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January Podcast Archives 2013

January Podcast Archives


1.31.13 - 2013: Recovery or Recession? - Listen

Gold prices fell below $1,675/oz. Thursday on profit taking, a flat dollar and mixed economic data, stocks flat. Gold last traded at $1,663 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.46 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS DIGEST
-Jobless Claims Jump 38K to 368K - Marketwatch
-Obama's Jobs Council Shutting Down - USNews
-Income Surges 2.6%, Spending Up - CNBC
-Central Banks Walk Inflation's Edge - Financial Times
-Enjoy the stock market rally while it lasts - Telegraph

LATEST DATA POINTS TO RECESSION, NOT RECOVERY - NewsRelease
“We are still in a recession, not a recovery. I believe Barack Obama will go down in history as the worst economic President in history. We need leadership that will restore economic stability and confidence in our currency,” said Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith on Your World with Neil Cavuto today.

Prior to last year's election, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the economy (3rd Quarter 2012) was recovering and growing by 3.1 percent.

Now, new data, released January 30, show that economic growth as measured by America's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 4th Quarter of 2012 plummeted to an anemic -0.1 percent growth.

“The politicians made this even worse in January by piling an additional $1,000 a year in payroll taxes on the average working family – which will slow economic growth to 1% during the 1st Quarter of 2013,” says Smith.

CREDIT SUPERNOVA! - Bill Gross, Pimco
They say that time is money. What they don't say is that money may be running out of time.

There may be a natural evolution to our fractionally reserved credit system which characterizes modern global finance. Much like the universe, which began with a big bang nearly 14 billion years ago, but is expanding so rapidly that scientists predict it will all end in a “big freeze” trillions of years from now, our current monetary system seems to require perpetual expansion to maintain its existence.

credit chart The creation of credit in our modern day fractional reserve banking system began with a deposit and the profitable expansion of that deposit via leverage. That first deposit then, and the explosion outward of 10x and more of levered lending, is modern day finance’s equivalent of the big bang ... accelerated with the invention of central banking for the U.S. in 1913.

In the early 70s, credit outstanding in the U.S. totaled $3 trillion. Today, at $56 trillion and counting, it is a monster that requires perpetually increasing amounts of fuel, a supernova star that expands and expands, yet, in the process begins to consume itself.

What options should an investor consider? a) Seek inflation protection in credit market assets/shorten durations. b) Increase real assets/commodities/stable cash flow equities at the margin. c) Accept lower future returns in portfolio planning.

VALUE DESTROYERS LIKE BERNANKE FANCY THEMSELVES MAGICIAN ECONOMISTS - Forbes
Economics is not magic. Yet today, many prominent economists insist on pulling off an economic rabbit hat trick when they propose getting something for nothing. Economists who advocate solving the world’s economic woes with an inflationary central bank, or even a trillion dollar coin, have lost sight of the basics of their profession.

Worse are the central bankers who implement these policies. In a futile attempt to juice labor markets, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expands on the third round of quantitative easing this month by adding in $45 billion monthly purchases of U.S. sovereign debt.

COUNTDOWN TO THE COLLAPSE - FinSense
On multiple fronts there appears to have been a resumption of hostilities in the global currency wars. A subtle indication of this is the recently released report, Gold, the Renminbi and the Multi-Currency Reserve System, which I believe is highly significant for two reasons: First, it demonstrates that major global actors are now keenly aware and frightened of the possibility of a major breakdown in international monetary relations.

Second, it suggests that these same actors are trying to contain the growing demand for gold as an alternative reserve asset and pre-empt an uncontrolled gold remonetization. These efforts will fail. A collapse of the current, unstable global monetary equilibrium is inevitable. Recent events indicate that the countdown has begun.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.30.13 - Fed Blames U.S. "Stall Speed" GDP on Bad Weather- Listen

Gold prices shot above $1,675/oz. Wednesday on safe haven buying after U.S. GDP stalled, pulling the U.S. dollar and stocks down. Gold last traded at $1,676 an ounce. Silver last traded at $32.02 an ounce

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Fed holds easing stance, says growth has 'paused' - Marketwatch
-Santelli: 'Let's See You Spin This One Into Gold!' - CNBC
-U.S. Debt Gridlock Is Top World Economy Risk - Bloomberg
-We Will See A Global Financial Meltdown - KingWorldNews
-Zimbabwe Is Down to Its Last $217 - TheAtlantic

Today the Fed said it will continue buying $85 billion a month in mortgage bonds and Treasurys, saying that growth has "paused", then blamed it on "weather and other transitory factors."

great debasement GDP SHOWS SURPRISE DROP FOR US IN FOURTH QUARTER - AP
The U.S. economy posted a stunning drop of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, defying expectations for slow growth and possibly providing incentive for more Federal Reserve stimulus. That's a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter.

The economy shrank from October through December for the first time since the recession ended, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles.

The surprise contraction could raise fears about the economy's ability to handle tax increases that took effect in January and looming spending cuts.

ECONOMY'S “DEATH SPIRAL” GETTING WORSE, WARN EXPERTS - NewsRelease
“Our economy's growth has again fallen to 'stall speed,'” says Craig R. Smith, a monetary expert frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other prominent business journalists.

“This means not only that any recovery has stalled, but also that we might be trapped in an economic 'death spiral' pulling us into a Great Recession,” says Smith, whose latest book is The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar and How to Get America's Money Back.

“Average Americans fear for their futures,” says Smith's co-author Lowell Ponte, a former think tank futurist and Reader's Digest investigative reporter.

“The grim reality is that real-world inflation is close to 7 percent, and this is devouring our economy's 1-2 percent growth. Our real growth rate is closer to minus 5 percent,” says Ponte, “which means that we have never gotten out of the Great Recession that began more than four years ago.”

“The government might be concealing this massaged numbers,” says Ponte. “That's how this Administration, for example, can claim that unemployment is roughly the same as it was when President Obama took office – even though 8.33 million fewer people have jobs, and America's population has grown by 9 million.”

“We now have an Alice-in-Wonderland economy created with smoke and mirrors,” says Ponte. “It's an upside-down, spending-addicted economy in which the stock market goes up when bad news increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will magically conjure more hundreds of billions more in stimulus money out of thin air.”

“The grim reality is that the United States recently has suffered from slower GDP growth than 75 percent of the world's nations,” says Ponte. “In GDP growth, we rank 166th among countries. Our economic growth is now worse than Communist Cuba's – and keeps declining.”

What benchmarks can we use to determine whether the new government numbers are trustworthy? more...

THE FIAT DOW - NYSun
As the Dow Jones Industrial Average edges close to 14,000 let us just remark on the value of the famous index in ounces of gold. It may be that 14,000 is nearly twice the 7,949 at which the industrial average stood on the day President Obama was sworn. But what are we to make of the fact that the value of the Dow is actually lower today, having slumped to 8.38 ounces of gold from the 8.7 ounces at which it was valued on January 20, 2009?

We are by no means the first to ponder this point. There is a whole Web site that charts the Dow in gold. The value of the Dow was actually 44 ounces of gold as recently as 2000. So the drop is not small. Congressman Ron Paul marked this point in March 2011, when he was chairman of the House monetary affairs subcommittee and was questioning the Chairman Bernanke. We’d but add that one could call the index that is nearing 14,000 the “Fiat Dow.”

The fiat nature of the current Dow Jones Average, in any event, would underscore the points made in an op-ed piece in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. In it the economist John Taylor argues that the Fed’s quantitative easing has not only failed to fix the economic problem but that it has been an actual drag on the recovery.

WHEN GOLD BREAKS FROM THIS BASE, IT WILL TRIGGER A STAMPEDE OF MOMENTUM BUYERS - BullMarketThinking
According to Peter Grandich, publisher of “The Grandich Letter, “It’s a stealth bull-market… never in 30 years in this business could I say a market could have risen as much as they have, and still see so few net participants in it. Go to any financial institution in any part of the country and look at any 100 accounts, and you won’t find 1 out of 100 that own physical metal — the bulk of the buying net-net, has been outside of the United States.”

When asked about this excruciating consolidation period for many investors, Peter explained that, “They [the metals] have digested a decade’s worth of large gains, they’ve built a very strong base…as tough as it is for somebody to struggle with it, the longer the base is built, when the inevitable breakout to the upside comes, the bigger that move can be. I believe that move is coming this year.”

IS THIS THE BIGGEST TRIPLE TOP EVER? - Marketwatch
As the S&P 500 challenges new all-time highs, it approaches significant resistance levels that represent a major turning point in U.S. stock market history.

The chart below depicts the trading activity in the S&P 500 Large-Cap Index during the past 20 years. The most obvious pattern is that our recent arrival at the psychologically important level of 1,500 is our third attempt at testing that overhead limit.

We have been here twice before, in 2000 and 2007, and both times the S&P failed to make a sustained breakout above that level. On both occasions, significant bear market declines ensued shortly thereafter.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.29.13 - Stock Market Opp ... or Top? - Listen

Gold prices rose near $1,665/oz. Tuesday on bargain hunting and a weaker dollar. Stocks watch earnings, Fed. Gold last traded at $1,663 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.38 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Fed likely to press ahead with bond buying - Marketwatch
-Consumer Confidence Tumbles on Financial Fears -CNBC
-Dwindling inventories lift US home prices - FT
-Real Estate Is in a 'Goldilocks Period' - CNBC
-Fed Policy Is a Drag on the Economy - WSJ
-COMING: AMNESTY FOR 11 MILLION - DrudgeReport

MARC FABER: STOCK MARKET OVERBOUGHT - Benzinga - CNBC video
Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report told CNBC's Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday that he was reducing his exposure to equities. Faber said that the market was "overbought."

