9.28.12 - Gold & Silver Outshine Stocks in Q3 - Listen
Gold prices eased below $1,775/oz. Friday on profit taking and a firmer dollar, consumer spending up, stocks down. Gold last traded at $1,772 an ounce. Silver at $34.45 an ounce.
GOLD PRICES GAINED 13% IN THE THIRD QUARTER, outpacing stocks dramatically. Friday prices slipped due to end of the month and third quarter "book squaring". Silver prices rocketed 30% over the last three months, outpacing virtually all assets.
STOCKS FELL EARLY ON SCARY MANUFACTURING DATA, the worst since 2009 - yet another signal of ongoing weakness. Meanwhile, Spain passes 'stress test' but banks need $74 billion.
WHY THE STATE OF THE US ECONOMY DEFIES DESCRIPTION, opines CNBC. Perhaps because the only certainty investors have today, is more uncertainty ahead.
U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING STALLS AFTER ADJUSTING FOR INFLATION - Bloomberg
Household purchases rose 0.5 percent in August reflecting mostly 0.4% price increases. “The consumer is not going to be able to lead the recovery,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist for Moody’s Analytics Inc.
GOLD MAY HIT $2,500 IN 3 YEARS AS BANKS BUY, NEWMONT SAYS - Bloomberg
The author of this article believes that gold may rise to $2,500 an ounce in three years as many investors continue to buy the metal as a hedge against inflation. Demand from central banks on price dips is also helping boost prices. Gold has risen for 11 straight years and experts are predicting $2,300 by the end of the year.
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9.27.12 - Paper Money Trail Leads to Oblivion - Listen
Gold prices rebounded Thursday on bargain hunting and a weaker dollar, stocks rise on EU cheer. Gold last traded at $1,777 an ounce. Silver at $34.68 an ounce.
Q2 GDP revised lower to 1.3%, Durable Goods Orders sink 13%, Pending Home Sales drop 2.6%, Jobless Claims drop 26K to 359K, meanwhile gold prices surged on Spain budget news and possible China stimulus which weakened the dollar.
GEORGE SOROS GIVES $1M TO OBAMA SUPER PAC, says New York Times. "I fully support the re-election of President Obama," said billionaire George Soros in the email.
GOLD TO RALLY TO $3,000 BY 2014 - FoxBiz
Wall Street analysts remain bullish on gold amid the tepid economic recovery, with one brokerage predicting the precious metal could rally to as high as $3,000 by early 2014. The secular bull market for gold points to a stronger rally of $2,050 to $2,300, and up to $3,000 longer term, BofA analyst Stephen Suttmeier said in a report to clients.
8 EARLY WARNING SIGNS INFLATION IS PERCOLATING - Marketwatch
When it comes to inflation there are some early warning signs investors can monitor. Inflation may be low at the moment, but some type of shock or monetary policy mistake could potentially spur "significant and sustained increases in inflation". Investors shouldn’t focus on any one indicator. But should four of the eight indicators enter the yellow or red zones that would be cause for concern.
NOT EVEN THE GREAT ECONOMISTS OF HISTORY CAN GET US OUT OF THIS FIX - Telegraph
Governments may pay lip service to the virtues of fiscal consolidation, but ultimately it always proves too painful and politically unpalatable, and they end up inflating away the debt instead. Inflation of 5 per cent per annum would more than half the real value of the existing stock of debt in less than 10 years.
MORE AMERICANS NOW COMMIT SUICIDE THAN DIE IN CAR CRASHES - DailyMail
In 2009, more than 37,000 Americans took their own lives... what is needed is a collaborative effort to turn these many lives from despair and hopelessness to ones of meaning and brighter futures.
Research has suggested that suicide rates go up during recessions and times of economic crisis. "Economic problems can impact how people feel about themselves and their futures as well as their relationships with family and friends," Feijun Luo of CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention told Bloomberg.
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9.25.12 - The (Economic) Blind Leading the Blind
Gold prices zig-zagged Tuesday amid bargain hunting and profit taking, stocks slip on downbeat Fedspeak. Gold last traded at $1,760 an ounce. Silver at $33.74 an ounce.
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Plosser said the central bank’s latest round of monetary easing was unlikely to help growth, reports Marketwatch, sending stocks tumbling and the dollar rebounding.
Meanwhile, U.S. home prices at 9-year highs boosting U.S. Consumer Confidence. Google stock hits an all-time high - back to where it was 5 years ago.
What emotion is driving the market now? According to CNN "extreme greed". Last year at this time is was fear-driven. We suspect investors will revisit fear again by 2013.
LEMMINGS, INVESTORS AND GOLD - GoldIRAs
Investors have a distinct propensity to blindly follow the herd propelled by corporate media fiction. A stream of packaged news is designed to bend ideas and thinking into "their" thinking. The article goes on and explains some of the common misconception in today's news.
10 Common Misconceptions in Today’s News; 1. Bonds are a safe place to earn money. 2. Forex trading is great fun, quite safe and risks are contained. 3. You can earn money with no risk. 4. Big banks are solvent. 5. Gold and silver are dead products. 6. Gold and silver shares are a poor investment. 7. Get into blue chip companies and hold the shares forever. 8. Your 401K and IRA funds are totally secure. 9. Real estate keeps rising with inflation. 10. Stock and bond markets cannot crash.
BILLIONAIRES DUMPING STOCKS, ECONOMIST KNOWS WHY - MoneyNews
A handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks. Warren Buffett himself is dumping shares at an alarming rate complaining of "disappointing performance" in American companies. With a good amount of the US economy dependent on consumer spending, Buffett's lack of faith could prove worrisome.
OBAMA'S "RESET" TAKING THE FORM OF A CURRENCY WAR - Forbes
According to the author of the article, "at the heart of every currency war is a paradox." Currency wars may be fought internationally, but they are driven by domestic distress and begin with insufficient internal growth. The author continues to say the Fed and the president are now outsourcing to the rest of the world the burden of getting the American economy recovered.
WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE TERRIFYING END GAME - KingWorldNews
Expert Nigel Farage warned King World News that, "we are now entering the end game." He continues to say we are storing up huge problems for the generations to come.
SWISS AMERICA WILL BE CLOSED WED. SEPT. 26, 2012 IN OBSERVANCE OF THE JEWISH HOLIDAY YOM KIPPUR.
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9.24.12 - At Risk of Old-Age Poverty - Listen
Gold prices dipped near $1,765/oz. Monday on profit taking and a firmer dollar, stocks slip on EU fears. Gold last traded at $1,764 an ounce. Silver at $33.97 an ounce.
CNBC reports the Fed's latest easing has been nicknamed everything from "QE3" to "QEternal," but some on Wall Street question whether the latest bond buying will be QEnough.
