it is a 50% overnight devaluation in Venezuela, a 69% overnight devaluation in the United States, a 98% devaluation in America over time, or a 99% overnight devaluation in North Korea, what is the difference? The fact is: there is no difference; monetary debasements are all the same. In each and every case, the people’s wealth is stolen via government edict, while the people stand by helplessly and in shock.<br /><br />So one must ask: For whom does the bell toll? A foreign “them,” or a domestic us? Who is to say that you will not be told tomorrow morning that, effective immediately, in accordance with some perversely named mandate such as the “American Monetary Security, Wealth Preservation and Terrorism Prevention Act,” enacted by emergency for “the safety of the nation and the financial well being of the citizens,” all existing currency and bank balances will be redenominated in “New Dollars,” at a conversion rate of 1 new for every 100 old currency units? Would this not simply be another, almost predictable act of defiance toward the American people by the Master Class? And if that happened, do you honestly believe that the Master Class would not have been alerted in advance and allowed to make special preparations for itself ahead of the devaluation? Do you think they intend to go down in the same ship as the people they defy? If such a currency devaluation were announced, what could you do about it? March on Washington? But how would you get there if your money had been wiped out?<br /><br />Despite what you may hear from State Media, which includes virtually all establishment news organizations, particularly financial ones (e.g., CNBC), America is on the precipice. No bankrupt nation in history has ever defended or preserved the freedoms of its citizens. In fact, it has been the exact opposite: in desperation, bankrupt governments have routinely plundered their citizens’ wealth and imposed totalitarian controls. What will make things different for the United States, the largest debtor nation in all of recorded civilization?<br /><br />The United States government cannot ever, possibly pay its debts, is pathologically incapable of controlling its spending or curbing its hunger for both domestic and international empire and persistently refuses to tell the American people the truth. If America’s citizens were told the truth and given the benefit of true leadership, as opposed to the guile and dishonesty of an endless array of political liars and hacks, perhaps they could rally and defeat the problems that afflict them. But instead, they are fed by the Master Class a steady diet of narcotic propaganda that deludes, confuses and enervates them. The truth cannot set people free if it is never told, and that is the essence of America’s gathering tragedy.<br /><br />In a future article, we will detail specific developments you should watch for to chart the course of America’s ominous and potentially deadly national storm. The current, grave situation is already a clear call to action. When the signals become even more urgent, it will be late in the game to take protective action, and possibly too late. Citizens should begin to prepare now not just for financial survival, but for the personal security of themselves and their loved ones should a Category 5 economic and political hurricane rip into the nation, something that becomes more likely every day.<br /><br />With respect to personal finances, in virtually every national currency devaluation and major political upheaval in the past, gold has represented sanctuary for the affected people. Gold has not just preserved wealth, but personal freedom as well. While governments can devalue fiat currencies, they cannot, by edict, devalue gold. Yes, they can try to manipulate its price, but unless all governments join in the collusion, ultimately the price will return to market. The market for gold is global, and demand exists in all nations and among all peoples. Should the government attempt to confiscate gold, it will be an outright admission that the financial system is collapsing, and the people will know better than to hand over to a corrupt government their only means of survival. The most important point is this: devalued currencies never rise again. Once they are destroyed, they are gone forever, and those whose wealth had once been denominated in them are wiped out. As you have no doubt heard before, not one fiat currency has survived over time, and that is an indisputable fact. More significantly, no fiat currency has ever suffered the abuse that has been inflicted upon the United States dollar, meaning that it is at extreme risk. Gold has been money for 5,000 years. It has not merely survived, it has prevailed over each and every fiat currency collapse throughout history. Given this, the most important financial question a person can ask him- or herself today is: How is my wealth denominated at this time? And given its denomination, is my wealth likely to be safe in current and evolving circumstances?<br /><br />One thing is certain: as the epic David and Goliath monetary battle unfolds, between the people fighting to defend their hard-earned wealth on one side, and a Master Class that greedily and pathologically wants to plunder them on the other, the price of gold will become extremely volatile for a period of time. Volatility will, in fact, tell you that the War on Wealth has officially been declared, and will be your signal to do whatever you must to protect what is yours. As the government Goliath and its Master Class allies short tonnes of bullion into rigged futures markets in a desperate attempt to make gold look dangerous and risky, the Davids will be coming forth not just in the United States but from all corners of the globe, buying 10 grams here and one ounce there. There are 6.8 billion Davids, versus one diseased Master Class that numbers in the small millions. There is no way the Master Class can defeat the people, if the people finally rise up and say “No More of Your Plunder. No More of Your Cold and Soulless Financial Oppression. No More of Your Cynical and Godless Exploitation.”<br /><br />If you find the above argument compelling, you should consider how to protect yourself from Executive Orders that could be issued at any time, under any pretext, and that could be extremely hostile to your financial and/or personal health and well being. One simple way to start is to purchase one ounce of gold for yourself and each member of your household, and much more if you can afford it. That is not financial advice; it is merely the common sense generously communicated to you by history.<br /><br />Stewart DoughertyRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-63528605055676361212009-12-30T19:11:00.001-05:002009-12-30T19:15:58.142-05:00U.S. Government: The New Growth Industry<p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Jason Farkas' November 6 "Weekly Insight" column of EWI's intensive <a href="http://www.elliottwave.com/specialtyservices/more_info/SS-Currencies.aspx?code=frecon&articleid=1193">Currency</a> and <a href="http://www.elliottwave.com/specialtyservices/more_info/SS-GlobalInterestRates.aspx?code=frecon&articleid=1193">Interest Rates Specialty Services</a>.)</span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The United States is facing a lot of problems, but one U.S. industry remains strong. It has access to capital and has increased in size every single year <strong>since 2000</strong>. Should you invest in this industry? Don't bother -- you already have. </span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">This mystery industry is the U.S. government, and its unbridled growth remains a reason to be bearish on the U.S. economy.</span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Don’t be fooled into thinking the Great Recession is over because of the 3.5% gain in third-quarter GDP. The only reason for the uptick was the government’s contribution, as seen in the chart (courtesy of the Cato Institute):</span></div></span></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Because the government’s size has increased so dramatically since 2000, the U.S. is now closer to socialism than capitalism. A February <em>Newsweek</em> cover hit on that sentiment with its title, “We’re All Socialists Now.” A socialist economy is inherently inefficient. Resources are taken from the private sector and redistributed to a wider group of citizens, which is costly, and those costs lead to a smaller economic pie for everyone.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">A chance reading of a book on technical analysis and the Austrian school of economics led Jason Farkas, CMT, to EWI. Prior to joining the firm, Jason worked for 14 years as a futures, options and equity trader. He has been tutored by some of the best investment minds, including legendary trader Dick Diamond. You can read Jason's Weekly Insights every Friday in EWI's intensive <a href="http://www.elliottwave.com/specialtyservices/more_info/SS-Currencies.aspx?code=frecon&articleid=1193">Currency</a> and <a href="http://www.elliottwave.com/specialtyservices/more_info/SS-GlobalInterestRates.aspx?code=frecon&articleid=1193">Interest Rates Specialty Services</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Read the entire article =>><a href="http://www.elliottwave.com/freeupdates/archives/2009/12/28/U.S.