06.24.17- The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase's Worst Nightmare
Matt Taibbi

Meet the woman JPMorgan Chase paid one of the largest fines in American history to keep from talking

She tried to stay quiet, she really did. But after eight years of keeping a heavy secret, the day came when Alayne Fleischmann couldn't take it anymore. 

"It was like watching an old lady get mugged on the street," she says. "I thought, 'I can't sit by any longer.'" 

Fleischmann is a tall, thin, quick-witted securities lawyer in her late thirties, with long blond hair, pale-blue eyes and an infectious sense of humor that has survived some very tough times. She's had to struggle to find work despite some striking skills and qualifications, a common symptom of a not-so-common condition called being a whistle-blower. Read More

06.23.17- What to do with a broken Illinois: Dissolve the Land of Lincoln
John Kass

Illinois is likeVenezuela now, a fiscally broken state that has lost its will to live, although for the moment, we still have enough toilet paper.

But before we run out of the essentials, let's finally admit that after decade upon decade of taxing and spending and borrowing, Illinois has finally run out of other people's money.

Those "other people" include taxpayers who've abandoned the state. And now Illinois faces doomsday.

So as the politicians meet in Springfield this week for another round of posturing and gesturing and blaming, we need a plan. Read More

06.22.17- Is the US Dollar About to Make A PARABOLIC MOVE…to the Downside!
Clive Maund

While the dollar has held up better than expected in the recent article "The Sun Rises on the Precious Metals Sector" in that it has not continued to drop, it hasn't risen much either, and what rise there has been has significantly unwound its earlier oversold condition, which, of course, has opened up downside potential again. We can see all this on the latest 8-month chart for the dollar index shown below. While the most optimistic interpretation of this chart is that it is forming an intermediate base here and that the still rising 200-day moving average some way above indicates room for a sizeable rally, the break below the red trendline a month ago is still viewed as a bearish development, especially as until now it has been forced lower at an accelerating pace by the parabolic downtrend shown, and we have seen a bearish moving average cross late last month. Read More

06.21.17- Get Ready for Brexit II
Jim Rickards

Markets were shocked when UK voters chose to leave the European Union, EU, on June 23, 2016. That was the so-called “Brexit” or British exit from the EU. Within hours of the vote becoming official, the pound sterling, GBP, plunged 13% against the dollar, and gold soared 8% in dollar terms, even more measured in GBP.

I was among the few to prepare investors for that shock. In the days before the vote, I urged my readers to short GBP and buy gold. Those who did made huge gains. Some readers even wrote to me to say thanks for paying their kids’ college tuitions for that year — that’s how much money they made. Read More

06.20.17- The Housing Market Bubble Is Popping
Dave Kranzler

As with all other highly manipulated data, the financial media has a blind bias toward the “bullish” story attached to the housing market. Understandable, as the National Association of Realtors spends more on special interest interest lobbying in Congress than any other financial sector lobby interest, including Wall Street banks.

New home sales were down last month, according to the Census Bureau, 11.3% and missed Wall Street’s soothsayer estimates by a rural mile. Strange, that report, given that new homebuilder sentiment is bubbling along a record highs. Existing home sales were down 2.3%. You’ll note that the numbers reported by the Census Bureau and NAR are “SAAR” – seasonally adjusted annualized rates. There is considerable room for data manipulation and regression model bias when a monthly data sample is “seasonally adjusted/manipulated” and then annualized. Read More

06.19.17- Albertson’s Reveals Supermarket Meltdown as Global Deep-Discounters Promise Price War in Stagnating US Market
Wolf Richter

Aldi’s $5 billion bet at a brutal time.

Today, Albertson’s explained in an amended S-4 filing for a debt exchange offering just how tough things have gotten for traditional supermarket chains.

As is so often the case, there is a private equity angle to it. Albertson’s was acquired in a 2005 LBO by a group of PE firms led by Cerberus. In January 2015, it acquired Safeway to eliminate some competition. It then wanted to sell its shares to the public. But in October 2015, as brick-and-mortar retail began to melt down, it scrapped its IPO. Read More

06.17.17- Hawaii may become first US state to adopt basic income
Egon von Greyerz

An unprecedented bill supporting the idea of universal basic income (UBI) has been introduced in the American state of Hawaii.

The bill, titled House Concurrent Resolution 89, was brought by Hawaii State Representative Chris Lee and was passed by both houses of the state legislature in a unanimous vote.

The resolution declares that all the islanders “deserve basic financial security.” Read More

06.16.17- We Are Getting Very Close To An Inverted Yield Curve – And If That Happens A Recession Is Essentially Guaranteed
Michael Snyder

If something happens seven times in a row, do you think that there is a pretty good chance that it will happen the eighth time too?  Immediately prior to the last seven recessions, we have seen an inverted yield curve, and it looks like it is about to happen again for the very first time since the last financial crisis.  For those of you that are not familiar with this terminology, when we are talking about a yield curve we are typically talking about the spread between two-year and ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yields.  Normally, short-term rates are higher than long-term rates, but when investors get spooked about the economy this can reverse.  Just before every single recession since 1960 the yield curve has “inverted”, and now we are getting dangerously close to it happening again for the first time in a decade. Read More

06.15.17- 1984 Was a Warning,
Not an Instruction Manual
John Mauldin

A little bit of paranoia is always healthy.

In the 1980s, the totalitarian fear was that some overenthusiastic government agent would go to the library and pull your library card to see if you were reading seditious texts.

Seems a bit quaint now, doesn’t it? 

It didn’t at the time.

Of course, the East German Stasi went to those lengths to spy on its citizens, but there was never any real danger of it happening in the US. Read More

06.14.17- Zimbabwe: When the Black Market Becomes the Real Market
Martin Armstrong

For many years, I’ve described black markets not as the evil danger to economies that governments profess them to be, but as predictable and sensible reactions to the overregulation of official markets.

Black markets appear whenever an official market has become overregulated or otherwise unworkable due to governmental interference. They then thrive in direct proportion to the failure of official markets to function freely. They are, in fact, both a barometer and a checks-and-balances system for official markets. Read More

06.13.17- The Chinese Trilemma
James Rickards

The trilemma, also known as the “impossible trinity” is a fundamental thesis of international economics. I’ve covered in detail previously, so this is a short overview.

It was developed by economists Robert Mundell and Marcus Fleming in the early 1960s.

In its simplest form, the Mundell-Fleming model says that a country cannot have an open capital account, a fixed exchange rate, and an independent monetary policy at the same time.

It can have any two out of three, but not all three. A country that attempts to have all three will fail in one of several ways including a reserve crisis, an exchange rate crisis or a recession. Read More

06.12.17- Ethereum Price Surges Over $400 - Has The Cryptocurrency Asset Class Arrived?
Tyler Durden

It’s not just Bitcoin anymore. Digital currencies have another big winner now, Ethereum (ether), and as Lombardi Letter's Benjamin Smith explains below, it’s more than just good news for early investors.

Ethereum topped $400 for the first time this morning...

Source: WorldCoinIndex.com

Increasing its relative share of the cryptocurrency market notably (as Bitcoin's market share drops below 50%)... Read More

06.10.17- Parabolic Coin
Pater Tenebrarum

When writing an article about the recent move in bitcoin, one should probably not begin by preparing the chart images. Chances are one will have to do it all over again. It is a bit like ordering a cup of coffee in Weimar Germany in early November 1923. One had to pay for it right away, as a cup costing one wheelbarrow of Reichsmark may well end up costing two wheelbarrows of Reichsmark half an hour later. These days the question is how many wheelbarrows of US dollars one may need to pay for a bitcoin. Read More

06.09.17- “The U.S. Is Going to Have a Crash and It Will Be Massive”
Justin Spittler

A huge crash is coming.

That’s what Mark Yusko is telling investors.

This is a bold call, for sure. But Yusko, who manages more than $2 billion at Morgan Creek Capital, is used to making (and nailing) calls like this.

In early 2015, he said that the price of oil would hit $30. At the time, oil was trading at around $50 a barrel…or half of what it traded for just eight months prior. Read More

06.08.17- The Real Economic Predicament Trump Inherited from Obama
Robert Carbery

President Trump has said on multiple occasions that he inherited an economic mess from his predecessor. The mainstream media fact checkers moved quickly to disprove him, pointing to the grossly misleading low unemployment rate as all the proof you need. While the current economy looks better on the surface compared to 2009, there are still many danger signs pointing to perhaps a second Great Recession coming much sooner than you think.  

Just about all presidents discuss the direness of the economy in order to quickly claim credit for any uptick in growth, blaming the current state of affairs on the previous administration’s policies. While many think the chief executive has the ultimate power to steer our economy in the right direction, he or she can only do so much. But the blame game is useless. Let’s stick to the economic reality. Read More

06.07.17- "Forget Terrorism": The Real Reason Behind The Qatar Crisis Is Natural Gas
Tyler Durden

According to the official narrative, the reason for the latest Gulf crisis in which a coalition of Saudi-led states cut off diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, is because - to everyone's "stunned amazement" - Qatar was funding terrorists, and after Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia in which he urged a crackdown on financial support of terrorism, and also following the FT's report that Qatar has directly provided $1 billion in funding to Iran and al-Qaeda spinoffs, Saudi Arabia finally had had enough of its "rogue" neighbor, which in recent years had made ideologically unacceptable overtures toward both Shia Iran and Russia.

However, as often happens, the official narrative is traditionally a convenient smokescreen from the real underlying tensions. Read More

06.06.17- Summer Storm Keeps Building as Second Dip of Great Recession Approaches
David Haggith

These updates to my list of “Seven Troubles Assailing the US Economy” are far too important to remain buried at the end of that article since many readers may not return to the article to check for updates. The summer economic crisis I’ve been predicting is building even more rapidly than when I reported a week ago. It’s almost here:

Total household debt now exceeds the peek it hit just before the economic collapse into the Great Recession. While the number of households is also up, wages are correspondingly down, so households have maxed out … again: Read More

06.05.17- And Now, for Something Entirely Different: The Vile Despicable Tactics of the Left
James Quinn

Liberals have always portrayed themselves as the champions of the people. They love to call themselves Progressives, as if they and only they know how progress should proceed. The truth, as revealed by Kathy Griffin, Black Lives Matter terrorists, the brain dead SJW’s on college campuses across the land,  the Soros funded ironically named Antifa fascists, the left wing fake news media, and despicable lefty politicians like Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, is that left wingers are violent, lying, bullying, anti-First Amendment, thugs willing to do anything to crush anyone who doesn’t bow down to their fascist agenda. Read More

06.03.17- The Chinese Economic “Death Spiral”
James Rickards

China has reported annual growth rates since the panic of 2008 of between 6.7% and 12.2%, with a steady downward trend since early 2010. If China’s growth engine is running out of steam, as I’ve described, how has China managed to maintain such relatively high growth rates?

The answer is contained in three key words: debt, deflation and waste.

Waste is a blunt word referring to non-productive investment. The investment component of China’s GDP is about 45% of the total. Most major economies show about 25% to 35% for investment. Read More

06.02.17- The Cultural Consequences of
the Federal Reserve
Jörg Guido Hülsmann

It may seem unusual that an economist would talk about culture. Usually, we talk about prices and production, quantities produced, employment, the structure of production, scarce resources, and entrepreneurship.

But there are certain things that economists can say about the culture, and more precisely, that economists can say about the transformation of the culture. So what is culture? Well, to put it simply, it is the way we do things. This can include the way we eat — whether or not we dine with family members on a regular basis, for example — how we sleep, and how we use automobiles or other modes of transportation. And of course, the way we produce, consume, or accumulate capital are important aspects of the culture as well. Read More

06.01.17- China’s Next Step to Destroy the Dollar
Byron King

China is currently modifying the terms of its oil trade with Saudi Arabia. Specifically, China is working on a deal to pay for Saudi oil using Chinese yuan. This effort poses a direct threat to the security of the dollar.

If this China-Saudi deal happens — yuan for oil — it’s another step closer to the grave for the petrodollar, which has dominated global finance since 1974. You can revisit Jim Rickards article about the Assault on the Dollar, here. Read More

05.31.17- The Greatest Financial Bubble in History
John W. Whitehead

China is in the greatest financial bubble in history. Yet, calling China a bubble does not do justice to the situation. This story has been touched on periodically over the last year.

China has multiple bubbles, and they’re all getting ready to burst. If you make the right moves now, you could be well positioned even as Chinese credit and currency crash and burn.