GOLDMAN FORECASTS 18.2% RETURN ON COMMODITIES IN YEAR - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasts an 18.2 percent return from commodities in the next 12 months, with energy and industrial metals leading the way.
Apart from being attractive in its own right, we also continue to see an overweight in commodities as a hedge against the risk of the impact of sharply higher commodity prices on economic growth and other asset classes, if oil supplies were to disappoint against a backdrop of very limited spare capacity.
TAKING "THE GOLD STANDARD" EVERYWHERE - SwissAmericaiPhone App
Swiss America’s iTunes “The Gold Standard” App is a first of its kind to not only offer real-time price quotes and charts of precious metals - including gold, silver, platinum and palladium - but it also comes equipped with a wide range of built-in resources. Everything you need to ensure your decision in the precious metals arena is an informed one, all for FREE in an easy to use interface. iPhoneApp
GERMANY EYES GOLD STANDARD - NYSun
Deutsche Bank’s report is “Gold: Adjusting for Zero.” It reckons we’re in a situation that is “Zero for growth, yield, velocity and confidence.” It says: “We believe there are nearly zero real options available to global policy-makers. The world needs growth and is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get it.”
It forecasts bluntly that the value of the dollar will plummet in the first half of 2013 to less than a 2,000th of an ounce of gold. It reckons “the growth in supply of fiat currencies such as the USD will remain an important driver.”
The report then goes on to assert that gold is misunderstood and doesn’t really belong in the basket of “commodities” used by so many economists. Gold is money, according to the Deutsche Bank. “We would go further however, and argue that gold could be characterised as ‘good’ money as opposed to ‘bad’ money which would be represented by many of today’s fiat currencies.” It refers to Gresham’s Law and suggests “the undervalued money (good) will leave the country or disappear from circulation into hoards, while the overvalued money (bad) will flood into circulation.”
EUROPEAN PENSIONS TARGETED - USAToday
In Madrid and across Europe, governments are scrambling to shrink yawning budget deficits as the euro crisis has pushed some, including Spain, to the brink of insolvency. Generous public pension systems have become prime targets for trimming and cutting.
The USA guarantees average workers around 39% of their wages in retirement; in Italy, that number had been nearly 65%, and in Greece, 95%. Those rates have recently been slashed to curtail deficit spending.
"If people are living longer, healthier lives, they need to work longer," said Nicholas Barr, a professor at the London School of Economics and expert on pensions.
"The problem in continental Europe is that people don't even work to their normal pension age, as it is," said Edward Whitehouse, the OECD's pensions expert. "What we risk in the future is the resurgence of old-age poverty."
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9.21.12 - Devilish Deals Lead to Fiscal Cliffs - Listen
Gold prices rose near $1,775/oz. Friday on safe haven buying and a weaker dollar, stocks cheer iPhone 5. Gold last traded at $1,773 an ounce. Silver at $34.52 an ounce.
How bad could going over the “fiscal cliff” be for investors? Try a 20% decline in equity prices, Citi Research analysts said in a note on Friday.
Meanwhile, Romney doubles Obama's charitable giving, says Washington Times. And I see the movie "2016" is 2012's highest grossing documentary, now surpassing Michael Moore's Sicko and Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.
The nation's number one financial market timer, Mark Leibovit of VRTrader.com, offers 17 reasons to own gold and silver now. Why? Because it is the world's only real money, untouchable and un-inflatable by governments.
EU BAILOUT LIKE FAUST'S 'DEAL WITH DEVIL': GERMAN BANKER - Mineweb
Bundesbank President and economist, Jens Weidmann, hasn't exactly kept quiet about his lack of support for the ECB bond-buying program. But this week he put it into a context which the public would be able to understand, and ‘shocked' Europeans by relating the program to that of making a deal with the devil.
Weidmann refers to the ‘Faustian pact', called so thanks to Act I, Part II of Goethe's 1832 play ‘Faust'. In the play the Devil, Mephisto, convinces the Holy Roman Emperor to print large amounts of paper money rather than use gold. In the short term, the money printing solves the emperor's financial problems, but it soon leads to rampant inflation.
Inflation is an invisible thief, it leads to disposable incomes falling, savings decreasing in value and interest rates becoming effectively detrimental to those who try to be sensible with money.
GOLD PRICES COULD PEAK AT $5,000: BANK OF AMERICA - CNBC
Gold prices hit a 2012 record of $1,787.40 an ounce on Friday and Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said the precious metal could soar to $3,000 or even $5,000 an ounce over the long-term. The bank announced they will be focusing on gold and remain bullish in the long run.
100 DAYS UNTIL TAXMAGEDDON - ATR.org
Sunday will mark the start of the 100-day countdown to “Taxmageddon” – the date the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2013.
BERNANKE ADMINISTERS ANOTHER CRUEL DOSE OF FINANCIAL MORPHINE - Forbes
After nearly four years of ultra-low interest rates and a tripling of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet—but with little progress on reducing the unemployment rate— Ben Bernanke has once again come to the rescue with another dose of financial morphine.
The problem is that Ben Bernanke may be steering monetary policy over a cliff. If the brakes on monetary expansion and inflation are not firmly applied at the right moment, the Fed’s go-stop monetary policy could lead to serious stagflation.
QE3, by artificially lowering long-term interest rates and injecting high-powered money, is an exercise in social engineering. The Fed needs to stop pretending that creating more fiat money will solve problems of slow growth and unemployment, and begin thinking about making the economy healthy by free private markets and the rule of law —not administering another dose of financial morphine.
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9.20.12 - Stagflation drumbeats getting louder - Listen
Gold prices steadied near 6-month highs Thursday on profit taking and a firmer dollar, stocks end mixed. Gold last traded at $1,768 an ounce. Silver at $34.65 an ounce.
Obama on "Change"
“The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t change Washington from the inside,” President Obama told a Univision forum Thursday. “You can only change it from the outside.”
DEUTSCHE BANK: GOLD IS MONEY - ZeroHedge
Deutsche Bank analysts Daniel Brebner and Xiao Fu have released a new report saying that gold is money, it is a medium of exchange and officially recognized. They see gold being recognized as money for one primary reason: it is widely held by most of the world's larger central banks as a component of reserves.
STAGFLATION IN EXTREMIS - TheStreet
The notion that QE3 will meaningfully improve housing activity and prices by targeting the purchase of mortgage-backed securities is flawed. QE3 will not have much of an effect on the real economy, but it will raise inflationary expectations.
Slowing growth is seen by FedEx, but, at the same time, the company announced an increase in shipping rates to +5.9% on Jan. 7, 2013, though lowering of the fuel surcharge will reduce this to a +3.9% increase. Stagflation is at our door.
