Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Tuesday 05.31.2011
Europe at the Abyss
By Robert Samuelson - RealClearPolitics.com
WASHINGTON -- It has come to this. A year after rescuing Greece from default, Europe is staring into the abyss. The bailout has proved insufficient. Greece needs more money, and it can't borrow from private markets where it faces interest rates as high as 25 percent. But Europe's governments are reluctant to advance more funds unless other lenders -- banks, bondholders -- absorb some losses by writing down their debts. This, however, would constitute a default, risking a broader banking crisis that might torpedo Europe's fragile recovery inFrance, Germany and elsewhere. There is no easy escape.
Panic Capital Flight in Greece,
Depositors Yank 1.5 Billion Euros in 2 Days;
EU Wants Severe Bail-Out Conditions
Including International Tax Collection
By Mike Shedlock -
Only a few steps separating from Friday to yesterday's mass panic! From early morning to counter the banks there is serious pressure for withdrawals of deposits, especially small amounts. The pressure on banks began last Wednesday, culminating in yesterday's day.
It is significant that Thursday and Friday, banking sources estimate that rose around 1.5 billion euros in total! According to the same month in May estimated the outflow estimated at least 4 billion from 2 billion in April.
Brussels:
Outside agency for Greek sell-off would threaten sovereignty
By LEIGH PHILLIPS
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has warned that an international body taking charge of Greece's €50 billion privatisation programme - an idea that is being pushed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg - would threaten the country's sovereignty.
The EU executive's economy spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj-Tardio told reporters on Monday (30 May) that while the commission would be happy to offer technical assistance to support Greece in the task, it should remain under the management of the Greek government.
No cash to pay your debts? We'll take your gold, Greece!
Is the sale of the Greek family silver a long-term solution?
By Edin Mujagic - EUObserver.com
Is there then a solution for the financial troubles the Greek government is in? I am talking about the idea for Greece to step up its privatization agenda and sell more stakes in various partly of fully state-owned companies. According to the International Monetary Fund, the original plan for sale of some 50 billion euroworth of assets is only 20 percent of the value of assets the Greek government owns.
Add to that the real estate Athens owns (supposedly more than 200 billion euro worth) and a few tens of billions worth of gold in the vault of the Greek central bank and, hey presto, Greece is able to pay off all of the emergency loans it has received from its European partners ánd other loans as well ánd even keep some money after all the bills are settled. The total Greek debt amounts to little under 400 billion euro.
Greece—the German Solution
By Ron Fraser - theTrumpet.com
Germany started the Greek financial crisis—now it’s imposing its solution
.... As we predicted, Germany is now demanding that Greek assets be sold off in a fire sale to offset Greek debt. There is simply no alternative. Germany holds the whip hand in the eurozone and dictates conditions for the bailout of any country within the European Union. Berlin now has a complicit and compliant central banker heading the European Central Bank based in Frankfurt, the Jesuit-trained Mario Draghi. When the whole euro crisis is over, it will be game, set and match to Berlin and Rome—your Bible prophesies that result (Revelation 13).
The appointment of Mario Draghi—already holding the top position in the most powerful financial regulatory authority, the Financial Stability Board—to the world’s most powerful central banking presidency, brings with it a vital piece of the equation that is guiding the European imperial project. It’s a piece of the equation to which the press and mass media remain blinded, yet the record—which we have been documenting for over 70 years—speaks for itself. As Gerald Flurry wrote in the article quoted above, "[T]he Vatican obviously approved of the EU plan to take more power for itself. The real power of the EU revolves around Germany and the Vatican—as it has throughout the history of the Holy Roman Empire.
Inspectors say Greece missed all fiscal targets
Reporting by Annika Breidthardt; Editing by John Stonestreet
(Reuters) - Greece has missed all fiscal targets agreed under its bailout plan, a mission from an international inspection team found, putting further funding for Athens at risk, according to a German magazine.
"The troika asserts in its report to be presented next week that Greece had missed all its agreed fiscal targets," weekly Spiegel magazine reported in a prerelease.
The International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank -- known as the troika -- currently have a team in Greece assessing how sustainable the country's debts are.
Danger of Greek Contagion Climbs
By TOM LAURICELLA - WSJ.com $$
As European leaders wrangle over Greece's debt crisis, investors are scrambling to assess the damage any imminent restructuring would have on the rest of the region.
Investors have long expected Greece to default on its debts, but most were anticipating it would happen sometime next year. Now, skirmishes among European leaders last week have raised the prospect that a default could come as early as mid-July—not enough time for Europe's other debt-ridden economies to right themselves.
Marc Faber: Fed to Resume QE When U.S. Stocks Prices Fall
Mark Mobius Echoes Carl Icahn:
"There Is Definitely Going To Be Another Financial Crisis"
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
In an almost verbatim repeat of Carl Icahn's words of caution which we noted yesterday, Templeton's legendary chairman Mark Mobius said that "another financial crisis is inevitable because the causes of the previous one haven’t been resolved" during a luncheon (menu included herb crusted chicken breast with cheese and tomato sauce, mashed potato and green vegetables, seasonal salad) at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo. Bloomberg reports: "There is definitely going to be another financial crisis around the corner because we haven't solved any of the things that caused the previous crisis," Mobius said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo today in response to a question about price swings. "Are the derivatives regulated? No. Are you still getting growth in derivatives? Yes." Unlike Icahn, Mobius stopped short of calling for a return to Glass-Stegall and a repeal of the abominable Gramm-Leach-Bliley which unleashed the era of zero margin derivatives and financial system neutron bombs.
Debt Crisis – U.S. States?
Published by Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortalBlog.com
A Seeking Alpha article yesterday titled ‘Despite Challenges, No Debt Crisis for U.S. States‘ – reading time 3 minutes – says that Standard & Poor’s doesn’t agree with Meredith Whitney, the New York Analyst who late last year on CBS’s ’60 minutes’ predicted that 2011 would see a number of U.S. State and Municipal Governments defaulting on their respective debt. Because of lack of underlying data in the article, I don’t know whether the S&P analysis is compelling or not. However, based on what the article itself says I was not convinced that one can say definitively that no U.S. State(s) ultimately will face a debt crisis. After reading the article yesterday morning, I added the following comment to it:
Ron Paul On Debt Cieling & Budget May 26 2011
Comex Silver Will Make It Through May, but Barely As long as the COMEX takes the full delivery month to conjure and cajole as little as 870,000 ounces for delivery, the fundamental shortage is unchanged.
By Atlantic Capital Management - Minyanville.com
The delivery month of May is nearly over and there are still 870,000 ounces to be delivered. It is a pretty small amount, but for the second straight delivery month a small amount is enough to cause chaos.
At the first notice date, back at the end of April,investors stood for delivery of 2,166 contracts, a 20% increase over March. That represented a withdrawal of about 10.8 million ounces of silver. The price was near $50 per ounce.
What Would Fractional Silver Mean?
Jimm Motyka - Infowars.com
In Mid-may of this year, something curious happened, which I’d not seen before.
I’ve been following the course of where the dollar was heading and how it related to the pricing of gold and silver. Typically, I follow a number of sources for information, then try to wrap all those opinions into something concise, allowing me to share it with others. Most everyone following precious metals knows how GATA has been beating the drum about gold manipulation for quite some time now. History (past and current) is a very good place to start down the rabbit trail.
Commodities bull run to continue despite setbacks: Jim Rogers
SINGAPORE (Commodity Online): Global commodities guru and ace investor Jim Rogers says that the ongoing commodities bull run may encounter setbacks. However, he said that the bullish run in global commodities sector will continue till 2020.
Speaking at the BIR Ferrous Division plenary meeting in Singapore, Rogers said that ‘recyclers will be very rich’ as 3bn people in the world are increasing their consumption at a time when supply of a range of commodities is under duress.
Gold could hit $1600 by the end of this year: GFMS
SHANGHAI (Commodity Online): Major precious metals reserech consultant firm GFMS said Gold's decade-long price rally could take the metal above $1,600 an ounce by the end of the year.
GFMS also said world’s largest gold bar and coin consumer China could import more gold this year.
According to Philip Kalpwijk, executive chairman of GFMS, Chinese demand for gold bars and coins as private investments could push bullion imports above 400 tons in 2011.
Gold and Silver Stops Bleeding: Where to Now?
BY JULIAN PHILLIPS - FinancailSense.com
This is the 'big' question investors all over the world are now asking.
Gold fell from $1,578 to $1,492 [5.45%] in the fall. In the euro it fell from €1,065 to €1,042 [2.16%]. The fall of gold in the euro painted a more accurate reflection of supply and demand, because the dollar rose against the euro, as gold was falling. This was simply a correction, provided the gold price has stopped falling now. A fall of 10% is a proper correction and a mid-trend correction fall should be around 20 to 30%.
D.C. copper thieves may be posing as road crews
Mark Segraves - WTOP.com
WASHINGTON - Copper thieves possibly posing as road crews are causing parts of the District to go dark.
The D.C. Department of Transportation says thieves have stolen copper wire installed in underground conduits at least four times in recent weeks. Officials say in some cases the thieves may be posing as road contractors at staged work zones in order to commit the crime. They may even be detouring traffic.
One wire theft caused an illuminated Interstate 295 sign to go dark on northbound Kenilworth Avenue between Polk Street and Eastern Avenue.
The Inside World of an Economic Hitman
By Robert Wenzel - EconomicPolicyJournal.com
Below are clips from a speech given by John Perkins author of, Confessions of an Economic Hitman.
Although the speech was delivered in 2006, it is as relevant today as it was 5 years ago. It is an insider's account of how the IMF, World Bank and similar organizations muscle small countries for the benefit of the power elite. You have never heard a speech like this before. The full first clip, along with roughly the first 15 minutes of the second clip, are most informative. Perkins continues on after that, but at that point he calls for a new central type plan to organize the world. In other words, he doesn't get that it is central power that is the problem.
If his central power plan were to be implemented, the elitist bad guys would capture that power structure, just like they have captured the current power structure.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Part 2/3
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Part 3/3
Illinois on "verge of financial disaster": treasurer
(Reuters) - Illinois is "on the verge of a financial disaster" as payments on the state's debt have skyrocketed, Treasurer Dan Rutherford said on Monday.
Illinois faces an estimated $45 billion in principal and interest payments on its outstanding debt over the next 25 years, up nearly four-fold from the $12 billion owed in 2002, according to a position paper from the Republican treasurer, who took office in January.
Adding to the state's debt burden is $140 billion in unfunded pension and retiree health-care liabilities and $8 billion of currently unpaid bills, the paper said.
Can managed care help save Medicaid?
By Suzy Khimm - WashingtonPost.com
Although the controversy over Medicare reform has dominated the headlines, the heated debate over entitlement spending has also thrust Medicaid into the spotlight. Responsible for shouldering part of Medicaid costs, fiscally strapped states have been crying uncle as enrollment in the program has ballooned as a result of the recession and a growing elderly population. While national lawmakers remain at loggerheads over entitlement reform on Capitol Hill, both Democrats and Republican-controlled states are pushing aggressive Medicaid reforms in hopes of cutting costs. In recent months, nearly a dozen states have passed or proposed plans to move more Medicaid participants into managed care, run by for-profit HMOs as well as nonprofit health insurers.
Who said that? Dems and GOP display dizzying shift on Medicare
By Julian Pecquet and Jamie Klatell - TheHill.com
Just a little over a year ago, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) took to the House floor to warn America of the perils facing seniors if Democrats’ healthcare reform bill wasn't stopped.
"Can you go home and tell your senior citizens that these cuts in Medicare will not limit their access to doctors or further weaken the program instead of strengthening it? No, you cannot," the then-minority leader asked his colleagues last March.
Fast forward 13 months, and Boehner - now Speaker - is singing a different tune.
McConnell:
Saying Medicare is off the table is 'silly talk' and 'nonsense'
By Alexander Bolton and Josiah Ryan - TheHill.com
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday that Medicare reform must be part of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, despite indications that changing the entitlement will be politically unpopular.
Democrats made Medicare reforms pushed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a central issue in a special election in upstate New York they won last week, despite it being a heavily Republican district.
Insider trading OK for congress? House members in the know score 'abnormal' stock profits
By Valerie Richardson-The Washington Times
It’s no secret that members of Congress qualify as political insiders, but a new report strongly suggests that they also may be insiders when it comes to trading stocks.
An extensive study released Wednesday in the journal Business and Politics found that the investments of members of the House of Representatives outperformed those of the average investor by 55 basis points per month, or 6 percent annually, suggesting that lawmakers are taking advantage of inside information to fatten their stock portfolios.
Beware, Citizen! Here Are Ron Paul's 15 Most ‘Extreme’ Positions
by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. - LewRockwell.com
Extremism is a sacred word in the bipartisan lexicon, solemnly reserved for willful and persistent deviations from the holy mainstream. For that reason, it is not extremism to favor a policy that led to 2 million deaths in Vietnam. Our mainstream politicians supported that, you see. It is not extremism to have favored the indefensible war in Iraq, which led to at least hundreds of thousands of deaths and four million people displaced. How could it be? Why, the Washington Postand the New York Times favored it!
How about a sanctions policy that led to the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children? Even if this statistic were false, American officials, including former Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, said half a million dead Iraqi children were "worth it." No mainstream outlet I am aware of has referred to Albright and Richardson as extremists.
Thought Controllers Call Ron Paul "Extreme"
Big Sis Pre-Crime System to Scan Americans For "Malintent" Guilty until proven innocent – physiological sensors and DHS interrogations to control behavior at sports stadiums, malls, train stations, airports and other public places
Paul Joseph Watson - Prison Planet.com
Chilling technology straight out of Minority Report that would subject Americans to pre-crime interrogations and physiological scans to detect “malintent” at sports stadiums, malls, airports and other public places has moved closer to being implemented after Homeland Security’s FAST program passed its first round of testing.
"FAST" Coming to an Airport near YOU! -
Future Attribute Screening Technology:
The Machine That Reads (Malintent) Minds
Bikers journey for a day of Thunder Motorcycle rally celebrates American veterans
By Meredith Somers-The Washington Times
The death of Osama bin Laden, the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11 were all perhaps suitable rallying cries for this year’s Rolling Thunder event. But the thousands of military and civilian motorcycle riders who rumbled across the District on Sunday for the 24th annual event never wavered from their original message about remembering American prisoners of war and supporting veterans.
"This whole thing was here before 9/11," Iraq veteran Staff Sgt. Scot Dellmore said. "I always come here. You can’t beat D.C. You can't beat the crowd of bikes."
Gen. Cartwright, poised to lead Joint Chiefs,
had his shot derailed by critics
By Craig Whitlock - WashingtonPost.com
President Obama summoned one of his favorite and most trusted military advisers, MarineGen. James E. Cartwright, to the White House on May 21 for a one-on-one meeting. It was a Saturday, less than three weeks since the president had celebrated the death of Osama bin Laden with Cartwright and other members of his national security team. But this time, the president had bad news.
Over the previous year, Obama had asked Cartwright on three occasions if he'd be willing to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking officer in the armed forces and principal military adviser to the president. According to two military officials close to Cartwright, who has served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs since 2007, the general demurred the first two times, saying he was looking forward to retirement after a 40-year military career.
Obama names Dempsey as Joint Chiefs chairman
By Dave Boyer-The Washington Times
In the latest shake-up of his national security team, President Obama on Monday named ArmyGen. Martin E. Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, less than two months after elevating him to the Army’s top post.
"Martin Dempsey is one of our most respected and combat-tested generals," Mr. Obama said in a Memorial Day event in the White HouseRose Garden. "I expect him to push all our forces to continue adapting and innovating."
The president also named Adm. James A. Winnefeld, head of the U.S. Northern Command, as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Gen. Ray Odierno as Army chief of staff. The appointments are pending Senateconfirmation.
The Political Doctrine of Statism
Mises Daily: by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.
The Patriot Act that was rammed through after the September 2001 attacks was one of the more egregious blows against liberty in our lifetimes. It shredded core rights and liberties that had been taken for granted for centuries. Liberties are never lost all at once, but the Patriot Act, as disgusting in its details as in its name and the rhetoric that surrounded it, was for the United States the turning point, the law that best exemplifies a full-scale embrace of statism as a national ideology. It is a law so severe, so outlandish, as to cause people to forget what it means to be free.
U.S. Is Being Outpaced on Dealing With Deficits, Climate
By E.J. Dionne - RealClearPolitics.com
WASHINGTON -- While the United States remains utterly frozen in a debate about budget deficits and all the things that government shouldn't do, other countries are marrying public and private resources to make themselves stronger and more competitive.
While the United States is not even sure we should have gone halfway toward providing health insurance to all of our citizens, other democratic countries long ago began using government to cover all their citizens -- and have health costs far lower than ours.
Libya: Five generals defect as pressure mounts on Muammar Gaddafi A mass defection of senior military officers puts more pressure on the regime of Col Muammar Gaddafi as the last chance for a negotiated settlement to the crisis seemed to pass and Nato prepared to intensify air strikes.
By Richard Spencer, Tripoli - Telegraph.co.uk
Five generals, two colonels and a major told a news conference in Rome that they fled Libya in protest at the killings of civilians and that Col Gaddafi's military strength had been reduced by 80 per cent.
Only ten generals remain loyal, Gen Melud Massoud Halasa, one of the defectors, said.
At least 100 more army officers have left Libya in recent days, according to Abdurrahman Shalgam, Libya's ambassador to the United Nations, who defected himself in the early days of the uprising against Col Gaddafi's regime.
Al-Jazeera footage captures 'western troops on the ground' in Libya Five of Gaddafi's generals are among latest defectors to rebels as South African president seeks to broker ceasefire
By Julian Borger and Martin Chulov - Guardian.co.uk
Armed westerners have been filmed on the front line with rebels near Misrata in the first apparent confirmation that foreign special forces are playing an active role in the Libyan conflict.
A group of six westerners are clearly visible in a report by al-Jazeerafrom Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misrata. Five of them were armed and wearing sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves.
Libyan rebels continue to struggle
Osama bin Laden tried to establish 'grand coalition' of militant groups Al-Qaida leader spent final weeks trying to strengthen links with Afghan and Pakistani insurgent groups in bid to 'stay relevant'
By Jason Burke in Kabul - Guardian.co.uk
Osama bin Laden spent much of his last weeks alive planning a new attempt to bring the disparate factions among insurgents and militants fighting in Pakistan and Afghanistan together under the umbrella of al-Qaida.
The terrorist leader, who had made repeated efforts to unify militant groups, was even considering risking leaving his safe house in Abbottabad, the northern Pakistani garrison town, to try to build a fresh alliance through face-to-face meetings, sources in Pakistan, Afghanistan and America have told the Guardian.
