CONFIDENCE GAME? - Apr 22nd news

Apr 22, 2005

"Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."

-Thomas Jefferson

MARKET NEWS DIGEST

U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Index Fell 0.4% in March -BL

April 21 (Bloomberg) -- The index of leading U.S. economic indicators declined by the most in two years in March as a rise in gasoline prices made consumers less confident.

The New York-based Conference Board said today its gauge of the likely performance of the economy over the next three to six months fell 0.4 percent after a 0.1 percent rise in February. A separate report today from the Labor Department showed jobless claims fell last week, matching a 10-week low.

Record gasoline prices eroded consumer confidence last month and led to a slowdown in spending on goods and services. More people filing for unemployment insurance last month, fewer housing permits and a drop in stock prices also contributed to the index's seventh monthly decrease in the last year, signaling the economy is poised to slow.

``Leading indicators have been signaling a weakness for the last six months that we are now beginning to see in the start of the second quarter,'' said John Herrmann, director of economic commentary at Cantor Fitzgerald LP in New York. ``Most analysts are calling it a soft patch.''

A survey of 49 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a median 0.3 percent decline in leading indicators.

Economists such as John Ryding at Bear Stearns & Co. and Richard Berner at Morgan Stanley have recently cut their first- quarter growth estimates following reports last week that the U.S. posted a record trade deficit in February and retail sales slowed. Morgan Stanley slashed its forecast to 3.1 percent from 4.1 percent. A Bloomberg survey conducted from April 1-7 had forecast median first-quarter growth of 4 percent.

Oil Prices

``We remain reasonably optimistic that there will be some re- acceleration in the second half of this year, but that is critically conditioned on a fallback in energy prices, which may or may not happen,'' said Stephen Roach, chief global economist at Morgan Stanley in an April 19 interview.

Oil prices averaged about $54.63 a barrel in March, up from $48.05 a barrel in February. Oil prices have averaged about $53 so far in April.

http://www.bloomberg.com

Related Story:
4-22-05 -- Pulling the peg -MW... Fed chief weighs in on float of China's currency, but too much, too soon may not help U.S.

4-21-05 -- Greenspan Warns Deficits Endanger Economy ... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned on Thursday that unless lawmakers come to grips with spiraling U.S. deficits, the economy was at risk of stagnation "or worse."

Gold jumps to 4-wk high on falling dlr -Reuters
Tue Apr 19, 2005

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Gold futures in New York shot to a four-week high on Tuesday morning, as a rising euro vs. the dollar triggered investor buying to boost the metal above stiff resistance.

June delivery gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division bolted up $4.70 to $433.70 an ounce by 10:32 a.m. EDT, its strongest price since March 23. Prices earlier had hovered near chart resistance at $431.

"Gold is up because euro just spiked higher," said one New York metals analyst at a brokerage. Weakness in the U.S. currency makes dollar-priced gold a better buy for investors holding foreign currencies.

http://www.reuters.com

Related Story:
Gold May Rise as Hedge Against Inflation -BL

Dollar hit by tame PPI, housing starts -MW
By Leslie Wines, MarketWatch
Apr 19, 2005

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - The dollar remained under pressure Thursday afternoon after data showing a 14-year low for U.S. housing starts and unexpectedly tame core producer prices reinforced a view that the nation's growth is sluggish.

That belief was further supported by fresh remarks from San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen that higher oil prices appear to be dampening the economy.

In afternoon trades, the euro was up 0.08% at $1.3023, while the dollar fell 0.4% to 107.05 yen.

Earlier, the Commerce Department said housing starts fell 17.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted 1.837 million annualized units. The decline was the largest since January 1991 and followed a 21-year record high in February. Economists were looking for starts to ease back to 2.09 million. See full story.

The Labor Department, meanwhile, said core producer prices rose just 0.1%, below the 0.3% forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The headline PPI figure, which includes energy costs, rose 0.7% in March, broadly in line with expectations. See full story.

Initially, the dollar reacted very little to the new reports. However, the currency began weakening noticeably several hours later.

The tame producer prices news was viewed as a sign that inflation is well under control and there is no need for the Federal Reserve to embark on a more aggressive rates hike policy, according to Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at the Bank of New York.

"There has been a real shift in sentiment in recent days," Woolfolk said. "Not that long ago the market view was pro-dollar due to the belief that rates would rise. But the market is now negative on the dollar because of growth worries."

