Filed under: Barack Obama, bernanke, Big Banks, China, Credit Crisis, death of u.s. economy, DEBT, deflation, devaluation, Dollar, dollar collapse, dollar dump, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, economy collapse, Euro, Federal Reserve, fiat currency, food market, global economy, gold, gold standard, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, imf, Inflation, interest rate cuts, job market, latin america, liquidity, obama, Oppression, peter schiff, private banks, rate cut, silver, stock exchange, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, unemployment, US Economy, Wall Street, weimar republic, World Bank, Yen, Zimbabwe
Peter Schiff: Get out of the U.S. Dollar NOW
Filed under: bailout, bank bailout, Big Banks, China, Credit Crisis, DEBT, deflation, devaluation, Dollar, dollar collapse, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Federal Reserve, global currency, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Japan, liquidity, market manipulation, private bank, rate cut, SDR, SDRs, Stock Market, US Economy, Wall Street, world currency, Yen
Even the Fed Doesn’t Want to Hold U.S. Dollars
Seeking Alpha
Friday, October 23, 2009
This is the scariest image in finance:
The above chart shows the dollar’s performance since the Fed announced its Quantitative Easing program in March. This chart tells us two things:
1. Americans just got 15% poorer on the world stage thanks to Ben Bernanke
2. A currency crisis is in the works (and perhaps already starting)
Regarding #1: When the financial crisis hit, the Fed realized it would need to keep interest rates low while it attempted to bail out the banks (80% of the $200+ trillion in derivatives sitting on commercial banks’ balance sheets are related to interest rates).
The problem with this is that it makes Treasuries very unattractive to foreign investors (China & Japan) who want a higher yield. Consequently, the Fed decided to pick up the slack by buying $300 billion worth of Treasuries through the now famous Quantitative Easing program.
As I noted last week, the Fed is now the largest buyer of US debt (it bought more debt than the next three largest buyers combined in 2Q09). China and Japan are no one’s fools. And they’re not going to fund a monetary policy that is both profligate and likely to erode the value of their dollar holdings.
Which brings us to item #2: the coming dollar crisis.
I am not a huge fan of technical analysis, but it is a useful tool for navigating a trader-heavy, liquidity driven, manipulated market such as today’s. On that note, I want to point out that the dollar began forming a falling bullish wedge pattern starting in June (see above chart). This pattern entails an ever-tightening range of lower highs and lower lows and typically precedes major breakouts to the upside.
Except it didn’t.
As you can see, the dollar broke down out of this pattern in late September. It then rallied back up into the trading range before breaking down again. This is bad news. The next line of support (place where the dollar could bounce) is 76. We’ve already broken that one too.
Now the next line of support is 72. Now, the dollar has only fallen to this level once in the last 30 years (Summer 2008, see the chart below). If we fall below that, then we’re in uncharted territory and a major dollar devaluation is in the works.
Perhaps it’s already happening.
To review a point made earlier, the dollar has lost 15% of its value since March 2009. On an annualized basis, we’re talking about the dollar losing almost a third of its value in one year (30%). That is an absurd level of devaluation. And China, Japan, etc. have had enough. It is now clear that a flight from the dollar has begun; the Fed buys more US debt than the next three biggest buyers combined.
However, what most people don’t realize is that even the Fed itself is shifting away from the dollar. Everyone knows that China and Japan hold massive foreign reserves (the dollar). But the US Federal Reserve does this too (we own euros, yen, etc.). And for some reason the amount of foreign reserve assets (non-dollar assets) on the Fed’s balance sheet skyrocketed by 50% to $133 billion at the end of August.
Now, $133 billion in foreign reserves is nothing compared to China and Japan’s ~$3 trillion. But a 50% increase in one week is an astounding rate of change.
The culprit?
A 500% increase in SDRs: the “global” currency issued by the IMF. The blog ZeroHedge caught this story first and pointed out that SDRs are the IMF’s means of maintaining a “super reserve” currency for the world. SDRs are defined as: a basket of currencies, today consisting of the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, and U.S. dollar.
Now, one has to wonder why the US Federal Reserve decided to suddenly buy $40 billion worth of SDRs overnight. The answer is that the IMF decided to massively increase the amount of SDRs outstanding from SDR 21 billion to SDR 204 billion in late August.
This came as part of a G20 decision made in April 2009 to stabilize the global financial system. Interestingly, of the countries involved in buying SDRs, the US bought the most at SDR 30 billion, compared to Japan (SDR 11 billion), and China (SDR 6 billion).
I realize this is getting a bit technical. But in simple terms this means that the US Fed intentionally participated in a world reserve currency scheme that devalued the dollar.
Folks, even the Fed doesn’t want to own dollars. It’s time to look for a currency that can’t be devalued.
Filed under: big bankers, Central Banks, common currency, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dissent, Dollar, dollar collapse, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, False Flag, Fascism, Federal Reserve, fiat currency, g20, global bankers, global currency, global economy, global elite, global government, Globalism, globalist elite, gold, gold standard, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, IMF bonds, Inflation, interest rate cuts, internationalist, internationalists, Iran, main street, market manipulation, New World Order, NWO, One World Government, private bank, rate cut, Robert Zoellick, Ron Paul, SDR, SDRs, silver, single currency, socialism, super currency, UN, united nations, US Economy, Wall Street, World Bank, world currency
Gold Hits New Record High of $1,043/oz
NoWorldSystem.com
October 6, 2009
Gold has hit a new record this morning at $1,043/oz.
Bank of America predicts gold prices will hit $1,500/oz by 2011 and Peter Schiff an Economic Analyst stated he sees gold reaching $1,500 to $5,000/oz, if the trend of gold keeps going up it would mean the dollar is collapsing.
The Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates soon, the fed’s plan to save the economy is by continuing to flood the market with fiat dollar that are backed by nothing, the economy is slowly being lowered into the ground like a casket. Ever since the country got off the gold standard the dollar has devalued resulting in inflated prices in all commodities.
The sharp rise of gold from under $1,000 to quickly $1,043 is also likely attributed by the recent G20 and UN meetings discussing the hatred of the dollar as the leading currency in the world market and the desire to move toward a new economic World Order by creating a global fiat currency (SDR bonds) that are printed by the IMF.
Owning gold is really a long term investment and a safe-haven when there’s dreary times; with record debt and unemployment, socialism for the banks and auto corporations, plans for mandatory health-insurance, the failed costly-wars in the middle-east and the hawkish stance against Iran and Pakistan.. it’s going to be one hell of a ride in the next few years.
Ron Paul on Fox News – “We MUST go back to the gold standard”
Filed under: big bankers, Central Banks, CNBC, common currency, Credit Crisis, DEBT, deflation, Dissent, Dollar, dollar collapse, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, Federal Reserve, fiat currency, g20, G7, global bankers, global central bank, global currency, global economy, global elite, global government, global treasury, Globalism, globalist elite, gold, gold standard, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, IMF bonds, Inflation, interest rate cuts, internationalist, internationalists, jim rickards, main street, market manipulation, New World Order, NWO, One World Government, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh g20 summit, Pittsburgh summit, Pittsburgh summit 2009, private bank, Protest, rate cut, Robert Zoellick, SDR, SDRs, silver, single currency, socialism, sovereignty, stimulus, Stock Market, super currency, tax, Taxpayers, UN, united nations, US Economy, US Treasury, Wall Street, World Bank, world currency, world government | Tags: Dictatorship, Empire
World Bank and IMF Join Global Attack on U.S. Dollar
Larry Edelson
Money and Markets
October 4, 2009
In my emails to you over the past couple of weeks, I’ve shown you why Washington has no choice but to devalue the dollar — and how global leaders and even the United Nations have joined the attack on the greenback by demanding it be replaced as the world’s reserve currency.
Now, just this week, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have begun adding their voices to the international choir calling for a new global reserve currency:
* Last week, World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that the dollar’s status will be challenged and shouldn’t be taken for granted.
* According to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, it’s likely that the role of special drawing rights (SDRs) based on a basket of currencies will be discussed as an alternative to the dollar during meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Istanbul next week.
* Meanwhile, global governments, central banks, companies and investors continue to slash their dollar holdings. According to the IMF, in April through June of this year, the greenback’s share of global currency reserves fell to the lowest level in a decade. Holdings of euros, in contrast, rose to a new all-time record high.
All this adds weight and momentum to the devaluation of the dollar. It is DEFINITELY ON THE TABLE. Indeed, for the first time I can remember, the G-7 finance officials, meeting this weekend, are rumored to be breaking with tradition and choosing not to release a statement on the global economy and currencies.
I feel this is an extremely significant development: At last week’s G-20 meeting, the group officially anointed itself as being in charge of global economic affairs.
Plus, we now have the G-7 refusing to discuss the dollar, which is highly unusual. Many will say that, if the G-7 does indeed refuse to comment on the dollar at this weekend’s meeting, it’s merely a sign they’re beginning to turn the reigns over to the G-20 for currency matters.
Baloney! The G-7 WILL discuss the huge “global economic imbalances” in the world. And to me, that’s code talk for a currency devaluation on the agenda. Members of the G-7 ARE discussing it. They’re just NOT doing it in public.
It reminds me of the 1985 Plaza Accord, where James Baker committed the U.S. to a depreciating dollar, bulldozing over our creditors, and ultimately precipitating the ‘87 crash.
The difference: Back then the U.S. was in a position to lead the devaluation. Today, it’s not. Today, our creditors are going to bulldoze over us.
IMF Catapults From Shunned Agency to Global Central Bank Issuing Debt to the World While U.S. Dollar Plummets
Huffington Post
October 2, 2009
“A year ago,” said law professor Ross Buckley on Australia’s ABC News last week, “nobody wanted to know the International Monetary Fund. Now it’s the organiser for the international stimulus package which has been sold as a stimulus package for poor countries.”
