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May Blog Archives 2015

May Blog Archives

5.29.15 - U.S. Economy Stalls On Obamanomics

Gold last traded at $1,191 an ounce. Silver at $16.70 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks fell on the day (and the week) Friday after the government confirmed GDP economic growth fell 0.7% in Q1, instead of rising 0.2% as initially reported. The disappointing news sent the U.S. dollar downward while modestly boosting precious metal prices.

ECONOMY: New low growth report shows the government's "Deficit of Trust" continues. News of U.S. economic growth falling nearly 1% underwater in Q1 2015 was quickly back-peddled in the mass media with headlines such as WSJ's MarketWatch headline: "The Economy Contracted, But We’re Not in Recession....The GDP report appears to underestimate growth in the first quarter, and overestimate growth in the second and third quarters, many analysts contend."

AP reports, "Though falling GDP can be a sign of a recession, economists see little cause for such concern this year." N.Y. Times adds, "...virtually no mainstream economists are predicting that the economy is about to fall into a recession."

economy "Don't believe it," say authors Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte, who together have written five books in as many years predicting the Fed's "anti-stimulus" manipulation of interest rates near zero would not boost U.S. economic growth, but stunt growth instead.

Here are a few quotes predicting the failure of Progressive economics from their latest book, DON'T BANK ON IT! ...

"We predicted that in the Great Recession that began in 2008, following Keynes' prescription would produce an 'anti-stimulus' because by increasing the risk of inflation it would cause businesses to invest and hire less, not more. History has shown that we were right. Even a veteran economist with the St. Louis Federal Reserve acknowledged that the stimulus made things worse, not better….

"It is prescribed to stimulate. Instead, it induces symptoms that in modern economies resemble those produced by Prozac or tranquilizers. The boom and bust cycle is leveled somewhat, like the highs and lows of someone with bipolar disorder, but the effect is to put an economy’s ‘animal spirits’ into a trance-like state that reduces energy, vitality, productivity and innovation." (DBOI, Pages 101-102)

"The past century of Progressive economics has brought us to this point: a near-stagnant economy in a welfare state where roughly half the population gets some kind of government benefit.”

“America has come out of great depressions and recessions before. What frightens economists is that the past six years have brought the slowest ‘recovery’ in American history….indeed, not really a recovery at all, because average income has kept falling during the so-called ‘recovery,’” says Ponte, a former think tank futurist.

“This is caused by the biggest deficit we’ve ever faced – a deficit not just in prosperity but above all in TRUST,” says Ponte.

“Today’s numbers from the Obama Administration show that once again they’ve been lying to us…..just as they do when claiming that unemployment is 5 percent while America has 93 million working age people without needed full-time jobs, the worst job participation rate since Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s economic malaise in 1977,” says Ponte.

“Truth be told, we’ve never gotten out of the Obama Great Recession. You can lie to uneducated voters with phony numbers, but you can’t fool big time investors who see that real growth and productivity are at or below zero…and who know that the high stock market is now just a casino fueled by zero percent interest rates and stock buy-backs, not growth or profits,” says Ponte.

“Individuals can protect themselves, which is why we wrote DON'T BANK ON IT! to show them how,” says Ponte. “But we can’t go on much longer with the huge and growing deficit of Trust that people around the world now see in our government and its manipulated dollar. This is what's killing real investment and job creation.”

Read more: 20 Economic Predictions Come True Since 2010 ... DON'T BANK ON IT! book Offers 20 New Warnings!.

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5.28.15 - The Great "Obamatrade" Debate

Gold last traded at $1,188 an ounce. Silver at $16.67 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday as investors digested possible interest rate hikes ahead of Friday's revised first-quarter GDP data. Meanwhile, China stocks ended with a 6.5% loss as investors raced for the exits. Precious metals steadied near two-week lows as the U.S. dollar index leveled off near 12-year highs.

HOUSING: Good news for some home sellers - U.S. home buyers signed more contracts to buy existing properties in April. CNBC reports, "A monthly index of so-called 'pending' home sales from the National Association of Realtors rose 3.4%, the highest level in nine years." The primary driver: pending sales in the Northeast, which soared 10.1% from the month before.

pelosi OBAMATRADE: Is the new so-called 'ObamaTrade' good or bad for Americans? The proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP for short) is the latest bill targeted for fast-track passage by the Obama administration, with support from Republican leaders and opposition from some Democratic leaders. "Giving Obama Trade Power Is Letting Lion Out of Cage," veteran political analyst Dick Morris tells NewsMax TV. "I'm strongly opposed to this, and I'm appalled at the spectacle that the Republican leadership is trying desperately to give Obama vast new powers...The whole goal of this is to create a mechanism that supersedes the sovereignty of the United States government," he contends. "This is not about trade."

For a quick overview of TPP, watch this new 2-minute video: OBAMATRADE SECRETS: Must We Pass the Bill to See What's In It?

BANKS: "Consumers tell banks: Protect our data or we're through!" reports CNN. "That's according to a survey of more than 1,000 Americans conducted for public relations and communications firm Makovsky by market researcher Ebiquity in March. Nearly three-quarters of the survey's respondents said they would likely switch to another financial services provider if their financial or other personal information were stolen by cybercriminals. A sense of trust seems to be lost almost forever for some customers."

DON'T BANK ON IT! Chapter One: Breaking the Banks covers the emerging cyber-crime threat ...

A modern criminal gang can steal not only what you saved in past years but also your present financial identity and future credit. Stagecoach robbers used to demand ‘your money or your life.’ Today’s cyber criminals can, in a very real sense, rob you of both at the same time. (DBOI, Page 25)

Government agencies, (such as the IRS) corporations and banks could already have dormant “mole” programs undetected in their computer networks. Hackers and foreign agents can activate such moles from far away at an opportune, coordinated moment to bring down entire major banks or our banking system. (DBOI, Page 26)

GOLD: "Gold can glitter if stocks hit the rocks," reports Marketwatch. "If you’re of the precious metal persuasion - or at least agnostic about gold and willing to go where the market takes you - here are some factors to consider. 1. Supply and demand....a 40% jump in gold demand over the past 10 years. 2. No true 'risk-off' market yet....All bets may be off if we see a correction in equities...3. Gold can rise along with interest rates...there is historical evidence of gold rising significantly even as rates rise and the dollar moves higher. Why not this time, indeed." Swiss America believes every portfolio needs a solid foundation of physical gold now - before the next crisis strikes the financial and stock markets.

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5.27.15 - Silver Shines As Stocks Bubble

Gold last traded at $1,185 an ounce. Silver at $16.64 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Stocks rebounded Wednesday after Tuesday's sell-off amid upbeat earnings from Tiffany and Costco - despite a stronger U.S. dollar and very high stock valuations. Analysts believe the recent dollar strength is largely driven by the continued weakness in the Euro. Meanwhile, commodities and precious metal prices steadied.

STOCKS: "Snapchat CEO Warns 'Easy Money Policy' Has Created The Tech Bubble," warns ZeroHedge. "A month ago 24-year-old Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel gave global investors a glimpse at the reality in Silicon Valley's and how the second tech bubble will burst....Spiegel warns we are currently living through a tech bubble and that it's a matter of when, not if, the tech bubble will burst. 'People are making riskier investments and... there will be a correction,' he warned, placing the blame squarely on The Fed's shoulders, explaining that the bubble is being fueled by an 'easy money policy' and low interest rates - that may not last much longer."

