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Wednesday 09.21.2011
OK, Gold's Not Money.
How About This One Ben: Is the Fed a Bank?
by Arthur M.M. Krolman - LewRockwell.com
Dear Ben,
As you prepare for your special double-feature meeting in a few days, I thought you might want a helping hand in reducing uneasy feelings of puzzlement that you and others are experiencing these days. Last week, when you said you were puzzled by weak consumer spending, I'll bet you felt the same way I did. Neither of us could care less about what or how much other individuals decide to spend their hard-earned money on, but the being puzzled part is really yucky. What an anxiety-fueling feeling of uneasiness!
I'll bet a lot of people in the world are puzzled too about what a central bank like the Fed really is and why it's called a "bank". And I'm sure neither of us want someone else being puzzled any more than we like it. OK, I guess you did want people to be puzzled about where all those secret Fed loans went, but I've got to believe that deep down, you're a decent man and you'd never make folks puzzled on purpose again. So let's work together here.
Experts see gold at $2,500 by year-end
TradeArabia.com
Though the price of gold is already up more than 30 per cent this year, it may breach the $2,500 level by the end of this year, according to a group of experts.
The upcoming edition of the MidEast Watch & Jewellery Show is set to benefit from this gold rush as demand for jewellery as well as gold bars and coins reach its peak ahead of the festive season, said event organisers.
The 31st edition of the show will run from October 4 to 8 at Expo Centre Sharjah, and will feature more than 450 exhibitors.
"Demand for gold has been steady in the region and Eid holidays have set the tempo for buying gold among residents," said Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, director-general of Expo Centre Sharjah.
Perfect Storm Creates Tidal Wave of Gold Demand
BY FRANK HOLMES - FinancialSense.com
A few weeks ago we held our Case for Investing in Gold webcast with the World Gold Council’s (WGC) Jason Toussaint, who gave some remarkable insight into gold demand in the East. In these countries, gold is not only celebrated, acquired, worn or displayed during holidays or special occasions; it is seen as an everyday symbol of wealth.
Increases in demand from China and India have driven a 7.5 percent increase in demand for gold jewelry during the first half of the year despite a 25 percent increase in the price, according to a report released this week from GFMS. However, much of India’s potential gold demand remains untapped.
Are you ready
for the annual Christmas Rally in Gold and Silver?
By Peter Degraaf - Kitco.com
During 18 of the last 22 years, gold has rallied between US Labor Day and Christmas. Will the pattern this year follow the historical pattern? We will analyze the fundamentals, look at some charts and try to draw a conclusion. The charts in this report are courtesy Stockcharts.com unless indicated.
- First a quote by President Andrew Jackson: "Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time, and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits among yourselves, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out and by the Eternal God, I will rout you out." (Spoken to a delegation of bankers requesting the extension of the 1832 Bank Renewal Act).
Several news items during the past ten days were very bullish for gold. The first was an announcement by the Swiss National Bank that they were planning to buy Euros with Swiss Francs. This action effectively removes the Swiss Franc as a convenient alternative to gold, and it moves the SNB into the camp of the money printers.
Hike in gold, silver drive jewelry inflation in US
CommodityOnline.com
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): The consumer price index (CPI) for jewelry in US has climbed to a new record of 179.75 points showing a rise of 11%.
Rising price of gold, Silver and diamond has been the major drivers of jewelry inflation in US.
The consumer price index (CPI) for jewelry in US has climbed to a new record of 179.75 points showing a rise of 11%
The reference point of the jewelry price index is set at 100 points based upon the average price in 1986.
Meanwhile, the CPI for all products rose 3.8% year on year in August to 226.27 points. The reference point is set as 100 based on the average taken from 1982 to 1984.
Smart Ways to Sell Your Gold
By Bob Frick - SilverBearCafe.com
Web sites often low-ball the price or fail to return jewelry. Here's how to get a good deal.
When a local jewelry store went out of business, Janet Fritz of Hilton, N.Y., bought boxes of its gold jewelry. She thought she'd resell some through her Primrose Garden eBay store and sell some to "cash for gold" Internet sites.