The IMF may have catapulted to a more exalted status than that. According to Jim Rickards, director of market intelligence for scientific consulting firm Omnis, the unannounced purpose of last week’s G20 Summit in Pittsburgh was that “the IMF is being anointed as the global central bank.” Rickards said in a CNBC interview on September 25 that the plan is for the IMF to issue a global reserve currency that can replace the dollar.
“They’ve issued debt for the first time in history,” said Rickards. “They’re issuing SDRs. The last SDRs came out around 1980 or ’81, $30 billion. Now they’re issuing $300 billion. When I say issuing, it’s printing money; there’s nothing behind these SDRs.
SDRs, or Special Drawing Rights, are a synthetic currency originally created by the IMF to replace gold and silver in large international transactions. But they have been little used until now. Why does the world suddenly need a new global fiat currency and global central bank? Rickards says it because of “Triffin’s Dilemma,” a problem first noted by economist Robert Triffin in the 1960s. When the world went off the gold standard, a reserve currency had to be provided by some large-currency country to service global trade. But leaving its currency out there for international purposes meant that the country would have to continually buy more than it sold, running large deficits; and that meant it would eventually go broke. The U.S. has fueled the world economy for the last 50 years, but now it is going broke. The U.S. can settle its debts and get its own house in order, but that would cause world trade to contract. A substitute global reserve currency is needed to fuel the global economy while the U.S. solves its debt problems, and that new currency is to be the IMF’s SDRs.
That’s the solution to Triffin’s dilemma, says Rickards, but it leaves the U.S. in a vulnerable position. If we face a war or other global catastrophe, we no longer have the privilege of printing money. We will have to borrow the global reserve currency like everyone else, putting us at the mercy of the global lenders.
To avoid that, the Federal Reserve has hinted that it is prepared to raise interest rates, even though that would mean further squeezing the real estate market and the real economy. Rickards pointed to an oped piece by Fed governor Kevin Warsh, published in The Wall Street Journal on the same day the G20 met. Warsh said that the Fed would need to raise interest rates if asset prices rose – which Rickards interpreted to mean gold, the traditional go-to investment of investors fleeing the dollar. “Central banks hate gold because it limits their ability to print money,” said Rickards. If gold were to suddenly go to $1,500 an ounce, it would mean the dollar was collapsing. Warsh was giving the market a heads up that the Fed wasn’t going to let that happen. The Fed would raise interest rates to attract dollars back into the country. As Rickards put it, “Warsh is saying, ‘We sort of have to trash the dollar, but we’re going to do it gradually.’ . . . Warsh is trying to preempt an unstable decline in the dollar. What they want, of course, is a stable, steady decline.”
What about the Fed’s traditional role of maintaining price stability? It’s nonsense, said Rickards. “What they do is inflate the dollar to prop up the banks.” The dollar has to be inflated because there is more debt outstanding than money to pay it with. The government currently has contingent liabilities of $60 trillion. “There’s no feasible combination of growth and taxes that can fund that liability,” Rickards said. The government could fund about half that in the next 14 years, which means the dollar needs to be devalued by half in that time.
The Dollar Needs to be Devalued by Half?
Reducing the value of the dollar by half means that our hard-earned dollars are going to go only half as far, something that does not sound like a good thing for Main Street. Indeed, when we look more closely, we see that the move is not designed to serve us but to serve the banks. Why does the dollar need to be devalued? It is to compensate for a dilemma in the current monetary scheme that is even more intractable than Triffin’s, one that might be called a fraud. There is never enough money to cover the outstanding debt, because all money today except coins is created by banks in the form of loans, and more money is always owed back to the banks than they advance when they create their loans. Banks create the principal but not the interest necessary to pay their loans back.
The Fed, which is owned by a consortium of banks and was set up to serve their interests, is tasked with seeing that the banks are paid back; and the only way to do that is to inflate the money supply to create the dollars to cover the missing interest. But that means diluting the value of the dollar, which imposes a stealth tax on the citizenry; and the money supply is inflated by making more loans, which adds to the debt and interest burden that the inflated money supply was supposed to relieve. The banking system is basically a pyramid scheme, which can be kept going only by continually creating more debt.
The IMF’s $500 Billion Stimulus Package:
Designed to Help Developing Countries or the Banks?
And that brings us back to the IMF’s stimulus package discussed last week by Professor Buckley. The package was billed as helping emerging nations hard hit by the global credit crisis, but Buckley doubts that that is what is really going on. Rather, he says, the $500 billion pledged by the G20 nations is “a stimulus package for the rich countries’ banks.”
Why does he think that? Because stimulus packages are usually grants. The money coming from the IMF will be extended in the form of loans.
These are loans that are made by the G20 countries through the IMF to poor countries. They have to be repaid and what they’re going to be used for is to repay the international banks now. . . . [T]he money won’t really touch down in the poor countries. It will go straight through them to repay their creditors. . . . But the poor countries will spend the next 30 years repaying the IMF.
Basically, said Professor Buckley, the loans extended by the IMF represent an increase in seniority of the debt. That means developing nations will be even more firmly locked in debt than they are now.
At the moment the debt is owed by poor countries to banks, and if the poor countries had to, they could default on that. The bank debt is going to be replaced by debt that’s owed to the IMF, which for very good strategic reasons the poor countries will always service. . . . The rich countries have made this $500 billion available to stimulate their own banks, and the IMF is a wonderful party to put in between the countries and the debtors and the banks.
Not long ago, the IMF was being called obsolete. Now it is back in business with a vengeance; but it’s the old unseemly business of serving as the collection agency for the international banking industry. As long as third world debtors can service their loans by paying the interest on them, the banks can count the loans as “assets” on their books, allowing them to keep their pyramid scheme going by inflating the global money supply with yet more loans. It is all for the greater good of the banks and their affiliated multinational corporations; but the $500 billion in funding is coming from the taxpayers of the G20 nations, and the foreseeable outcome will be that the United States will join the ranks of debtor nations subservient to a global empire of central bankers.
Man Throws Shoe at IMF Chief
Filed under: Argentina, Barack Obama, big bankers, Communism, Coup, Credit Crisis, DEBT, deflation, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, FDR, Federal Reserve, global economy, global elite, global government, Globalism, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, imf, Income Tax, income taxes, Inflation, interest rate cuts, internationalist, internationalists, manipulated economy, national socialist, Nazi, Neolibs, New World Order, obama, obama deception, private banks, rate cut, socialism, Stock Market, tax, taxes, Taxpayers, US Economy, Wall Street, White House, World Bank
Barack Obama accused of making ‘Depression’ mistakes
London Telegraph
September 7, 2009
History repeating itself? President Obama has been accused by some economists of making the same mistakes policymakers in the US made in the Great Depression, which followed the Wall Street crash of 1929.
His policies even have the potential to consign the US to a similar fate as Argentina, which suffered a painful and humiliating slide from first to Third World status last century, the paper says.
There are “troubling similarities” between the US President’s actions since taking office and those which in the 1930s sent the US and much of the world spiralling into the worst economic collapse in recorded history, says the new pamphlet, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs.
In particular, the authors, economists Charles Rowley of George Mason University and Nathanael Smith of the Locke Institute, claim that the White House’s plans to pour hundreds of billions of dollars of cash into the economy will undermine it in the long run. They say that by employing deficit spending and increased state intervention President Obama will ultimately hamper the long-term growth potential of the US economy and may risk delaying full economic recovery by several years.
The study represents a challenge to the widely held view that Keynesian fiscal policies helped the US recover from the Depression which started in the early 1930s. The authors say: “[Franklin D Roosevelt’s] interventionist policies and draconian tax increases delayed full economic recovery by several years by exacerbating a climate of pessimistic expectations that drove down private capital formation and household consumption to unprecedented lows.”
Although the authors support the Federal Reserve’s moves to slash interest rates to just above zero and embark on quantitative easing, pumping cash directly into the system, they warn that greater intervention could set the US back further. Rowley says: “It is also not impossible that the US will experience the kind of economic collapse from first to Third World status experienced by Argentina under the national-socialist governance of Juan Peron.”
The paper, which recommends that the US return to a more laissez-faire economic system rather than intervening further in activity, has been endorsed by Nobel laureate James Buchanan, who said: “We have learned some things from comparable experiences of the 1930s’ Great Depression, perhaps enough to reduce the severity of the current contraction. But we have made no progress toward putting limits on political leaders, who act out their natural proclivities without any basic understanding of what makes capitalism work.”
The authors of the pamphlet, Charles K. Rowley and Nathanael Smith, give their views.
Argentina’s Economic Collapse
Filed under: 2-party system, AIG, audit the fed, bailout, bailouts, Barack Obama, Bear Stearns, bernanke, Big Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, deficit, deflation, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, Federal Reserve, George Bush, global economy, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, left right paradigm, obama, rate cut, socialism, Stock Market, Taxpayers, Tim Geithner, unemployment, US Economy, Wall Street
Embracing Bushonomics, Obama Re-appoints Bernanke
Mark A. Calabria
Cato @ Liberty
August 25, 2009
In re-appointing Bernanke to another four year term as Fed chairman, President Obama completes his embrace of bailouts, easy money and deficits as the defining characteristics of his economic agenda.
Bernanke, along with Secretary Geithner (then New York Fed president) were the prime movers behind the bailouts of AIG and Bear Stearns. Rather than “saving capitalism,” these bailouts only spread panic at considerable cost to the taxpayer. As evidenced in his “financial reform” proposal, Obama does not see bailouts as the problem, but instead believes an expanded Fed is the solution to all that is wrong with the financial sector. Bernanke also played a central role as the Fed governor most in favor of easy money in the aftermath of the dot-com bubble — a policy that directly contributed to the housing bubble. And rather than take steps to offset the “global savings glut” forcing down rates, Bernanke used it as a rationale for inaction.