The first and most obvious bubble is credit. The combined Chinese government and corporate debt-to-equity ratio is over 300-to-1 after hidden liabilities, such as provincial guarantees and shadow banking system liabilities, are taken into account. Read More

05.30.17- Gold’s Days Of Glory Beginning As Dollar’s Are Ending
Egon von Greyerz

Since the 2011 tops, precious metals investors have had their patience severely tested. Six years later, silver is down 66% from the $50 peak and gold 35% off the $1,920 peak. We mustn’t forget off course that these metals started this century at $280 and $5 respectively. But that is no consolation for the investors who got in near the highs. The best time to buy an asset is when it is unloved and undervalued like gold and silver were in the early 2000s. What few investors realize is that the current levels of gold and silver, when real inflation is taken into account, are very similar to where the metals were in 2000-2. Thus gold at $1,265 and silver at $17 is an absolute bargain and unlikely to remain at these levels for long. Read More

05.29.17- Why I think Stocks Won’t Crash Spectacularly but May Zigzag Lower in Agonizing Ups-and-Downs, for Decades
Wolf Richter

The S&P 500 has more than tripled over the past eight years; the Nasdaq has more than quadrupled. Practically everyone knows – even the Fed has gingerly admitted it – that the stock market is way overvalued, that price-earnings ratios for companies that have earnings have reached dizzying heights, and that the market is primed to unravel either on Tuesday or next year or whenever.

And there are lots of people who have pointed at the triggers, such as Trump’s inability to deliver on his tax-cut and infrastructure promises or the moment when the market finally gets it that the Fed is watering down the punch bowl. Read More

05.27.17- Weekend Rant: There's No Painless Exit From The "Fake Faux Financialized" Economy
James Howard Kunstler

A most curious feature in the current low state of American politics is the delusional thinking at both ends of the political spectrum. Both factions have gone off the rails mentally, and the parties they represent race toward oblivion like Thelma and Louise in their beater car. More ominously, there are no new factions with a grip on reality even beginning to form anywhere in the background — as in the 1850s when the Whigs foundered and the party of Lincoln segued into power.

To see the Democrats go on about “Russian collusion” you would think we were watching a rerun of the John Birch Society in its heyday. Americans who have done business in Russia as private citizens are being persecuted as though they were trading with the enemy in wartime. Newsflash: we are not at war with Russia, which, by the way, is no longer the Soviet Union. Read More

05.26.17- Strange Truth Behind What’s Holding the S&P Together
Birch Gold Group

The S&P 500 is continuing its bull run, beating the slump that it often hits in May. But there’s a troubling imbalance in the index that could be a warning of approaching trouble in the broader market.

You see, the vast majority of recent S&P gains are tied to just 1% of stocks in the index: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (now Alphabet) — often referenced together with the acronym FAANG.

While FAANG stocks are being pumped higher and higher, the rest of the S&P is suffering. Here’s why that’s such an important red flag for savers, and what you can do in response… Read More

05.25.17- Combined Enrollment In America’s Safety Net Programs Hits A Record High Of 236 Million
Michael Snyder

Margaret Thatcher once said that the problem with socialism “is that eventually you run out of other people’s money”.  As you will see below, the combined enrollment in America’s four largest safety net programs has reached a staggering 236 million.  Of course that doesn’t mean that 236 million people are getting benefits from the government each month because there is overlap between the various programs.  For example, many Americans that are on Medicaid are also on food stamps, and many Americans that are on Medicare are also on Social Security.  But even accounting for that, most experts estimate that the number of Americans that are dependent on the federal government month after month is well over 100 million. Read More

05.24.17- Legendary Investor Asher Edelman Says "I Have No Doubt" PPT Behind Market Rally
Tyler Durden

Legendary vulture investor Asher Edelman, the 1980s model for Gordon Gekko, strayed into what must’ve been uncomfortable territory for CNBC during an appearance on "Smart Money" when he discussed his view that the government’s "plunge protection team" is the only thing propping up the current market rally, and said he suspects that it has again been recently een intervening in the market to keep stocks at record highs.

Edelman simply notes that he doesn’t want to be in the markets right now because “I don’t know when the plug is going to be pulled." Read More

05.23.17- And Now, for Something Entirely Differtent: America Has Become a Total Joke
Michael Krieger

I’ve stopped calling what our government has done a cover-up. Cover-up suggests a passive activity. What they’re doing now I call aggressive deception.

– Former Senator Bob Graham, co-chair of Congress’s 9/11 Joint Inquiry

This country is becoming a total joke and it’s not merely because of Donald Trump. While he’s certainly becoming a key player in our national embarrassment, this country’s decent into a reckless Banana Republic has been a long time coming. Read More

ALERT: Trump Meetings & Crypto WARNING!
Bix Weir

View Video

05.20.17- Weekend Rant: Stock Market Crash?
Martin Armstrong

The correction has begun…

The correction has begun with the uneasiness of the two political scandals surrounding Trump – Russian meeting and now a Comey memo saying Trump asked him to kill the investigation into Flyn. The first is not really an issue legally, but the second could fuel the quest to impeach Trump which is really led by McCain and Graham behind the curtain in league with Schumer. McCain is already calling this a Watergate demonstrating he is out to get rid of Trump and protect the establishment.

The impeachment of Trump is being talked about behind the curtain as a positive move for then Pence would take up the Presidency and then the tax reforms would become possible. Read More

05.19.17- And Now, for Something Entirely Different: Democratic candidate says if you don’t believe in climate change, you should kill yourself with car exhaust
Ethan Huff

(Natural News) Man-made climate change has become a quintessential symbol of hot-button American politics – the divide-and-conquer issue of our day that never fails to rile up folks on both sides of the debate. But when the argument over whether or not it’s actually a serious problem deteriorates into calls for those on the opposing side to commit suicide, which is what Democratic congressional contender Rob Quist from Montana recently did during a televised debate, that’s when you know things have gone a bit too far. Read More

05.18.17- Global property bubble is ready to pop
Harvey Jones

Ever since interest rates were slashed to near zero in the wake of the financial crisis, the world has gone property mad.

Residential house prices from Abu Dhabi to Zurich have spiralled as hot money travelled the world looking for a home.

For those who got in early it has been incredibly rewarding, even if – whisper it – stock markets have actually done far better.

The global property bubble cannot blow much bigger. The best we can hope is that it deflates slowly… but it could burst. Read More

05.17.17- The “New” Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction
Brian Maher

Please. Blindfold your eyes.

Then grab a dart and heave it in the general direction of Wall Street.

If it doesn’t make you money… your dart-tossing just isn’t what it could be.

Such is the stock market, 2017.

Stocks trade near record highs.

Every random throw of the dart seems to find bull’s-eye… as if the bull’s-eye itself was a giant magnet… attracting the humblest stock that falls within its field. Read More

05.16.17- I’m Hearing A Lot Of Smart People Use ‘The Four Most Dangerous Words In Investing’ These Days, Part Deux
Jesse Felder

It’s hard to believe it was over two years ago I wrote, “I’m Hearing A Lot Of Smart People Use ‘The Four Most Dangerous Words In Investing’ These Days.” At the time, I was concerned by the fact that a number of the financial minds I respect most were all falling into the same, dangerous bull market trap of believing “this time is different.” A few months later the stock market experienced its first real correction in years, not just once but twice, and these calls died away. But stocks rallied strongly out of those lows and now they’re back again. Read More

05.15.17- Numerous Dark Clouds Hover
Over This Market
James Rickards

It has been an extremely quiet time in markets. If I hadn’t checked the calendar, I might think it was the middle of August, when everyone is on vacation, instead of the middle of May, when investors and traders are still at their desks.

There’s an old expression on Wall Street: “Sell in May and go away.” The idea is that you can get out of positions before the summer and return to them in September without much change expected.

This year the expression seems to be, “Do nothing in May until further notice.” The markets are treading water, waiting for the next catalyst. As I survey the scene, markets may not have that long to wait. Read More

05.13.17- Three Signs U.S. Economy Is Near Tipping Point
Birch Gold Group

U.S. markets have sustained upward momentum for the past several years. But major warning signs suggest the end of their winning streak may be near.

Rallies can’t go on forever; every upswing — no matter how long — will eventually be followed by a correction. And that leads us to these two fundamental questions for Americans…

How can we tell when we’re nearing a ceiling? And can we predict the next downturn? Read More

05.12.17- And Now, for Something Entirely Different: Compound in turmeric found to suppress viruses, including hepatitis, herpes, chikungunya, influenza-A, HIV and HPV
Russel Davis

(Natural News) The turmeric compound curcumin was found to effectively suppress a large number of viruses, recent studies showed. The compound was previously known to defer cancer growth, resolve Lichen Panus, reduce type-2 diabetes and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia onset. However, a new article published in GreenMedInfo.com listed several other studies indicating that the compound was able to inhibit the growth of a plethora of viruses including zika virus, hepatitis, herpes, chikungunya virus, influenza-A, HIV and HPV. Read More

05.11.17- Key Economic Data Reveals A Recession Has Begun
Dave Kranzler

Goldman Sachs’ net income declined 42% from 2009 to 2016.   How many of  you reading this were aware of that fact?  Yet GS’ stock price closed today 36% above its 2009 year-end closing price.  See below for details.

Auto sales in April declined again, with the Big Three domestic OEMs (GM, F and Chrysler) missing Wall St estimates by a country mile.  The manipulated SAAR (seasonally adjusted annualize rate) metric put a thin layer of lipstick on the pig by showing a small gain in sales from March to April.  But this is statistical sleight of hand.  Read More

05.10.17- Why Are Markets Ignoring
Geopolitical Risks?
Nouriel Roubini

Investors may see political shocks as buying opportunities

With Emmanuel Macron’s defeat of the right-wing populist Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election, the European Union and the euro have dodged a bullet. But geopolitical risks are continuing to proliferate.

The populist backlash against globalization in the West will not be stilled by Macron’s victory, and could still lead to protectionism, trade wars, and sharp restrictions to migration. If the forces of disintegration take hold, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU could eventually lead to a breakup of the EU — Macron or no Macron. Read More

05.09.17- What to Know about Trump’s Threat to Mega Banks
Birch Gold Group

Donald Trump caused a stir on Monday when he said he’s considering a breakup of Wall Street’s biggest banks. Assuming Trump is serious about this, and assuming he succeeds in breaking up the big banks, it would drastically change the financial landscape in America.

With that in mind, it’s important that you know how the change could affect your savings strategy.

No More “Too Big to Fail”

On the campaign trail, Trump promised numerous times to reexamine Wall Street regulations. Read More

05.08.17- The Revolt of the Masses
Addison Wiggin

Comment ça marche?

It’s a French phrase meaning “How does that work?”

Well, it doesn’t really. Especially when we’re talking about politics or economics. The whole world is a mess… and you know it.

Today, we’re going to give you a special trade. It’s special for a couple of reasons.

One, it’s free. It’s free because no one wants to “own” it. Even if it pays off 10-to-1. Jim Rickards won’t take it. Simone Wapler of our Paris office won’t take it. Read More

05.07.17- The Blockchain Is About to Disrupt This $7 Trillion Industry
Teeka Tiwari

Recently, I wrote about a small $100,000 trade of cheese and butter.

Why?

This one trade changed 400 years of history in just four hours.

How so? Normally, it would take 10 days to handle the paperwork. But this trade concluded in less than four hours.

The solution: a blockchain platform that streamlined the entire process.

While the trade was small, it was big for the $7 trillion trade finance industry. Read More

05.06.17- The Greatest Ponzi Scheme in History
James Rickards

[Ed. Note: Jim Rickards’ latest New York Times bestseller, The Road to Ruin: The Global Elites’ Secret Plan for the Next Financial Crisis, is out now. Learn how to get your free copy – click HERE. This vital book transcends geopolitics and rhetoric from the Fed to prepare you for what you should be watching now.]

The Chinese credit bubble is a ticking time bomb. That bubble is primed to explode with or without anything Trump does. When it happens and how it happens will have profound implications for your portfolio. Read More

05.05.17- The Death of Bitcoin
Matt Insley and Zach Scheidt

Warning.

What you’re about to read is wildly opinionated.

But hey, it’s Friday. And it’s time to get a MASSIVE market forecast in front of you. After all, I want YOU to be ahead of the big story before it shows up on the nightly news.

My publisher, Matt Insley — who rarely writes his own articles these days — felt that this story was too important not to be heard.

This is a story the mainstream media isn’t covering.

And millennials aren’t going to get the memo either, before it’s too late.