-Government-The-New-Growth-Industry.aspx">here</a><br /></span>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-73888135516051286102009-12-07T15:23:00.003-05:002009-12-07T15:29:33.705-05:00The Dubai Financial Nuke<div align="center"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);font-size:180%;" ><b>The Dubai Financial Nuke</b></span></span></div> <div align="center"><span><img src="http://www.gold-eagle.com/images/clear.gif" border="0" height="12" width="1" /></span></div> <div align="center"><span><b>Clive Maund</b></span></div> <div align="center"><span><img src="http://www.gold-eagle.com/images/clear.gif" border="0" height="12" width="1" /></span></div><span>We got the heavy reaction in gold that we had been expecting for some days on Friday. The problem is that we also got a big important breakout in the dollar, which we had acknowledged as a significant possibility for some time. This is not good news for commodities and not good news for the stockmarket either as it signifies the onset of a flight to cash such as we witnessed last year. </span> <p> </p> <p><span>What was really odd about yesterday was that we saw a big dollar breakout, but Treasuries fell heavily. We are now believed to be on the verge of another massive deflationary downwave, similar to last year, but worse. However, this time it is very possible that while we will see a flight to cash, we will not witness a stampede into Treasuries, or at least not on anywhere near the same scale. So what is going on here? - what are the principal underlying dynamics? Anyone who has had the misfortune to watch a nuke exploding, misfortune because you get irradiated, knows that first you see a very bright flash, then there is a period of tranquillity as the flash dies down and the mushroom cloud starts to rise, before the shockwave hits, when things get pretty rough to say the least.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"><b>You've seen the flash - now get ready for the shockwave...</b></span></span></p> <p><span>What happened in Dubai just over a week ago was the bright flash, and the media have used the intervening period before the shockwave hits to reassure everyone that everything is going to be just fine - "You just relax, nothing will come of it, it's only $60 billion down the drain or whatever - have a cup of tea". The trouble is that it's not $60 billion at all - the reality is that this is a default on a massively larger scale. Dubai was a vast sinkhole into which western banks and governments unquestioningly poured not just billions but trillions of dollars which was then leveraged enormously by means of derivatives enabling Dubai to build itself up into a latter day Rome, with a level of opulence and extravagence that would have made Caesar green with envy.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span>When people think of Dubai the things that come to mind are the massively extravagent 7-star hotels, the towering record breaking skyscraper, palm-shaped island resort complexes etc and forests of new office buildings and apartments etc. What the vast majority don't realize is that the stupendous leverage afforded by derivatives has in addition enabled Dubai to create an immense global empire of businesses, most of the elements of which are broke, having racked up staggering levels of debt. Dubai is the nexus of the derivatives pyramid and it is flat, stony broke. Where did all the money come from to pay for all these things? - why from taxpayers and pension fund contributors the world over of course, but especially in the US, with Wall St acting as a giant conduit sluicing a torrent of cash into Dubai. The interesting thing is that there was never any accountability - countries and companies vied with each other for the privelege of pumping money into the exalted kingdom, seduced by its supposedly limitless oil wealth, and requesting or requiring guarantees was regarded as impolite. Now that Dubai is broke, the Dubai government has suddenly distanced itself from Dubai World, and the attitude towards the Western banks and governments who have poured trillions into Dubai is "Tough luck - you lose, suckers". What this means is that trillions of dollars which are now counted as assets on the balance sheets of banks worldwide and especially in the US are actually liabilities. So what do you think is going to happen to the stock prices of these banks - and stockmarkets generally, when the world wakes up and acknowledges this reality - when the shockwave hits?? Small wonder that the charts for Goldman Sachs and J P Morgan look very like the market charts before the '87 crash, but that was "small potatoes" compared to what is coming down the pipe this time.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"><b>Go ahead, take a good look at it - after all, <i>You helped pay for it!.</i></b></span></span></p> <p><span><i>If money panics out of commodities and stocks it has to go somewhere. Last year, as we know, it took refuge in US Treasuries, especially short-term Treasuries and it drove the dollar up as massive across the board liquidation went first into cash which was then used to buy Treasuries. While we can expect a similar dynamic to be in play this time round, largely because most investors simply don't have the imagination to think of an alternative to US Treasuries, there is a complicating factor, as highlighted repeatedly by Karl Denninger in his recent highly pertinent articles, which is that the US has been making a mockery of foreign Treasury buyers on an ever increasing scale with its endless monetization and ramping of the money supply - in effect treating them as morons by paying them zilch interest rates and undermining the dollar at the same time. They are right - they are morons, who are one way or another are going to get what's coming to them - after all, who but an imbecile buys the debt of a bankrupt country? However, there is a saying that "you can't fool all of the people all of the time" and foreign Treasury buyers and holders are getting increasingly fed up with their cavalier treatment at the hands of the US, and, in the absence of another deflationary implosion causing a renewed flight into the dollar and Treasuries, they look set to start dumping them, which as Denninger points out would set in train a "death spiral" of rising interest rates one consequence of which would obviously be a crashing stockmarket. So whether we see a rising dollar or a falling dollar it`s "Zugzwang" for the US stockmarket and economy - any move made loses, as does no move.</i></span></p> <p><span><i>The rate of advance of the broad stockmarket has been slowing for months. On the 6-month chart for the S&P500 index we can see that it appears to have arrived at the top point of a large "Distribution Dome". If this Dome is valid - and it appears to be so - then we can expect the market to turn seriously lower soon, and we should remain aware that markets generally drop twice as fast as they go up, so it will not have to contact the Dome boundary on the way down - on the contrary, given the parlous fundamentals outlined above it will probably drop like a rock.</i></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><i>Bank stocks look set to be particularly hard hit in the event of a second downwave. This is apparent from their deteriorating relative strength in recent months - they are already very close to crashing key support as is clear on the charts for Goldman Sachs and J P Morgan. These 2 elite companies have had the richest of pickings during the financial crisis - being at the front of the line for everything, which is why their stock prices recovered so well - and because of this they are widely assumed to be invulnerable. They are not expected to be spared during the second downwave however, and their current lofty valuations make them a good candidate for shorting or Put options.</i></span></p> <p><span><i>Goldman Sachs and J P Morgan chart analysis and Put option information follows for subscribers.</i></span></p>Clive Maund, Diploma Technical Analysis<br /><p><span><i><a href="mailto:support@clivemaund.com">support@clivemaund.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.clivemaund.com/">www.clivemaund.com</a></i></span></p> <p><span><i>Copiapo, Chile, 6 December 2009</i></span></p> <p><span><i><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>No responsibility can be accepted for losses that may result as a consequence of trading on the basis of this analysis.</i></span></i></span></p><span><i><br /></i></span>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-73514498022847251902009-02-11T21:07:00.000-05:002009-02-11T21:09:42.108-05:00Another Year of Shock and Awe<em>In their annual forecast edition, the editors of </em><a href="http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=127&ppref=GDE127ED0209A"><em>BIG GOLD</em></a><em> asked Casey Research Chairman and contrarian investor Doug Casey to provide his predictions and thoughts on issues everyone's thinking about these days. Read what he has to say on the economy, deficits, inflation, and gold…</em><br /><br />In their annual forecast edition, the editors of <a href="http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=127&ppref=GDE127ED0209A">BIG GOLD</a> asked Casey Research Chairman and contrarian investor Doug Casey to provide his predictions and thoughts on issues everyone's thinking about these days. Read what he has to say on the economy, deficits, inflation, and gold…<br /><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><strong>The $1.1 Trillion Budget Deficit</strong></span></div><br />My reaction is that the people in the government are totally out of control. A poker player would say the government is "on tilt," placing wild, desperate bets in the hope of getting rescued by good luck.