LETTER FROM A FUKUSHIMA MOTHER - 29 MAY 2011
CollapseNet.com
Hiroko Tabuchi wrote:
When Tomoko-san, a mother of two in Fukushima City, heard from an NGO worker that I was going to be in Fukushima to report on a story about radiation levels at local schools, she was kind enough to volunteer her time to speak to me – and handed me this letter. I promised to translate it and share it with you. So here it is: Letter Translated:
To people in the United States and around the world,
I am so sorry for the uranium and plutonium that Japan has released into the environment.The fallout from Fukushima has already circled the world many times, reaching Hawaii, Alaska, and even New York.
We live 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the plant and our homes have been contaminated beyond levels seen at Chernobyl. The cesium-137 they are finding in the soil will be here for 30 years. But the government will not help us. They tell us to stay put. They tell our kids to put on masks and hats and keep going to school.
Netanyahu: Israel cannot prevent UN recognition of Palestinian state PM says it's impossible to recognize a Palestinian state without passing through the UN Security Council but assures such a move is bound to fail.
By Jonathan Lis - Haaretz.com
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that no one can prevent the recognition of a Palestinian state in the United Nations in September.
"No one has the power to stop the decision to recognize a Palestinian state in the UN General Assembly in September," Netanyahu said. "It can also be possible to make the decision there that the world is flat."
Netanyahu said Israel can't prevent UN recognition of a Palestinian state, and added that Israel expects to receive support only from a handful of countries.
"Judge of Nations, spare us yet.
Lest we forget—lest we forget."
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
Washington State Bank Is Shut; 44 Failures in 2011
AP - ABC News
Regulators on Friday shut down a small bank in Washington state, pushing to 44 the number of U.S. bank failures this year in the wake of a severe recession and mounting troubled loans.
The pace of closures has slowed, however, as the economy improves and banks work their way through the bad debt. By this time last year, regulators had closed 78 banks.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized Snohomish, Wash.-based First Heritage Bank, with $173.5 million in assets and $163.3 million in deposits. Tacoma, Wash.-based Columbia State Bank has agreed to assume the assets and deposits of the failed bank.
Unofficial Problem Bank list increases to 997 Institutions
by CalculatedRisk
Activities of the FDIC contributed to many changes to the Unofficial Problem Bank List this week as they closed a bank and released their enforcement actions through April 2011. In all, there were 12 additions and three removals, which leaves the list at 997 institutions with assets of $415.4 billion compared with 988 institutions and assets of $423.9 billion last week.
Asset figures were updated from 2010q4 to 2011q1, which caused aggregate assets to drop by $9.8 billion. The net of additions and removals this week caused assets to rise $1.4 billion.
Kansas City Fed's Hoenig Sees Need to Lift Rates
By JOSEPH WHITE - WSJ.com $$
A top Federal Reserve official says it is time to raise interest rates to avoid causing inflation and economic problems.
Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, in a CNN interview broadcast Sunday said the U.S. should learn lessons from the last decade when low interest rates ended up discouraging savings in the U.S. and causing economic problems.
"We have to think forward from here. And that is, what is the consequence of an extended period of zero interest rates for future years?" Mr. Hoenig said on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. Mr. Hoenig cited inflation, but "imbalances in the economy" as problems that could arise from continuing low rates.
Second Biggest Weekly Drop Ever
In Treasurys Held In The Fed's Custodial Account
As Foreigners Dump
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
There was one truly interesting observation in this week's Fed balance sheet update: not that the actual balance sheet hit a new all time record (which it did at $2.779 trillion), or that the Fed added another $24 billion in Treasurys to its balance sheet, or that total reserves hit a new all time record, increasing by $53 billion to $1.59 trillion. No. The biggest surprise was that in the just ended week, Treasury securities held in custodial accounts at the Fed, considered by some the best real-time representation of foreign holdings of US Treasurys considering that the TIC update is not only wildly inaccurate in its monthly update, but is also 3 months delayed, dropped by the largest amount in 4 years. From a total of $2.704 trillion, USTs held in custodial accounts declined by $18.7 billion to $2.685 billion. This is the second largest decline in history, only topped by the $22.1 billion in the week of August 15, 2007 which is the week that followed the great quant crash of 2007 that wiped out, among others, Goldman Alpha.
UN warns of dollar collapse... U.N. sees risk of crisis of confidence in dollar
By Patrick Worsnip
(Reuters) - The United Nations warned on Wednesday of a possible crisis of confidence in, and even a "collapse" of, the U.S. dollar if its value against other currencies continued to decline.
In a mid-year review of the world economy, the U.N. economic division said such a development, stemming from the falling value of foreign dollar holdings, would imperil the global financial system.
The report, an update of the U.N. "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011" report first issued in December, noted that the dollar exchange rate against a basket of other key currencies had reached its lowest level since the 1970s.
When Faith In U.S. Dollars And U.S. Debt Is Dead
The Game Is Over –
And That Day Is Closer Than You May Think
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
A day is coming when the rest of the world will decide that it no longer has faith in U.S. dollars or in U.S. debt. When that day arrives, the game will be over. Traditionally, two of the biggest things that the U.S. economy has had going for it were the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries. The U.S. dollar has been the default reserve currency of the world for decades. All over the globe it was seen as a strong, stable currency that was desirable for international trade. U.S. government debt has long been considered the "safest debt" in the entire world. Whenever there was a major crisis, investors would flock to U.S. Treasuries because they were considered a rock. Sadly, all of this is now changing. Today the rest of the world is losing faith in the U.S. financial system. In fact, even the United Nations is now warning of the collapse of the dollar. But if the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries collapse, that will be an absolute nightmare for the U.S. economy. If the rest of the world does not want our dollars someday, then what are we going to give them in exchange for all of the oil and all of the cheap imported goods they send us? If the rest of the world does not want our debt someday, then how in the world are we going to be able to continue to consume far, far more wealth than we produce?
Ron Paul's Debt Ceiling Warning
Why Is The Economy So Bad?
EndOFTheAmericanDream.com
Millions of Americans have lost their homes, tens of millions of Americans can't find a decent job and 44 million Americans are on food stamps. This is causing an increasing number of Americans to ask this question: "Why is the economy so bad?" There are some Americans that are old enough to remember the Great Depression, but the vast majority of us have never known hard times. All our lives we were told that America was the greatest economy on the planet and that we would always experience endless prosperity in this nation. That was easy to believe because even though we had a recession once in a while, things always bounced back and got even better than ever. But now something seems different. The current economic downturn began back in 2007 and yet here we are in 2011 and there seems to be no end in sight for this economic crisis. So what in the world is going on? Can anyone explain why the economy is so bad?
The following are some of the kinds of questions that the American people are asking about the economy these days....
After the crash: the pauperisation of middle-class America With the crisis now in its fifth year, it's plain that the rich and powerful have restructured society toward ever-greater inequality -- By Richard Wolff - Guardian.co.uk
The current global crisis of capitalism began with the severe contraction in the housing markets in mid 2007. Therefore, welcome to Year Five. This inventory of where things stand may begin with the good news: the major banks, the stock market and corporate profits have largely or completely "recovered" from the lows they reached early in 2009. The US dollar has fallen sharply against many currencies of countries with which the US trades, and that has enabled US exports to rebound from their crisis lows.
Marc Faber: Prepare For Another War
by Jonathan Chen - LewRockwell.com
Marc Faber of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report spoke at the Ira Sohn Conference yesterday, and talked about the destructive nature of U.S. monetary and fiscal policy, and a way to play it.
Faber said that U.S. monetary and fiscal policy has created more volatility, and we can expect more of that going forward. Faber mentioned the Long Term Capital bailout, the liquidity that rushed in during Y2K, and the end result. The NASDAQ crashed, falling some 50%, and it still has not come close to those levels.
Save Us From The Tyranny Of Bankers
By Bob Chapman - TheinternationalForecaster.com
We hope all of our appearances on Greek TV, radio and in the press have helped the educational process and to allow the Greeks to identify who the real culprits are, and what to do about it. It has just been over a year since this tragedy became reality, but we reported on Greece and Italy ten years ago. They both bent the rules to enter the euro zone. We knew then that Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were assisting them by creating credit default swaps. There were a few Europeon journalist who reported on the issue, but the elitists control the media and few noticed that Greece and Italy were beyond bogus. The events of the past year remind us of the onslaught of the credit crisis, which unfortunately is still with us. What finally brought about trouble for Greece and other euro zone countries was the zero interest rate policy of the Fed and slightly higher rates by the EC. These policies encouraged speculation and caused problems that would have never happened otherwise. In addition, the stimulus measures by both banks were embarked upon to save the financial sectors and in that process promote speculation by the people who caused thee problems in the first place. That began with QE1 and stimulus 1, which we now recognize as our inflation drivers. Wait until QE2 and stimulus 2 appear next year. It will be very shocking
Europe Goes From Worse To Horrible
Ireland Broker Than Expected,
Greece Mulls Splitting Up Into "Good" And "Bad" Greece
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Greece hasn't even filed for bankruptcy yet and the "unexpected" consequences are already coming. In comments to The Sunday Times newspaper, Irish Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said the country will likely need another "unexpected" loan from the troica, after he became the first cabinet member to cast doubt in public on Ireland's ability to raise cash. In other words once on the temporary bailout wagon, always on the temporary bailout gain. Reuters reports: "I think it's very unlikely we'll be able to go back next year. I think it might take a bit longer ... 2013 might be possible but who knows?" Varadkar was quoted as saying. "It would mean a second program (of loans from the EU/IMF)," he said. "Either an extension of the existing program or a second program. I think that would generally be most people's view." We wonder how German taxpayers will fell now that they realize they have not one, not two, but three (and soon 5 or more) heroin addicts they need to clean, wash, scrub, and feed on a monthly basis (with their, and US money, but Americans continue to not care that the biggest source of capital for the IMF is them). And speaking of ground zero, Greece is now scrambling after the Independent said that even Sarkozy is now prepared to let the Greek chips falls where they may.
Sovereign debt worries to lift gold again
CommodityOnline.com
(Kitco News) - A strong rally on Friday and persistent worries about the Eurozone sovereign debt issues are likely to keep gold prices supported into next week, with a chance to possibly test new highs.
Silver remains volatile and this will likely keep most market participants sidelined, traders said.
August gold futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $1,537.30 an ounce, up 1.8% on the week, while June gold settled at $1,537.30, up 1.8%. July silver settled at $37.863 an ounce, up 7.9% on the week.
Ben Bernanke's Lone Positive Legacy:
A Return To The Gold Standard
By Bill Frezza - Forbes.com
I'll make two predictions with utter confidence. The first is that one day Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be ridden out of town on a rail, joining Arthur Burns in that special circle of hell reserved for monetary debauchers. The second is that in the aftermath of our pending inflationary disaster we will see the gold standard return.
The Federal Reserve long ago lost control of inflation, now ravaging several sectors of our economy. This is obvious to every economist not a member of Bernanke's Greek chorus, singing lyrics provided by the gnomes in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their modern re-interpretation of the dance of the seven veils uses statistical "adjustments" instead of scarves, but these keep the evidence of inflation as hidden as Salome's charms. My favorite fudge has to be the "hedonic quality adjustment." What are you going to believe, the government’s regression coefficient estimates or your own lying eyes?
Reinforcing the bullish fundamentals of gold and silver
By Jeff Nichols - CommodityOnline.com
Just a few weeks ago, gold and silver prices were soaring, almost beyond belief. A growing chorus of investors, analysts, and financial journalists opined that the “bubble” in precious metals prices would soon pop - and many predicted an imminent long-term bear market was just around the corner.
And, when precious metals prices tumbled - gold from its all-time intraday high of $1,576.50 on May 1st to an intraday low of $1,463.20 just four days later and silver from $49.59 on April 28th to $32.44 a couple of weeks later - pundits were quick to declare that the bubble burst . . . and many pronounced that the bull market in these metals was over, done, kaput, much like the end of the world that was also predicted around the same time and similarly garnered much media attention.
Peter Schiff on CNBC Fast Money 5/26/11
US Commodity Regulation - A Failed Mission?
By: Theodore Butler - SilverSeek.com
In my latest dispatch to subscribers, I tried to describe the favorable set up for higher prices present in silver and other metals markets. That favorable set up may be in the process of unfolding. This set up was created, particularly in silver, as a result of the engineered takedown we just experienced. Having already discussed what may develop from this point, I would like to vent a bit about what just occurred.
It still amazes me that so few seem to be outraged by what transpired in the silver market starting on Sunday, May 1. That night, silver plunged sharply, by $6 an ounce (or 13%) in minutes, setting the stage for a one-week price decline of 30%. Simply stated, a 30% decline in one week in any commodity market is a very big deal, especially when there was no supply/demand news to account for it. More outrageous is that the primary regulators of the silver market, the CFTC and the CME group, have not publicly commented on the big market plunge in silver.
America Will Not Survive Without Alternative Markets
By Brandon Smith - PPJG
Commerce is the lifeblood of a nation. Without the free flow of trade, without financial adaptability, without intuitive markets driven by the natural currents of supply, demand, and innovation, cultures stagnate, countries whither, and one generation after the next finds itself deeper in the somber doldrums of economic disintegration. In an environment of transparency, honesty, and the absence of monopoly (government or corporate), on the rare occasions in history that these conditions are actually present in one place at one time, we often see an explosion of prosperity and true wealth creation. When local, decentralized markets are given precedence over subversive elitist leviathans like mercantilism or globalism, a wellspring of abundance bursts forward. Free people, building true free markets that serve the specific needs of individual communities and insulating the overall economy from systemic collapse; this has always been the wave of the future. Not "integration", "harmonization", or some fantastical nonsensical "global village" administrated by a faceless unaccountable transnational entity like the IMF, infested with sociopathic maid raping euro-trolls.
Pensions Leap Back to Hedge Funds
By STEVE EDER, GREGORY ZUCKERMAN
and MICHAEL CORKERY - WSJ.com
Public pension plans are lifting hedge-fund investment, seeking to boost long-term returns despite losses suffered in some funds in the financial crisis.
Also, pension officials are using the historically strong returns of hedge funds to justify a rosier future outlook for their investment returns. By generating more gains from their investments, pension funds can avoid the politically unpalatable position of having to raise more money via higher taxes or bigger contributions from employees or reducing benefits for the current or future retirees.
Multinationals propping up U.S. economic growth
By Martin Hutchinson - Reuters.com
U.S. multinationals are propping up the nation's economic growth. While annualized first quarter GDP growth was a sluggish 1.8 percent, much of it inventory buildup, the private sector expanded more strongly, as did returns from overseas investments. With the government now reining in outlays, America’s biggest companies are providing the economic stimulus.
The headline GDP growth figure would have been 1.1 percentage points higher but for a decline in government spending. And gross private sector output grew at an annual pace of 3.6 percent in the quarter, up from a 2.6 percent growth rate for 2010 as a whole, suggesting an acceleration in productive output as the government's post-crisis efforts at stimulus are withdrawn.
Walmart's How Big? What the Huge Numbers Really Mean
By Loren Berlin - DailyFinance.com
When it comes to companies, it can be hard to get a feel for their size. They may say they're "big," but what does that actually mean? Consider Walmart (WMT), for example. This year, for the seventh time in the past decade,Fortunemagazineawarded the retailer the No. 1 slot on its annual list of the 500 largest American companies, as measured by revenues (total earnings before subtracting out expenses).
But how big is Walmart really? The numbers provided byFortuneare so insanely large that they're hard to wrap your head around in the abstract. So I did a little digging and came up with some pretty stunning comparisons.
According to Fortune,Walmart sold $421,849,000,000 worth of stufflast year. The largest purchase most of us will ever make is our house: If all Walmart sold were new homes, which averaged $268,900 in April, that would be almost 1.59 million homes.
Economy, Insure Thyself
Robert J. Shiller - Project-Syndicate.org
NEW HAVEN – The basic principle of financial risk management is sharing. The more broadly diversified our financial portfolios, the more people there are who share in the inevitable risks – and the less an individual is affected by any given risk. The theoretical ideal occurs when financial contracts spread the risks all over the world, so that billions of willing investors each own a tiny share, and no one is over-exposed.
The case of Japan shows that, despite some of our financial markets’ great sophistication, we are still a long way from the theoretical ideal. Considering the huge risks that are not managed well, finance, even in the twenty-first century, is actually still rather primitive.
Glut of Vacant Homes Complicates Recovery
By Mark Whitehouse - WSJ.com
14.3 million: The number of homes vacant year-round as of the end of March 2011
How long will the housing market take to hit bottom? A lot depends on whether people will want to occupy millions of empty homes.
Five years after the housing bust began, the market is still groaning under the weight of a near-record 14.3 million vacant residences. That’s about 3 million more than what was normal before the bust — a glut that could take more than 13 years to eradicate, given the depressed rate at which Americans have been starting new households and assuming construction of new homes remains at April's low annualized level of only 551,000.
Could Foreclosuregate Really Cost Big Banks $17 Billion? State attorneys general are demanding this sum, but the numbers and legal realities suggest that they are being unreasonable
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
At this point, we can be fairly confident that banks cut corners and sometimes even broke laws when processing foreclosures over the past couple of years. As a result, they should face whatever fines or penalties -- or even criminal charges -- that should result through the laws in place. Banks should also face civil lawsuits from any borrowers on which they wrongly foreclosed. How much money could those civil lawsuits cost them? According to the state attorneys general, the five big banks could be on the hook for $17 billion. Is this a realistic estimate?
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that this $17 billion sum is the one that's being presented to the five biggest banks in settlement talks. The banks, however, think that number is much too high. They are reportedly offering $5 billion. Obviously, there's a big difference between $5 billion and $17 billion. Which number more realistically describes what banks might owe borrowers in civil court?
Fraudclosure 1:
Faces Of Fraudclosure...The Dylan Ratigan Show
Fraudclosure 2:
Mortgage Lenders Broke Trust...The Dylan Ratigan Show
Fraudclosure 3:
Whistleblowers Speak Out...The Dylan Ratigan Show
House Prices:
Will the March Case-Shiller indexes be at new post bubble lows?
by CalculatedRisk
Just a quick note: The publicly available S&P Case-Shiller release on Tuesday will include the two composite indexes (10 and 20 cities) for March, the National Index for Q1, and the indexes for 20 cities.
In nominal terms, the two Case-Shiller composite indexes for February were still above the previous post bubble lows set in April 2009. The Case-Shiller national index (released quarterly), hit a new post bubble low in Q4 2010.
Hopeless Home Equity
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
As the unemployment rate begins to slowly fall, more Americans are better able to keep up with their bills. Consequently, the number of severely delinquent loans is beginning to decline. But some types of loans are faring better than others.
A recent report by from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that severe delinquency continues to rise for home equity loans, while delinquency for other types of loans is slowly declining:
On Friday I turned 50 years old,
and although I haven't changed, this country sure has…
By Martin Andelman
For those of you not yet 50 years old, just so you know, it’s anticlimactic... I feel the same as I did when I turned 40, or 30, for that matter. No big deal, nothing changes at 50 that I can tell. Oh sure, I've got to lose some of the weight I’ve put on, but that’s not age… that’s blogging. Blogging will kill you if you’re not careful.