But, mark my words… This is the death of Bitcoin…Read More

05.04.17- It's Turning Into A Very Interesting Week
Mark St.Cyr

Back in days of yore (circa January 2017) I dared make the assertion that all that was “unicorn infatuation” in the Valley was much more akin to “the old gray mare ain’t what it used to be.”

In the article “Is 2017 The Year Silicon Valley Experiences The Dark Side Of ‘It’s Different This Time?'” I posed the following. To wit:

“Here’s the equation I believe will not only send shock waves, but will bring down many a valuation edifice within “The Valley” in 2017. And here it is:

“First: The Fed. And Second: Rate hikes. Read More

05.03.17- “They Know Something That We Don’t” – Corporate Insiders Are Unloading Their Stocks Like There’s No Tomorrow
Daniel Lang

There aren’t any surefire ways to tell if the stock market, and perhaps the rest of the economy, is about to take a nosedive. That’s because millions of people with millions of ideas are involved, so it’s an inherently unpredictable system. However, there are certain players in our economy that have a lot more influence and insider knowledge than the rest of us. So when they make a move in unison, you know there’s a good chance that something is about to go down.

And that’s exactly what’s going on with the stock market right now. The people who would stand to lose the most if the markets crashed; the corporate executives and insiders, are all jumping ship and selling their stocks. Read More

05.02.17- If You Sell In May, Be Prepared To Buy Back What You Sell
Avi Gilburt

It seems the action seen this past week has bears scratching their collective heads once again. With many viewing the market as certainly "topping" back in March, the market has doused cold water on those expectations, as I had been strongly warning would likely happen.

Since holding the support we noted several weeks ago at 2330SXPX, the market has seen quite a powerful move back up to the target we set between 2380 and 2410SPX. And, most of the rally was seen on the back of short covering of those who jumped the gun on the bearish side of the market. Read More

05.01.17- What Happened to the Stock Market Crash experts were predicting
Sol Palha

Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build it.- Sam Rayburn

One jackass (oops we mean expert) after another, has been predicting that this market is ready to crash. The problem is that these brain surgeons have been making this argument for so long it almost sounds like the definition of insanity. Insanity boils down to doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a new outcome. These predictions are so off the mark that they make a broken clock look fantastic which happens to be right once or twice a day depending on whether you follow military time or not.  This market is unlike any other market; it has moved from being the most hated bull market to the most insane bull market of all time. In such an environment technical analysis is technically trash and fundamentals are fundamentally flawed. Read More

04.29.17- End of empire
Alasdair Macleod

"Already, China dominates world trade. Her own economy is already significantly larger than that of the US on the PPP estimates. While being the largest consumer of raw materials, China also exports more finished goods by value than any other country."...

In last week’s Insight article, America’s Financial War Strategy, I described how the Chinese government viewed the geopolitical scene. It is clear from earlier remarks by the Peoples Liberation Army’s senior strategist, Major-General Qiao Liang, that the view in Beijing is that America perpetuates her empire through the financial benefits to America from America’s actions against other nations, friend or foe. These actions can be either military or financial, or even both. This week, similar views were expressed in Moscow by Sergey Glazyev, a senior advisor to President Putin. Read More

04.28.17- Have We Just Reached
Peak Stock Market Absurdity?
Michael Snyder

Have you ever wondered how tech companies that have been losing hundreds of millions of dollars year after year can somehow be worth billions of dollars according to the stock market?  Because I run a website called “The Economic Collapse“, there are naysayers out there that take glee in mocking me by pointing out how well the stock market has been doing.  This week, the Dow is flirting with 21,000 and the Nasdaq crossed the 6,000 threshold for the first time ever.  But a lot of the “soaring stocks” that have been fueling this rally have been losing giant mountains of money every single year, and just like the first tech bubble this madness will eventually come to an end in a spectacular fiery crash in which investors will lose trillions of dollars. Read More

04.27.17- Swamp Creatures Sack D.C.; and Fed Drops MOAB on Wall Street
Michael Pento

Wall Street and our central bank are in for a rude awakening very soon! The idea that the US economy is on stable footing and about to experience a surge in growth is ridiculous. Hence, the consensus that the Fed can normalize interest rates and its balance sheet is nothing short of a bad joke...and it's on them.

For starters, the government's fiscal deficit for the month of March came in at $176.2 billion, which means the deficit 6 months into fiscal 2017 is $526.9 billion and running 15% over last year. If not for the calendar timing of receipts and payments, our government's deficit would be a year-to-date $564.0 billion or 23% above last year. In addition, there was an 18% decline in corporate income tax collection. We all know there was no corporate tax reform passed. Read More

04.26.17- Where There’s Smoke... There’s central bank manipulation
Chris Martenson

Central banks around the world have colluded, if not conspired, to elevate and prop up financial asset prices.  Here we'll present the data and evidence that they've not only done so, but gone too far.

When wee discuss elevated financial asset prices we really are talking about everything.

we're talking not just about the sky-high prices of stocks and bonds, but also of the trillions of dollars’ worth of derivatives that are linked to them, as well as real estate in dozens of countries and locations.  All are intricately linked together. For instance, stocks are elevated, in part, because bond yields are so low.  Sam for real estate. Read More

04.25.17- Cataclysm
Robert Gore

Collapse generally comes as a surprise, even to those who predict it.

The USSR didn’t just fail one day, as does a person who dies of a sudden heart attack or stroke. It was more like a wasting illness brought on by an unhealthy lifestyle. A physician tells a morbidly obese patient: “Your daily consumption of twelve cocktails, three packs of cigarettes, and 4,000 calories, and your refusal to engage in exercise more strenuous than walking to the refrigerator will kill you, but I can’t say when.” For both individuals and governments, certain choices are incompatible with continued existence, and the Soviet government made plenty of those. Read More

04.24.17- Will Your Savings Get Caught in Government Shutdown Crossfire?
Birch Gold Group

Donald Trump and the GOP face a major hurdle as their first budget test looms next week, along with several problematic issues that could prevent an agreement and trigger a government shutdown.

The potential shutdown would put a hiccup in federal bureaucracy for a few weeks, but that’s not the real reason Americans should be worried. Turns out, there may be an unseen economic danger that could affect you and your savings.

Shutdown Dejavu?

We’ve been down this road before, haven’t we? Read More

04.22.17- The Fed’s Only Escape Is
to Trash the Dollar
Jim Rickards

Harry Houdini was the greatest escape artist of the 20th century. He escaped from specially made handcuffs and underwater trunks, and once escaped from being buried alive. Now, Janet Yellen will try to become the greatest escape artist of the 21st century.

Yellen is handcuffed by weak growth, persistent deflationary trends, political gridlock, and eight years of market manipulation from which there appears to be no escape. Yet, there is one way for Yellen and the Fed to break free of their economic handcuffs, at least in the short run. Yellen’s only escape is to trash the dollar. Investors who see this coming stand to make spectacular gains. Read More

04.21.17- Markets Enter Consolidative Mode Ahead of Weekend
Marc Chandler

Neither the terrorist attack in Paris nor the strong eurozone flash PMI has managed to shake investors. Judging from the social media, many suspect that the terrorist attack plays into Le Pen's hands, but investors do not seem particularly concerned. The French interest rate premium over Germany has narrowed, and gold is flat. UK retail sales fell sharply, yet sterling is holding on to the bulk of this week's gains, which are the most here in 2017.

The US 10-year yield is holding on to the lion's share of its gains as well. It had bottomed on Tuesday near 2.16% and rose to 2.25% yesterday and is at 2.24% now. Read More

04.20.17- Absurd Valuations on
Unprofitable Tech Stocks
SARTRE

The Treasury Secretary chimes in on what any market watcher should know instinctively. Mnuchin talks tech: ‘I don’t understand these valuations’, yet the price on promises and future expectation of earnings has a large amount of the equity speculators and computerized trading in a crisis of sanity. Avoiding the fundamental relationship that a stock value is based upon the ability of a company to turn a profit, has become the hottest investment hoax since Bernard Madoff was pitching his Ponzi scheme. Uber, Snapchat and Twitter may be high flyers for the smart set. Read More

04.19.17- The Great American Bubble Machine
Matt Taibbi

From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression -- and they're about to do it again

By now, most of us know the major players. As George Bush's last Treasury secretary, former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson was the architect of the bailout, a suspiciously self-serving plan to funnel trillions of Your Dollars to a handful of his old friends on Wall Street. Read More

04.18.17- Unicorns Watch In Horror As Uber Careens Towards A Possible Extinction Event: A Down Round
Mark St.Cyr

For the average person the daily headlines containing the words “missile” and “nuclear” bring about thoughts of fear and anguish, especially when they pertain to the realization in which this time – it may be different. In other words, the sudden misstep resulting in an actual nuclear incident is far more probable than possible. e.g., N.Korea as the latest example.

However, not withstanding or minimizing any of the above, there is something just as closely being watched and the implications for what many (especially myself) would deem as a possible extinction level event is playing out right here in the U.S. Although, this one does not involve anything pertaining to military. Read More

04.17.17- Big Pharma Funds “Independent” Advocacy Groups Attacking
Drug-Price Reduction Bill
Lee Fang

Advertisments from seemingly independent advocacy groups are swamping Beltway newspapers with dire warning that recent proposals to lower drug prices will lead to dangerous consequences. In the last week alone, the ads have appeared in the Washington Post, Washington Times, Roll Call, The Hill, and Politico.

The groups placing the ads have no obvious connection to pharmaceutical companies. For instance, the American Conservative Union (ACU), one of the organizations taking out an ad, describes itself as devoted to promoting “liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and strong national defense.” Read More

04.15.17- China Holds Key to North Korea Resolution
James Rickards

North Korea has for centuries been a hermetically sealed society. In fact, it is known informally as “The Hermit Kingdom.”

Reliable information about the leadership of Kim Jong Un is hard to come by. U.S. and Japanese technical means can track the launch of ballistic missiles and nuclear bomb tests, but these capabilities have to be combined with intelligence about intentions to properly assess the threat.

A highly placed North Korea defector has recently released frightening new information about those intentions. The defector, Thae Yong Ho, says categorically that Kim Jong Un is “desperate in maintaining his rule,” and “he would use his nuclear weapons with ICBM.” Read More

04.14.17- The IRS Now Has Moved Beyond Extortion To Outright Theft While the Police
Rob Americans Blind
Jeff Berwick

People need to realize what government is. It isn’t there to protect you. All government really is is a criminal enterprise that is the most successful one in each geographical jurisdiction.

The only difference between the mafia and government is size. And the IRS is just the largest protection racket in the US.

If you pay the IRS its “protection money,” which they call taxes, they won’t kidnap you and put you into a rape camp. That’s the “protection.” Read More

04.13.17- The Real Dangers Behind The Syrian Crisis Are Economic
Brandon Smith

Back in 2010/2011 when I was still writing under the pen-name Giordano Bruno, I warned extensively about the dangers of any destabilization in the nation of Syria, long before the real troubles began. In an article titled Migration Of The Black Swans, I pointed out that due to Syria’s unique set of alliances and economic relationships the country was a “keystone” for disruption in the Middle East and that a “revolution” (or civil war) was imminent. Syria, I warned, represented the first domino in a chain of dominoes that could lead to widespread regional warfare and draw in major powers like the U.S. and Russia. Read More

04.12.17- Financial Market Insurance Is Not Like Hurricane Insurance
Tyler Durden

In discussions with clients, Macro Risk Advisors’ CEO Dean Curnutt was reminded of a quote from LTCM partner Victor Haghani. In commenting on the demise of the portfolio, Haghani said,

“the hurricane is not more or less likely to hit because more hurricane insurance has been written. In the financial markets this is not true. The more people write financial insurance, the more likely it is that a disaster will happen, because the people who know you have sold the insurance can make it happen. So you have to monitor what other people are doing.” Read More

04.11.17- New York City’s high-end restaurants are disappearing
John Aidan Byrne

New York City’s higher-end restaurant scene is now experiencing what some national dining chains have been going through for the past year or so — closing the kitchen.

Le Cirque, the tony French restaurant on East 58th Street, has just filed for bankruptcy; the Michelin-starred Public, a 14-year-old Nolita restaurant, will close in the next month or so; and Nick & Toni’s Cafe at Lincoln Center — an offshoot of the famed Hamptons eatery — shuttered earlier this year after 23 years. Read More

04.10.17- Prepare For The Coming War: “It’s Going To Obliterate The Global Financial System… Our Economy Will Not Survive”
Mac Slavo

You know what’s so tragic about America? Despite all of the wars our nation gets involved in, we’re secretly one of the most peaceful cultures on the planet. We voted for George Bush, because he promised us a non-interventionist foreign policy. We voted for Obama, because he promised to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. We voted for Trump, because he promised to end the nation building policies of his predecessor.

