Filed under: 2-party system, 2008 Election, bailout, Bank of America, Barack Obama, bear sterns, Big Banks, campaign contribution, citigroup, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, FEC, global economy, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, House, hyperinflation, Inflation, John McCain, JP Morgan, left right paradigm, Lehman Brothers, liquidation, Merrill Lynch, middle class, morgan stanley, national socialism, nationalization, neocons, Neolibs, obama, Ron Paul, Senate, socialism, Stock Market, Taxpayers, UBS, Uncategorized, US Economy, Wachovia, Wall Street | Tags: credit suisse group, federal election commission, run on banks
Top contributors to Obama and McCain are big banks
Filed under: AIG, bailout, Bank of America, bear sterns, Big Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, FDIC, Federal Reserve, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, liquidation, Merrill Lynch, middle class, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, nationalization, real estate, socialism, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, Wall Street, Wamu, washington mutual | Tags: failed banks, J.P.Morgan Chase, run on banks
WaMu: The Biggest Bank Collapse In U.S. History
TOP News
September 26, 2008
In what is being termed as the biggest bank collapse in US history, J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. will acquire massive branch network and troubled assets from Washington Mutual Inc. for $1.9 billion, as per a deal arranged by federal regulators. Under the deal – the latest stunning development in the ongoing credit crisis – J P Morgan Chase will acquire all the banking operations of Washington Mutual, including $307 billion in assets and $188 billion in deposits.
Washington Mutual had been one of the most hard-hit banks during the financial crisis after it bet big, like many of its competitors, on the strength of the housing market – only to see its fortunes sour as housing prices fell. Many analysts were speculating that the endgame for the embattled savings and loan was imminent, particularly after ratings agency downgrades this week, and a freefall in the company’s stock.
As a result of the Washington Mutual acquisition, the New York City-based J P Morgan Chase – after its mid-March acquisition of investment bank, Bear Stearns – will now boast some 5,400 branches in 23 states. “We think it is a great thing for our company,” said Jamie Dimon, J P Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO, in a conference call with investors late Thursday night.
Federal regulators who helped in finalizing the deal said the transition for Washington Mutual customers would be “seamless.” In a statement, FDIC Chairman, Sheila Bair, said: “There will be no interruption in services and bank customers should expect business as usual come Friday morning.”
The acquisition might prompt criticism from J P Morgan Chase rivals about preferential treatment by the government. For instance, no government assistance was extended to Bank of America Corp. in its recently announced purchase of Merrill Lynch. However, in the case of Washington Mutual acquisition, there were presumably other bidders who, in comparison to J P Morgan Chase, offered better deal for the deposits and branches.
The fall of Washington Mutual is the latest turn in a dizzying fortnight that has seen the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and the near collapse of insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500). In fact, Washington Mutual has set a ‘record’ of sorts – it is the 13th bank to fail so far this year, and earns the title of the country’s ‘largest bank failure’ by assets on record, surpassing Continental Illinois’ $40 billion in assets when it failed in May of 1984.
Washington Mutual Is The 13th Bank To Fall This Year
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html
Filed under: bailout, Bank of America, bear sterns, bernanke, Big Banks, Chile, Dictatorship, Empire, Fascism, FDIC, Federal Reserve, George Bush, Goldman Sachs, henry paulson, housing market, Lehman Brothers, liquidation, Merrill Lynch, middle class, morgan stanley, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, nationalization, neocons, New York, Paulson, qui bono, real estate, socialism, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Treasury, White House, writedown | Tags: conflict of interest, run on banks
Paulson’s former firm to be among largest beneficiaries of bailout
John Bryne
Raw Story
September 23, 2008
It certainly pays to be Treasury Secretary if your former firm is a brokerage house, a new study says.
Goldman Sachs Group — formerly run by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Morgan Stanley, stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of a $700 billion US bailout.
“Its benefits, in its current form, will be largely limited to investment banks and other banks that have aggressively written down the value of their holdings and have already recognized the attendant capital impairment,” Jeffrey Rosenberg, Bank of America’s head of credit strategy research, wrote in a report obtained by Bloomberg News yesterday.
Paulson was the head of Goldman Sach’s investment banking division from 1990 to 1994. He later became chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman, and left his post to join the Bush Administration.