What’s changed is this country. It’s not at all the same as it’s been throughout my lifetime, in fact it's very different in quite a few substantive ways... do you feel it too, or is it just me? It actually has me pretty worried about us... about our future.
A few years ago we were pretty solidly polarized... thanks mostly to cable news stations… we had become a country of red states and blue states, instead of a country with states in every shade of purple, as we'd always been in the past. I suppose that’s what happens when you allow the line between "news" and "editorial" to blur.
The 20 Best-Read Cities in America
By Richard Florida - TheAtlantic.com
Which cities are America's best-read? There's no need for guess work any longer, now that Amazon.com has compiled all of its book, magazine, and newspaper sales (in both print and Kindle format) since January 1st of this year for U.S cities with populations of more than 100,000 and ranked them according to their per-capita sales. Some of the results (via Mashable) are ho-hum, others more surprising.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Alexandria, Virginia
Berkeley, California
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Boulder, Colorado...
From Wisconsin to Florida,
Strong Winds of Political Remorse
By Joe Conason - Truthdig.com
Still spinning in the vortex of the May 24 tornado in New York’s 26th Congressional District, Republican leaders insist that Democrat Kathy Hochul’s upset victory on their party’s turf was meaningless. They say that Republican nominee Jane Corwin lost because of her own weak campaign, or the presence of a big-spending tea party candidate on a third ballot line, or just about anything except the Republican scheme to slash Medicare—which became the dominant topic of debate during the special election’s final weeks.
Yet there are signals not only from upstate New York but around the nation that the Republicans face surging discontent, as voters learn what they intend when they attain power. With a majority in the House of Representatives, they have devised a budget plan that would help nobody except the wealthiest taxpayers, while devastating the nation’s health insurance programs, physical infrastructure and environment.
The Russians are coming — to Silicon Valley
By Chrystia Freeland - Reuters.com
The Russians are coming. So far, the invaders are both welcome and unexpected — these aren't the Cold War comrades who aspired to geopolitical domination or the first wave of oligarchs with their treasure chest of natural resources. These Russians propose to conquer the world’s new frontier — the Internet — and they are every bit as cocky as their forebears.
Russia's arrival as a would-be technology superpower was announced this week when Yandex, a Russian Internet search company, made its debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the biggest U.S. Internet listing since Google went public in 2004.
With characteristic Russian bravado, Ilya Segalovich, the company’s chief technology officer, told my colleagues Alina Selyukh and Megan Davies that Yandex was superior to the behemoth Google: "Google is a great company, but we are better." Yandex is "very focused on what we are doing, and the focus is technology and search."
Supreme Court Dives Into Arizona's Immigration Laws But as with the ruling today on Wisconsin's anti-bargaining law, it's still too soon to say how the issue will play out in the end
By Andrew Cohen - TheAtlantic.com
It's too bad that United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, the eternal swing voter, did not write his own opinion in Thursday's employer/immigration/licensing case out of Arizona. If he had, perhaps the world would have a better sense of where the Court will come down next term, or the term after that, when the justices finally tackle Arizona's even grander battle with the federal government over immigration policies and practices.
Until then, we are left only to ponder the possibilities raised by the majority's opinion(s) in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting. It is true that Justice Kennedy sided (this time) with his conservative colleagues in endorsing an Arizona law that authorizes state officials to suspend or revoke the licenses of business whose managers knowingly or intentionally hire undocumented workers. That law, five justices said with differing degrees of rectitude, is neither preempted by federal immigration law nor implicitly in conflict with federal immigration policy.
Small Businesses Fight IRS Over Data
By LAURA SAUNDERS - WSJ.com
The Internal Revenue Service, moving aggressively to collect more taxes from small businesses, is telling companies being audited to turn over exact copies of the electronic records kept in their business-software programs, according to a letter from an agency official to the American Institute of CPAs.
The accounting group fears this will force small businesses to turn over customer lists, personnel data, confidential client information and other unrelated information often contained in the off-the-shelf software programs many businesses use to manage all aspects of their finances.
Energy Myths of the Left
By Ross Kaminsky - The American Spectator.org
From confused "peak oil" theorists to confused Congressmen, it's all but impossible to hear a discussion of US energy policy without hearing the left's tired refrain: "The United States currently uses 25% of the world oil production but has only 2% of world reserves." The left uses this misinformation to argue against domestic oil drilling, claiming that with only two percent of the world's reserves, we can't possibly have enough oil in the ground to matter.
It's a line which reminds me of Mark Twain's wisdom (which he attributed to Benjamin Disraeli) that "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." Twain would be proud of these haters of fossil fuels whose "statistics" fall apart upon examination of a couple of definitions and a few pieces of data.
Obama Orders 100% Alternative Fuels in Government by 2015
Written by Biofuels Digest - OilPrice.com
In Washington, President Barack Obama has issued a Presidential Memorandum that all federal car fleets must buy only 100% alternative fuel vehicles by the end of 2015. The memo included issues such as vehicle size, engine size, optional equipment, and optimum fleet size as well as leveraging purchasing dollars "to build manufacturing capacity for more alternative fueled vehicles."
The National Biodiesel Board "applauded the White House's directive, ordering the federal government to move toward alternative-fuel vehicles, pointing out biodiesel’s unique position as a widely available advanced biofuel that significantly reduces emissions and can be used in existing vehicles."
US Airforce Speak Out Against Biofuel Use:
10 Times the Cost of Current Jet Fuel
Written by Robert Rapier - OilPrice.com
Just over a year ago, I wrote an article called Is Camelina the Next Jatropha? If you recall, a few years ago jatropha was all the rage. It could grow in marginal soil, didn’t need much water, and could provide fuel that didn’t compete with food. Farmers in developing countries were encouraged to forgo cash crops like cotton to grow jatropha, which wouldn’t be ready for harvest for at least three years after planting.
Then reality began to set in. People learned that while jatropha is drought tolerant, it needs ample rainfall to flourish. There were many firsthand reports from farmers that growing and harvesting jatropha was very labor intensive, and the oil yields were much lower than advertised. India warned that their efforts to produce biofuel from jatropha had stalled, and $5 billion in jatropha-related investments was at risk. The jatropha hype — like so many before it — had met up with harsh reality.
79 Senators vote to trash the Constitution
The "War of Terror" on the US grows Had the intent of the Patriot Act actually been to fight terrorism, the federal government would have had to turn its efforts inward and waged "war" on itself.
By Marti Oakley - PPJG
If you haven't received the memo yet, let me update you on your status as it pertains to the Constitution and your civil liberties; you have neither. Today, 79 Senators who snickered as they swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, voted to render you guilty in advance, with no chance of proving your innocence. The unlawful data mining and collection, the compilation of dossiers on virtually every person in the US, the unwarranted wire-tapping, the rifling through personal records of all kinds for no other reason than to collect information to be used at a later date if the government decides to prosecute you for whatever reasons, was extended.
Rep. Graves questions Obama's autopen signing
of Patriot Act extension
By Daniel Strauss - TheHill.com
Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) is questioning President Obama's use of an autopen in signing an extension of the Patriot Act.
In a letter Friday, Graves asks Obama to confirm that he saw the law prior to its autopen signing.
"Mr. President, I write to request your confirmation that S. 990, as passed by Congress, was presented to you prior to the autopen signing, as well as a detailed, written explanation of your Constitutional authority to assign a surrogate the responsibility of signing bills passed into law," Graves wrote.
The New Face Of War
By Conn Hallinan - FPIF.org
The assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden did more than knock off U.S. Public Enemy Number One. It formalized a new kind of warfare, where sovereignty is irrelevant, armies tangential, and decisions are secret. It is, in the words of counterinsurgency expert John Nagl, "an astounding change in the nature of warfare."
This type of war requires a vast intelligence apparatus, which now constitutes almost a fourth arm of government that most Americans are almost completely unaware of.. According to The Washington Post, this murky world includes 1,271 government agencies and 1,931 private companies in more than 10,000 locations across the country, with a budget last year of at least $80.1 billion.
RUSSIA CHANGES STANCE ON LIBYA
Truthdig.com
An unexpected voice is joining the international chorus urging Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to leave. On Friday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that he would use his country’s solid rapport with Libya to encourage Gadhafi to finally abandon his position—a development that happened on the heels of Medvedev’s meeting with President Obama. —KA
The New York Times:
Mr. Medvedev's announcement, which came a day after a 90-minute bilateral meeting with President Obama in France represents a pronounced shift in Russia's tone on Libya. Russia's criticism of NATO attacks had become increasingly tough over the last months, reviving a longstanding critique of American unilateralism that had quieted since Mr. Obama took office.
China's Security Blanket
By George H. Wittman - The American Spectator.org
Information has been long recognized by the Chinese as the most potent weapon in business and war. The ability to gather, analyze and utilize confidential information is an integral part of China's political and economic existence. Whether it be foreign or domestic, all information is considered "intelligence," both in its semantic and operational sense; as such, all information can therefore be considered of a security concern.
In the 1970s the Chinese began invigorating their external military intelligence program aimed at penetrating U.S. and European commercial and intellectual information centers. The devices they used were as rudimentary as they were traditional. Social contacts growing out of formal meetings were extended to lavish dinners and encouragement of personal friendships; all of which led to the creation of "a relationship of reciprocal favors." The Chinese are expert in this form of exploitation of social interaction. It's been a staple of their contact with "the long noses" since the days of Marco Polo.
Typhoon Strengthens, May Hit Fukushima Nuke Plant
By Aaron Sheldrick and Tsuyoshi Inajima - Bloomberg.com
Typhoon Songda strengthened to a supertyphoon after battering thePhilippines and headed for Japan on a track that may pass over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant by May 30, a U.S. monitoring center said.
Songda’s winds increased to 241 kilometers (150 miles) per hour from 213 kph yesterday, the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center said on its website. The storm’s eye was about 240 kilometers east of Aparri in the Philippines at 8 a.m. today, the center said. Songda was moving northwest at 19 kph and is forecast to turn to the northeast and cross the island of Okinawa by 9 p.m. local time tomorrow before heading for Honshu.
Green Shoots, Exit Strategy, No QE3
BY JIM WILLIE - FinancialSense.com
It is not clear whether the American financial community has the ability to observe and conclude that the US Federal Reserve is adrift and relies upon deception as policy in revealing its directions. Its position is to hold steady, inflate to oblivion, support financial markets in heavy volume secretly, and lie about leaving its trapped policy corner. The USFed is a propaganda machine that deals with ruses as a substitute for transparent policy discussion in the public forum. Two years ago the ruse disseminated widely was the Green Shoots of an economic recovery that had no basis at all. The scorched earth showed more evidence of ruin than fresh business creation, at a time when the grotesque insolvency was spreading like a disease throughout the entire US financial system. On one hand the USFed was busy operating numerous credit and liquidity facilities in order to prevent systemic seizure, busily redeeming the Wall Street toxic bonds at the highest possible prices. On the other hand they were talking about Green Shoots, as insolvency spread across the big banks to the household equity. They lost their credibility in the process. They have lost it completely after two full years of 0% rates, the ultimate in central bank shame. The Jackass dismissed the Green Shoots ploy quickly, regularly, and correctly, as whatever little shoots were present probably the handiwork of ant colonies or termite hills, mistaking green insect feces, or even some toxic green runoff from a nearby financial office of a corporation.
Staving Off Bankruptcy
BY DOUG HORNIG - FinancialSense.com
We're going broke.
This is not news. Anyone who has looked at the country's fiscal mess with a minimum of objectivity has known this for years. We've been writing about it here; former U.S. Comptroller David Walker has been shouting the message in every forum that will have him; Ron Paul has hammered away at the issue in the Congress. But only recently have any of us encountered more than a deaf ear in most of Washington.
Finally, the problem is being taken as seriously as it should be.
Bankrupt Nations, Trying to Keep the Future From Happening, Fail
By Simon Black - SilverBearCafe.com
Debt is slavery... or at least indentured servitude of the worst kind. That looming mortgage, theigh interest credit card debt, the short-term car loan - these are the forces that keep people from breaking free and taking action.
Ironically, debt begets more debt. According to FinAid, the average US student loan debt for a four-year private university graduate is nearly $36,000, and $24,000 for public. Throw in that first car loan and maybe a mortgage, and suddenly you’re staring at hundreds of thousands of dollars in demoralizing claims on your future income.
The Mounting Debt of the US Empire Business
By Bill Bonner - DailyReckoning.com
05/26/11 Paris, France – Not much was revealed in the markets yesterday. Everything went up. The Dow rose 38 points. The price of oil rose above $100. And gold rose too – up $3.
More evidence came in, showing that housing is weak. But no more evidence was needed.
Want to make some easy money? Buy a house! Get a DEEP discount on a distressed sale. Then mortgage the house for 30 years at a fixed rate. As big a mortgage as you can get.
The house will probably become even cheaper…but some time between today and 2041 your mortgage is sure to turn into a gift. The feds are trying to undermine the value of the dollar. Sooner or later, they’ll succeed…even beyond their wildest hopes.
Obama, other world leaders open G-8 summit in France;
security issues lead agenda
By Scott Wilson - WashingtonPost.com
DEAUVILLE, France — President Obama met with world leaders Thursday to discuss military operations in Libya and the implications of the Arab Spring at the start of the Group of 8 summit, a forum that a year ago remained preoccupied with the global economic crisis.
The shift to national security issues this year has been driven by the anti-government demonstrations sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East, a process Obama has said he will encourage with financial support for the region’s emerging democracies.
Fed Gave Banks Crisis Gains
on $80 Billion Secretive Loans as Low as 0.01%
By Bob Ivry - Bloomberg.com
Credit Suisse Group AG (CS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) andRoyal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) each borrowed at least $30 billion in 2008 from a Federal Reserve emergency lending program whose details weren't revealed to shareholders, members of Congress or the public.
The $80 billion initiative, called single-tranche open- market operations, or ST OMO, made 28-day loans from March through December 2008, a period in which confidence in global credit markets collapsed after the Sept. 15 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Federal Reserve Lending Revelations
Intensify Criticism Of Central Bank's Secrecy
By William Alden - HuffingtonPost.com
In the midst of the global financial crisis in 2008, the Federal Reserve lent Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Scotland at least $30 billion each at interest rates as low as 0.01 percent with no public disclosure of the details, Bloomberg Newsreported on Thursday.
The latest revelations about the covert infusions of credit provided by the Fed to some of the world's largest banks has amplified accusations that the central bank is a power unto itself, operating according to its own devices and in the interest of major financial institutions -- and beyond accountability to taxpayers.
World Bank Predicts the Demise of the US Dollar by 2025
Written by Mad Hedge Fund Trader - OilPrice.com
This week, the World Bank published a report predicting the demise of the US dollar as the major reserve currency by 2025. The transition will be driven by emerging market growth rates of 4.7% a year, compared to only 2.3% for developed countries. Six countries, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Korea, will account for half of the world economy by then.
The greenback will be replaced by a multi-currency system made up of the dollar, the euro, and the Chinese renminbi. The evolution will be driven by a sharp rise in third party international trade, direct investment, and mergers and acquisitions. Global multinationals based in the developed world will play a diminishing role on the world stage.
Debt Ceiling Jeopardizes Dollar's Reserve Status
By Axel Merk - 321Gold.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner has warned that delays in extending the U.S. debt ceiling may cause irreparable harm. While borrowing costs for the U.S. government have not yet risen, irreparable harm may have already been done to the U.S. dollar and its status as a reserve currency. Ironically, it's not a plunging, but a rallying bond market that is a symptom of the problem. Let us explain.
First, no one really knows how the markets will behave should the U.S. delay servicing its debt. Most observers believe that a) the Treasury has a big bag of tricks to continue servicing the debt; and b) politicians will play a game of chicken, but eventually do what they always do: agree to spend more money. Some have even suggested that a derailment of the bond market may not be the worst outcome, as it forces action on the deficit now rather than later, arguing that in the long-run, this would be a positive development. That said, we don't know how the bond market will react; but we do know that policy makers are playing with fire, and when you play with fire, you may get burned.
The Successful Failure of US Money Printing
Bill Bonner - SilverBearCafe.com
Dow down again - 25 points. Gold up again, $7. And oil still below $100.
Inflation worries up, in other words.
Economy down.
And now it's official. QE2 is a FLOP! See below...
To hear the papers tell it, US stocks are being weighed down by troubles in Europe. Here's the report from The New York Times:
Sovereign debt concerns and the prospects for slower growth in Europe and Asia took their toll on global markets.
Analysts said recent news from Europe had not instilled confidence in the Continent's ability to handle its fiscal challenges. Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's credit ratings by three levels to B+, a rating that is below investment grade. Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Italy's debt to negative from stable over the weekend, citing a weaker outlook for growth and lower prospects for the country's ability to trim its debt.
Greece Is Insolvent,
Unlikely to Honor Debt Payments, Issing, Krugman Say
By Christian Wienberg - Bloomberg.com
Greece will probably be unable to meet its obligations as the euro region's most-indebted nation is insolvent, according to former European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing.
While it is "not physically impossible" for Greece to honor its obligations, repayment is unlikely, Issing, 75, said at a press conference hosted by Nykredit A/S in Copenhagen today. The region's debt crisis, which has also forced Ireland and Portugal to seek bailouts, has left the euro in a "critical" condition, Issing said.
G-8 Says Commodity Rise Threatens Growth, Vows Deficit Cuts
By James G. Neuger - Bloomberg.com
Group of Eight leaders said a strengthening global economy will pave the way to cuts in the debt built up in the recession that followed the 2008 financial crisis.
Europe vowed to fight its fiscal woes with "determination," while President Barack Obama promised a "clear and credible" U.S. deficit-reduction strategy. Japan was allowed to put off savings measures until its economy rebounds from the March earthquake and tsunami.
G8 summit sits in wake of French firepower filling US vacuum
Silver prices up 3733% last time, what about now?
By John Damzalski - CommodityOnline.com
Silver is one of the best-returning assets of the last 12 months. I believe the recent run in silver is just the beginning. Keep in mind, during similar financial times (for example in the 1970s), silver prices shot up 3,733%.
You probably already realize one of the world's best long-term investments right now is silver. But did you also know that you don't need to buy 'investment' silver in order to take advantage of this trend? To learn more, keep reading.
One reason for silver's surging investment potential is simple: Silver is real money, and money talks!
Preparing Your Investments for an Inflationary Future
By Eric Fry - DailyReckoning.com
05/26/11 Laguna Beach, California – Let the boxing match begin!... In the near corner, we find deflation, with its furious fists of debt liquidation and credit contraction... And in the far corner, we’ve got Ben Bernanke’s printing press, with its menacing inflationary uppercut.
Inflation will win this contest eventually, but the match might go the full 12 rounds.