<br /><br />The things they're doing are not only unproductive, they're the exact opposite of what should be done. The country got into this mess by living beyond its means for more than a generation. That's the message from the debt that's burdening so many individuals; debt is proof that you're living above your means. The solution is for people to significantly reduce their standard of living for a while and start building capital. That's what saving is about, producing more than you consume.<br /><br />The government creating funny money - money out of nothing - doesn't fix anything. All it does is prolong the problem and make it worse by destroying the currency.<br /><br />Over several generations, huge distortions and misallocations of capital have been cranked into the economy, inviting levels of consumption that are unsustainable. In fact, Americans refer to themselves as consumers. That's degrading and ridiculous. You should be first and foremost a producer, and a consumer only as a consequence.<br /><br />In any event, the government is going to destroy the currency, which will be a mega-disaster. And they're making the depression worse by holding interest rates at artificially low levels, which discourages savings - the exact opposite of what's needed. They're trying to prop up a bankrupt system.<br /><br />And, at this point, it's not just economically bankrupt, but morally and intellectually bankrupt. What they should be doing is recognize that they're bankrupt and then start rebuilding. But they're not, so it's going to be a disaster.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/casey021109.html">Read it all here=>></a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-15396227198351245832009-01-23T20:04:00.001-05:002009-01-23T20:07:38.199-05:00Going LongFinding Elusive Gold in This Market<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU1tPRJkym4PL6Wu488vqVsEBOOJMpXxWc6NrIWV8ojcgSishf7QcvgCwPpOoh4pClFB3rXEzk9gFL3JXlS3uKbfKW4QVTTajnU2RYzrpc0Xe6JI6s5XD8vbO9cTKcnYQs_XM0sAb1rvE/s1600-h/gator_dees.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294660456484253058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 366px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU1tPRJkym4PL6Wu488vqVsEBOOJMpXxWc6NrIWV8ojcgSishf7QcvgCwPpOoh4pClFB3rXEzk9gFL3JXlS3uKbfKW4QVTTajnU2RYzrpc0Xe6JI6s5XD8vbO9cTKcnYQs_XM0sAb1rvE/s400/gator_dees.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>by the editors of <a href="http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=127&ppref=GDE127ED0109C">BIG GOLD</a>, Casey Research<br /></div><br /><div>At this writing, gold is still 15% off its peak, at least in U.S. dollars. Yet at the same time, the metal is cruising at or near all-time highs against a host of other currencies, including the Swiss franc, British pound, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, and Indian rupee. </div><div><br />That currency disparity means buyers around the world are prepared to pay much more for gold, relative to their own currencies, than is reflected in the New York spot market, which prices gold in dollars.</div><div><br />Demand for gold coins in particular is running so high that there were severe shortages in 2008. Dealers' shelves emptied, mints either rationed their output or stopped producing entirely, and premiums over the spot price rose dramatically. All of which implies that the metal's bull market is far from over. Yet taking advantage of the trend becomes problematic if you can't get what you want.</div><div><br />Sure, you can buy as much paper gold as you like, through the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE.GLD), which is bullion-backed and will be sensitive to an advancing price. But what if you simply want physical metal and want it in quantity - say, a hundred ounces?</div><div><br />Well, you could buy 100 coins. If you could find them. Or you could buy a single 100-ounce bar.</div><div><br />Take heed: if you are buying in 100-ounce, 400-ounce or 1-kilo sizes, you want a good delivery bar, one that carries a hallmark from a recognized refiner. And buy only from a source you have a good reason to trust. The gold trade has been replete with con artists since ancient metalworkers began hammering on the shiny stuff and found they could increase their profit margins by adding in a little silver, copper, or even lead. With 100 ounces going for upwards of US$85,000, caution is in order.</div><div></div><br /><div>Once you're ready to commit to a 100-ounce buy, the next logical question is: Is there any way to avoid the big premiums and acquire what you want at spot? The answer, fortunately, is yes. You can elect to play with the big boys and get your 100-ounce bar on the COMEX, where the bullion banks and giant funds do their trading.</div><div><br />Playin' the COMEX</div><br /><div>The COMEX is primarily a paper market, with speculators going long or short on contracts for future delivery. 99.9% of those contracts get settled in cash and are closed out before the delivery date arrives, with participants pocketing profits or taking their lumps. Very little physical gold changes hands through COMEX trading.</div><br /><div>But some does, because every participant who goes long has the right to pay in full and insist on actual delivery. And every participant who goes short has the right to deliver the goods and get paid. Those trades represent the other 0.1% of the contracts.</div><div><br />The Casey COMEX User's Manual</div><br /><div>First, get a little more acquainted with the topic. Log on to the COMEX gold section at (<a href="http://www.nymex.com/gol_pre_agree.aspx">www.nymex.com/gol_pre_agree.aspx</a>) and have a look around.<br />Pay close attention to the Current Session Overview. It gives you a real-time picture of trading, with the various delivery months displayed, along with the price per ounce being bid. (With gold, the months further out nearly always have higher prices, a situation known in the commodities trade as contango. The opposite, when near-term prices exceed those down the road, is called backwardation, and for gold it's extremely rare.)<br />If you decide to proceed with the idea of buying on the COMEX, you have to open an account with a futures broker. To do that, you'll need to answer some questions about your financial status and then make a deposit. We spoke with an agent at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, one of the oldest and most active futures brokers, to learn about their requirements.</div><div><br />First, at Lind-Waldock, you must have a yearly income and net worth of at least $25,000 and $50,000, respectively; anyone who can afford a hundred ounces of gold will surely qualify. Then you must deposit a minimum of $5,000 with the broker. Finally, you choose from among several levels of service, which affects the amount of commission you'll pay.<br />Once the futures account is in place, you're set to go.</div><div></div><br /><div>Let's say the bid price three months out is $850/oz., and you like gold at that price. You call your broker and place an order at $850, for one gold contract (which represents a single 100-oz. bar of good delivery metal). As with bidding on a stock, you may not get what you want if the market is heading up and runs away from your price. The alternative is to place a market order, trusting that it gets filled at close to your target price, but that can be risky in a fast-moving market.</div><br /><div>Let's assume you get your contract and lock up what you'll pay for the gold, most of which will be due at expiration. What next? There are two possibilities. You can just deposit the full cost of the gold, sit back, and enjoy the wait for your prize. Or you can deposit the minimum amount required (the minimum "margin"), which varies and is set at the exchange's discretion. For a single gold contract at the moment, it's $5,800, or about 7% of the contract's value.</div><br /><div>That's how the speculators play the market, putting up as little front money as possible. For you, that won't be a problem if the price of gold rises, since the broker will be crediting a matching amount of cash to your account on a daily basis. But you have to be careful if the price of gold falls, because the broker will then charge your account for a matching amount of money day by day - and to keep the balance from going below the minimum margin requirement, he'll send you a margin call, insisting that you deposit more cash. If you fail to do so, the broker will enter a sale order for you, and you'll be out of the market.</div><div><br />Changes in the value of a futures contract, with their attendant shifting cash requirements, are of critical importance to traders who are simply playing with paper. Since you're only interested in acquiring a physical gold bar, the fluctuations shouldn't affect you. Just make sure you have enough money in your account that you're not inadvertently sold out.