Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Fri 05.08.2009
Why gold will continue to shine he Fed and the government - first the Bush administration and now Obama's - are pulling all available levers hoping to heal what went wrong by doing exactly the same thing that was done in 2001. As in 2001, the pumping of dollars into the system is a major signal for a gold bull market. So with today no different - but actually worse - I'm sticking to my belief that gold will continue to shine. And I'd like to note that there are at least two more reasons to believe that gold will push higher …
China says it's a gold buyer!
Gold's Charts Look Bullish
Is COMEX Running Out of Gold? The "blogosphere" has been all atwitter with stories of the COMEX [Commodity Exchange] warehouses running out of gold. There was interesting speculation about the motives behind the ECB's recent sale of gold. The ECB happened to sell gold on the exact same day that Credit Suisse (CS) had to make a large delivery of gold (for more check out this link). Despite the ECB's recent brush with openness it is highly unlikely that we will ever find out if this was pure coincidence or a calculated bailout.
Gold at 925, What's The Gold Plan, Stan? Gold is the world's smallest major market. As such, the gold charts are the most easily "painted". The COMEX is not about to blow up because JP Morgan has a hundred thousand gold shorts going. In their world, that's like you blowing up because you have 10 shares short on Barrick gold stock. The bankers, with the world's largest physical position in gold, are not about to lose all their trillions on an upwards move in gold. Especially since the taxpayers just handed them 10 trillion dollars. That's a fantasy of failed gold speculators. Each dollar higher in the price of gold makes the bankers richer. Not poorer. The good news for you, is the bankers want gold higher in price. Vastly higher. If you had to rely on the overleveraged hedge funds to take it higher, well, let's just review what kind of job the funds did for you. In May 2006, they bought gold for you. What happened? It melted. In the spring of 2008, they bought gold for you. What happened? It melted.
Gold Today and Nasdaq 1995 There are technical and fundamental similarities in all bull markets. In the case of Gold today and the Nasdaq in the mid 1990s, there are several key technical similarities. I will show these in two charts. In this case there are three important similarities. There is a running correction for a few years, the squeezing in of several bollinger bands and finally, a breakout from the price channel. Below is a chart of the Nasdaq. The running correction occurred from 1992 to 1995. As the market began its parabolic ascent (in 1995), all the bollinger bands (20, 40 and 80 week) were squeezed in which suggests a strong move in all time frames. Each time the market touched the lower 80-week band (1984, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1998) proved to be a very important low.
Silver Leads Gold as Dollar Teeters In a bizarre exercise intended to defend legitimacy, the bankers are engaged in a complex game of propaganda. They pressured the USCongress to relieve Wall Street from the chains of FASB Rule #157, and the senators & representatives obeyed their paying masters. The result has been a baseless stock rally led by insolvent banks that have lied desperately about their capital and earnings. The announced audited Citigroup profit of $1.6 billion in the first quarter was actually a deep $2.5 billion loss, provided the $4.1 billion in gimmickry was removed. The gimmicks pertained to toxic assets valued at fictitious model, shell games on loss reserves management, and illicit debt markdowns on the balance sheet. Thanks to Martin Weiss for the autopsy of Citigroup, the biggest zombie strutting in the global financial sector. Actually, that ignominy is a close race with Bank of America. The end result is the global financial markets are losing faith in the US$-based system, since the US is regressing in backward steps rather than working toward remedy.
The Silver Phoenix is Rising Again Is Silver Really Money? Does It Matter? I wish I had a troy ounce of silver for every time I have encountered those questions on the net! Newsflash, the prestigious ISO (International Organization for Standardization) has set the standards for international currencies. Silver and gold are listed by the ISO as currencies. A fascinating quick resource for information regarding currency ISO 4217 is Wikipedia of course. Silver's currency code is a combination of X and its chemical symbol AG; hence its currency code is XAG. Following the same logic, gold's currency code is XAU. Each currency is assigned a 3 digit numeric code. Silver is currency number 961. Its standard is set at one ounce of silver. Therefore, Silver is an internationally recognized currency and not just a figment in the fervid imaginations of suburban gold bugs. In fact, I have even traded the XAG/USD currency pair at European brokerage houses and the XAU/USD at Forex.com. Go to Forex.com and check it out. They are the only U.S. firm offering this incredible investment vehicle. It requires only about $200 per contract! But is silver money? Answer, NO. Rule of thumb, if you can't buy a candy bar with it, it is not money.