According to the study, the bailout benefits Paulson’s former firm more because banks haven’t had to write down as many troubled mortage assets under accounting rules. This means that participating in the program would cause them to actually lose capital, as opposed to investment banks, which stand to gain.
Paulson $700 billion program is designed to remove “bad assets” from the US financial markets to prevent credit for businesses from drying up, which would send the economy into a further tailspin. Many businesses rely on credit to fund their daily operations.
Lawmakers are debating the plan today.
“While Goldman and Morgan Stanley, both based in New York, were yesterday granted permission to transform themselves into bank holding companies, the companies so far have operated mostly under investment-bank accounting rules, logging almost $21 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses,” Bloomberg News notes.
Goldman made sizable profits in 2007 from the subprime mortgage sector. It, along with Morgan Stanley, has fared better than investment houses Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, because it has held a more conservative capital base.
Paulson has admirers: during his Goldman tenure the firm donated 680,000 acres of land in Chile, and he has personally given away $100 million of his fortune to charitable groups.
According to estimates conducted by Open Secrets, Paulson is the richest cabinet member of the Bush Administration.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/22/paulson-goldman-bailout/
Filed under: bankruptcy, bear sterns, Big Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, FDIC, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, real estate, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., run on banks
Lehman Brothers Bank Files For Bankruptcy
AP
September 15, 2008
Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old investment bank choked by the credit crisis and falling real estate values, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the biggest bankruptcy filing ever on Monday and said it was trying to sell off key business units.
The filing was made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the bank’s holding company. The case had been assigned to Judge James M. Peck.
Lehman fell under the weight of $60 billion in soured real estate holdings, and the credit market’s dislocation ultimately forced it to seek court protection. The credit crisis has caused global banks to write down more than $300 billion in asset value since last year, and caused the shotgun sales of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bear Stearns Cos.
Lehman’s bankruptcy filing marks the end of a Wall Street firm that started the U.S. cotton trade before the Civil War and financed the railroads that built a nation.
Filed under: AIG, bailout, bear sterns, Big Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, fannie mae, FDIC, Federal Reserve, Fox News, freddie mac, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, Media, Ron Paul, Stock Market, Taxpayers, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: run on banks
U.S. Taxpayers to Bailout AIG With $85 Billion
AP
September 17, 2008
Another day, but not just another bailout. This one’s a stunning government takeover.
In the most far-reaching intervention into the private sector ever for the Federal Reserve, the government stepped in Tuesday to rescue American International Group Inc. with an $85 billion injection of taxpayer money. Under the deal, the government will get a 79.9 percent stake in one of the world’s largest insurers and the right to remove senior management.
AIG’s chief executive, Robert Willumstad, is expected to be replaced by Edward Liddy, the former head of insurer Allstate Corp., according to The Wall Street Journal, citing a person it did not name. Willumstad had been at the helm of AIG since June.
Ron Paul on AIG bailout…Bad Monetary Policy
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street
AIG’s Collapse Would Have Impact Around the Globe
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news..&sid=adkrRxBFo5nA&refer=home
Filed under: bear sterns, Big Banks, central bank, copper, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, global economy, gold, gold shortage, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, silver, Stock Market, US Economy, us mint | Tags: run on banks
Gold Drops Below $790
Bloomberg
August 14, 2008
Buyers of wedding bands and makers of fillings, take heart: Metals prices fell sharply, following in oil’s footsteps, and as the dollar rallied. Gold lost 8.4% of its value this week, with August gold ending at $786 a troy ounce, below the psychologically significant $800 level. Today alone, the shiny yellow metal lost 2.7%. Gold is down 22% from its record close of $1003.20, reached on March 18; it hit that mark around the time Bear Stearns went belly up, which sent freaked-out investors into hard assets. Silver futures took the gold medal this week, though, in the weekly percentage decline event – August silver fell 16% this week to end at $12.8010 a troy ounce. Almost 10% of that drop came today. A silver lining: Copper fell only 1.7% this week.
U.S. Mint Suspends Gold Eagles
Numis Master
August 14, 2008
The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee is reporting at their website that The U.S. Mint has suspended sales of American Eagle one ounce gold coins and is refusing orders from dealers.
GATA reports that two coin and bullion dealers have confirmed the suspension by the Mint. This news was initially reported by American Precious Metals Exchange.
Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer of GATA, says in a website posting, “The suspension is overwhelming evidence that the futures contract price of gold on the commodities exchanges is substantially below the physical market price and that, indeed, the commodities exchanges are being used as GATA long has maintained – as part of a massive scheme of manipulation of the precious metals, currency, and bond markets.”
As of today, fractional gold (1/10 oz, ¼ oz and ½ oz Gold American Eagles) remain unaffected by the shortage. The mint web site is currently not reporting any suspensions of sales and one ounce uncirculated coins are still for sale at the web site.
Filed under: 1984, 2-party system, bailout, bear sterns, Big Banks, Big Brother, biometrics, California, central bank, Congress, Control Grid, credit card, credit cards, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, fannie mae, Federal Reserve, forclosure, foreclosures, freddie mac, George Bush, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, henry paulson, House, housing market, imf, indymac, Inflation, IRS, left right paradigm, liquidation, mortgage lenders, national debt, nationalization, neocons, Neolibs, Oppression, orwell, Paulson, Police State, Propaganda, real estate, Ron Paul, Senate, silver, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Surveillance, Taxpayers, US Economy, us national debt, US Treasury, Wall Street | Tags: fingerprints, housing securities, HR 3221, The American Housing Rescue & Foreclosure Preventio
Taxpayers Will Pay $800 BILLION For Failed Mortgage Lenders
House & Senate passes housing bailout bill H.R. 3221 (The American Housing Rescue & Foreclosure Prevention Act) by an overwhelming 272-152 vote, Bush will sign soon.
Youtube
July 24, 2008
Ron Paul talks about the bailout out of the housing industry and how it really just destroys the dollar and adds enormously to the debt.
Also, slipped into the bill, was the stipulation that ALL credit card transactions must now be reported to the IRS.
Details of today’s housing bill by Dr. Ron Paul:
-$2.5B line of credit to the Treasury (Fannie & Freddie – ‘F & F’) is now “open-ended”
- UNLIMITED – Treasury now allowed to buy all ‘F & F’ housing securities
- Congress no longer involved in appropriating funds (Treasury now does)
-National Debt Ceiling Moved up $800 BILLION (buried in the bill)
–Treasury Bills being exchanged for unwanted ‘F & F’ securities
- This is the asset which “backs up our currency”
- Value of these assets are depreciating
- Treasuries have replaced gold and silver to back US Dollar
– Solution breeds inflation
- Places pressure on the US Dollar
-Mortgage industry workers “will now have to be fingerprinted.”
–All credit card transactions will now be reported to the IRS.
Housing bailout bill – another $800 billion gift from the taxpayer to Wall Street
Related News:
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archive..GRESS-IMMINENT.html
Investors worldwide are betting more than $1 trillion on a collapse in American stock prices
http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/7529
Faber: Fannie, Freddie Should Not Get Aid
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/n..&sid=a_L_tms03WSI&refer=home
Senate Passes Housing Bill
http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/16490
House OKs Fannie Freddie Bailout
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200..Aujs0nZJn4G9TEm4v_o7vh.MwfIE
woman commits suicide as home foreclosed
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/new..suicide-as-home-foreclosed
Fannie and Freddie Own A Record $6.9 Billion Foreclosed Homes
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.co..d-freddie-own-record-69.html
U.S. Foreclosures Double
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news..87&sid=aomtw8.Pro2E&refer=home
IMF: U.S. Housing Overvalued By 20%
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2542244220080726
California foreclosures up 261% from ‘07 levels
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/07/cal-foreclosure.html
Freddie MAC CEO Paid $20 Million A Year
http://money.cnn.com/2008/0.._CEO.ap/index.htm?section=money_latest
Fannie, Freddie rescue pricetag could hit $25B
Housing report bruises Wall Street
Bank of China may hold huge US debt
Dems & Paulson Push Fannie/Freddie Bailout
Filed under: bear sterns, Big Banks, Britain, central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Euro, Europe, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, humor, Inflation, real estate, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, United Kingdom, US Economy
How The Market Really Works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_qK4g6ntM
Filed under: bear sterns, bernanke, Big Banks, Britain, central bank, China, Credit Crisis, DEBT, dollar peg, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Europe, Federal Reserve, food prices, gas prices, gas tax, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, imf, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, job market, Lehman Brothers, Oil, OPEC, Paulson, Petrol, rate cut, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax, tax rebates, United Kingdom, US Economy, Venezuela, yuan | Tags: John Lipsky, Nigel Gault
America is ALREADY in recession, say top economic global experts – and that spells trouble for the UK
Daily Mail
March 21, 2008
Experts have accused the International Monetary Fund of “driving the car using the rear view mirror” after the global body warned the U.S. was on the verge of a recession.