``One reason the dollar may be down is that the G7 once again failed to provide any support to it,'' said Kamal Sharma, currency strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London.

Finance heads from the world's seven leading economic powers said on Saturday they would pursue "vigorous" action to reduce global imbalances, but remained divided on how to free poor countries from debt and poverty.

"If policies do not adapt, do not change to react to these imbalances, we run the risk of an abrupt correction of the markets ... (when) confidence for different reasons could evaporate or could be reduced," IMF's Rodrigo de Rato told reporters.

http://www.marketwatch.com

Real Estate Fever, More Signs of Sickness -WP
Some Economists Warn of Housing Bubble
By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2005; Page A01

Matt Marshman watched it happen in one Germantown neighborhood in February. Each house that went up for sale cost about $15,000 more than the last. And the houses were all very much alike.

"We could see the prices going up every day," said Marshman, who with his wife Tracy Hernandez managed to buy the third house that they wanted there. The four-bedroom Colonial was listed for $30,000 more than other sellers had asked for a similar house just three weeks earlier. The couple eventually won a bidding war by offering $26,000 more than the asking price.

"It was downright scary, " said Marshman, a first-time homebuyer. It's another insane spring in the local real estate market. As the prime season for buying and selling unfolds, very few homes are for sale, prices are climbing rapidly and desperate would-be buyers are bidding feverishly against each other. It feels a lot like last spring, and the spring before, and the spring before that.

But now the question comes up more and more: How long can this last?

"It feels like we're on the tip of the razor blade right now," said real estate agent Eric Stewart at Llewellyn Realtors in Rockville. "And we can't remain at the edge of this blade very long."

For homeowners, those increases have meant a rapid rise in wealth, at least on paper, and higher property tax bills. But would-be buyers such as Marshman have found that they have to stretch their budgets more than they ever imagined. Homeowners who believed that by now they would be able to trade up to bigger, better houses find themselves stuck in what were supposed to be starter homes. That means they don't sell, further tightening the supply of houses available.

There are signs that things could be getting out of whack, prompting some economists to warn that the real estate market in at least some parts of the country is in a condition much like the stock market bubble of the late 1990s. Other economists, however, say rising house values in many metropolitan areas, including Washington, are supported by changing demographics, job creation and still-attractive mortgage rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has said the central bank does not think there's a national problem.

Among the symptoms that some say point to a bubble: a widening gap between rental and ownership costs, a spike in the number of investors rather than occupants buying, and a ever-tighter affordability squeeze. Much of the boom in recent years has been sustained by low interest rates, which kept monthly payments down even as purchase prices rose. But the consensus among economists is that interest rates will rise at least a little this year.

"We're in a bubble, and prices could fall substantially," said Robert J. Shiller, a professor of economics at Yale University and author of the 2000 book, "Irrational Exuberance," which appeared just months before the stock market began its slide. A second edition of Shiller's book recently hit stores, with a new section on real estate. In it, Shiller presents figures that show that American house prices have gone up only an average of 0.4 percent a year since 1880, when adjusted for inflation, with most of the gain in the past eight years. "It's just not the investment people think it is," he said. "It's only been a good investment for the past few years."

David A. Lereah disagrees. "There is no national housing bubble," said Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors and author of the recent book, "Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?"

"Any talk about the housing market crashing is ludicrous," he said. Lereah said the national real estate market is an amalgam of local real estate markets and that for a local bubble to burst, there would have to be "rising housing inventories, double-digit price appreciation for several years consecutively and then a local negative economic effect, like big job losses. Right now, most local areas have a lean supply of homes. And the Washington area is creating tens of thousands of jobs rather than losing any."

The gap between the cost of renting and the cost of buying, which historically move in tandem, has widened considerably in the Washington area, especially over the past year. It is now the widest it has been since 1989, just before the last real estate crash, according to a study by Torto Wheaton Research in Boston. The monthly cost of renting an apartment in the Washington area in 2004 was just 59 percent of the cost of buying a home, according to the study. That's down from 82 percent in 2001.

"The fundamental relationship between renting and owning has gone astray, which suggests there's an overheating in home prices in Washington," said Gleb Nechayev, senior economist at Torto Wheaton. "There are two ways that the ratio could be restored to a historic norm. Either home prices could decline, rents could rise, or both could happen. The biggest contribution to this balance will come from home prices, we believe."

But Thomas S. Bozzuto, chief executive of the Bozzuto Group, a Greenbelt company that both manages apartments and builds homes for sale, said the gap between renting and owning is more worrisome in other cities and will probably tighten here because rents are starting to go up after a period of stagnancy.