China Stirs a Pot of Gold This week, based on indicators of improving Chinese manufacturing activity, commodity and stock markets surged in the Pacific Rim. It appears that China's recession-fighting policies are being judged successful. The 41 percent rally in Chinese stocks in 2009 from the 2008 lows dwarfs the single digit rallies in the U.S. and Europe. With Western economies still sluggish, eyes are turning eastward for solutions to the global economic riddle. As such, recent hints at the direction of Chinese monetary policy should be closely regarded. At the recent G-20 London meetings, China called for a new international monetary order with a gold link. This was followed by the sudden disclosure that China had used part of its huge gold output to boost its own reserves by some 600 metric tons, a 75% increase in total holdings since 2003. In his first hundred days in office, President Obama's administration has injected nearly $40 billion each day into U.S. economy. Given the inflationary impact that such a torrent of new cash will spark, it is logical that the Chinese hedge their $1 trillion dollar position with a more reliable store of value.
How will Chinese Central Bank Gold Buying affect the Gold Price short & Long-Term? Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) informed us last week that the country's gold reserves had risen by 454 tonnes from 600 tonnes since 2003, when China last adjusted its state gold reserves figure. Since the days last century when Peter Fava, then head of HSBC's U.S. gold department, visited the Bank of China to persuade them to buy gold bullion [they thought it was a simple sales pitch initially and did not buy visibly] China has been a buyer of local gold production. This includes the period before 2003.
China's buying binge focused on Mae, Mac Holds $1.1 trillion in U.S. debt China, which recently became the American government's biggest creditor, was bulking up on risky Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and U.S. equities from mid-2007 to mid-2008 as the U.S. stock market reached record highs, a recent Treasury Department report confirms. Then the financial crisis reached a fever pitch, sending equities plunging and forcing a government takeover of Fannie and Freddie. After being burned on Wall Street and nearly scorched by Fannie and Freddie, China has significantly increased its appetite for low-risk Treasuries - just as the federal budget deficit approaches a record $1.8 trillion this year.
Lets all party like its 1999 The top of this recent euphoric relief rally in a Bear Market is close at hand And lets make sure our iPods are playing a loop of "Don't worry be happy" as happy days are here again, and I'm looking for Fonzie to give me the thumbs up! We better enjoy them while they last…as "Optimism builds" was a recent headline in the Financial Times. As I had predicted, the markets are enjoying a very nice bounce {and I must admit its rocketed upward much further than I thought it would}. Now so called experts who had no idea there was anything wrong with the world financial system two years ago, now say the problem is fixed and we are off to the races in a new bull market. And we should bow to and acknowledge that the very people who saw no contagions and had no idea what was wrong with it, are the architects of the greatest financial recover ever-seen.
Money As Debt 1: what money is & why we are bankers' slaves
This is Not the 1930's... and that Means a Whole Lot of Inflation to Come Many comparisons have been made between today's financial and economic crisis and the Great Depression, none more than the specter of deflation. Well, contrary to what happened during the Great Depression and contrary to the deflationary forecasts of government leaders, central bankers and economists, deflation, while always possible, is, in this man's opinion, highly unlikely. Why's that? Because the monetary and political framework of today is nothing like that of the early 1930's. In fact, it's nothing like anything seen, ever. Quite simply, today's monetary and political framework is built for inflation, as much inflation as the government, the Federal Reserve and their banking partners want. And inflation, and a whole lot of it, is exactly what we are about to get.
On the Subject of Bottoms Bond prices were hit hard, extending their recent slide to multi-month lows as investors demanded higher-than-expected yields at today's auction of $14 billion of 30-year Treasurys. Not that anyone should be too surprised. According to Bloomberg, increased government spending will likely require Washington to raise a record $3.25 trillion in the current fiscal year -- a tsunami of supply that suggests yields have lots more room on the upside. Also worth noting is the fact that the yield curve is steepening in the U.S. and in other countries where governments are cranking up the printing presses, signaling that investors are losing faith in those who control the public purse strings.
124 congressman demand audit of Federal Reserve Support multiplying for scrutiny of nation's money controllers A bill calling for the comptroller general of the United States to audit the private Federal Reserve is gaining widespread support in Congress, as 124 representatives have added their names to its growing list of co-sponsors. As WND reported, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, introduced in February H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, a bill requiring that an audit of both the Fed's Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks be completed and reported to Congress before the end of 2010.