Perhaps worse than Bush and Obama’s rewarding of failure in the private sector via bailouts is the continued rewarding of failure in the public sector. The actors at institutions such as the Federal Reserve bear considerable responsibility for the current state of the economy. Re-appointing Bernanke sends the worst possible message to both the American public and to government in general: not only will failure be tolerated, it will be rewarded.
Geithner: Auditing the Fed is a “line that we don’t want to cross”
Filed under: 2008 Election, Amero, angela merkel, asia, bailout, Bank of America, Big Banks, brad sherman, Britain, C-Span, Canada, Carroll Quigley, central bank, CFR, China, civil liberties, civil rights, CNBC, Congress, corporations, corporatism, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Europe, european central bank, european union, Fascism, Federal Reserve, France, g8, George Bush, Germany, glenn beck, global economy, global elite, global government, Globalism, gordon brown, Great Depression, Greenback, Habeas Corpus, henry paulson, Hitler, House, hyperinflation, imf, Inflation, interest rate cuts, internationalist, internationalists, job market, John McCain, liquidation, london, Martial Law, Media, middle class, morgan stanley, mortgage, national socialism, Nazi, New World Order, paris, Paulson, peter schiff, Police State, Posse Comitatus, rate cut, Sarkozy, Senate, single currency, socialism, sovereignty, Stock Market, tax, Taxpayers, unemployment, United Kingdom, US Economy, us sovereignty, US Treasury, Wall Street, World Bank, WW2, Zimbabwe | Tags: Ewald Nowotny, fiat currency, global currency, global currency system, global financial order, globalists, globalization, international order, Jean-Claude Trichet, Jeffrey Garten, John Mack, José Manuel Barroso, new global monetary authority, one world currency, Timothy Geithner, weimar republic, world economic crisis, world financial system, world monetary system, world money system, world order
Globalists Exploit Financial Meltdown In Move Towards One World Currency
Paul Joseph Watson & Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet
October 20, 2008
The swift and ruthless exploitation of the economic meltdown on behalf of globalists and central banks revolves around their drive to move towards a one world currency system and an unprecedented centralization of global financial power.
Statements on behalf of world leaders and central banks over the past two weeks have made it clear that the agenda to further collate economic power and control of currencies into the hands of the few is rapidly accelerating – all in the name of solving a financial crisis that was caused as a result of the same fiat money system that the elite themselves created and maintained.
The original Bretton Woods agreement in 1944, spurred by the depression of the 1930s and the second world war, created the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and laid down common standards for markets around the world. Now with the current financial crisis EU leaders see another opportunity to impose global regulations on sovereign economies.
As the crisis reached its peak at the end of September, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the call for “a new global financial order” in which the world financial system would be built around a centrally coordinated policy of international regulation.
Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack has also called for a new global body to oversee the financial crisis, warning that it is like nothing he’s ever seen before.
The sentiment echoes those of elite figures such as CFR member Jeffrey Garten and Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who have both recently called for a “new global monetary authority”, a de-facto global financial dictatorship, operating across borders and forcing nations and corporations to register and adhere to strict monitoring and regulations.
European Central Bank council member Ewald Nowotny told Bloomberg yesterday that the centrality of the U.S. dollar was in question and that a “tri-polar” global currency system is in development between the U.S., Asia and Europe to replace it.
This followed a call by French President to question whether a “worldwide currency system” should be introduced in response to the financial crisis.
“Another subject in tomorrow’s world is that of the great currencies. How many should there be? What should the agreement between these great currencies be? Should we organize a discussion? Should a country like India one day have a global currency?” Sarkozy told a news conference, reports Reuters.
Any discussion would be purely academic, as the ruling elite long ago decided to force a global currency down our throats. In fact, a global currency is at the very core of their plan to dominate the world. Control money and you control the destiny of states, you eliminate national sovereignty. “The control of money and credit strikes at the very heart of national sovereignty,” A.W. Clausen, president of Bank of America once observed.
As Georgetown professor and CFR historian Carroll Quigley noted, the goal of the banking families and their minions consists of “nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole… controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences.”
It remains to be seen if the EU will realize its “solution” to the world economic crisis. In 2007, Robert Mundell, “the father of the euro,” noted that “international monetary reform usually becomes possible only in response to a felt need and the threat of a global crisis.”
Certainly, the elite cooked up an appropriate global crisis, now they will engage in a full court press to establish a global currency and eventually a global government.
EU Leaders Call for Global Currency
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
October 18, 2008
If we are to believe the Washington Post, French president and current EU leader Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to save us from nameless “freewheeling bankers and traders” who get the blame for the current economic crisis.
Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, and EU honcho José Manuel Barroso are talking up an international summit to discuss an “urgent overhaul of the world’s financial architecture,” that is to say a new Bretton Woods to establish a brand spanking new international economic order. Sarkozy has managed to grab George Bush’s ear and he will travel to Washington on Saturday to lay the groundwork for a conference.
In 1944, 44 allied nations met at a resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to fiddle with monetary standards, fix exchange rates, and create the IMF and World Bank. “Launching a remake of this old model — particularly in such a short time, with so many new participants — would represent a daunting challenge at any time, but particularly during the twilight of the Bush presidency and the crisis that is still jolting banks and stock markets around the world,” reports the Post.
Sarkozy and the EU leaders would have us believe this new Bretton Woods will call for “globally coordinated regulation of the financial industry, elimination of tax havens and a compensation system in which traders are not rewarded for dangerous risk-taking,” among other things.
It was the demise of Bretton Woods in 1971, insists European Central Bank president Jean- Claude Trichet, that led to the abandonment of regulation and subsequent market turmoil. “The explosion of the first Bretton Woods in a way could be interpreted as a rejection of discipline,” said Trichet, reports Bloomberg.
Gordon Brown, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, wants to fix that turmoil with a new spate of regulations aimed at international finance. On October 13 in London, Brown said “we must devise new rules for a world of global capital flows” just as the founders of Bretton Woods “devised rules for a world of limited capital flows.”
“We now have global financial markets but what we do not have is anything other than national and regional regulation and supervision,” Brown lamented from Brussels.
All of this is nonsense. It should be obvious by now the bankers engineered the current crisis in order to consolidate their hold on the global economy and all the talk about rogue traders, tax havens, and over-compensated executives is merely that — talk, or more specifically a sales pitch, a slick parlor trick devised to fool the commoners.
Glossed over in all the corporate media coverage is the global elite demand that a global currency be established. “Europe wants to present a blueprint for a new worldwide currency system,” reports the AFP in the video here.
“Another subject in tomorrow’s world is that of the great currencies,” Reuters reported Sarkozy musing on October 16. “How many should there be? What should the agreement between these great currencies be? Should we organize a discussion?”
Glenn Beck On One World Currency
“There is a global meltdown coming, it is a global depression, a One World Currency and One World Financial System is the ENDGAME! China said last week said they want One Global Currency, France said yesterday or the day before that they want One World Order a New World Order at the end of this event!” – Glenn Beck
CNBC: The New World Order is in effect on wall street
http://www.prisonplanet.com/calls-for-new-global-financial-order-increase.html
Tri-Polor Global Currency A Possibility
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps..&sid=apjqJKKQvfDc&refer=home
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=885494
G-8 Announces Global Summit On Financial Crisis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a..t=Ah6wNwIX5KlE5B1m5eFoDXlbbBAF
Bush & Allies Pledge Joint Action On Economy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFBnX87lzU
Brown: Use This Crisis To Create New Financial World Order
http://www.prisonplanet.com/..new-financial-world-order.html
Filed under: 2-party system, AIG, bailout, Bank of England, Bear Stearns, Big Banks, Britain, Central Banks, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Derivatives, Dictatorship, Dollar, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Europe, european union, fannie mae, Fascism, Federal Reserve, foreclosure, freddie mac, G7, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, henry paulson, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Japan, JP Morgan, liquidation, london, middle class, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, Nancy Pelosi, national socialism, nationalization, neocons, Neolibs, Paulson, rate cut, real estate, scotland, socialism, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, switzerland, Taxpayers, UBS, United Kingdom, US Economy, US Treasury, Wall Street | Tags: Nouriel Roubini, run on banks, swiss central bank
Potential Cost For Bailout is $5 Trillion or $43K Per Household
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
October 15, 2008
The total potential cost of the financial bailout to the U.S. taxpayer is already rapidly approaching $5 trillion, over seven times as much as the meaningless $700 billion bailout bill figure.
Analysts have previously marked out the $5 trillion figure as the actual cost, now those predictions are becoming demonstratively accurate.
Meanwhile, Hank Paulson has defended government intervention, stating “There’s no doubt that the way to get the maximum bang for the taxpayers here was to invest in banks.”
Based on this Reuters summary and the sources linked within the table, here is a breakdown of the bailout’s cost to taxpayers so far.
|
Bailout Type
|
Cost To Taxpayers |
|---|---|
|
|
$300 billion |
|
|
$250billion |
|
|
$25 billion |
|
|
$150 billion |
|
|
$700 billion+ |
|
|
$29 billion |
|
|
$200 billion |
|
|
$85 billion (+ extra request of $35 billion) |
|
|
$300 billion |
|
|
$4 billion |
|
|
$87 billion |
|
|
$200 billion+ |
|
|
$50 billion |
|
|
$144 billion |
| POSSIBLE TOTAL | $2.56 trillion+ |
| NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS PER U.S. CENSUS |
105,480,101 |
| POSSIBLE COST PER HOUSEHOLD |
$24,26
|
In addition, the U.S. government has said it will temporarily guarantee $1.5 trillion (£856 billion) in new senior debt issued by banks, as well as insure $500 billion (£285 billion) in deposits in non-interest accounts, mainly used by businesses.