To find out how the sites work and which pay the most, Fritz devised an experiment: She sent identical, simple gold bands to nine sites to see how they responded. The results were neither identical nor simple. A couple of the sites offered decent deals, but the rest left her frustrated or underwhelmed. One dealer said it had lost her ring, one wouldn't send it back when requested, and some of the offers were "ridiculously low," says Fritz.
Gold Will Soar On Imminent U.S. Bailout of Europe
It is only a matter of time before the U.S. becomes deeply involved in the bailout of Europe. Consider Geithner Takes Tougher Tone On Europe as reported by Bloomberg.
"Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will urge European governments to step up their crisis- fighting efforts amid Obama administration concerns that the region's woes may hurt the U.S. economy.
Geithner will press European Union finance ministers when he meets with them this week, a euro-area official said. "The U.S. has always been discretely preoccupied and discretely present, and now it’s starting to be intensely preoccupied and intensely present," said Nicolas Veron, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics research group.
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts -
Bear Trap Developing in Gold?
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
There are high expectations ahead of the Fed's September announcement tomorrow afternoon.
Traders are betting the Fed will cap rates in Operation Twist. There are also even odds that the Fed will cut the rate it pays on bank reserves which it holds. The thinking is that it will give banks more incentive to lend. The downside is the view that if it becomes too close to zero, people will stop making markets in the shortest term Treasuries.
If they do lower this rate, I will view it as justification for the view I put forward over the past two years that the Fed interest payment on reserves acts as a bit of a drag on commercial activity by drawing funds out of the marketplace, in addition to being a tool for managing short rates around the zero bound.
'Silver is the investment of the next decade'
CommodityOnline.com
The Gold Report: James, it seems every time we talk to you, something new is happening. You started off with the Midas Letter in 2008, started the Midas Letter Opportunity Fund this year, and now, you're embarking on the structuring of two additional funds before you've finished raising the money for your first fund. What is your objective in all of this?
James West: Well, first off, let me say that I'm just walking through the doors that seem to be opening for me as a result of the good luck and success of the Midas Letter. When we began circulating the idea of the Opportunity Fund, we envisioned raising no more than 10 million (M) Euros, which is roughly CAD$13.6M, because we only wanted to participate in selected seed and pre-IPO investment rounds of TSX Venture–listed resource deals.
Keiser Report: Dollar-Trapped (E186)
Escape Velocity
By Neil Charnock - SilverBearCafe.com
I have been tracking the gold stocks since gold began to rise in 2001. I am a self-confessed screen jockey so I have seen every phase, quirk, lull and rocket ride this sector has had to offer over since it all began. I love the markets. There have been exciting explosive rallies for gold stocks; a new one has been long overdue. I have watched, analysed and successfully traded this Gold Bull Market (GBM) since it started therefore I hope am well qualified to bring you a valid point of view and an important message.
Peter Schiff On Obamanomics:
"There Are Not Enough Open Minds
In The Capitol To Keep This Ship From Sinking"
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Peter Schiff wraps his congressional testimony on the Obama jobs plan, which was one of the most memorable such Congressional hearings on the topic to date, with the following letter of caution to all Americans. To wit: "I don't think those few open minds in the Capitol are going to be enough to keep this ship from sinking. There just isn't enough time or a strong enough will for reform from the American people. That is why it is so important for you to act individually to protect yourself and your family from the new age of stagflation. Please take the time to view my testimony, understand the problems we face, and align your investments accordingly." We urge anyone who has not watched Peter's testimony yet to do so below.
Fed begins policy meeting, tiptoes toward easing
By Mark Felsenthal - Reuters.com
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting on Tuesday that is expected to end with a decision to stock up on longer-term Treasury notes in a bid to boost a fading economic recovery.
With the United States at risk of a new recession and the political climate in Washington making prospects for fiscal stimulus uncertain, the Fed has made it clear it is intent on taking steps to lift growth, even if only modest ones.