The world’s biggest economy is already in a recession, they claim, as a draft version of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook declared the U.S. economy is “very weak”. Nigel Gault, chief US economist at Global Insight, a worldwide economic forecasting and consultancy firm, said he believed the US was in recession already – and that spelt problems for other countries, including the UK.
He said: “The US has, for years, been the primary motor for growth in the global economy. However, now consumer spending in the US has seen a downturn, the tables are turned, and the US is looking to the rest of the world for support, through strong export growth, and cutting imports.
“This is happening, US exports are doing extremely well, but it’s not enough to keep the economy out of recession.
“We do not expect to see the problems in the housing market in the US bottoming out before 2009, and while spending will be helped by tax rebates to be given this summer, that may give only temporary relief, and in the first quarter next year growth may dip back close to zero.
“The longer either the recession or period of weak growth goes on, the longer the US market is going to be weak, and very difficult for anybody trying to sell goods to it.”
Jeremy Batstone, head of research at stockbrokers Charles Stanley, said the IMF “has a history of driving the car using the rear view mirror”.
He added: “For the whole of 2007, it was not looking through the windscreen, it was merely reporting what the prevailing economic data releases were telling it.
“This report suggests nothing has changed, the IMF using backward-looking data is taking the view that the US economy might be in recession.
“Recent economic releases make it entirely clear that the US economy is already in recession, it’s confirmed by diverse economic statistics, including retail sales, sharply falling house prices, rising unemployment, deteriorating industrial production and manufacturing output.
“The 64,000-dollar question, indeed the 64-trillion dollar question, is not what happened in the first quarter, but what might happen in the second quarter, and beyond that.
“The hope among economists is that radical action by the US Federal Reserve might be enough to nip this crisis in the bud, and maybe there can be gradual recovery in the second quarter of the year, but at the moment we just don’t know.
“I do find myself becoming a little more hopeful, as the hour is darkest before the dawn. Just maybe radical action will prove that in the second quarter – or the third quarter if we are unlucky – that the storm abates.”
The draft version of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook concluded the US economy “remains very weak, certainly close to a possible recession”.
The report is due to be published ahead of a meeting next month, and was leaked to Italian news agency Ansa.
The verdict comes after the cash crisis and cut-price rescue of troubled US investment bank Bear Stearns sent markets plummeting at the beginning of the week.
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, dropped its main interest rate by three quarter-points on Wednesday – the latest in a series of cuts which have seen the rate trimmed by 2 per cent in the first three months of this year – and 3 per cent since the credit crunch first erupted in global markets last August.
The moves come as the Fed attempts to rescue the world’s biggest economy from the brink of recession and ease the pressure on the banking system.
IMF: Think The Unthinkable
CNBC
March 19, 2008
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today warned authorities worldwide to “think the unthinkable” in planning to cope with a mounting crisis in the global financial system.
John Lipsky, IMF first deputy managing director, called for “decisive policy action” amid a credit crunch that stems from the US real estate meltdown and is spreading throughout the financial markets.
The coordinated actions by the US Federal Reserve and other global central banks on Tuesday to further pump billions of dollars of liquidity into financial markets were “helpful” but stronger measures may be necessary.
Policy actions worldwide to date “may not prove to be adequate” to deal with the “low-probability but high-impact events” that may materialize and undermine global financial stability, Lipsky said in an address at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank.
“Policy makers as a matter of course need to ’think the unthinkable,’ and to consider how they would plan to react if contingencies arise. The need to prepare more systematically for potential risks has been demonstrated amply during the past few months,” he said.
“By now, there is little doubt that risks of further escalation of this crisis are rising and decisive policy action will be required to put the global financial system and economy on a firmer footing.” He said the first priority was to reverse the spreading strains in global financial markets and to restore the normal functioning of the financial system in advanced economies.
If contingent risks materialize, the central banks together with financial supervisors and regulators will be the first line of defence. The second line of defence lies with fiscal authorities. Finally, public intervention will be considered as a third line of defence, Lipsky said. The IMF “stands ready to use its record liquidity if needed to help cushion the global economy,” Lipsky said, adding, “we must keep all options on the table.”