And that’s the real tragedy. We’ve been voting for peace for nearly 20 years now, and all we get is war. Read More

04.08.17- Is This The Beginning Of
The End For U.S. Empire?
Michael Krieger

Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.

Before I get into the meat of this post, I want to revisit something I wrote back in January.

Very Powerful People in the U.S. Government Want War – This is Their Sales Pitch:

We need to understand that those who want this war will be absolutely relentless. The sales pitch will not end until they get exactly what they want. This is where all of us critical thinkers need to play a key role. We must be prepared to diligently analyze all unsubstantiated official claims, and push back against the war-mongers, because we know for certain the oligarch-owned corporate media won’t. We must be prepared to inform our fellow citizens about what’s happening so that we don’t fall victim to a cheap sales pitch with devastating consequences. Unfortunately, we must also be prepared for a deep state false flag if the current sales tactic falls on deaf ears. Read More

04.07.17- And Now, for Somethin Entirely Different: Ron Paul Says “Zero Chance Assad Would Chemical Weapons Now… Only Neocons Benefit”
Tyler Durden

According to former Congressman Ron Paul, the chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun that killed 30 children and has led to calls for the Trump administration to intervene in Syria could have been a false flag attack.

As Paul Joseph Watson details, pointing out that the prospect of peace in Syria was moving closer before the attack, with ISIS and Al-Qaeda on the run, Paul said the attack made no sense.

“It looks like maybe somebody didn’t like that so there had to be an episode,” said Paul, asking, “who benefits?” Read More

04.06.17- Stupid is as Stupid Does
Jim Quinn

If you prefer fake news, fake data, and a fake narrative about an improving economy and stock market headed to 30,000, don’t read this fact based, reality check article. The level of stupidity engulfing the country has reached epic proportions, as the mainstream fake news networks flog bullshit Russian conspiracy stories, knowing at least 50% of the non-thinking iGadget distracted public believes anything they hear on the boob tube.

This stupendous degree of utter stupidity goes to a new level of idiocy when it comes to the stock market. The rigged fleecing machine known as Wall Street has gone into hyper-drive since futures dropped by 700 points on the night of Trump’s election. Read More

04.05.17- Three Precursors to the ’08 Crisis
are Repeating Now
Nomi Prins

The biggest banks are still as dangerous as they were before the last crisis, even as they push for less regulation.

The big six banks U.S. banks are JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Despite their belly-aching about heinous Dodd-Frank Act regulations cramping their betting style, they have all done damn good recently.

Since Trump was elected and started talking about deregulation, the big six bank stock values have collectively skyrocketed 33.5 percent (as of March 10th). Bank of America tops that rise with an eye-popping increase of 48.8 percent in three months. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley shares shot up 36.6 percent. Read More

04.04.17- Don’t raise Uncle Sam’s credit limit
Richard Ebeling

Once again, the United States government is rapidly approaching a fiscal debt ceiling. After March 16, 2017, Uncle Sam is not legally allowed to borrow any more money to cover its budget deficits, unless Congress votes to raise the debt limit like it has every time in the past.

Uncle Sam’s debt has been growing at a frightening rate over the last several decades. It took almost two hundred years, from around 1790, when the government of the United States was established, to 1980 for the federal government to accumulate $1 trillion of debt through deficit spending. Read More

04.03.17- This Economy is Ruined
for Many Americans
Wolf Richter

Those who lost out on the Fed’s “wealth effect.”

Here’s a mystery: Has this “wealth-effect” economy that the Fed so beautifully engineered since the Financial Crisis gotten a lot riskier, scarier, and uglier in some profound ways for lower-income Americans, those making $30,000 or less a year?

One of the questions that Gallup posed was this:

Next, I’m going to read a list of problems facing the country. For each one, please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all? First, how much do you personally worry about – Read More

04.01.17- New World Disorder –
Disintegration Stage Commences
Graham Vanbergen

The mainstream media has a new in vogue phrase and you are sure to have heard it by now – ‘the rules based international order (or system)’. The Royal Institute of International Affairs based in London, commonly known as Chatham House commented a several years ago that “Economic and political upheavals are emboldening challengers to the rules-based international system, and to the liberal Western values it embodies. To stay relevant, the system must address three major flaws.”

1. For a system based on rules to have effect, these rules must be visibly observed by their principal and most powerful advocates.
2. A rules-based order must work to the advantage of the majority and not a minority. Read More

03.31.27- Political Noise Can’t Drown out Russia’s Potential
James Rickards

There’s a great amount of Russia hysteria in the air. You see it in the media, in political discourse and in popular conversation.

Much of this hysteria can be traced either to the unorthodox Trump campaign or its hyperbolic critics. It’s too bad, because Russia is an important country that deserves serious consideration, not the superficial caricature now on display.

Investors have a rare opportunity to make huge profits in Russian markets right now. They key to unlocking this profit opportunity is to ignore the political bombast and focus on the fundamentals. Read More

03.30.17- The Market Has Its Head Buried
Deep In The Sand
Dave Kranzler

Several “black swans” are looming which could inflict a financial nuclear accident on the U.S. markets and financial system.   I say “black swans” in quotes because a limited audience is aware of these issues – potentially catastrophic problems that are curiously ignored by the mainstream financial media and financial markets.

The most immediate problem is the Treasury debt ceiling.  The Treasury is now projected to run out of cash by mid-summer.  Of course, in the spurious manner in which the markets evaluate the next trade, July may as well be a decade away.  My best guess is that the “market” assumes that, after drawn out staging of DC’s version of Kabuki Theatre, Congress will raise the debt ceiling, probably up to $22 trillion. Read More

03.29.17- Get Prepped For Global Systemic Collapse – Banks Will Crash,Currency Won’t Exist
AMY S.

This is a tough topic, because people either don’t won’t to believe it or are not capable because they lack the knowledge to comprehend what is being said. When you understand that our country can only operate based on debt/credit, not physical dollars, you finally see that the USA is a huge Ponzi scheme built on nothing more that our ability to borrow money. Our status as the world reserve currency has allowed us to borrow money that we do not have. Read More

03.28.17- And Now, for Something Entirely Different: Meet SAM, Brick Laying Robot That Does The Work Of 6 Humans
Tyler Durden

In the latest installment of our "Dear Bernie" series, posts intended to inform the Vermont Senator about the unintended, negative consequences of minimum wage hikes, we present SAM (Semi-Automated Mason), a brick laying robot designed and engineered by Construction Robotics out of New York.  While SAM can do the work of 6 unionized masons each day, he never requires a break, benefits or a paycheck.

Each SAM can be rented at a monthly cost of ~$3,300 according to The Sun.  With an average efficiency of 3,000 bricks per day, that breaks down to about 4.5 cents per brick.  Meanwhile, using using Bernie's preferred $15 per hour minimum wage rate, plus benefits, and a daily efficiency of about 500 bricks brings the human labor cost equivalent to roughly 32 cents per brick, or a little over 7x. Read More

03.27.17- Robots are Taking Our Jobs,
and That is a Good Thing
Daily Bell Staff

Robots are going to take all our jobs, and it doesn’t matter. We should actually be thrilled about the prospects of automation, because it means freeing up economic resources, including arguably the most valuable resource, time.

One analysis says as many as 38% of U.S. jobs could be automated by the 2030’s, and another puts the number at 47% by 2033. As always, many worry about what effect the loss of jobs will have on the economy.  Read More

03.25.17- Why This Market Needs To Crash... And likely will
Chris Martenson

Like an old vinyl record with a well-worn groove, the needle skipping merrily back to the same track over and over again, we repeat: Today's markets are dangerously overpriced.

Being market fundamentalists who don’t believe it’s possible to simply print prosperity out of thin air, we’ve been deeply skeptical of the financial markets ever since the central banks began their highly interventionist policies. Since 2009, they have unleashed over $12 Trillion in new money into the world, concentrating wealth into the hands of an elite few, while blowing asset price bubbles everywhere in the process (see our recent report The Mother Of All Financial Bubbles).  Read More

03.24.17- Weekend Rant: The Irresponsibles
Jesse’s Café Américain

“There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience, and that is not learning from experience.” - Archibald MacLeish

“We all make choices, but in the end, our choices make us.”- Andrew Ryan as a character in Bioshock

03.23.17- The Market Has Brainwashed You –
Here’s the Cure
Greg Guenthner

The market has warped your mind.

An easygoing stock market that never dropped more than a few points in a day has given way to a stampede of selling.

Most investors simply weren’t ready for the sharp pullback. Some folks are even calling it a crash.

Gimmie a break. Just imagine what would happen if the Dow dropped more than a couple hundred points! Read More

03.22.17- All Out Political, Economic,
and Financial Warfare!
Andrew Hoffman

Like it or not, we are living through a major inflectionary point in human history; on more fronts; with more lasting, and dramatic changes than any before it.  Yes, there have been hundreds of humanity-altering wars throughout history.  However, never have so many people been impacted by current events; as, for example, there are 7.4 billion people today, compared to 2.3 billion at World War II’s onset.  And while WWII shaped the culture, economic and monetary, and physical borders for generations; in hindsight, until recently, the post-war Era has been “more of the same.”  Only this time, global economic leadership switched from one Western power, the UK, to another, the U.S.; as evidenced by the “reserve currency,” in an increasingly global world, switching from the Pound to the dollar. Read More

03.21.17- The Upcoming Trade War Between The U.S. And China Will Be The Biggest In The History Of The Planet
Michael Snyder

The United States and China are the two largest economies in the world by far, and the upcoming trade war that is about to erupt will be cataclysmic for both sides.  The Trump administration and the Chinese government are both gearing up for a prolonged trade war, and this is going to have very severe implications for the entire global economy.  During the campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly stated that we “can’t continue to allow China to rape our country”, and he was quite correct about that. Read More

03.20.17- Steve Eisman: Smart, Lucky, Abrasive & Now One of Them
Jim Quinn

I loved Michael Lewis’ book – The Big Short – about the 2008 Wall Street created global financial catastrophe, that is still impacting the little guys on Main Street eight years after it was supposedly resolved by Paulson, Bernanke and Obama. I even wrote an article about it called The Big Short: How Wall Street Destroyed Main Street. I also loved one of the main characters in the book – Frontpoint Partners hedge fund manager Steve Eisman – a foul mouthed, highly skeptical, open minded guy who figured out the fraudulent subprime mortgage scheme and shorted the crap out of the derivatives backing the fraud, making hundreds of millions in the process. Read More

03.18.17- Countdown To Crisis
David Stockman

During the run-up to the election, the deep state bureaucrats at the Treasury built up what I described Friday as Hillary’s debt ceiling “war chest,” sending the cash balance to $425 billion shortly before election day.

By contrast, shortly after the election the Treasury stopped selling new debt, and began to actually pay down maturing bills and notes. The Treasury has burned over $338 billion of cash since then. That depleted Hillary’s war chest since she wouldn’t be around to benefit from it.

Or rather, it pumped a veritable tsunami of cash into the canyons of Wall Street.

In a word, the Treasury took its boot off the neck of the bond dealers, thereby enabling the 15% frolic higher in the stock market that has become known as the Trump Reflation Trade. Read More

03.17.17- Economist Issues Warning On Coming Collapse: “Exactly How This Thing Detonates & WHO DIES Is Very Hard To Figure Out”
Mac Slavo

A collapse is coming.  This is a mathematical certainty. If you’re not prepared for living independent of the system then you will feel the full brunt of the pain to come.

On Monday House Majority leader Paul Ryan warned that if his health care plan fails to pass then the Obamacare system will collapse. It’s a sentiment that The Market Ticker founder Karl Denninger has shared for years, citing basic arithmetic that shows the Affordable Care Act passed in 2009 simply cannot be sustained. Read More

03.16.17- America’s Infrastructure Shortfall Could Be an Investor’s Best Friend
Frank Holmes

Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases its report card on the condition of America’s infrastructure, and for the second time since 2013, our nation’s roads, bridges, waterways, airports and more scored a barely-passing D+.