"Rents are not as deeply discounted in Washington as they have been in other parts of the country, like Atlanta," said Bozzuto. "The cost of owning a home is going up here, but rents are rising as well. The apartment market is sufficiently tight here and the demand for apartments sufficiently strong so that you haven't seen rents drop like they have in other markets."

Another worrisome sign to some economists is the high number of investors purchasing real estate these days. A recent study by the National Association of Realtors showed that one-quarter of all homes bought last year were purchased as investments, a high proportion by historical standards. Investors are considered more likely than owner-occupants to try to sell if prices fall.

"One of the signals to watch out for with a bubble is the percentage of homes being sold to investors," said Susan M. Wachter, professor of real estate at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. "The only problem is that once you notice some of these signs, it's usually too late."

Investors count on a mix of rents and price appreciation for profit. If rents are soft while prices are rising, success isn't a sure thing -- but some are still willing to make a bet. Full Story

High oil prices fuel stagflation concerns -Reuters
Apr 18, 2005

EXPECTATIONS that oil may remain above $50 per barrel this year are increasing the perceived risks of “stagflation”, a combination of high inflation and economic recession, some analysts say.

Few forecast a return to the acute economic pain of the 1970s. But with crude oil prices still above $50, more analysts are seeing symptoms and warning that even a mild case of stagflation could be painful. For ‘05, the average world oil price will be about $52.23 a barrel, IMF analysts forecast earlier this month.

On Friday, crude oil was trading around $50.15 per barrel in New York, while US stocks were around their five-month lows. Many economists expect US GDP to grow around 3.5% this year, but perhaps somewhat more slowly next year.

“We may not get to a point that we have stagflation, which is above-trend inflation requiring tightening at a faster-than-measured pace by the Fed, as well as stagnant economic conditions, defined as zero percent growth of real GDP,” said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist with the Bank of New York.

But, he added, “Upon the return of oil prices above $50, there remains a concern that high oil prices will exacerbate inflation and curb growth. What you are likely to see ... is that consistently high oil prices will force growth to remain below its trend growth rate.”

http://www.reuters.com

Related Story:
4-20-05 -- Will oil strike $380 a barrel by 2015? By Adam Porter in Perpignan, France... A report prepared by energy economists at the French investment bank Ixis-CIB has warned crude oil prices could touch $380 a barrel by 2015.

Cardinal Ratzinger Chosen as New Pope -WP
German Successor to John Paul II Will Be Called Benedict XVI
By Daniel Williams and Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 19, 2005

VATICAN CITY, April 19 -- Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany Tuesday as the new pope to succeed John Paul II, reaching an early agreement on the second day of voting.

He took the name of Benedict XVI.

A cardinal from Chile, Jorge Medina Estevez, the Senior Cardinal Deacon, made the announcement before thousands of cheering spectators.

Earlier, white smoke from the Sistine Chapel's chimney and the pealing of bells signaled the election of the new pope in a secret conclave.

There was initial confusion because of a false alarm Monday after the first ballot, when the smoke initially appeared to be white but then became black, indicating that no new pope had been elected. Although the smoke was white as it began flowing from the chimney shortly before 6 p.m. local time (noon EDT), it took several more minutes for the church bells to begin tolling -- a second and newly instituted signal to confirm a conclusive vote.

As the white smoke rose, the assembled crowd in St. Peter's Square burst into cheers and applause.

Upon hearing the church bells elsewhere in the city, thousands more poured into the square to hear the announcement of the new pope's name. Many waved the national flags of their home countries, presenting the image of a faith that spans the globe and includes more thant 1.1 billion people.

Under the rules, the 115 voting cardinals chose the 265th pope with a two-thirds majority, or at least 77 voting in favor.

The election came 17 days after the death of John Paul, who succumbed to illnesses related to Parkinson's disease at his residence in the Vatican on April 2.

The balloting followed a day of stately ritual. Ratzinger delivered a hard-hitting sermon at a pre-conclave Mass attended by the cardinals. A close associate of John Paul and the dean of the College of Cardinals, Ratzinger launched a passionate defense of strict orthodoxy.

"To have a clear faith according to the church's creed is today often labeled fundamentalism," he told the cardinals and the congregation packed into St. Peter's Basilica. "While relativism, letting ourselves be carried away by any wind of doctrine, appears as the only appropriate attitude for the today's times. A dictatorship of relativism is established that recognizes nothing definite and leaves only one's own ego and one's own desires as the final measure."