GREECE: "Market starts to wonder where Greece will find money to make repayments," reports Euronews. "Reports that depositors have been pulling money out of Greek banks at the rate of 200-300 million euros a day for most of the past week have injected a sense of urgency in Athens, as another debt repayment deadline speeds closer. A new round of talks with the Brussels group of international creditors began late because of problems at the city's airport, adding to the atmosphere of bluff and brinkmanship..." Greece is "Nowhere Close" To A Deal," reports ZeroHedge. DON'T BANK ON IT! reports ...

Because fractional-reserve banking adds this risk of bank runs to the economy, it makes a society more vulnerable and unstable. It has the potential to turn every rumor or problem into a crisis. When you depositmoney into a fractional-reserve bank, the court held, the bank actually becomes the de facto owner of an unsecured loan or asset you have given it. The receipt or passbook that you walk away with and think of as evidence of 'your' bank account is instead an IOU. (DBOI, Page 65)
timeless truth CYBERCRIME: "Hackers stole personal information from 104,000 taxpayers, IRS says," reports Washington Post. "Hackers gained access to personal information of 104,000 taxpayers this spring, downloading an online service the Internal Revenue Service uses to give Americans access to their past tax returns, the agency said Tuesday. The information included several years' worth of returns and other tax information on file with the IRS, Commissioner John Koskinen said in a press conference." DON'T BANK ON IT! warns of growing cyber warfare risks...

Our government, economy and society have become totally dependent on centralized computer networks to move, record and safeguard our transactions and even our individual and company identities. What will happen when an enemy finds ways to unplug – or, perhaps worse, to pour vast amounts of false information into – our computer systems? (DBOI, Page 26)

METALS: Which do you think is the strongest currency in 2015? No, not the U.S. dollar -it is the Russian ruble, which has risen 27% ytd, according to Forbes. Second best performer? Silver, which is up 15% ytd. "Gold, as you'll recall, was the second best performing currency last year; outpacing every currency on earth except the U.S. dollar. Gold has been dragged through mud for the past three years as it lags financial assets like stocks and bonds, but this excess liquidity will eventually flow into hard assets." We agree. Speaking of silver, this 2-minute video explains the recent discovery of a silver bar from the famous pirate Captain Kidd.... 17th Century Pirate Treasure Found in Madagascar, Read more: The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver.

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5.26.15 - Supreme Court Favors Pension "Protection"

Gold last traded at $1,186 an ounce. Silver at $16.74 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Consumer confidence rose in May, but U.S. stocks slid Tuesday as a sharp increase in the U.S. dollar sent short-term investors running into government Treasury bonds and out of stocks, commodities and precious metals.

FED: The Fed is again hedging on raising interest rates this year if the global economy worsens, as expected. Marketwatch reports Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said today, "The Federal Reserve could take a slower approach to raising interest rates if weaker-than-expected growth overseas affects the U.S. economy....the United States is not just any economy and, thus, the Federal Reserve not just any central bank." Indeed, Fed policy has the power to both create and destroy money, as Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte explain in their White Paper, The Biggest Bank Heist in History.

PENSIONS: "Kiss your Pension Fund Good-Bye," warns economist Martin Armstrong of Armstrong Economics. "The US Supreme Court ruled last week in the unanimous, 8-page decision in Tibble v. Edison holding that employers have a duty to protect workers in their 401(k) plans from mutual funds that are too expensive or perform poorly. This fits perfectly just in time for the Obama administration's next assault as they prepare a landmark change of its own by issuing rules requiring that financial advisers put the interest of customers ahead of their own. This creates a very gray area wide enough to justify public seizure of pension funds under management," warns Armstrong.

"Yet this decision is even deeper. It sets the stage to JUSTIFY government seizure of private pension funds to protect pensioners. When the economy turns down and things get messy, they are placing measures in place to eliminate money in and physical dimension, closing all tax loopholes, shutting down the world economy with FATCA, and preparing for the final straw of Economic Totalitarianism with the Supreme Court reversing its entire construction of the Constitution to impose a duty upon employers to ensure the 401K plans perform in a world where interest rates are going negative. You really cannot make up this level of insanity....Between the court ruling and the Obama administration's push for stronger fiduciary rules send a strong message that government can much easier seize the pension fund management industry of course to 'protect the consumer'," Armstrong concludes.

DON'T BANK ON IT! warned about this last year...

One vast pool of money in America not yet seized by politicians is comprised of our retirement accounts - 401(k)s, IRAs, pension funds and more – that add up to more than $20 Trillion dollars. The Obama Administration is acutely aware of what Argentina did in 2008 – how its still-Peronist government struck in the dead of night. People there woke up the next day to find that the money saved in their bank retirement accounts was gone. In place of their life savings was an equal face value in Argentine government bonds. Trouble was, the real market value of those bonds was, at best, only about 29 percent of their face value - so in the name of protecting the people, the government in effect stole nearly three-quarters of their retirement savings. The Obama Administration is considering an even bigger expropriation of retirement accounts here. (DBOI, Page 166)

The government would justify seizing our retirement accounts, of course, as 'protecting' them for our own good. The money it takes from us will be replaced with government debt paper, in effect IOUs, as happened in Argentina and as has happened to the $2.66 Trillion our honorable politicians looted from the Social Security Trust Fund. (DBOI, Page 174)

RECESSION: The world faces a thin margin for error that the next economic shock will tip us back into recession, reports Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at London Telegraph. "The world economy is disturbingly close to stall speed. The United Nations has cut its global growth forecast for this year to 2.8%, the latest of the multinational bodies to retreat. We are not yet in the danger zone but this pace is only slightly above the 2.5% rate that used to be regarded as a recession for the international system as a whole. It leaves a thin safety buffer against any economic shock....It is now more likely than not that US economy has dropped through the Fed's stall-speed threshold of two consecutive quarters below 2% growth. Exactly how far below is unclear. HSBC's Mr King says the global authorities face awful choices if the world economy hits the reefs in its current condition. The last resort may have to be 'helicopter money', a radically different form of QE that injects money directly into the veins of economy by funding government spending."

DON'T BANK ON IT! warns about this threat also ...

Only 101 million Americans now have full-time jobs, and of these only 86 million work in the private sector where their paycheck does not come from other people's taxes. This is the lowest full-time job participation rate since Jimmy Carter, the president who turned off the lights in the White House and in the American economy. These full-time workers are the ones who make the goods and pay the majority of personal income taxes, who pull the wagon that everybody else rides in. (DBOI, page 163)

DEBT: "World drowning in debt, warns Goldman Sachs," reports London Telegraph. "The world is sinking under too much debt and an ageing global population means countries' debt piles are in danger of growing out of control, the European chief executive of Goldman Sachs Asset Management has warned. The demographics in most major economies – including the US, in Europe and Japan - are a major issue - and present us with the question of how we are going to pay down the huge debt burden. With life expectancy increasing rapidly, we no longer have the young, working populations required to sustain a debt-driven economic model in the same way as we've managed to do in the past."