These figures take the potential cost to $4.559 trillion+ – or $43, 221 per household.
Furthermore, when you account for the fact that the credit default swap market is around $62 trillion, and that derivatives worldwide are worth between between $1 and $2 quadrillion, the numbers start to become meaningless.
Fed To Offer Unlimited Dollars
Bloomberg
October 13, 2008
The U.S. Federal Reserve led an unprecedented push by central banks to flood financial markets with dollars, backing up government efforts to restore confidence in the banking system.
The ECB, the Bank of England and the Swiss central bank will offer unlimited dollar funds in auctions with maturities of seven days, 28 days and 84 days at a fixed interest rate, the Washington-based Fed said today. The Bank of Japan may introduce “similar measures.’’ The dollar declined and some money-market rates fell.
Policy makers from the Group of Seven nations pledged at the weekend to take “all necessary steps’’ to stem a market panic after the MSCI World stock index plunged 20 percent last week. Central banks last week cut interest rates in tandem for the first time since 2001, the U.S. plans to buy $700 billion in distressed assets from banks and in Europe, the U.K. is leading a push to keep lenders afloat with taxpayers’ money.
“By providing unlimited dollar funds they are acting on the back of the G-7 plan to ensure the system is fully liquidized,’’ said Lena Komileva, an economist at Tullet Prebon Plc in London. “We’re going to see even more liquidity provided and more aggressive rate cuts are coming.’’
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49F97920081017
Millionaire Hedge Fund Trader Thanks Idiot Traders
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/18/banking-useconomy
Treasury Black Out Key Parts Of Bailout Contracts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/..136030.html
Wall Street banks in $70bn staff payout
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/17/executivesalaries-banking
Homeless Numbers Alarming
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-21-homeless_N.htm
House prices ‘to plummet by 35%’ – the biggest ever fall in Britain
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/..–biggest-fall-Britain.html
Royal Bank Of Scotland Nationalized
http://business.timesonline.co…g_and_finance/article4932250.ece
Switzerland Pumps Billions Into Bank System
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081016/eu_switzerland_banks.html?printer=1
UBS Gets Bailout From Swiss National Bank
http://www.chicagotribune.com..7,0,4057853.story
Dow Jones Bloodbath Mirroring 1929 Rout
http://www.prisonplanet.com/dow-jones-bloodbath-mirroring-1929-rout.html
Two More Banks Closed By Regulators
http://money…00397x1211373371x1200675175
U.S. Stocks Plunge Most Since Crash of `87 on Recession Concern
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid..er=home
Roubini Sees Worst Recession in 40 Years, Rally’s End
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?..efer=home
JPMorgan Responsible for the Destruction of U.S. Financial System
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article6826.html
World May Be Lucky to Get Worst Recession Since 1983
http://www.bloomberg.com..OAeSWBCY&refer=home
Stocks On Track For Worst Year Since 1937
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6050283.html
Former Fed chief says U.S. now in recession
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49D2QB20081014
Filed under: 2-party system, 2008 Election, bailout, Barack Obama, bernanke, Big Banks, brad sherman, Britain, C-Span, California, Chicago, China, chris dodd, citigroup, CNBC, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Europe, european union, Fascism, FDIC, Federal Reserve, food crisis, food market, food prices, food shortage, foreclosure, foreign banks, foreign investors, France, general motors, George Bush, Germany, global economy, Globalism, GM, Goldman Sachs, google, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, henry paulson, House, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Japan, jim rogers, joe biden, John McCain, Larry Kudlow, left right paradigm, liquidation, london, marc faber, middle class, mortgage, national socialism, nationalization, neocons, Neolibs, obama, Paulson, Propaganda, Psyops, putin, rate cut, real estate, Russia, Senate, socialism, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, US Treasury, Wachovia, Wall Street, wells fargo | Tags: earmarks, financial markets bill, financial terrorism, great britain, hr 3997, mental health bill, pork, pork barrel, pork barrel earmarks, Pork Barrel Spending, shanghai
Bailout Bill Will Help Chinese Banks, Foreign Banks
Congress Approves Bailout Bill
AP
October 3, 2008
With the economy on the brink and elections looming, Congress approved an unprecedented $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry on Friday and sent it to President Bush for his certain signature.
The final vote, 263-171 in the House, a comfortable margin that was 58 more votes than it garnered on Monday. The vote capped two weeks of tumult in Congress and on Wall Street, punctuated by daily warnings that the country confronted the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression if lawmakers failed to act.
Dow plummets when bailout passes
List of Representatives who Switched from “Nay” to “Yea”
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=1087#.
Food Riots Have Already Begun as Global Grain Prices Skyrocket, Supplies Dwindle
http://www.naturalnews.com/024372.html
California may need emergency $7 billion bailout
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49229820081003
Hoax Bank Closure Story Peddles Bailout Propaganda
http://www.prisonplanet.co..e-story-peddles-bailout-propaganda.html
Fed Officials Considering Further Rate Cuts: Report
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26986621
Former Head of Fed’s Open Market Operations Says Bailout Might Make Things Worse
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2..ad-of-feds-open-market.html
Bailout Would Only Prolong Crisis: Jim Rogers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49SYpcaWHTE
Wells Fargo Buys Wachovia Nixing Citi Deal
http://biz.yahoo.com/..ls_fargo_wachovia.html?.v=8
Report blames U.S. trade gap for 5.6 million lost jobs
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4913E220081002
Putin blames US for world economy crisis
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=71042§ionid=351020602
Bailout bill is 451 pages long
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a..cnWOA64ch9GkocOsJ0lJv24cA
Who’s profiting from the crisis? Goldman Sachs, of course
http://www.marketwatch.c..CDCB7}&print=true&dist=printMidSection
Paulson Bank Rescue Proposal Is ’Crazy,’ O’Neill Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ne..mClVjevU&refer=home
France Wants $500B Rescue For Europe
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article4864032.ece
Faber: U.S. Bailout Won’t Stop Slowdown
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=25070&t=1&c=35&cg=4&mset=1011
IMF Adds Pressure On Congress To Pass Bailout
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/01/banking.useconomy
Google stock plunges more than 93% in “erroneous trading”
http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-39543-118.html
Ford & GM Auto Sales Drop
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_o..OmxGcLJO8EjS5v24cA
Chicago woman buys a house for $1.75
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=71130§ionid=3510213
Ex-bankers on pushing customers to rack up debt
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/pers..dex.html?iref=mpstoryview
US economic dominance over – Russia
IMF Warned Of Full-Blown Crisis
September’s ISM Manufacturing Index “Screams Recession,” Economists Say
SEC Extends Ban On Short Selling
Brazilian president: Brazilian economy solid, U.S. should do their homework
Western World Will Become Less Wealthy
’Car sleepers’ the new US homeless
Filed under: bailout, bernanke, Big Banks, Central Banks, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, european central bank, Federal Reserve, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, henry paulson, house senate, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, liquidation, middle class, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, nationalization, Paulson, rate cut, real estate, Ron Paul, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, tax, Taxpayers, Uncategorized, US Economy, US Treasury, Wall Street
Banks borrowed $940 Billion Last Week
Bank Borrowing From Fed Already Exceeded Bailout Total in Last Week
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
September 26, 2008
U.S. banks borrowed $188 billion per day on average in the latest week from the Federal Reserve, meaning that the Fed loaned out more money than the Treasury’s proposed bailout in just one week, still barely managing to keep the economy afloat.
Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday the total amount banks borrowed nearly quadrupled the previous record of $47.97 billion per day notched just the week before, Reuters reports.
$188 billion per day on average over the course of five days means that the total amount borrowed from the Fed in the week ending the 24th September stood at $940 billion – a figure that easily eclipses the proposed $700 billion bailout.
As we have already reported, the $700 billion number was simply pulled out of thin air by the Treasury.
The Treasury’s fact sheet about the bailout states, “The Secretary will have the discretion, in consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to purchase other assets, as deemed necessary to effectively stabilize financial markets.”
This gives the government and the Federal Reserve carte blanche to do whatever they want to long as it is done in the name of stabilizing financial markets, they can nationalize any company or industry and use taxpayer money, above and beyond the initial $700 billion, for whatever purpose is deemed necessary, without any oversight. Paulson’s bailout plan is also unreviewable by any court, it will remain in perpetuity.
Paulson’s draft bailout plans says: “The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time.”
As Chris Martenson writes, “This means that $700 billion is NOT the cost of this dangerous legislation, it is only the amount that can be outstanding at any one time. After, say, $100 billion of bad mortgages are disposed of, another $100 billion can be bought. In short, these four little words assure that there is NO LIMIT to the potential size of this bailout. This means that $700 billion is a rolling amount, not a ceiling.”
If the bailout bill passes it is just the beginning of something much larger. $700 billion is a meaningless figure that will do nothing to shore up the economy. It is not a bailout, it is a giveaway that will allow insiders to purge themselves of bad bets and free to continue where they left off. The real reason for the bill is the unprecedented transfer of power to the Executive Branch and into the hands of the global corporate elite.
Fed Pumps $630 Billion Into Global Banking System
Bloomberg
September 29, 2008
The Federal Reserve will pump an additional $630 billion into the global financial system, flooding banks with cash to alleviate the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression.
The Fed increased its existing currency swaps with foreign central banks by $330 billion to $620 billion to make more dollars available worldwide. The Term Auction Facility, the Fed’s emergency loan program, will expand by $300 billion to $450 billion. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are among the participating authorities.
The Fed’s expansion of liquidity, the biggest since credit markets seized up last year, comes as Congress prepares to vote on a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry. The crisis is reverberating through the global economy, causing stocks to plunge and forcing European governments to rescue four banks over the past two days alone.