Although officials differ on how best to address the economy's woes, analysts expect Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to muster a consensus behind a plan to rebalance the Fed's portfolio to push down longer-term interest rates.
Markets watch as Fed opens meeting
By Neil Irwin - WashingtonPost.com
As the Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting Tuesday, the backdrop is drearily familiar: Job growth in the United States faltering, the outlook increasingly hazy, the world economy at risk.
And once again, the eyes of the world will be on Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues to see if they can come up with any more steps to boost growth and avert a slide back into recession. They will likely discuss a range of possibilities, from a subtle shift in the Fed’s bond holdings to a rethinking of how the central bank communicates to markets and the public about its intentions.
Fed is Measuring U.S. Economic Health by the Wrong Number
BY VITALIY KATSENELSON - FinancialSense.com
Mark Twain said, "To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." To a Fed – an institution employing an army of economists and academics – everything looks like an economic problem that needs to be quantitatively eased. But the Fed is killing the economy.
Undermines Confidence
Sir Alan Greenspan, who, after he left the Fed, suddenly turned into a rational and comprehensible person, was on The Charlie Rose Show in June, where he said that businesses don’t want to invest because they are concerned about the future. I agree.
Ironically, it is the Fed’s intervention in the free market and arbitrarily setting short- and long-term interest rates at insanely low levels that is responsible for this uncertainty, as it enables and propagates speculation, not investing (two distinctly different activities) and erodes confidence about the future. Usually, in investing, liquid capital is turned into illiquid by committing it to a higher, more productive long-term use. Ability (read: confidence) to forecast after-tax cash flows and discount rates (which are a function of interest rates/inflation/risk premium) is the key here. However, these concepts are foreign to speculators who are indifferent to what asset they hold (junk or quality). Their time horizon is much shorter, and they are just looking for a greater fool to unload their stuff on. The next tick in price is the only variable that matters.
Why the BRICS won't 'save' Europe
By Pepe Escobar - ATimes.com
This Thursday, in Washington, finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS group of emerging powers - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will get together and, in the words of Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega, "Talk about what to do to help the European Union get out of this situation."
Hold your horses. Is this an emerging cavalry to the rescue? Could this be the end of the eurozone (eurotrash?) self-induced liquidity panic? Or is this just the BRICS graphically showing the writing on the wall - pointing to which way the economic wind is blowing?
The basic (Brazilian) idea is for BRICS financial muscle to buy some extra European sovereign debt. But only "solid" bonds - from Germany or the United Kingdom - would qualify. The rationale is that BRICS will win by diversifying reserves - China at $3.2 trillion, Brazil at over $350 billion, India at over $320 billion - and make more money than investing in US Treasury bonds.
Potential Euro Collapse
& Rapid Redistribution Of Personal Wealth
BY DANIEL R AMERMAN CFA - FinancialSense.com
There is a significant chance that the Euro itself will collapse in the coming weeks or months. Although the highly likely Greek government default may act as the trigger, the collapse of the European Monetary Union (EMU) and its currency is a quite different event from a single minor member defaulting on its debts. As discussed herein, the potential rapid annihilation of what used to be a global reserve currency could lead to one of the fastest and sharpest redistributions of wealth in financial history. If catastrophe takes down Europe's economy and banking system, then we may see repeated tidal waves of business collapse and spiking unemployment spreading out from the EU, and slamming into the already weak but tightly interlinked economies of the US, Japan, Canada, Australia and others.
Godfrey Bloom: Euro Fail for Christmas
IMF warns global economic slowdown
entering 'dangerous new phase'
By Howard Schneider - WashingtonPost.com
An international team has decided it will return to Greece next week in hopes of reaching agreement on emergency loans needed to keep the country solvent and restore confidence in the financial health of the 17-nation euro zone.
Two days of talks among representatives from Greece, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund concluded Tuesday after registering "good progress," the IMF said in a statement. Negotiations have centered on the budget measures Greece will take to ensure that it reduces government deficits as much as officials have promised.
As the World Economy Turns
By Bill Bonner - SilverBearCafe.com
What keeps this world economy turning around?