Biggest banks rush to shrink Sell assets to avoid bailouts Citigroup and Bank of America, the nation's biggest troubled banks, are furiously trying to sell off assets to build a cushion against losses in a downsizing strategy encouraged by the federal government that may save taxpayers from having to bail them out again. The two mega-banks, which already have received more than $45 billion each in taxpayer funds, are expected to have to raise more in coming weeks because of burgeoning losses detected in government "stress tests," whose results are due out Thursday. But the $34 billion needed by Bank of America, the more than $5 billion needed by Citigroup and $15 billion needed by Wells Fargo are not expected to come mostly from taxpayers this time. The Federal Reserve and Treasury are encouraging the banks to sell stock or assets to raise the cash.
The big banks: How much each needs The government announced its plan in late February to look under the hoods of the nation's largest financial institutions to gauge their ability to withstand losses. The results are now in: Ten of the nation's 19 largest banks will need to raise a total of $74.6 billion in capital. In the table below, see which banks stand to lose the most if the economy weakens further -- and how much capital each is required to raise during the next six months.
U.S. seen involved with Wells for some time Back in March, Wells Fargo & Co Chairman Dick Kovacevich scoffed at being pressured into taking $25 billion of taxpayer money from the government, saying his bank was healthy and didn't need it. Now, the fourth-largest U.S. bank may find itself unable to get free of the government's clutches for some time.
Money As Debt 2: what money is & why we are bankers' slaves
NY Fed chair quits over Goldman role Friedman steps down after report that he remains on board and holds shares of Goldman, a regulated bank. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York resigned Thursday, days after coming under attack for his continuing involvement in a company regulated by the institution. Stephen Friedman received a waiver to remain on the board of Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), the Wall Street firm that became a bank holding company amid September's financial frenzy, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday. He also holds a substantial amount of shares in the company and continued to buy more even after Goldman came under the Fed's supervision.
U.S. Says Ailing Banks Need $75 Billion Federal regulators told the country's 19 largest banks that they must raise $75 billion in extra capital by November, a more upbeat verdict on the health of the financial system than the industry had feared just two months ago. Ten of the 19 bank holding companies deemed "too big to fail" by the Obama administration will be required to raise additional capital, according to the results of the government's stress tests, released late Thursday afternoon. But the 10 banks will have to raise much less capital than some analysts had expected as recently as a few days ago.
Bernanke Favored Rate Cuts Tied to Bubble Comments Made as Fed Governor in 2003 Foreshadowed Moves as Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was a strong internal advocate of the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates to very low levels in 2003, steps that some analysts argue stoked the housing and credit bubbles that are now unfurling with disastrous consequences. Bernanke was a Fed governor then, and his comments during key meetings -- transcripts of which were released yesterday -- foreshadow the decisions he would eventually make as Fed chairman. He consistently pushed for the central bank to disclose more about its goals for inflation and to communicate more clearly to the public, hallmarks of his three years as chairman.
Money as Debt (3 of 5) Money IS Debt $700 billion bailout
ECB Cuts Key Rate to Record Low, May Lengthen Loans The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate to a new record low of 1 percent today, and may offer banks longer-term loans to stem the region's worst recession since World War II. ECB officials meeting in Frankfurt lowered the benchmark rate by a quarter point, as predicted by all 53 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Separately, the Bank of England left its key rate at 0.5 percent and increased its asset-purchase program. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, who has promised to unveil new policy measures to tackle the crisis, holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m.
Trichet Drags ECB Into New Era Over Weber's Bond Objections Jean-Claude Trichet has dragged the European Central Bank into a new era by pursuing direct asset purchases over the objections of Germany's Bundesbank. President Trichet yesterday announced the ECB will buy 60 billion euros ($80 billion) of covered bonds, taking markets by surprise after Bundesbank chief Axel Weber had campaigned against such a policy. For a central bank that's been slow to follow counterparts around the world, the move marks a change in mentality toward battling the financial crisis.
Obama Releases Details of $3.4 Trillion Budget Plan The Obama administration today unveiled program details of a $3.4 trillion federal budget for the fiscal year beginning in October, a proposal that includes substantial increases for a number of domestic priorities as well as a plan to trim or eliminate 121 programs for a savings of $17 billion. In a statement delivered at the White House after the budget details were released, President Obama defended the cuts from critics on both sides -- those he said would fight to preserve the targeted programs and others who consider the reductions insignificant.