THE HARSH REALITY OF CURRENCY DEPRECIATION AGAINST GOLD - Mineweb
The concept of any currency as a measure of value has now departed completely. Such currency market changes leave room for gold and silver to act as that measure of value, as currencies fall against them. This also enhances investor's views of precious metals being the only place to retain wealth.
During the 42 years of the "currency experiment" with no gold or silver standing behind currencies, we have seen the gold price multiply from $35 to $1,770. That's over 50 times in 42 years. And, with the assistance of governments, it seems there's still much more to come.
MORE QE COMING, BANK OF ENGLAND MINUTES SUGGEST - Telegraph
More money printing is likely within months despite signs that inflation is proving stickier than expected, economists said, after minutes from the Bank of England’s rate-setting meeting revealed that policymakers are poised to vote for further quantitative easing.
LETTING BERNANKE HANDLE YOUR RETIREMENT - Townhall
If Ben Bernanke was a financial advisor, I think his problems would be dramatic.
The financial advisor reviews all these facts and makes his or her recommendations. A few CDs here, a few treasury bonds there, some laddered investment grade bonds, add several income producing non-traded REITs, and living benefit annuities. If any money is left over, include a stock or two just for fun.
Everyone then rides off into the sunset with smiles on their faces. Unfortunately, that was five years ago, before Ben Bernanke’s assault on retirees income.
His approach is to force the abandonment of the principles of capital preservation and simply take a shot in the casino. Withdraw your winnings as you need them, and much like the dot-com crash, the housing bubble, and the credit card crisis, we all know how that turned out for retirees.
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9.19.12 - The Great Debasement Has Begun - Listen
Gold prices held near 6-month highs Wednesday on safe haven buying and a weaker dollar, stocks inched up. Gold last traded at $1,770 an ounce. Silver at $34.62 an ounce.
The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 7.8% in August, giving a modest lift to stocks along with a 3% drop in oil prices to $91 a barrel. Today the Bank of Japan became the latest central bank to announce further quantitative easing measures, which could push gold above $1,800 in Q4 says 24/7Bull.
Meanwhile, Barrons reports the distinct possibility that the central bank will underestimate the potential for inflation and cause $10,000/oz gold.
Merk Funds reports the Fed may be out to debase the dollar. Phoenix Capital Research says now is the time to start preparing. The printers are running. The Great Currency Debasement has begun.
FED TO DEBASE DOLLAR? - MerkFunds
It’s quite simple: we have had a credit driven boom; we have had a credit bust; and Fed Chairman Bernanke thinks monetary policy can fix it.
In his 2002 "Helicopter Ben" speech Bernanke stated, "Although a policy of intervening to affect the exchange value of the dollar is nowhere on the horizon today [in 2002], it's worth noting that there have been times when exchange rate policy has been an effective weapon against deflation." The argument here is that a lower dollar boosts exports and thus the economy.
In our assessment, the Fed may be out to debase the dollar. Investors may want to get rid of the textbook notion of a risk-free asset, as the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar may increasingly be at risk. There is no risk-free alternative, but investors may want to consider a managed basket of currencies including gold, akin to how some central banks manage their reserves, as a way to mitigate the risk that the Fed is getting what we think it is bargaining for.
"SILVER SPOONS" REVEAL DOLLAR DEBASEMENT - NYSun
The value of silver has risen to a 1/50th of an ounce of gold from the 75th of an ounce of gold that silver was valued at on the day President Obama acceded to presidency. But the value of the dollars in which most Americans keep their savings has plunged — at a dizzying pace — to a bit less than a 34th of an ounce of silver, falling from an 11th of an ounce at which the dollar was valued on the day Mr. Obama acceded. No wonder so many Americans are feeling poorer.
President Obama gave a weekly radio address about gasoline prices. He said there was “no silver bullet” to solve the problem of the soaring price of gasoline at the pump. It was a funny choice of words, we said, given that when gasoline is priced in silver, one sees that the value of a gallon of gasoline is lower than it used to be. It turns out to be not that the gasoline is going up but that the dollar is going down.
This is not a word game. Silver and gold are what the constitutional founders of America thought of when they thought of money. They thought of money as specie, meaning silver or gold. They wrote it into law. Today we have stopped thinking about money in terms of silver and gold. For most of the past two generations, this hasn’t been a Democratic or Republican issue. It was President Johnson who ended the era of silver coinage, and President Nixon who ended the era of a dollar defined in terms of gold.
Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan have been the first candidates in years to try to make this an issue.
CENTRAL BANKERS WORST NIGHTMARES ABOUT TO UNFOLD - PCResearch
Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi must be absolutely terrified.
These two men, in the last two weeks, have both initiated open-ended bond buying programs. The purpose of these programs, aside from keeping insolvent banks in business, was to scare the markets into believing that no matter what happens, the Central Banks will be able to step in and support the financial system. And they’ve both failed.
Spain, which I’ve been warning will bring about the break-up of the Euro, saw the yields on its ten-year bonds break back above 6% yesterday. This is absolutely extraordinary. It indicates that within two weeks of the ECB announcing it’s going to do an “unlimited” bond purchasing plan, Spanish bonds are once again imploding. This is Game Over for the ECB.
The US Federal Reserve bought roughly three quarters of all Treasury issuance last year. Let that sink in for a moment. Roughly $0.74 out of every $1 in debt created by the US in 2011 was bought by the US Fed… not by the bond market, not by foreign countries, but by our own Central Bank.
Despite this massive intervention, the US economy (according to the ECRI) has officially re-entered a recession. This is why the Fed announced QE 3 now, because Bernanke is growing truly desperate.
Here’s a thought… what happens if the Treasury market begins to implode despite the Fed buying roughly 75% of all Treasury issuance? GAME OVER for Bernanke and the Fed.
The ECB and Fed have gone “all in” in their efforts to stop the debt implosion… and they’ve failed. All they’ve done is unleashed an even more serious inflationary storm than the one we were already facing.
The time to start preparing is now. The printers are running. The Great Currency Debasement has begun. Some folks will walk out of this mess winners. Most will walk out as losers.
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.18.12 - Gold & Economic Freedom Inseparable - Listen
Gold prices rose toward $1,775/oz. Tuesday on safe haven buying despite a firmer dollar, stocks adrift. Gold last traded at $1,772 an ounce. Silver at $34.72 an ounce.
QE3 Unsettles Retirees, says Marketwatch. The Fed's low-rate environment means people who are retired are having to confront some difficult decisions about what investment risks to take. Fed’s ‘QE-Infinity’ Will Push Gold Up to $2,400/oz., says CNBC.