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5.22.15 - Obama Trade Secrets

Gold last traded at $1,204 an ounce. Silver at $17.05 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks traded mostly lower following Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen's speech on Friday on low volume ahead of the Memorial Day Holiday. Yellen repeated her statement that interest rates will rise "this year", but admitted the economic outlook is "highly uncertain." Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar rallied on rising consumer price inflation data, as the CPI gained 0.1% last month. Gold prices held above $1,200 an ounce.

secret OBAMATRADE: The proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (or TPP) is the latest bill targeted for fast-track passage by the Obama administration, with strong support by some Republican leaders and strong opposition by some Democrats. The secret White House deal promises to expand opportunities for U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses by giving access to emerging markets. But opponents say the negotiations have inadequate protections for workers, the environment, financial regulations, and food-safety measures. If this bill is so great, why are the details being kept secret from the American people? Brietbart reports Senator Orrin Hatch admitting, "I Don’t Know Fully What’s in TPP Myself". But Michael Wessel, a commissioner on the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission has read TPP and says it "Will Damage This Nation", reports Zero Hedge. Could this be another case of "Just trust us... we have to pass it so you can see what's in it"?

BANKS: "The Big Banks Are Corrupt - and Getting Worse," reports Huffington Post. "The Justice Department's latest settlement with felonious big banks was announced this week, but the repercussions were limited to a few headlines and some scattered protestations. That's not enough. We need to understand that our financial system is not merely corrupt in practice. It is corrupt by design - and the problem is growing....The percentage of bankers who believed their own colleagues had engaged in illegal or unethical behavior has nearly doubled since 2012." Today the biggest banks are 30% bigger than during the 2008 crisis as DON'T BANK ON IT! reveals. The Obama administration has helped too-big-to-fail bankers become too-big-to-jail while they extract billions in fines for further wealth redistribution, as the introduction to Chapter Five, Banking Left explains ...

The 2008 near-collapse of our economy, the Great Recession, and today’s lowest job participation rate in almost 40 years all began because Progressive politicians misused government regulatory power to coerce banks into redistributing home mortgages to groups of people the politicians favored. Today such politicians plan to use regulatory power to squeeze money out of our banks, and your bank account, in even more sinister ways.

GOLD: "Central Banks Continue to Stock Up on Gold," reports NewsMax. "There is a growing disconnect between central banks, which see an increasingly unstable economic environment and thus a need to diversify into gold, and investors, whose interest in gold is slowly declining amidst the same uncertain economic environment. There are several reasons for this. Many investors take the short view." In today's microwave culture, it is important to maintain a clear view of the long-term big picture. This means thinking strategically about the risk-to-reward ratio of your portfolio holdings. Most wise financial experts advise between 10% and 30% be held as a golden foundation, regardless of whether gold prices are rising, flat, or even falling. Central banks own gold to protect their currencies, you and I must own gold to protect our future from growing financial uncertainty.

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5.21.15 - The 'Great Unraveling' Continues

Gold last traded at $1,204 an ounce. Silver at $17.13 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks eked out small gains Thursday despite missed economic data expectations, falling home sales and rising jobless claims. Why no stock market correction yet? "Because corporations keep buying their own stocks," equity trader Michael Antonelli tells Marketwatch. Investors now face titanic risks in today's 'Twilight Zone' stock market. Meanwhile, precious metal prices hovered near recent highs on a weaker U.S. dollar.

RECESSION: "For Many American States, It's Like the Recession Never Ended," reports Bloomberg. "Six years after the recession [officially] ended, many U.S. states are hard pressed to balance budgets because of a sluggish recovery and their own policy decisions. The fiscal fragility raises questions about how they will weather the next economic downturn. Thirty-two states faced budget gaps in fiscal 2015 or 2016 or both, according to an April 27 report by Standard & Poors." There are no big surprises in this latest news report, which was predicted last year in DON'T BANK ON IT!, page 107 ...

The economic devastation of the Great Recession has been immense. The shockwave of this bubble bursting circled the world in 2008 and 2009, wiping out $50 Trillion in investor equity – an amount approaching one year’s Gross Domestic Product for the entire planet. At least $10 Trillion of that loss was from American equities, as a stock market that had topped 14,000 plummeted to 6,600.

The average home price in America fell by 30 percent or more, a loss to homeowners of more than $5 Trillion in what for most was the biggest investment in their lives, the equity nest egg many had planned to use for retirement or their children’s college education.

This Great Unraveling cost more than five million people their homes, lost to foreclosure or fire sales. Millions more lost their life savings, typically spent to hang on in what then-Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke called an “unusually uncertain” wild roller coaster economy.

Few believe this crisis is near its end. Many fear that worse, perhaps much worse, is soon to come. We continue to suffer in a fragile recovery that is taking longer than what followed the Great Depression.

HOUSING: "Existing home sales unexpectedly drop in April," reports CNBC. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales dropped 3.3%, giving a cautious signal on the strength of the housing market. Zero Hedge reports, "The most stunning data point from today's report: Housing inventory declined from last year and supply in many markets is very tight, which in turn is leading to bidding wars, faster price growth and properties selling at a quicker pace...roughly 40 percent of properties sold last month went at or above asking price, the highest since NAR began tracking this monthly data in December 2012." If you are hoping to sell real estate before the next financial crisis hits, this summer may offer your last great opportunity.

BANKS: Yesterday we reported that Too-Big-To-Jail bankers understand no matter how many felonies they commit, none of them will go to jail so long as they pay billions in fines to politicians. Today Bloomberg reports, "Investors yawned at the news Wednesday that five of the world's biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, agreed to plead guilty in a currency-rigging probe....Barely more than a year ago, criminal charges against major U.S. banks were considered unthinkable, with lawyers and analysts viewing felony convictions as a death sentence and a threat to the financial system. Now, by granting waivers allowing lenders to keep operating even after a felony plea, the government has managed to punish firms while protecting them from fatal consequences." Once again Progressive government leaders illustrate that crime does pay, if you are a big enough banker. Sad.

ATM: "Theft of Debit-Card Data From ATMs Soars, reports the Wall Street Journal. "Criminals are stealing card data from U.S. automated teller machines at the highest rate in two decades, preying on ATMs while merchants crack down on fraud at the checkout counter. Debit-card compromises at ATMs located on bank property jumped 174% from Jan. 1 to April 9, compared with the same period last year, while successful attacks at nonbank machines soared by 317%, according to FICO." Major banking risk #3 listed in DON'T BANK ON IT! on page 215 ...

3. In the dawning age of cyber warfare, banks and the individual accounts in banks will be prime targets for looting, disruption and erasure.

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5.20.15 - Not Too-Big-To-Jail Banksters

Gold last traded at $1,208 an ounce. Silver at $17.11 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks barely treaded water following dovish Fed minutes and ahead of Fed chair Janet Yellen's speech on Friday. Meanwhile, government regulators around the globe fined banks nearly $6 billion for rigging in the currency and interest rate markets. Precious metal prices inched higher despite a firmer dollar.