Money as Debt (4 of 5) Monetary Reform $700 billion bailout
Consumer Credit Drops by Record Amid Job, Bank Losses Consumer credit in the U.S. contracted by a record in March after the jobless rate reached its highest level in a quarter century and banks made it harder to get loans in an effort to buttress their balance sheets. Consumer credit fell by $11.1 billion, almost three times more than forecast and the most since records began in 1943, to $2.55 trillion, according to a Federal Reserve report released today in Washington. The 5.2 percent drop at an annual rate was the biggest since 1990, the Fed said. Credit also decreased by $8.1 billion in February, more than previously estimated.
Rescue by Fiat The Chrysler deal confirms President Obama's disregard for the law. The last time the federal government bailed out Chrysler, the Carter administration reached a deal with the carmaker in August 1979, but Congress did not approve the legislation implementing it until December. This time around, the Bush administration dispensed with the legal niceties, loaning billions of taxpayer dollars to Chrysler (and General Motors) without statutory authority. Although he ran on a promise to respect the legislative branch's constitutional role, Barack Obama applauded the Bush administration's illegal loans, and since taking office he has not sought congressional approval for a bailout that is still operating outside the law. President Obama's high-handed engineering of the pending merger between Chrysler and Fiat, a deal that flouts well-established bankruptcy principles, confirms he is no more committed to the rule of law in this area than his predecessor.
Money as Debt (5 of 5) Warning About the NWO $700 billion bailout
BEYOND HERE THERE BE DRAGONS When the world was still flat contemporary maps of the great ocean to the west of Europe showed a distant point offshore and noted "Beyond here there be dragons." That warning well applies to a voyage Congress is about to launch - the infamous Cap & Trade bill - a peril-laden excursion into a fiscal and regulatory nightmare rife with the fearsome dragons of excess government control and crushing financial burdens on America's families. Ballyhooed as a measure designed to somehow "sequester" CO2 - they haven't quite yet figured out how - in order to prevent this life-giving gas, upon which the health of plant life depends, from allegedly contributing to an imaginary warming of a planet that is actually cooling, it would in fact impose economy destroying costs and tyrannical regulatory restrictions on the backs of the American people. It would take us back to the horse and buggy days and have us shivering in the dark. Essentially, cap & trade legislation would set a limit, or cap, on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use, effectively imposing rationing of coal, oil, and natural gas on the American economy.
What Happens to the American Dream in a Recession? Given the battered economy, increasing joblessness and collapse of the housing market, what is the state of the American dream? ollsters for The New York Times and CBS News set out last month to try to answer that question. And the results seemed somewhat contradictory. Although the nation has plunged into its deepest recession since the Great Depression, 72 percent of Americans in this nationwide survey said they believed it is possible to start out poor in the United States, work hard and become rich - a classic definition of the American dream.
Road to Nationalization
What's on Obama's chopping block From health care in Alaska to payments to farmers to store cotton, president identifies federal spending he says the country can live without. Even on the campaign trail last year, President Obama pledged to cull waste from the budget. On Thursday, he pulled back the curtain on his plans. All told, Obama put 121 government initiatives in the cross hairs for reductions. Dozens of them face outright elimination. "Some programs may have made sense in the past -- but are no longer needed in the present," President Obama said. "Other programs never made any sense; the end result of a special interest's successful lobbying campaign."
Democrats Assail Obama's Hit List Lawmakers Vow to Protect Pet Programs resident Obama's modest proposal to slice $17 billion from 121 government programs quickly ran into a buzz saw of opposition on Capitol Hill yesterday, as an array of Democratic lawmakers vowed to fight White House efforts to deprive their favorite initiatives of federal funds. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she is "committed" to keeping a $400 million program that reimburses states for jailing illegal immigrants, a task she called "a total federal responsibility." Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) said he would oppose "any cuts" in agriculture subsidies because "farmers and farm families depend on this federal assistance." And Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey (D-N.Y.) vowed to force the White House to accept delivery of a new presidential helicopter Obama says he doesn't need and doesn't want. The helicopter program, which cost $835 million this year, supports 800 jobs in Hinchey's district. "I do think there's a good chance we can save it," he said.