Ratzinger's speech expounded one side of an argument that is framing the conclave. Opponents say that Ratzinger and other Vatican-based prelates are stifling Catholic debate on religious and ethical subjects. A dispute between so-called conservatives and progressives in the conclave could overshadow issues of personality and geography in choosing the next pope, according to Vatican watchers.

The church has been shaken by "numerous ideological currents," Ratzinger said. "The boat has been unanchored by these waves, thrown from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, up to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, and on and on.

"An adult faith does not follow the waves of fashion and the latest novelty," he concluded.

http://www.washingtonpost.com

COMMENTARY

FINANCIAL CRISIS: IS IT REPARABLE? -Craig Smith, WND
WND Commentary
April 18, 2005

As I discussed last week's column, "Wealth Without Work," my goal is to help readers learn how to create real wealth, without gambling. That means finding places to keep your money that will likely prosper independent of falling public confidence, currency wars, and/or Wall Street scandals.

Accountants define "wealth" as our assets, minus our liabilities. But in today's volatile financial world, our assets can quickly become liabilities when the fabric of public confidence becomes torn badly enough. (think: "Emperor has no clothes")

The biggest financial risk today is that American (and foreign) investors will continue losing confidence in the U.S. economy, the dollar, and in Wall Street. If that happens, welcome to "Fall Street" 2005.

Marketwatch.com describes the Wall Street environment last week as "SHROUDED IN GLOOM," while stocks fell to fresh 2005 lows.

"Fears of an economic slowdown" was the main reason given.

"CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FELL IN MARCH, as higher gasoline prices and a turbulent job market dampened the moods of car-reliant Americans," reports AP.

And now, fasten your seat belts for yet another round of confidence-shattering accounting scandals on Wall Street, ripped from recent headlines...

* "CEO SHIFTED $2 BILLION IN AIG STOCK TO WIFE," reports Bloomberg. If AIG is found guilty of accounting irregularities trust me, confidence in the broader stock markets will drop.

* "BONDS TUMBLE ON CONCERN GM TO BE CUT TO JUNK"... more bad news from Bloomberg. "ACCOUNTING CONCERNS JOLT GM'S STOCK" says Forbes.com. If GM debt falls to "junk bond" status, watch out below -- we could be in for another "Wiley Coyote" market moment before sailing over the cliff.

Economist STEPHEN ROACH of Morgan Stanley states the problem, "I fear there is a tear in the fabric of confidence that underpins the special role of the dollar -- a tear that is now getting larger under the stresses and strains of an unbalanced world."

He continues, "As the tide goes out in this post-bubble climate, one flaw after another keeps being exposed in the American system. The confluence of Wall Street misdeeds, an Enron-led accounting scandal, and the damaged credibility of the New York Stock Exchange points to nothing less than a full-blown crisis of corporate governance."

Today 80% of American's "wealth" exists only on paper or in computers. As long as our credit/debt system runs smoothly, our computers are online and our home values are rising, we feel confident that our assets are safe, right? But what happens if that confidence is disappears? Historically it begins a chain reaction that could escalate into an uncontrollable panic because so many of us are living on the edge today financially. (think: last pair of pantyhose with a big run in them)

Too many Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck today, buried in debt. Any disruption in income or investment values may send their confidence spiraling downward -- dragging with it stocks, bonds, CD's, mutual funds and the value of the U.S. dollar down dramatically.

Sobering realities, but there alternatives for those seeking "true" wealth.

Certain investments are like good suits, they're worth hanging on to, even if they seem out of style. Since all "paper" investments require widespread public confidence, I say let's find the precious few that DON'T rely on confidence -- and then hang on to them for the long term.

"True" wealth helps to repair torn confidence because...
1. True wealth stands the test of time (Integrity)
2. True wealth never becomes a liability (Growth)

Since the dawn of creation, gold has been held in the highest esteem as a store of value and a universal monetary substance in ALL civilizations. Why? Because gold represents financial integrity, solid growth and "real" money.

Gold is one of the few commonly respected values that has united mankind throughout the millennia -- transcending race, religion and geography -- a rarely noted fact, but significant fact in light of today's growing cultural convergence and emerging global economy.