As disconcerting as this might be to American taxpayers who expect and depend on quality infrastructure, it could be a huge opportunity for investors in companies that stand to benefit from President Donald Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure spending proposal. Read More

03.15.17- What do these CEOs know that we don’t?
Simon Black

Last night a good friend of mine came over for dinner.

He’s originally from Poland, and growing up there he heard a lot of bizarre stories about what it was like during the Nazi invasion and World War II.

In 1939, even as 1.5 million German soldiers prepared to invade, the general mood in Poland couldn’t have been more carefree.

My friend’s grandfather once told him that, just prior to the Nazi invasion, the schools in Poland announced they were suspending classes… but only for two weeks, because that’s how long they expected the war to last.

Incredible. Read More

03.14.17- Will Mid-March Madness Maul the Stock Market in 2017?
Bill Gross

Many of the 2017 economic headwinds I’ve described will hit during the Ides of March, just as the Trump stock-market Rally shows signs of topping out. This might not be the Great Epocalypse — not all at once anyway — but a large and likely correction is looming. I think the bear is about to be let out of his cage.

Chaos emerged in emerging-market stocks last week, bond prices plummeted (yields rose to match their last 2016 high), stock-market volatility rose, and the Dow took its worst drop in 2017. Copper prices, a bellwether for recessionary conditions, saw their worst week since last September. Read More

03.13.17- Are Realtors the Villains Behind Next Economic Collapse?
Birch Gold Group

Back in 2008, big banks lobbied hard, got cocky, and landed themselves in a crisis. Now a different group is about to do the same — potentially on an even larger scale. But it’s not who you’d expect.

Over the last election cycle (2015-2016), the financial sector distributed a record breaking number of lobbying dollars to members of Congress – all to “influence decision making.”

How much did it take to break the record? Over $2 billion. Read More

03.11.17- The Coming Great Wealth Transfer
Chris Martenson

Spoiler alert! It's already here.

In the past, I've warned about the coming Great Wealth Transfer.  But now we need to talk about it in the present tense, because it’s here.

And it will only accelerate from here on out. The Rich will get richer at the expense of everybody else.

This isn't personal. It's simply a feature of what happens near the end of a debt-based monetary system run by corruptible humans. Of course, those in charge don't think of themselves as corrupted or villainous. I'm sure that Federal Reserve Chairs Greenspan, Bernanke and Yellen all think of themselves as good and decent people doing "God's work". But the truth is they've irrevocably harmed millions -- if not billions -- of innocent people. Read More

03.10.17- This Mini-Bubble Could Burst at Any Moment
James Rickards

Whenever stocks rise sharply for a sustained period, or rise more than a few days or weeks in a row, as had been the case until these past few days, there is always some pundit quick to label the trend a “bubble” and advise investors to run for the exits.

Usually the pundits are wrong. Most so-called bubbles are not bubbles at all, they’re just short-term trends driven by sentiment or momentum. Those trends may slow down or even reverse, but they don’t burst catastrophically the way real bubbles do. Read More

03.09.17- Dow Euphoria
Gary Christenson

Following President Trump’s speech the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) easily broke 21,000, and closed at another all-time high – 21,115.

The Dow closed up for the 12^th consecutive day on Monday February 27, another three decade record.

Excel calculated the Dow’s daily Relative Strength Index (RSI – 14 period), a technical timing oscillator. It reached 97.75 (maximum = 100.00) on March 1, an exceptionally “over-bought” reading that has occurred nine times since 1950.

The weekly RSI also reached a very high “over-bought” reading as of March 3, the end of last week. Read More

03.08.17- BREAKING: Colt Lays Off Custom Shop Director, Other Employees,
Company Rumored Gutted
Nathaniel F.

What is happening at Colt? That’s the question on many people’s minds as news of layoffs in the company began to trickle out starting on Tuesday. Rumors of massive layoffs at Colt began with a post at Pistol-Forum by member “misanthropist”, who wrote:

Sounds like a big mess down there and a whole lot of pink slips, including my favourite division, the custom shop.

The extent of the layoffs are not yet known, but it has been confirmed that Brent Turchi, director of Colt Customer Service and the Colt Custom Shop, was let go. Brent posted the following at 1911forum.com: Read More

03.07.17- Glass-Steagall Essential Banking Regulation
SARTRE

The central struggle since the inception of the Republic has been about the control of money. Since the U.S. Constitution clearly defines coinage, the objective of the mercantile elite was to circumvent the law and establish a National Bank. Woe to any defender of President Andrew Jackson for abolishing the Second Bank of the United States and rendering the Bankster Nicholas Biddle to his ignominious place in hell. This victory for the common man was ultimately betrayed when the Federal Reserve Central Bank was instituted with all the ills of fractional reserve banking. Read More

03.06.17- Visualizing The US Debt Ceiling
(In $100 Bills)
Tyler Durden

(Editor's Note: A trillion dollars equates to a stack of $100 bills 678.66 miles high. A trillion dollar debt is truly preposterous and insane. Obama added ten trillion dollars to the National debt. Obama is, irrefutably, a thief and a disgusting piece of shit. His actions, on behalf of the banksters and the neocons, sealed the fate of the next several generations of Americans who will be born debt slaves. The coming hyperinflation will result in a greatly dimmiinished standard of living for hundreds of millions in the USA. - JSB)

The United States owes a lot of money. For now, there is no debt ceiling - it has been suspended - but in 10 days that changes, and who knows what happens then.

For some context as to just how much money the US owes - and what the debt ceiling looks like - Demonocracy is back [4]... Read More

03.04.17- WARNING: WEB BOT, BITCOIN & COMEX ARE ALL SCREAMING "HYPERINFLATION!"
SGTreport.com

View Video

03.03.17- Why Is The Cost Of Living So Unaffordable?
Charles Hugh-Smith

Strip away the centralized power that protects and funds cartels, and prices would plummet.

The mainstream narrative is "the problem is low wages." Actually, the problem is the soaring cost of living. If essentials such as healthcare, housing, higher education and government services were as cheap as they once were, a wage of $10 or $12 an hour would be more than enough to maintain a decent everyday life.

Here are some examples from the real world. In 1952, it cost $30 to have a baby in an excellent hospital. If we adjust that by official inflation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistic's inflation calculator to 2017, the cost would be $275. ($1 in 1952 = $9.16 in 2017). Read More

03.02.17- America in a Drugged Stupor
Bill Bonner

BALTIMORE – The Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq remain near record highs and are up about 10% since Election Day. Fed officials say they could raise interest rates “fairly soon.” Blah… blah… blah…

One of these days… sooner rather than later… as soon as the data permit…

The economy is a learning machine. So is a person. We’re not talking about the kind of faux “learning” you do in school. Much of that is negative – ideas, information, and skills that destroy or delay real learning. In fact, some people stay in school to avoid learning. Read More

03.01.17- March 2017: The End Of A 100 Year Global Debt Super Cycle Is Way Overdue
Michael Snyder

For more than 100 years global debt levels have been rising, and now we are potentially facing the greatest debt crisis in all of human history. Never before have we seen such a level of debt saturation all over the planet, and pretty much everyone understands that this is going to end very, very badly at some point. The only real question is when it will happen. Many believe that the current global debt super cycle began when the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. Central banks are designed to create debt, and since 1913 the U.S. national debt has gotten more than 6800 times larger. But of course it is not just the United States that is in this sort of predicament. At this point more than 99 percent of the population of the entire planet lives in a nation that has a debt-creating central bank, and as a result the whole world is drowning in debt. Read More

02.28.17- Obama Has Tied Trump’s Hands
James Rckards

America is goingbroke. That’s not an opinion or scare tactic — it’s a fact based on simple arithmetic. President Trump could be forced to face this fact as early as March 15, the date the latest U.S. debt ceiling suspension ends.

Government debt is growing faster than the economy. If you extend that trend, and that’s exactly what official government projections do, you reach a point where higher taxes cannot cover interest expense, investors lose confidence in the bond market, and a death spiral of higher deficits, higher interest rates, and still higher deficits spins totally out of control.

This does not mean the end of America, let alone the end of the world. There are several ways out of the debt death spiral. It’s just that none of the ways out are easy, and all of them will cause massive losses to unprepared investors. Read More

02.27.17- Buckle Up: Inflation at 58-Month High
Lior Gantz

The stage has been set for high levels of uncertainly, and with uncertainty comes opportunities in commodities, posits Lior Gantz, editor of Wealth Research Group, who also sees opportunities in disruptive technologies in the medical arena.Your Investment Portfolio Must Be Supercharged by March—mine is.

This has been the most important week of 2017.

The trends that are now in motion will set the tone for the entire year, and there are critical statistics to align with. Read More

02.25.17- The US stock market is highly overvalued. Here’s why…
Simon Black

This is really starting to get out of control.

No doubt you’re familiar with the S&P 500, the stock index that measures the performance of the largest US companies.

And as we’ve discussed before, one of the most important benchmarks in measuring whether stocks are overvalued or undervalued is the Price/Earnings, or P/E ratio.

Looking back through more than a century of financial data, the long-term average P/E ratio for the S&P 500 has been about 15. Read More

02.24.17- The Return of Stagflation
Gary Christenson

Steve St. Angelo wrote an insightful article relating the silver to gold ratio to the S&P 500 Index. I encourage you to read his articles and analysis.

My commentary on the silver to gold ratio:

The following graph shows the SI/GC ratio versus the S&P500 index beginning in August 1971 when President Nixon severed the final gold backing of the US dollar. Currency in circulation, debt, consumer cost of living, and most prices including gold, silver, crude oil, and the S&P rose in devalued dollar units. Read More

02.23.17- Unleashing Wall Street
Bill Bonner

LOVINGSTON, VIRGINIA –  Corporate earnings have been going down for nearly three years. They are now about 10% below the level set in the late summer of 2014. Why should stocks be so expensive?

Example of something that one should better not unleash. The probability that a win-lose proposition will develop upon meeting it seems high. It wins, because it gets to eat…

Oh, yes… because the Trump Team is going to light a fire under Wall Street. But they must be wondering about that, too. Raising up stock prices – as we’ve seen over the last eight years – is not the same as restoring economic growth and family incomes. Read More

02.22.17- “The Heightened Risk Of A Gold Price Reset”
Andrew Maguire

On Feb 6^th I warned of a heightened risk of a gold price reset based upon evidence that the all-important physical markets are increasingly influencing the price setting synthetic markets at time we are experiencing extremely strong physical demand into tight immediately deliverable supplies.

I have been drawing attention the increasing outflows of liquidity from the paper markets into the physical markets for over a year now. The last selloff from 1380 in July to 1130 in December provided clear footprints of a disconnect between the 2 markets and bears all the hallmarks that the rigged decline broke the back of the paper market. By December 2016, an ‘abyss’ had appeared between these 2 distinctly different markets, very visible to wholesale market liquidity providers and takers, but also verifiable by the reported data. Read More

02.21.17- Obama Killed Our Economic Freedom: “Stagnation, Unemployment, and Deteriorating Social Conditions”
Mac Slavo

Anyone who feels like the American Dream is dead can now cite solid evidence of its abrupt end.

It seems that eight years of life under Comrade Obama was not only difficult economically, but was fiscally difficult for most American families because his administration had done so much to restrict economic freedom – until his time, a basic tenet of American life, and essential to fostering a vibrant economy in the middle and working classes. Read More

02.20.17- The Mother Of All Financial Bubbles
Chris Martenson

It will be unimaginably destructive when it bursts

At PeakProsperity.com, we pride ourselves on providing fact-based context to breaking important events. 

Within 72 hours of the Japan tsunami in 2011, we had analyzed the situation and concluded with high probability that three core meltdowns had occurred at the Fukushima nuclear plant. While it took years for officials to finally admit to the full extent of the crisis, history has validated our initial analysis. Read More

02.18.17- China’s $3 Trillion Countdown Clock
James G. Rickards

It’s very difficult to think of a really important economic issue today that is not also a geopolitical issue. The geopolitical becomes the economic. For every economic issue discussed, there’s a geopolitical face to it, and vice versa. You really need to mash up the two together.

One of the biggest convergences today between economics and geopolitics is China’s three trillion dollar countdown clock.