</div><br /><div>Then, on the settlement date, your account will be charged for an amount equal to the settlement price multiplied by the exact weight of the particular bar that's been assigned to you (a "100-oz." COMEX good delivery bar can actually vary in weight between 95 and 105 ounces). This is when everything gets squared up.</div><div><br />Taking Delivery</div><br /><div>If you keep your position open until delivery, the COMEX will hand your broker a warehouse receipt with the details of your specific bar (hallmark, serial number, and weight to one-thousandth of an ounce). The broker can either hold the receipt in your account or mail it to you. (If you take possession of a warehouse receipt, be aware that it's an irreplaceable bearer instrument. Don't lose it!)</div><div><br />Your bar will be sitting in the vault of one of the four designated COMEX depositories, all of which are in or near New York City. If you want to bring the bar home, you'll have to pick it up at the depository or arrange for third-party delivery. If you intend to hold it until gold reaches a certain price and then sell, your best bet is probably to leave the bar in the COMEX depository and leave the receipt with your broker.</div><div><br />We called Scotia Mocatta, which operates one of the COMEX-designated vaults, and were quoted a storage fee of $15/month per bar. If, however, you want the bar in your hands, you'll have to pay a $150 delivery fee to get the bar released by the depository. Then you're responsible for retrieving it, which could be a problem.</div><div><br />Unless you want to put the bar in your suitcase and fly home with it, you'll have to have it delivered. You can't ship a gold bar via the U.S. mail, FedEx or UPS; you have to hire an armored car service, such as Brinks.<br />Shipping costs depend, of course, on how far your gold will travel from the City. VIA MAT International (USA) gave us a ballpark figure of $150 to transport one gold bar from New York to California - a heckuva lot cheaper than airfare, and you get to keep your shoes on.</div><div><br />One final note: armored carriers won't deliver to a house address. You would have to arrange to receive the shipment at a business, which could be an additional worry if neither you nor a trusted friend owns one. Or you could have it delivered to your bank and slide it into a safe deposit box, provided you don't mind the bank's employees knowing what you're doing.<br />Will You Need an Assay?</div><div><br />If you leave your gold bar in the COMEX depository, it will be easier to sell. You just go through the above procedure in reverse, going short a contract instead of buying one.</div><div><br />However, if you take physical delivery and later wish to sell through the COMEX (or through a private dealer), you will need to have the bar reassayed. A prospective buyer of such a costly item must be certain that it was genuine to begin with and hasn't been tampered with while in your possession.</div><br /><div>The COMEX provides a list of approved assayers on its website. The one we contacted, Ledoux and Co., quoted us $300 per bar for the service.<br />And that's all you need to know to get gold wholesale.</div><br /><div>When it comes to anything gold, the <a href="http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=127&ppref=GDE127ED0109C">BIG GOLD</a> experts have the inside scoop on it… an invaluable service, especially in times like these, with gold serving as a crisis hedge. For just 22 cents a day, you'll learn everything you need to know about gold, the physical metal, as well as the safest stocks of major gold producers, royalty companies, the best gold ETFs, and much more. <a href="http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=127&ppref=GDE127ED0109C">Learn more about our 3-month, risk-free trial subscription with 100% money-back guarantee.</a><br /><br /><a style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/research/gallandndx.html">Also by David Galland</a></div>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-79725077023733745122009-01-11T22:49:00.001-05:002009-01-11T22:54:19.561-05:00DollarAs stated before if it hits 81, it should mount a relief rally that takes it back to the 83.00 ranges, if not, it will most likely trade all the way down to the 75-78 ranges. Market update Dec 16, 2008<br /><br />After trading as low as 78.77 on the 18th of December, the dollar has since managed to mount a decent rally. In order for this rally to gather steam, the following conditions need to be met;<br /><br />It cannot close below 78.77<br /><br />It needs to trade above 84 for 3-6 days in a row<br /><br />If it can fulfil the above two requirements, the dollar will have a very good chance of testing its old highs and possibly putting in a new high before mounting a strong correction that could last till the end of 2009.<br />A market that has mounted such a strong rally does not simply break down in one shot; the normal course of action is a rapid pull back, followed by a strong upward move (blow off top) and then a more orderly pull back that potentially leads to a series of new all time lows.<br /><br />The dollar has to stay above 78.70 and rally past 84 to turn the short term trend upward. This whole pattern could take between 3-6 months to complete. Traders who are bullish on the dollar can open up long positions via the ETF UUP (dollar bullish ETF) or short the Euro via DRR, as the Euro usually trades in the opposite direction to the dollar. We must point out that no matter how strongly the dollar rallies in the upcoming weeks and months, this rally will fail and the dollar will most likely end the year on a lower note; it could conceivably put in a new low before the year is out. Thus traders who are bullish on the dollar should look into closing any and all positions if and when it tests its old highs.<br /><br /><blockquote><p>"Man who stand on hill with mouth openwill wait long time for roast duck to drop in."<br />ConfuciusBC 551-479, Chinese Ethical Teacher, Philosopher</p><p align="left">© 2008 Sol PalhaTACTICAL INVESTOR<a href="http://www.tacticalinvestor.com/">www.tacticalinvestor.com</a><a href="mailto:info@tacticalinvestor.com">info@tacticalinvestor.com</a></p></blockquote>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-20628016292698265092009-01-11T21:00:00.002-05:002009-01-11T21:03:54.030-05:00Market In Trouble?The SP could meander lower over the course of the next 3-4 weeks before a setup for a sharp decline likely occurs before mid-February 2009.<br /><br />The daily chart of the SP 500 Index is shown below, with accompanying stochastics 1, 2 and 3 shown below in order of descent. The %K is above the %D in #2 and #3 and "appears" to be trying to curl up to cross the %D in #1. Another 2-3 weeks of a grinding declining top prior to a precipitous decline is the most likely event to occur. Upper 21 and 34 MA Bollinger bands are in close proximity, with the lower 21 MA BB requiring another 1-2 weeks in order to rise high enough to "kiss" the index, thereby creating a setup for the next leg down in the pattern.<br /><br />I must stress that it was important for the S&P 500 Index to put in a low around <strong>780-800</strong> anytime from mid to late December 2008 in order to create a scenario for an extended rally. Failure for this to occur in the presence of a grinding market is increasing the odds that any sort of stock market rally into spring time is quickly fading.<br /><br />I put in a possible Elliott Wave count that I have not presented yet…a diametric triangle "could" be forming, which would have wave (E) starting a decline pattern that would require lasting until mid-March 2009 before a corrective bounce lasting into early May, followed by a final low established in June/July 2009. Diametric patterns require similarity in time and complexity, not price action, so in order for this scenario to pan out, the S&P 500 Index "must" continue to decline over the course of the next 2 months.<br /><br />The weekly chart of the S&P 500 Index is shown below, with lower Bollinger bands still declining beneath the index. Upper Bollinger bands are curling down, indicating that any sort of market stability is at least 8-12 months out. Full stochastics 1, 2 and 3 are shown below in order of descent, with the %K above the %D in #1, but beneath it in the other two. The S&P is oversold, but stock market crashes occur when markets are oversold. Avoid going long on the S&P at present, given stock market uncertainty.<br /><br />Establishing short positions with gradual accumulation is probably the best way to play this.This chart clearly indicates that broad stock indices could be in trouble. It is highly unlikely that a further 40-50% decline in the S&P 500 Index from present level would not see precious metal and energy stocks go untouched.<br /><br />Precious metal stocks have doubled off the lows and have yet to correct, which likely will occur when the broad stock market declines.<br /><br />Ownership of gold and silver bullion is the best investment in the present environment…if it can be obtained.