"We have gold," Hoover said, "because we cannot trust government." It now appears, 70 years later, that we cannot trust Wall Street either. Therefore, "we have gold"... and personal gold ownership helps to repair the torn fabric of our economic confidence.

http://www/wnd.com

THE BEAR IS BACK– Bill Bonner, Daily Reckoning
Apr 18, 2005

We thought we heard the fat lady clearing her throat on Friday. The Dow closed the week barely above 10,000; it's lowest level since the last elections.

"My money is in real estate," said a 38-year-old pharmaceutical rep from San Diego, "because I got tired of seeing my income statement from my mutual fund go down."

The man must be delighted with himself. Stocks have gone nowhere in the last seven years. And recently, they seem to have resumed their long march back to where they started 30 years ago. Back then; you could buy a dollar's worth of earnings for only $6 or $7. Now, the same earnings would cost you $20. But the price of earnings is falling, we believe; the bear market is back and will probably stay with us for a long time.

"Finance Officials Try to Calm Markets," said an AP story over the weekend. Look for many more attempts to tell investors that everything is okay. The trade deficit - no problem. The dollar - don't worry about it. Real estate bubble - are you kidding?!

Stocks in China and Japan are falling... and the U.S. commodities are dropping, too. The one thing, the only thing, you can still count on is real estate, right?

"You're not going to lose money on property," the San Diego paper quotes a young man who just bought five condos and one $1.6 million "fixer-upper." He plans to spend $100,000 on cosmetic updates to the house and sell it for more than $2 million. As for the condos, he plans to flip them at higher prices. In La Jolla, non-residents, that is to say "investors," bought 37% of recent condo conversions.

"In the long run, you can't lose," said another condo flipper. "I'm buying for my children because I know I can make a lot of money."

But why is real estate such a sure bet? Because there is a huge demand for it, say the bulls.

And yet, from King Report comes this note:

"In their analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's housing data, Raymond James housing analysts Rick T. Murra, Paul D. Puryear and Andrew Fenton write, '... there are more than 5.1 million vacant housing units either for rent or for sale as of the end of the fourth quarter. Furthermore, there are more than 6.5 million vacation homes, which remain vacant for most, or at least some portion, of the year, and represent an additional potential inventory overhang. With nearly 12 million empty housing units in the United States, we find it implausible to conclude that there is a housing shortage of the magnitude that would drive the recent price escalation ... '

"... . the investor has overpaid in anticipation of future price appreciation and the rent necessary to cover carrying costs is far in excess of what the market will bear. As this 'hidden' inventory is now larger than at any time during the past 10 years (as far back as the Census data is available) and likely may be at an all-time high, we believe the potential exists for a significant amount of supply to return to the for-sale market and not only exert downward pressure on prices, but also reduce demand for new housing production."

In Orange County, California, the median house rose to $565,000 in March. That is an increase of a 16.5% annual rate. Too bad the median family's income did not rise too. But based on the latest data, the median family seems to have not one but two houses it can't pay for.

http://www.dailyreckoning.com

Only the ethical need apply -CSM
In the heavily automated workplace of the future, a keen sense of right and wrong will become a highly valued job skill.
By Susan Llewelyn Leach | Staff writer, The Christian Science Monitor
Apr 16, 2005

The "great global brain drain" is how futurist Richard Samson describes it. As the century progresses, he predicts, more and more jobs will be sucked up by technology and sophisticated computers, forcing humans to hone skills machines can't duplicate - at least not yet. Qualities such as ethical judgment, compassion, intuition, responsibility, and creativity will be what stand out in an automated world.

With ethics issues spiking into the news almost weekly, the idea of a work world in which individual ethical acumen is viewed as an essential job skill is far from outlandish. The signs are already here.

Wall Street is toying with the idea of creating an ethical code of conduct. CEOs are getting fired for unethical behavior, even when it doesn't damage the company's bottom line.

At Boeing, former CEO Harry Stonecipher was hired with a specific mandate to strengthen company ethics - and then was fired when his personal ethical code fell short.

What Mr. Samson suggests is that this focus on ethics will intensify as technology takes up more of the routine work tasks. Signs of "off-peopling" - his shorthand for human workers being replaced by computers - are widespread.

Software systems help you do your own check-out at the supermarket and your own check-in at the airline counter. Virtual attendants answer many customer-service phones. Internet sales require no human interaction. And you don't need a travel agent to book your holiday anymore.

But while artificial intelligence can perform numerous job functions, it brings no ethical considerations to bear on the tasks performed - a skill that Samson predicts will actually become more crucial as the world increases its reliance on technology.