BANKS: "5 Banks to Pay Billions and Plead Guilty in Market Manipulation," reports New York Times. "Adding another entry to Wall Street's growing rap sheet, five big banks have agreed to pay more than $5 billion and plead guilty to multiple crimes related to manipulating foreign currencies and interest rates, federal and state authorities announced on Wednesday. The Justice Department forced four of the banks - Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland - to plead guilty to antitrust violations in the foreign exchange market as part of a scheme that padded the banks' profits and enriched the traders who carried out the plot."

banks DON'T BANK ON IT!, Chapter Eight: The Death of Banking, "Not Too-Big-To-Jail" page 183 explains why bankers who commit felonies never end up in jail ...

When fined, bankers understand that no matter what violations of law they are accused of committing, none of them will go to jail so long as they pay the millions or billions of dollars the politicians demand. This has become the tradeoff for banker acquiescence, compliance and submission.

When Attorney General Eric Holder in 2014 huffed and puffed and warned that executives at the largest banks were “not Too-Big-To-Jail,” he was just playing at populist politics for the cheers of the peanut gallery.

The heads of the biggest banks trust that, in the long run, this is merely a politicized money-laundering operation. By retaining their legal status, large banks retain the privilege of staying in business and will soon be able to refill what politicians siphon from their coffers.

PRIVACY: "In privacy, Americans lack trust in government", reports AFP. "Americans are worried about the privacy of their online information, and have little confidence the government will keep that data secure, a poll showed Wednesday. Just six percent of adults surveyed say they were 'very confident' that government agencies can keep their records private and secure, with another 25 percent saying they were 'somewhat confident'". Maintaining private wealth today may require owning some private wealth from the past. Classic $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagles and $20 Liberty Double Eagles are considered a collectible and as such, may be exempt from public reporting required on other forms of bullion gold. Read more...

IRAN: "Iran rejects access to military sites," reports Associated Press. "Iran's supreme leader vowed Wednesday he will not allow international inspection of Iran's military sites or access to Iranian scientists under any nuclear agreement with world powers. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told military commanders that Iran will resist 'coercion and excessive demands' from America and other world powers." Is it any wonder why Americans distrust the proposed new agreement between the U.S. with Iran? As Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte explain in AMERICA ENGULFED ... "The apocalyptic Ayatollahs of Iran believe that they can bring about the global triumph of Islam through nuclear war, and their Shiite theology teaches that it is acceptable to lie in order to advance the cause of Islam. Our Israeli allies understand this. Perhaps President Obama does not."

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5.19.15 - Your Money Under Arrest?

Gold last traded at $1,206 an ounce. Silver at $17.07 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks struggled to maintain record high levels as upbeat housing data boosted the buck. Meanwhile, oil and precious metal prices fell back as traders mulled over the possible impact surging housing data may have upon Fed interest rate policy.

HOUSING: "U.S. housing starts jumped to their highest level in nearly 7-1/2 years in April and permits soared," reports CNBC. "The strength in housing is in stark contrast with weakness in consumption, business spending and manufacturing, which have prompted economists to lower their second-quarter growth estimates." What is interesting is that the U.S. home builders confidence index has been down four of the last five months. Is it possible they know something buyers only suspect? That the housing market is again getting ahead of economic growth? We shall see.

BANKS: Last week HSBC bank warned, "The World Economy Faces a 'Titanic' Problem" without any lifeboats. Today Financial Times reports, "HSBC has become one of the biggest global banks to say it will begin charging clients on deposits in a basket of European currencies....Central banks in Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland have also imposed negative policy rates of between minus 0.25 per cent and minus 0.75 per cent as they battle deflation and currency pressures....JPMorgan Chase said this year it would start charging some of its biggest institutional customers, such as hedge funds and foreign banks, to make 'excess' deposits, which have become too costly under new liquidity rules." Negative interest rates were predicted in DON'T BANK ON IT!, page 217, major bank threat #14 ...

14. European banks - with American banks soon to follow - have begun formally charging savers a fee for their account while paying them zero interest, a policy now formally called "negative interest." American savers could in the near future be charged a bank fee for the honor of putting their money at risk by being lent out for bank profit.

CASH: Money Under Arrest: Months ago Bloomberg reported that "cash in the mattress may be safer than bank deposits," but transporting cash also has increasing risks - such as seizure by law enforcement agents who may presume the cash is the result of committing a crime. CNBC reports one such example,"Joseph Rivers of Dearborn was on his way to California to start a career as a music video producer when he was stopped by DEA agents in New Mexico, who seized $16,000 in cash Rivers had in a bank envelope, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Rivers' story is one of many from U.S. citizens who say the government unfairly seized their assets under the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Program. In 2014, government agencies seized $4.6 billion in more than 10,000 forfeitures, 91 percent of the year's total. Critics say civil asset forfeiture is at best overused and targets innocent people and at worst is a cash cow for local law enforcement agencies." Last October NY Timesreported, "Law Lets I.R.S. Seize Accounts on Suspicion, No Crime Required - which is a topic also covered in DON'T BANK ON IT! as part of the Obama Administration's "Operation Choke Point."

GOLD: Precious metal prices were "steamrollered" by the surging U.S. dollar index today, offering yet another excellent buying opportunity. While bank depositors in Europe and the U.S. are struggling with zero and now negative interest rates, "Indian banks may offer interest on gold deposits," reports Reuters. Bankers in India are seeking a way to monetize the large gold holdings in Indian households.

"Banks could treat gold deposits as part of their cash reserve ratio (CRR) or statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), the finance ministry said in its guidelines released on Tuesday to seek opinions about its gold monetization scheme....The government is trying to convince households, who sometimes have little faith in financial institutions, to break the tradition and hand over gold passed down the generations."

This proposal is reminiscent of the U.S. origin of fractional banking when the town goldsmiths issued a receipt for gold held on deposit, then noticed people were happier trading receipts. These receipts later morphed into paper notes of currency, which under the Federal Reserve lost their redeemability to gold. Bottom line: The safest way to own gold is always physically in your own possession.

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5.18.15 - Banks Offer "Titanic ... Twilight Zone" Warnings

Gold last traded at $1,226 an ounce. Silver at $17.68 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks cautiously inched higher on Monday, despite major banking analyst warnings of a scary summer, laden with “Titanic” risks without life boats as investors remain stuck in Fed-induced "Twilight Zone" markets. This is precisely what Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte discussed in their 2011 book, The Inflation Deception. "Get ready for the printing presses to run night and day churning out debased dollars for an exploding population of government 'employees' and dependents, as Alice [in Wonderland] moves us to the Twilight Zone."

BANKS: Speaking of the Twilight Zone, Bank of America confesses to Bloomberg, Markets Are in a 'Twilight Zone' and It's Time to Hold More Cash and Gold. "Investors remain trapped in 'The Twilight Zone', the transition period between the end of QE and the first rate hike by the Fed, the start of policy normalization...until (a) the US economy is unambiguously robust enough to allow the Fed to hike and (b) the Fed's exit from zero rates is seen not to cause either a market or macro shock (as it infamously did in 1936-7)..."