Not the US. America's private sector isn't spinning at all. It's stuck...dead in the water...out of gas...pumped out...
GDP growth is reported at 1%. But that's almost all government transfer payments and stimulus deficits. Real growth is negative.
And all the recent reports show it is getting worse. Wall Street is cutting earnings estimates...strategists reduced their S&P 500 targets 8%.
- ...corporate tax receipts have decelerated sharply...
- ...the president's job bill is DOA in Congress...
- ...retail sales are slowing...
- ...and prices are softening, with the core CPI headed below 2%.
As we keep saying, there is nothing unusual about this. It's just what you'd expect in a Great Correction. And it will probably get much worse.
How about Europe, then? Maybe Europe is providing the steam to keep things moving.
Italy downgraded, IMF says Europe behind the curve
By Catherine Hornby and Angeliki Koutantou - Reuters.com
(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's cut Italy's credit rating on Tuesday in a surprise move that increased strains on the debt-stressed euro zone, and the International Monetary Fund said Europe's leaders were failing to act decisively enough to resolve the crisis.
Analysts said the one-notch downgrade, citing poor growth prospects and political instability, was ominous for the global economy and would add to mounting strains on European banks as talks to avoid a Greek default drag on.
S&P's rating is now three notches below rival agency Moody's, puttingItaly below Slovakia and on a par with Malta.
"There is a wide perception that policy-makers are one step behindmarkets," IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard told a news conference after the IMF warned that both Europe and the United States could slip back into recession.
Greece in limbo after EU conference call
BY LEIGH PHILLIPS - EUObserver.com
While negotiations between the Greek government and international lenders remain inconclusive, a report out of Athens suggests that the prime minister is looking to hold a referendum on staying in the euro.
A conference call on Monday night (19 September) between the Greek finance minister and senior representatives of the troika - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - in which the international lenders pressed Athens once again to speed up its public sector cuts ended with no outcome, leaving the eurozone to wake up once again on Tuesday to a limbo of uncertainty.
Jim Rogers The World is facing disaster
Greece Default
Would Leave German Taxpayers
Facing Bills From 'Bad' Banks
By Aaron Kirchfeld, Nicholas Comfort and Oliver Suess - Bloomberg.com
Germany’s bad banks, backed by the state to prevent the collapse of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and WestLB AG during the credit crisis, would be the hardest hit in the event of a Greek default, leaving taxpayers to shoulder the bill a second time.
Hypo's FMS Wertmanagement, with 8.76 billion euros ($12 billion) in Greek sovereign investments and loans, and WestLB’s Erste Abwicklungsanstalt, with 1.21 billion euros, bear more than half of German banks' Greek debt, according to data compiled from company reports and statements. By contrast, Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and Commerzbank AG (CBK), Germany’s two biggest lenders, hold a combined 3.35 billion euros.
Greek default could be disaster for Portugal: PM
(Reuters) - A debt default by Greece could have disastrous consequences for Portugal, which must take steps to avoid the fall-out from such an event, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Tuesday.
Passos Coelho, whose government is rushing to differentiate Portugalfrom Greece in its efforts to meet the terms of its own bailout from the European Union and IMF, said the possibility of a Greek default could not be ruled out.
"We are on the edge of a situation of great uncertainty, if not to speak of the possible default by a state," Passos Coelho told RTP television in an interview, referring to Greece.
IMF calls on Europe to get "act together" on debt
By Lesley Wroughton - Reuters.com
(Reuters) - Europe needs to "get its act together" and deal with its worsening sovereign debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of severe repercussions for global growth.
The IMF said both Europe's debt woes and a painfully slow U.S. recovery could undermine global expansion, and it warned that without action those economies could tip back into recession.
The top economist at the global lender, however, singled out Europe as "a major source of worry" as he released the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook report.
The Fatal Flaws in the Eurozone and What They Mean for You
by Charles Hugh Smith - ChrisMartenson.com
Europe’s fiscal and debt crises have dominated the financial news for months, and with good reason. The fate of the European Union and its common currency, the euro, hang in the balance. As the world’s largest trading bloc, Europe holds sway over the global economy. If it sinks into recession or devolves, it will drag the rest of the world with it.