<br /><br />It is important to note that a decline to around 800-810 is a prerequisite in order to have another move higher. Failure for the S&P to have any upside momentum the past few days removes any short-term upside and in turn has set up the likely scenario for 1-2 weeks of downside at a minimum before the 800 level is reached.<br /><br /><strong>There are numerous possibilities presented today and the market will determine which path it follows.</strong><br /><br />It is important to realize that when the market locks into whichever presented pattern, odds are it will follow the defined path.<br /><br /><strong>The patterns either call for an immediate decline to the lower market depths, or a further "pause"</strong> before commencing on that journey. In short, the S&P should make a low anywhere from 800-850 over the course of the next 2-4 weeks…from that point in time, it will become easier to assess whether or not a rally can be sustained into March/April 2009 or if the downward spiral of the broad market indices continues.<br /><br />David Petch<br /><a href="http://www.treasurechests.info/">http://www.treasurechests.info/</a><br />January 10, 2009Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-30547716710924945782009-01-11T19:28:00.002-05:002009-01-11T20:53:08.827-05:00Technically Precious With MervFor week ending 9 January 2009<br />Money Supply<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/burk011009.html">The chart below as provided by Gordon Harms.<br /></a>For the past few weeks money supply has been growing at a sharply<br />accelerated rate.<br /><br />Last weeks sell off relieved the overbought condition while NASDAQ new highs increased and new lows on both exchanges fell to the lowest levels in years. Seasonally next week has a strong upward bias.<br />I expect the major indices to be higher on Friday January 16 than they were on Friday January 9.<br />This report is free to anyone who wants it, so please tell your friends. They can sign up at: <a href="http://alphaim.net/signup.html">http://alphaim.net/signup.html</a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-10532339718668802442009-01-10T20:33:00.002-05:002009-01-10T20:37:21.865-05:00Silver News and ViewsThe Silver Institute just put out a press release which stated, "The silver price, per ounce, in 2008 averaged a strong US$14.98, a nearly 12-percent increase over the 2007 average price of US$13.38; the best average annual price since 1980. A key development in silver's fortune has been renewed investor interest in the white metal, which began in earnest in 2004 and continues today.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/morgan010909.html">Source=>></a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-54976255813093796952009-01-03T22:19:00.002-05:002009-01-03T22:24:19.102-05:00Precautions You Can Take in 2009 to protect your Family"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved." -- Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)<br /><br />When everything seems normal, and we all feel overwhelmed by the routine rush to earn a living, take care of our family and friends, and try to invest successfully too, it is all too easy to temporarily forget that we are surrounded by serious risks. At times, we might feel like we are working hard at paddling our canoe across a calm and quiet lake, but we do not see the large sharks and alligators which are submerged and waiting for the best time to strike. It has been said that optimists expect the best (and are frequently disappointed), but pessimists prepare for the worst (and hope that the preparations will be unnecessary). This Optimist presents the positive view that we can be happy in the good times, and also focus some effort on being ready for when the times are not so good.<br /><br />Why worry about personal security?<br /><br />The way New Orleans morphed into chaos and violence soon after Katrina is a graphic illustration of how calm and peaceful times can quickly deteriorate into traumatic events. Other natural and man made disasters such as crime, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tornados, and riots offer clear examples of situations which can abruptly transform normal life into a survival test. People whose lives are suddenly immersed into a serious problem situation may discover that it can be very difficult to find a way to move their family to safety unless they previously prepared for how and where to do so.<br /><br />Who should consider personal security?<br /><br />Since some of the questions in this topic are difficult, the Optimist is happy that he can respond to an easy one like this. Everyone is at risk of being exposed to serious security problems, so each person should give some thought to how best to handle those problems. Everyone who thinks they have immunity to the serious problems that could affect all of us should consider that Murphy's Law has not been repealed specifically for them, and that things can go badly wrong anywhere.<br /><br />What bad things could possibly affect me?<br /><br />OK, you live in a modern suburb that feels really comfortable, and you don't plan to move to New Orleans before the next hurricane season starts, so you are safe, right? Wish it was that easy. Natural disasters can happen anyplace. People who do not look beyond their own neighborhood can suffer great harm when that entire region experiences a major problem. Big storms, earthquakes, wildfires, etc can completely destroy large areas. No matter how secure a neighborhood may seem in normal times, there is always a risk that crime could spiral into a temporarily uncontrollable and seriously unsafe situation.<br /><br />Consider what might happen if there is a nationwide trucking strike to protest truckers' inability to earn more than the rapidly rising cost of fuel. Most of the food and fuel for big cities is delivered by truck. A disruption in deliveries would quickly leave large portions of all big cities with inadequate supplies. Inner city residents are not likely to suffer quietly and peacefully as their supply of food runs out. Suburbs surrounding the city will also feel the effects. At the same time, a sharp curtailment of fuel deliveries to gas stations will make gasoline unavailable. People who are poorly prepared may find that it is hazardous to stay in their neighborhood, but that they are also unable to leave.<br /><br />It is not too difficult to stretch one's imagination to questions about what could happen in a big city if the dollar abruptly collapses in international markets. Interest rates would soar, and prices for everything that is imported would jump sky high. Food would quickly be priced out of reach for most people within large cities, and gasoline would be difficult to buy at any price. The short term results could look a lot like the hypothetical trucking strike discussed above. Staying out of debt, and having one's finances invested in silver, gold, energy, and a host of other inflation proof assets is an excellent way to protect our finances, but we should also consider how well our personal security is protected from comparable risks.<br /><br />How could we improve our personal security?<br /><br />The first and most essential step in preparing for possible problems is to consider the threats, and to think about how best to deal with them. For example, crime is always a potential concern, and the Optimist <a class="plainlarge" href="http://sitekreator.com/Optimist/crime.html" target="_self" link="">previously offered some advice</a> about reducing one's risk of becoming a victim of crime. The bigger picture of how to prepare for possible international events, or natural disasters, or large scale problems caused by people, however, requires the individual perspective of each reader to find an appropriate solution. Since the Optimist does not have the ability to see through the eyes of each of the readers who will consider this commentary, I will need to limit my advice to general suggestions about things each person should consider.<br /><br />First, if you can't stand the heat, make sure that you have the ability to get out of the kitchen. There are some serious events which could provide even less warning time than hurricane Katrina did. If you wake up one morning to find a tsunami of events has caused a wall of financial or criminal "water" to rush at you, there may be very little time or ability to react and prepare. At a minimum, each person should have a plan about what they would want to take with them if they need to immediately move their family to safety. It is also a very good plan to always have enough gas in the car to be sure that you can at least get away from the city. A good rule of thumb is to never let a gas tank get to less than half full, and then to refill it quickly at any hint of a potential problem.<br /><br />Second, it's not enough to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, or know when to run. You also should have a good idea about where to go. Although a few readers have offered advice about where they want the Optimist to go, I don't intend to share those directions with you. Instead, my suggestion is that each person should consider the possibility that he may need to quickly move his family out of a possible danger zone around many cities, and then he should formulate the best plan for his situation.