“Today’s blast of term liquidity will settle the funding markets down, and allow trust to slowly be restored between borrowers and lenders,’’ said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. On the other hand, “the Fed’s balance sheet is about to explode.’’
Stocks around the world plunged the most since 1997 today and credit markets deteriorated further as authorities scrambled to save more financial institutions from collapse.
Bailout by Stealth
While the public is distracted by the “bailout bill” and its rejection, trillions are pumped in to keep financial balloon inflated
James Corbett
The Corbett Report
September 30, 2008
The media is falling all over itself to report on every minutiae of the so-called Wall Street “bailout bill” and its rejection by Congress yesterday (just a few of the thousands of examples can be seen here and here and here and here). And why not? The media’s breathless coverage of the bill has produced a furious backlash by the public and hysteria on Wall Street in a self-justifying feedback loop that makes the media attention seem merited.
The startling truth which the controlled corporate media is not reporting, however, is that a bailout is actually taking place right now, completely out of the public spotlight. This program has already pumped trillions of dollars into Wall Street (compared to the mere $700 billion proposed in the legislation that the media is focusing on) to help prop up the faltering investment banks and promises to pump in even more, every dime of it to the detriment of the taxpayer though the public will have no stake in its success. Why, then, is this program not being talked about in the media?
Slipping under the radar last week amidst the hullabaloo in Washington over the bailout bill was this story noting that in the past week alone, the Federal Reserve had pumped an astonishing $188 billion per day into the system in the form of emergency credit. This means that in just four days, the Fed injected as much money into the system as the entire $700 billion bailout proposal. After the proposal was rejected, the Fed responded by immediately announcing it would pour another $630 billion into the global financial system.
The Federal Reserve, of course, is America’s central bank and although the above story conjures the reassuring image of a national bank lending out some of its vast reserves to help Wall Street weather the storm, the fact is that the Federal Reserve is not Federal and has doubtful reserves. In fact, the trillions of dollars that have been lent to the banks in the last few weeks were created out of nothing by the privately-owned Federal Reserve. When the Federal Reserve “lends” money to a bank through repurchase agreements (repos), credit auction or other method, it is not actually lending out money from its vaults. It is simply creating the money it “lends” out as electronic credits created in the recipient banks account. It is literally money out of thin air.
That the general public is on the hook for this money created out of nothing is not an exaggeration. It is paid for in a dimly-understood mechanism often known as the “inflation tax.”
Inflation is nothing more than an indication that the ratio of money to products that can be purchased with that money has been increased. Since the overall number of dollars has gone up without any corresponding increase in economic production (as happens when the Federal Reserve creates money out of thin air), the value of each individual dollar goes down. That means that the value of the money in each individuals’ bank account (not to mention their pension and social security dividends) can be reduced simply by the flick of a pen of a Federal Reserve paper-pusher. (Unless of course that individual just happens to be a billionaire investment mogul or a Vice President who can divest themselves of U.S. dollars in time for this inflation not to affect them.) This is sometimes known as an inflation tax because its overall effect is the same as if the government came in and took that value out of the individuals’ bank account. Watch Ron Paul explain the inflation tax in the video below:
The most insidious part of this inflation tax is that the inflation does not begin until the new money begins to circulate in the system. In other words, the first person (or, more likely, giant corporate conglomerate) to use the money receives its full value, while those at the bottom of the pyramid retrieve the diminished returns of a devaluing dollar.
Why, then, is the public not furious about this stealth bailout, now taking place at the blistering pace of nearly $1 trillion a week, and all to the taxpayer’s detriment? The obvious answer is that the media is not whipping the public into a frenzy about it, instead focusing its attention on a $700 billion program and allowing the public to feel like they scored a blow against Wall Street when the program gets rejected. If so, it’s time the public got wise to how the system is really being run by and for the benefit of private bankers and at the expense of the average taxpayer. Otherwise, the fleecing of the public will continue unabated even as the public thinks they’ve won the battle.
Filed under: bailout, Big Banks, China, consolidation, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, fannie mae, Federal Reserve, freddie mac, gas prices, George Bush, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, liquidation, Media, middle class, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, neocons, Oil, Petrol, rate cut, real estate, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, Wall Street, WMD | Tags: run on banks
China Blames Wall Street Meltdown On Fed Overissuance Of Currency
Paul Joseph Watson & Yihan Dai
Prison Planet
September 19, 2008
China’s state media today reports on the real reason behind the Wall Street meltdown and a subject that the mainstream US media dare not mention – the Federal Reserve’s overissuance of currency – which the Chinese say is part of a wider agenda to justify increased control over the global economy.
The Bush administration today announced a plan to use hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money to buy up up bad mortgages and other debts. The process of injecting more fiat money into an already over-inflated system had the desired effect – the Dow Jones shot up 450 points – but the dollar, following a brief jump, began to plummet.
According to numerous Chinese state media news sources today, the Federal Reserve’s continued zeal for propping up the market by injecting illusory liquidity is part of an agenda to gain trust and grease the skids for increased government intervention in financial markets.
China Finance , China News and Chaobao Financial News, all state owned media outlets, slammed the Fed for taking action that will only make long term economic conditions worse and devalue the dollar by “creating money that does not exist which leads to the inflation of liquidity,” a policy contrary to China’s position as a holder of vast reserves of US dollars.
The analyst quoted by Chaobao Financial News highlighted “that when there is market failure, the paramount purpose of government intervention should be saving the market for the benefit of the people: Relief, Recovery and then Reform,” and that “Protecting the rights of people who are suffering in the housing market and as a result of high oil prices should be treated as a priority.”
The analyst added that by concentrating on saving just a few large financial companies, the Fed is creating wider financial chaos while arousing anger and suspicion by “only protecting and encouraging large companies’ wrong doing.”
CEIBS Professor of Economics and Finance Xu Xiaonian told a conference yesterday that “The fundamental source of Wall Street’s meltdown is caused by Federal Reserve overissuing currency.” He cautioned that the US government has already exceeded its scope in terms of intervention compared with their usual policy.
Similar sentiments were echoed by economist Zuo Xiaolie, who said that the amount of money injected into the market will have little real impact, but that such measures are a “Narrow minded way that the Federal Reserve uses to diversify the pressure of currency adjustment to other countries, which leads to the devaluation of the dollar, causing imbalance in the global economy.”
“The amount of money that has been put into the market can not fundamentally save the market,” said Xiaolie, adding that the move was merely part of an agenda to “regain the trust and justify future further intervention in the economy.”
On Wednesday, China’s official People’s Daily newspaper, the voice of the ruling Communist party, said that the US had unleashed economic “weapons of mass destruction” and set off a “financial tsunami” by allowing Wall Street lenders to trade in subprime debts and unstable financial derivatives, according to a Press TV report.
China has previously threatened to liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries, amounting to $1.33 trillion, if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation. The Communist power has also repeatedly expressed its anger at the Fed’s indifference to the weakening dollar. If China were to dump the dollar it would likely set in motion a chain of events that would lead to a collapse of the greenback.
We know we are in trouble when the Chinese Communist Party sound like bastions of sound money policy and fiscal conservatism in comparison to the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve, who in creating more money out of thin air continue to bail out their friends on Wall Street while the economic future of hundreds of millions of American citizens is sold down the river.
Filed under: AIG, bankruptcy, Big Banks, Britain, Credit Crisis, DEBT, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Europe, european central bank, european union, Federal Reserve, foreign aid, foreign banks, foreign investors, global economy, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, london, rate cut, Stock Market, Taxpayers, United Kingdom, US Economy, Wall Street | Tags: run on banks, swiss national bank
U.S. Taxpayers Paying To Bail Out Foreign Banks
George Washington’s Blog
September 21, 2008
We all know that the Fed is trying to stick the American taxpayers with trillions of dollars in debt (direct or through inflation) to bail out the Wall Street robber barons.
But did you know that they are also trying to get you to bail out foreign gamblers?
An article in the Telegraph states:
“The Fed has also just offered another $125bn of liquidity to banks outside the US that are desperate for dollars and can’t access America’s frozen credit markets”
“Another” $125 billion? How much has the Fed already given to foreign banks?
Why are American taxpayers who are already drowning in debt due to U.S. gamblers also being asked to also bail out foreign speculators?
This isn’t a pro-America anti-everyone-else post. If I lived in England, or Canada or Japan, I would resent being asked to bail out America, too.
Central Banks Offer Extra Funds to Calm Money Markets
Bloomberg
September 18, 2008
The Federal Reserve almost quadrupled the amount of dollars central banks can auction around the world to $247 billion in a coordinated bid to ease the worst crisis facing financial markets since the aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street crash.
The Fed increased the amount of dollars that the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and other counterparts can offer from $67 billion “to address the continued elevated pressures in U.S. dollar short-term funding markets.’’ The Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank also participated. Several of them lent funds in their own currencies as well with the Fed adding a record $105 billion in temporary reserves.
Policy makers have struggled to revive confidence in markets this week as investors stockpiled money on concern more financial institutions would fail after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the U.S. government bailout of American International Group Inc. The cost to hedge against losses on U.S. government debt climbed to a record yesterday.
“There’s a complete lack of faith in the markets,’’ said Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London. “There’s a lot of cash hoarding and people losing trust in banks, so the central banks are acting to relieve that. This might not be the last time they have to act.’
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080921/bs_nm/financial_bailout_paulson_dc
Bailout Eligibility Expanded to Foreign Institutions
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/..oreign.html
Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bailout, Bank of England, bernanke, Big Banks, BOE, Britain, central bank, CFR, China, CNBC, Communism, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, energy, Europe, european union, fannie mae, Fascism, Federal Reserve, freddie mac, George Bush, george soros, global economy, gold, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, henry paulson, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, jim rogers, martgage companies, Media, Merrill Lynch, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, Oil, Paulson, rate cut, real estate, Russia, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, United Kingdom, US Economy, US Treasury, Wamu, washington mutual, WW2 | Tags: run on banks
Fannie and Freddie Seized…Cost to Taxpayer: Over $1 Trillion
Contrarain Profits
September 8, 2008
Uncle Sam has finally taken over Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE). Yesterday, the Bush administration placed the mortgage giants under a conservatorship, putting billions of dollars of taxpeyers’ money at risk in the process.