As investors, we are not just observers; we are participants in the global economy, and what transpires in Europe will present risks and opportunities for investors around the world.
The issue boils down to this: Is the European Union and the euro salvageable, or is it doomed for structural reasons? The flaws are now painfully apparent, but not necessarily well-understood.
Treasury 10-Year Yield
Approaches Record Low Before Fed Announces Policy
By Wes Goodman - Bloomberg.com
Treasury yields were seven basis points away from a record low as economists said the Federal Reserve will announce plans to buy long-term debt after a meeting today as part of its effort to spur growth.
Rates on 30-year Treasury zero-coupon bonds, those most sensitive to inflation, fell to a 30-month low of 3.49 percent. The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth yesterday and predicted repercussions if Europe fails to contain a debt crisis or if U.S. policy makers deadlock over a fiscal plan.
"People will continue to purchase Treasuries," said Kei Katayama, leader of the foreign fixed-income group in Tokyo at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., home to Japan's second-biggest bond fund. "The market is risk-averse. The flight-to-quality flows will continue."
Fed May Extend Duration of Treasuries
With 'Operation Twist,' Survey Shows
By Joshua Zumbrun - Bloomberg.com
Federal Reserve officials tomorrow will probably announce a program for monetary easing that will do little to help 14 million unemployed Americans find work, according to economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
The Federal Open Market Committee will decide to replace short-term Treasuries in its $1.65 trillion portfolio with long- term bonds, according to 71 percent of 42 surveyed economists. The move, known as "Operation Twist" for its goal to bend the yield curve, will probably fail to reduce the 9.1 percent unemployment rate, 61 percent of the economists said. Among those, 15 percent predict it will be "somewhat harmful."
Bob Chapman -
The Liberty Round Table Radio - 19 Sept 2011
Central Banks Can Increase the Money Supply,
Even If Banks Do Not Lend
Mises Daily: by Thorsten Polleit
I. The Relation between Bank Credit and Money Growth
In today's fiat-money world, money is mostly produced through bank lending. Whenever a commercial bank provides credit to, say, consumers, firms, and government entities, it issues new money, thereby increasing the economy's money stock.
Economists from the Austrian School of economics call this kind of money production "money creation out of thin air," as the increase in money through bank circulation credit doesn't require the existence of real savings.
If money is produced through bank credit, one should expect a positive relation between changes in bank credit and changes in the money stock. Over longer periods there is detectable a positive and highly correlated relation between these two magnitudes.
The Federal Debt As Criminal Scam,
The Federal Reserve As Criminal Syndicate
By Charles Hugh Smith - SilverBearCafe.com
Correspondent Doug laid out a compelling case that the Federal debt is fundamnentally a criminal scam, operated by the criminal syndicate of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve:
The Federal Reserve is a criminal syndicate buying debt that the government eagerly creates and sells for spending money that dumps the debt on us civilians. What perplexes me is that the scam is so simple and all the intellectuals either don’t get it or are handcuffed by mega-corporate media owners.
The scam in simple terms:
- Uncle Sam borrows money from The Fed, China, oil exporters, Bank of England, etc. by selling Treasury bonds
- You are responsible for the bonds, i.e. IOUs
- Uncle Sam collects taxes and pays the bondholders
- The debt is breaking us; life will not be the same in the years to come
Uncle Sam borrows all its spending money from the non-government Fed and others, and spends only borrowed dollars raised from exchanging bonds for dollars as a debt plus interest on your back.
Will Commodity Prices Collapse When the BRIC's Crumble?
Written by Al Fin - OilPrice.com
Common wisdom assumes that commodity prices, including oil prices, will continue to rise on exponential demand from emerging nations, such as China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, etc. But under the sheen of those rosy projections, exists a growing excremental stench of corruption and decay. If the magical trajectory of the BRICs should falter, how far would commodities prices fall? And what would be the repercussions for already stressed world financial markets, desperate for safe havens and hedged to the hilt?