Recent News:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArtic..h591.xml§ion=business
Banks Plot Public Bailout
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a233faa2-f789…html?nclick_check=1
Federal Reserve, commodities could lift dollar next week
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/..-MKT-US-Dollar-Rally.php
Yuan sets new record against dollar
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-03/20/content_6553269.htm
Inflation Is Americans Top Concern
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/18/news/economy/cnn_poll_inflation/index.htm
50 Cent Tax Hike On Each Gallon Of Gas?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339589,00.html
Cheese, flour prices soar
http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/793144.html
Paulson Admits U.S. Economy In Sharp Decline
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080318/usa_economy_paulson.html?printer=1
Dow fell nearly 300 points after rising 420
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080319/wall_street.html
Investment banks are borrowing from Fed
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN1954536520080319
Here Comes Worldwide Currency Debasement
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/mo..money/2008/03/17/ccview117.xml
Three Gulf states cut rates to defend dollar peg
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayA..March591.xml§ion=business
Fed Cuts Rates By 3/4 Percentage Point
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080318/fed_credit_crisis.html?printer=1
Commodity Prices Head for Biggest Weekly Decline Since 1956
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/new..HC5TmVaEq8&refer=home
Jobless Claims Jump Up 22,000
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5..V6WhHKQD8VHA9I00
Oil Falls on Concern Potential U.S. Recession May Limit Demand
Venezuela’s state-run oil company begins demanding payment in euros as US dollar weakens
Gold Plunges, Leads Commodity Slump on Outlook for Fed, Dollar
A financial crisis unmatched since the Great Depression, say analysts
Dollar Falls on Speculation Fed’s Rate Cuts Won’t Stem Losses
Bernanke’s Home Has Lost $260K In Value
Numerous Countries Have Recently Dropped The Dollar as Their Reserve Currency
Paulson’s Gift to His Bankster Buddies: Winding Up Bear
Trade-weighted pound at 11-year low
The looming global food shortage
Is Britain heading for a Great Depression?
Cairo grappling with bread crisis
Retailers Accept Foreign Currency as Dollar Withers
Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bear sterns, bernanke, Big Banks, Bill Clinton, catastrophic event, China, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Federal Reserve, food prices, gas prices, George Bush, global elite, gold, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, Hillary Clinton, House, housing market, imf, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, Japan, new zealand, Northern Rock, Oil, OPEC, peter schiff, Petrol, rate cut, real estate, robert reich, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senate, Stock Market, tax, US Economy, wheat, WW2 | Tags: Larry Elliott
The Federal Reserve Is Destroying America
Lee Rogers
Funny Money Report
March 17, 2008
It is incredible to see the rampant devaluation of the U.S. Dollar. The Federal Reserve just hours ago made a rare cut of 25 basis points during the weekend which will cause even more inflation. Gold immediately moved up $20 an ounce and the U.S. Dollar Index plunged under 71 in international trading. If this type of market activity continues the U.S. Dollar will have no value in a few months. While it is probably unlikely that we will see a hyper-inflationary collapse of the U.S. Dollar within the next few months, these policies are entirely unsustainable. If the Federal Reserve does not move to defend the value of the U.S. Dollar we will eventually see a hyper-inflationary collapse and worldwide financial turmoil. This view is also shared by other well respected financial analysts. Peter Schiff recently raised concerns about a hyper-inflationary collapse of the U.S. Dollar, Robert Reich a former Clinton cabinet member believes we are facing a depression and Alan Greenspan the man who caused this whole mess wrote in the Financial Times stating that we are facing the worst financial crisis since World War II. What’s amazing is that the Federal Reserve isn’t even trying to protect the U.S. Dollar because all they care about is saving the power of their private banking cartel. They don’t care about the U.S. Dollar nor do they care about the country itself. They are destroying this country through their actions and there needs to be an investigation into the controllers of this bank.
A Time For Caution
321 Gold
March 16, 2008
I wrote a piece 10 days ago suggesting caution on the part of my readers. Gold and silver are at bullish extremes; the dollar is at a bearish extreme. In any normal time, we would expect to see a correction, probably violent. I still believe we will have a correction shortly but we may no longer control anything. While the metals and the dollar are showing extremes of emotion, the shares of mining companies still seem to be very bullish based on my read of the XAU over gold.
