Economy

What passes for journalism at CNBC and the rest of the mainstream print and TV media is beyond laughable. Their America is all about feelings. Are we confident? Are we bullish? Are we optimistic about the future? America has turned into a giant confidence game. The governing elite spend their time spinning stories about recovery and manipulating public opinion so people will feel good and spend money. Facts are inconvenient to their storyline. The truth is for suckers. They know what is best for us and will tell us what to do and when to do it. [Let me give you some examples.] Words: 1130

I am astonished to see how much money the central banks are printing and how their balance sheets are expanding. We have the absolute perfect recipe for hyperinflation and thus a massive increase in the price of gold and silver. So said Egon von Greyerz (www.goldswitzerland.com) in edited excerpts from an interview* with King World News.  Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com …

The recent super-dovish FOMC statement of an extended period of low interest rates and possibly a full blown QE 3 replacing the current “light” version...raises inflation risks and so pressures the USD....[That being said, I present below the GOOD, the BAD and the downright UGLY possibilities for the USD as 2012 unfolds.] Words: 1500

The U.S. government is spending more than a trillion dollars more than it takes in every year...[which] all gets into the pockets of ordinary Americans [who,] in turn,...use that money to pay the mortgage, buy food, shop at the mall, etc. - creating a "false prosperity" bubble that is not real. It may feel real to you right now, but it is unsustainable...We are living in the greatest debt bubble the world has ever seen and, as such, a devastating economic collapse is on the horizon no matter what we do [so] don't let this false prosperity and this "calm before the storm" fool you...There is going to be a massive amount of pain so you might want to get yourself and your family prepared for that. [Let me explain.] Words: 1211

Lots of iconic brands have filed for bankruptcy recently. Some blamed weak consumer demand, others pointed to rising commodity costs and pension demands. In any case, you can count on many more companies to follow suit. Here is a list of the 17 largest companies with the greatest probability of financial distress. Words: 571

The U.S. economic and systemic-solvency crises of the last five years continue to deteriorate yet they remain just the precursors to the coming Great Collapse: a hyperinflationary great depression. The unfolding circumstance will encompass a complete loss in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar; a collapse in the normal stream of U.S. commercial and economic activity; a collapse in the U.S. financial system, as we know it; and a likely realignment of the U.S. political environment.

The Baltic Dry Index is generally viewed as a leading indicator of global economic activity as dry bulk primarily consists of commodities such as building materials, coal, metallic ores and grain. My research, however, indicates that global manufacturing demand has very little to do with it but, rather, Chinese manufacturing demand - but not the actual level of manufacturing as measured by the CFLP Manufacturing PMI. [Let me explain.]

There has been a deluge of articles recently about the upticks in the housing data...[yet, while] I do not dispute the improvement in the data regarding home starts, permits, pending sales, etc.,... [see graph below] these data points are still mired at very depressed levels so the assumption is that if home building is stabilizing then it is only a function of time until home prices began to rise as well. Right? Not so fast.. [Let me explain.] Words: 1100

The Fed is completely convinced that without an inexorably rising rate of inflation there won’t be enough money made available to finance our rapidly increasing national debt. [As such, they have just] disclosed that they now have an inflation goal of at least two percent . As a result, we are stuck with a perpetually decreasing standard of living, a middle class that is on the endangered species list and provided the holders of U.S. dollars a target rate for its destruction...[Indeed,] Bernanke’s actions are so destructive to savers that I’m sure if he were a broker, he would be telling his clients to buy more gold.

I have a personal friend who spends months every year developing business opportunities in China and I find his ground level perspective unlike anything written elsewhere. If you really want to know what is transpiring there go no further than to read this insightful email on the "China condition" particularly as it compares with that of the U.S. and Europe. Words: 1320