Deflation is no slouch. He packs a mean punch. Borrowers of all types – from single-family mortgage-holders to national governments – are defaulting on their loans…or moving rapidly in that direction. As the weakest of these borrowers fails, asset prices fall and confidence wanes, both of which produce additional defaults. Once this vicious cycle gains fury, all but the strongest – or least leveraged – borrowers endure.
Economy: Not Quite in "Tailspin," But...
BY DOCK TREECE - FinancialSense.com
There are growing concerns about the US private sector, to say the least. Investors seem to be finding more and more reasons everyday to head for the preverbal high ground. Just this week we've seen manufacturing numbers decline, open goods orders falling, and investor sentiment suffering as the near-term outlook grows increasingly dimmer.
This slowdown seems to have several roots, perhaps the biggest of which is slowing manufacturing that has been reflected in the Richmond Fed’s May survey.
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts -
US Financial System Death Watch
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
Comex Silver Will Make It Through May, But Barely - Minyanville
24hgold did correct their Comex Silver Inventory chart to show that no bullion was added. They did not explain the error.
Blythe is now accepting the donation of any junk silver which you may have lying around the house.
Her handcarts and small trucks will be passing through your neighborhoods in the near future, making a distinctive boing, boing sound as they pass down your streets.
They will also be able to provide financial advice, repair broken umbrellas, or sharpen your knives and scissors, all for a small fee.
Hyperinflation a certainty in US:
By Barry Stuppler - CommodityOnline.com
CALIFORNIA (Commodity Online): Hyperinflation is a certainty in USA and if investor assets are stored primarily in US dollars, they need to act now, according to Barry Stuppler of Stuppler & Company, veteran precious metals and rare coin expert.
He has written "U.S. Hyperinflation Is Coming Soon," a 24-page, 12,000 word analysis of economic, historic and social factors and suggested plan of action for investors. In it, Stuppler concludes: "If your assets are stored primarily in U.S. Dollars, you need to act now to protect your family, wealth and future."
Welcome To Hyperinflation Hell: Following Currency Devaluation, Belarus Economy Implodes, Sets Blueprint For Developed World Future
Submitted by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
"A '91-style meltdown is almost inevitable." So says Alexei Moiseev, chief economist at VTB Capital, the investment-banking arm of Russia’s second-largest lender, discussing the imminent economic catastrophe that is sure to engulf Belarus following the surprise devaluation of the country's currency by over 50%, which we announced on Monday. "Unless Belarus heeds Russia’s call for mass privatization of state assets, it is headed for "hyperinflation, massive un- and under-employment, and a shutdown of production" Moiseev concludes. Ah: "privatization" as Greece is about to learn, the lovely word that describes a fire sale of assets to one's creditors, courtesy of a "globalized" new world order. Ironically, this is precisely the warning that will be lobbed at each country in the developed world, as the global race to devalue currencies, first against each other on a relative basis, and ultimately against hard currencies, or on an absolute basis, as the world realizes that there simply is not enough cash flow to cover the interest payments on a debt load, in both the public and private sectors, that continues to rise at an astronomic rate, even as the world prepares to exit from the latest transitory, centrally-planned bounce in the Great Financial Crisis-cum-Depression that started in earnest in 2007 and has been progressing ever since. Ultimately, Belarus will succumb to hyperinflation, as will each and every other government seeking to devalue its currency (hint: all of them): "Unless Belarus heeds Russia's call for mass privatization of state assets, it is headed for "hyperinflation, massive un- and under-employment, and a shutdown of production," VTB's Moiseev said.
Inflation Hits Japan for First Time in 28 Months
By Mayumi Otsuma - Bloomberg.com
Consumer prices rose in Japan for the first time in 28 months in April after global energy and food costs climbed and retailers suffered product shortages in the aftermath of the nation's earthquake and tsunami.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food increased 0.6 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo, matching the median forecast of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Does little Timmy want the top job at the IMF? Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Says
Ask The Women About IMF Culture
The Housing Double Dip, QE3, and Gold
BY JOHN RUBINO - CommodityOnline.com
Back during the previous bubble the "Real Estate Bust" breaking news section atDollarCollapse rocked: Tons of fresh links with apocalyptic titles and lots of fish-in-a-barrel ideas for shorting the banks and home builders.
Then the action fizzled. Home prices and sales stabilized, and housing seemed destined to bump along for a while, playing little or no role in the burgeoning government bond bubble.
Wrong. The housing bust is back. Where six months ago the headlines were a mixed bag of generally boring stories, today they're all about plunging prices and anemic sales. Some representative headlines:
Why Gold Is Going Higher
By David Galland, Casey Research - GoldSeek.com
While there are many reasons that gold and silver are going to keep moving higher as the fiat currencies trend lower, at our recent Casey Research Summit in Boca Raton, faculty member Mike Maloney pointed out a fact that, while obvious in hindsight, I had never heard mentioned previously.
Namely that during the last major precious metals bull market in the 1970s, only about 10% of the world could own gold – either due to legal restrictions or a lack of liquid capital.
Keiser Report: Gold Stands Rock Hard (E150)
Gold's remonetisation grows
as European Committee approves collateral usage The global acceptance of gold as money has been given another boost as the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has approved it to be used as collateral.
Author: Lawrence Williams - MineWeb.com
LONDON - Gold is indeed a form of money as many believe and the latest agreement by the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to allow central counterparties to accept gold as collateral is further recognition of the yellow metal's growing relevance as a high quality liquid asset.
In a press release today, the World Gold Council's Natalie Dempster, is quoted as saying "It is very significant that the European Parliament is putting its weight behind the argument that the unique characteristics of gold make it an ideal form of high quality liquid collateral.
Nevada homeowners join national class-action over B of A foreclosures
By Steve Green - VegasInc.com
A group of Nevada homeowners fighting Bank of America over the threatened foreclosures of their homes has joined a national class-action lawsuit against the bank.
The group of about two dozen plaintiffs, represented by Las Vegas attorney Matthew Callister, initially filed suit April 18 in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas alleging deceptive trade practices.
Foreclosure Sales Decline In First Quarter, Still 'Astronomically High'
By ALEX VEIGA - HuffingtonPost.com
LOS ANGELES -- Sales of homes in some stage of foreclosure declined in the first three months of the year, but they still accounted for 28 percent of all home sales – a share nearly six times higher than what it would be in a healthy housing market.
Foreclosure sales, which include homes purchased after they received a notice of default or were repossessed by lenders, hit the highest share of overall sales in a year during the first quarter, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The Government Is Preventing Private Housing Finance A major investor explains that the market wants to return to mortgage securitization and won't demand very high interest rates -- By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
If changing the status quo was easy, it wouldn't be the status quo. This explains the challenge facing housing finance policy reform. Currently, the government backs around 90% of new mortgages. The only way for this to change is for the government to actively step back and allow the private market into the game. This was an important takeaway from a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday that focused on housing finance.
As always, there was a cross section of experts testifying at the hearing. Real estate industry lobbyists and affordable housing advocates made up four out of the six witnesses. Unfortunately, it's hard to treat them as credible witnesses, since they are hopelessly biased in favor of keeping the government's huge role in housing left intact. That way, as many mortgages as possible can be issued, no matter the consequence to taxpayers. The other two witnesses, however, represented the market. One, in particular, explained that the private sector can and would return to housing finance if the government allows it to do so.
Improper Military Foreclosures: U.S. Settles With Two Firms
By Chris Kirkham - HuffingtonPost.com
Amid blistering heat and thunderous bombing in central Iraq during summer 2005, U.S. Army Sgt. James Hurley suddenly found it difficult to reach his wife back home in Michigan.
For four days straight, he called and got a troubling message that the line had been disconnected. Eventually, Hurley tracked her down through his uncle.
"She tells me, 'We got kicked out of the house, we're foreclosed,'" Hurley recalled. "I was so pissed off. If it wasn't for my roommate and my sergeant who was over me, I think I would have gone nuts."
Fannie and Freddie Try to Hide
From the Freedom of Information Act
BY BRUCE KRASTING - FinancialSense.com
The administrator of Fannie and Freddie, Edward Demarco, had this to say yesterday regarding a bill to open the GSE's to the FOIA:
H.R. 463, introduced by Representative Chaffetz, would subject the Enterprises to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA's "core purpose" is to:
Enhance "public understanding of the operations or activities of the government;"
FOIA is "often explained as a means for citizens to know what their Government is up to."
Alan Simpson Still Confused About Social Security Numbers
By Zach Carter - HuffingtonPost.com
WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) demanded cuts in Social Security Wednesday while lashing out at Republican strategist Grover Norquist, the AARP, "the cat food commission cats" and "sharpshooters" at The Huffington Post.
Speaking before a luncheon sponsored by former Wall Street tycoon Pete Peterson's foundation, Simpson, a Republican appointed by President Barack Obama to co-chair a bipartisan commission on the federal debt, accused Norquist of being "a nut" and repeatedly harped on a new, misleading statistic about Social Security.
Mediscare: The Surprising Truth Republicans are being portrayed as Medicare Grinches,
but ObamaCare already has seniors' health care
slated for draconian cuts.
By THOMAS R. SAVING AND JOHN C. GOODMAN - WSJ.com
The Obama administration has repeatedly claimed that the health-reform bill it passed last year improved Medicare's finances. Although you'd never know it from the current state of the Medicare debate—with the Republicans being portrayed as the Medicare Grinches—the claim is true only because ObamaCare explicitly commits to cutting health-care spending for the elderly and the disabled in future years.
Yet almost no one familiar with the numbers thinks that the planned brute-force cuts in Medicare spending are politically feasible. Last August, the Office of the Medicare Actuary predicted that Medicare will be paying doctors less than what Medicaid pays by the end of this decade and, by then, one in seven hospitals will have to leave the Medicare system.
Unemployment Claims in U.S.
Unexpectedly Increased to 424,000 Last Week
By Timothy R. Homan - Bloomberg.com
More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market is struggling to gain momentum.
Jobless claims increased by 10,000 to 424,000 in the week ended May 21, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a drop to 404,000. The economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter, a separate report showed.
Wisconsin Union Law Blocked
By AMY MERRICK - WSJ.com
A circuit-court judge in Wisconsin issued a permanent injunction Thursday that bars a controversial bill curbing public-employee bargaining rights from going into effect.
The decision, which was based on how the law was passed and not its substance, may be re-examined by the state Supreme Court.
Fourteen Democratic state senators fled Wisconsin for three weeks this spring in an effort to block the measure, which Republican Gov. Scott Walker called a "budget repair" bill. Tens of thousands of protesters came to the state capitol in Madison to oppose it.
AT&T Wants to Give You an 80s Makeover
By Timothy Karr - HuffingtonPost.com
If you were around in the 80s, you might be experiencing a horrible flashback right about now.
No, it's not because legwarmers and spandex are in style again. It's because AT&T, that monopoly that once lorded over your rotary phone, has resurfaced with a scheme to rule your mobile phone as well.
Back in the 80s, AT&T's power was near absolute. That's why antitrust authorities stepped in to break up the monopoly and protect the American people against abuse.
Missouri Releases List of 232 People Unaccounted For
By SUSAN CAREY - WSJ.com
The Missouri Department of Public Safety on Thursday released the list of 232 people who remained unaccounted for after Sunday's tornado flattened parts of Joplin.
The agency posted the list on its website,www.dps.mo.gov, and the document contains names, addresses, ages and dates of birth of the group, starting with 75-year-old Sally Adams and ending with Charles Writer, 74.
Ms. Adams later was found alive and well, the Associated Press reported. Neighbors rescued Ms. Adams on Sunday after the storm destroyed her house and took her to a home nearby. Her relatives had called a hot line and posted Facebook messages saying she was missing. Ms. Adams said she lost her cellphone in the storm and had no way to reassure family.
Steve Quayle on the EDGE 5/25/11 Hr 1 (hr 1, 2 & 3 link below)
Congress OKs Extending Key Patriot Act Provisions
By COREY BOLES - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—The House voted 250-153 to renew three key provisions of the Patriot Act, a post-9/11 law giving law enforcement greater surveillance powers on suspected terrorists.
The Senate voted 72-23 earlier Thursday to approve the extension bill in a quiet close to a debate roiled by objections from Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.).
With the House vote, Congress has completed its work on the bill, but it must still be signed by President Barack Obama by midnight Thursday in order to avoid an expiration of the three provisions. Mr. Obama is in France for a meeting of the G-8 group of nations. A White House spokesman said the president will use an "automatic pen" to sign the legislation into law.
Congress approves extension of USA Patriot Act provisions
By Paul Kane and Felicia Sonmez - WashingtonPost.com
Racing against the clock, Congress approved a four-year extension Thursday to key provisions of the USA Patriot Act that will allow federal investigators to continue to use aggressive surveillance tactics in connection with suspected terrorists.
Overcoming objections from a bipartisan clutch of libertarian-minded lawmakers, the legislation passed the Senate, 72 to 23, and the House, 250 to 153.
The provisions were due to expire at midnight Thursday without an extension. President Obama is attending a summit in France, but he has directed aides to have the bill signed by auto-pen before the deadline, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. "Failure to sign this legislation poses a significant risk to U.S. national security," he added.
Obama+Cameron:
Twosome echo 'Gaddafi must go' amid anti-war outcry
Tepco Faces 'Massive Problem'
Containing Radioactive Water at Fukushima
By Stuart Biggs and Yuriy Humber - Bloomberg.com
As a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency visits Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s crippled nuclear plant today, academics warn the company has failed to disclose the scale of radiation leaks and faces a "massive problem" with contaminated water.
The utility known as Tepco has been pumping cooling water into the three reactors that melted down after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. By May 18, almost 100,000 tons of radioactive water had leaked into basements and other areas of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, according to Tepco’s estimates. The radiated water may double by the end of December.
5/26/2011 -- 'Vortex Spiral' RADAR Rings -
out of North Carolina and Central Midwest
'War of Attrition' Against Overhaul: Geithner
By Ian Katz and Cheyenne Hopkins - Bloomberg.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said some lawmakers and bankers are waging a "war of attrition" against efforts to strengthen regulation of the financial system.
"You’re seeing some people run a war of attrition against the reform act," Geithner said at an event today in Washington, without identifying the people. "They're trying to starve the agencies of funding so they can't enforce protections for investors."
'Dark Forces' Fighting Financial Reform: Geithner
By Ian Katz and Cheyenne Hopkins - Bloomberg.com
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said "dark forces" are waging a "war of attrition" against efforts to strengthen regulation of the financial system.
"You're seeing some people run a war of attrition against the reform act," Geithner said at an event today in Washington, without identifying the people. "They're trying to starve the agencies of funding so they can't enforce protections for investors."
Geithner also said opponents of the Obama administration are trying to block presidential appointments to regulatory agencies "as a way to get leverage over the outcome, and they're trying to slow down so that they can weaken over time the thrust" of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law. "We're not going to let that happen."
Both Parties And The White House Are Advocating A US Default
By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge - Infowars.com
Last week David Stockman was on Tom Keene, making the usual media rounds (sometimes we marvel at his patience and endurance), as one of the few voices of fiscal prudence available to TV producers who seek to hold a balanced debate on the topic of US insolvency. Today, Reagan's budget director was again on Bloomberg TV explaining the reality of the situation to Matt Miller for the nthtime (by now even a 2 year old will understand the cul-de-sac facing the US), although presenting a new spin on the situation, namely that we have gotten to a point where both parties are implicitly pushing for a US default, while though their inability to reach a political compromise, blaming each other for this inevitable outcome. "The real problem is the de facto policy of both parties is default. When the Republicans say no tax increases, they're saying we want the U.S. government to default. Because there isn't enough political will in this country to solve the problem even halfway on spending cuts. When the Democrats say you can't touch Social Security, when you have Obama sponsoring a war budget for defense that is even bigger than Bush, then I say the policy of the White House is default as well... That is the question that really needs to be understood better and appraised by the bond market. Both parties are advocating default even as they point the finger at each other."
Bloomberg TV's Matt Miller talks to David Stockman
Why Bernanke will be forced to institute QE3 Two factors suggest we’ll see more quantitative easing
By Jeff Harding
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Dr. Frank Shostak, an Austrian theory economist who works for MF Global, and who writes for Mises.org on economics, came out with an article this week on what will happen when the Fed freezes its balance sheet in June, as they have said they will do.
I very much enjoy Shostak's writing and have followed his ideas for years.
In this article he says:
"We suggest that once Fed policy makers freeze the balance sheet of the US central bank it will slow down the growth momentum of the Fed's balance sheet. Consequently, this is going to exert downward pressure on the growth momentum of the money supply. Note that ultimately it is fluctuations in the growth momentum of the money supply that set in motion fluctuations in the pace of formations of bubble activities. As a result, various bubble activities that emerged on the back of the rising growth momentum of the money supply will come under pressure — an economic bust will be set into motion.
Bitcoin, Digital Currency of the Future?
A type of digital coinage based on complex cryptography could shape how we engage in commerce online
By Jared Keller - TheAtlantic.com
As American consumption habits become increasingly focused on online transactions and e-commerce, companies have been striving to find a model for a digital currency that works. Facebook's credit system is probably the most visible example, allowing users to purchase apps and games within the social network's vast ecosystem. But should each website devise it's own internal currency system? And is the Web too expansive and fragmented for a digital version of a currency exchange to work?
At Technology Review, Tom Simonite thinks Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer digital currency backed not by a state or company but, in Simonite's words, a "clever cryptographic scheme," may hold the answer. In a thorough explainer, Simonite argues that while bitcoins remain relatively worthless now, the currency matters for the future of the digital economy.
Advancing Technology and Globalization Threaten U.S. Job Growth
BY KERRI SHANNON, Associate Editor, Money Morning
The U.S. job market's sluggish pace of recovery has kept many workers jobless and discouraged, and now many feel advancements in technology and globalization will hurt U.S. job growth.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier this month that the country's unemployment rate in April rose to 9.0% from 8.8%. Employment in more than a dozen sectors hit four-year lows in April, and another 10 have gained little since hitting lows in the beginning of this year.
But it's not just a slow economic recovery that is leaving people unemployed. The U.S. job market is changing, as companies find ways to function with fewer workers and some shift operations overseas.
The 21 Countries Most Likely To Default
By Gregory White - TheAtlantic.com
Friday's S&P outlook downgrade of Italian sovereign debt sent credit markets into a tailspin this week, and made a difficult situation in Europe look even worse.
Recent elections and failed austerity measures have also exacerbated the crisis, with many of Europe's fringe states lacking the growth they need to escape their debt traps.
Rense & Celente - People Don't Want To Know
The End of Soft Money
BY ADRIAN ASH - FinancailSense.com
Soft money works. Just ask the Swiss central bank...
Time was, the past was another country, as L.P.Hartley wrote in The Go-Between. Because "they do things differently there."