It's still a big leap from where we are today to a world in which white-collar, know-how jobs are largely being performed by computers. But Samson proposes that this will happen by century's end and points out that history offers interesting precedent.

In 1900, 40 percent of the American workforce had been laboring in agriculture. A hundred years later, that number shrank to 2 percent. Manufacturing took up a lot of the slack until mid-century, when its numbers started to decline, too.Now service-sector jobs offer the bulk of employment in the United States and run the gamut from a Starbucks barista to a haircutter to a corporate attorney.

"As computers take over more and more routine cognitive tasks, that will leave humans doing things that can't be automated," says Thomas Malone, author of "The Future of Work" and a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management. "These new technologies will give us chances to make ethical and other choices in new ways."

But the technological progression doesn't necessarily mean we'll become more ethical, he adds. "Humans are capable of using automated information technology for unethical purposes."

Organizations will become more fluid and decentralized as huge numbers of people have enough information to make intelligent decisions and choices for themselves."We're in the early stages of an increase in human freedom in business that may in the long run be as important a change for business as the change to democracies was for governments," he says.One inevitable consequence of this shift, he says, will be more transparency. Access and openness make it harder to get away with unethical behavior.

Job descriptions in the future, says William Rothwell, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, will likely focus on the three-dimensional view - the type of person rather than simply the tasks.It won't be "just what they can do," he says, "but the kind of person they are, ethically, morally."

FULL STORY

MEGASHIFT: The best news since year one... -James Rutz, author
April 11, 2005

The 1700-year nightmare is over.

A megashift of spiritual power into the hands of ordinary people is about to overwhelm the world and put it into vastly better shape. Prepare yourself to take part in a total makeover of Planet Earth!

You are about to discover a new world where...

* Over a billion non-Christians may become highly active Christians in the next dozen years.
* A whole new form of Christianity promises to bring a far greater impact than the Protestant Reformation.
* Millions of ordinary people are doing miracles.
* God has brought hundreds of people back from the dead, mostly in the last 15 years. These are not near-death experiences, but real resurrections of actual corpses.

New book tells all

MEGASHIFT not only documents a wide range of miracles, but also spotlights hundreds of thousands of house-church teams around the globe that are producing a new culture of responsible freedom.

In these teams, people are allowed to speak and interact. They often form deep friendships, dump their heaviest problems, turn into free and powerful spearheads of worldwide change, and get connected with God and man in ways that almost defy description. This is a megashift away from spectator religion.

8% Growth Per Year

There is a hidden world that already has 707 million evangelical/charismatic Christians who are growing by an incredible 8% a year. In the center of this shockwave are roughly 100 million in informal networks of committed circles who run their own show without buildings, paid pastors, or sermons. MEGASHIFT is a startling introduction to that surge of grass roots power and love, which is forming the culture you will soon live in.

Megashift.org

[Editor's Note: I've known and admired Jim Rutz's work for well over a decade. I just received my review copy of MEGASHIFT, so stay tuned for an upcoming review. Jim was a guest on America at Night with Craig Smith over a week ago discussing the Pope's passing and trust me, his perspectives are world-changing to say the least... "Mary is perhaps the most embarassed saint in heaven," Rutz told one listener ... reflecting on her elevated stature in the Roman Catholic faith ...in his typical iconoclastic style.]

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-- from a "stock-driven era" to a new "commodity-driven era."
In "Economic Solutions for the 21st Century" you'll discover ...
* SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM ... A plan to unify America
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* WHY SILVER could rise to $50, $75 or even $100 per ounce.
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David M. Bradshaw is Editor of REAL MONEY PERSPECTIVES, a new, syndicated daily financial/cultural news digest. In 2001, he published REDISCOVERING GOLD IN THE 21ST CENTURY: The Complete Guide to the Next Gold Rush and has been an economic commentator since 1987, when he produced the World Economic Perspectives radio show. In 2004, he produced "A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO COUNTER-TERRORISM" a free-to-the-public educational resource on DVD and CD. In 2005, he released a new CD, "WHAT'S YOUR WORLDVIEW?" a one-hour CD sample from his 24-hour series, "THE BIG PICTURE: The Shape of Things to Come" discussing geopolitical, economic and spiritual trends in the 21st Century. MORE ... PERSONAL NOTE: Youngest daughter Braida Zoe (age 14 mo.) is now feeding herself, running, says "hi" and "bye-bye," her name, "mama" & "dada." Shown with her mom (and loving wife) Micki amoung some bright Spring flowers!