AMERICA'S 'ECONOMIC FREEDOM' IN FREE-FALL - WashTimes
The annual Economic Freedom of the World report, including an index of country rankings, has just been released and it should be a wake-up call. The United States was known as the bastion of economic freedom for more than two centuries. In just a few short years, we have fallen from No. 3 in 2000 to No. 8 in 2005 and to No. 18 in most recent report.
During this election season, the U.S. should be having a national debate about what can be done to restore economic freedom. The Obama administration has been silent on the issue, because many of its policies have caused the decline. But Mitt Romney also has had little to say about it.
FED'S RACE TO DEBASE THE DOLLAR - Craig R. Smith
By voting themselves an open checkbook to create more liquidity to prop up the U.S. economy - including both the stock and housing markets - the Federal Reserve has clearly demonstrated to the world they are more frightened about rising deflation (which benefits savers) than about rising inflation (which punishes savers, retirees, etc.)
2012 is not 1979 - it's worse! At least during the last painful bout of inflation during 1979-80 savers and investors could protect against out-of-control 15%+ inflation rates by buying T-bills or CDs which paid 16%+, slightly outrunning the rocketing cost of living. Not so today. Owning T-Bills or CDs today is like owning a "Certificate of Debasement".
THE CASE FOR A MODERN GOLD STANDARD - American Spectator
To choose or to reject the true gold standard is to decide between two fundamental options. On the one hand; a free, just, stable, and objective monetary order. On the other; manipulated, inconvertible paper money. The fundamental cause of a casino culture of speculation and crony capitalism, and the incipient financial anarchy and inequality it engenders.
Restoration of a dollar convertible to gold would rebuild a necessary financial incentive for real, long-term economic growth by encouraging saving, investment, entrepreneurial innovation and capital allocation in productive facilities. Thus would convertibility lead to rising employment and wages.
GOLD AND ECONOMIC FREEDOM - AlanGreenspan
An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense -- perhaps more clearly and subtly than many consistent defenders of laissez-faire -- that gold and economic freedom are inseparable, that the gold standard is an instrument of laissez-faire and that each implies and requires the other.
In order to understand the source of their antagonism, it is necessary first to understand the specific role of gold in a free society... This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard.
-Alan Greenspan, 1966
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9.17.12 - Make Gold's Trend Your Friend! - Listen
Gold prices eased back despite inflation and Fed QE3 worries, Wall St. slips. Gold last traded at $1,762 an ounce. Silver at $34.25 an ounce.
"Dow 17,000 Very, Very Attainable" says one pundit on CBNC. But Marketwatch reports "The equity party may be over soon".
"For every $1 added to the economy, we’ve added more than $3 in debt," says Fox News. That's $5.23 trillion in debt vs. $1.68 trillion to the economy. So much for borrowing our way to prosperity.
Daily Reckoning warns: "3 Bold Proposals Congress Could Use to Quietly Plunder Your 401(k)- Starting as Early as Nov. 7, 2012."
Everywhere we look are new predictions, of crisis and of opportunity. At times spoken quietly and other times with fanfare - gold prices are marching upward as a reflection of our times. With inflation on the rise, expect gold to continue to unfold as THE news story of the century. Some say, "Don't Fight the Fed" ... but we say, "Don't Fight Gold's Trend!"
GOLD ‘CLEAR WINNER’ FROM STIMULUS, TO HIT $2000 - CNBC
Gold came out the clear winner from global stimulus measures according to one UK report. Head of Commodities Research Julian Jessop said commodity prices were likely to fall back as market focus returned to the deteriorating economic conditions. However, he was bullish on gold, predicting metal prices to reach $2,000 an ounce.
THE EQUITY PARTY MAY BE OVER SOON - Marketwatch
Since the Fed has now indefinitely opened its checkbook, it means we now have QE-Ad Infinitum. Yet, a market decline seen in the face of such unlimited stimulus bolsters our position that it is not the Fed that runs the market, as almost everyone seems to believe, but it is sentiment that causes markets to go up and down.
Everyone now believes the Fed will simply cause a melt up in asset prices well beyond our targets. I personally think the short-term party may now be just about over, and the currently euphoric mood on Wall Street could very well change in the near term.
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE MESS WE'RE IN - WSJ
Our first Treasury secretary famously argued that one of a nation's greatest assets is its ability to issue debt, especially in a crisis. We needed to honor our Revolutionary War debt, he said, because the debt "foreign and domestic, was the price of liberty."
History has reconfirmed Hamilton's wisdom. The problems are close to being unmanageable now. If we stay on the current path, they will wind up being completely unmanageable, culminating in an unwelcome explosion and crisis.
The fixes are blindingly obvious. Economic theory, empirical studies and historical experience teach that the solutions are the lowest possible tax rates on the broadest base; sound monetary policy; trade liberalization; spending control and entitlement reform; and regulatory, litigation and education reform. The need is clear. Why wait for disaster? The future is now.
QE3: WILL THE FED’S NEW PLAN REALLY HELP HOUSING? - FiscalTimes
As investors cheered a third round of quantitative easing, Bernanke and Co. made clear, while they hope rising asset prices in general make people more willing to spend money, they are perhaps less focused on stocks than they are on other markets, particularly those for labor and housing.
What’s less certain is whether the bold new program the central bank is undertaking will be able to significantly move the needle in those areas – and whether it will make any difference at all for middle-class Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. About 22 percent of U.S. homes with a mortgage – or 10.8 million properties – remained “underwater” in the second quarter of the year.
Before the Fed’s announcement, 47 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal said a hypothetical $500 billion bond-buying plan would boost GDP by 0.2 percent and cut unemployment by 0.1 percentage points.
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9.14.12 - Asset Remix: More Substance, Less Paper - Listen
Gold prices extended gains Friday on rising inflation and Fed stimulus, Wall St. rallies. Gold last traded at $1,770 an ounce, up 2% this week. Silver at $34.69 an ounce gained 3% this week.
Marketwatch reports oil prices rose to $100 a barrel for the first time since May as global unrest sparks supply worries. Meanwhile, The cost of living in the U.S. climbed in August by the most in more than three years. The 0.6% increase in the consumer-price index was the biggest since June 2009, the Labor Department reported today.
The dollar dropped, erasing any gains made this year, says Marketwatch. The Federal Reserve’s decision to buy more bonds was taken as devaluing to the currency while boosting investors’ appetite for riskier assets like stocks and commodities.
"If I Were Bernanke, I’d Resign as Fed Chairman," says Marc Faber. Agora Financial, the world's largest financial newsletter publisher, advises holding 25% gold in a permanent portfolio. It appears investors are moving to convert paper (symbolic) assets into tangible (substantive) assets; such as gold, silver, oil and commodities.