Thanks to the shipping container, fast-food, Facebook and the academic conference circuit, however, foreigners all do and think and wear pretty much the same things these days. Whereas the past has jumped into a parallel universe...
"No central banker could regard as successful a year in which the value of money fell by as much as 8% in terms of what it will purchase at home, and by 10% in terms of overseas currencies."
Holding gold is vital for global financial survival
NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): Indian's hold largest collection of physical gold in the form of jewelers while US and China are among those holding gold in bars and coins.
Why it became crucial at the moment? Because almost all economists are now saying holding physical gold will be absolutely critical to financial survival of the world.
Throughout history gold has protected investors against various calamities but this time. What is much more important to understand is that physical gold and silver will protect investors against losing virtually 100% of the purchasing power of their money.
Silver to stay strong amid safe haven demand
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): The recovery in silver prices in the recent days was quite strong and the idea that weakness in silver might be at its end is spreading quickly in the markets as the fundamental picture largely remains to be the same.
The fact that silver recovered in spite of strengthening US dollar has also captured the attention of the investment population, lifting the metal’s prices towards two week highs on Tuesday.
Scrap silver market to boom in 2011
By Truemon T A - CommodityOnline.com
In the wake of rising silver prices, scrap silver processing and recycling industry is shining these days. Scrap silver processing industry is indeed booming after the recent spike in prices of the white metal to record $50 levels.
Scrap silver is indeed serious business for the industry. At one end, investors and speculators are stockpiling a growing share of global supply via new silver exchange-traded funds and bullion coins. And at the other end traders and consumers have been busily recycling anything and everything which has got some speck of silver in it.
Silver: High Prices 'Cure' Depleted Inventories
Jeff Nielson - SilverBearCafe.com
In my recent review of the bankster assault on the silver market, I alluded to the fact that we knew there was no "bubble" in the silver market, since there had not been the build-up of inventories which must take place before any commodity could ever achieve the status of an asset-bubble. However, the concept is so important, and it is not being forcefully articulated by others within the sector, and so I am devoting an entire commentary to this totally elementary concept.
As the title of this piece states, "high prices cure depleted inventories". However, brevity prevented me from stating this in more absolute terms: high prices are the only way to restore equilibrium to any market where there are depleted inventories (i.e. inadequate supplies). This obvious corrective mechanism functions in two manners.
Silver Streaking Again; Coffee is Steaming;
Investors Shedding Exchange-traded Ag Funds
24/7 Wall St
Today's commodities report takes a look at the recovery in silver, another comeback for coffee, and some concerns about agricultural exchange-traded products. The price of silver is up about 4.5% at mid-day, having posted an intra-day high so far of $37.90/ounce. Gold is higher as well, but only marginally, up about 0.26% compared with silver's rise of about 4.26%. Both the precious metals are rising again as the US dollar loses some of its recent lustre.
As we've already noted, demand for silver is expected to rise by 6.5% annually through 2015. That figure is led by industrial demand, which takes up about 50% of the world's supply. Because there are few substitutes for silver in industrial products, growing demand for things like solar panels, plasma TVs, and movie film is expected to keep silver prices trending upward.
Uncertainty Arises as USD Rallies and Gold Holds Up
BY CHRISTOPHER LAIRD - FinancialSense.com
If I was to cast 2011 someway, it would be a disaster; it would be natural disasters of unprecedented magnitude, combined with a collapsing Mid-East order, the Euro in some big trouble and gold and USD rallying together.
The fact that the USD rallied from a bottom of 73 to 76 on the USDX in about a week or two, and gold holding shows how strong gold is at this level. And the rapidly escalating EU bondcrisis is helping gold.
Keiser Report: Savers vs Speculators (E149)
BOJ Signals Its Readiness to Boost Lending
as Shipments Tumble in April
By Mayumi Otsuma - Bloomberg.com
The Bank of Japan indicated its willingness to expand lending programs to support reconstruction efforts after the nation’s record March 11 earthquake crippled factory production and pushed the economy into a recession.
"We’re examining whether there's a way to enhance" a 3 trillion yen ($37 billion) lending program for industries that can spur economic growth, Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said in a speech in Tokyo today. Many BOJ board members in April discussed the potential need to expand a 1 trillion yen loan program designed to help companies in the aftermath of the quake, a record of the meeting released today showed.
'Athens Is Not Broke' Interview with Euro Group President Juncker
Spiegel.de
In a SPIEGEL interview, Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg and president of the Euro Group, argues that Athens isn't bankrupt and that it is still possible for Greece to emerge from the crisis. He also states that the "nervousness" of financial markets makes it difficult to adequately and correctly inform the public. SPIEGEL: Mr. Prime Minister, you are a Christian Democrat and a Catholic, which is why we want to talk to you about the Ten Commandments. Juncker: I already have an idea of what you are getting at. SPIEGEL: Are you familiar with the Eighth Commandment? Juncker: Of course. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. SPIEGEL: Apparently you don't take it very seriously. More than two weeks ago, you denied a report by SPIEGEL ONLINE about a secret meeting of several European Union finance ministers to discuss the situation in Greece, even though the official limousines were already pulling up in Luxembourg.
Exposing the Federal Reserve
By G. Edward Griffin - SilverBearCafe.com
We'll start way back in history to give some kind of historical perspective to this; we'll go back to the first century BC and the tiny kingdom of Phrygia. There was a philosopher by the name of Epictetus and it was Epictetus who said:
"Appearances are of four kinds: things either are as they appear to be; or they neither are nor appear to be; or they are but do not appear to be; or they are not and yet appear to be."
As Housing Goes, So Goes the Economy
NYTimes Editorial
The Great Recession began with the bursting of the housing bubble. Today, nearly two years after the recession officially ended, the housing market is still in trouble.
At times, it has looked as if things were improving, like last year's jump in sales because of a temporary homebuyer's tax credit or the recent rise in new-home sales from near-record lows. But, over all, sales and construction have been flat for two years, while prices, driven down by foreclosures, are plumbing new depths.
Civilization at the Crossroads
John Meyer - SilverBearCafe.com
In our last letter we stated that, "American capitalism ended in 1913 and remains "An Unknown Ideal." We also commented that, "A troubling question arises: Has the financial community hijacked government?"
We are going to discuss those issues in an historical and philosophical context. We all today live in a twilight zone where things seemingly are and yet aren't. We must travel down some roads, which are troubling and rather dark. But, it is necessary, because it is today's reality. We can say at the start that you will find the trip unbelievable - I know I did when I first stumbled down this path. Matter of fact, at first I totally dismissed it as absolute insanity and therefore not possible. For, it was inconceivable that the morality of man could descend to such naked malevolence.
If You Think the Meltdown Was the Fault of Homeowners,
Think Again…
By Martin Andelman - ML-Implode.com
If you're thinking that our economic crisis was in some way the fault of homeowners who couldn't afford their mortgages, please consider the following:
At the end of 2007, there were roughly $1.4 trillion in sub-prime mortgages in this country.
If "irresponsible sub-prime borrowers," caused the meltdown, then $1.4 trillion would have solved the problem in its entirety, right? Because that’s all the sub-prime loans there were.
But, between the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Treasury over $13 trillion has been pumped into financial institutions to fix the "housing correction," which is what Hank Paulson was still calling our economic collapse as of November of 2008.
Home Prices in U.S. Fell 5.5% in First Quarter
Biggest Drop in Two Years
By Kathleen M. Howley - Bloomberg.com
U.S. home prices dropped 5.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the biggest decline in almost two years, as sales of discounted foreclosures undermined real estate values.
Prices fell 2.5 percent from the fourth quarter, the Washington-based Federal Housing Finance Agency said today in a report. Economists projected a 1.2 percent drop from the previous three months, according to the median of five estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
Troubled home market creates generation of renters For many Americans a home now feels too costly,
too risky or unlikely to appreciate
By DEREK KRAVITZ - AP - MSNBC.com
WASHINGTON — A growing number of Americans can't afford a home or don't want to own one, a trend that's spawning a generation of renters and a rise in apartment construction.
Many of the new renters are former owners who lost homes to foreclosure or bankruptcy. For others who could afford one, a home now feels too costly, too risky or unlikely to appreciate enough to make it a worthwhile investment.
Senate rejects GOP budget plan that would overhaul Medicare
By Felicia Sonmez - WashingtonPost.com
One day after Republicans lost a special election that was dominated by debate over their 2012 budget proposal, the Senate on Wednesday rejected the House Republican budget blueprint, a mostly symbolic vote that nonetheless underscores the political peril entailed in the GOP proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
The budget plan, which was drafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and which passed the House in Aprilwith the support of all but four Republicans, was rejected by the Senate Wednesday on a 40-to-57 vote.
Reid Preempts Paul, Slips Patriot Act into Small Business Bill
By Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has circumvented a call by the newly elected senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, to debate the Patriot Act.
In order to prevent a filibuster, Reid performed "some procedural gymnastics," according to Fox News, and slipped Patriot Act language into a House small business bill that is considered filibuster-proof.
In doing so, Reid has skirted objections to the bill led by Paul and has moved closer to extending the Patriot Act without debate. Democrats have applauded this effort to rush the extension into law without debate.
Some Recovery
Monty Pelerin - SilverBearCafe.com
Michael Panzer at Financial Armageddon has been rock solid in his claims that there is no "recovery." Perhaps I admire this position so much because it is consistent with my own, a form of confirmation bias no doubt.
Below Mr. Panzer charts recent regional Federal Reserve surveys that are consistent with a downturn not an upturn. I would use the term "double-dip" except that implies we actually got out of the recession that began three years ago. We did not; we merely papered over it with unsustainable government spending and money creation.
Durable-Goods Orders in U.S. Dropped 3.6% in April,
the Most in Six Months
By Shobhana Chandra - Bloomberg.com
Orders for U.S. durable goods dropped more than forecast in April, reflecting a slump in aircraft demand and disruptions in supplies of auto parts stemming from the earthquake in Japan.
The 3.6 percent decrease in bookings for goods meant to last at least three years was the biggest since October and followed a 4.4 percent surge in March that was larger than previously estimated, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. Economists projected a 2.5 percent April decline, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
Mark, you will be greatly missed...
for being yourself; professional and uncompromised. Mark Haines, CNBC Anchor, Dies at 65
BY MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED AND BRIAN STELTER - NYTimes.com
Mark Haines, an anchor at CNBC who for years narrated the vicissitudes of the markets, died on Tuesday evening at his home in Marlboro, N.J., the network said on its Web site. He was 65.
CNBC did not disclose the cause of death.
A longtime TV news veteran who did stints in New York City and Philadelphia before attending law school, Mr. Haines joined the then-fledgling CNBC in 1989 and became one of the network’s most prominent faces.
.... more big brother Feds to Mandate Black Box on all New Cars
Kurt Nimmo - SilverBearCafe.clom
The feds will mandate next month that all new cars be fitted with a black box, according to news reports. So-called black boxes record information about speed, seat belt use and brake application.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been involved in the use of black boxes since their introduction. In 2006, the safety administration encouraged but did not require automobile manufacturers to install the systems and also did not set a single standard for the way data would be recorded, according to the New York Times.
32 Signs That The Entire World Is Being Transforme
Into A Futuristic Big Brother Prison Grid
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Do you want your children and grandchildren to live in a futuristic "big brother" control grid where everything they do is watched, recorded, tracked and tightly controlled? Well, that is exactly where things are headed. We witnessed some really bad totalitarian regimes during the 20th century, but what is coming is going to be far more restrictive than any of the despots of the past ever dreamed was possible. Today, nearly every government on earth is tightening their grip on their citizens. Paranoia has become standard operating procedure all over the planet and nobody is to be trusted. Global politicians will give speeches about liberty and freedom even as they undermine them at every turn. There are very, very few nations on the planet where liberty and freedom are increasing. Instead, almost everywhere you turn the "control grid" is getting tighter. Governments don't want us gathering together and interacting with one another. Instead, they want us to work our tails off to support the system, they want us enslaved financially and constantly drowning in debt, and they want us addicted to television and other forms of entertainment. They want us as numb and docile as possible. Meanwhile, all over the globe they continue to construct a futuristic "big brother" control grid that will ensure that they will always be able to control us.
Early Learning Challenge:
Arne Duncan Announces $500 Million In State Grants For Preschool
By Frederic J. Frommer - AP - HuffingtonPost.com
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration plans to hand out $500 million in state education grants aimed at helping young children.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the "Early Learning Challenge" Wednesday. It's the latest incarnation of the administration's Race to the Top competition, in which states compete for education money.
Obama skirts rule of law to reward pals, punish foes
By: Michael Barone - WashingtonExaminer.com Question: What do the following have in common? Eckert Cold Storage Co., Kerly Homes of Yuma, Classic Party Rentals, West Coast Turf Inc., Ellenbecker Investment Group Inc., Only in San Francisco, Hotel Nikko, International Pacific Halibut Commission, City of Puyallup, Local 485 Health and Welfare Fund, Chicago Plastering Institute Health & Welfare Fund, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Teamsters Local 522 Fund Welfare Fund Roofers Division, StayWell Saipan Basic Plan, CIGNA, Caribbean Workers' Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Health and Welfare Plan. Answer: They are all among the 1,372 businesses, state and local governments, labor unions and insurers, covering 3,095,593 individuals or families, that have been granted a waiver from Obamacare by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.
Even Government Workers Support a Flat Tax
Reason.com
A previous post detailed differences of opinion between private sector and public sector workers on public sector compensation and collective bargaining. Further analysis reveals an interesting difference and a point of agreement between the two groups.
The Reason-Rupe poll found private sector workers are more likely to support reducing Social Security taxes and allowing individuals to invest in their own retirements instead. Nearly half, 49 percent, of private sector workers support reducing Social Security taxes and allowing them to invest in their own retirement accounts. The numbers are flipped for government workers, with half of them, 50 percent, opposed and just 37 percent in favor of reducing Social Security taxes and allowing individuals to invest in their own retirements.
Elizabeth Warren skips out during House Oversight hearing,
claims scheduling conflict
By: Philip Klein - washingtonexaminer.com
Elizabeth Warren, President Obama's controversial choice to head the new consumer financial regulatory agency, skipped out of a House Oversight hearing before answering questions from two members of the committee, claiming that she had reached an agreement allowing her to leave at that time. But Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-NC, chair of the subcommittee holding the hearing, said no such agreement existed.
"You're making this up, Ms. Warren," McHenry fired back when Warren claimed she only agreed to come under the condition she could leave at 2:15 p.m.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, came to Warren's defense, saying, "You just accused the lady of lying."
Senate Rejects House Budget Plan
By Laura Litvan - Bloomberg.com
The U.S. Senate rejected a House- passed budget plan that would privatize Medicare, a vote aimed at putting Republicans on record on an issue Democrats say could boost them in the 2012 elections.
The Democratic-controlled Senate voted, 57-40, not to advance the plan drafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican. Yesterday Democrats seized a Republican-held House seat in western New York in a special election that the Democratic candidate turned into a referendum on Ryan’s deficit-cutting Medicare proposal.
The Police State Is Personal
Mises Daily: by Wendy McElroy
Does America now qualify as a police state? And, if so, where do you — or will you — personally draw a hard line and say, "No! That is a law or a police order I refuse to obey"?
As an anarchist, I view all states as police states, because every law is ultimately backed by police force against the body or property of a scofflaw, however peaceful he may be. I see only a difference of degree, not of kind. But even small differences in the degree of repression can be matters of life or death, and so they should not be trivialized.
JOHN EDWARDS' COVER-UP CONSEQUENCES
-KDG - Truthdig.com
Two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will likely be indicted by the Justice Department on charges that he violated campaign finance laws as he tried to conceal an affair with videographer Rielle Hunter, though a plea agreement is possible. Edwards has been under federal investigation for more than two years, having entangled himself with Hunter while his wife Elizabeth Edwards was ailing with breast cancer. The affair produced a child, which Edwards' aide Andrew Young first claimed as his own before the disgraced politician admitted he was the father in January 2010. The anticipated charges focus on payoffs reportedly made to Hunter by key Edwards campaign donors in a failed attempt to buy her silence. Again, the Law of Watergate applies: "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."
Obama, Cameron liken 'Arab spring' to Cold War
By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY
President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron kick off two days of diplomacy this morning by pledging to work against repressive regimes in the Middle East -- by force if necessary.
In a sternly worded column in The Times of London, the two leaders liken the effort to free Arab people from authoritarianism to the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1980s.
House members side with Netanyahu
By Mike Lillis - TheHill.com
House lawmakers from both parties are siding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over President Obama in their differing approaches to the Israel-Palestine border dispute.
Obama last week called for Israel's 1967 borders to mark the "foundation" for renewing stalled peace talks between the two sides – a concession to Palestine that Netanyahu has bluntly rejected, including in remarks to a joint meeting of Congress Tuesday.
Senate Dems might join rebuff of Obama on Israeli border issue
By Alexander Bolton - TheHill.com
Senate Democrats are expected to support a resolution intended as a rebuff to President Obama’s call for basing Middle East peace talks on the 1967 Israeli-Palestinian borders.
It would be a rare rebuke of the president by the upper chamber and a sign that Democrats are worried about the impact of last week's speech on the U.S.-Israel relationship and pro-Israel constituents.
Libyan gold rush followed end to sanctions
By Robert O’Harrow Jr. and James V. Grimaldi - WashingtonPost.com
Some of the world’s most sophisticated banks and investment firms rushed to do business with Moammar Gaddafi’s government in Libya after the United States rescinded the country’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism five years ago, according to an internal financial document obtained by The Washington Post.
HSBC, Goldman Sachs and other top banks took on hundreds of millions in cash deposits. Hedge funds and private investment firms, including the Washington-based Carlyle Group, sold Libya’s investment authority complex financial products. The Libyan sovereign wealth fund bought up more than $1 billion in U.S. Treasury bills, effectively giving Libya a chance to underwrite U.S. debt.
Violent Thunderstorms Kill At Least 13 In Oklahoma,
Kansas And Arkansas (VIDEO)
AP/The Huffington Post
EL RENO, Okla. (AP/Kristi Eaton) -- A violent storm system powering through a wide swath of the Midwest and South on Wednesday spawned tornadoes and powerful winds that turned homes into splintered wreckage and cars into crumpled shells and killed at least 13 people.
The system, which followed closely behind the one that spawned the massive twister that struck Joplin, Mo., and killed more than 120 people, moved into the Oklahoma City area Tuesday evening as worried commuters rushed home from work.
More Americans fear higher national debt than default
By Lori Montgomery and Peyton M. Craighill - WashingtonPost.com
The debate over whether to raise the legal limit on government borrowing has riveted Americans, with a large majority worried about the potential consequences whether or not Congress votes to allow the national debt to keep rising.
But when pressed to name their biggest concern, nearly half of respondents say they are more alarmed by the prospect that the debt could grow beyond its current limit of $14.3 trillion, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll. Only 35 percent say they are more worried about the risk of default and economic destabilization if Congress fails to raise the debt limit.