The Treasury says it will stump up $200 billion to back the companies in exchange for a 79.9% stake in each. The government is now the biggest player in the US mortgage market.
Don Rich warns that the government’s bailout spells trouble for anyone holding US dollars. A major issue is that the Congressional Budget Office’s estimation of the costs of the bailout is far too conservative…
This from last Thursday’s Daily Reckoning:
A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has zero credibility. It pegged likely taxpayer losses in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts at $25 billion. For those with a sense of history, it is worth remembering that the S&L bailout had a $160 billion price tag. The numbers diverge so far from reality as to be laugh-out-loud funny. Funny, that is, except that the CBO estimate demonstrates a willful disconnect with the actual consequences of federal government actions.
As demonstrated below, the real cost of the bailouts will easily exceed $1.3 trillion. In fact, the real cost is likely to range between $1.3 trillion to $1.6 trillion, and is not unlikely to reach $2.5 trillion.
Between 2001 and 2007, Fannie and Freddie purchased or guaranteed $700 billion of Alt-A and subprime loans. Given the default rates on these loans – and the fact that the price of the housing that is the ultimate security of the loans will, for reasons demonstrated below, fall by at least thirty percent – this alone implies a loss for Fannie and Freddie on the order of $210 billion.
Fannie and Freddie acknowledge already-impaired loans on the balance sheet of $19 billion, which they have used creative accounting to avoid deleting from the shareholder equity account. This means that Fannie and Freddie have a maximum of $64 billion in capital remaining.
Given the inevitable losses on the Alt-A/subprime portion of their portfolio, it must be the case that if the federal government, as it is doing, guarantees Fannie and Freddie’s solvency, the difference between the loss and the capital to be made up by the government (i.e., the taxpayers) must equal, not $25 billion but $147 billion.
That alone would mean that the CBO is blowing smoke with their estimated cost figures, and if you think back to the S&L cost of $160 billion, this is not a surprising result. The real picture is so much worse that it is pretty obvious the CBO is flat out inventing figures just to get the politicians through November.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out how the government is going to get its hands on such money: the Federal printing press…
I don’t know what those people in Washington are taking to sleep at night after all their electorally driven accounting and finance exercises, but I can tell you what they will be doing to keep the government open for business: printing a whole lot of money.
Chairman Bernanke has the discount window open to any collateralization not worth the paper it is written on, so in effect he has the helicopters ready to drop hundred-dollar bills over Wall Street – as he once famously described the ultimate policy instrument of a fiat-money system.
Of course, if he does that, we will have to change his nickname from Helicopter Ben to Hyperinflation Ben, which answers the question of who picks up the tab of bailing out Fannie and Freddie: anyone owning dollars.
Produce a lot of something, and it becomes worth less. And given the losses at Fannie and Freddie, the taxpayer guarantee, and the ongoing initiation of Boomer retirement, only the inflation tax will work to pay for keeping Fannie and Freddie afloat.
Like it or not, we are about to enter interesting times, and it is too bad our supposed professional civil servants at the Congressional Budget Office have failed to tell the emperor the truth: that he is buck-naked bankrupt and getting ready to take a lot of people with him.
P.S Don Rich is an instructor of economics, finance, and political science at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA. He also teaches economics, government, and history at Delaware County Community College in Exton, PA. You can leave comments for Don on the mises.org blog.
Greenspan: U.S Economy in ’once-in-a-century’ financial crisis
September 15, 2008
The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shows that the U.S. is “more communist than China right now” but its brand of socialism is meant only for the rich, investor Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC Europe on Monday.
“America is more communist than China is right now. You can see that this is welfare of the rich, it is socialism for the rich… it’s just bailing out financial institutions,” Rogers said.
Stock markets jumped after the U.S. government’s decision to launch what could be its biggest federal bailout ever, in a bid to support the housing market and ward off more global financial market turbulence.
But Rogers said in the long term the move spelled trouble.
“This is madness, this is insanity, they have more than doubled the American national debt in one weekend for a bunch of crooks and incompetents. I’m not quite sure why I or anybody else should be paying for this,” Rogers told “Squawk Box Europe.”
Soros Compares Mishandling Of Current Crisis To Great Depression
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
September 17, 2008
Billionaire investor George Soros has slammed US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for behaving in the same manner as bankers in the 1930’s and mishandling a financial crisis that threatens a repeat of the Great Depression.
Soros told BBC Newsnight that the world was merely at the beginning of a financial storm and warned, “We mustn’t allow the financial system to collapse as it did in the 1930s.”
Referring to Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, Soros stated, “The way Paulson is handling the situation is reminiscent of the way the bankers handled it in the 1930s.”
He added: “The financial system has gone overboard and the financial engineering has grown to big, it takes up too big a share in the world’s resources.”
“Now it is shrinking. When it becomes regulated it will be less profitable than the last 25 years.”
Soros, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, is ranked by Forbes as the 99th richest person in the world with a net worth of around $9 billion.
Ironically, Soros made his name by reaping the dividends of another financial meltdown when he “broke the Bank of England” by short-selling the pound sterling before the currency dropped out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, landing Soros a profit of around $1.1 billion.
In 2006, the highest court in France upheld a conviction that Soros had practiced insider trading when he bought shares in French bank Société Générale after discovering that the bank was on the verge of a takeover.
Soros has repeatedly predicted fiscal armageddon, writing three books about a “superbubble” that is on the verge of collapse.
In response to those accusing him of crying wolf in an effort to panic financial markets and benefit from the fallout, Soros stated, “I have a record of crying wolf…. I did it first in The Alchemy of Finance (in 1987), then in The Crisis of Global Capitalism (in 1998) and now in this book (2008’s The New Paradigm for Financial Markets). So it’s three books predicting disaster. (After) the boy cried wolf three times . . . the wolf really came.”
Respondents to a Daily Mail article about Soros’ comments accused the financier of engaging in wanton hypocrisy.
“I don’t know why on Earth they interview Soros since he has been proven again and again to deliberately spread financial rumour for his own exploitation and gain,” wrote one, “Soros became a multi multi billionaire precisely through manipulating markets like this – if this man says that we are heading for a 1930’s style crash you can guarantee he already has plans to profit from it.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSPEK4365020080917?sp=true
US authorities have now spent $900 billion to prop up the financial system
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/..d=9736054&cKey=1221686585000&ty=ti
Central banks pump £100bn into money markets
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/m..2008/09/17/cncentral117.xml
Treasury announces debt auctions for Fed
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jnS9Vm..m4iAD938I1A80
Fed Pumps $70B Into Financial System
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_credit_..E44U6Xfx.Fe7GUOQ.D1v24cA
Run On The Bank? Americans Could Lose Their Deposits
http://www.prisonplanet.com/run-on-the-bank-americans-could-lose-their-deposits.html
Merrill Lynch seals future with Bank of America deal
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/bu.._finance/article4755438.ece
Rogers: Dollar To Lose World Reserve Status
http://www.prisonplanet.com/rogers-dollar-to-lose-world-reserve-status.html
Paulson: Congress Has No Authority Here
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/09/paulson-congres.html
Goldman profit plunges 70 pct amid market slump
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080916/bs_nm/goldmansachs_dc
August home starts seen at lowest level in 17 years
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1638353220080917
Russia halts trading after 17.5% share price fall
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles..ORTUNE5.htm
Dow closed down 450
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20..er=1;_ylt=Al5VvbZImvYKFj5hEtFaLktv24cA
Is Britain Heading For Worst Recession Since 1929?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/09/15/bcnrecession115.xml
Washington Mutual Tumbles 30%
http://news.yaho..CZ6k2k2Rd38VKPgv6b.HQA
Now fear stalks British banks
Inflation rises to 4.7% and FTSE plunges ANOTHER 90 points as global markets tumble in wake of Meltdown Monday
Bush Claims Economy Can Weather Storm
Bailouts Will Push U.S. Into Depression
Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bernanke, central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, energy, Euro, Federal Reserve, GDP, Germany, gold, Great Depression, greece, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, job market, rate cut, silver, Stock Market, US Economy, WW2 | Tags: hennecke
Hennecke Says U.S. Faces ’Hyperinflationary Depression’
Filed under: bernanke, Big Banks, BIS, Britain, central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Dow, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Euro, Europe, european central bank, european union, Federal Reserve, food prices, Fox News, gas prices, GDP, general motors, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, imf, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Iran, job market, neil cavuto, Oil, Paulson, peter schiff, Petrol, rate cut, Ron Paul, Saudi Arabia, Stock Market, United Kingdom, US Economy, US Treasury, utah, World Bank | Tags: indymac, inland empire, starbucks
Fed Auctions $75 Billion to Big Banks
AP
July 1, 2008
The Federal Reserve has auctioned another $75 billion in loans to squeezed banks to help them overcome credit problems and announced it will provide a fresh batch of the loans this month.
The central bank on Tuesday released the results of its most recent auction — the 15th since the program began in December. It’s part of an ongoing effort to ease financial turmoil and credit stresses.
In the latest auction, commercial banks paid an interest rate of 2.340 percent for the 28-day loans. There were 77 bidders. The Fed received bids for $90.88 billion worth of the loans. The auction was conducted on Monday with the results made public on Tuesday.
The Fed also said it will conduct two auctions in July. Banks will have an opportunity to bid on a slice of $75 billion in short-term loans in each auction.