Sallie Mae Plans Life Without Loans Obama Wants Gone Sallie Mae, the biggest U.S. provider of college loans, says it doesn't oppose President Barack Obama's plan to wipe out much of that business. The company just has a few suggestions. "What we've thought about here is how to make the president's proposal better," Jack Remondi, chief financial officer of the company, known formally as SLM Corp., said in an interview.
Bank of America seeks new board members Bank of America quietly seeking help to find new directors after shareholder revolt Bank of America Corp. is looking for new directors following a shareholder revolt that stripped Chief Executive Ken Lewis of his chairman's title, the bank said during a conference call Thursday discussing the government's stress tests results. The Charlotte N.C.-based bank has approached executive search firms about finding new directors. It's unclear how many directors could be affected or who might step down, Walter Massey, the bank's new chairman, said during the call.
California had most subprime loans, study says California was the center of the mortgage meltdown that led to the nation's current economic crisis, as lenders in the state issued a majority of all recent subprime loans, says a nonprofit journalism group based in Washington. The study published Wednesday on the Center for Public Integrity's Web site analyzed government data on $1.38 trillion worth of subprime mortgages made from 2005 to 2007. The analysis found that about 56 percent of those loans were originated by 15 lenders from California.
'Gay' day coming to California public schools? Lawmakers vote to make children honor Harvey Milk - without parent consent SACRAMENTO - A California committee passed a bill proclaiming that the state's public school children will take a break from learning every year to celebrate Harvey Milk - a homosexual icon considered by some to be "a martyr for gay rights." The California State Senate Education Committee passed SB 572 today on a 7-2 vote. The bill encourages all California public schools to "conduct suitable commemorative exercises … remembering the life of Harvey Milk and recognizing his accomplishments as well as the contributions he made to this state." It requires no parental consent for student participation.
How Much Was That Globe Lifetime Job Guarantee Worth After All? $33K (NYT) In the game of chicken the Newspaper Guild was playing against the management of the Boston Globe, the lifetime employment guarantee that almost got the paper shut down turned out to be worth $33,000 a person. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal reached between the Globe-owned by the similarly battered New York Times-and the union included an 8.4% pay cut and the "elimination of lifetime job guarantees held by 190 members in exchange for a $33,000 payment plus severance for each of those guaranteed employees who gets laid off."
Get a Building Permit, Get Disenfranchised: Business as Usual in California Via Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy, this bit of officious ridiculousness from California being challenged in court this week before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by the Pacific Legal Foundation. From an account by Timothy Sandefur, who will be arguing the case for PLF, at the PLF blog: riswold v. City of Carlsbad....is an astonishing case in which city officials forced the Griswold family to give up their constitutionally protected right to vote in exchange for a building permit. Hard as that might be to believe, it is actually not unique: it's actually quite common for local governments to abuse permits by forcing property owners to give up money or land or other rights.
Want A Building Permit? Then Give Up Your Right to Vote! [Unconstitutional Exactions] [T]he government has transformed the police power into an efficient way to raise money by regulating political minorities and then selling exemptions from the regulatory scheme.... The government, in effect, says: We have the power; therefore, pay us to leave you alone. By any measure, that is extortion. Moreover, it turns the takings clause on its head. Instead of the government having to pay compensation to property owners, the government now wants property owners to compensate it to get back the fair value of property the government took away.... -Justice Janice Rogers Brown1
Obama's Health Care Quackery Countries with universal health coverage are economically worse off than the U.S. True to the advice of his chief of staff to never let a good crisis go waste, President Barack Obama is using the current economic crisis to sell a top item on the liberal wish-list: universal health care. "You can't fix the economy," he has repeatedly said, "without fixing health care." But the president needs to take a big chill pill before committing America to a huge new entitlement: One is hard pressed to find any evidence from abroad showing that universal coverage has grown the major industrialized economies more than ours in the past-or shielded them more than us from the global slump now.
How Obama Will Ruin Health Care
Marchionne Picks Over U.S. Wreckage to Build European Car Group Fiat SpA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne is setting out to build a pan-European car company from the rubble of the U.S. auto industry. The car industry is in turmoil, and Marchionne, the 56-year-old deputy chairman of UBS AG, says he sees opportunity. He's taking over Chrysler LLC after a U.S.-arranged bankruptcy and seeking to incorporate units owned by General Motors Corp., including three European brands, Opel, Vauxhall and Saab, and some Latin American operations.