G8 meeting: What's at stake
By Chris Isidore - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The leaders of the world's most powerful economies will confront growing threats to the global economy -- and each other -- at a two-day meeting in France this week.
Questions about the ability of several European nations to pay their debts is only one of the problems facing the leaders of the G8 -- the eight largest developed economies in the world.
Also likely to be discussed is the United States' federal budget deficit and the looming debt ceiling the country is facing, as well as high commodity prices fueling concerns about inflation around the world.
From Greek Debt to Gold Money:
Wishful Thinking in the World Economy
By Eric Fry - DailyReckoning.com
05/24/11 Laguna Beach, California – Global investors rediscovered Greece yesterday, which means that they might soon rediscover gold and silver as well.
The state of Utah is ready!
Headlines about the Greek government's desperate financial condition buffeted financial markets around the globe yesterday, as investors seemed to acknowledge, en masse, "Yes, this situation in Greece is grim." The Parthenon may be in ruins, but it is a pristine high-rise compared to the Greek government’s balance sheet.
World Economic Collapse Explained in 3 Minutes:
Are You Prepared For Financial Armageddon? [spoof!]
QE3 Has Already Started
Written by Mad Hedge Fund Trader - OilPrice.com
Most analysts have missed the fact that QE3 has already started in earnest. Of course, it would have been easy to miss. Ben Bernanke has not made any grand pronouncements. He hasn't done some public thinking out loud, as he did among friends at Jackson Hole, Wyoming last August. It is not even called "QE3". Think of it as a "stealth QE3". But make no mistake. A new variety of quantitative easing has already begun in a big way, and is generating its desired effect.
The new QE3 is the "RISK OFF" trade. QE2 ended up pouring $600 billion into stocks, commodities, oil, gold, and silver. Since April 29, the prospect of slowing economic growth has prompted this hot money to take flight and bail from these assets classes. Think of it as the same $600 billion stampeding into risky markets, doing a 180, and then stampeding right back out against.
Why Bernanke Will Be Forced to Institute QE3
By Jeff Harding - Minyanville.com
Dr. Frank Shostak, an Austrian theory economist who works for MF Global, and who writes for Mises.org on economics, came out with an article this week on what will happen when theFed freezes its balance sheet in June, as they have said they will do. I very much enjoy Shostak’s writing and have followed his ideas for years.
In this article he says:
We suggest that once Fed policy makers freeze the balance sheet of the US central bank it will slow down the growth momentum of the Fed’s balance sheet. Consequently, this is going to exert downward pressure on the growth momentum of the money supply. Note that ultimately it is fluctuations in the growth momentum of the money supply that set in motion fluctuations in the pace of formations of bubble activities. As a result, various bubble activities that emerged on the back of the rising growth momentum of the money supply will come under pressure — an economic bust will be set into motion.
David Walker [video] on the Debt Ceiling
CNBC.com
from transcript ....our next guest has come up with a deal to solve america's debtwoes. david walker is the former u.s. controller yesterday and the founder and ceo of the comeback america initiative. you have a very good idea of what happens if the debt ceiling isn't raised. talk us through some of the problems. first, we're spending $4 billion a day more than we're taking in. every day including weekends. in anition addition to that. $4 billion a day.and in 2011 we don't have enough revenue to pay our mandatory spending. we're $100 billion plus short. and unlike a continuing resolution, which is what the big debate was about a month ago, a central operations of government continue if you don't have a continuing resolution. that's not the case for the debt ceiling limit. so we must raise the debt ceiling limit.congress needs to stay on the floor until they fix the ceiling. and yet, we need to make sure that there are some budget cuts and some tough budget controls with automatic enforcementmechanisms that are couplealed with the increase in the debtceiling limit to force tough choices. it sounds like justification for the republicans to say forget it, we're not going to raise the debt ceiling because this is the exact problem. how do you stop that kind of spending? like if you had a credit card and there's two things you charge to your card, one of which is a one-time purchase and you can discontinue the one-time purchase. the other is installment. we've made installment purchases in excess of revenue. so the fact is, they've already made the commitments in frankly both parties are to blame. the last ten years has been a disaster.
U.S. Debt Following Japan's Trajectory
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Back in April, most economic commentators snorted at Standard and Poor's decision to slap a negative outlook on U.S. debt. Although there are some reasons why this action actually made sense, it definitely raised a question: how bad will the debt problem in the U.S. have to become to result in an actual downgrade? Ultimately, it depends on the will of Washington to fix it. And that's what has S&P so worried. It might be helpful to put U.S. debt in context. So let's compare it to another large, developed nation that ran into debt woes a decade ago: Japan.
From China, an end run around U.S. tariffs
By Andrew Higgins - WashingtonPost.com
DONGGUAN, China — China’s export juggernaut is not unstoppable: Just ask Lawrence Yen, president of Woodworth Wooden Industries. His factory here in southern China used to ship 400 containers of bedroom furniture to the United States each month. It now sends 60.
That is just what Yen’s struggling American competitors were hoping would happen when, back in January 2005, the Commerce Department slapped import tariffs on Chinese-made beds, nightstands and related wares.
What happened next, though, was not part of the plan: Yen opened a factory in Vietnam and began exporting to the United States from there. Others did the same. He is now building a big plant in Indonesia and hopes to sell even more to the United States.
America's own furniture industry, said Yen, "can never compete with Asia."
A New Global Financial System
By ROBERT MORLEY | theTrumpet.com
A reserve currency alternative to the dollar may be about to rise.
The European Union is set to issue a very special bond this week. It is special because it is practically unprecedented. Just twice before has the EU borrowed money with the promise that all member nations would be responsible for paying it back.
If the eurobonds become a permanent part of the European Union, the implications are global. A United European bond market could save the eurozone's struggling economies.
But that is not the biggest implication. For the first time, the U.S. treasury market will have a real and potentially lethal competitor, and the world will finally have a true alternative to the dollar for reserve currency.
Debt Ceiling Jeopardizes Dollar’s Reserve Status
BY AXEL G MERK - FinancailSense.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner has warned that delays in extending the U.S. debt ceiling may cause irreparable harm. While borrowing costs for the U.S. government have not yet risen, irreparable harm may have already been done to the U.S. dollar and its status as a reserve currency. Ironically, it’s not a plunging, but a rallying bond market that is a symptom of the problem. Let us explain.
The Return of Stagflation We enter the summer of 2011 facing an ugly combination of inflation and high unemployment. Blame the Federal Reserve.
By RONALD MCKINNON - WSJ.com $$
[free article pass: Google the article title]
'Stagflation" is an ugly word for an ugly situation: persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country's economy. The term was coined by British politician Iain Mcleod in a speech to Parliament in 1965. We haven't experienced it here in the United States since the bad old days of the 1970s.
Yet with prices on the rise and unemployment still high, the U.S. economy again seems to be entering stagflation. April's producer price index for finished goods, which excludes services and falling home prices, rose 6.8%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that intermediate goods prices for April were rising at a 9.4% annual clip. Meanwhile the official nationwide unemployment rate is mired close to 9%, without counting a large backlog of discouraged workers who are no longer officially in the labor force. So stagflation it is.
Fed Could Tighten Policy in Later 2011:
James Bullard - Reuters via CNBC.com
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Tuesday the Fed could reverse its ultra-loose monetary policy in the second half of 2011 if the economic recovery goes well.
Why governments are buying gold
By Aaron Rowe - CommodityOnline.com
A lot of questions are swirling the globe today about why governments are buying gold bullion and what this means when it comes to the US dollar? Should Americans be running to their nearest gold dealer and buying what they can because the end is near? Or is buying gold, or maybe silver and other precious metals, a wise choice as an investment?
In the first quarter of 2011, the Mexican government had amassed nearly 100 tones of gold bullion causing metal experts to turn their heads and take notice. Mexico has not been the only country to build up its reserves of the precious metal. China, India, Russia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, all have added gold to their coffers. Why are they doing this? What does gold give them that other investments do not?
Asian Tiger Sinks Teeth Into Gold
By Frank Holmes - DailyReckoning.com
05/24/11 San Antonio, Texas – The World Gold Council (WGC) released its quarterly "Gold Demand Trends" report last week and, as always, it was filled with fascinating data on the strength of the global gold market. Gold demand grew 11 percent to 981.3 tons during the first quarter of 2011, worth $43.7 billion at quarter-end's price levels.
The increase was driven by a significant rise in demand for gold as an investment, up 26 percent from a year ago, as emerging markets look to protect their assets from rising inflation. Demand for gold bars and coins was up 62 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
Keeping Up With Chinese Gold Demand
By Addison Wiggin - DailyReckoning.com
05/23/11 Phnom Penh, Cambodia – It's "risk off" as a new week begins. Markets are jittery about the eurozone again…
S&P downgraded its outlook for Italian government debt from "stable" to "negative"
Spain's ruling Socialists got clobbered in regional elections yesterday, casting doubt on the future of Spanish austerity measures
Greece is scrambling to sell off unspecified assets (the Parthenon?) to stave off a "restructuring" (read: stretching out the payments) of its debt.
Ten-year Greek bonds yield 16.98% as of this writing. In the credit default swap market, traders now give Greece a 68.7% probability of defaulting in the next five years.
Webster Tarpley & Alex Jones:
Buildup to World War III by The Lunatic Ruling Class 1/2
Webster Tarpley & Alex Jones:
Buildup to World War III by The Lunatic Ruling Class 2/2
Gold Strengthens in Real Terms
BY TRENDSMAN - FinancialSense.com
My favorite form of technical analysis is intermarket analysis which is the comparison of various markets and sectors. All markets relate in one way or another. The current market cycle is being dominated by macro-related events. Since all markets have had a stronger link than in the past, it makes intermarket analysis very important. By analyzing markets in the context of one another we can decipher or confirm the cycles within the current secular trends.
Gold currency : Many US states to follow Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (Commodity Online): Nearly a month after Utah became the first state in the United States to officially recognize gold and silver coins as legal currency, many other states are also on the track to legalize gold and silver legal tender.
Earlier this month, Minnesota took a step closer to joining Utah in making gold and silver legal tender. A Republican lawmaker there introduced a bill that sets up a special committee to explore the option. North Carolina, Idaho and at least nine other states also have similar bills drafted.
Silver…Still Precious
By Jeff Berwick - DailyReckoning.com
05/24/11 We buy gold and silver as a way to protect ourselves from the TEOMSAWKI (The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It) to come.
We live in a literal financial house of cards. It is all paper. That house of cards has been in the process of collapsing since 2008. Astute market participants realize this and are buying bullion, one of the only financial assets with no counterparty risk, as a way to protect themselves from the coming storm.
Silver has more than doubled since Ben Bernanke began his high level terrorist attacks against the US dollar with "Quantitative Easing II," announced in August of last year. Silver jumped from $18 to nearly $50.
Silver fall is the beginning of another climb
By David A. Banister
Well, that was fun wasn’t it gang? A huge drop in silver from $49.75 to the $32 ranges after 8 months of rallying from 19 to near 50. A 150% gain in Silver in eight Fibonacci months, sounds like a pretty overbought situation.
Gold in the same time frame lagged badly, but all of that was predicted by me late last August due to the consolidating "B wave" in Silver that was preceding what I felt would be a "massive rally" in the metal. Quite simply I said, investors will view silver as "cheap" relative to Gold and they will buy it instead of gold. I realize that makes no logical sense, but since when are the herd behaviors ever logical?
Next Danger: "Splash Crash" Markets are ill-prepared for a high-speed trading disruption that might simultaneously affect stocks, commodities, bonds and other assets. -- By JIM MCTAGUE - Barrons.com
Last year's Flash Crash was a hair-raising experience for stock and commodities investors—comparable to the sudden descent of a large airliner from 38,000 feet to tree-top level, followed by an equally sudden and steep ascent.
A trillion dollars in equity vanished in minutes, as stock futures, exchange-traded funds and equities plunged. I've recently heard from a computer-trading expert warning of the very real possibility of a more widespread and catastrophic "splash crash," a dislocation by high-speed trading computers that could simultaneously splash across many more asset classes and markets. Imagine our metaphorical jet buried in the earth up to its tail.
Elizabeth Warren faces hostile Republicans
By Jennifer Liberto - CNNMoney.com
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Republicans attacked Elizabeth Warren -- the Obama administration adviser working to set up a consumer financial protection bureau -- at a House hearing Tuesday, questioning her veracity in two separate instances.
In a hearing entitled "Who's Watching the Watchmen," Republicans on a House subcommittee used the opportunity to delve into Warren, her plans and her past testimony to Congress.
Peaceful Republic or Police State?
America 2011
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
What kind of place is America in 2011? Sadly, it is one giant sea of conformity. If you traveled across the United States 40 or 50 years ago, you would encounter a vast array of cultures and you would meet a wonderful mix of people. But today America is slowly but surely becoming standardized. It seems like wherever you go you will find a Wal-Mart and a McDonald's. Thanks to Hollywood and the mass media, people all over the country dress the same and look the same and talk the same. Sure there are various subcultures out there, but even many of those subcultures are virtually the same on one coast as they are on the other. The things that gave flavor to our local communities are dying off in favor of greater conformity and greater profit. Today, most retail stores and most restaurants are corporate owned. Most small businesses that attempt to go up against the Wal-Marts, the Targets, the Burger Kings or the Home Depots of the world have already been stomped out of existence or are in the process of being stomped out of existence. Eventually, if we are not careful, corporate conformity is going to dominate everything from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Some may view this as "progress", but is this really what the American Dream is supposed to be all about? Is this really the "America" that we want to pass down to future generations?
9 Alarming U.S. Consumer Debt Statistics
BusinessInsider.com
In the US, consumers and households are dangerously in debt. Even after the catastrophic financial crisis in 2008, it seems in 2010 lessons from past mistakes have not been learned and taken on board.
The Federal Reserve is looking at $2.4 trillion in unsecured debt. And the numbers just keep rising.
Eighty-eight million accounts and credit lines representing $751 billion in credit have been closed since September 2008.
Here are several alarming consumer debt statistics:
The total amount of consumer debt in the US is nearly $2.4 trillion in 2010. That’s $7,800 debt per person.
Thirty-three percent of that debt is revolving debt (such as credit card debt), the other 67 percent comes from loans (such as car loans, student loans, mortgages and the like).
$51 billion worth of fast food was charged to credit cards in 2006, compared to $33.2 billion the previous year.
US housing still in doldrums
EquityMaster.com
The housing market in the US is where it all began. The increased money lent to subprime borrowers and the web of complex derivatives woven around them all exploded and triggered the global financial crisis. That was in 2007. It is 2011 and the housing market in the US is still far away from a significant recovery.
At the height of the crisis, housing in the US had hit rock bottom. The US Fed's subsequent quantitative easing program helped matters a bit. With low interest rates and a housing tax credit, another fall in housing was arrested. But this was not expected to continue for long. The tax credit expired last year and the Fed has signaled its intention of completing the QE program by June this year. And this has had a negative impact on housing only highlighting that the so called recovering in the housing market was largely propped up with no real improvement in fundamentals.
U.S. Commercial Real Estate Prices Decline to Post-Crash Low
By Brian Louis and David M. Levitt - Bloomberg.com
U.S. commercial property prices fell to a post-recession low in March as sales of financially distressed assets weighed on the market, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
The Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index dropped 4.2 percent from February and is now 47 percent below the peak of October 2007, Moody’s said in a statement today.
The national index has fallen for four straight months as sales of distressed properties hurt real estate values. Investor demand is strongest for well-leased buildings in such major markets asNew York and Washington as vacancy rates decline and the economy grows.
Gas prices still too high for most consumers
By Anne Stanley - MarketWatch.com
Gasoline prices are edging lower. Yay. But they’re still far above where they were last year at this time. Boo. So as Memorial Day approaches and Americans' thoughts turn to summer vacation, what will consumers do?
It seems the lower prices at the pump are good, but not good enough to prompt most consumers to give up their frugal ways, Jennifer Waters writes today in her Consumer Confidential column. She looks at some survey results that indicate consumers will need to see greater declines in gasoline prices for a longer period before they're willing to bust their wallets open.
How much money can today's grads expect to make?
On path to riches, no sign of fluffy majors
By Peter Whoriskey - WashingtonPost.com
An old joke in academia gets at the precarious economics of majoring in the humanities.
The scientist asks, "Why does it work?"
The engineer asks, "How does it work?"
The English major asks, "Would you like fries with that?"
But exactly what an English major makes in a lifetime has never been clear, and some defenders of the humanities have said that their students are endowed with "critical thinking" and other skills that could enable them to catch up to other students in earnings.
Turns out, on average, they were wrong.
Medicare Policies May Be Saying No Cost Is Too Great
By: Jeffrey Weiss, Special to CNBC.com
The debate over health care reform extends well beyond politicians and lobbyists.
Academics and health care professionals are scrambling to weigh in on possible fixes to a system whose costs are either chewing up or beefing up the bottom lines of American business — depending on whether the company is paying for health insurance or selling health care products.
Boeing Sees Decision on New Jet Sliding 'Toward End of Year'
By Susanna Ray - Washington Post
May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. said its decision on a new narrow-body jet now may come "toward the end of the year," pushing back an earlier target of mid-2011, as it considers a plane that’s only "slightly" bigger than the 737.
Airlines have been briefed on Boeing's plans and don't need a verdict in the coming weeks on the successor to the 737, the world's most widely flown jetliner, Jim Albaugh, the commercial airplanes chief, said today in a presentation to investors.
Defense Chief Warns on Military Pay
By JULIAN E. BARNES And NATHAN HODGE - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—The coming round of Pentagon budget cuts will force lawmakers to consider reducing military pay and benefits, a politically charged issue in time of war, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Tuesday.
In what was billed as Mr. Gates's last major policy speech, the outgoing Pentagon chief said the government would have to "re-examine military compensation," consider altering the retirement system to bring down costs, and address spiraling health-care costs.
Trimming Pentagon spending, Mr. Gates said, "will entail going places that have been avoided by politicians in the past."
Alex Jones & Pastor Butch Paugh:
The Secret Clergy Response Teams
Pastors trained by Homeland Security, telling flocks to submit.
Twister Season Proves Deadliest Since 1953
By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN And ROBERT LEE HOTZ - WSJ.com
Despite the heavy toll, the storm system that spawned the tornado wasn't unusual for this time of year, say meteorologists. The high death toll resulted from the twister's path through a commercial area including a hospital, a nursing home, a row of crowded restaurants and several large stores. The winds, while as high as 198 miles per hour, weren't unusual for powerful springtime tornadoes in parts of the U.S.
Highlighting the unpredictability of such lethal storms, the weeks before the twister marked an unusual lull in the number of tornadoes that normally occur this time of year, experts said. More than half the season's severe tornadoes usually strike in May and June. During the first three weeks of May, however, the number of powerful twisters had dipped to historic lows, federal meteorologists said.