<br /><br />Third, be prepared. It must have been really embarrassing, as reported in news accounts, for the guys who absent-mindedly drove off from gas stations and left the wife or one of the kids behind. In times of serious stress, it is very difficult to remember everything. My advice is to plan in advance, and make a checklist of things to take if you need to get in the car and go.<br /><br />Where might one invest in personal security?<br /><br />Oh yeah. This commentary is about investing in personal security. For starters, don't let the gas tank of your car get close to empty while you wait for gas prices to drop a little. Top off the tank often, regardless of the price. Make sure that your family has enough food and water at home to last for several days, and rotate that stock so that your emergency supplies are always fresh. Keep in mind that the electricity we depend upon in so many ways might be unavailable for an extended time after an ice storm or other serious problem, and be sure you have food you can eat without electric power if necessary.<br /><br />People who have an interest in areas away from a big city, and who have sufficient investment funds, might consider combining those elements. For example, a hunter or fisherman, or camper or weekend farmer who really likes an area within driving distance might consider purchasing or leasing a small amount of land there. If the land has a small cabin, or even a place to pitch a tent, then it could be a good spot for a vacation in good times and an essential destination if an escape plan becomes necessary. Although the financial investment returns from owning that piece of land might not make your accountant's eyes glaze over, the value to your family in improved personal security could be priceless.<br /><br />When?<br /><br />If yesterday is an inconvenient time for you, then by all means wait until today to begin working on your own what-if plans. Actually being able to implement your plans will take some time, of course. Fortunately, the Optimist sees no problems on the horizon that require any more of a rush than the residents of New Orleans had a day or two before Katrina hit.<br /><br />So, what about silver?<br /><br />It has always been a good guideline that everyone should keep some money handy in case it is needed for an emergency. There have been many times in the past when small problems were solved before they grew into big problems by taking some money out of the cookie jar. It is possible that a future event could make a credit card or a check unacceptable for payment. Real money in your hand will buy more than paper promises. In times of rapidly rising inflation, however, it is really painful to keep fiat $100 bills in your wallet, and watch them shrink in purchasing power each day. The simple solution to the problem of keeping money on hand for emergencies, and not losing the value of fiat through inflation, is to keep some silver set aside and easily accessible. Although any silver rounds or bars would be good, the Optimist is partial to U.S. junk silver dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 and earlier. Those coins are readily recognized and easily exchanged for other items of comparable value.<br /><br />Although the rising price of silver is slowly solving the obvious problem that you still get too much silver metal for your fiat paper, even $10,000 buys enough silver that the weight and space are significant. Although there are many alternatives for buying paper forms of silver to simplify the weight and space concerns, investors should be aware that a serious financial event could make paper silver unavailable and unusable. When silver is a part of one's personal security plan, it would be worthwhile to consider being able to get access to the silver without permission or assistance from anyone.<br /><br />It has been said that a good presentation tells the reader who what, why, when, where and how. The Optimist hopes he has succeeded in connecting the dots to present a picture which encourages readers to consider their own personal security needs.<br /><br /><a href="http://sitekreator.com/Optimist/security.html">Source=>></a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-7545003545023237662009-01-01T16:39:00.000-05:002009-01-01T16:47:25.270-05:00Mardoff Ecomics-The Year in Review<a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/images/grandich123108b.gif"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 285px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/images/grandich123108b.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>The Big Picture-</strong> When it comes to the good old U.S.A., I believe there's one overwhelming view one must take despite all the political rhetoric and "I'm okay, your okay" from the "Don't worry, be happy" crowd on Wall Street; America is trying to operate on a failed business model. While doing so, Americans have truly mortgaged their futures on a far worse situation than the sub-prime fiasco.</div><br /><div></div><div>- <a href="http://grandich.agoracom.com/2008/12/alert-oil-its-time-to-grease-our-portfolios-230pm-est-oil-3650/">I threw my hat back</a> into the bullish camp in the waning days of 2008.</div><div><br />U.S. Dollar Index - I've had a constant saying for the last few years that "the only party that doesn't know the U.S. Dollar is dead is the U.S. Dollar. "If I was wrong and it was only sick, trust me the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fuagzJcsYI">trillions of dollars</a> being created and pumped into the system was its death warrant. Pity the poor souls on Tout-TV who say the Fed will be able to remove these trillions of thin-air created dollars from the system without causing inflation. If you believe that one, you should join those who believe Elvis is still alive and on an island somewhere with Jimmy Hoffa. Look for a test of the low 70s by years-end, if not sooner.</div><div><br />U.S. Treasuries - The one remaining bubble that should burst in 2009 (<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/avp/avp.htm?N=video&T=Jim%20Rogers%20Plans%20to%20Short%20U.S.%20Long-Term%20Bonds%2C%20Buy%20Yen%20&clipSRC=mms://media2.bloomberg.com/cache/vpZqGFXZTDlM.asf">watch</a>). While the 10-year can still get below 2% yield, the time has come to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4jdmhPj65g">short treasuries</a>. We may go down before going up, but by years-end I think this strategy can be a winner. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081217/bs_afp/financeeconomychinausbonds;_ylt=AtVjZuJzH8jyDtrp0v52Pg_v5rEF">Read</a></div><div> </div><div><br />Grandich Publications, LLC. P.O. Box 243Perrineville, NJ 08535<a href="http://www.grandich.com/">www.Grandich.com</a>phone o 732-642-3992email o <a href="mailto:Peter@Grandich.com">Peter@Grandich.com</a></div><div> </div><div>Abridged Read it all <a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/grandich123108.html"><strong>here=>></strong></a></div>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-16424298716716464712009-01-01T16:17:00.000-05:002009-01-01T16:27:26.678-05:00Warning Danger AheadUNCOMMON COMMON SENSE For People Who Think, WARNING: DANGER AHEAD<br />by Aubie Baltin CFA, CTA, CFP, PhD.<br /><br />Now that the $50 billion Madoff Ponzi debacle is all over the front pages of every newspaper and more importantly, affecting most major charities all over the world, the cry for regulation and Increased oversight has reached crescendo proportions. If there is one lesson that should be obvious, but throughout history has never been learned, is that Making Laws Does Not Prevent Crime. Only by changing the system so that it makes human nature the centerpiece of regulation can we possibly achieve our goals. Have you not noticed that these same types of crimes always come to light only after extensive new regulations lead to a major Economic and Financial breakdowns? Yet after each one, we put a couple of people in jail and pass a few more new laws, yet each new breakdown produces bigger and bigger swindles: Which upon careful examination are due almost for exactly the same reasons as the one before.<br /><br />Look at this guy Madoff. He allegedly robs $50 billion and yet he is out on bail. If a kid robs a liquor store for $500, chances are he doesn't get bail. How does a guy who could potentially have stolen more money than anybody in history get granted bail? With our entire financial system on its knees, how is it that not one single individual has even be charged? The inequality within our justice system has never appeared more glaring. Nobody seems to be able to figure out what happened or why he confessed so quickly. To me the answer is obvious: He is a 70 year old man and by confessing he is trying to take the spotlight and heat off his 2 sons and wife. Also, where is all the money that he stole? He could not possibly have spent it all. If there is a possibility of "grabbing back" monies paid to innocent investors, can they not seize all assets (money, valuables and properties, etc.) owned by his wife and children since they were all accumulated by the use of ill gotten gains? Or is there something we are not seeing. Is he being paid to keep quiet and that is the real reason for his favorable treatment by the courts?