Still, he admitted that the market might continue to rally this year, but even if it did, he foresaw a "'87 moment" wherein the market could plunge by as much as 40 percent in the second half of the year.

Faber said he was reducing his US equity exposure because he thought market "euphoria" was building up. "Markets move up and down," Faber said. Faber continues to like gold, saying that he owns the yellow metal because he is "fearful of systemic crises, wars and so forth."

coins

HUMBLE NICKEL FROM 1913 LIKELY TO FETCH MILLIONS - AP
A humble 5-cent coin with a storied past is headed to auction and bidding is expected to top $2 million a century after it was mysteriously minted.

The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known to exist, but it's the coin's back story that adds to its cachet: It was surreptitiously and illegally cast, discovered in a car wreck that killed its owner, declared a fake, forgotten in a closet for decades and then found to be the real deal.

The nickel made its debut in a most unusual way. It was struck at the Philadelphia mint in late 1912, the final year of its issue, but with the year 1913 cast on its face - the same year the beloved Buffalo Head nickel was introduced.

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES - Alhambra
Why can’t I shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right about this rally? Why does it feel so … artificial? I think what makes me uncomfortable is the rapid manner of the change in sentiment. In November 2012 The American Association of Individual Investors weekly sentiment poll had just less than 29% bulls and nearly 49% bears. The AAII poll now shows bulls at 52%, bears at 24% and the balance neutral.

But these long term factors can easily be overwhelmed in the short term by the drag of higher taxes and the continued accumulation of debt. Growth can also be sidetracked by inflation and I suspect that will be a problem long before the Fed meets its unemployment target.

Monetary policy today resembles more than anything the monetary policy of the 1970s and I don’t think the results will be much different. The inflation – in the form of a cheaper dollar – has already happened. We are just waiting for the effects now and when they come the Fed will have little choice but to respond.

US DEBT HEADED TOWARD 200 PERCENT OF GDP - TheHill
The nation's long-term fiscal outlook hasn't significantly improved following the recent agreement between Congress and the White House over tax and spending issues, according to a new analysis.

The "fiscal cliff" deal, combined with the debt-limit agreement of August 2011, only slightly delays the United States reaching debt-to-gross domestic product levels that would damage the economy and risk another fiscal crisis, according to a report from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation released on Tuesday. ,

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.28.13 - Leaders Advise "Do NOT Relax Principle" - Listen

Gold prices steadied above $1,650/oz. Monday amid short-term profit taking and bargain hunting. Stocks mixed up. Gold last traded at $1,655 an ounce. Silver last traded at $30.86 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Bulls on the March, Bears on the Run - Fox Business
-Durable Goods Orders Rise on Spending Surge - CNBC
-Oil climbs back above $96 on Mideast tensions - Marketwatch
-Fear & Greed Index Record High Greed - CNN/Money
-High inflation and low rates squeeze retirees - Marketwatch

The IMF warning about U.S. austerity should give every America reason to pause, says author and Swiss America Chairman Craig Smith. Fragile U.S. confidence could erode quickly unless the U.S. dollar is supported, said IMF chief Christine Lagarde in Davos, Switzerland this weekend.

The world's confidence in the U.S. economy is hanging by a thread bound to break unless the U.S. Congress can arrive at a true fiscal solution in the next three months, Smith announced. Such agreement is doubtful, given the political landscape. [NOTE: Congress currently has an 8% public approval rating - the same as cockroaches.]

DAVOS WARNS ON GLOBAL ECONOMY - NewsAU
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde said in the closing moments of the annual gathering in the snowy Swiss ski resort on Saturday that she recommended the "do not relax principle" for the coming year. [Note: In contrast, owners of physical gold are able to practice the "relax principle" when dealing with rising economic stress and uncertainty.]

relax Lagarde said the IMF's forecast of a "very fragile and timid recovery for 2013" was based on "eurozone leaders, the US authorities on the other hand and the Japanese authorities making the right decisions".

"My biggest fear is that 2013 could be a replay of 2012, another lost year," said Axel Weber, chairman of Swiss bank UBS and former head of Germany's Bundesbank. "We shouldn't be complacent, we haven't really fundamentally improved that much."

HIGH INFLATION AND LOW RATES SQUEEZE RETIREES - Marketwatch
It's shocking to read how different government-reported inflation would be if they still calculated the figures using the 1980- or 1990-based methods.

Most seniors don't need a chart to know that their Social Security cost-of-living adjustments are not keeping pace with inflation. Nevertheless, let's look at how well Social Security payments have kept up since I received my first check in 2002.

To keep the math simple, imagine my first check was $1,000. By 2012, that check would have increased to $1,315 due to automatic adjustments. In theory, that $1,315 in 2012 could buy about the same things $1,000 could in 2002...according to the inflation rate published by Shadow Government Statistics, even with the cost-of-living adjustments, my $1,000 check would have only bought $477 worth of goods in 2012. Ouch!

IS AMERICA IN DECLINE MAY BE WRONG QUESTION - WashPost
The American Century is dead. Long live the next American Century...The truth is that most of the affluent world - again, the United States, Europe and Japan - faces similar threats.

First: Their welfare states are overwhelmed. Aging societies face a collision between promised benefits and acceptable taxes. Either the first must be cut, or the second must be raised. The politics are poisonous. As the Goldman report notes, how the United States handles its debt creates enormous uncertainty. The same is true elsewhere.

Second: Economic management is breaking down. Before the 2007-09 financial crisis, most economists thought they could avoid deep slumps and engineer acceptable recoveries. Confidence has given way to contentious disagreements. Policies are improvised.

Third: Global markets have run ahead of global politics. Countries depend increasingly on international trade and money flows. But globalized commerce is menaced by nationalistic, ethnic, religious and political differences among nations. A second American Century, though possible, seems a stretch.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.25.13 - 2013 'FIRST STRIKE' AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE Exclusive Offer - Listen

Gold prices eased back Friday amid technical selling and short-term profit taking. Stocks shake off Apple plunge. Gold last traded at $1,662 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.30 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-S&P 500 eyes best winning streak in eight years - Reuters
-Apple investors pay price for popularity with selloff - Marketwatch
-New-Home Sales Fall 7.3% in December -WSJ
-Interest Rates Could Spike This Year: Soros - CNBC
-Bank of America issues 'bond crash' alert - Telegraph
-Court to Obama: Abuse of Power - DrudgeReport


A Swiss America Exclusive:
2013 'FIRST STRIKE' AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE Coins Take Flight! - Exclusive Limited Offer

firststrike

NEWS FLASH! - The U.S. Mint has already sold out of 2013 AMERICAN EAGLE SILVER coins - selling 6,000,000 Eagles - in just the first two weeks of the year!

firststrike This recent explosion of public interest in owning U.S. silver coins offers our clients an excellent buying opportunity - to own an authentic, collectible piece of American history which contains one-ounce of pure .999 fine silver!

2013 "FIRST STRIKE" AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE collectible coins are PCGS certified. "FIRST STRIKE" coins come directly from the U.S. Mint and must be certified by PCGS in the month of January 2013 to qualify.

Swiss America has secured a very limited supply of these low-mintage, gem- quality collectible coins in both Mint-State 69 and in Mint-State 70 condition.

These coins are available ONLY from Swiss America in a special PCGS holder, while supplies last, at the amazing price of just $59 each in MS-69 condition (minimum order 20 coins) and are available for just $99 each in MS-70 condition (minimum order 10 coins).

silver book BONUS BOOK! Along with your order we will include a beautiful, 150-page "Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program" directly from the U.S. Mint Chief Engraver, John M. Mercanti. This book is beautifully illustrated with hundreds of images, explaining the history, population, mintage and values of American gold and silver bullion coins minted since 1986. This companion "coffee table" book is limited to one per household.

CALL YOUR SWISS AMERICA REPRESENTATIVE AT 800-289-2646
to reserve your very own 'FIRST STRIKE' 2013 AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE coins while supplies last. Or simply register HERE.


BANK OF AMERICA ISSUES `BOND CRASH' ALERT - Telegraph
Over the past seven years US investors have pulled $600bn from US equity funds and poured $800bn instead into bond funds. This process is going into reverse. Equity funds have drawn $35bn over the last 13 trading days alone, creating the risk of an unstable “melt-up” in stocks over coming months, reports Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.

The Bank for International Settlements has issued an alert on the high-yield `junk’ bonds and mortgage debt, currently trading at record lows.

Wall Street’s veteran technical analyst Louise Yamada said a whole generation of small investors has been lured into bonds since the stock market crash in 2008 in the belief that is a safe store of wealth, seemingly unaware of the risk once inflation returns.

YES, MR. PRESIDENT, WE ARE A NATION OF TAKERS -WSJ
In President Obama's second inaugural address, he not only outlined an ambitious agenda for his second term but also seemed intent on shutting down debate about the social- welfare state and its impact on American life.