In mid-December the Fed announced it was creating an auction program that would give banks a new way to get short-term loans from the central bank and to help them over the credit hump. A global credit crunch has made banks reluctant to lend to each other, which has crimped lending to individuals and businesses.
Europe May Push The Fed To Raise Rates
CNN
July 1, 2008
The fireworks may come a day early for the financial markets if the European Central Bank, as expected, raises interest rates on Thursday.
If the ECB, Europe’s counterpart to the Federal Reserve, hikes rates, that could put even further pressure on the anemic dollar and send commodity prices even higher.
The ECB will announce its decision on interest rates early the morning of July 3 and will hold a press conference shortly thereafter to discuss the decision.
Global economy faces deep slowdown and deflation threat, BIS warns
Telegraph
July 1, 2008
The global economy may be heading for a far deeper crisis than is expected and a bout of deflation in the world’s biggest economies is now a possibility, according to one of the world’s most highly regarded economic institutions.
The Bank for International Settlements has warned that many in the City and elsewhere may have underestimated the scale of the coming economic downturn in one of its most sombre portraits yet of the international financial system.
The Swiss institution – known as the central bankers’ bank – issued the alert in its annual report, released today.
Peter Schiff Demonized On Fox Business
Recent News:
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Ron Paul Calls For Hearings On Falling Dollar
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Thieves Stealing Manhole Covers
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Bank Giving Debit Cards To 11 Year Olds
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/mone..?xml=/money/2008/06/30/cnvisa130.xml
U.S. Stocks Tumble
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LA Times To Cut 250 Jobs
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Forecast for U.S. workers: Gloom
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/02/business/02jobs.php
U.S. Treasury’s Paulson: Downturn has ’further to go’
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-trea..7D&dist=msr_6
Starbucks to cut as many as 12,000 positions
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Analyst sees ‘ghost town’ in Inland Empire
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Oil Prices Rise To Record Highs Above $144
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Utah company puts operations on hold due to food and fuel prices
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CBS Story On $7 Gas
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Dow Has Worst 1st Half Since 1970
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Saudi king urges consumers to get used to high oil prices
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Merrill says General Motors bankruptcy possible
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IndyMac denies that it’s close to collapse
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Oil Rises to Record on Concern Iran Supplies May Be Disrupted
Euro Inflation Highest In 16 Years
IMF To Investigate The Federal Reserve
Filed under: central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, ECB, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, energy, Euro, european central bank, Federal Reserve, gas prices, Great Depression, Greenback, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Oil, OPEC, Petrol, rate cut, Saudi Arabia, spain, Stock Market, US Economy, Venezuela | Tags: Jean-Claude Trichet, Rafael Ramirez
OPEC Leader Says Dollar Will Drive Oil to $170
Bloomberg
June 28, 2008
OPEC President Chakib Khelil predicted that the price of oil will climb to $170 a barrel before the end of the year, citing the dollar’s decline and political conflicts.
“Oil prices are expected to reach $170 as demand for fuel is growing in the U.S. during the summer period and the dollar continues to weaken against the euro,’’ Khelil said today in a telephone interview. The leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also serves as Algeria’s oil minister.
Political pressure on Iran and the depreciation of the U.S. currency have caused a surge in oil prices, Khelil said. New York- traded crude has more than doubled in a year and touched a record $142.99 a barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
OPEC ministers generally say that oil output is sufficient, even as Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer, pledged to pump an extra 200,000 barrels a day next month to calm the market. “The market is completely supplied,’’ Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said yesterday. Libya announced possible production cuts, calling the market oversupplied.
The rising cost of crude is not linked to supply, Khelil said today. “There is more than enough oil in the market to meet the international demand,’’ added the OPEC president, who will take part June 30 in an international energy forum in Madrid.
Prices, which are up 38 percent this quarter, are heading for the biggest quarterly gain since the first three months of 1999, when oil traded between $11 and $17.
Declining Dollar
“The decisions made by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank helped the devaluation of the dollar, which pushed up oil prices,’’ Khelil said.
Oil may extend gains if the ECB boosts rates on July 3, further weakening the U.S. currency. The dollar has declined 15 percent against the euro in 12 months.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated June 25 that policy makers may increase the main refinancing rate by a quarter-percentage point next month to contain inflation. The Federal Reserve left the benchmark U.S. rate at 2 percent on June 25. On Sept. 18 the Fed began cutting rates to bolster an economy already reeling from the credit crisis.
Filed under: 2008 Election, Afghanistan, AIPAC, central bank, CIA, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dissent, Dollar, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, elbaradei, energy, Federal Reserve, gas prices, gold, GOP, Great Depression, Greenback, h.con.res.362, House, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Iran war resolution, Iraq, nation building, nevada, NIE, occupation, Oil, Petrol, Propaganda, Protest, rally, rate cut, Ron Paul, Saber Rattling, Sanctions, Senate, Stock Market, UN, US Economy, Washington D.C., WMD | Tags: revolution march, ron paul march, Ron Paul Rally
Ron Paul: Iran war will triple energy prices
Press TV
June 28, 2008
Republican congressman Ron Paul warns against military engagement in Iran, saying ‘bombing Iran’ will cause energy prices to skyrocket.
In a speech on the House floor, Congressman Paul suggested that the US is inching toward an ‘endless struggle’ similar to the Iraq war.
“In the last several weeks, if not for months we have heard a lot of talk about the potential of Israel and/or the United States bombing Iran. Energy prices are being bid up because of this fear. It has been predicted that if bombs start dropping, that we will see energy prices double or triple,” said the Republican.
“To me it is almost like deja vu all over again. We listened to the rhetoric for years and years before we went into Iraq. We did not go in the correct manner, we did not declare war, we are there and it is an endless struggle,” he told a nearly empty House chamber.
“I cannot believe it, that we may well be on the verge of initiating the bombing of Iran,” said the war veteran.
The 72-year-old former presidential candidate then blasted what he called the ‘virtual Iran war resolution’, which is soon to be considered by the House of Representatives.
“This resolution, House Resolution 362 is a virtual war resolution. It is the declaration of tremendous sanctions, and boycotts and embargoes on the Iranians. It is very, very severe,” Paul said.
Supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), House Resolution 362 (and the Senate version Resolution 580), known as the ‘Iran War Resolution’ can be considered a means of imposing harsher sanctions as well as a naval blockade restricting exports to the oil-rich country.
This bill, which was introduced at an AIPAC annual policy conference, has gained 208 co-sponsors in the House and 29 in the Senate. It will likely be put to a vote after July 4.
“The fear is, they say, maybe some day, [Iran is] going to get a nuclear weapon, even though our own CIA’s National Intelligence Estimate has said that the Iranians have not been working on a nuclear weapon since 2003,” continued the 10-term congressman.
The US and Israel accuse Tehran of making efforts to produce nuclear weapons; Iran insists its nuclear program is directed at peaceful purposes.
The most recent UN nuclear watchdog report on Tehran’s nuclear program, however, has conceded that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and ‘the alleged studies’ of weaponization attributed to Iran by Western countries.
“This is unbelievable! This is closing down Iran. Where do we have this authority? Where do we get the moral authority? Where do we get the international legality for this? Where do we get the Constitutional authority for this?” asked Paul.
Ron Paul on How The Fed Creates Inflation
Ron Paul March in Washington D.C. on July 12
http://ronpaulforum.info/index.php?topic=362.0
Filed under: Big Banks, central bank, citigroup, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Dow, dow jones, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Euro, Federal Reserve, gas prices, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, Inflation, interest rate cuts, middle class, New York, Oil, OPEC, Petrol, rate cut, silver, Stock Market, US Economy
Oil Near $143
AP
June 27, 2008
Oil futures climbed to a new record near $143 a barrel Friday as the dollar weakened against the euro, confirming expectations that the falling greenback, a major factor in crude’s stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil’s appeal.
Retail gas prices inched lower overnight, but are likely to resume their own trek into record territory now that oil futures have broken out of the trading range where they had been for nearly 3 weeks.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $142.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling back sharply in a spate of late-day profit-taking to settle up 57 cents at a record $140.21. On Thursday, the contract shot past $140 and rose more than $5 to a new settlement record.
The latest record came as the dollar fell against the euro in afternoon trading, having traded roughly unchanged for much of the day.
“The dollar was slightly stronger, and when it gave up its gains, that gave oil the green light,” said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla.-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.
The market now believes the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates in the near future; since higher rates tend to strengthen the dollar, traders are anticipating that it will continue to fall and, consequently, that investors will keep turning to commodities including oil as a hedge against inflation.
“Oil’s back in favor, especially with people bailing out of the stock market,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.
The stock market’s recent swoon is also sending investors in search of higher-yielding investments. On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 360 points, and in afternoon trading Friday was down more than 100 points.
OPEC chief sees oil at $150-170 in coming months
Reuters
June 27, 2008
Crude oil prices could rise to as high as $170 per barrel in the coming months but are unlikely to hit $200 and should ease towards the end of the year, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said in an interview on Thursday.
“I forecast prices probably between $150-170 during this summer. That will perhaps ease towards the end of the year,” he told France 24 television, according to a text of the interview released by the station.
Gold Futures Rise as Oil Surges, Dollar Falls
IBT Times
June 27, 2008
Gold futures rose above $930 an ounce on Friday to the highest price in a month as crude oil hit a record high and the U.S. dollar continued to weaken, boosting the investment appeal of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.
Gold for August delivery rallied $16.20 to end at $931.30 an ounce on the Comex division on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The yellow metal hit an intra-day high of $933 an ounce, the highest for a most-active contract since May 27.
The precious metal posted a weekly gain of $27.60, or 3.1 percent from last Friday’s closing level of $903.70.