<br /><br />The coming year, 2009, is going to be much worse for the average American than 2008. Dissatisfaction with our current system could lead to widespread protests, riots and violence which, in turn, could lead to a tremendous loss of our personal freedoms as we fall into a Dictatorship Style Socialism. Every American should be outraged by this atrocious stewardship of our nation's wealth. Our future has been looted by a select moneyed few who are completely free of the consequences that so many millions of others will have to go through. Did any of you ever ask where the $900 million that was spent on the presidential campaign came from and what do they expect to get in return? To these politicians from either party, we are like sheep to be sheared and when necessary, led to the slaughter. And make no mistake, it is the working people of this country who will be paying the tab for these so-called Masters of the Universe. The stark reality of the current power grab and the degree of naked greed on such a grand scale with complete disregard for others is a prelude to the financial genocide of our nation's health. Unfortunately it is creeping Socialism that breeds cronyism and anarchy, which always leads to outrageous theft that a truly Capitalist system would not tolerate. However it will be Capitalism that will get the blame, which is why I am calling for a 20 year Depression as our country turns more and more to French style Socialism lead by our new FDR. Keynesian Messiah.<br /><br />THE STOCK MARKET: I don't have much to say that is new except that the market is behaving almost exactly as expected and explained in my last two issues. We are in major Wave B of the BEAR MARKET with as long as 2 or 3 more months to go before Wave B is over and the devastating Wave C crash resumes. Continue to build up your cash positions. If you insist on action: Buy stocks only into sell offs - DO NOT chase rallies. REMEMBER to always use STOPS. DO NOT LOSE MORE THAN 10% on any position. You must not get caught sitting on losses when this market turns down and the best shorting opportunities present themselves.<br /><br /><em>Please Note: This article is for education purposes only and is designed to help you make up your own mind, not for me to make it up for you. Only you know your own personal circumstances so only you can decide the best places to invest your money and the degree of risk that you are prepared to take. The Information on data included here has been gleaned from sources deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed by me. Nothing stated in here should be taken as a recommendation for you to buy or sell securities.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Abridged for E.A. read the entire article <a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/baltin123108.html"><strong>here=>></strong></a></em>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-58073954384599489822008-12-31T20:46:00.000-05:002009-01-01T20:50:22.072-05:00No end in sight for US property slump as prices fall at record rate<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/larryelliott" name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{Larry Elliott}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{1}">Larry Elliott</a>, economics editor <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian" name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{The Guardian}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{2}">The Guardian,</a> Wednesday 31 December 2008<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/subprimecrisis">House prices</a> in 20 big US cities fell at their fastest rate on record in the year to October as rising unemployment, rationed credit and a glut of foreclosed properties led to fresh weakness in the market, according to a report released yesterday.<br />After falling every month since January 2007, the closely watched S&P/Case Shiller index of property prices declined 2.2% in October, leaving them 18% down on a year earlier. Six cities - Charlotte, Washington, Minneapolis, Tampa, Detroit and Atlanta - saw record monthly falls, while the biggest annual declines were in Phoenix and Las Vegas, where prices fell by a third.<br />David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, said: "The bear market continues; home prices are back to their March 2004 levels."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/31/us-economy-house-prices-fall">Source=>></a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-64823705352995774922008-12-28T21:00:00.000-05:002008-12-28T21:01:26.132-05:00Almost one in 10 Floridians on food stampsBY JOSE PAGLIERY <a href="mailto:jpagliery@MiamiHerald.com">jpagliery@MiamiHerald.com</a><br /><br />Unemployed and strapped for cash, Floridians are asking for state assistance to feed their families in record numbers.<br /><br />In the last two years, the number of Floridians on food stamps has increased more than 40 percent to 1.7 million. That increase is the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And it's the second-largest jump in the state's history, surpassed only during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, said an analyst at the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based think tank.<br /><br />Almost one in 10 Floridians is now on food stamps, and state managers say many more qualify.Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-7690634128980849302008-12-23T10:23:00.000-05:002008-12-23T10:39:10.998-05:00Bye bye dollar, bye bye Treasuries...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpATdfVHWcLXM012bPURhtC1i0Uco5HrRKgyO0LCi4ZYs71X3gLzzYrrMIV4b5qaqUhYS2tMpko9MUQrYeylpKATZP1hUKOEh62TUMZnxBl037RqskytYveD9jaEs1I0D4p4jgTW_-LZe6/s1600-h/fedres_dees.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283007974752501682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpATdfVHWcLXM012bPURhtC1i0Uco5HrRKgyO0LCi4ZYs71X3gLzzYrrMIV4b5qaqUhYS2tMpko9MUQrYeylpKATZP1hUKOEh62TUMZnxBl037RqskytYveD9jaEs1I0D4p4jgTW_-LZe6/s400/fedres_dees.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div>Clive Maund as posted in <a href="http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/maund121608.html">Gold-Eagle.Com</a><br /><br />Over the past several days the dollar has gone into a severe decline, and this drop does not look like a reaction within an ongoing uptrend, as was the case in September, for as we can see on the 6-month chart it follows the development of a Head-and-Shoulders top area, a distribution pattern that took nearly 2 months to form. It looks like the dollar has broken down from an important reversal pattern. We had correctly identified the Head-and-Shoulders top back when the dollar index was high in the Right Shoulder of the pattern, when a <a href="http://www.clivemaund.com/article.php?art_id=1813">Dollar Special update</a> was posted on the site on 5th December, warning of a probable imminent dollar breakdown.<br /><br />As we know, the dollar spike was not the result of positive fundamentals for the currency, rather it was largely the result of across-the-board forced liquidation of commodities and stocks due to deflation fears, with the tidal wave of released funds gushing into US Treasuries as a safe haven, which first necessitated the purchase of dollars. A fortuitous aspect of the panic for the US government and Fed was that the dollar spike gave them the leeway to embark on a bender of money creation to finance an orgy of bailout largesse, especially for the benefit and banks and cronies on Wall St, although clearly the auto industry does not enjoy such favored status. This has greatly exacerbated the downside danger to the dollar once the driver of Hedge Fund and other liquidation of commodities and stocks etc abates, which now appears to be happening as the market begins to perceive the hyperinflationary implications of the recent enormous money creation. Thus, once the dollar spike is seen to have ended we could witness an all-out panic out of the dollar, and market participants would do well to remember that that which rises steeply can drop even more quickly, which means that the dollar could well plunge vertically. We may be on the point of this now. In the event of the dollar plunging potential buyers and holders of US Treasuries are likely to get "cold feet" leading to a "buyers's strike" and possibly wholesale dumping of Treasuries by overseas holders. As the United States is in the unfortunate situation of being totally bankrupt, the choking off of foreign capital inflows can be expected to lead to an immediate and severe funding emergency, with the direst of consequences.<br /><br />Holders of US dollars and Treasuries should therefore liquidate all positions immediately, the best possibly destination for the freed funds being physical gold and silver - if you can get it. We will be looking at the ways to secure physical gold and silver on the site shortly.<br /><br />Clive Maund, Diploma Technical Analysis<a href="mailto:support@clivemaund.com">support@clivemaund.com</a><a href="http://www.clivemaund.com/">http://www.clivemaund.com/</a><br />Copiapo, Chile, 16 December 2008<br />No responsibility can be accepted for losses that may result as a consequence of trading on the basis of this analysis.