GOLD SET FOR EVEN BIGGER BERNANKE BOOST - CNBC
Gold greatly benefited yesterday on Ben Bernanke's announcement of another round of quantitative easing. In the hours following the announcement the price of gold hit a six month high of $1,774 an ounce. Financial expert Marc Faber is predicting gold prices will continue their up-trend for a long time.
QUANTITATIVE EASING YESTERDAY, TODAY & FOREVER - AJC
The prices of gold, silver and several other commodities spiked in the minutes following the Fed’s 12:30 announcement. The inevitable devaluing of the dollar means our savings will lose value. This is the destruction of future wealth in the hopes of creating some current economic growth. In that respect, it is no different from increasing the budget deficit even further to fund even more Keynesian spending.
Will it work? Ask Japan; they’ve been trying such “quantitative easing” since 2001, without much positive effect. This is our third round of it in the past four years.
THE FED'S BALANCE AT THE END OF 2013: $4 TRILLION - ZeroHedge
Every month in 2013 the Fed will increase its balance sheet by $85 billion, consisting of $40 billion in MBS, and $45 billion in 10-30 year Treasurys, or the natural monthly supply of longer-dated issuance. The Fed will therefore monetize roughly half of the US budget deficit in 2013. The Fed's balance sheet will increase from just over $2.8 trillion currently, to $4 trillion on 12.25.13. An increase of $1.17 trillion.
By the end of 2013, the Fed's historical flow operations will be accountable for 24% of US GDP. Why is this important? Simple: when the time comes for the Fed to unwind its balance sheet, if ever, the reverse Flow process will be responsible for deducting at least 24% of US GDP at the time when said tightening happens.
What is scariest is that, as of this moment, all of this is priced in. Any incremental gains in the stock market will have to come from additional easing over and above what Bernanke has announced.
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9.13.12 - Helicopter Ben's Un-Stimulating Plan - Listen
Gold prices shot up to fresh six-month highs Thursday on rising inflation and Fed stimulus promises, Wall St. cheers. Gold last traded at $1,767 an ounce, silver traded at $34.69 an ounce.
FEDERAL RESERVE LAUNCHES 'QE3' - Marketwatch
By an 11-to-1 vote, the Federal Reserve on Thursday decided to launch a new program of open-ended bond purchases (so-called QE3) saying it will buy $40 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities each month, starting Friday.
It's also keeping in place Operation Twist, which consists of swapping short-dated securities for longer-term securities, as well as reinvesting the proceeds of maturing securities, so the central bank will be adding $85 billion of long-term securities each month through the end of the year.
The Fed also extended its pledge to keep interest rates exceptionally lo from late 2014 to "at least through mid-2015." Fed funds rates are currently targeted at a rate between 0% and 0.25%
WHOLESALE PRICES UP THE MOST IN 3 YEARS - AP
The producer price index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, jumped 1.7% in August, the Labor Department said Thursday. The increase was mostly because gas prices soared 13.6%, the biggest gain in three years. Food prices rose 0.9%, driven up by steep increases in the cost of eggs and dairy products.
CENTRAL PLANNING FED DEBASES THE DOLLAR - WashPost
When the independent Fed buys bonds to affect short-term economic stimulus by manipulating long-term interest rates, this is less monetary policy than fiscal policy, which is the business of an accountable Congress. It also is a preposterous arrogation by the Fed of a role as the economy’s central planner, a role beyond the Fed’s, or anyone else’s, competence, and incompatible with its independence.
Bernanke’s term ends in 2014 and Mitt Romney says that he would not reappoint him. If Romney becomes president, he should appoint someone such as Esther George, president of the regional Fed Bank, who would concentrate on protecting the currency as a store of value therefore restraining inflation while reversing the recent inflation of the bank’s ambitions, which have not prevented the recovery from being dreadful and may have helped to make it so.
EXPLORING THE BIPARTISAN PROBLEM OF THE ECONOMY - Cincom Interviews Lowell Ponte
Inflation and government debt are bipartisan problems and ones that won't be fixed any time soon due to a cultural shift in thinking about debt. Lowell Ponte, author of “The Inflation Deception: Six Ways Government Tricks Us…And Seven Ways to Stop It!” and “The Cooling," provides stark details about the economy, inflation, debt and retirement.
WILL YOU EVER RETIRE? - KAHI/Mary Popoff Interviews David Bradshaw
Today I was a guest on Sacramento, CA radio station KAHI dicussing how monetary inflation and age inflation are affecting American retirement plans in an era of ponzi schemes and paper money.
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.12.12 - Wall St. and Fed are boxed in - Listen
Gold prices held near six-month highs Wednesday after Germany favored an EU rescue. Stocks flattened ahead of Fedspeak. Gold last traded at $1,731 an ounce, silver traded at $33.31 an ounce.
"The left is united, the right is divided," says Dr. Michael Savage. "And the reason is simply because we conservatives are more free-spirited. We're not as bound by a party."
HOUSEHOLD INCOME DROPS FOR 4TH STRAIGHT YEAR - USAToday
The income of the typical American household fell last year for the fourth consecutive year, the longest sustained period of decline since the early 2000s, says USA Today. Americans are now poorer than they were in 1999 after taking into account how inflation erodes the value of the dollar.
THE AUGUST U.S. BUDGET DEFICIT SOARS TO $192 BILLION, $1.17 TRILLION IN FISCAL 2012 - ZeroHedge
The US has now spent $1.165 trillion more than it has received through various taxes. The author says that Americans should expect the US to end the fiscal year with a total deficit of well over $1.2 trillion. The average burn rate of $100 billion in new debt issuance each month, will continue into the indefinite future.
GOLD'S COMING RISE - Darryl Robert Schoon
In inflation-adjusted dollars, today’s equivalent of 1980’s then record price of gold, $850, is $2,466. But when gold does make its explosive ascent, it will take out $2466 like frenzied shoppers overrunning Walmart security guards during Thanksgiving’s Black Friday shopping event.
In 2007, I predicted that the coming collapse would be even more catastrophic than the Great Depression. That in addition to a deflationary collapse in demand, there would be a concurrent global currency crisis that would end with paper currencies being worth far less than today’s perceived value.
That process has begun. Today’s unraveling of the euro is but the first step in the global monetary rendering. The collapse of the bankers’ paper currencies is in motion and although the collapse started with the euro, it will end with the dollar. When the dollar collapses, the bankers’ global house of credit and debt will collapse as well.
FOR A BETTER RETIREMENT, WORK LONGER - Marketwatch
Before politicians can fix Social Security, they need to ensure that older Americans feel more secure about their financial future due to the fruits of their own labor, rather than any form of entitlement.