"The commitments we make to each other—through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security—these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us," Mr. Obama said. "They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great." In other words, the president is tired of listening to critics of America's entitlement programs, and as far as he is concerned, the discussion is now over.

It is not over—and won't be anytime soon, because the country's social-welfare spending is generating severe and mounting hazards for the nation. These hazards are not only fiscal but moral.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.24.13 - Gold Creates The Confidence Currencies Lack - Listen

Gold prices slipped 1% on Thursday amid technical selling and a firmer dollar. Stocks mixed as Apple falls. Gold last traded at $1,668 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.70 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-U.S. jobless claims drop to five-year low - Marketwatch
-America Unprepared for a Drop in Apple Earnings - TheStreet
-Lack of Immigration Reform Harms Startups, Economy - CNBC
-Will Gold End 2013 Higher? - 72% Say Yes - CNBC

gold confidence IF TRUST IN CURRENCIES ERODES, GOLD WILL SKYROCKET - CNBC
Reports that Germany intends to repatriate the gold that is being stored at the New York Federal Reserve should be supportive for gold prices. The implication here is that trust in fiat currencies is being eroded by central bank involvement. Japan's recent policy change toward a weaker yen, coupled with the Federal Reserve's ongoing bond purchases, is making gold a more attractive asset.

The gold market's reaction to the news, so far, has been positive — but only mildly so. My belief is that if February gold futures can settle above $1,680, this will be an indication of further upside. My initial upside target will be $1,750.

Frankly, I'm surprised that the move in gold has not been bigger, as this could be the beginning of a monumental shift toward "safe haven" wealth storage.

BERNANKE SEEN PRESSING ON WITH STIMULUS AMID DEBATE ON QE - Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his fellow policy makers will probably forge ahead with their unprecedented bond buying when they meet next week, even as they pick up a debate that began in December on when to end the purchases.

The Fed chairman can count on the FOMC to endorse the current program to buy $45 billion in Treasury notes and $40 billion in mortgage bonds each month, said Nathan Sheets, Bernanke’s top adviser on international economics from 2007 to 2011.

In its statement last month, the FOMC said it will keep rates near zero as long as the jobless rate is above 6.5 percent and inflation is forecast to be 2.5 percent or less. Previously policy makers said they would keep interest rates low through at least mid-2015.

SWISS NATIONAL BANK CRUELLY AIMS AT SWITZERLAND - Forbes
St. Moritz, Switzerland – Nosebleed gasoline and food prices, a financial crisis, and an austere jobs picture has been the “reward” for Americans laboring under the dollar-cheapening policies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama since 2001.

In Switzerland right now, a dollar that used to somewhat dwarf the Swiss franc no longer does. A once relatively inexpensive country (once dollars were converted to francs) has become very expensive in recent years thanks to two clueless presidential administrations, several bewildered Treasury secretaries, and a Ben Bernanke-led Federal Reserve that tragically believes devaluation is the path to prosperity despite centuries of evidence revealing the opposite.

Gold makes plain that the Swiss franc has only been strong insofar as the dollar has been intensely weak; gold having risen 260% against the franc since 2001...it’s apparent that Switzerland’s monetary authorities have chosen to copy Bernanke et al, and the reward for the country’s citizens will be a much weaker economy. It seems bad economic ideas never die…

Lost on the country’s monetary authorities is that the economy is weak precisely because of the decline of the franc in the new millennium. Rather than acknowledge this and reverse course in favor of the very franc strength that would serve as a magnet for economy-boosting investment, the Swiss National Bank is harshly pouring gasoline on the franc-devaluing fire.

RARE HALF CENT SOLD FOR £225,000 - IBTimes
A man who died in a climbing accident unknowingly bequeathed a valuable inheritance to his family - a rare coin struck after the turbulent birth of the United States.

The humble half-cent coin, minted in 1796, lay undiscovered for 50 years inside a matchbox before it was found by the family of Mark Hillary during a clean-out.

The coin fetched £225,700 ($353,000) at auction - 72 million times its original face value. Only 1,400 of the coins were made at the Philadelphia Mint in the US.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.23.13 - Politicians Kick the Can ... Again! - Listen

Gold prices consolidated below $1,700/oz. Wednesday on profit taking and a firmer dollar. Stocks rise on earnings. Gold last traded at $1,686 an ounce. Silver last traded at $32.25 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-U.S. House approves 3-month debt-limit extension - Marketwatch
-Obama's Liberal Agenda Gives Centrists Pause - WSJ
-Stocks climb to 2007 levels - FoxBiz
-Foreclosure Fixer-Uppers Help Boost Remodeling -CNBC
-United States Of Crisis Costs Jobs, Wastes Money - Bloomberg

debt DEBT-CEILING MELODRAMA - WSJ
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing while expecting different results, Republicans may be learning from political shock therapy. Speaker John Boehner's decision to postpone a debt-ceiling showdown is best understood as the GOP's attempt to break a cycle of manufactured crises that have worked to President Obama's advantage.

Wednesday the House voted to suspend the looming debt ceiling temporarily, allowing the Treasury Department to continue paying immediate obligations through May 19. The goal is to deny Mr. Obama his (false) talking points about national "default," while increasing GOP leverage in the spending debates.

Mr. Obama's refusal to bargain in good faith means we will have an extended war over spending for many months. Sometimes a tactical retreat is the smart play.

END THE FED, OR CELEBRATE ITS EXISTENCE? - Forbes
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve System. There will be many events commemorating the signing of the Federal Reserve Act in December 1913. Many of those events will be occasions for celebrations by Fed officials and staff, but should the public celebrate a century of central banking?

The Fed’s failure to anticipate or prevent either the Great Recession or the Great Depression, the continuous rise in the price level since President Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, and the Fed’s use of financial repression to penalize conservative savers while encouraging risk and creating asset bubbles should give pause to celebrating the Fed’s anniversary. Indeed, a growing chorus seems to be following Ron Paul’s call for “ending the Fed,” and its credibility is increasingly being called into question.

DAVOS 2013: THINK CEOS ARE GROWING MORE CONFIDENT? THINK AGAIN - CNBC
CEOs, many of whom are gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the annual World Economic Forum this week, are feeling less optimistic about their companies' growth prospects than last year or the year before.

A new survey, for which 1,330 interviews were conducted in 68 countries, found that only 36 percent of CEOs worldwide were "very confident" of their company's growth prospects in the next 12 months. Twenty-eight percent of CEOs say the global economy will decline further in 2013, and only 18 percent predict economic improvement; 52 percent say it will stay the same.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.22.13 - Metals, Markets & Obamanomics - Listen

Gold prices inched toward $1,700/oz. Tuesday on bargain hunting and a weaker dollar. Stocks flat. Gold last traded at $1,692 an ounce. Silver last traded at $32.24 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Existing Home Sales Unexpectedly Fall 1% - Marketwatch
-New Housing Fears: Home Prices Are Rising Too Fast - CNBC
-Bundesbank warns of currency war risk - FinTimes
-U.S. stocks battle to maintain five-year highs - Marketwatch
-Obama stands his ground on fiscal debates - AP
-Dollar falls after Bank of Japan policy moves - Marketwatch

2013 'FIRST STRIKE' AMERICAN SILVER EAGLES TAKE FLIGHT! - Exclusive Offer
NEWS FLASH! - The U.S. Mint has already sold out of 2013 AMERICAN EAGLE SILVER coins - selling 6,000,000 Eagles - in just the first two weeks of the year!

first strike This recent explosion of public interest in owning U.S. silver coins offers our clients an excellent buying opportunity - to own an authentic, collectible piece of American history which contains one-ounce of pure .999 fine silver!

2013 "FIRST STRIKE" AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE collectible coins are PCGS certified. "FIRST STRIKE" coins come directly from the U.S. Mint and must be certified by PCGS in the month of January 2013 to qualify.

Swiss America has secured a very limited supply of these low-mintage, gem- quality collectible coins in both Mint-State 69 and in Mint-State 70 condition. more...

‘STRONG DOLLAR’ IS LIE TOLD IN NEW CURRENCY WAR - Bloomberg
Jack Lew’s first act once he becomes U.S. Treasury secretary will be to tell a lie. On Day One as Timothy Geithner’s successor, Lew is bound to say “I support a strong dollar” to reassure markets that there will be no change in long-standing U.S. policy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

A key goal for President Barack Obama’s second term is to resurrect the nation’s manufacturing sector. Nothing would help that process more than a weaker dollar, and the Federal Reserve’s ever-expanding balance sheet may limit the currency’s gains.

LIBERATED AND LIBERAL OBAMA SETS SECOND-TERM AGENDA - UKIndependent
"This was the real Barack Obama...the liberated liberal, or ‘progressive’, as liberals now prefer to call themselves. This was Obama the realist but also Obama the idealist," reports the London Independent.

The President boldly declared, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he declared – “for if we are created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

OBAMANOMICS: THE PATH TO SLOW GROWTH - Forbes
The fiscal policy debate over how to stimulate the economy and reduce the budget deficits has been resolved – at least among academic economists. The way forward lies in reducing tax rates – especially on corporations and high-income individuals – and reducing spending. The way backward lies in pursuing President Barack Obama’s call for more taxes and increased government spending.