China's property bubble is set to implode, and when it does, the Chinese economy will cool far more than anyone thinks, taking commodities along for the ride. Commodity producers like Australia and Canada are at extreme risk as well.
Bond Woes to Worsen
as Austerity Suffocates Growth: Euro Credit
By Keith Jenkins and Emma Charlton - Bloomberg.com
Borrowing costs may rise even further for Europe’s most indebted nations as slower growth at home combines with a weakening global economy to subvert deficit-reduction plans, measures in the bond market show.
"The market is afraid of a lack of growth that will make debt rebalancing quite a challenging task," said Koen Van De Maele, global head of fixed income at Brussels-based Dexia Asset Management, which oversees the equivalent of about 83 billion euros ($113 billion). "As an investor, if you know that the growth will be lower then it’s definitely a concern in terms of the debt sustainability. You have to balance the risk and the return."
The Revolt against Rationalism
Mises Daily: by Ludwig von Mises
The most remarkable fact in the history of our age is the revolt against rationalism, economics, and utilitarian social philosophy; it is at the same time a revolt against freedom, democracy, and representative government. It is usual to distinguish within this movement a left wing and a right wing. The distinction is spurious. The proof is that it is impossible to classify in either of these groups the great leaders of the movement.
Was Hegel a man of the Left or of the Right? Both the left-wing and the right-wing Hegelians were undoubtedly correct in referring to Hegel as their master. Was George Sorel a Leftist or a Rightist? Both Lenin and Mussolini were his intellectual disciples. Bismarck is commonly regarded as a reactionary. But his social-security scheme is the acme of present-day progressivism. If Ferdinand Lassalle had not been the son of Jewish parents, the Nazis would call him the first German labor leader and the founder of the German socialist party, one of their greatest men. From the point of view of true liberalism, all the supporters of the conflict doctrine form one homogeneous party.
Obama Thinks that High Unemployment Is Okay:
Unwise for Government to Spur Hiring
Submitted by George Washington - ZeroHedge.com
Obama Does Not Care About Reducing Unemployment
As I’ve repeatedly documented, Obama is not concerned with reducing unemployment. Indeed, despite his faux populism, Obama’s policies increaseunemployment. D.C. is like a separate country, and the politicians are increasing jobs … but only for their wealthy buddies, and not the average American.
Indeed, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich says that Obama is simply trying todistract us, so we forget how grim the unemployment situation is. And, no, it is not bad advice from his advisers, but Obama himself which has made the calls on ignoring unemployment.
Americans are getting hammered, and so it is no surprise that unemployment is America’s number one concern.
Obama Considers Unemployment to Be a Good Thing
A new book by Ron Suskind shows that Obama thinks high levels of unemployment show that Obama thinks that everything is fine the way it is:
UAW contract with GM keeps jobs in U.S.
By Dee-Ann Durbin and Tom Krisher - AP - WashingtonTimes.com
DETROIT — A new four-year contract deal between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Co. will add or keep 6,400 jobs in the U.S. but will keep GM’s costs in check by offering buyouts to longtime workers and replacing them with lower-wage hires.
Most workers won’t get annual pay raises, but will get at least $12,500 in bonuses, profit-sharing and other payments over the life of the contract.GM is offering some older workers up to $65,000 if they retire or leave early.
Union leaders from across the country were briefed on the deal in Detroit on Tuesday morning, and they voted to recommend that GM’s 48,500 factory workers ratify it. Workers are expected to finish voting on the deal by next Thursday.
China housing bubble in Canada
could create the next financial crash
By Deepak Rangan - CommodityOnline.com
China is loading on real estate. Except that the purchase is not in China but in Vancouver, Canada. And the Chinese demand for a piece of land is so huge that customers are willing to pay more than the market rate for a property.
-The prices have gone so high that Canadian nationals seeking job in Vancouver are finding it hard to find an affordable home. The median real-estate prices in Vancouver are 9.5 times median household income as per Demographia, a property survey.