Economists Laitner and Silverman — whose research was published in the Journal of Public Economics — wanted to know if there was some incentive that would convince senior workers to lengthen the working percentage of their lives in keeping with their greater longevity. The incentive they came up with is compelling — a 10% pay raise by ending payroll tax at age 55.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN TRASHES '2016' - HollywoodReporter
Filmmakers call 2016 "the movie the White House doesn't want you to see." Apparently, they're right. Perhaps the President was hoping '2016: Obama’s America' would come and go unnoticed like so many other political documentaries. But seven weeks after its opening, the film is still going strong, prompting Barack Obama to finally respond. He has done so through a lengthy entry at his campaign’s website that calls the movie “a deliberate distortion” of his “record and world view.”
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.11.12 - Paper trading sparked by speculation - Listen
Gold prices rose near six-month highs Tuesday ahead of a key German ruling and Fed stimulus decision Thursday. Gold last traded at $1,732 an ounce, silver traded at $33.48 an ounce.
"Dow closes at 2007 high ... 'QE3' hopes running high," report Marketwatch. Only in America do we celebrate a manipulated stock market when it touches nominal highs of five years ago based upon further, failed Fed stimulus policies.
Meanwhile, the dollar extended losses after Moody’s Investors Service said the U.S. runs the risk of losing its triple-A rating by next year. This also puts more pressure on the Fed to act now.
INVESTORS "ENTHUSIASTIC FOR GOLD AND SILVER" ON FED QE EXPECTATIONS - GoldSeek
Traders and investors continue to look ahead to this week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting where many expect the Fed to announce their plans for more stimulus measures. More stimulus measures play a big role in higher precious metals prices. During QE1 and QE2, gold prices increased 36% and 21% respectively.
BOND MARKETS PREDICTING STAGFLATION - Calafia Beach Pundit
Expectations are running high that the Fed will engage in another round of quantitative easing given the weak growth in jobs and the generally weak nature of the U.S. economy. But even strong expectations of QE3 have failed to increase the market's confidence in the future. What they have done, however, is to increase future inflation expectations, as seen in this chart.
The 5-yr, 5-yr forward implied inflation expectation embedded in TIPS and Treasury prices has reached 2.8%, up from 2.0% about one year ago. In other words, the bond market believes the economy will remain very weak despite more quantitative easing, and that inflation will tend to rise nonetheless. The bond market vigilantes are saying that more Fed ease won't help the economy, but it could hurt via higher inflation. The gold market agrees, having sent gold prices up 8% in the past few weeks. All of this should give the Fed pause.
GOLD GETS SOME POWERFUL FRIENDS - Marketwatch
Central banks got out of the gold trade a few years ago and just recently, they are coming back into that market. The main advantage gold has over other currencies is that it can't be printed. Many see gold as a hedge against inflation and a safety net as the Fed continues to print money.
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.10.12 - The Fed: Above or Below Politics? - Listen
Gold prices eased back from six-month highs on Monday ahead of a key German ruling and Fed stimulus decision mid-week. Gold last traded at $1,725 an ounce, silver traded at $33.30 an ounce.
"NO MORE Q.E.!" - Craig R. Smith/Cavuto on Fox
"Who will benefit from another round of stimulus by the Federal Reserve?"
asks Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto. Could Fed easing help President Obama and hurt Mitt Romney? (Romney has announced plans to replace Ben Bernanke)
Mr. Smith says another round of Quantitative Easing (Q.E.) stimulus will not do anything different than the last two rounds of Q.E., except to boost the stock market temporarily and boost Obama's approval ratings.
We do not have a liquidity issue today, we have a confidence issue. American workers and investors have lost confidence in our leadership and wonder if their job is secure or if their taxes are about to rise dramatically in 2013.
The big problem lies ahead. When the trillions of dollars now on the sidelines hit the market all at once - it could send U.S. interest rates and inflation soaring to 1979-80 levels of 15% or more. Watch Swiss America animated TV spot with Ben Bernanke and Ronald Reagan.
EURO ZONE ENTERS DANGEROUS WEEK - CNBC
The euro zone enters a dangerous week, strewn with potential landmines, in a somewhat more optimistic mood after investors welcomed a European Central Bank plan to prevent a breakup of the single currency.
German judges, Dutch voters, International Monetary Fund inspectors, and Brussels regulators could all spring surprises that make it harder to resolve a sovereign debt crisis which is almost three years old and weighing on the world economy.
WHY I EXPECT QE3 THIS WEEK - Calculated Risk
Since the Jackson Hole Symposium, I've been thinking it is very likely that so-called "QE3" would be announced at the next FOMC meeting (Sept 12th and 13th). QE3 is shorthand for another Large Scale Asset Purchases (LSAP) program. "QE" is monetary policy, not fiscal policy (not spending).
Goldman Sach economist Sven Jari Stehn writes, we expect the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to announce a return to asset purchases as well as a lengthening of the FOMC’s forward guidance for the first hike in the funds rate to mid-2015 or beyond at the September 12-13 FOMC meeting.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM DEBASED CURRENCIES - SeekingAlpha
Jim Rogers has a solution for those looking to protect themselves against a manipulated and flailing dollar. “The way you protect yourself when governments print money and debase the currency is you own real things” said Rogers. He went on to clarify that real things in his mind included the likes of gold, silver, rice, wheat, oil, and natural gas among other commodities. As always, he left a soft spot for agricultural assets, claiming that the “fundamentals are unbelievably good”.
YOU ARE GOING TO SEE INFLATION YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE - USAWatchdog
Greg Mannarino says, “A new monetary system is already in the works.” He says central banks will continue to print money to keep an insolvent system afloat. Mannarino says it will be on “... an epic scale... We’re going to see inflation that people are not going to believe.” He thinks many “too big to fail banks” will fail, but not all will go under. Mannarino says, “I believe there is going to be a consolidation of power just like there was after the crash of 2008.”
Greg Mannarino is a former Bear Stearns floor trader who recently released a new book titled “The Politics of Money.” He’s a fan of anything tangible, and that includes physical gold and silver. For anyone who does not hold physical assets, Mannarino says, “People are going to be slaughtered who are not ready for this.”
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.7.12 - Gold Tells Truth, Politicians Spin Lies - Listen
Gold prices rallied to a six-month high on Friday on weaker-than-expected jobs data, more stimulus is expected next week. Gold last traded at $1,735 an ounce, up 3% for the week, while silver traded at $33.69 an ounce, jumping over 7% for the week.
GLOBE & MAIL asks, "Are you better off? Just 96,000 jobs added in August as 368,000 people LEAVE the workforce, bringing labor market participation down to its lowest level for 31 years and dealing a blow to President Obama’s re-election chances."