That is the conclusion of a survey of the academic literature published in peer review journals since 1983 by William McBride of the Tax Foundation.

First, the Obama tax increase on those with high incomes will reduce economic growth and lead to less job creation. Second, the President’s strategy of increased government spending will not stimulate the economy.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.18.13 - Gold Standard Rebirth, Silver Eagle Run - Listen

Gold prices inched closer toward $1,700/oz. Friday on bargain hunting despite a firmer dollar. Stocks mixed on confidence downdraft. Gold last traded at $1,684 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.86 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-US Consumer Sentiment Deteriorates to Hit 1-Year Lows - CNBC
-House to vote next week on three-month debt-limit hike - Marketwatch
-Welcome to the Global Currency War - MSN Money
-Unthinkable: Could Stocks Handle U.S. Default? - Reuters
-Gold Price Steady, Rises 1.6% for the week - GoldAlert
-Over 6 million Silver Eagle bullion coins sold already this year - Mineweb

A NEW GOLD STANDARD IS BEING BORN - LondonTelegraph
Our friend and International Business Editor at The London Telegraph reports: The world is moving step by step towards a de facto Gold Standard, without any meetings of G20 leaders to announce the idea or bless the project.

Some readers will already have seen the GFMS Gold Survey for 2012 which reported that central banks around the world bought more bullion last year in terms of tonnage than at any time in almost half a century.

dangerous bridge The dollar stands on a pyramid of debt. We all know that this debt will be inflated away over time – for better or worse. The only real disagreement is over the speed.

US MINT OUT OF SILVER COINS - SUSPENDS SALES - ZeroHedge
The demand for both gold and silver 'physical' coins has been record-breaking as 2013 began. So much so, that now after selling over 6 million silver coins in 2013 so far, the US Mint has run out of silver eagles and has suspended sales. Furthermore, the Mint is saying that it will not restart sales until January 28th!

With all asunder proclaiming victory and crisis averted based on the nominal price of stocks at five-year highs, Swiss interest rates no longer negative, and Spanish bond yields at 5%, it seems there are still a few that demand the wealth-preserving safe-haven of hard assets as the escalation of the currency wars shows no sign of abating.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

GOLD, GREENBACKS AND INFLATION: A HISTORY AND A WARNING - WSJ
The Federal Reserve's 100th birthday is no cause to break out the champagne.

The Federal Reserve, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is tasked by Congress with managing the money supply so as to preserve price stability while maximizing employment. But with the central bank having increased the money supply by 25% since the financial crash of 2008 — while the federal government has borrowed $5 trillion — can inflation be far off?

US TAPS PENSION FUND TO AVOID PASSING DEBT LIMIT - AP
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the government has begun borrowing from the federal employee pension fund to keep operating without surpassing its debt limit.

Geithner says in a letter to congressional leaders that the move will free up $156 billion in borrowing authority while Congress debates increasing the $16.4 trillion debt limit.

The government reached its borrowing limit on Dec. 31, but began using bookkeeping maneuvers to keep from surpassing it. Geithner has told congressional leaders that Treasury expects to exhaust those measures by mid-February to early March.

THE SIMPLE TRUTH - Editor
What is true for central banks is also true for individual citizens; physical gold ownership and possession instills confidence, stability and trust during uncertain times like these. Americans are losing confidence in the Fed, which has created a casino mentality on Wall St. while prompting an international currency war and falling U.S. dollar in the process. Meanwhile, the number of Americans riding in the wagon grows daily and the load heavier for those pulling it. The classic Tennessee Ernie Ford song, "16 Tons" comes to mind.

WHY GERMANY WANTS ITS GOLD BACK - CNBC
The world's second-biggest holder of gold reserves, Germany, is planning to bring home some of its gold held in New York and Paris - a move that would mark a breakdown of trust between the world's major central banks, analysts said.

The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, announced in a press release on Wednesday it plans to repatriate some of its gold holdings from the New York Federal Reserve and the Bank of France.

"The reason the Bundesbank is doing this, repatriating the gold back home, is to instill confidence in the German consumer as to the solidity of the Bundesbank," Societe Generale's senior currency strategist Sebastien Galy told CNBC.

2013: DOOMED TO REPEAT HISTORY? - Craig R. Smith
Investors should never forget the lessons of the 2008 financial meltdown. But have they already?

The Fed's first injection of Quantitative Easing (QE1) sent the Dow up 83% from 6,547 to 12,000. Then QE2 pushed the Dow up another 14% to a high of 13,662 in 2012. But today, just the opposite is beginning to happen as the Dow has fallen ever since the announcement of QE3.

It appears we have a new definition of insanity; continuing to pump money into failed government economic policy and expecting a different outcome.

While it is true that stock investors have been made whole over the last four years in relation to the U.S. dollar, I will remind readers that the Dow is still down 80% in relation to Gold. Gold is the ultimate world currency and plumb line to measure financial progress, and Gold is saying this recovery is as phony as a $3 bill.

FITCH MAY DOWNGRADE U.S. CREDIT RATING - USAToday
The United States could lose its top credit rating for the second time from a leading credit agency if there's a delay in raising the country's debt ceiling, Fitch Ratings warned Tuesday.

Congress has to increase the country's debt limit, which effectively rules how much debt the U.S. can have, by March 1 or face a potential default.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.17.13 - America Under Debt & Overly Confused - Listen

Precious metal prices hit 4-week highs Thursday amid safe haven buying, bargain hunting and a weaker dollar. Stocks cheer upbeat jobs & housing data. Gold last traded at $1,687 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.74 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-S&P 500 at 5-year peak as investors applaud economy -Marketwatch
-California Speeds Toward A Wall of Debt - Bloomberg
-Jobless Claims Fall to 5-Yr Low - Reuters
-Obama Unveils Sweeping $500 Million Gun Violence Package - AP
-GOP gathers forces to plot rebirth - Washington Times

GOLD, GREENBACKS AND INFLATION: A HISTORY AND A WARNING - WSJ
The Federal Reserve's 100th birthday is no cause to break out the champagne.

The Federal Reserve, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is tasked by Congress with managing the money supply so as to preserve price stability while maximizing employment. But with the central bank having increased the money supply by 25% since the financial crash of 2008 — while the federal government has borrowed $5 trillion — can inflation be far off?

It won't be the first time. Inflation has often been popular, especially in democracies, since it benefits debtors, who are always more numerous than creditors. Inflation allows debtors to repay in money that is less valuable than the money they borrowed. This was the case after America's Revolutionary War, when economically distressed debtors demanded that state governments ease their burdens. State after state enacted paper-money laws, so that debts contracted in scarce gold and silver could be repaid with infinitely expandable paper.

Now the inflationary potential of deficit financing has grown enormously over the first Obama term. The lesson of American history is that it is difficult enough for the government to resist popular demands for inflation to relieve private debts. When the government itself is the country's chief debtor, resistance is all but impossible.

U.S. MIGHT BE ‘A NATION OF DEADBEATS’ - Marketwatch
President Obama said on Monday that “we are not a nation of deadbeats,” but instead a people who “pay our bills.” Really?

underwater mortgages A close look at the data reveals a very different story — and one that gets far too little airing in public discourse.

Far from paying our bills, the current generation of Americans — or some of them — have set records for default which probably have no parallel in the history of the human race. During the last five years, U.S. individuals have walked away from a staggering $585 billion in mortgages, credit card debts and other personal loans. That works out at about $6,000 per household. And if the numbers are to be believed, there is probably a lot more to come.

US TAPS PENSION FUND TO AVOID PASSING DEBT LIMIT - AP
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the government has begun borrowing from the federal employee pension fund to keep operating without surpassing its debt limit.

Geithner says in a letter to congressional leaders that the move will free up $156 billion in borrowing authority while Congress debates increasing the $16.4 trillion debt limit.

The government reached its borrowing limit on Dec. 31, but began using bookkeeping maneuvers to keep from surpassing it. Geithner has told congressional leaders that Treasury expects to exhaust those measures by mid-February to early March.

WHAT IF CONGRESS DOESN’T RAISE THE DEBT CEILING? - Slate
What exactly will happen if Congress and the Obama administration don’t reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling by late February, when the Treasury Department will run out of money to pay federal bills? Nobody knows—and that’s exactly what’s so terrifying about it.

A great deal of the global financial system is based on the idea that U.S. government debt is not only safe, but unquestionably safe. Anything that raised substantial legal questions about the status of various payments would ruin that.

Treasury’s official line is that instead of trying to prioritize they’ll simply delay...with each passing week the government will be further and further behind on all its bills. The money taken directly out of the economy would amount to a hit of about 7 percent of GDP. That’d be almost as bad as the worst quarter of the Great Recession.

FOR AVERAGE INVESTOR, IT HAS BECOME VERY CONFUSING - Equius
With the creation and promotion of more expensive, complex, and speculative strategies; the experience of two severe bear markets in ten years; expanding globalization; and political dysfunction in the U.S. and Europe, the situation for the average investor has become ever more confusing and challenging.

One definition of a leader is a person, organization, or company that had the courage to challenge conventional wisdom in search of a better way. Once discovered, a true leader then seeks to share that knowledge to improve the lives of others.