The first that needs to be made is that this problem used to be a four trillion dollar countdown clock, and it’s now down to three trillion. Currently, numbers have that figure slightly below three trillion when evaluating China’s hard currency reserve position. Any country has a currency reserve. Think of it like a savings account, to make it really simple. You stick it in the bank, or a brokerage account, and that’s your savings.Read More

02.17.17- The Ship is Sinking
Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: What should readers of your blog like myself invest in before this whole government bubble bursts? It seems to me that when it does burst, equities and bonds will crash at the same time.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing back. - RL

ANSWER: Do not put equities in the same boat with bonds. The ship is sinking, but that is concerned with debt – not equity. Keep in mind that the collapse of a financial system has historically unfolded to different degrees. If we are talking about a Dark Age, then you are into the Mad Max situation. Then the only thing that has value is food – not even gold. That was the fall of Rome. People effectively sold themselves as serfs to work the land, retain 20% of the crop in return for protection behind the castle walls. Medieval coinage really appears only in silver and are rarely found more than 20 to 30 miles from where the coins were struck. This illustrated the isolation  of city states. Money was not really necessary for there was really no trade interacting within Europe – hence the Dark Age. Read More

02.16.17- As Iran moves away from dollar completely, the Islamic state could provide unlimited potential for gold and Bitcoin
Kenneth Schortgen Jr.

Almost from the moment that President Barack Obama shipped Iran over $100 billion worth of cash, gold, and other frozen assets that the U.S. had controlled during their decade's long sanctions against the Islamic State, the Middle Eastern oil power began fomenting a new policy in which they would completely divest themselves from the dollar, and protect themselves from any future attempts by the U.S. in using the reserve currency as an economic weapon. Read More

02.15.17- Stockman: “What’s Going On Today Is Complete Insanity”
Tyler Durden

In his recent TV appearance, last week David Stockman suggested that President Trump would be better suited to spend some time actually addressing economic issues instead of the administration’s travel ban for immigrants from Middle Eastern countries, which Stockman called “a giant misfire.” Employing the 1992 Clinton Campaign motto of “it’s the economy, stupid,” Stockman noted “Trump was elected because flyover America is hurting economically. The voters of Racine, Wisconsin and Johnstown, Pennsylvania are imperiled not because of some refugees, they’re imperiled because their jobs have all been disappearing for decades.” He added, correctly, that “the problem is far more the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, the bubbles they’re creating on Wall Street.” Read More

02.14.17- Jim Rogers: "We're About To Have The Worst Economic Problems Of A Lifetime, A Lot Of People Will Disappear"
Erik Townsend

“Get prepared,” warns billionaire commodity guru Jim Rogers, “because we’re going to have the worst economic problems in your lifetime and a lot of people are going to disappear.” In this wide-ranging interview with MacroVoices’ Erik Townsend, the investing legend discusses everything from whether Russia is being scapegoated (“yes, ask Victoria Nuland”), the war against cash (“governments love it… they want to control everything”), to his views on gold and the demise of freedom. Read More

02.13.17- 3 Reasons Why the New Dow Record Is No Reason to Celebrate
Birch Gold Group

Record highs are giving Wall Street an excuse to pop open the champagne, but economists say we should curb our enthusiasm.

On January 25, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 20,000 points for the first time in history. Traders are celebrating and financial media is buzzing with speculation that 25,000 could be just around the corner. But history and fundamental research say otherwise.

Here’s why… Read More

02.11.17- World’s largest hedge fund manager predicts bleak future for markets
Simon Black

There are lots of famous investors and hedge fund managers who are legendary stock-pickers.

Warren Buffet is a great example.

Others are hard-core quantitative analysts who build complex trading algorithms.

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, is neither. Read More

02.10.17- Recession 2017? Things Are Happening That Usually Never Happen Unless A New Recession Is Beginning
Michael Snyder

Is the U.S. economy about to get slammed by a major recession?  According to Gallup, U.S. economic confidence has soared to the highest level ever recorded, but meanwhile a whole host of key economic indicators are absolutely screaming that a new recession is beginning.  And if the U.S. economy does officially enter recession territory in 2017, it certainly won’t be a shock, because the truth is that we are well overdue for one.  Donald Trump has inherited quite an economic mess from Barack Obama, and it was probably inevitable that we were headed for a significant economic downturn no matter who won the election. Read More

02.09.17- "A Financial Superstorm" Could Trigger A Global Banking Crisis In 2017
Alessandro Bruno

Here we go again, this problem will not go away and nor will it as all that was done for the 2008 financial crises was a paper over or giant bandaid with a festering implosion mounting beneath the surface. It's not a matter of time, It is simply just when. 

Today We posted many stories on Central Bankers and Banks trying to hold off the crises issue which they keep kicking down the road. With the current news it seem's like it's coming sooner rather than later! Make sure your protected with Physical Gold and Silver in your possession. Read More

02.08.17- Fake And False And Just Plain Nonsense
Raul Ilargi Meijer

Two and a half weeks after the inauguration, and yes it’s only been that long, the media still don’t seem to have learned a single thing. They help the Trump campaign on an almost hourly basis by parroting whatever things, invariably judged as crazy, he says. One day it’s that negative polls are all fake news, the next it’s some list of underreported terror events. All of it gets an avalanche of attention provided by the very people who claim to be against Trump, but greatly help his cause by doing so. Read More

02.07.17- How Trump Could Win the Currency War
Brendan Brown

The present currency war started with the Great Monetary Experiment under the Obama administration. This triggered a devaluation of the dollar through 2010–12. Since then the launch of similar and in some ways more radical monetary experiments in Europe and Japan have fuelled big devaluations of the euro and the yen. Meanwhile a combination of bubble credit policies and intensified repression has caused the Chinese currency to slide. Read More

02.06.16- Which Assets Are Most Likely To Survive The "System Re-Set"?
Charles Hugh Smith

Your skills, knowledge and and social capital will emerge unscathed on the other side of the re-set wormhole. Your financial assets held in centrally controlled institutions will not.

Longtime correspondent C.A. recently asked a question every American household should be asking: which assets are most likely to survive the "system re-set" that is now inevitable? It's a question of great import because not all assets are equal in terms of survivability in crisis, when the rules change without advance notice. Read More

02.04.17- Why Gold is the Ace Up Trump’s Sleeve
Gerald Celente

Trends are born, they grow, mature, reach old age and die…

The Donald Trump, businessman/reality show star turned President of the United States trend has just been born.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

Never in modern history has the nation stood so divided and nations across the globe so alarmed following the election of the leader of the world’s largest economy and most powerful military. Read More

02.03.17- Depression, Stagflation,
Stag-Depress-Flation
Gary Christenson

The United States suffered through a deflationary depression in the 1930s. Stock prices crashed, currency in circulation declined, commodity and real estate prices fell hard and human misery prevailed.

President Roosevelt revalued gold from $20.67 to $35.00 per ounce in 1933 – a substantial devaluation of the dollar. Make-work and government spending programs were implemented. War followed the depression.

Then the United States suffered through the “stagflation” of the 1970s. The economy stagnated and inflation rose to previously unheard of levels. The Vietnam war, inflation and social protests dominated the news, gold shot upward from $42.00 to over $800 per ounce and the dollar bought much less. Read More

02.02.17- Iran Just Officially Ditched The Dollar
Alice Salles

Following President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the Iranian government announced it would stop using the U.S. dollar “as its currency of choice in its financial and foreign exchange reports,” the local Financial Tribune reported.

Iran governor Valiollah Seif’s central bank announced the decision in a television interview on January 29. The change will take effect on March 21, and it will impact all official financial and foreign exchange reports.

“Iran’s difficulties [in dealing] with the dollar,” Seif said, “were in place from the time of the primary sanctions and this trend is continuing,” but when it comes to other currencies, he added, “we face no limitations.” Read More

DOW 20K: Is The Stock Market
Really Setting New Highs?
Mike Maloney

View Video

01.31.17- Dow Companies Report Worst Revenues since 2010, Dow Rises to 20,000 (LOL?)
Wolf Richter

Wall Street hocus-pocus has done an awesome job

The Dow-20,000 hats have come out of the drawer after an agonizingly long wait that had commenced in early December with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tantalizingly close to the sacred number before the selling started all over again.

What a ride it has been. From the beginning of 2011 through January 27, 2017, so a little more than six years, the DJIA has soared 73%, from 11,577 to 20,094. Glorious!! Read More

01.30.17- The Dollar Will Die With a Whimper,
Not a Bang
James G. Rickards

The same force that made the dollar the world’s reserve currency is working to dethrone it.

July 22, 1944, marked the official conclusion of the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire.

It was at Bretton Woods that the dollar was officially designated the world’s leading reserve currency — a position that it still holds today. Under the Bretton Woods system, all major currencies were pegged to the dollar at a fixed exchange rate. Read More

01.28.17- Weekend Rant:The Coming of
Depression Economics
Alhambra Investment Partners

Like it or not, this is where we have been all along and a great many people are just now catching up. No matter what Janet Yellen says about the economy, she is talking out the side of her mouth. Internally, the recovery is gone, and it is never coming back. Externally, we have sub-5% unemployment so we all should be so happy, especially with, in her view, stable prices.

To their credit, many prominent economists aren’t so enthusiastic about those prospects. Among them are Larry Summers, Paul Krugman, and Brad DeLong, all who recognize that “something” just isn’t right and therefore “something” else should be done about it. Read More

01.27.17- Common Sense - 2017 (part two)
Jim Quinn

In Part One of this article I explored Thomas Paine’s critical role in the creation of our nation. His Common Sense pamphlets inspired the common people to uncommon acts of courage and heroic feats of valor; leading to the great experiment we call the United States of America. Paine, Franklin and the other Founding Fathers produced a republic, if we could keep it.

John Adams championed the new Constitution precisely because it would not create a democracy, as he knew a democracy “soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself.” Their herculean efforts, sacrifices, and bloodshed have been for naught as we allowed our republic to devolve into a democracy and ultimately into our current corporate fascist warfare/welfare surveillance state. Sadly, we were unable to keep the republic Franklin and his fellow revolutionaries gave us. Read More

01.26.17- Are You Ready For An Inflationary Depression?
Tom Chatham

We are heading into a new depression. It is not coming. It is already here but we are only in the beginning so it may not be easy for many people to see just yet. Once it is easy to see it will be too late for any meaningful actions to mitigate the effects. Just as you must prepare for a tornado ahead of time, you must prepare for economic conditions early.

We have 20 trillion in debt, over 200 trillion in unfunded liabilities and over a quadrillion in derivatives held by the banks. Our GDP is only about 17 trillion a year and world GDP is only about 60 trillion. It does not take a math wiz to realize that even if we are not paying any interest at all on this massive debt, there is no way to ever pay it all back short of some type of default. Read More

01.25.17- David Stockman: Prepare for Fiscal Bloodbath, Not Fiscal Stimulus
Craig Wilson

David Stockman joined Fox Business and Neil Cavuto to discuss Trump’s tax reform plan, the fiscal dilemmas facing Congress and exactly what strategy must be taken regardless of talk about fiscal stimulus looming.

“I have lots of hope and zero faith.”

“Somehow the idea that Donald Trump is the second coming of Ronald Reagan has gotten in the mix. Wall Street has priced it in. It is just completely wrong.” Read More

01.24.17- The Evasion of Our Bankrupt Government
Dale Netherton

A common sense approach to bankruptcy is the recognition that no matter how much money you will be able to acquire you cannot possibly ever pay it back to your creditors. This is not what is required for a government regulating agency to declare a banking facility bankrupt, but it is a valid depiction of the state of our national debt and our ability to reduce it to a manageable quantity.  The level of taxation that would be required to eliminate our national debt, which is climbing by astronomical numbers, would put such a strain on the fiscal ability of most Americans to survive we would instantly revert to a third world status. This is the danger we are confronted with by a free spending government unwilling to restrain its reach. Read More

01.23.17- Major Markets at Turning Points
Gary Christenson

Bonds have risen in a 35 year bull market. That bull market looks tired and probably peaked in July of 2016.

The U.S. Dollar Index recently hit 14 year highs. Has the dollar finally peaked? Has it turned downward since January 3, 2017?

Stocks have been rising since the 2009 crash lows. Rounded to the nearest point, the Dow hit 20,000. Was that enough to make a final top before a major turn downward?

Gold made an important low over a year ago but we continually hear chatter about gold falling below $1,000, perhaps to $700 or even $350. I believe it has turned upward and the chatter will dissipate. Read More

01.21.17- Opinion: Gold prices could soar if Donald Trump says any one of these five things
Nigam Arora

A safe-haven effect could kick in if he tweet-storms his foreign policy once he takes office

Gold prices could extend their gains after Donald Trump's inauguration if he continues to make statements as president that prompt investors to enter safe havens.