The White House Is Now Refusing To Respond To Chrysler Threat Stories Earlier this week, we ran a number of stories about how Steve Rattner allegedly threatened hedge funds that refused to drop their opposition to the Obama administration's Chrysler plan. We asked the White House to comment, and after three days it has become apparent that they have no plans to respond. The White House has denied earlier charges that it threatened to use the White House press corps to ruin the reputation of a firm that was opposing its Chrysler plans.
G.M.'s Cash Reserves Are Dwindling Even after receiving $15.4 billion in federal loans, General Motors is once again on the brink of financial collapse. The automaker's first-quarter earnings released Thursday showed that G.M. was losing more money and sales than it was in late December, when the government began its bailout. With its cash reserves down to the bare minimum and its revenue plunging, G.M. seems more certain each day to be heading toward a bankruptcy filing.
General Motors Burning $113 Million A Day General Motors (GM)'s well has finally run dry: NYT: G.M. said it lost $6 billion in the first quarter as its sales around the world fell 40 percent and revenue was cut nearly in half. But the most concerning number is the $10.2 billion in cash that G.M. depleted in three months, the equivalent of $113 million a day. That is nearly twice the company's rate of spending in the fourth quarter.
GM Posts $5.9 Billion Loss Amid Steep Drop in Revenue General Motors, facing the prospect of bankruptcy, posted a loss of $5.98 billion for the first three months of this year as revenue continued to slide because of the economic crisis and slumping auto sales. GM's losses were offset somewhat by the company's restructuring efforts and by an infusion of loans from the federal government, the automaker said yesterday. GM has until the end of the month to cut costs further and win stakeholder concessions. If it fails, the government will likely force it into bankruptcy. GM lost $9.78 per share, compared with a loss of $5.80 per share, or $3.28 billion, a year earlier. Cash on hand totaled $11.6 billion -- approaching the minimum reserves needed to continue operations.
GM burns $10 billion in first quarter as deadline looms General Motors Corp said it burned through $10.2 billion in the first quarter as it relied on a federal bailout to ride out a sharp decline in global sales that overwhelmed its cost-cutting efforts. Revenue dropped by almost half to $22.4 billion as the company cut production by about 900,000 vehicles and worked to run down costly inventories in the United States and Europe. The results showed the extreme pressure on GM with just four weeks remaining for the embattled automaker to win deals to slash debt and operating costs with its major union and bondholders to avoid bankruptcy.
U.S. Orders GMAC to Raise $9.1 Billion in Capital The federal government reported yesterday that the financing arm of General Motors will need to raise $9.1 billion in new capital to ensure the firm's stability in the face of heavy losses in mortgage and auto lending and, sources said, possibly as much as $4 billion more to cover costs related to loans for Chrysler. The sum is among the biggest required for any U.S. financial institution subjected to the government stress test, and could prove difficult for GMAC Financial Services to raise because of the limited nature of its business and the poor quality of its loans. The firm has struggled to raise money from private investors in the past and has already received $5 billion in federal assistance.
Venezuela soldiers seize oil service companies MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan soldiers on Thursday took control of boatyards and other assets belonging to oil service companies in the latest step by socialist President Hugo Chavez to tighten his grip on the industry. Earlier in the day, Venezuela's legislature approved a law allowing the nationalization of a group of oil service companies. Chavez said the takeovers would quickly start in the Lake Maracaibo oil heartland in the western state of Zulia.
Goodbye to shop 'til you drop Even when the economy recovers, retail experts don't expect consumers to go on a spree. Frivolous spending, one of the hallmarks of America's consumer-driven economy, is on its way out, with budget shopping becoming the mantra for households. April store sales results Thursday showed clearly how the recession is training consumers to embrace value at all levels - whether it is shopping for food at Wal-Mart, or buying clothes for your kids at a discount department store such as Ross Stores instead of at Macy's.
Obama seeks to double tax law enforcement budget President Barack Obama proposed on Thursday nearly doubling funds to enforce U.S. tax laws next year, with an aim of more than quadrupling funding for tax compliance to $2.1 billion within five years. The budget plan seeks $12.1 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, responsible for collecting and enforcing individual and corporate tax laws, for fiscal 2010, which begins October 1. That amounts to a roughly 5.2 percent increase over the IRS budget for 2009, which was $11.5 billion.