Meanwhile, HSBC, the world's third largest banks' chief economist Stephen King warns, "The World Economy Faces a 'Titanic' Problem". Mr. King, it seems, is already planning for the next recession. In a note to clients last week, he warns: "The world economy is like an ocean liner without lifeboats. If another recession hits, it could be a truly titanic struggle for policymakers." So we now have two major banks warning of titanic problems ahead, then recommending gold as the solution. It appears the old, soft, debt-based bankers are now paving the way for the new, hard asset-based bankers!

DEBT: "Debt Traders to Fed: We Dare You to Try Raising Rates This Year," reports Bloomberg. "The market is essentially calling the Fed's bluff. Traders are betting that policy makers won't be able to raise rates this year without disrupting stocks and bonds, something that they'd really rather not do. So either U.S. policy makers will have to risk another market-wide tantrum, or they'll give in to traders who embrace the idea of these historically low borrowing costs sticking around for longer." Yes, the Fed is stuck in zero interest quicksand, as Smith and Ponte cover in a recent White Paper, The Biggest Bank Heist in History.

GOLD: Precious metal prices extended gains Monday despite a sharply higher U.S. dollar index on bargain hunting and growing bullishness as gold prices topped $1,225 an ounce. "We Are Entering The Terminal Phase Of The Global Financial System," bestselling author David Stockman tells Zero Hedge. Mr. Stocksman says what happened in each of the previous U.S. market crash episodes was a short-run break in the system, a collapse of confidence and then a flight to gold. "What I think we are facing now is a terminal phase of a monetary system that isn't viable, stable or sustainable. Therefore, gold has but one characteristic - massive upside in the years ahead." Gold has a 4,000-year history of preserving wealth and offering instant liquidity worldwide, while offering you a way to maintain your personal privacy. Read more: The Timeless Truth About Money


5.15.15 - Moving Toward Prosperity, Away From Redistribution

Gold last traded at $1,223 an ounce. Silver at $17.49 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stock prices stalled Friday amid lifeless factory orders and sagging U.S. consumer sentiment. Meanwhile, CNBC reports economists now estimate that U.S. economic growth will slow to 2.5% in 2015, down from 3%. Precious metal prices shined this week, ending near 3-months highs, with gold prices rising 3% for the week.

ECONOMY: Consumer sentiment hit a seven-month low, signaling shoppers are growing more concerned about how the economy and non-recovery will affect their personal finances, according to data released Friday. This is no surprise in the Fed's modern world of Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), as Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte point out in a recent White Paper, The Biggest Bank Heist in History. "In many such ways, ZIRP undermines the health of the body politic and the free market economy. It not only sucks away the lifeblood of capitalism - capital - but also destroys the morals, values, entrepreneurship, work ethic and thrift needed for successful free enterprise," write Smith and Ponte.

OPTIMISM: "Welcome to the Death of Liberalism," reports ReadingTheWorld. "Our optimism about the future is grounded in the evolving 'death of liberalism'. The US has been moving, albeit slowly, towards prosperity/growth and away from stagnation/redistribution since 2010. 2016 could prove to be the final blow to liberalism unleashing an economic prosperity not seen in over thirty years," writes John Tamny of RealClearMarkets. "We are optimistic that harmful policy ideas like targeted middle class tax cuts will never make it out of the primaries, and the GOP nominee will have been chosen because he embraces Laffer style, pro-growth policy solutions. The result will be the creation of more capital, more jobs, more companies and higher middle class incomes."

BANKS: "Modern Innovations May Render Banking Obsolete," writes Jeffrey Snider, the Chief Investment Strategist of Alhambra Investment Partners. "There are still 7.7% of households without a bank account and 20% are underbanked. The FDIC is clearly trying to make this a poverty issue, as they refer to that 'fact' that in 2013 34% of unbanked respondents report a job or significant income loss as contributing to their status as unbanked. Under the guise of 'protecting the poor', the government is out to assail these providers under the legion of the Dodd-Frank monstrosity, the aptly named (for 21st century Orwell-ianism) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In terms of payment technology, the prepaid system and the newer innovations that are just now becoming active make banking in the monetary sense obsolete - banks are expensive distractions. Banking, properly defined, is a matter of finance and there is no good reason to combine the two except as a means of power and influence." Our latest book, DON'T BANK ON IT! covers this topic in more detail.

MID-EAST: Israeli news service Haaretz reports, "Iran fires on Singaporean cargo ship in Gulf, says U.S. official. A U.S. official says an Iranian naval boat fired on a Singaporean commercial ship in the Persian Gulf in an apparent attempt to disable it. The Iranians initially fired warning shots Thursday after the MT Alpine Eternity refused to move into Iranian waters. When the ship began heading toward territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates, the Iranians tried to disable it with machine gun fire, according to the U.S. official..." Just one spark in the MID-EAST could send the global economy, the banking system and U.S. dollar up in smoke, according to AMERICA ENGULFED, the latest White Paper by Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte.

GOLD: "Gold may be headed to $5,000 an ounce," says Peter Schiff to Marketwatch, "despite the Fed." $5,000 gold would mean a 300% price growth from the current price. "The Fed is still 'posturing' as if it'll soon raise interest rates, but it won’t", Schiff predicts. "We'll always have to do [quantitative easing] to offset the damage from the previous QE," said Schiff, who argued that the Fed has made "mistakes" and has done a "horrible job" with monetary policy. Meanwhile, the World Gold Council's 2015 Q1 report says, "The contrast between the global picture and the more granular demand data clearly demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of the gold market. The numerous and varying roles that gold plays means it responds to different cues in different ways, smoothing out the fluctuations occurring at a more localized level..." Bottom line: Gold's future is looking brighter as the dark clouds gather over the global economy. Now is the time to own gold for protection first, and growth potential second. Here is an amazing opportunity to buy U.S. $20 gold coins at 2007 price levels!


5.14.15 - Best Gold Buying Opportunity Since 2007!

Gold last traded at $1,221 an ounce. Silver at $17.46 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the major indexes flirting with record highs. U.S. producer prices dipped 0.4% in April, indicating the 2% inflation target the Fed has been trying to boost is instead falling. Meanwhile, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan yesterday warned that the stock market will get another "taper tantrum" if and when the Fed decides to raises interest rates. Precious metals hit a 3-month high on a weaker dollar and technical momentum buying.

DOLLAR: The U.S. dollar extended losses Thursday, falling to a four-month low, reflecting weakening retail sales and deflationary producer price data. CNBC reports, "As the prospect of Fed rate hikes pushes further out, the likelihood that other central banks will be forced to maintain easy monetary policy settings for longer also increases," Jane Foley, a senior currency strategist at Rabobank, said in a note on Thursday.

GOLD: A top performing asset over the past 15 years is now presenting gold buyers with an opportunity not seen since 2007. The MS63 $20 Liberty Gold coin is now trading at the same price it was when gold was $700.00 per ounce. What this means to you is very limited downside risk and tremendous upside potential. This is the type of opportunity every investor seeks but is rarely presented with. Full Story

BANKS: "For most people, pleading guilty to a felony means they will very likely land in prison, lose their job and forfeit their right to vote," reports NY Times. "But when five of the world's biggest banks (Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, UBS and the Royal Bank of Scotland) plead guilty to an array of antitrust and fraud charges as soon as next week, life will go on, probably without much of a hiccup." This outcome was predicted in DON'T BANK ON IT!, in the "Too-Big-To-Jail" chapter.