U.S. Housing Starts Fall to Three-Month Low
By Alex Kowalski - Bloomberg.com
Builders began work on fewer U.S. homes than forecast in August, showing the industry remains flat on its back even as mortgage ratesfall to record lows.
Housing starts dropped 5 percent to a three-month low 571,000 annual rate, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 590,000 pace. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, unexpectedly climbed.
Foreclosures, declining prices and a lack of employment are holding back residential construction, which has typically helped spark economic rebounds from past recessions. Tighter lending rules and declining homeowner equity mean fewer buyers are able to take advantage of lower borrowing costs, highlighting the limits faced by Federal Reserve policy makers as they consider new ways to stimulate the economy when they meet today and tomorrow.
Billions Spent On A Cure For Cancer
And Yet Cancer Rates Continue To Explode?
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Why hasn't a cure for cancer been found? We have poured billions upon billions of dollars into cancer research, and yet cancer rates continue to explode. Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization the number of cancer deaths globally is expected to nearly double over the next 20 years. So why is this such a problem? We have spent gigantic piles of money and have had hordes of scientists working on this for decades. Every year there are countless walks, runs and fundraisers for cancer research. The U.S. government absolutely showers cancer researchers with cash. We are supposed to be the most "advanced" civilization that the world has ever seen. So where is the cure for cancer? And why does cancer keep getting worse?
Why Young Americans Can't Think Morally
By Dennis Prager PatriotPost.us
Last week, David Brooks of The New York Times wrote a column on an academic study concerning the nearly complete lack of a moral vocabulary among most American young people. Below are some excerpts from Brooks' summary of the study of Americans aged 18 to 23. (It was led by "the eminent Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith.")
- "Smith and company asked about the young people's moral lives, and the results are depressing ...
- "When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn't answer the question or described problems that are not moral at all ...
- "Moral thinking didn't enter the picture, even when considering things like drunken driving, cheating in school or cheating on a partner ...
- "The default position, which most of them came back to again and again, is that moral choices are just a matter of individual taste ...
Parents: Don't Let Kids Drink the Kool-Aid
The Left's assault on our children
By Rebecca Hagelin - PatriotPost.us
Kool-Aid. It conjures up contradictory images. On the one hand, it brings to mind thirsty gulps, drink-stained lips, and happy children. On the other, it suggests the shadow of the Jonestown massacre, where a cult leader killed his followers, including children, by spiking their sugary drinks with poison. It tasted good going down but led to inevitable death.
These days, too many of our children are drinking spiked Kool-Aid. And it's being served to them by unwitting educators, dysfunctional celebrities, government leaders, and the whole of pop culture.
Abolish the Police, Arm the Citizens:
The 'Sagra Model' of Privatized Security
by William Norman Grigg - LewRockwell.com
"What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive? Or, if during the periods of mass arrests ... people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang on the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood that they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?"
~ Alexander Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
"They are coming to kill us!"exclaimed a young resident of Sagra, Russia as he spied a column of vehicles approaching the tiny village at the feet of the Ural Mountains. Responding to the alarm, several dozen residents mustered near the town entrance, bearing whatever weapons they could find. Some of them grabbed pitchforks, chains, or knives. Three men arrived on the scene with shotguns.
Dr Deagle Show 110916 1/3
Dr Deagle Show 110916 2/3
Dr Deagle Show 110916 3/3
Obama's Tax Hikes
Why does the White House want to raise taxes during a recession? -- Ira Stoll - Reason.com
Leave it to President Obama. On September 8 he announced a $450 stimulus consisting of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts. On September 19 he announced he wants a $1.5 trillion tax increase.
The president tried to ease the whiplash by dividing the tax cut and the tax increase into two separate speeches, and by separating them by 11 days. And to some degree the approach fits with Keynesian economic and political orthodoxy. The idea is that the economy needs a short-term boost to end the recession, but that longer-term the focus should be debt and deficit reduction.
Following the Money: A Look at Solyndra’s Lender
Written by Bruce Krasting - OilPrice.com
If you want to find out what happened with Solyndra you have to follow the money. I did. The half billion dollars of taxpayer dough that is probably lost in Sol came from the Federal Financing Bank (“FFB”). It’s worth a look at this bank to see what else is going on.