Simplifying portfolios, rejecting Wall Street’s and the financial media’s siren calls, and counseling our clients to ignore all the short-term noise produced by the investing traditionalists and their friends in the media are the goals our firm seeks.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.16.13 - Physical Gold Instills Economic Confidence - Listen

Precious metal prices rose again on Wednesday amid profit taking and bargain hunting, stocks mixed on earnings. Gold last traded at $1,680 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.52 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Economy held back by fiscal concerns, Fed admits - Marketwatch
-Gold to average $1,847 in 2013 on institutional, investor buying – GFMS
-Four leading indicators of a market top -Marketwatch
-1 in 3 Illinoisans lives in or near poverty level - MyFoxChicago
-Obama Owns The Debt Now - USA Today

THE SIMPLE TRUTH - Editor
What is true for central banks is also true for individual citizens; physical gold ownership and possession instills confidence, stability and trust during uncertain times like these. Americans are losing confidence in the Fed, which has created a casino mentality on Wall St. while prompting an international currency war and falling U.S. dollar in the process. Meanwhile, the number of Americans riding in the wagon grows daily and the load heavier for those pulling it. The classic Tennessee Ernie Ford song, "16 Tons" comes to mind.

WHY GERMANY WANTS ITS GOLD BACK - CNBC
The world's second-biggest holder of gold reserves, Germany, is planning to bring home some of its gold held in New York and Paris - a move that would mark a breakdown of trust between the world's major central banks, analysts said.

The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, announced in a press release on Wednesday it plans to repatriate some of its gold holdings from the New York Federal Reserve and the Bank of France.

"The reason the Bundesbank is doing this, repatriating the gold back home, is to instill confidence in the German consumer as to the solidity of the Bundesbank," Societe Generale's senior currency strategist Sebastien Galy told CNBC.

THE FED'S BIG DOLLAR GAMBLE - Fortune
Ben Bernanke's low interest rate policy has driven down the dollar. America's trading partners aren't happy. The first Fed side effect, currency wars, is an example of how something good -- stimulating our economy by lowering interest rates -- can have a downside.

war on the dollar

You can see from the chart that the dollar has dropped more than 10% against the currencies of our major trading partners since 2009, when the world financial crisis was in full swing and the Fed invented one program after another to drive down interest rates.

Bernanke has driven U.S. interest rates to their lowest level in modern times, but he can't drive them below zero. Even if the Fed is reluctant to tighten, it doesn't control the world -- and it can't indefinitely withstand pressure from financial markets and from other central banks.

THE WAGES OF UNEMPLOYMENT - WSJ
From the mid-17th century to the late 20th century, the American economy grew roughly 3.5% a year. That growth rate has since declined significantly. When the final figures are in for 2012, the annual rate of real output growth for the first dozen years of this century is likely to be about 1.81%.

What accounts for the slowdown? An important part of the answer is simple: Americans aren't working as much today. And this trend reflects more than the recession and sluggish economy of the past few years.

Why are Americans working less? ... the phenomenon is due mainly to a variety of public policies that have reduced the incentives to be employed. These policies include: Food stamps, Social Security disability payments, Pell grants and Extended unemployment benefits. If more people have less incentive to stay out of the work force, they might seek jobs and help spur economic growth.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.15.13 - The New Definition of Insanity - Listen

Precious metal prices shot up Tuesday on bargain hunting despite a firmer dollar following mixed data, stocks closed mixed. Gold last traded at $1,681 an ounce. Silver last traded at $31.43 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Fitch may downgrade U.S. credit rating - USA Today
-Euro-zone crisis enters challenging new phase - Marketwatch
-Apple Leads Stock Losses - WSJ
-Retail Sales Get Auto Boost; Inflation Still Tame - CNBC
-Ugly Choices Loom Over Debt Clash -WSJ

FIRST SHOTS ARE FIRED IN GLOBAL 'CURRENCY WAR' - CNBC
Faced with a stubbornly slow and uneven global economic recovery, more countries are likely to resort to cutting the value of their currencies in order to gain a competitive edge.

Japan has set the stage for a potential global currency war, announcing plans to create money and buy bonds as the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks to stimulate the growth pace.

"Ever since the Fed launched QE2 in August 2010, we have been in the currency-war regime," said Alessio de Longis, portfolio manager of the Oppenheimer Currency Opportunities Fund. "It will continue to be this."

2013: DOOMED TO REPEAT HISTORY? - Craig R. Smith
Investors should never forget the lessons of the 2008 financial meltdown. But have they already?

The Fed's first injection of Quantitative Easing (QE1) sent the Dow up 83% from 6,547 to 12,000. Then QE2 pushed the Dow up another 14% to a high of 13,662 in 2012. But today, just the opposite is beginning to happen as the Dow has fallen ever since the announcement of QE3.

government The law of diminishing returns has already set in, just as it did in Japan over the last two decades. After nine attempts to pump the stock bubble back up (QE9), the Japanese Nikkei index is still off almost 75% from their 1989 high of 38,915.

It appears we have a new definition of insanity; continuing to pump money into failed government economic policy and expecting a different outcome.

While it is true that stock investors have been made whole over the last four years in relation to the U.S. dollar, I will remind readers that the Dow is still down 80% in relation to Gold. Gold is the ultimate world currency and plumb line to measure financial progress, and Gold is saying this recovery is as phony as a $3 bill.

FITCH MAY DOWNGRADE U.S. CREDIT RATING - USAToday
The United States could lose its top credit rating for the second time from a leading credit agency if there's a delay in raising the country's debt ceiling, Fitch Ratings warned Tuesday.

Congress has to increase the country's debt limit, which effectively rules how much debt the U.S. can have, by March 1 or face a potential default.

OBAMA VOWS NO NEGOTIATIONS ON DEBT AS DEFICIT TALKS LOOM - Bloomberg
President Barack Obama vowed he won't negotiate over raising the government's debt ceiling even as he offered to deal on a separate track with the deficit reduction demanded by Republicans. Warning of economic calamity, Obama accuses Republicans of holding the nation hostage as he attempts to push Congress towards action.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.14.13 - GOLD: Security and Freedom - Listen

Gold prices lifted higher Monday on bargain hunting despite a firmer dollar, stocks slip on Apple slide. Gold last traded at $1,667 an ounce. Silver shot up 2% to $31.04 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-NY Has Tentative Deal on Gun Control - AP
-Apple erases $17 billion from stock market - Marketwatch
-More People 75 and Older Keep Working - CNBC
-Retailers Fear Payroll Tax Increase, Frugal Shoppers - WSJ
-Platinum Set to Hit Parity With Gold - CNBC

REPORT ADVOCATES THE OFFICIAL REMONETIZATION OF GOLD - FinSense
In a report published today, the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), a global organization of central banks and sovereign wealth funds, recommends that gold be remonetized for use as international money, alongside major currencies.

gold is money OMFIF gives a number of reasons such as gold's historical role in establishing and maintaining confidence and stability in international monetary relations. Such confidence and stability have dramatically declined as a result of the global financial crisis that began in 2008, to the detriment of the global economy. Falling back on the solid foundation of gold is the best available way to eventually move forward with healthy and sustainable growth in global trade, to all countries' mutual benefit, and to bring an end to the escalating 'currency wars' that increasingly threaten the global economy.

Investors should continue to accumulate gold as it is almost certain to rise in value as the re-monetization takes place. But beware: Risk premia for financial assets are also likely to rise as paper assets in general 'de-rate' and gold, silver and other hard, liquid real assets 're-rate'.

PRESIDENT OBAMA IS AMERICA'S “GREATEST FIREARMS SALESMAN” - NewsRelease
In December 2012 alone, the FBI performed 2.2 million background checks of would-be gun buyers, an increase of 58.6 percent over a year earlier according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The nationwide rush by millions to buy firearms is reportedly driven by President Barack Obama's allies' statements that he may circumvent Congress and the Constitution's Second Amendment by using Executive Orders to restrict future gun purchases.

“President Obama's fiscal cliff deal is already costing the average working American family more than $1,000 in added taxes, and now his threats are driving millions of struggling families to spend another $1,000 or more of their savings or credit to buy rifles, shotguns and handguns whose ownership may be 'grandfathered in' if feared new restrictions are imposed,” says Craig R. Smith.

“By his anti-gun statements, President Obama has become the greatest firearms salesman in American history,” says Smith, who is frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other prominent business journalists.

SIMPLE, SOLID STRATEGIES FOR INVESTING MONEY - LA Times
The economic tumult of recent years doesn't mean investors need a complicated game plan. Here are four ways to boost the odds of long-term success. 1) Keep it balanced. 2) Shelter wealth from current taxes. 3) Fight back against fees. 4) Strive to be a "value" investor.