5.13.15 - Gold Rallies On Weak U.S. Data

Gold last traded at $1,218 an ounce. Silver at $17.22 an ounce.

News Summary: U.S. stocks ended mixed, gold rallied over 2% and the U.S. dollar fell roughly 1% on a batch of weak U.S. economic reports. "The data puts into question the Fed's notion that the weak first-quarter data was transitory," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York. "Growth in the first-quarter slowed to a crawl as a strong dollar, harsh winter and a steep fall in oil prices hurt profits and discouraged consumers from spending" according to Reuters.

Economy: The U.S. received a number of disappointing reports today, the biggest one being a weak retail sales report. U.S retail sale were unchanged in April as households cut back on spending on big-ticket items. The U.S. economy is struggling to make a strong rebound after an already weak first quarter. Another report shows U.S. import prices dropped for a 10th straight month. According to CNBC these reports are signs that the Federal Reserve could delay raising interest rates.

In a recent note to clients, HSBC chief economist Stephen King warns: "The world economy is like an ocean liner without lifeboats. If another recession hits, it could be a truly titanic struggle for policymakers." King believes that this far into the recovery there is a lack of "traditional policy ammunition" as Treasury yields are still not rising, the budget deficit is still not falling, and welfare payments remain on the rise.

Metals: Gold hits a two-week high, pushing above the $1,200 an ounce level, after weaker-than-expected U.S. data pushed back expectations for an interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Gold found more support as Treasury yields extend gains -pushing down yields - and the U.S. dollar weakens. Silver also had solid gains, hitting a six-week high above $17.00 an ounce.

“We still aren’t really seeing the big recovery that was anticipated in the wake of the weather-depressed first quarter. This just really reinforces the view that a June hike isn’t happening and that September looks the more probable start point,” said James Knightley, economist at ING Bank.

Chicago: Moody's also had some bad news for the economy as they downgraded Chicago's credit rating to junk level "Ba1" from "Baa2." Moody's cited a recent Illinois court ruling voiding state pension reforms as the reason for the negative outlook on the city's credit.

"Whether or not the current statutes that govern Chicago's pension plans stand, we expect the costs of servicing Chicago's unfunded liabilities will grow, placing significant strain on the city's financial operations absent commensurate growth in revenue and/or reductions in other expenditures," the agency said in a release.

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5.12.15 - Gold Advances After Global Bond Selloff

Gold last traded at $1,192 an ounce. Silver at $16.52 an ounce.

News Summary: Stocks in the U.S. and Europe retreat after a global selloff in government bonds. The U.S. dollar weakens against its rivals as Treasury yields turned lower. Dovish comments from New York Fed President William Dudley also weighed on the dollar. Dudley "doesn't know when interest rates will rise" which the markets interpreted as the central bank will begin rate hikes later than expected.

Gold: Gold prices jumped higher today on a falling U.S. dollar and a drop in global bonds. Gold may see even more gains after it was reported by Forbes that China may soon be launching a facility that allows the yuan's value to be fixed against gold. This is another step China is taking to become a global financial player. "The establishment of a China-based gold fix for the yuan also marginally undermines the dollar as the global benchmark currency" says Jan Dehn of Ashmore Group. "The establishment of a gold fix will probably also aid China's ambition to achieve Special Drawing Rights inclusion this year" Dehn added.

Bonds: The prices of government bonds fell across the world, including a major German bond sell-off labeled "large and vicious" by Goldman Sachs. The yields on 10-year German government notes rose by more than 20%. U.S. Treasuries saw wild swings after yields climbed by as much as 3.7% before sliding back to where they began. According to The Telegraph, analysts suggest this correction reflected stretched valuations in the debt markets as investors struggle to reposition themselves due to thin supply.

Greece: Greece has been forced to tap into an emergency account to make its debt interest payments to the IMF, BBC reported. The government used its reserves to make the payment on Monday, one day ahead of the deadline. One Greek official told Reuters that the reserves the government had used to make the payment must be replenished in the IMF in "several weeks."

Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis warned that his country's financial situation was "terribly urgent" and the crisis would come to a head in a matter of weeks. "The liquidity issue is a terribly urgent issue," Varoufakis told reporters, "from the perspective [of timing], we are talking about the next couple of weeks." Greece has until the end of June to reach a reform deal with its international creditors.

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5.11.15 - U.S. Economy Not Growing Fast Enough

Gold last traded at $1,183 an ounce. Silver at $16.31 an ounce.

Market Summary: Stocks closed lower as investors cashed in on last week's gains. Stocks also seemed to struggle as worries over Greece's financial condition grew as well as slowing growth was reported in China. Oil prices also fell, pulling down energy stocks. The People's Bank of China cut its benchmark lending and deposit rates by a quarter of a percentage point which has little impact on U.S. markets.

Jobs: It is clear the pace of hiring in the U.S. has lost its momentum, according to several surveys. The Fed's index of labor market conditions fell to -1.9 in April from -1.8 in March; the first time the gauge has been negative two months in a row since 2012. This index tracks 19 indicators and is used by the central bank to assess the health of the U.S. labor market.

A separate survey generated by the privately run Conference Board shows that the pace of hiring is no longer increasing as fast as it was in 2014. Hiring has been hurt in part by a stronger U.S. dollar and layoffs in the energy sector after the drop in oil prices according to an article on MarketWatch.

Debt: According to calculations by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; higher interest costs, Social Security and Medicare for baby boomers will cause the federal debt held by the public to hit $40 trillion in 2035. Back in 2009 the forecast for 2035 was at least $7 trillion lower. "The economy just isn't growing fast enough to keep pace with the costs of caring for the soaring ranks of the elderly, and the discrepancy between spending and revenue is estimated to widen in the next few decades" according to Bloomberg.

Greece: Talks continue in Greece as their vast debt load continues to mount. These talks not only include politicians from other European nations but officials from the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both creditors to Greece. Greece is currently expected to repay 750 million euros to the monetary fund on Tuesday. However, Greece still needs to repay the fund another 12 billion euro before the year is over.

Politicians are racing against the clock to forge a deal that would give Greece enough money to repay both the IMF and ECB. There is no sign either institution is considering yielding on its payment schedule. If there are no signs of progress in talks on Monday, a majority of the central bank's governing council would favor placing additional restrictions on lending to Greek banks.

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5.8.15 - April Jobs Bring May Bears

Gold last traded at $1,188 an ounce. Silver at $16.48 an ounce.

News Summary: The US economy added 223,000 jobs in April, rebounding from a poor performing March. Unemployment fell to 5.4%. Analysts are calling the April figures a “Goldilocks” report – good enough to boost stocks but not strong enough to encourage a June rate hike by the Fed. Gold ended higher on Friday after revisions to US Payroll data further supported speculation the Fed would hold off on raising rates.

Stocks: “Don't buy into this jobs-fueled rally, market timer warns” via MarketWatch. “Tom McClellan, editor of the widely-read McClellan Market Report, doesn’t care that a market-friendly jobs report sent stocks surging on Friday. He said he’s turning neutral from bullish after Friday’s close, for both the short- and intermediate-term time frames, and will look to get bearish next week.”