FFB is a bank that is owned and controlled by the US Treasury. The chairman of the Board is the TSec. (Tim Geithner). With the (big) exception of the Post Office all of the loans at FFB are guaranteed by government agencies. Technically speaking, FFB has no risks on loans guaranteed by an agency like the DOE. But I don’t think that should absolve Tim Geithner of any responsibility regarding the losses the country faces with Solyndra. If he, (or anyone else at Treasury) puts their pen to a ½ billion loan, they better well know where the taxpayers money is going. That didn’t happen.
Taxpayers foot the bill for Justice Department's $16 muffins
Expenses for conferences 'extravagant' since 2007, report says
By Jerry Seper-The Washington Times
The Justice Department and several of its agencies engaged in "extravagant and wasteful" spending on food, beverages and event planning for law enforcement conferences, including paying $16 each for muffins, $76 per person for lunch and more than $8 for a cup of coffee, according to an audit released Tuesday by the department’s Office of Inspector General.
At one conference, a workshop on enhancing judicial skills, participants were served snacks of Cracker Jack, popcorn and candy during a break, costing $32 a person, and also were provided a "deluxe" ice cream assortment that cost $10 per person. The 166 people attending a separate conference of U.S. attorneys were fed beef Wellington appetizers at $7.32 per serving.
The Obama Tax Plan:
Is Barack Obama Plotting To Use Class Warfare
As A Tool To Win The 2012 Election?
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Barack Obama has revealed his tax plan and it is a doozy. It would raise taxes by 1.5 trillion dollars over the next decade. Most of these tax increases would hit the wealthy, and Obama keeps insisting that it is time for them "to pay their fair share". Of course Obama knows that the Republicans will never go for this. You see, what is going on is that Obama is laying a trap. First, he laid out a 447 billion dollar "jobs plan" that contained all kinds of goodies for the poor and the middle class. Now he has introduced a massive tax plan which specifically targets millionaires in order to pay for it. The Republicans are falling right into the trap, because instead of introducing fundamental reforms to our tax system, the Republicans have chosen to defend the status quo. Right now our current tax system allows big corporations and the ultra-wealthy to get away with bloody murder, and the Republicans have put themselves into the position of having to defend that. This is exactly what Barack Obama wants. Obama is plotting to use class warfare as a tool to divide Americans and win the 2012 election. There is no way in the world that his current plan is going to get through Congress. What he is doing now is "setting the table" for the 2012 campaign season.
Google faces antitrust glare on Capitol Hill
By Jia Lynn Yang - WashingtonPost.com
Google dominates Internet searches, online advertising and now mobile devices. But one of the biggest threats to the tech juggernaut these days isn’t another competitor. It’s Washington.
Enter Eric Schmidt, Google’s former chief executive and the man tasked Wednesday with reassuring lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee that the search company is not illegally abusing its power, even as government antitrust officials have begun investigating the firm.
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Khamenei throws the gauntlet at the West
By Mahan Abedin - ATimes.com
The hosting of an "Islamic Awakening" conference in Tehran over the weekend provided a suitable occasion for the Islamic Republic to advance its narrative on the so-called Arab Spring.
Attended by hundreds of intellectuals, spiritual leaders and political activists from the Islamic world and beyond, and addressed foremost by the leader of the Islamic Revolution Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the conference was a major event and can be viewed as a significant statement of intent.
If Israel Disappears
By Cal Thomas PatriotPost.us
The world -- or at least the large part of it that hates Israel and wishes it would go away -- moves a step nearer that goal this week when the United Nations votes on whether to recognize a Palestinian state. The vote violates the Declaration of Principles signed by the PLO in 1993, which committed the terrorist group and precursor to the Palestinian Authority to direct negotiations with Israel over a future state. This violation is further evidence the Palestinian side cannot be trusted to live up to signed agreements and promises. Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick rightly calls the prospective UN vote "diplomatic aggression."
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