As president-elect, Trump has angered China, India and Mexico, some NATO countries and, just this long weekend, Germany (over its luxury cars), to name a few. Gold prices in New York trading have risen 11.9% since Nov. 8. Read More

01.20.17- How To Predict The Behavior Of Globalists
Brandon Smith

In my last article, 'How Globalists Predict Your Behavior', I outlined the primary method globalists use to measure public consent, or, public dissent. The use of macro-analytics and the hyper-monitoring of web traffic is a powerful tool at the disposal of the establishment for gauging shifts in public consciousness in real time.

For example, in early 2016 the elites were entirely aware of the rise of conservative and sovereignty movements in the U.S. and Europe. In fact, the dangers of growing “populism” were all that elitists and their publications talked about for the first six months of the year. At first, this notion seemed a little odd to me. Generally, when globalists are attempting to manage public opinion, they are careful not to reveal the slightest hint that conservative movements exist beyond an “extremist fringe”. They certainly never suggest that there is a massive undercurrent of nationalism ready to topple the globalist structure. Read More

01.19.17- US Financial Markets –
Alarm Bells are Ringing
Pater Tenebrarum

A Shift in Expectations

When discussing the outlook for so-called “risk assets”, i.e., mainly stocks and corporate bonds (particularly low-grade bonds) and their counterparts on the “safe haven” end of the spectrum (such as gold and government bonds with strong ratings), one has to consider different time frames and the indicators applicable to these time frames.

Since Donald Trump’s election victory, there have been sizable moves in stocks, gold and treasury bonds, as the election result has strongly boosted certain market expectations. Read More

01.18.17- Banks Are Getting Battered
Tyler Durden

US financials stocks are down 3% from Friday's exuberant post-earnings opening highs. That is the biggest drawdown since the election with BofA, JPMorgan, and Goldman leading the downturn (down almost 5% from Friday's opening highs)...

Sell-the-earnings-news... Read More

01.17.17- Russian Foreign Ministry: "Obama Still Has A Few Days Left To Destroy The World"
Tyler Durden

There is a reason Vladimir Putin and the Russian top political echelon has been avoiding the media following the onslaught of allegations lobbed at the Kremlin, and Trump: as AP writes, careful not to hurt chances for a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, President Putin and other Russian officials "have deferred questions about their plans for future contacts with Trump and any agenda for those talks until he takes office on Friday." In short, the "Kremlin is counting the days to his inauguration and venting its anger at Barack Obama's outgoing administration, no holds barred." Read More

01.16.17- Trump Dump Coming To The Stock Market
Dave Kranzler

The stock market shot up like a Roman candle for idiotic reasons after the election. The candle may have reached its apex when the Dow hit 19,999.67 last week.   As I stated in my Short Seller’s Journal, I was “stunned that bank traders were unable to push the index up to the holy grail number of 20,000. Of course, in and of itself, the “Dow 20k” watch was moronic.  Thirty stocks do not an economic system make.  Sorry Fox, CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN etc.

I also stated in my Short Seller’s Journal, in the issue two weeks ago,  and long before Zerohedge posted the comment from some guy named DeMark who predicted the Dow would never hit 20k, that 20k might not happen.  In fact, I titled the issue, “Is Dow 20,000 Now Out Of Reach?” Read More

01.14.17- Weekend Rant: Trump's Ignorance
Hugo Salinas Price

The president elect of the US, Mr. Trump, does not know what he is doing when he proposes protectionist measures to encourage the reindustrialization of the US and bring home again, the American industry that emigrated to foreign lands.

The US lost their industry as a result of the Bretton Woods Agreements, which were signed (under pressure) by representatives of the allied countries and of the countries conquered by the US in World War II. Those Agreements established the world's monetary system for the post-war world, after the victory of the Allies, which was already in sight in 1944. Read More

01.13.17- Where’s the Outrage?
Roger Barris

Blind to Crony Socialism

Whenever a failed CEO is fired with a cushy payoff, the outrage is swift and voluminous.  The liberal press usually misrepresents this as a hypocritical “jobs for the boys” program within the capitalist class.  In reality, the payoffs are almost always contractual obligations, often for deferred compensation, that the companies vigorously try to avoid.  Believe me.  I’ve been on both sides of this kind of dispute (except, of course, for the “failed” bit).

People are usually struck by the seeming injustice of CEOs running companies into the ground and then getting paid obscene amounts in the form of “golden parachute” type good-bye presents. Read More

01.12.17- Shaun Chamberlin: Surviving The Aftermath Of The Market Economy
Adam Taggart

What we'll need to persevere through collapse

Historian and economist David Fleming undertook the writing of Lean Logic a grand vision that projected out the likely path of collapse for our currently unsustainable way of life, as well as the key success factors society will need to cultivate to come out the other side. Sadly, he died in 2010 with the 350,000-word manuscript still in draft form. Read More

01.11.17- The Best Way for Economists to Stay Relevant Today Is to Go Out of Business
Daily Bell Staff

How Economists Can Stay Relevant Under Trump … Economists are going to have to approach things a bit differently if they want to stay relevant in the Trump age. Political economy research is going to become more important. Some humility wouldn’t hurt. And they should look someplace other than the federal government to test their ideas.  This is what I took away from this past weekend’s American Economic Association’s annual conference, where I heard a panel with five Nobel-winning economists on the topic of “Where is the world economy headed?” – Bloomberg Read More

01.10.17- The Economic Risk of Ignoring Arithmetic
John Hussman

When we observe the greatest follies of our predecessors, the episodes of speculative madness that come most immediately to mind are the pre-crash bubble peaks of 1929, 2000, and to a lesser extent, 2007. Unfortunately, we are in the midst of yet another episode of equivalent speculative madness, but one that will only be recognized in hindsight, and in the recollections of our children. They too are likely to take pride in a feeling of superior knowledge, forgetting the same lessons, and eventually creating another bubble and collapse of their own. The herd mentality is human nature. As in 2000-2002 and 2007-2009, when the S&P 500 collapsed by 50% and 55% respectively, we’ll likely see that herd mentality expressed on the downside soon enough. That also is human nature. Read More

01.09.17- It’s A Retail Apocalypse: Sears, Macy’s And The Limited Are All Closing Stores
Michael Snyder

It has only been two weeks since Christmas, and already we are witnessing a stunning bloodbath of store closings.  Macy’s shocked the retail industry by announcing that they will be closing about 100 stores.  The downward spiral of Sears hit another landmark when it was announced that another 150 Sears and Kmart stores would be shutting down.  And we have just learned that The Limited is immediately closing all stores nationwide.  If the U.S. economy is doing just fine, then why are we experiencing such a retail apocalypse?  All over America, vast shopping malls that were once buzzing with eager consumers now resemble mausoleums.  We have never seen anything quite like this in our entire history, and nobody is sure what is going to happen next. Read More

01.07.17- The False Economic Recovery Narrative Will Die In 2017
Brandon Smmith

Yes, the narrative of the “new normal” has been around for so long now that many people have simply grown used to it. The assumption is that the fiscal “new normal” has become the fiscal “normal,” and though the fundamentals continue to strain under the weight of poor global demand and historic debt levitated by extraneous fiat stimulus, the masses feel far less fear than is warranted. Hey, why should they? We’ve managed around eight years skating on thin ice, why shouldn’t we expect eight more years of the same?

The banking elites have done the job they set out to do, which was to drive the economy to the very edge of the financial cliff, and then keep it suspended there until the general public became comfortable living next door to the abyss. Read More

01.06.17- How to Make America Great Again with Other People’s Money
Dmitry Orlov

A lot of the sharper-minded commentators have recently started pointing out a problem with Donald Trump’s plan to “make America great again”: lack of funds. The US is bankrupt: sinking ever-further into unrepayable debt, unable to achieve a rate of economic growth that could ever catch up with its growing debt burden. It is in the midst of a giant financial bubble that is propped up by various scams and rackets, from car loans whose term exceeds the useful lifetime of the car, to retirement fund shortfalls caused by effectively negative interest rates, to educational debt that condemns ever more young people to a lifetime of indentured servitude, to the medical racket which is now eating up over 20% of the economy. Read More

01.05.16- A Trade Deal Trump Cannot Improve
Bill Bonner

BALTIMORE – People can believe whatever they want. But sooner or later, real life intervenes. We just like to see the looks on their faces when it does. By that measure, 2017 may be our best year ever. Rarely have so many people believed so many impossible things.

Automaker General Motors (GM) used to have an assembly plant in East Baltimore. Then one Friday in May 2005, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the last Chevrolet Astro van rolled off the assembly line at the Broening Highway General Motors Plant.

Some eyes misted up. Some were angry. Some laughed. The van hadn’t been updated in 20 years. It was widely seen as a safety hazard and voted “worst in its class” by the experts. Read More

01.04.17- And Now, for Something Entirely Differrent: Treason of the Highest Order-Why Is Obama Still In Office?
Dave Hodges

President Obama has placed every American at grave risk this morning with the virtual decommissioning of our aircraft carriers, by placing them all in port at the same time. This is treason and it is national suicide.

Before we can understand the gravity of the siutation, it might be valuable to examine a prior event in our history that can shed some light on what Obama has just done. Read More

01.02.17- A Biased 2017 Forecast (Part Two)
Jim Quinn

In Part One of this article I discussed the failure of our brains to think rationally due to our biases and the relentless propaganda flogged by our Deep State ruling class. Viewing the future through the looking glass of the Fourth Turning keeps you focused on the three catalysts which will drive all events in 2017 and beyond. I’ve addressed my 2017 Debt forecast in Part One. Now I will make some guesses about what might happen in 2017 related to Civic Decay and Global Disorder.

Civic Decay Forecast

“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” – Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow Read More

01.02.17- A Biased 2017 Forecast (Part One)
Jim Quinn

“The idea that the future is unpredictable is undermined every day by the ease with which the past is explained.” – Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

12.31.16- Weekend Rant: Hamburger Hill
Captain Hook

The Battle of Hamburger Hill, later made into a movie directed by John Irvin, refers to the epic, but completely unnecessary, Vietnam War engagement between the US (and South Vietnamese) and North, aligned with China (a proxy war), that saw huge casualties suffered on both sides of the equation. It was a bloodbath. The boys were ground into hamburger. All for Wall Street greed. All so unnecessary. (i.e. if JFK was allowed to live.)

Of course some may view such things as completely necessary, because we humans are competitive creatures. What's more, it's not as if we have progressed in any way over the last half-century. In fact, it could be argued we've regressed. But it's all so much more civilized these days - no? We don't have wars anymore - we have guised crises, interventions, and peacekeeping missions that must be supported in the name of democracy - all the while America (and friends) still exercise colonial rule. Read More

12.30.16- Fake News, Mass Hysteria,
and Induced Insanity
Charles Hugh-Smith

The "fake news" is that we've never been healthier, healthcare costs are under control and our economy has fully "recovered."

We've heard a lot about "fake news" from those whose master narratives are threatened by alternative sources and analyses. We've heard less about the master narratives being threatened: the fomenting of mass hysteria, which turns the populace into an easily manipulated and managed herd, and induced insanity, a longer-term marketing-based narrative that causes the populace to ignore the self-destructive consequences of accepting the fad/ ideology/ mindset being pushed as "good" and "normal." Read More

12.29.16- It's The Dollar, Stupid!
Paul Brodsky

We think the markets have it fundamentally wrong. US investors are anticipating a cyclical shift towards economic expansion via new tax incentives, business de-regulation and Keynesian government spending that promise to increase output, demand and asset prices. However, there is a far more influential driver of future asset prices – a structural shift that has begun but has yet to be acknowledged by economic and political authorities, and, judging by financial asset markets, by most investors. We expect weak equity markets and a strong treasury market beginning in 2017. Read More

12.28.16- A Deeper Understanding Of Technocracy
Jon Rappoport

Technocracy is the basic agenda and plan for ruling global society from above, so we need to understand it from several angles.

Consider a group of enthusiastic forward-looking engineers in the early 20th century. They work for a company that has a contract to manufacture a locomotive.

This is a highly complex piece of equipment.

On one level, workers are required to make the components to spec. Then they must put them all together. These tasks are formidable. Read More

12.27.16- U.S. and China on Collision Course
James Rickards

China’s capital and currency markets are on a collision course with the U.S., and by extension, the entire world. Economists are fond of saying if something can’t go on forever, it won’t. That truism applies to China.

Huge profits will be made by those who see this China train wreck coming and act in time.