The lesson here for average investors: If you're happy with your investment mix, don't feel that you have to change it. But have a plan. Make a list of the investments (funds, stocks, bonds, etc.) you'd like to add to your portfolio if prices fell. Then promise yourself you'll stick with that plan if and when prices do drop, assuming the basic appeal of the investments is intact.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.11.13 - DON'T BE A CRASH DUMMY! - Listen

Gold prices consolidated recent gains Friday on profit taking, stocks creep higher. Gold last traded at $1,663 an ounce. Silver last traded at $30.48 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-U.S. stocks enjoy biggest weekly inflow since 2008 - Marketwatch
-Obama Says U.S. to Speed Afghan Exit -WSJ
-Drought Still Plagues US: Food Prices 'Going Up' - CNBC
-$1T Coin: Desperate Measure Against Crazy Right - NY Times
-Only the Rich Will Pay More Taxes? Think Again - CNBC

WHY GOLD IS NOT IN A BUBBLE - 24/7Bull
The gold paper market is a hundred times bigger than the physical market. So there is so much paper outstanding in gold, and in silver, and governments are said to have – world governments – up to around 30,000 tons of gold. Most probably don’t have it, they probably lent it to bullion banks and trading banks, and therefore there is probably not the gold around the banks are saying, the central banks are saying they have, and one day when investors ask for delivery against the paper gold that is outstanding there will not be enough physical gold.

Therefore, it is extremely important to hold physical gold because the paper gold will be totally worthless and banks will not be able to meet their commitments.

savage Gold is not in a bubble, all gold is doing is reflecting the destruction of paper money. Only one percent of world financial assets are in gold today, so nobody owns gold actually, and gold has still gone up over the last 12 years, it has gone up five, six times, depending on the currency.

"DON'T BE A CRASH DUMMY!" - MichaelSavage
Welcome to 2013. Year FIVE of trillion-dollar deficits. Year FIVE of Financial Repression - that is, negative interest rates. Year FIVE of the Fed trying to pump up an economy while politicians stab it to death with higher taxes and massive new regulations.

This is absolutely INSANE! Like watching a slow-motion wreck! We are not a crash dummy!

For over a decade I have offered you an option that has increased in value over FIVE times since 2002: GOLD! Politicians thrive on keeping Americans in a perpetual state of emergency. Not me. I'm informed! I'm reading "The Great Debasement" by Craig Smith for peace of mind.

Protect your family NOW! Call 800-289-2646 for the Simple Truth! Let me, Michael Savage, and Swiss America help you before these idiots in Washington destroy our children's future! Don't be a crash dummy!

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

THE SIMPLE TRUTH: Nine-Year Old Explains Economics! - SpecialOffer
A $20 bill and a $20 U.S. 'Liberty' Gold coin used to have the same buying power. But how much will they each buy today?

A paper $20 dollar bill will buy; milk, bread, peanut butter and jelly. Not much! But one $20 gold coin will buy six shopping carts full of food - worth almost 2,000 paper dollars! That's nearly 100 times more food!

History shows that owning Gold coins has been the best way to beat the rising cost of living. How and why is simply explained in a new book, “The Great Debasement” FREE. CALL 800-630-1494 OR REGISTER HERE!

FINANCIAL REPRESSION WITH STEADILY RISING INFLATION - Craig R. Smith
This is most likely option [to deal with 2013 debt crisis], as explained in "The Great Debasement". This 'frog in the kettle' approach would allow politicians to refrain from making the necessary spending cuts needed in Social Security - the electric 'third rail' of politics...they can quietly crush the middle class, retirees and future generations -- all at the same time by continuing unlimited 'QE' (money printing).

Conclusion: In the near term, London Telegraph International Economics Editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard sees $2,000 an ounce gold in 2013. In a private meeting I outlined why we could see $6,000 an ounce gold prices over the next five years, regardless of which of the five paths our leaders decide to follow.

BESIDES GOLD, ECONOMISTS DON'T AGREE ON MUCH - Bloomberg
Economists as an academic discipline have had more trouble coming to agreement on what works and what fails in their world. Stimulus or austerity? Looser money or tighter money?

The squabbling reached a new height of awkwardness over the weekend at a major meeting in San Diego, where leading economists couldn’t even agree on whether they disagreed.

The 41 economists on the panel weren’t cleanly split overall — they were unanimously against returning to the gold standard.

WHAT’S THE “BIG MONEY” DOING? -RUSSELL - FinSense
Gold is everyone’s protection against a collapse in the purchasing power of fiat currencies. Throughout all of history, no fiat currency has ever survived. Federal Reserve dollars will be no exception. If the dollar survives for another sixty years it will be making history, doing what no other fiat currency has ever done.

The smart money knows this, which is why great works of art, rare collectibles, classic cars, arable land, apartments in Manhattan and precious stones are going for prices that most experts can't believe.

Follow the smart money; follow the people who can buy the best advice on the planet, and think ahead to the time when there will be a panic out of Federal Reserve notes and a frenzy to own items of tangible value. Think of gold.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.10.13 - The Simple Portfolio - Listen

Gold prices shot up to $1,675/oz. Thursday on bargain hunting and dollar weakness, flat jobs data lifts stocks. Gold last traded at $1,673 an ounce. Silver last traded at $30.81 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Six things you don't know about Treasury pick Lew - Marketwatch
-Platinum coin idea idiotic, but less bad than default - WashPost
-Americans never give up your guns - Pravda
-Bill Clinton named 'Father of the Year' - Politico
-Debt Ceiling Fight Could Delay Tax Refunds - CNBC

2013: THE SIMPLE PORTFOLIO - Editor
In keeping with our "The Simple Truth" theme for 2013, today we present the simple portfolio model. More and more investors are seeking to rebalance their portfolio this year and many will turn to gold and silver for safety and growth potential.

Today's typical "60/40 Portfolio" (stocks/bonds) for diversification could be enhanced greatly by adding between 5%-25% of the best asset class of the century: GOLD! Some may opt for just 1-2%, which is the current average, but others will decide to convert more paper into hard money as they understand how a tidal wave of "great debasement" could wipe out paper assets quickly.

european portfolio The popular "7-Twelve Portfolio" is only a slight improvement, allotting up to 3% for commodities. For three decades Swiss America has stuck by the European or so-called "permanent" portfolio model which suggests up to 25% allocation into tangible assets.

Over the last decade precious metals have helped balance portfolios by providing a golden foundation. The shakier the future, the more gold is needed to stabilize and preserve wealth upon solid footing.

SeekingAlpha reports, "Over the last 10 years, the 'permanent portfolio' strategy, made popular by libertarian investor Harry Browne several decades ago, has had quite a heyday, earning insane amounts more than any U.S. stock market index."

"Browne kept the portfolio incredibly simple; 25% stocks, 25% bonds 25% cash and 25% gold."

2013 is a great year to convert paper to gold, as a simple and permanent portfolio strategy for peace of mind.

LEW TO REPLACE GEITHNER AT TREASURY - Bloomberg
President Barack Obama will name White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew as his choice for Treasury secretary, replacing Timothy F. Geithner.

The next Treasury secretary will play a leading role in working with Congress to raise the government’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling. The U.S. reached the statutory limit on Dec. 31, and the Treasury Department began using extraordinary measures to finance the government. It will exhaust that avenue as early as mid-February, the Congressional Budget Office says.

CENTRAL BANKS MUST SWITCH OFF THE PRINTING PRESSES - Telegraph
The cult of QE has failed to deliver the goods...meanwhile some quite counterproductive long-term consequences are starting to emerge. There are limits to what central banks can do, and that monetary stimulus has essentially already hit the buffers. The consequences of persisting are therefore quite likely to be negative from here on in.

These negatives include misallocation of capital likely to prove quite harmful to growth in the long run. Debtors are constantly favored over creditors. The previously profligate are rewarded, and the thrifty are punished, creating moral hazard on a grand scale.

But perhaps worst of all, it encourages governments to do nothing. By allowing governments to borrow more cheaply, it also positively encourages irresponsible spending. Oh, what a tangled web we weave.

NEW FISCAL CRISES NEAR, DEMOCRATS SEEK MORE TAX - McClatchey
Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, want lawmakers to consider a fresh set of tax increases in the next several weeks when they discuss whether to cut spending. Republicans oppose raising tax rates, especially after they just raised some of them for the first time in two decades.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.9.13 - Follow the Smart Money - Listen

Gold prices steadied above $1,650/oz. Wednesday despite a firmer dollar, stocks rebound on upbeat earnings. Gold last traded at $1,658 an ounce. Silver last traded at $30.36 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Rising Bond Yields—This Is Just the Start - CNBC
-Jack Lew a Good Treasury Secretary? "No!" says Kudlow - CNBC
-4 charts that say ‘cult of equity’ is dying - Marketwatch
-Morgan Stanley To Cut 1,600 Jobs (6%) - WSJ
-Congress Less Popular Than A Colonoscopy - Reason

CBO: HIGHER DEFICITS AFTER 'CLIFF' DEAL - Craig Smith on Neil Cavuto/Fox News
Federal deficits could still exceed $9 trillion over the next decade after the passage of the “fiscal cliff” legislation by Congress, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released last Friday. Compared to what would have happened if no deal were struck, the deal increased deficits by about $4.6 trillion including interest payments.

According to the CBO report, Congress could save $2.4T simply by making gradual spending cuts, which could also fuel a market rally. Mr. Smith reminds Cavuto, "the government can mess up a one-piece puzzle."

WHAT’S THE “BIG MONEY” DOING? -RUSSELL - FinSense
Gold is everyone’s protection against a collapse in the purchasing power of fiat currencies. Throughout all of history, no fiat currency has ever survived. Federal Reserve dollars will be no exception. If the dollar survives for another sixty years it will be making history, doing what no other fiat currency has ever done.