</div></div>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821591177021982741.post-83244585132955732572008-12-23T09:35:00.000-05:002008-12-23T10:38:46.759-05:00THE AMERICAN DREAM,An ObituaryDarryl Robert Schoon December 22, 2008<br /><br />The American Revolution was an extraordinary event. The idea that freedom was an inherent right, that tyranny could be successfully opposed, that government could serve the people, not the few, was truly revolutionary in 1776-as it is today.<br /><br />The American Revolution, however, has run its course; and unless resuscitated and given new life, the American dream and the dreams of America's founding fathers will soon be only a memory. Dreams rarely come to pass and those that do rarely last. The American dream is no exception.<br /><br />What happened in 1776 has been subverted by the passage of time and the inconstancy of later generations. Those who rule America today have subverted the principles enumerated in the US Constitution; principles the Founding Father hoped would guide those who followed them through the crises yet to come.<br /><br />The principles were not many, e.g. fiscal prudence, sound money, separation of church and state and a limited military and limited government. But even those few and clearly stated principles succumbed over the years to the imposition of policies that had given rise to the need to revolt in 1776.<br /><br />Now, in 2008, tyranny and government excesses are again upon America, but this time it is by America's own hand. The policies of King George III were no more egregious than the policies of President George Bush II.- taxation without real representation, e.g. TARP (80 % Americans opposed), the imposition of policies contrary to the will of the people, e.g. US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan (70 % opposed), and the loss of individual freedoms under the Patriot Act (60 % opposed).<br /><br />The difference between 1776 and 2008 is that America is now tyrannized not by the King of England but by its own government. Today, the US government does not represent the will of the people. It represents instead the special interests that control the US government through the buying of votes-America is not for sale only because it has already been sold.<br />The difference between 1776 and 2008 is not only 232 years. It is the difference between the dream of the Founding Fathers and the shadow of that dream in whose increasing darkness Americans now exist.<br /><br />THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK IS THE REASON FOR AMERICA'SFALL FROM POWER AND THE SOURCE OF ITS INCREASING PROBLEMS<br />Thomas Jefferson warned 200 hundred years ago that if private bankers were allowed to issue America's money, indebtedness, foreclosure and suffering would follow. Yet, in 1913, private bankers gained control over America's money by the passage of the Federal Reserve Act.<br /><br />We are now suffering for ignoring Jefferson's warnings. Jefferson was right in predicting our problems but his words were overridden by those who had other plans for America, plans that would increase their profits at the expense of the nation.<br /><br />It is no accident America is now an empty shell of the great economic power it once was. Bled dry by debt imposed by those whose sole intent was to profit, the US is now bankrupt at a time it desperately needs the resources it no longer has.<br /><br />The US Treasury is now empty except for IOUs and only if others continue to buy America's debts can America continue to go forward. Once we were creditors, now we are debtors. America cannot escape the consequences of what has been done but we can limit our problems if we undo their cause.<br />The Federal Reserve Act was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson who later bitterly regretted what he had done to America.<br /><br />I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.Woodrow Wilson, US President<br /><br />The power of the Federal Reserve System-a system controlled by a small group of dominant men-derives solely from is power to issue debt-based money in the form of US dollars and to charge interest on their issuance. We are paying our jailors for our enslavement and are fools for so doing. Who would have thought-except Jefferson.<br /><br />FRANCE AND AMERICA'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM<br /><br />This article is being posted from Paris, France; a city and nation that supported America's War of Independence against England. Over time, Americans have forgotten this important fact.<br /><br />Following the Declaration of Independence of the thirteen colonies, the American Revolution had been well received in France, both by the population and the enlightened elites. The Revolution was perceived as the incarnation of the Enlightenment Spirit against the "English tyranny". Benjamin Franklin, dispatched to France in December of 1776 to rally her support, was welcomed with enthusiasm, and numerous Frenchmen embarked for the Americas to help the war, motivated by the prospect of valor in battle or animated by the sincere ideal of liberty and republicanism, like Pierre Charles L'Enfant, and La Fayette, who enlisted in 1776.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_in_the_American_Revolutionary_War">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_in_the_American_Revolutionary_War</a><br />In the last two centuries, Americans have come to identify more with England (perhaps a cultural variant of the Stockhausen syndrome) than with its first ally, France-the lure of a good Burburry overcoming its love for the great cloak of freedom. Unfortunately, Americans have forgotten their history and what they haven't forgotten they have now reinvented.<br />Freedom is always fragile and is always under attack from those who would enslave others for their own ends, including profit; and, the present crisis is as threatening to America as was the crisis of 1776.<br />Now, as then, the cause of America's problem is English in origin. But this time the cause is England's central banking system, recreated on our own shores as the Federal Reserve Bank, a private central bank masquerading as a US Federal government institution.<br /><br />But America does not own or control the Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank is owned and controlled by a small group of dominant men- private bankers who through their control of the Federal Reserve now control America.<br /><br />GOLD IS FREEDOMTHE 5 % SOLUTION<br /><br />Gold is freedom because gold is the antidote to the debt-based money of private bankers issued by central banks such as the Federal Reserve, debt-based money that has been destroying America's wealth, savings, and productivity for almost one hundred years.<br /><br />Since the Federal Reserve began issuing debt-based US dollars 95 years ago, the US dollar has lost 95 % of its value. The whiff of the dollar's demise is now in the air and unless something is done quickly, its end is imminent. There is only 5 % left to go.<br /><br />Only if America returns to the principle of sound money enumerated in its Constitution, will the abomination of unsound money and unsound governance end. If the Federal Reserve is allowed to continue, so too will our problems and the now 95 year downward spiral of America.<br />The choice is clear: End the Federal Reserve or the American dream will end. End of story.<br /><br />Five….four.…three....two….fini<br />PROFESSOR FEKETE & THE END GAME<br />Professor Antal E. Fekete's recent writing on the backwardation of gold has created a firestorm of controversy regarding its significance, as well it should. This is an area in which Professor Fekete is the resident expert. The professor's words of warning about gold's backwardation should not be taken lightly-nor should any of his words.<br />I consider myself fortunate to have made the professor's acquaintance when I first began my inquiry into matters of economics. Grounded in academic inquiry, Professor Fekete's concern for economic truths is equaled by his concern for his fellow man, attributes not commonly shared by the "economists" responsible for our current problems.<br />On March 27th, 28th and 29th, I will be attending and speaking at Professor Fekete's event in Szombathely, Hungary, on the subject of the coming depression, an event that will dwarf the disaster of the Great Depression of the 1930s.<br />If you are able to attend, I strongly suggest that you do. I have stated before that in my opinion Professor Fekete is a giant in a time of small men. I stand by that statement today. Opportunities to listen to persons of such stature are rare as they are invaluable.<br />Information about the March event is available at <a href="http://www.professorfekete.com/">www.professorfekete.com</a>.<br /><br />The meaning and significance of gold's backwardation will be discussed as will the Professor's observations regarding the accelerating economic crisis-the resolution of the end game.<br /><br />Darryl Robert Schoon<a href="http://www.survivethecrisis.com/">www.survivethecrisis.com</a><a href="http://www.drschoon.com/">www.drschoon.com</a>blog <a href="http://www.posdev.net/pdn/index.php?option=com_myblog&blogger=drs&Itemid=81">www.posdev.net/pdn/index.php?option=com_myblog&blogger=drs&Itemid=81</a>Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14964808704560025891noreply@blogger.com0