The idea of economic stress in China sounds strange to most ears. China has come from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution to the world’s largest economy measured on a purchasing power parity basis in just 35 years. Even using nominal GDP, my preferred metric, it is the world’s second largest economy. Read More

12.26.16- Why the Massive Expansion of "Money" Hasn't Trickled Down to "The Rest of Us"
Birch Gold Group

Over the past 5 years, companies have dumped over $2.1 trillion into a popular stock-boosting strategy that does nothing to help their businesses, but instead puts the economy in danger. The short-term payoff for using this strategy is huge, and it could be largely responsible for the market rally that we’ve witnessed over the past few years. But, recent news reveals that corporations could be taking it too far — and we all could pay the consequences.

Imagine if there were a way for all companies to bolster the price of their own stock and make themselves look more profitable, regardless of how well they’re actually doing. It would make it impossible to know how safe the market really is, right? Read More

12.24.16- Dollar Euphoria And Gold Price
Adam Hamilton

The US dollar’s recent stampede higher has been amazing, as evidenced by the venerable US Dollar Index.  Launched way back in 1973, the USDX is the dominant and most-popular market gauge of how the US dollar is faring.  Since Election Day 2016 alone, the USDX has soared 5.1% higher in merely six weeks!  That isn’t much behind the flagship S&P 500 broad-market stock index’s 5.9% post-election rally.

But the post-election USDX surge is still far more extreme.  The world’s handful of reserve currencies are decisively commanded by the US dollar.  Because of the vast amounts of dollars flooding the globe, it has great inertia.  Thus like an oil supertanker, the dollar’s moves tend to be gradual and unfold over a long time.  The USDX usually moves with all the sound and fury of a tortoise, leisurely meandering around.  Read More

12.23.16- The Silver Tsunami
Dr. Jeffrey Lewis

When that position becomes overrun, or when one of the large commercial shorts (JPM) decides to cover and run, there is no possible way that the masses will not suddenly awake to news of this market moving. 
A Silver Tsunami Is Coming…

At this point in the cycle, the silver market should be relatively easy for the average person to enter.

Prices are beginning to move back toward natural supply and demand equilibrium, as large disruptions are occurring between the positioning of dominant futures speculators that have kept futures prices entrapped for nearly 6 years. Read More

12.22.16- Why the Massive Expansion of "Money" Hasn't Trickled Down to "The Rest of Us"
Charles Hugh Smith

if you create and distribute money only in the apex of the wealth/power pyramid, it can only benefit the few rather than the many.

There are numerous debates about money: what it is, how we measure it, and so on. In recognition of these debates, I'm referring to "money" in quotes to designate that I'm using the Federal Reserve's measure of money stock (MZM).

Nowadays, "money" is often credit. We buy stuff not with currency/ cash, but with credit extended by lenders. The government pays for its programs with borrowed money as well, by selling sovereign bonds and spending the proceeds. Read More

12.21.16- IPOs had Worst Year since 2003.
And the Dow at 20,000?
Wolf Richter

Stock indices are frolicking in record territory. The S&P 500 is up almost 11% this year, though the gains came after the election. The Dow has been titillating the entire world, day after day, with the prospect of finally, finally hitting 20,000 after being just a hair shy of it for two weeks. So it would seem that the IPO market would be hot. But for IPOs, 2016 has turned out to be a fabulously terrible year.

That makes two years in a row. Last year at this time, I wrote that the IPO market in 2015 had been the worst since the Financial Crisis. I quoted Sam Kendall, UBS global head of equity capital markets: Read More

12.20.16- A New Dow High – Anyone Concerned?
Gary Christenson

While the global bond markets have begun to correct their 35 year bull market, the major U.S. stock indices, including the Dow, NASDAQ, Russell and S&P, have rallied nicely.

Official U. S. national debt is approximately $20 trillion as of December 2016, and has approximately doubled every 8 years at a 9% compounded rate for over a century.

Examine this 27 year graph of official national debt and the S&P 500 index, both on log scales.  They increase together.  Debt increases, more dollars surge through the economy and those dollars are plugged into stocks, bonds, and higher consumer prices. Read More

12.19.16- The Real Reason Why America Has Been Given A Reprieve
Michael Snyder

This is one of the most important articles that I have written in a long time.  The strange events of the past year and a half have befuddled and mystified many, and in this article I am going to explain why America has been given a temporary reprieve.  If you go back to June 2015, I warned my readers that major financial problems were imminent, and sure enough in August 2015 we witnessed the greatest financial shaking that we had seen in seven years.  I remember getting emails from my readers applauding me for absolutely nailing that prediction, but we were all concerned about what was coming next in September.  If you will recall, there was more buzz about September 2015 than any other month that I can ever recall.  That was the month of the last blood moon, the end of the Shemitah year and the Pope’s visit to the United States among other things. Read More

12.17.16- Major Economic Warning Sign: The Euro Is Heading For Parity With The U.S. Dollar
Michael Snyder

The collapse of the euro is accelerating, and it looks like we could be staring a major European financial crisis right in the face early in 2017.  On Thursday, the EUR/USD fell all the way to $1.0366 at one point before rebounding slightly.  That represents the lowest that the euro has been relative to the U.S. dollar since January 2003.  Ever since 2011, I have been relentlessly warning that the euro is heading for parity with the U.S. dollar.  When the EUR/USD was trading at about $1.40 that must have seemed like crazy talk, but I never wavered.  I just kept warning people that the euro was going to weaken greatly relative to the U.S. dollar.  Here is one example from March 2015: “How many times have I said it?  The euro is heading to all-time lows.  It is going to go to parity with the U.S. dollar, and then it is eventually going to go below parity.” Read More

12.16.16- The Reign of Bubble Finance
Bill Bonner

Financialization Genius

When we left you last time, we were in the middle of describing the crooked hind leg of crony capitalism. We used billionaire businessman Wilbur Ross – Donald Trump’s pick for the Department of Commerce – for illustration purposes. Not that there is anything wrong with Mr. Ross. He plays the game, just as everyone else does. He’s particularly good at it.

The steel magnate in his command center. He is one of a number of particularly alert entrepreneurs who were able to make the most of the bubble era ushered in by Nixon’s adoption of the confetti money system. And he even has a crystal ball! Obviously, that explains a lot. Read More

12.15.16- Trump Tweets about China,
US Businesses Freak out
Wolf Richter

China is important to US companies. Qualcomm gets 57% of its revenues in China, Micron 43%, Apple 23%, Jabil 21%, Boeing 13%, Wynn Resorts 60%, according to Bloomberg’s math.

In the last earnings report, GM specifically pointed at its “strong performance in China,” the largest auto market in the world. In the first three quarters this year, GM sold 2.7 million vehicles in China, 38% of GM’s global sales, and up 9% year-over-year. GM’s global vehicle sales rose a mere 0.4%. Without the boom in China, GM’s total vehicle sales would have declined. Read More

12.14.16- Historic Market Blow-Up Is Brewing
Dave Kranzler

I was chatting with a good friend who works at a pension fund. He said that pensions are historically overweighted in stocks right now. But it looks like the latest push higher in the stock market is coming from hedge funds, who apparently missed a large portion of the “Trump rally.”   We determined that the best reason to invest in stocks for both pension and hedge funds is “to avoid looking like an idiot.”

That’s it – that’s the “fundamental” justification for investing in stocks right now is because everyone else is and if your portfolio on Dec 31 is underweighted in stocks you’ll look like an idiot. Read More

12.13.16- The Best Way to Tell
Where the Market Is Headed
Michael Covel

Some of the world’s best traders are also some of the best poker players.

I’m talking about iconic names like David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, Carl Icahn of Icahn Partners and Cliff Asness of AQR Capital.

They’re all poker masters… and billionaire traders.

And it’s easy to understand why.

Trading requires almost the exact same skills as poker.

And becoming an expert at each is easier than you think… Read More

12.12.16- Euro Devaluation Accelerates –
Millions Of Europeans Wishing They’d Bought Gold
John Rubino

ECB Chairman Mario Draghi’s announcement of bigger and better QE this morning should have surprised no one. The fact is that the eurozone is coming apart at the seams and the only tool left to delay the inevitable is easier money. As the following chart illustrates, the euro has been declining since 2008, with the descent accelerating lately.

And more is coming. The only way for Italy, Greece and possibly France to keep it together is for their currency to plunge relative to those of their trading partners, thus making it easier to sell domestically-produced stuff abroad. Read More

12.10.16- Why Europe must end in tears
Alasdair Macleod

The latest consequence of economic mismanagement in Europe was the failed attempt at constitutional reform in Italy this week.

The Italian people have had enough of their government’s economic failure, and is refusing to give it more power.

The EU and the euro project have been an economic disaster for all participants, including Germany, which will eventually be forced to write off the hard-earned savings she has lent to other Eurozone members. We know, with absolute certainty, that the euro will self-destruct and the Eurozone will disintegrate. Read More

12.09.16- Top Hedge Funds Predict
How It All Will End
Tyler Durden

In early 2009, roughly at the time when this blog was launched which coincided with the start of the greatest monetary experiment of all time, we warned that there are two ways it will end: either in hyperinflation, or a deflationary supernova, the failure of currency and, eventually, barter. Now, almost 8 years later, some of the world's top hedge funds are in agreement, and they are worried.

As the WSJ reports, these prominent hedge fund managers join an increasingly bigger and louder chorus which says central bank bond buying programs that are pumping trillions of dollars into global markets will end badly. Read More

12.08.16- Mega Trends
Larry LaBorde

I have been watching the parade march by and after months of contemplation I have the following comments concerning the next 2 to 3 years.

1.US Presidential election:

The election itself was not as important as the fact that a large percentage of the population has come to realize that we are on a course that cannot continue. Middle American decided that things must change. Dissatisfaction with the status quo is really what the 2016 election was all about. Read More

12.07.16- The Smartest Money in the Markets Just Broadcasted the Next Big Trade
Graham Summers

The “smart money” isn’t buying this rally.

Corporate insiders know more about their companies than anyone else. And they are not buying this rally… at all. In fact, they’re using it to dump shares.

A total of 3,500 insiders at Russell 3000 companies have unloaded their own stock in the last three weeks, while 467 purchased shares, according to data from The Washington Service, a Bethesda, Maryland-based provider of insider trading data and news. Source: WSJ Read More

12.06.16- A Major Banking Collapse Looks Imminent
Nick Giambruno

This surprises almost everyone…

You don’t own the money in your bank account.

Once you deposit money at the bank, it’s no longer your property. It’s the bank’s.

What you own is a promise from the bank to repay you. It’s an unsecured liability. Technically, you’re a creditor of the bank. And that means a bank bail-in would probably burn you.

A bail-in is when a bank recapitalizes itself by tapping its creditors. That includes all of its average Joe depositors. Italians are about to find this out the hard way. Read More

12.05. 16- Global Financial Markets Plunged Into Chaos As Italy Overwhelmingly Votes ‘No’
Michael Snyder

Italian voters have embraced the global trend of rejecting the established world order, but the “no” vote on Sunday has plunged global financial markets into a state of utter chaos.  The euro has already fallen to a 20 month low, Italian government bonds are poised for a tremendous crash, and futures markets are indicating that both U.S. and European stock markets will be way down when they open on Monday.  It is being projected that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s referendum on constitutional reforms will be defeated by about 20 percentage points when all the votes have been counted, and Renzi has already announced that he plans to resign as a result.  Read More

12.03.16- Italian Banks on the Brink
Jim Rickards

[Ed. Note: Jim Rickards latest New York Times best seller, The Road to Ruin: The Global Elites’ Secret Plan for the Next Financial Crisis (claim your free copy here) goes beyond the election and prepares you for the next crisis]

There’s an old saying: “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” The meaning is obvious — if you insist on something for others, you have to be prepared to hold yourself to the same standard.

A version of that is playing out in Europe today. And right now the strongest signal is not coming from Germany — it’s coming from Italy. Italian banks are in deep financial distress (as were banks in Cyprus and Greece from 2011 to 2015). This involves the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Sienna (BMP), the world’s oldest bank still in operation, founded in 1472. Read More

12.01.16- After a War on Cash, can the War on Gold be far behind?
Jim Rickards

The global elites are using negative interest rates and inflation to make your money disappear. The whole idea of the war on cash is to force savers into digital bank accounts so their money can be taken from them in the form of negative interest rates.

One way to avoid negative interest rates is to go to physical cash.. They can’t impose negative interest rates on cash.

In order to prevent people from using that option, the elites have launched a war on cash, as recent events have borne out. The war on cash is old news, but it is escalating rapidly… Read More