The smart money knows this, which is why great works of art, rare collectibles, classic cars, arable land, apartments in Manhattan and precious stones are going for prices that most experts can't believe.

fiscal cliff Follow the smart money; follow the people who can buy the best advice on the planet, and think ahead to the time when there will be a panic out of Federal Reserve notes and a frenzy to own items of tangible value. Think of gold.

2013 DOLLAR, GOLD & CURRENCY OUTLOOK - Merk
We expect the volatility in gold to be elevated in 2013, but consider it good news, as it keeps the momentum players at bay. We own gold not for the crisis of 2008, not for the potential contagion from Europe, but because there is too much debt in the world. We think inflation is likely a key component of how developed countries will try to deal with their massive debt burdens, even as cultural differences will make dynamics play out rather differently in different countries.

Our most recent white paper specifically focuses on the two key reasons investors typically cite as critical decision-making factors supporting an investment in gold: Protection against inflation and Safe Haven investment.

We show how expectations for future inflation have become elevated, and are likely to remain so, given a backdrop of easy monetary policies the world over. Additionally, we propose that continue leverage throughout the economy is likely to result in ongoing heightened levels of volatility, while the degree of uncertainty remains over the future trajectory of the global environment. These dynamics may continue to vindicate an investment in gold as a protection against inflation and as a safe haven investment. In turn, we believe these trends are likely to underpin continued strength in the price of gold over the foreseeable future.

MONEY FOR NOTHING - WeeklyStandard
Who caused the financial collapse? Just about everyone. In my career, the Fed has a 100 percent error rate in predicting and reacting to important economic turns... [because it] is trying to arbitrarily set the single most important price in the economy—the price of money.

The only way there could have been a bubble in the residential real estate market was if the Federal Reserve created too much money. It would have been mathematically impossible for a misinvestment of this scale to have happened without the monetary policies of the Fed.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News


1.8.13 - THE SIMPLE TRUTH: Nine-Year Old Explains Economics! - Listen

Gold prices rose above $1,650/oz. Tuesday on bargain hunting despite firmer dollar, stocks retreat again. Gold last traded at $1,658 an ounce. Silver rose to $30.40 an ounce.

MARKET NEW HEADLINES
-S&P 500 pullback likely: why a selloff is necessary -Marketwatch
-AIG: Thank You America, We Are Going to Sue You -CNBC
-Texas cut taxes, spending, ends up with $8 billion surplus -Bloomberg
-Chinese 'Currency Manipulation' Is Not the Problem - WSJ

simple truth THE SIMPLE TRUTH: Nine-Year Old Explains Economics! - SpecialOffer
A $20 bill and a $20 U.S. 'Liberty' Gold coin used to have the same buying power. But how much will they each buy today?

A paper $20 dollar bill will buy; milk, bread, peanut butter and jelly. Not much! But one $20 gold coin will buy six shopping carts full of food - worth nearly 2,000 paper dollars! That's nearly 100 times more food!

History shows that owning Gold coins has been the best way to beat the rising cost of living. How and why is simply explained in a new book, “The Great Debasement” FREE. CALL 800-630-1494 OR REGISTER HERE!

OBAMA'S $264 BILLION TAX FOR 2013 MAY SPARK NEW RECESSION - NewsMax
With the fiscal deal and many Obamacare taxes taking effect, Americans will be slammed with an estimated $264 billion in new taxes this year alone, making 2013 memorable for delivering one of the largest one-year tax increases in America history.

[Ed. Note: Sound familiar? 1.2.13. - BUDGET DEAL COULD TRIGGER RECESSION, EXPERTS WARN]

THE ECONOMICS OF GOLD AND SILVER IN 2013 - GoldMoney
The New Year is expected to see some major changes in how gold and silver are regarded in the West, if it becomes obvious that confidence in government-issued money as a medium of exchange might be misplaced. The awakening to currency debasement is a gradual process, but in 2013 more and more people are likely to suspect it.

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1.7.13 - Keynesian Econo-morons Support $1 Trillion Coin - Listen

Gold prices dipped below $1,650/oz. Monday on profit taking and a flat dollar, stocks retreat. Gold last traded at $1,647 an ounce. Silver rose to $30.16 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Don't give up on fear: Volatility will roar back - Marketwatch
-DEMS EYE $1 TRILLION TAX HIKE - Drudgereport
-Financial Fraud Defies Policing, Even After Madoff - CNBC
-Besides gold, economists don't agree on much - Bloomberg

FINANCIAL REPRESSION WITH STEADILY RISING INFLATION - Craig R. Smith
This is most likely option [to deal with 2013 debt crisis], as explained in "The Great Debasement". This 'frog in the kettle' approach would allow politicians to refrain from making the necessary spending cuts needed in Social Security - the electric 'third rail' of politics...they can quietly crush the middle class, retirees and future generations -- all at the same time by continuing unlimited 'QE' (money printing).

trillion dollar coin Conclusion: In the near term, London Telegraph International Economics Editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard sees $2,000 an ounce gold in 2013. In a private meeting I outlined why we could see $6,000 an ounce gold prices over the next five years, regardless of which of the five paths our leaders decide to follow.

THE $1 TRILLION COIN BRIGADE - Marketwatch
Paul Krugman, the liberal economist who pens a widely read column for the New York Times, on Monday joined the calls for the U.S. to mint a $1 trillion platinum coin as a way around the debt ceiling. Krugman writes, "...we shouldn’t look for gimmicks, we should sit down like serious people and deal with our problems realistically..."

The idea is that the treasury secretary can take advantage of a loophole allowing him to mint a platinum coin of any denomination. Print a $1 trillion coin, and — presto — there’s $1 trillion in spare capacity under the debt ceiling.

Krugman isn’t alone – as of Monday morning, there were over 4,000 signatures on a White House petition to do the same.

[Ed. Note: At today's price a platinum coin valued at $1 trillion would need to be over 50' in diameter and weigh 25 tons - which would be twice the size of this 12 ton, 25' pop metal coin statue in London promoting the British lottery. Based upon a 7 mill. oz. annual platinum supply, such a coin would require 88 years of the total platinum production. DC wonks, including N.Y. Times Keynesian economist Paul Krugman: dream on!]

BESIDES GOLD, ECONOMISTS DON'T AGREE ON MUCH - Bloomberg
Economists as an academic discipline have had more trouble coming to agreement on what works and what fails in their world. Stimulus or austerity? Looser money or tighter money?

The squabbling reached a new height of awkwardness over the weekend at a major meeting in San Diego, where leading economists couldn’t even agree on whether they disagreed.

The 41 economists on the panel weren’t cleanly split overall — they were unanimously against returning to the gold standard.

ECONOMY ISN'T GROWING DUE TO TWO WORDS – 'Barack Obama' - Moneynews
The U.S. economic recovery is inadequate, and President Barack Obama is the culprit, says Peter Morici, an economist and business school professor at the University of Maryland.

“The economy is not growing and creating jobs for two simple words: Barack Obama,” he told Newsmax TV in an exclusive interview.

He was unimpressed with the 155,000 gain in December payrolls announced Friday. “We need to create over 360,000 jobs a month for the next three years to bring unemployment down to about 6 percent,” he said. The jobless rate was 7.8 percent in December.

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1.4.13 - Smart Money Buying Gold Dips! - Listen

Gold prices dipped below $1,650/oz. Friday on profit taking and firmer dollar, then rebounded on bargain hunting, stocks inch up. Gold last traded at $1,657 an ounce. Silver rose to $30.24 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Economy Adds 155,000 New Jobs; Rate Holds at 7.8% - CNBC
-IRS taking a bigger bite of your paychecks - Marketwatch
-The Debt-Ceiling Fight Will Be Dirty - WSJ
-Almost All of Wall Street Got 2012 Market Calls Wrong - Bloomberg

US MINT SELLS 50,000 OUNCES OF GOLD ON FIRST DAY OF YEAR - ZeroHedge
And we're off to the races. Despite, or maybe thanks to, the relentless collapse in paper gold prices, US retail continues to ignore the day to day fluctuations in the stated value of the shiny metal...and instead has learned to take advantage of every drop.

skeleton As the US mint website reports, the very first day of 2013 saw a whopping 50,000 gold ounce sales, and another 7,000 on the second, which is nearly the entire amount sold by the mint in December, and just shy of half in all of January 2012. Which in turn means that gold raids are now becoming counterproductive: instead of disincentivizing retail purchases, they are merely accelerating them, in the process leading to ever more paper to physical currency conversion.

The "trillion dollar platinum coin" may well be the dumbest idea around, but the "one ounce gold coin" idea is rapidly becoming the most popular one, shared by all who see that the only possible outcome for the "developed world" is more ceaseless devaluation of every paper currency in the world.

THE COMING ISOLATION OF US DOLLAR: PART III - 24/7Bull
The COMEX is under constant unrelenting pressure, they must shift around ill-gotten precious metal inventory in order to avoid a default. The main device maintaining order at the COMEX continues to be naked shorting of futures contracts, a blatantly corrupt practice.

The United States has abused its global reserve custodian position too long. The world is fighting vigorously to remove it. The usage of the US Dollar as a credit card to finance its consumption binge without ability to pay will come to an end. When the US Dollar is no longer the global reserve currency, the Gold Standard will be right around the corner, if not already in the implementation stage.