Shattered Missouri City Digs Out More Severe Storms in Forecast
as Rescuers Continue Search for Survivors
By ILAN BRAT and THOMAS M. BURTON in Joplin, Mo.,
and DAVID KESMODEL and AMY MERRICK in Chicago - WSJ.com
Rescue teams Tuesday continued searching through rubble for signs of life in the southwest Missouri city of Joplin, in the wake of the deadliest U.S. tornado in nearly six decades.
The death toll of 118 will keep rising, Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges said Tuesday morning, as recovery efforts continue.
"We're getting more bodies," he said in an interview. "We've been running calls all morning."
The search efforts came as Joplin, a city of about 50,000, was bracing for the potential for more severe storms later in the day. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., issued a "high risk" of tornadoes on Tuesday across parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. It said "an intense tornado outbreak is expected."
Corsi To File Criminal Charges
Against White House Over Obama Birth Certificate
By Paul Joseph Watson - Infowars.com
Jerome Corsi has told a Cincinnati radio station that he is preparing to file criminal charges against the White House for producing a fraudulent birth certificate, as the controversial author of Where’s the Birth Certificate? closes in on the people within Obama’s inner circle he claims were behind the hoax.
"We believe the birth records released by Barack Obama on April 27th, the so called long form birth certificate, is fraudulent," Corsi told radio host Bill Cunningham.
Scrubbed Interview:
Corsi Will File Criminal Charges Against White House - 5/22/11
---------------
Jerome Corsi: Corsi To File Criminal Charges
Against White House Over Obama Birth Certificate 1/4
Jerome Corsi: Corsi To File Criminal Charges
Against White House Over Obama Birth Certificate 2/4
Jerome Corsi: Corsi To File Criminal Charges
Against White House Over Obama Birth Certificate 3/4
Jerome Corsi: Corsi To File Criminal Charges
Against White House Over Obama Birth Certificate 4/4
Jerome Corsi Smacks Down Liberal Radio Host
Over 14th Amendment - 5/19/11
Smile! Air Force Wants to Track You Forever
With a Single Camera Click
By Noah Shachtman - Wired.com
Don't bother with the iris scanner or the fingerprinting machine. Leave the satellite-enabled locators andtell-tale scents back on the base, military manhunters. If an Air Force plan works out as planned, all you’ll need to track your prey is a single camera, snapping a few seconds of footage from far, far away.
Huntsville, Alabama's Photon-X, Inc. recently received an Air Force contract to develop such a camera. With one snap, the company claims, its sensor can build a three-dimensional image of a person’s face: the cornerstone of a distinctive "bio-signature" that can be used to track that person anywhere. With a few frames more, the device can capture that face’s unique facial muscle motions, and turn those movements into a "behaviormetric" profile that’s even more accurate.
NATO aircraft pound Tripoli; U.S. envoy courts rebels
By the CNN Wire Staff
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- NATO aircraft launched a barrage of strikes on the Libyan capital Tuesday in what a government official called the heaviest onslaught since the aerial strikes began.
At least 18 rockets struck Tripoli while a U.S envoy was in the eastern rebel-held city of Benghazi courting members of the transitional government.
Jeffery Feltman, the U.S Assistant Secretary of State for the near Eastern Affairs, told reporters in Benghazi that he had extended a "formal invitation" to the National Transitional Council to open a representative office in Washington -- and that the council has accepted the invitation.
An Anti-Israel President The president's peace proposal is a formula for war.
By BRET STEVENS - WSJ.com
Say what you will about President Obama's approach to Israel—or of his relationship with American Jews—he sure has mastered the concept of chutzpah.
On Thursday at the State Department, the president gave his big speech on the Middle East, in which he invoked the claims of friendship to tell Israelis "the truth," which to his mind was that "the status quo is unsustainable, and Israel too must act boldly to advance a lasting peace." On Friday in the Oval Office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his version of the truth, which was that the 1967 border proposed by Mr. Obama as a basis for negotiating the outlines of a Palestinian state was a nonstarter.
Netanyahu ready for 'painful compromises'
By Ashish Kumar Sen - The Washington Times
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he is willing to make "painful compromises" to achieve peace but ruled out negotiating with the Palestinian government unless it ditches its Islamic militant partner Hamas.
In an address to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Netanyahu blamed the failure to achieve peace on the Palestinians' unwillingness to recognize a "Jewish state" of Israel.
"It has always been about the existence of a Jewish state. ... This is what this conflict is about," he said.
Nearly Half of Americans Are 'Financially Fragile'
By Phil Izzo - WSJ.com
Nearly half of Americans say that they definitely or probably couldn't come up with $2,000 in 30 days, according to new research, raising concerns about the financial fragility of many households.
In a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Annamaria Lusardiof the George Washington School of Business, Daniel J. Schneider of Princeton University and Peter Tufano of Harvard Business School used data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey to document widespread financial weakness in the U.S. and other countries.
Spain and Italy Turn Against Greece Over Reform Efforts
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. - NYTimes.com
LONDON — When Greece’s financial decision makers were summoned to secret talks at a Luxembourg castle by their euro zone partners this month, they knew a tongue-lashing was coming over the country’s stumbling reform efforts.
What they did not expect was that it would be Spain and Italy, as opposed to Germany, that would take the lead in upbraiding Greece for not pushing faster on privatization and tax overhauls.
"The peripherals were furious," said a person who was present at the talks but who was not authorized to speak publicly about them. "They were accusing Greece of threatening to bring contagion back to their markets."
Greece to Accelerate Asset Sales as Bonds Drop
By Marcus Bensasson and John Martens - Bloomberg.com
The Greek government endorsed an accelerated asset-sale plan and 6 billion euros ($8.4 billion) of budget cuts to win extra aid and stem a market slide that threatens to swamp the most debt-laden euro-area nations.
Belgium had the outlook on its AA+ investment-grade credit rating lowered to negative at Fitch Ratings yesterday as the cost to insure Greek debt against default rose to a record and the yield on its 10-year bonds increased to a euro-era high.
Cramer: Let Greece Default
By: Drew Sandholm - CNBC.com
As several leaders called for Greece to avoid debtrestructuring and move forward with austerity measures, Cramer on Monday took a different view: Let Greece default.
"If they're weak, let's fold 'em up," Cramer said, arguing Greece is impeding the world's economic recovery. "We can't let this one country create this hostage situation because what happens is it's bringing down Germany and France now. Let's just own up to it and move on."
The Case for IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Being Set-Up
by Robert Wenzel - EconomicPolicyJournal.com
Although it is very possible that IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a mad dog and sexually attacked a maid at the Sofitel Hotel in New York City without warning, there remains the possibility that the story is more complex and that he was set-up by those who understood his weakness for women. There are facts that could perhaps resolve the question of whether a set-up occurred or not. Herein lies the curiosities of the case that suggest much more than a simple attack was going on and the facts that need to be answered that could eliminate the possibility of a se-tup or indeed make the case of a set-up stronger.
First, it is somewhat interesting that the alleged attack was reported to the police at all. From experiences I have had, I suspect hotels try to stop such incidents from becoming public.
Global financial crisis-
On the Edge with Max Keiser -05-20-2011-(Part1)
Global financial crisis-
On the Edge with Max Keiser -05-20-2011-(Part2)
A Sign of Desperation at the Fed
by Robert Wenzel - EconomicPolicyJournal.com
Thanks to Ben Bernanke's new monetary "tools", the Federal Reserve continues to operate in panic mode. Specifically, because the Fed now pays interest on reserves held by banks at the Federal Reserve, excess reserves are piling up at the Fed at a remarkable rate.
There are now $1.5 trillion in excess reserves just sitting there that could explode and hit the economy at anytime and cause huge price inflation. There has never, ever, before Bernanke started paying interest on reserves so much of an overhang in excess reserves. In the month before the Fed started paying interest on excess reserves, September 2008, excess reserves stood at only $27 billion.
Lately, It's Been All About the US Dollar
BY GABE VELAZQUEZ - FinancialSense.com
Weeks ago in my piece, "Profitable Trading Can be Simple But Definitely Not Easy," I warned readers of a couple of markets that were tracking at unsustainable levels. In particular, the speculative fervor in the silver market was off the charts. I like to say that it's OK to run with the herd, but when the herd turns into an angry mob, that's the time to summarily exit that trade.
As it turns out, silver dropped precipitously the week of the article, perhaps out of sheer coincidence, just dumb luck or simple logic. Regardless, this week I want to explore part of my rationale for making that call, and some of the lessons learned from such a dramatic move.
Drifting back to gold standard
By S.S. TARAPORE - BusinessLine.com
A reserve currency not linked to gold is bound to become weak. A number of countries have increased the proportion of gold in their reserves. Gold could well become a pre-eminent international reserve asset.
A fter 1914, the gold standard was given up and in the 1920s countries unabashedly resorted to unbridled fiat money resulting in hyper-inflation in a number of European countries. World War II resulted in the virtual demise of the sterling as a reserve currency, and since then the US dollar has held sway as the dominant international reserve currency.
Move Over Fort Knox: China's Golden Ambition
Written by Luke Burgess - OilPrice.com
If you think the recent, highly-publicized gold-buying mania is merely the result of a handful of panicking investors, urged along by a couple contrarian billionaire types... think again.
Today, it's no longer just private individuals buying up the yellow metal.
For the first time in decades, gold has become a nearly universal investment strategy... something that literally any class of investor must own to be considered well-hedged.
It's so important, in fact, that the world's biggest and fastest growing national economies are in the midst of an historic push to build up their stores of the precious metal.
How Much Is the U.S. National Debt in Gold?
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Since the financial crisis, two dominant topics in financial news have been the rise in gold prices and the increasing U.S. debt burden. The price of gold is up 94% since November 2008. The amount of U.S. debt outstanding is up 34% over the same period. Today's chart of the day unites these two popular topics.
U.S. debt is generally expressed in U.S. dollars, but what if we instead expressed it in troy pounds of gold (12 troy ounces to a troy pound) instead? That paints a somewhat different picture. Another way to think of this chart would be: how much gold would it take to pay off the national debt. Here's the chart, since 1971:
The Euro-Dollar Dance Doesn't Fool Gold And Silver Bulls
BY JEB HANDWERGER - FinancialSense.com
The euro (FXE) slid compared to the U.S. dollar (UUP) after meeting and reversing at its long term down-trend resistance line two weeks ago. About four weeks prior to that, I alerted readers that the Euro could reverse lower supporting precious metal prices. In my March 28th article I wrote, "Watch for a move out of the euro to support precious metals prices as the euro reaches its descending upper resistance level. For the past two years the euro and the dollar have done this inverted dance wherein one goes up and the other goes down. But one thing I am not fooled about is the fact that they are both in secular long-term downtrends."
Trade Gold for Silver as hyperinflation threatens US
CommodityOnline.com
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): With the independent think tank NIA (National Inflation Association, USA) expecting hyper inflation in US, silver has suddenly become an attractive commodity; or so the NIA thinks. They argue that, "with the gold/silver ratio back up to 43, those who exchange their gold for silver now will at a very minimum see their purchasing power increase by 2.6875 times during the next 2 to 3 years if NIA is right and the gold/silver ratio declines to 16 or lower. Silver has dipped enough where we now feel comfortable to start buying it once again using money that we currently have in gold."
Silver in rebuilding phase
CommodityOnline.com
(Kitco News) --June Comex gold futures are probing modestly higher in midday action following several weeks of orderly consolidative sideways action. Monday's push higher is testing minor triangle trendline resistance seen on the daily chart.
Triangle formations are generally continuation patterns, but also can be reversal patterns.
A look at the daily chart for Comex June gold reveals the consolidation since May 5 has unfolded within a traditional triangle. Point one can be seen at the May 5 low, point two at the May 11 high, point three at the May 17 low and point four at the May 20 high.
Bob Chapman:
A Higher Cost of Living and A Weaker Economy The Reality 1/2
Bob Chapman:
A Higher Cost of Living and A Weaker Economy The Reality 2/2
If You Want Solutions, First Pin Down Where the Money Is Going
BY CHARLES HUGH SMITH - FinancialSense.com
A high cost structure dooms households, enterprises and governments alike.
Everybody wants solutions. Here's the first step to any real solution: pin down exactly where all the money is going. Only when you know the true, full costs in any system, and have a system of accountability that aligns with the cost structrure, can any real solutions emerge.
Gas Prices Up, Wages Down, Americans Caught in the Middle With soaring gas and commodity prices and falling income, what are working Americans supposed to do?
by Bryce Covert - NewDeal20.org
This week's credit check: Median income fell by $5,261 in the past decade. The average price of gas is up 80 cents per gallon.
When picturing people who are so far into debt they can't get on top of their bills, many likely see images of flat screen TVs, Escalades, and giant, unnecessary houses. But the sad truth is that one of the biggest reasons Americans carry $796.5 billion in revolving debt is that wages have stagnated while the cost of necessities rose. That’s particularly true now, at the end of a decade where wages actually dropped, 13.7 million people are unemployed, and prices are through the roof.
Foreclosure 'Rocket Docket' Done
By Diana Olick - CNBC.com
Too many foreclosures and too little time.
That was the impetus behind the so-called "rocket docket" in Florida, where judges could blow through a thousand cases a day.
And they had to, given a backlog of close to 40,000 foreclosures.
It was an experiment that began at the very end of December of 2008 in Lee County, Florida, the hardest hit county in the state. Retired judges came back to work, and the cases started to move. Then it went into full swing about a year ago in four other counties.
As Lenders Hold Homes in Foreclosure, Sales Are Hurt
By ERIC DASH - NYTimes.com
EL MIRAGE, Ariz. — The nation’s biggest banks and mortgage lenders have steadily amassed real estate empires, acquiring a glut of foreclosed homes that threatens to deepen the housing slump and create a further drag on the economic recovery.
All told, they own more than 872,000 homes as a result of the groundswell in foreclosures, almost twice as many as when the financial crisis began in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate data provider. In addition, they are in the process of foreclosing on an additional one million homes and are poised to take possession of several million more in the years ahead.
Economy Recover Without Housing?
Who Will Buy the Foreclosures?
By Diana Olick - CNBC.com
Not to sound like a broken record, but only when we work through the vast inventory and shadow inventory of foreclosed properties, can home prices bottom and housing recover overall. Obviously certain markets are more burdened by the distress than others, but it's a universal truth.
In April, however, the percentage of investors and all-cash buyers in the market dropped a bit. Investors have been buying the lion's share of foreclosures, as first-time home buyers continue to play a very small role in housing's recovery. First-time buyers should be about 40 percent of the market, but realtors say they are now about 36 percent. They made up nearly half of the market last Spring, but that was all thanks to the home buyer tax credit.
The Foreclosure Pipeline
by CalculatedRisk
Last night we discussed the NY Times article: Banks Amass Glut of Homes, Chilling Sales
I pointed out that the RealtyTrac estimate of 872,000 REO (lender Real Estate Owned) was probably too high, and I also noted that there are approximately 2.25 million homes currently in the foreclosure process. There are another 1.8 million homes with the borrower more than 90 days delinquent - so there is more to come.
Foreign Buyers Getting Firesale Prices on U.S. Housing
By Kathleen Madigan - WSJ.com
For U.S. homeowners, the family moving in next door could be Canadian. Or Chinese.
U.S. real estate, especially on the high end, is getting support from international buyers. If U.S. buyers find homes attractively priced, global buyers are finding a fire sale once exchange rates are figured in.
According to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors, foreign clients spent about $41 billion in U.S. housing in the 12 months ended in March 2011. Individuals with visas to stay for more than 6 months purchased an additional $41 billion. Taken together, that’s about 8% of the total U.S. housing market.
Obamacare waiver corruption must stop If some Americans deserve exemption from a bad law,
then all Americans do
By Dr. Milton R. Wolf - The Washington Times
Selective enforcement of the law is the first sign of tyranny. A government empowered to determine arbitrarily who may operate outside the rule of law invariably embraces favoritism as friends, allies and those with the best-funded lobbyists are rewarded. Favoritism inevitably leads to corruption, and corruption invites extortion. Ultimately, the rule of law ceases to exist in any recognizable form, and what is left is tyranny.
America's founders rejected that road to tyranny when they boldly declared that all men are created equal. They wrote a Constitution meant to secure the promise of equal protection under the law.
The Good News and the Bad News about Social Security
BY BRUCE KRASTING - FinancialSense.com
It's been ten days since the Social Security annual report to Congress has come out. I’ve been waiting for the devotees of SS to write something cheery about the report. For the most part the cheerleaders have been silent. That's with good reason. The report stunk. There's nothing in it to write home about.
The exception has been one of the principal defenders of SS. Dean Baker of CEPR wrote this article. The headline intends to create an air of optimism.
How to win the “forever” war
By Robert Hamburger - HamburgersStand.com
Surrender. Not fighting may be one of humanity’s greatest tests. And it’s one that we’re failing at miserably.
We talk of peace. And yet if you are fighting with even one person on the planet, you’re off to a poor start. As am I.
The only way to know a world of peace will be to stop fighting. Whether it be with your neighbor, boss, or friend, or be it one country pitted against another, conflicts never change anything. In the Middle East, we blow up schools and roads we built just years earlier. Taxpayer money goes to finance, build, and destroy these things over there… while schools and roads crumble over here.
America's 10 Biggest Constitutional Myths A parlor game for a summer of crisis
By Garrett Epps - TheAtlantic.com
Constitutional argumentation is a means Americans employ to keep from killing each other. Ridiculous claims about the Constitution, then, may often be a sign of political health rather than sickness.
So it's not surprising that, as we lurch toward summer, the national air is filled with claims about the "plain meaning" and "clear intent" of the Constitution; it's also not surprising that the "plain meaning" asserted isn't usually to be found in the actual text, and the "clear intent" supported often has no foundation in the actual history.
Corsi: Trump Conspired With Obama To Neutralize Birther Controversy Author says he is about to blow the whistle on who helped forged the long form birth certificate
Paul Joseph Watson - Prison Planet.com
As he prepares to release shocking new evidence and name the people who he claims were behind the forgery of Barack Obama's long form birth certificate, author Jerome Corsi sensationally accused short-lived Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump of "working with Obama" to neutralize the birther controversy.
Appearing on the Alex Jones Show, Corsi said that he now completely discounted the apparent efforts of Donald Trump to force the release of Obama’s birth certificate, stating, "I’m completely convinced at this point Donald Trump was subterfuge, that he... . was working with Obama."
Corsi explained how he was contacted directly by Trump, because Trump wanted to know what was going on behind the scenes, and that he requested several copies of Corsi's book before it was released.