Social Security: “Social Security's in worse shape than you thought” according to a new study presented by CNBC. “The Social Security Administration projects that its trust funds will be depleted by 2033 - not an optimistic forecast. But it may be even bleaker than that. New studies from Harvard and Dartmouth researchers find that the SSA's actuarial forecasts have been consistently overstating the financial health of the program's trust funds since 2000.”

According to Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University professor of economics, “We have a situation that is like Enron accounting, and the public doesn't want to hear about it.” Kotlikoff wants the agency to calculate its liabilities using fiscal gap accounting, which considers the difference between the government's projected financial obligations and the present value of all projected future tax and other revenue.

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5.7.15 - Investors Await Friday's Report

Gold last traded at $1,182 an ounce. Silver at $16.29 an ounce.

News Summary: U.S. stocks shrugged off early losses after the release of the jobless claims report. Many investors are sitting on the sidelines as they await the release of Friday's highly anticipated nonfarm-payrolls report. Oil prices tumbled 3 percent as traders and investors turned their focus to the oversupply in crude and gasoline. The dollar finally jumped since its downtrend began at the beginning of the month in anticipation of Friday's U.S. employment report.

Many experts continue to chime in saying the markets are overvalued and due for a correction. As we mentioned yesterday, Yellen sees danger in high stock valuations, while bankers and regulators express fear of a bond collapse. Now, Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, says the stock market is likely to trade sideways for some time. “Markets have rallied so much, that there are excesses which either need to be flushed out in a correction or trade sideways for the rest of the year and the let the economy catch up,” says Cieszynski.

Business: Companies continue to borrow at insane rates and then use that money to buy back shares, ultimately driving up their share prices, according to an article at MarketWatch. An analysis by investment bank SG Securities calculates that "in reality Corporate America has 'overspent' in recent years to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars."

Over the last five years, the cash pile of non-financial U.S. corporations has risen $570 billion, while debt has risen $1.6 trillion. "It is also those companies with the weakest sales growth that are buying back the most," warns one SQ quantitative strategist.

Jobs: It was reported today that U.S. jobless claims remain near a 15-year low. This comes as shocking news because according to ZeroHedge, April saw the biggest rise in job cuts since 2011 as well as the worst year on year increase for April in the last decade. Texas has been hit the hardest, leading the nation in job losses due to the struggling energy industry and plummeting oil prices.

Iran: It has been reported that two Iranian generals taunted the United States, saying the "military option to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities is 'ridiculous,' that Washington knows it can't be done, and that their country welcomes war with the US.'" This warning came as Western power prepared to have a sit down for another round of negotiations with Iran in an attempt to put curbs on Iran's nuclear program.

Greece: Greece still remains in turmoil as they make desperate attempts to avoid a default. According to The New York Times, a majority of the ECB's influential Governing Council are growing "increasingly uncomfortable with the central bank's growing financial exposure to Greece." Many members are worried the council has already stretched the rules in order to extend help to the banks, whose financial health has been in serious decline.

The European Central Bank has already lent about 110 billion euros to the banks in Greece. While the central bank does not want to provoke a mass failure of Greek banks, it may soon be forced to tighten its flow of credit to the banks if Greece can not produce the set of economic overhauls that creditors are demanding.

Precious Metals: Gold ended the day slightly lower amid bearish outside markets. However, as the decline of confidence in paper currency continues, one expert believes gold will soon have its day. In an interview with The Gold Report, Chris Mancini, analyst with Gabelli Gold Fund, states the Federal Reserve is fast running out of ways to prop up the U.S. dollar and he expects gold prices to continue in the $1,200-$1,300 range for 2015 and see a much better year in 2016. Check out the interview HERE.

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5.6.15 - Today's 'Flash Crash' Economy

Gold last traded at $1,189 an ounce. Silver at $16.48 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks fell today, on the fifth anniversary of the 2010 'Flash Crash', after the U.S. ADP national employment report for May came in with a big downside miss at 169,000, far short of the 205,000 jobs expected. Meanwhile, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen now sees danger in high stock valuations, while bankers and regulators express fear of a bond collapse. The U.S. Dollar index sank further, helping to boost oil prices. Gold prices steadied below $1,200 an ounce.

OUR 'FLASH CRASH' ECONOMY: What We Need to Learn from an Ominous Anniversary - By Lowell Ponte

"On May 6, 2010, the New York Stock Exchange suffered what came to be called 'the Flash Crash,' when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted unexpectedly by nearly 1,000 points in only minutes," Craig R. Smith and I wrote in our book DON'T BANK ON IT! The Unsafe World of 21st Century Banking.

crash A single Sell order valued at approximately $4.1 Billion purportedly set off a cascade of computerized buy-and-sell programs around the world that are designed to respond immediately, and without consulting human beings, to key changes in market prices. As each major trading computer reacted, it could have triggered programmed reactions in similar computers.

"Some of these systems use High Frequency Trading (HFT) that today can launch trade decisions, buy and sell orders, in mere thousandths of a second or less," we wrote. This, according to critics, allows traders who have paid millions for this razor-thin advantage-in-time to detect incoming stock purchases; front-run and automatically buy that stock before the competing slower order gets processed; and sell the stock a fraction of a second later to the slower order at a slightly higher price.

"Such are the systems, with their risk of triggering buy or sell cascades around the world, that are being used in today's merging worlds of high-tech investing and high-money banking," we warned.

Some want to believe that enough circuit breakers have been added to stock trading to prevent an economy-shattering crash like the one that cost traders more than a trillion dollars in only a few minutes five years ago.

But as we continued in Don’t Bank On It!, a "violent sell-off in stocks" on February 29, 2012 was in its own way even more frightening – because evidence suggests that it was driven by a powerful intelligence that was not human.

The lesson to learn from this ominous anniversary of the 'Flash Crash' is that by diversifying your investments and savings to include tangible assets - not just politically manipulated dollars or stocks denominated in such paper dollars - can give you the security of financial insurance in an age of growing uncertainty and instability. more...

Five years later the regulatory response to 2010 'flash crash' remains snarled in red tape, reports Marketwatch. "A giant data project at the center of the regulatory response to the 2010 'flash crash' that sent the DJIA plummeting nearly 1,000 points is years behind schedule and mired in red tape." No big surprise here. "Computer algorithms swap thousands of stocks each instant - and could set off a financial meltdown," reports Mother Jones.

BONDS: "Bankers and Regulators Voice Fears on Bond Market, reports the New York Times. "Wall Street chieftains, huge investment firms and top bank regulators are all sounding the same alarm. In recent months, they have been warning that the world's bond markets, where companies and countries borrow trillions of dollars, are in danger of breaking down." Bonds may soon become a graveyard for the dying dollar.

CASHLESS: "Denmark moves step closer to being a cashless country," reports the London Telegraph. "The Danish government said as of next year, businesses such as clothing retailers, petrol stations and restaurants should no longer be legally-bound to accept cash.... Financial institution lobbyist Finansraadet said going cashless would save shops money on security and time on managing change from tills. However, there are some fears that a complete move to electronic payment may increase the risk of fraud. In Sweden, for example, such cases have doubled in the past decade." Convenience has its price.