My readers are smart enough to realize we are not in normal times. We are in a Domino Depression where we can expect two or three hedge funds to collapse every day, banks to go under on a regular basis. Northern Rock collapsed last fall, I for one, cannot understand how the rest of the banking system has not failed.
It’s starting again; we are in uncharted waters where no one quite understands where we are; we’ve never been here before. Bear Sterns crashed on Friday last. On Monday March 17th, President Bush meets with the infamous Plunge Protection Team. The alternatives are everything from a Bank Holiday to a nuclear attack on Iran to Bush declaring a “National Emergency” and naming himself Fuhrer.
One of the very real alternatives is Weimar style inflation. That’s what the government would like to do; it’s a question of if the rest of the world will go along with it. All it would take for a total and immediate failure would be for China or Russia or Japan or Saudi Arabia to dump the dollar.
It’s a time for caution. We SHOULD have a violent correction in gold and silver and the dollar based on emotion and government intervention but we could see $3,000 gold in a week or the start of a living nightmare brought to you by the Gang of Fools in Washington. No one knows.
I’m tempted to say the government’s ability to deceive is far greater than I ever imagined and the stupidity of Americans equally unimagined. We may well coast into Armageddon at a nice measured rate or we could see a freeze-up next week. The time will come when there is a total freeze-up in the banking system and all the banks will close. I just don’t know if it’s next week or not.
It’s a time to be cautious. We are not entering a recession; it’s a full-blown Domino Depression. It’s not a time to be in CDs or Real Estate or speculating in the stock market. You need to own real things of some real value. Our world is changing at an ever-increasing rate. Own some physical gold and pay attention to what is going on.
Leading Economic Writer: Financial Meltdown A “Gigantic Fraud”
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
March 17, 2008
A leading economic journalist has described the current financial crisis as a “gigantic fraud”, the fallout of a deliberate and preconceived profit agenda to enslave the middle classes in a debt bubble.
The economics editor of the London Guardian, Larry Elliott, has hit out at the global financial elite in a refreshing piece that marks a rare shift away from the establishment hackery we are used to from the corporate media.
In an article titled America was conned – who will pay? Elliot writes:
Indeed, it is somewhat surprising that there is not already rioting in the streets, given the gigantic fraud perpetrated by the financial elite at the expense of ordinary Americans.
[…]
Business, of course, needs consumers to carry on spending in order to make money, so a way had to be found to persuade households to do their patriotic duty. The method chosen was simple. Whip up a colossal housing bubble, convince consumers that it makes sense to borrow money against the rising value of their homes to supplement their meagre real wage growth and watch the profits roll in.
As they did – for a while. Now it’s payback time and the mood could get very ugly. Americans, to put it bluntly, have been conned. They have been duped by a bunch of serpent-tongued hucksters who packed up the wagon and made it across the county line before a lynch mob could be formed.
Elliot also states that the debate is now not about whether the US faces a recession, but is about how deep it will be and how long it will last, comparing the downturn to the South Sea Bubble crisis in 1720, and declaring that the “Ponzi securitisation scam has been exposed.”
A Ponzi scheme, named after Charles Ponzi, is one that offers abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going, meaning it is inevitable that it will eventually collapse.
http://www.bloomberg.com..p;sid=aMVeMY2hvYUI&refer=home
Not Just Recession, Clinton Appointee Talking ‘Depression’
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080314131851.aspx
Oil plummets on economy worries
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080317/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices
Bernanke May Run Low on `Ammunition’ for Loans, Rates
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news..amp;refer=exclusive
Who Is Responsible for the World Food Shortage?
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/1995/2249_food_intro.html
NZ market hit by US meltdown
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=134130
House, Senate endorse tax hikes
http://www.rawstory.com/new..enate_endorse_tax_hikes_03132008.html
Dollars Tough To Sell On Amsterdam
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSL1758265520080317
Gulf States Creep Away From Plunging Dollar
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/march2008/031708_creep_away.htm
IMF, OECD hit alarm buttons for crisis-hit global financial system
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/200803..Aj6Sk0_nk7A4Wj6bi0U.nq7.ucsA
Goldman Sees $175 Oil & Explosive Commodities
http://www.bloomberg.com/app..newsarchive&sid=aUmQ3MBOkx_0