Gold is likely to regain $1,000 an ounce by the end of 2008 and work higher through 2009-2010, said John Hill, an analyst at Citigroup, in a research note.
Also on the Nymex, Silver futures for September delivery rose 49 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $17.71 an ounce. The metal climbed 1.8 percent this week and is up 19 percent this year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/25/usa.subprimecrisis
Stocks Mostly Lower Again
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080627/wall_street.html?printer=1
The Shrinking Influence of the US Federal Reserve
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,562291,00.html
Money being pulled out of NYC banks: High demand for wire transfers
http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/articles/20080624
Dow Tumbles 360 Points
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200..p7tkyjYvSV08ZQAF3YkzSNv24cA
Filed under: Big Banks, Britain, central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Europe, Federal Reserve, food crisis, food market, food prices, food shortage, gas prices, george soros, Germany, Great Depression, Greenback, housing market, Inflation, interest rate cuts, london, michigan, Oil, paris, Petrol, Protest, rate cut, ration, real estate, riot, Stock Market, UN, United Kingdom, US Economy
Fed Auctions Another $75 Billion to Big Banks
AP
June 3, 2008
Battling to relieve stressed credit markets, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday it has provided a total of $435 billion in short-term loans to squeezed banks since December to help them overcome credit problems.
The central bank announced the results of its most recent auction — $75 billion in short-term loans — the 11th such auction since the program started in December.
It’s part of an ongoing effort by the Fed to help ease the credit crunch, which erupted last August, intensified in December and January and took another turn for the worst in March.
The housing, credit and financial crises have weakened the economy and threaten to push it into recession.
Fuel Protests In Paris and London
CNN
June 3, 2008
Truckers and taxi drivers slowed traffic around Paris’ business district to a crawl Tuesday in a protest over rising fuel prices, and hundreds of fishermen demonstrated in London to demand government help.
Dozens of trucks and taxis in Paris drove slowly toward and around the headquarters of oil giant Total in La Defense, site of the main financial district, to protest a new tax on heavily polluting vehicles.
Authorities said the operation snarled traffic on several highways.
Farmers elsewhere in France blocked ports and oil terminals as part of protests started by fishermen last month demanding government aid to help compensate for high fuel costs.
Fishermen from around the United Kingdom demonstrated in central London on Tuesday to demand their government’s help in coping with soaring fuel prices.
Hundreds of fishermen gathered outside the London headquarters of the department responsible for food, seeking financial support for an industry they say is especially vulnerable to rising fuel costs.
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations, said the cost of fuel for fishing boats was making it impossible for many in the industry to keep going.
“Boats are going out to sea and fish for five days in terrible conditions and we’re not getting enough to even pay our crews,” he said.
Recent News:
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Rationing at UK supermarkets as world prices soar 70 per cent
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$75 Credit Card Limit At Pumps Causes Anger
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UN To Meet On Food Price Crisis
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George Soros: ’We face the most serious recession of our lifetime’
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German shops running out of milk
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U.S. Bank Failures Loom
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US attacked at food summit over biofuels
Oil will fall to $60 a barrel, says BDT manager
US home prices drop at sharpest rate in 20 years in 1st quarter
Greenspan says recession still likely in U.S.: report
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Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bernanke, Big Banks, BOE, carlyle group, central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Federal Reserve, Great Depression, Greenback, henry paulson, imf, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, job market, Karl Rove, Paulson, rate cut, Stock Market, Uncategorized, US Economy, Wall Street
Fed Pumps Another $50 billion Into Banking System
AP
April 8, 2008
The Federal Reserve, still working to combat the effects of a severe credit squeeze, said Tuesday that it had auctioned another $50 billion to cash-strapped banks.
Separately, some Fed officials said they were concerned about a “prolonged and severe” economic downturn when they cut interest rates last month.
The Fed auction marked the ninth in a series that began in December that so far have pumped $310 billion in short-term loans into the nation’s banking system.
Bernanke: “Recession Is Possible”
Reuters
April 4, 2008
For the second time this week, a senior Federal Reserve official conceded the United States economy could slip into recession, but suggested the central bank should wait to see if more rate cuts are needed.
“The economy has all but stalled and could contract over the first half of the year,” San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen, who is not a voter on the policy-setting committee in 2008, said on Thursday.
“Current indicators suggest that, starting in the fourth quarter, the economy, at best, slowed to a crawl,” she said, adding later that the Fed is still battling a “negative feedback loop” of tight credit conditions, falling house prices and low consumer confidence.
Yellen’s remarks, in a speech to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, echoed those from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke during testimony to a Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday.
“Recession is possible,” Bernanke said. “There’s a chance that for the first half as a whole, there might be a slight contraction.”
But, like Bernanke, Yellen declined to point the way toward additional interest rate cuts to pull the economy out of its malaise.
Instead, she forecast a minor pickup in growth in the second half on the back of rate cuts already in the pipeline, and “timely” fiscal stimulus checks — even though the drag from falling house prices will linger into 2009.
Fed rate cut plans up on weak jobs
Ros Krasny
Reuters
April 4, 2008
U.S. short-term interest rate futures rose on Friday on news that U.S. firms cut payrolls for a third consecutive month, as dealers raised bets that the Federal Reserve will make an aggressive interest rate cut this month and beyond.
The implied prospects for the Fed to cut its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points at the April 29-30 policy meeting hit 40 percent against 20 percent late on Thursday.
A smaller, 25 basis point rate cut from the Federal Open Market Committee, which would take the fed funds rate to 2 percent, is fully priced.
More than 50 percent chance of U.S. recession: Greenspan
Sonya Dowsett
Reuters
April 6, 2008
There is more than a 50 percent chance the United States could go into recession, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan told El Pais newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
However, the U.S. has not yet entered recessionary state marked by sharp falls in orders, strong rises in unemployment and intensive weakening of the economy, he said.
“We would have to see signs of this intensification: there are some, but not many yet,” he said. “Therefore … I would not describe the situation we are in as a recession, although the chances that we’ll have one are more than 50 percent.”
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http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/rove-economy-struggling/
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Filed under: DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Great Depression, Greenback, Inflation, interest rate cut, interest rate cuts, Oil, rate cut, silver, US Economy | Tags: silver shortage
Why Silver Cannot Lose
Robert Kiyosaki
August 20, 2007
I believe the biggest opportunity today is in silver. I think this precious metal is about to become the most spectacular investment in recent history — bigger than oil, even bigger than Google.
Let me give you some reasons why:
Silver is a consumable industrial commodity.
It’s used in computers, cells phones, and electrical relays. This means that as countries like China, India, and Vietnam, and regions like Eastern Europe, become more modernized, the demand for silver will increase.
Silver is also applied in medicine. One little-known use is as a bactericide, a role silver has filled throughout history. Today, medical devices such as catheters and stethoscopes use silver, and every hospital in the western world uses silver sulfadiazine to prevent infections.
Silver is scarcer than gold.
Gold is hoarded. It’s estimated that 95 percent of all gold ever mined is still around. The exact opposite is true of silver: An estimated 95 percent of all silver ever mined has been consumed.
Forty-five percent of all silver mined is burned up in industrial uses. Jewelry accounts for 28 percent, and 20 percent has been consumed in photography. Only 5 percent is in coins.
Silver supplies are down.
In 1900, it was estimated that the world had 12 billion ounces of silver. By 1990 it had dropped to 2.2 billion ounces. By 2007, the supply was down to 300 million ounces.
Some of the more pessimistic forecasts estimate that the world will be out of silver in about 10 years. This could be catastrophic to the world economy. In 10 years, silver might have as much of an impact on the world economy as $200-a-barrel oil.
Strange Silver Price Gyrations and Shortage
Edgar Steele
Rense
March 23, 2008
It’s just like pro rasslin’, maw. He’s up … he’s down … he’s been thrown completely out of the ring and landed in the laps of New York’s governor and his … is that his wife? What’s this? Silver is down yet another dollar-something today, after being down over a buck and a half yesterday? So, the stock market must be up a gazillion points, eh? Nope.
Then, the dollar – they must have struck the world’s biggest gusher on the White House lawn? Nope. But the dollar is up – way up. Will it stay up? Nope.
This is a simple takedown, folks. Artificial manipulation by the big boys, designed to force out what they dismiss as “weak hands” holding silver. Well, don’t pay attention. We’re in this for the long haul. In fact, if yesterday was such a great time to buy more silver, then today must be an even better day, right? That’s absolutely correct! Go the head of the line and really load ’em up this time!
Aggravating this correction in the price of silver is the exit from paper silver of those who have gotten too nervous by this manipulated and phony downtake.
My pal the chart freak says that this is a standard Fibonacci retracement from a base price of $9.85. Meaning that those who bought in on paper (ETFs and futures) at around $9 or $10 now finally are selling and counting themselves lucky to have the profits they just booked. Standard stuff, he says, while silver consolidates and builds a new base in this area, preparatory to heading higher…much higher. And soon, at that.
One day soon, paper silver will be shown to be the fraud that it is when sellers are unable to deliver the physical that somebody bought. Then physical will rule. That is when the moon shot comes. And, to be on board, you have to be holding the real thing, physically…in your hands.
Meanwhile, local dealers have jacked their margin up from .50 an ounce to .85 and higher. APMEX pushed theirs up 9 cents yesterday and today, you can’t even buy anything from them except 100-oz bars, “generic” .999 silver and junk coins.
So, nobody wants silver so badly that its price takes a $3 nosedive in the course of about 24 hours. On the other hand, just try to find some to buy. When you do, the dealer is jacking up the price. Nobody wants silver so badly, you can’t buy any! Go figure. And go buy some, while you are at it.
Right now. This minute. Don’t ask why. Don’t ask what. Don’t ask when. Just do it.
http://news.silverseek.com/GoldIsMoney/1205995646.php
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