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5.5.15 - Economic Stagnation Stunts Confidence

Gold last traded at $1,193 an ounce. Silver at $16.58 an ounce.

STOCKS: U.S. stocks slid lower Tuesday as debt rose, economic confidence fell and tech earnings disappointed. The U.S. government today announced the U.S. trade gap rose to $51.4 billion last month, the largest since October 2008. This illustrates the negative impact of a stronger U.S. dollar, which creates a flood of imports of everything from autos to cellphones.

ECONOMY: "Economists now believe that the U.S. economy probably contracted slightly in the first quarter", according to a Moody's/CNBC survey. The median of 10 economists' estimates suggests the economy shrank 0.3 percent in the first quarter. This is substantially worse than the initial data of +.2% GDP in Q1 2015 released last week. While, some areas of the U.S. have seen pockets of growth, Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index fell to its lowest weekly score since December.

OIL: Get ready for a 'frack counterattack', warns CNBC. "U.S. oil prices are heading into a sweet spot that could spur the fracking industry to crank up some of the drilling it shut down when crude prices collapsed." Unrest in the Mid-East amid worries over Iran's support of terrorist states could drive oil and gasoline prices up further this year, as well as weakening the U.S. dollar, as explained in Swiss America's newest White Paper AMERICA ENGULFED: One Spark Could Burn Down the World Economy.

ISIS: "IS group claims Texas shooting, first attack on US soil", reports AFP News. The Islamic State group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for its first attack on US soil in which two gunmen were killed after opening fire at an event in Texas showcasing cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed. One of the gunmen resided in Phoenix, Arizona. Jihad supporters now appear to be firmly planted within U.S. borders, as well as throughout the Middle East.

GOLD: Precious metals rose Tuesday on bargain hunting and technical buying ahead of Friday's jobs report. The rally in gold prices on Monday - despite a firmer dollar - illustrates that gold is decoupling from the U.S. dollar and is becoming the 'safe haven' asset of choice in a world awash in paper IOUs.

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5.4.15 - Underestimating Risk

Gold last traded at $1,186 an ounce. Silver at $16.44 an ounce.

STOCKS: U.S. stock prices edged higher Monday as U.S. Factory Orders rose for first time in eight months. But with U.S. stock indexes still near break even so far in 2015, the Wall Street party could be very near an end. "Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria," said famed Sir John Templeton. Take heed to this sage market advice from Templeton, one of the world's most respected investors. "When almost no one believes the market is dangerous, that's when it is most dangerous," author and stock-market expert Mark D. Cook tells Marketwatch.

U.S. DOLLAR: The dollar rose slightly amid upbeat economic data, but "The Dollar Joins the Currency Wars," writes Nouriel Roubini at ProjectSyndicate. "The sum of all trade balances in the world is equal to zero, which means that not all countries can be net exporters - and that currency wars end up being zero-sum games. That is why America's entry into the fray was only a matter of time." Meanwhile, the CIA's Asymmetric Warfare Advisor Jim Rickards, asks "Should China's plan to position the Yuan as a world reserve currency serve as a warning sign that something much more dangerous is approaching?" Rickards says yes. We agree! The U.S. dollar is now being attacked from all sides, as Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte detail in their latest White Paper, AMERICA ENGULFED.

MID-EAST: Today America is engulfed in the religious and political struggles in the Middle East and Persian Gulf for one reason: to protect the flow of oil, which props up the dwindling monopoly status of U.S. dollar. "A stunning 96 percent of Americans expect more violence this summer of the type we have seen in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri. Internationally, events spin out of control, with Iran on the verge of the greatest diplomatic snookering of our times and fomenting violence across the Middle East," reports the Washington Post.

GOLD: Precious metal prices rebounded sharply on Monday - despite a stronger dollar. Many analysts feel geopolitical risk today remains underestimated by market investors. The Ukraine or the Middle East could flare up overnight and very well could be the catalyst for the next stage of gold's bull market. Now is the time to protect your hard-earned assets with hard-owned assets. Call your Swiss America representative at 800-289-2646 to discuss the wisdom of owning physical gold and silver before the next economic accident occurs.

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5.1.15 - Fireproof Assets in a Tinder-Laden World

Gold last traded at $1,177 an ounce. Silver at $16.11 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks rose Friday in choppy trading amid a firmer dollar and weak manufacturing data as investors digested slowing U.S. economic growth prospects. ZeroHedge reports, "It seems logical to assume that absent a major international economic accident, the current Fed is bound and determined to continue stimulating asset prices until we once again have a fully-fledged bubble," says GMO's Jeremy Grantham. Meanwhile, precious metal prices fell for a second day, following a $590 million gold futures sell trade which hit the market early, prices then bounced back later near $1,175 an ounce.

MID EAST: "The Middle East is in flames - and Obama's making it worse," reports CNN. U.S. policy in the Middle East remains mired in a contradiction between principles and action on the ground.

For example, the President asserted in the interview that "the U.S.'s core interests in the region are not oil, are not territorial ... Our core interests are that everybody is living in peace, that it is orderly, that our allies are not being attacked, that children are not having barrel bombs dropped on them, that massive displacements aren't taking place."

Yet, at the very moment that the President was offering this assessment, U.S. allies, such as the Arab Gulf states, Jordan, Lebanon and the legitimate government in Yemen, found themselves under serious threat and attack; the Syrian regime was continuing to relentlessly bomb its own citizens; and the Middle East was faced with the biggest refugee crisis in its history.

Implementing the core U.S. interests outlined by Obama in the interview is clearly not working. This is an huge understatement. U.S. interests are not being served by Obama domestically nor internationally, as Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte explain in their latest free White Paper AMERICA ENGULFED: One Spark Could Burn Down the World Economy. We now recognize that President Obama, a radical community organizer, has attempted to govern via bureaucratic regulation, executive orders and emergency decrees.

Under him, the government and Federal Reserve have created out of thin air $8 Trillion in stimulus funding and zero-interest lending. According to the Keynesian economics embraced by White House economists, our economy fueled by this much money should be rising like a skyrocket. Instead, economic growth in the first quarter of 2015 was originally measured at zero, then revised by the Federal Reserve to 0.2 percent growth so that two such quarters would not officially define us as back in a recession.

GOLD OUT OF THE DOG HOUSE: Craig R. Smith shares the final in a series of ten two-minute stories entitled, The History of Your Money.

The history of your money today focuses on an area that absolutely astonishes me.

Could you imagine tomorrow if you saw a commercial from McDonald's telling you to go buy Burger King? That's literally what we're seeing happening in the tangible hard asset world.

For years Wall Street has criticized the lack luster performance of gold. They have criticized the wisdom of taking a portion of your assets and putting it away in a vault to protect you from inflation. And yet even the critics agree now is the time to have a portion of your money in gold.

Chief economist, Walter Murphy from Merrill Lynch said, "Gold is a buy of the generation." CNBC's Lawrence Kudlow, the most ardent bull on Wall Street (he believes the Dow one day will be multiplies of 10 thousand) is even suggesting people buy gold.

Why? Because gold represents safety. Lets learn from history to better prepare our families and finances for the future.

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