THE 1870-1914 GOLD STANDARD: THE MOST PERFECT ONE EVER CREATED - Forbes
The most perfect monetary system humans have yet created was the world gold standard system of the late 19th century, roughly 1870-1914. We don’t have to hypothesize too much about what a new world gold standard system could look like. We can just look at what has already been done.

Also contrary to popular belief, there was no “100% bullion reserve” system, in which each banknote was “backed” by an equivalent amount of gold bullion in a vault. In the United States in 1910, gold bullion reserve coverage was 42% of banknotes in circulation.

With monetary stability assured by the gold standard system, bond yields fell everywhere to very low levels...During the 20th century, and now into the 21st, no central bank in the world has been able to match this performance.

We could create an updated version of the world gold standard system of the pre-1914 era...and [the world gold standard] would still be working today if not for World War I, and soon after, the rise of Keynesian notions that governments could manage their economies by jiggering the currency. This requires a floating currency, which is why we have floating currencies today.

GEITHNER'S DEPARTURE PUTS OBAMA IN TOUGH SPOT - CNBC
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plans to leave near the end of January put the White House in a tricky spot...the [fiscal cliff] deal, which preserved most of the Bush-era tax breaks for Americans, sets up a series of crucial fiscal deadlines by delaying automatic spending cuts until March 1 and not increasing the government's borrowing limit.

That puts Obama in the tough spot of nominating another Treasury secretary and asking the Senate to approve his choice when lawmakers are in the middle of another budget battle.

"The confirmation process will be nasty regardless as it will be a referendum on Obama's economic and deficit plans," said Chris Krueger, a policy analyst with Guggenheim Partners.

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1.3.13 - 'Cliff Deal' Contains Hidden Pork - Listen

Gold prices dipped over 1% Tuesday amid profit taking and a firmer dollar after Fedspeak, stocks drift lower. Gold last traded at $1,663 an ounce. Silver traded at $30.14 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose More Than Forecast in Holiday Week - Bloomberg
-ADP: U.S. adds 215K private-sector jobs in Dec. - MarketWatch
-Obama Signs Bill Enacting Budget Deal to Avert Most Tax Hikes - Bloomberg
-Geithner to Step Down End of January -- Before Debt Ceiling Deal! - DrudgeReport

flying pig "FISCAL CLIFF" BILL HAD $74B HIDDEN PORK - CBSNews
The "fiscal cliff" law passed so quickly, many in Congress never realized it was full of special interest tax breaks, one of which allows auto racetrack owners to speed up their tax deductions.

Another tax write off goes to Hollywood -- a $20 million break anytime a TV show or movie is shot in an economically depressed area of the United States.

There's a subsidy for rum made in Puerto Rico, a tax break if you train a mine rescue worker, and a tax credit for every kilowatt of electricity produced by wind.

HIGHER MIDDLE-CLASS TAXES WILL CAUSE LOWER GROWTH, FEWER JOBS - NewsRelease
“The Congress created this [2% payroll] tax break in 2010 to stimulate the economy, and this additional spending money that was not taxed away from the Middle Class may have saved a million or more jobs, homes and small businesses because families could buy more,” author Craig R. Smith, who was interviewed by Fox's Your Money with Neil Cavuto on Monday.

“Analysts at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. now estimate that ending this payroll tax cut, along with imposing higher taxes on the wealthy, will drive down growth during the first Quarter of 2013 to 1 percent,” says Mr. Smith.

“With real inflation now running close to 7 percent and devouring our economic growth,” says Smith, “this could put America's economy underwater – shrinking at negative 5 percent growth or worse. This could quickly turn into another Recession.”

“The politicians are eager to end this tax break for the Middle Class, despite the risk of a new Recession, because it 'costs' the government between $125 Billion and $150 Billion in lost tax revenue every year,” says Smith.

FED SAYS IT’S RUNNING OUT OF BULLETS - Marketwatch
For the first time since the financial crisis started five years ago, the Federal Reserve has at last made its first signal that its extraordinary loose monetary policy will start to get tougher.

To be sure, the change isn’t gigantic. There’s no sense that interest rates will increase from the near zero levels that have lasted for over four years. And the Fed only last month initiated a new bond-buying program, to top off a plan to add more mortgage-backed securities that had only been around since September.

But, the minutes show, the central bank is starting to say, enough is enough. Of the crowd that supported bond buys, a few say they should continue until the end of the year, and several said it could stop, or slow, well before then.

BASEL BECOMES BABEL AS CONFLICTING RULES UNDERMINE SAFETY - Bloomberg
The first Basel agreement on global banking regulations was 30 pages long and relied on simple arithmetic, the latest update is 509 pages long and includes 78 calculus equations. According to one expert, even if the regulations can be enforced, they don't go far enough to ensure safety.

The new capital rules are based on the same principal as the old ones: allowing the largest lenders to use their own mathematical models to determine how much capital they need.

“It has gotten ridiculous, far too complicated,” said Wayne Abernathy, executive vice president of the American Bankers Association, the largest industry lobbying group. “The costs and efforts of complying with all these rules no longer are worth the safety and soundness dividend they provide.”

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1.2.13 - 2013: What Will It Hold? - Listen

Gold prices leaped higher Monday after a 'tax the rich' temporary fiscal cliff deal boosted confidence and stock prices. Gold last traded at $1,687 an ounce. Silver traded at $31.01 an ounce. Gold ended 2012 with a 6.6% rise, silver gained 9%.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Budget Deal Passes; Debt Ceiling Looms, Stocks Soar -WSJ
-Despite Cliff Deal: 'Nothing Really Has Been Fixed' - CNBC
-Can we trust stocks' surge, or is this just a relief rally? - Marketwatch
-'Fiscal cliff II' showdown set for February - DailyCaller
-Gold Extends Longest Streak Since 1920 - Bloomberg

sign The mindset in the U.S. financial markets is mixed up with billionaires dumping stocks while investors are buying them. Meanwhile, average American taxpayers will be hit with tax increases and shrinking deductions in 2013.

2013 BUDGET 'DEAL': IF PIGS COULD FLY - Craig R. Smith, Chairman, Swiss America
The Fiscal cliff 'deal' is not a fix - This agreement has no cuts, no growth, no jobs and $330B in new spending. 77.1% of Americans will be burdened with a tax increase as the Bush-era two-year moratorium on payroll taxes expired, causing Social Security taxes to effectively rise 2% across the board. For the average family earning $50k per year that equates to at least a $1,000 increase in taxes, in direct violation of Obama's repeated promise to only tax those earning over $250k/year.

The 'Tax the rich' strategy will not work - Under this proposal, capital gains taxes are raised from 15% to 20%. Add on the 3.8% Obamacare surcharge and the tax rate on investments is now at 23.8%. Estate taxes will maintain their current position on the first $5M for individual estates and $10M on family estates, but all estates above that threshold will now have an increase from 35-40%. Obama's original plan was to cap estates at $1 million and raise the tax rate to 55%(!) on any amount above that.

STOCKS TO SOAR AS WORLD MONEY CATCHES FIRE - Telegraph
Our friend, London Telegraph International Economics Editor, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes... Bears beware. A monetary revolution is underway. The US, Japan, Britain, as well as the Swiss, Scandies, and a string of states around the world, are actively driving down their currencies or imposing caps.

The more that investors come to think another cycle of global growth is safely under way, the riskier it will be to hold corporate bonds, $8 trillion in the US alone. With yields priced for deflation, that bubble is dangerous to own on 10-year maturities. The money will rotate into equities and bullion, with China’s central bank driving gold through $2,000 at last.

The Fed is no slouch either. It is printing $1 trillion in 2013, even though the money supply is already catching fire. It is has cooked up a jobless target of 6.5pc, meaning anything it wants. If this caps the dollar in the process -- and safeguards America’s shale-driven manufacturing revival -- Ben Bernanke might allow himself a wry smile.

BILLIONAIRES DUMPING STOCKS, ECONOMIST KNOWS WHY - MoneyNews
A handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks ... and fast.

Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway has been drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing habits. With 70% of the U.S. economy dependent on consumer spending, Buffett’s apparent lack of faith in these companies’ future prospects is worrisome.

During the second quarter of the year, John Paulson’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co., dumped 14 million shares of JPMorgan Chase. The fund also dumped its entire position in discount retailer Family Dollar and consumer-goods maker Sara Lee.

George Soros recently sold nearly all of his bank stocks, including shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. Between the three banks, Soros sold more than a million shares.

So why are these billionaires dumping their shares of U.S. companies?

BUDGET DEAL COULD TRIGGER RECESSION, EXPERTS WARN - NewsRelease
Higher middle-class taxes will cause lower growth, fewer jobs To avoid economic disaster caused by going over the “Fiscal Cliff,” lawmakers framed a deal with higher taxes on the Middle Class that is likely to plunge America back into a Recession, according to economic experts.

“Politicians of both parties were happy to propose a deal to end the 2 percent payroll tax cut, and this will have devastating consequences,” says Craig R. Smith, a renowned monetary expert whose just-published latest book is The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar and How to Get America's Money Back.

“Ending this one Middle-Class tax break could cost an average family between $1,000 and $1,300 every year,” says Smith. “It could force a household earning $100,000 a year to pay an extra $2,000, and a couple earning $113,700 or more to pay an extra $4,548 every year.”

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