Climate plans could cost families $1,600 Federal proposals to curb carbon emissions will cost American households $1,600 a year, the chief budget analyst for Congress said Thursday. Any measure that curbs greenhouse gasses by capping emissions and issuing permits for allowable carbon dioxide - called a cap and trade system - would invariably be passed on to consumers in higher costs, said Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO analysis released Thursday updates research of previous cap and trade proposals and estimates that a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gasses would cost American families between $700 and $2,200 a year in increased energy and consumer goods prices. The average cost to families would be $1,600, according to the analysis.
The War On Capitalism Continues . . . . The current War on Capitalism didn't begin a year ago, by the way. The feds have been conducting a dirty, undercover campaign against the free market for many years. Instead of permitting willing lenders and borrowers to set the price of credit, for example, the Federal Reserve imposed its own short-term rates many times over the last 50 years. Eleven times during that period, capitalism tried to correct the "borrow and spend" economy. Each time, the feds rushed in with more credit on even easier terms. By the recession of 2001-2002, the feds were intervening with such heavy hands that it set off the bubble in housing prices in the 2002-2007 period. And when the bubble exploded, the fed's dirty campaign turned into a major war with huge pitched battles…and millions of casualties. Bloomberg reported yesterday, "nearly a quarter of US homeowners are underwater." When the Fed flooded the market with so much easy credit, it pushed up housing prices way beyond what people could afford. Capitalism struck back - blowing up the dikes that held all that liquidity in place. But the explosion blew out the cushion of equity that kept homeowners afloat. House prices are still falling at a 14% annual rate. "Less than before," say the bulls. But still going down.
G-20 Ends US Economic Sovereignty
Close 'Gun Show Loophole,' Dems Say Democratic lawmakers and one Republican told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the so-called "gun show loophole" -- sales between private individuals, which never require a background check -- ought to be closed. Republicans, meanwhile, told CNSNews.com that creating more rules on how a gun can be legally purchased will not prevent criminals -- who do not follow the rules anyway -- from obtaining weapons in illegal ways.
What to Do When Panic Buying Begins . . . . Jerry sells guns and ammo. And right now Jerry's business is booming. A surge in demand has caused gun prices across the country to nearly double. When it comes to ammo, Jerry has run out - just like thousands of others. The guns and ammo boom is alive and well. And if we pay close attention, it's easy to see where the real opportunity is. As usual, it's not where most folks are looking.
OBAMA WANTS MILITARY PLEDGE TO HIMSELF NOT THE CONSTITUTION! Here's the latest attempt by Barack Hussein Obama to destroy PATRIOTISM in our nation. From The National Law Journal: Military to Pledge Oath to Obama -- Not Constitution. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is extremely frustrated with orders that the White House is contemplating a historic change in the way our government is run. According to sources at The Pentagon, including all branches of the armed forces, the Obama Administration may break with a centuries-old tradition. Heck-- why not? Obama already declared that he and his crooked and terrorist pals will be "remaking America" into a Marxist-Communist Society, like it or not!
Congressman: 'Hate crimes' would 'break' Constitution Criminalizing thought called 'unprecedented in federal law' The "hate crimes" plan pending in the Senate that has been dubbed the "Pedophile Protection Act" would "break" the U.S. Constitution if adopted and enforced, according to an Arizona congressman. U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., was interviewed today on WND columnist Janet Porter's radio program for the Faith2Action Christian ministry. "They have to necessarily break the Constitution for this bill to have any effect," Franks said.
'Conscience' shield vital, many caregivers say Kim McAllister, a Bay Area nurse for 31 years, knows she can recuse herself from a medical procedure with which she has a moral conflict. f a patient wants an abortion or if McAllister sees an end-of-life decision she might question, she can discreetly find another nurse who would help the patient in the way the patient seeks. But, like many Catholics, evangelicals and others, McAllister now worries that an Obama administration proposal to repeal "conscience" protections for health care workers will imperil her rights. "I took it for granted that my beliefs were protected," said McAllister, 51, of Hayward. "I'm concerned."
Suspect detained over 'extremist' bumper sticker 'Don't Tread on Me' puts driver in 'watch' category in DHS report A Louisiana driver has been stopped and detained for having a "Don't Tread on Me" bumper sticker on his vehicle and warned by a police officer about the "subversive" message it sent, according to the driver's relative. The situation developed in the small town of Ball, La., where a receptionist at the police department told WND she knew nothing about the traffic stop, during which the "suspect" was investigated for "extremist" activities, the relative said.