The national unemployment rate dropped to 8.1%, down from 8.2%, but this was only because so many people gave up looking for work. If the participation rate had not dropped so precipitously, unemployment would have risen to 8.4%.
CBS reports, "The White House says that the August jobs report shows that the nation is continuing to recover, despite more Americans giving up their job search."
The truth is our economy has stalled under the weight of anti-free market policies. The Fed and politicians' failed strategy is to throw more money at the problem to buy time, until the money itself become worthless.
"Market Sees 'Helicopter Ben' Coming to the Rescue," says a CNBC headline. Meanwhile, "Gold thrives on talks of more easing as it is seen as store of value and a shield against currency debasement," reports Marketwatch.
FEDERAL GOV'T: A GIGANTIC WEALTH-TRANSFER MACHINE - CarpeDiem
In 1952, less than one out of every six dollars spent by the federal government represented payments to individuals. By 2010 payments to individuals had increased so dramatically over time that roughly two out of every three dollars (66.1 percent) spent by the federal government in that year were payments to individuals.
Our long-term fiscal problems won’t be fixed until we address what might be our nation’s most serious fiscal-related problem: we’re increasingly becoming a European-style “entitlement nation,” with “payments to individuals” increasing both in absolute dollar amounts and as a share of total federal spending, while at the same time the share of Americans who face a zero or negative federal income tax liability is above 40 percent and rising.
CENTRAL BANKERS CAN'T SAVE US NOW - MSNMoney
Our best chance for economic gains and a market rally is for the Fed and its European counterpart to keep us hoping they do something -- instead of proving they can't do much.
Better the illusion of hope than no hope at all? You bet. The hope that the central banks could yet throw out a rescue line would buy governments and the global economy time to eliminate debt, time to regain confidence and time to put policies in place that might actually address issues such as productivity and unemployment.
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.6.12 - 'Rediscovering Gold' as The Standard - Listen
Gold prices topped $1,700/oz. Thursday on safe haven buying, news of fresh EU stimulus (bailout) lifted stocks to 4-year highs. Gold last traded at $1,702 an ounce, silver traded at $32.71 an ounce.
11 years ago, Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith announced the beginning of a new, secular gold bull market in his first book, REDISCOVERING GOLD in the 21st Century. REDISCOVERING GOLD announced the beginning of a new bull market in U.S. gold coins based on market trends, diversification principles and common sense.
Six years later Smith made The Case for $2,000 Gold. Today $2,000 gold seems a foregone conclusion, as further dollar debasement lies dead ahead. Wise investors are buying gold now, before gold prices go parabolic.
ECB TO BUY SOVEREIGN BONDS TO SAVE EURO - CNBC
European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi said the "euro is irreversible" as he announced an "unlimited" new bond-buying program at a press conference in Frankfurt, after the central bank decided to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold.
Draghi defended the bond buying in the face of strong opposition from Germany as being within the ECB's mandate of safeguarding the euro...attention is now likely to turn to Spain, Europe's fourth-largest economy, which has seen its borrowing costs rise due to a deepening recession and banking crisis.
NEXT GOLD RUSH TO $2,000 HAS BEGUN - MSN Money
The next four months are packed with big political decisions that are sure to roil global markets. Investors are worried, and they continue to move out of stocks and into cash and bonds. I think that's the wrong move.
Global central banks are poised to unleash a strong, coordinated dose of monetary policy stimulus. Politicians in Europe and here at home face a near-impossible task of balancing growth and budget austerity at a time when the stakes couldn't be higher. And food and fuel prices are heading higher, presaging more inflation.
The team at Capital Economics in London is also looking for gold to cross the $2,000-an-ounce threshold... they believes that the eurozone project, as it stands now, is doomed and that one or more countries (Greece plus another) will exit -- pushing the price of gold "significantly higher" on panic buying and worries over the fate of the euro, even if those worries lead to a stronger dollar.
GOLD A BETTER INVESTMENT THAN BONDS, STOCKS - Bloomberg
Bill Gross managing director at Pimco talks with Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle Alix Steel and Adam Johnson about the outlook for gold prices. "Gold is a fixed commodity and a store of value...when Central Banks start writing checks and printing money in the trillions of dollars, it is best to have something tangible that can't be reproduced," said Gross. Gross said gold is going higher and will provide a better return than stocks or bonds in the 3-4% range.
THE GOLD STANDARD IS COMING - Steve Forbes
Gold won’t be a sizzling issue this fall. The economy, entitlements and, possibly, war in the Middle East will dominate headlines. But the yellow metal will be a hot topic in the next 24 months. The commission is going to take on an importance that will astound today’s political punditry, besotted as they are with stale Keynesian quackeries about money, taxes and spending.
A stable dollar is absolutely crucial in dealing with our economic woes. Americans instinctively understand that an unstable dollar is a bad thing. Many Tea Party activists, as well as others, are starting to examine the gold issue. The subject is no longer Ron Paul’s monopoly.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE MONEY IN RARE-COIN COLLECTING - Marketwatch
One of the keys to getting a solid return on your coin investment is to choose U.S. coins that are perennially popular with collectors, such as the Morgan Dollar...and the St. Gaudens $20 Double Eagle.
Classic gold coins in the highest grades of MS-66 and MS-67, minted from the mid-19th century until the early 1930s, are currently undervalued by the market, according to numismatists.
Scott Travers, author of “The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual” and editor of the “PCGS Guide” suggested collectors put together a “date set” of $20 gold pieces, called Double Eagles, including the Liberty Head design, minted from 1849 to 1907, and the design created by the noted sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, minted from 1907 to 1933. The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle is considered one of the most beautiful coins ever produced.
WHY IS PUTIN STOCKPILING GOLD? - Marketwatch
I can’t imagine it means anything cheerful that Vladimir Putin, the Russian czar, is stockpiling gold as fast as he can get his hands on it.
According to the World Gold Council, Russia has more than doubled its gold reserves in the past five years. Putin has taken advantage of the financial crisis to build the world’s fifth-biggest gold pile in a handful of years, and is buying about half a billion dollars’ worth every month.
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.5.12 - Decisive Economic Week Ahead - Listen
Gold prices steadied just below $1,700/oz. Wednesday on mild profit taking and a weaker dollar. Stocks mixed up. Gold last traded at $1,693 an ounce, silver traded at $32.27 an ounce.
Welcome to the calm before the storm. Marketwatch reports "the next six days could make or break markets".