Tancredo: Obama 'truly a cult leader' Former GOP congressman takes on swine flu response, amnesty, free speech Swine flu has been confirmed by laboratory tests in 1,516 patients in 22 countries, according to the WHO. Mexico has reported 942 cases, including 29 deaths, while the U.S. has 403 cases and two deaths. Despite the increasing number of U.S. cases, President Obama is solidly against closing the U.S.-Mexico border to contain the outbreak, likening such a move to "closing the barn door after the horses are out." Former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado disagrees: "The problem is you cannot necessarily contain it, but what you're trying to do is minimize the impact, of course, and reduce the number of people coming into the country with it." Tancredo believes the administration's refusal to act is also indicative of a "desire on the part of many people to eliminate borders."
Brazil, Argentina Confirm Swine Flu Cases as Outbreak Spreads Brazil and Argentina, South America's largest economies, confirmed their first cases of swine flu as five people contracted the virus that's spreading across the globe. Four people are infected in Brazil, Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said yesterday in Brasilia. Argentina's Health Minister Graciela Ocana said one person in that country has swine flu. Brazil and Argentina are the second and third countries in South America after Colombia to report confirmed cases.
SWINE FLU EXCUSE FOR CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION An official policy of the Obama administration is to keep happy our pigs and those who raise them by avoiding the term "swine flu" when describing the influenza virus that jumped from pigs to people. It is not the swine flu, but rather the H1N1 virus, they tell us. The Egyptian government, however, uses swine flu as an excuse to launch another round of persecution against its minority Christian population. Even though the World Health Organization reports no swine flu in any African nation as of this writing, the Egyptian government ordered the destruction of the entire pig population in a nation where only Christians raise pigs because Muslims consider pork unclean. Earlier this week, according to various news organizations, about 1,000 Christian pig farmers armed with stones and bottles faced off against about 200 police officers armed with tear gas and accompanied by armored vehicles. The Christians lost.
Flu Is Injecting Itself Into Mexican Politics MEXICO CITY - The slumping economy and the bloody drug war had been Mexican voters' top worries ahead of midterm elections in July. Then the mysterious A(H1N1) virus gave Mexicans the scare of their lives and made those who did not end up in a hospital bed - or a grave - feel fortunate. Pollsters, who had found President Felipe Calderón's governing National Action Party lagging before the flu bug hit, are scrambling back into the field to see how the influenza outbreak may have changed the dynamics of the election season. Did Mr. Calderón's government overreact? Or did it skillfully manage the crisis and keep deaths down?
Central Banks in Europe Ease Credit Policies Again FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank lowered its benchmark lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday, to a new low of 1 percent, and announced plans to spend about 60 billion euros, or $80.5 billion, in an effort to ease credit flows. At the same time, the Bank of England held its key interest rate steady at 0.5 percent and said it would expand its program of buying corporate debt and British government bonds to pump more cash into the economy.
How Ahmadinejad Is Playing Obama
Premier Vows to Eliminate the Taliban in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani vowed Thursday to "eliminate" the Taliban militants who have taken over large parts of the country, publicly declaring a get-tough strategy that American officials have been urging on him since he took office last year. "To restore the honor and dignity of our homeland and to protect our people, the armed forces have been called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists," Mr. Gilani said in a nationally televised address. "We will not bow before extremists and terrorists."
The Other Dangers in Pakistan Is the Taliban a threat to Pakistan? If you want Americans to pay attention to Pakistan-not an easy thing to do-your best bet is to conjure up images of Armageddon. The Obama administration, being put out with the Islamabad government, has decided understatement is no virtue. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently pronounced Pakistan nothing less than "a mortal threat" because it is "abdicating to the Taliban."
Tiananmen haunts China Freed prisoners unable to get work, scrape by as 'history's sacrificial lambs For some imprisoned in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, getting out of jail has not meant freedom. Imprisoned at 21 for destroying a videotape of clashes between soldiers and Beijing residents, Zhang Yansheng spent nearly 14 years in prison before his life sentence was commuted in 2003. He served another five years of parole, barred from media interviews, publishing, free speech or travel. Now he's out of prison, but he cannot find steady work and shares his elderly mother's apartment and meager pension. Finally able to tell his story at 41, Mr. Zhang says: "Most of us were in our 20s, just starting out, and then our lives were ruined, just like that. ... Now, after so many years, we get out and no one cares. There is no one to look after us."
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