-Thursday, Sept. 6: Mario Draghi’s press conference
-Friday, Sept. 7: U.S. nonfarm payrolls report
-Wednesday, Sept. 12: German constitutional court ruling
-Wednesday, Sept. 12: European bank regulations proposal
-Thursday, Sept. 13: FOMC’s two-day meeting concludes
A BILLIONAIRE'S BET ON INFLATION - Kitco
Frank Giustra, the lion behind Lionsgate Films, and an early architect of countless resource companies-- is brilliant, connected and wealthy. He made headlines in 2007 by pledging over $100 million and half of his future earnings to establish a charitable foundation with President Clinton.
In discussing gold during the interview he said, "I believe it's going a lot higher...it's going to have a parabolic spike, caused by some event or some loss of confidence...a US dollar crisis would be a perfect example. That will cause gold to go through the roof, and then everybody will want to own it...I don't think we're even close to that yet...Gold will probably have a much greater run than some of the other hard assets--because it's also a currency."
On the subject of inflation he remarked, "It's easier to make money with inflation than with deflation. All you need to make money with inflation is money...Those that influence policy are usually the ones that have access to money, or can borrow it very cheaply... They have a conflict of interest... [Inflation is] where a lot of people are getting rich, and the public is being educated—quote 'educated' to accept that type of [inflationary outcome]."
US SLIPS DOWN THE RANKS OF GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS - CNBC
The United States has slipped further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey released on Wednesday. The world's largest economy, which was placed 5th last year, fell two positions to the 7th spot - marking its fourth year of decline.
“If you look at competitiveness, what we are talking about is productivity. It’s countries that are productive that can support the sorts of rising living standards and high wages that everyone is looking for,” said Jennifer Blanke, Economist at the Geneva-based WEF.
BERNANKE WARMS UP THE HELICOPTER - Alhambra Partners
After last week’s Jackson Hole speech, expect to see Ben Bernanke sporting a sling the next time you see him. There is simply no way he could spend that long patting himself on the back and not suffer at least a sprain.
The monetary yoga master asserted that the Fed’s non traditional monetary policies were responsible for creating 2 million jobs and raising output by 3% despite the US economy remaining in the downward facing dog position 4 years after the onset of the crisis. Of course, those numbers are based on simulations run through the same economic models that produced a stock bubble backed up by a housing bubble and a financial crash so you’ll have to excuse me while I hunt for a large enough grain of salt to make that analysis palatable.
BETTER OFF TODAY? LET'S COUNT THE WAYS WE'RE NOT - IBD
Democratic party leaders kept fumbling their answer to a simple question: Are we better off than we were four years ago? There's a good reason for the fumbling: We're not.
By most measures the country isn't making slow progress; it's falling further behind. Some examples:
• Median incomes: These have fallen 7.3% since Obama took office, which translates into an average of $4,000. Since the so-called recovery started, median incomes continued to fall, dropping $2,544, or 4.8%.
• Long-term unemployed: More than three years into Obama's recovery, 811,000 more still fall into this category than when the recession ended.
• Poverty: The poverty rate climbed to 15.1% in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009, and economists think it may have hit 15.7% last year, highest since the 1960s.
• Food stamps: There are 11.8 million more people on food stamps since Obama's recovery started.
• Disability: More than 1 million workers have been added to Social Security's disability program in the last three years.
• Gas prices: A gallon of gas cost $1.89 when Obama was sworn in. By June 2009, the price was $2.70. Today, it's $3.84.
• Misery Index: When Obama took office, the combination of unemployment and inflation stood at 7.83. Today it's 9.71.
• Union membership: Even unions are worse off under Obama, with membership dropping half a million between 2009 and 2011.
• Debt: Everyone is far worse off if you just look at the national debt. It has climbed more than $5 trillion under Obama, crossing $16 trillion for the first time on Tuesday and driving the U.S. credit rating down.
More: Swiss America Gold Market News
9.4.12 - Another Day Older, Deeper in Debt - Listen
Gold prices crested $1,700/oz. early Tuesday, building upon last week's gain amid a flat dollar and Fed QE3 hopes. Stocks deflate. Gold last traded at $1,696 an ounce, silver traded at $32.36 an ounce.
"Wake up gold bugs, your time has arrived. Dust off your prospecting equipment because it is time to look for some investments," reports Marketwatch. Meanwhile, the U.S. debt clock surpasses the total size of the U.S. economy at $16 trillion. Which will, as interest rates begin to rise, feel like 16 tons of force pushing the U.S. economy over a cliff according to many experts.
DEBT TOPS $16 TRILLION - Wash Times
The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the federal government has now officially topped $16 trillion in debt. The announcement, which came just an hour before Democrats gaveled in their convention in Charlotte, NC, immediately boosted the government's grim fiscal picture back to the fore of the national debate.
US DEBT ECLIPSES ECONOMY, REACHING $16 TRILLION -RT
$16 trillion debt is a landmark number that has more than tripled during the last two presidencies. At 104 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product, the debt is now larger than the US economy itself.
“This is a grim landmark for the United States. Yet the president seems strangely unconcerned,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions of the Senate Budget Committee. Each day, the debt grows by roughly $3.5 billion, or about $2 million per minute.
BERNANKE BETS NEW ECONOMY IS SAME AS OLD ONE - Bloomberg
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is betting the new U.S. economy is the same as the old one as he lays out arguments for more stimulus to revive it. He made that diagnosis last week in a rebuttal to those who blame an 8.3 percent unemployment rate on structural shifts in the economy wrought by the financial crisis and who contend joblessness is permanently elevated.
“I see little evidence of substantial structural change in recent years,” Bernanke told fellow central bankers and economists at the annual monetary-policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
HAS QE3 ALREADY BEGUN? - Minyanville
As it has become clear, the Fed stands ready to act with further easing of monetary policy if economic conditions warrant it. The author however, suspects that the Fed has already begun the next round of quantitative easing and provides several explanations of why he believes this.
SEPT. 12, JUDGMENT DAY FOR EURO CURRENCY - ChinaPost
When the history books come to be written about the Euro, September 12, 2012 could well prove one of the most significant dates in the life of the embattled single currency.
At 10 a.m. on that day, the eight scarlet-robed judges of Germany's Verfassungsgericht (or Constitutional Court) will file into the courtroom in the southwest city of Karlsruhe to decide whether German President Joachim Gauck can sign into law the eurozone's key crisis-fighting tools, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
DEPRESSION, SUICIDES RISE AS EURO DEBT CRISIS INTENSIFIES - CNBC
Europe is approaching a crisis as the region’s debt crisis and austerity measures increase the rates of depression, suicide and psychological problems – just as governments cut healthcare spending by up to 50 percent, according to campaigners, policy makers and health organizations.
The credit crunch has had one unexpected consequence and one that reflects a deep chasm in our society – a sharp rise in mental health problems, largely caused by uncertainty and fear for the future.