Jerome Corsi: White House Running Scared
Over Latest Discovery of Obama's True Origins 1/3
Jerome Corsi: White House Running Scared
Over Latest Discovery of Obama's True Origins 2/3
Jerome Corsi: White House Running Scared
Over Latest Discovery of Obama's True Origins 3/3
The Ten Costliest Floods In American History
24/7 Wall Street
The United States Army Corps of Engineers flooded Vicksburg, Miss. to save New Orleans. The waters crested May 19 in the old southern city at 57.1 feet, surpassing a record set 84 years ago. Flooding one city to save another was an awful choice that says a great deal about the ineffectiveness of the current flood control infrastructure. Nonetheless, flood control measures are now considered advanced compared to those of just a few decades ago.
The Mississippi flood, the second most destructive in the history of the U.S., has finally begun to subside, but others are anticipated to spring up around the country later this year. The New York Times reports that snow packs in mountains in the US west are high enough that, "Fear of a sudden thaw, releasing millions of gallons of water through river channels and narrow canyons, has disaster experts on edge." Experts can anticipate the damage, but are nearly helpless to prevent it.
Record Snowpacks Could Threaten Western States
By KIRK JOHNSON and JESSE McKINLEY - NYTimes.com
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — For all the attention on epic flooding in the Mississippi Valley, a quiet threat has been growing here in the West where winter snows have piled up on mountain ranges throughout the region.
Thanks to a blizzard-filled winter and an unusually cold and wet spring, more than 90 measuring sites from Montana to New Mexico and California to Colorado have record snowpack totals on the ground for late May, according to a federal report released last week.
Those giant and spectacularly beautiful snowpacks will now melt under the hotter, sunnier skies of June — mildly if weather conditions are just right, wildly and perhaps catastrophically if they are not.
Joplin races to find survivors after Missouri city hit by tornado The death toll, 89, is likely to climb, officials say. Rescuers in Joplin, where whole neighborhoods were smashed by Sunday's tornado, try to beat out an approaching storm. But a lack of supplies, closed roadways and downed power lines stand in their way.
By Nicholas Riccardi and Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Joplin, Mo., and Los Angeles— The city of Joplin was changed from a typical small Missouri city into a zone of frenzied effort after Sunday's tornado as rescuers raced bad weather and coped with a shortage of supplies. At least 89 people were killed in the tornado, and the toll is expected to rise.
By midmorning Monday, about 20 hours after the tornado tore a six-mile wound in the heart of the city, residents searched through the rubble in what reminded many of a war zone. Some houses in the center of the tornado's path were no longer structures at all — just slabs of concrete surrounded by tangled piles of personal electronics, tennis shoes, childhood photos and box fans. All the detritus of private lives were strewn for the public eye to see.
Joplin Tornado Kills 116, Deadliest Since 1953
By Brian K. Sullivan
The tornado that killed 116 people in Joplin, Missouri, was the deadliest single U.S. twister since 1953, with winds that may have reached 198 miles per hour (319 kph), according to Jack Hayes, director of the National Weather Service.
At least 481 people have died in tornadoes so far this year, the earliest such a high toll has ever been reached, said Russell Schneider, director of the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Tomorrow is expected to be another active day for tornados from Kansas to Texas.
"We are now on pace for a record year for tornado fatalities," Schneider said on conference call with reporters today. "I think we have to be aware that we are just now entering the peak of the season."
Panic in The Nuclear Streets
Written by Ferdinand E. Banks - OilPrice.com
In my forthcoming textbook Energy and Economic Theory (2011), the last chapter contains a section called 'On the Sunny Side of the Nuclear Street', which is a shortened version of a keynote talk on nuclear energy that I volunteered to present at a forthcoming energy conference in marvellous summer Stockholm.
However on the basis of the tragic situation at the Fukushima nuclear complex, a question must now be asked as to whether my presence is desired at that congress, since I have never attempted to conceal my upbeat attitude on nuclear energy. In addition, for reasons that I am not inclined to examine here, I have come to believe that my contribution would not be of interest to some of the conference bosses if the Fukushima incident had never taken place, and every reactor on the face of the earth had been awarded the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Pakistani Commandos End Taliban Siege of Karachi Navy Air Base
By Khurrum Anis and Farhan Sharif - BusinessWeek.com
May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistani commandos ended a Taliban siege of a navy base in the country's largest city after a 16- hour battle that the militants said was in part to avenge the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Ten members of Pakistan's security forces were killed along with four guerrillas, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Karachi. The "terrorists were 20-22 years of age and wore Western clothes with suicide jackets beneath them," Malik said. They were armed with rocket launchers and grenades, he said.
Should the U.S. Intervene in Yemen? With Saleh and the opposition escalating their war of political attrition, the U.S. could have a role in preventing civil war -- or risk turning Yemen's opposition parties against us.
By J. Dana Stuster - TheAtlantic.com
It is a dangerous time in Yemen for the United States. On Sunday, armed thugs loyal to faltering president Ali Abdullah Saleh marched on the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Sanaa, where diplomats were preparing for the signing ceremony of the Gulf Cooperation Council deal that they hoped would resolve the ongoing political crisis between Saleh's government and the protests sweeping the country. The diplomats, who included the U.S., British, and European Union ambassadors, were trapped inside for two hours before being evacuated by helicopter. Earlier this month, documents purportedly from the Saleh government authorizing the arming of political supporters leaked and were published online.
Palestinian prime minister suffers heart attack in Texas
By the CNN Wire staff
Washington (CNN) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad suffered a heart attack while visiting the United States and was hospitalized for treatment, according to a spokesman from the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank.
Fayyad felt chest pains Sunday while visiting Austin, Texas, for his son's graduation from the University of Texas, Dr. Ghassan Khatib said from Ramallah early Tuesday. The prime minister was hospitalized and doctors found a blocked artery that they corrected, Khatib said.
Obama's Israeli border brouhaha Who knows what the president really meant
By Tony Blankley - WashingtonTimes.com
President Obama’s speech last week, which was described by the White House in advance as a speech intended to reach out to the Muslim world, probably will go down as one of the least understood major presidential speeches in modern memory. Confusion concerning the president’s words and intent cut across the lines of Jews, Christians and Muslims, Democrats and Republicans, neocons and paleocons, friends and foes of Israel and friends and foes of the president.
For many serious commentators, the confusion lies in what the president meant by his statement, “We believe the borders of Israel and Palestineshould be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” Was this a shift of policy, no shift or a critical increase in U.S. presidential pressure on Israel in future peace negotiations?
Three Banks Fail; 2011 Tally now 43
By Philip van Doorn - TheStreet.com
WASHINGTON (TheStreet) - Three banks failed Friday, bringing this year's total number of bank failures to 43. Two Georgia Banks Fail
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Atlantic Southern Bank of Macon, which had $741.9 million in total assets and $707.6 million in deposits; and First Georgia Banking Company of Franklin, which had $731 million in assets and $702.2 million in deposits.
.... Summit Bank
State regulators shut down Summit Bank of Burlington, Wash., which had $142.7 million in total assets and $131.6 million in deposits. The FDIC was appointed receiver and sold the failed bank's deposits for a 0.75% premium to Columbia State Bank of Tacoma, Wash.
What Destroyed Rome
Was its Unfunded Government Employee Pensions
By Martin Armstrong
HISTORY IS A CATALOGUE OF SOLUTIONS. However, it is also a catalogue of things not to do. Far too many people just ignore the past and assume there is nothing worthwhile even exploring. This is why history repeats, largely because of the arrogance of mankind in assuming he is better than all those who preceded him. I have been often asked why I came to see the world through an eternal battle between Private and Public interests (People v Government). Effectively, aside from the fact that we invented the combustion engine, discovered radio waves that also enabled the development of computers, there is little else that is really a modern invention. Right down to the form of government we have, which is a Republic based upon Rome rather than a Democracy based upon Athens, this is not a modern invention. A Republic is where we elect representatives to go run government. In a Democracy, every citizen has the right to propose laws and sits in judgment over the affairs of the state. Rome had its Senate as does Washington.
What happens when Greece defaults
By Andrew Lilico - Telegraph.co.uk
It is when, not if. Financial markets merely aren’t sure whether it’ll be tomorrow, a month's time, a year's time, or two years' time (it won’t be longer than that). Given that the ECB has played the "final card" it employed to force a bailout upon the Irish – threatening to bankrupt the country's banking sector – presumably we will now see either another Greek bailout or default within days.
What happens when Greece defaults. Here are a few things:
Every bank in Greece will instantly go insolvent.
The Greek government will nationalise every bank in Greece.
The Greek government will forbid withdrawals from Greek banks.
To prevent Greek depositors from rioting on the streets, Argentina-2002-style (when the Argentinian president had to flee by helicopter from the roof of the presidential palace to evade a mob of such depositors), the Greek government will declare a curfew, perhaps even general martial law.
Greek Prime Minister rules out any restructuring of debt A tougher austerity programme with bigger cuts in public sector wages, along with tax increases and the privatisation of state assets is being prepared by the Greek government to meet the terms of its $110bn (£68bn) bail-out.
By Roland Gribben - Telegraph.co.uk
Prime Minister George Papandreou has ruled out debt restructuring ahead of a Cabinet meeting called for Monday to reach agreement on a more draconian economic package.
He was supported by two leading members of the European Central Bank (ECB) who made it clear there was no prospect of support for a debt restructuring to ease the pain.
But the Papandreou programme risks further civil unrest. A poll published on Sunday showed 80pc of Greeks would refuse to make any further sacrifices to ensure continued EU and IMF support for the bail-out.
Spain Vote Threatens to Uncover Debt
As Socialists Risk Losing Key Areas, Economists Fear 'Hidden' Bills
By JONATHAN HOUSE And SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZ - WSJ.com
MADRID—Weekend elections that threaten to drive Spain's ruling Socialist party from power in several regions and cities also promise a potentially nasty surprise: the revelation of piles of undisclosed debt in local governments that could undercut the country's drive to avoid an international bailout.
Five months ago, a government change in Spain's Catalonia region revealed a budget deficit more than twice as big as previously reported. Now, a growing chorus of economists, local politicians and business leaders say that new governments are likely to discover, as Catalonia did, piles of "hidden debt" owed to health clinics and other suppliers.
Ron Paul: The Problem Is Corporatism and Fiat Money
Not Free-Market Capitalism!
US, Pakistan Near Open War;
Chinese Ultimatum Warns Washington Against Attack
By Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D.
China has officially put the United States on notice that Washington’s planned attack on Pakistan will be interpreted as an act of aggression against Beijing. This blunt warning represents the first known strategic ultimatum received by the United States in half a century, going back to Soviet warnings during the Berlin crisis of 1958-1961, and indicates the grave danger of general war growing out of the US-Pakistan confrontation.
Pakistan Gun Battle Rages as Militants Storm Naval Air Base
By Khurrum Anis and Farhan Sharif - Bloomberg.com
A gun battle raged at a Pakistani naval air base in Karachi after militants stormed the premises with rockets and grenades targeting surveillance aircraft provided by the U.S., the biggest such attack in 18 months.
"They have captured one building, our forces are fighting them and there may be hostages inside," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Karachi. "Al-Qaeda and Taliban are enemies of Pakistan and are trying to destroy our assets."
"Any Attack on Pakistan Would be Construed as an Attack on China" .
Obama Tweaks Recipe for Israeli Peace
By JAY SOLOMON And LAURA MECKLER - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, two days after a frosty meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, restated his call for a resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestinians based on the Jewish state's borders before the 1967 Six Day War while trying to soften its impact.
The U.S. president, speaking Sunday before Washington's most powerful pro-Israel lobby, combined his call with strong assertions that his administration recognized that Israel won't give up all the lands it gained during the 1967 conflict as part of a final agreement—a point Mr. Netanyahu stressed when meeting the American leader Friday.
Decoding Obama and Netanyahu Are the president and the prime minister at odds? To see the answer, one must read between the lines
By Michael Hirsh - TheAtlantic.com
It's all in the code. The words themselves don't mean much. And therein lies a lot of misunderstanding over whether President Obama really broke new ground on Mideast peace this week, or whether he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu truly disagree.
The conventional wisdom is that there are bitter differences between Obama and Netanyahu stemming from the president's brand-new proposal. Indeed, in a remarkable colloquy at a White House photo op on Friday, a day after Obama's landmark speech, the president and the prime minister appeared to be almost negotiating in public, further roiling an already tense relationship. Netanyahu effectively rebuked Obama for suggesting that talks with the Palestinians should be based on the 1967 borders, or that the Palestinian refugee issue can be kept separate from the issues of "territory and security," as the president suggested.
Syria Death Toll From Violence Tops 900
BY BASSEM MROUE - HuffingtonPost.com
BEIRUT -- Syrian security forces opened fire on a funeral procession for slain anti-government protesters Saturday, pushing the number of people reported killed in a two-month uprising to more than 900 and making it one of the deadliest of the Arab Spring.
The latest bloodshed suggests that crackdowns by President Bashar Assad's regime show no signs of easing despite international sanctions and condemnations from the U.S. and its allies.
Excluding Libya – where battles between Moammar Gadhafi's forces and his opponents have left possibly thousands dead since February – Syria's death toll is now higher than any country that has been gripped by uprisings.
Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen President, Resists Pressure To Step Down
By AHMED AL-HAJ - HuffingtonPost.com
SANAA, Yemen -- Yemen's embattled president on Sunday resisted intense U.S. and Arab pressure and stalled at signing a deal calling for him to step down in 30 days, as his regime brought armed supporters into the streets demanding he stay. Hundreds of militiamen trapped the American and other ambassadors inside a diplomatic mission for hours.
The militiamen, armed with knives and swords, blocked the entrances to the United Arab Emirates Embassy, where at least five U.S., European and Arab ambassadors had gathered, expecting President Ali Abdullah Saleh to arrive to sign the agreement.
Jim Rogers: 'US the largest debtor nation in history'
Won Less Volatile for Pimco
as 'Easy' Carry Trades Luring HSBC to Yuan The world’s largest investors are piling into Asian currencies as central banks raise interest rates and intervene to limit swings in their exchange rates.
By Yumi Teso, David Yong and Lilian Karunungan - Bloomberg.com
The world’s largest investors are piling into Asian currencies as central banks raise interest ratesand intervene to limit swings in their exchange rates.
Pacific Investment Management Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Threadneedle Asset Management Ltd. say they are buying assets in the region as yields climb and volatility declines. Traders reduced expectations for fluctuations in China’s yuan, the Thai baht, South Korea's won and the Indian rupee more than for any other currencies this year.
Own Government Bonds? Here's Why You Should Be Worried
By jason Zweig - WSJ.com
Has the endgame for bond investors begun?
Since at least 2009, pundits and professional investors have been predicting that the three-decade-long bull market in bonds was about to end. So far they have consistently been proven wrong.
Earlier this week, however, the U.S. hit its debt limit—the total amount that Congress has authorized the Treasury Department to borrow (around $14.3 trillion). Treasury SecretaryTimothy Geithner warned that the U.S. would default on its debt in early August if Congress doesn't pass legislation permitting the government to borrow more money to meet its existing obligations. Since 1978, Congress has raised the debt limit 51 times, often after wrangling with the White House over spending cuts.
Zimbabwe may sell diamonds to launch gold-backed currency
HARARE (Commodity Online): Zimbabwe may sell diamonds for gold, so that it can have a gold-backed currency, according to a recent proposal from the governor of Zimbabwe’s central bank.
The Zimbabwean dollar is no longer in active use after it was officially suspended by the government due to hyperinflation. The United States dollar, South African rand, Botswanan pula, Pound sterling, and Euro are now used instead. The US dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions with the new power-sharing regime, says Wikipedia.
Things That Make You Go Hmmm....
Such As The CFTC's "Endless" Investigation Of Silver Manipulation
By Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
...The CFTC proposals stipulate the following: "Spot-month position limit levels set at 25% of deliverable supply for a given commodity, with a conditional spot month limit of five times that amount for entities with positions exclusively in cash-settled contracts What this essentially means is that anybody that has no intention of taking physical delivery of a commodity will NOT be allowed to build a position that is greater then 125% of the total deliverable supply while anybody looking to buy physical metal can only buy 25% of that same supply. They also threw in this little grenade: "Exemptions for bona fide hedging transactions (based on the Dodd-Frank Act’s new requirements for such transactions) and for positions that are established in good faith prior to the effective date of specific limits adopted pursuant to the proposed regulations."In other words, the existing short positions allegedly held by JPMorgan and HSBC amongst others about which the complaints were made, are unaffected by the new rules as they were already established.
FastMoney - Peter Schiff QE3 and the Dollar
Commodities Risk Trade
Adam Hamilton, CPA - SilverBearCafe.com
Commodities prices have been exceptionally volatile in recent weeks, with big daily rallies and plunges intermingled. Seemingly without rhyme or reason, commodities surge one day as traders crave riskier bets but then fall the next as they flee risk. While this commodities risk trade often looks capricious and schizophrenic, it actually has a logical and consistent driver. The state of the stock markets.
This perpetually frustrates countless commodities-centric investors and speculators. They want to believe that their favorite commodities' fundamentals are what move their prices. While certainly true over the long term, many years, on a day-to-day basis sentiment usually trumps fundamentals. How traders feel aboutcommodities leads them to buy and sell. Thus pure emotion drives most short-term price action.
Predicting The Gold Price
Published by Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortal.com
An article this morning is titled 'Predicting the Future Price of Gold Is All Relative – Here's Why' – reading time 3 minutes. The article suggests that predicting gold prices in U.S.$ is "paradoxical" because the "purported destruction of the U.S.$ is a primary reason to own gold in the first place" – that is, if the U.S.$ drops by the same % the price of physical gold goes up, 'ho hum', so what? The author suggests that those holding or contemplating holding physical gold need to make the distinction between 'nominal inflation and deflation’ and ‘real inflation and deflation'. In this regard the author defines nominal inflation and deflation as an 'increase or decrease respectively in the money supply', and real inflation or deflation as an increase or decrease respectively in the purchasing power of physical gold. I have not seen 'nominal' and 'real' in the context of either inflation or deflation defined in that way before, but am prepared to accept those definitions for purposes of this commentary.
Hyperinflation & US Dollar Collapse
John Williams - SilverBearCafe.com
With so many questions surrounding the U.S. dollar and rising inflation, today King World News interviewed internationally followed John Williams of Shadowstats to get his take on the U.S. dollar, Fed and hyperinflation. When asked about the tremendous inflation globally Williams stated, "The dollar has already been a factor for the major inflation that we are seeing now, and the weakness that we have seen in the dollar up to now has primarily been as a result of the Fed's efforts to debase the dollar. A weaker dollar has spiked oil prices and we are seeing the highest inflation - as the government reports it - in the last 3 years, and it's going to get a lot worse."
Perpetual Inflation: The Stealth Source of Our Economic Problems
ml-implode.com
The financial crisis and "recession" since 2007 have led to much discussion and speculation about the nature of and causes of our economic woes. There are literally dozens of books on the economic crisis (called, variously, the "subprime crisis", the "housing crisis", the "credit crisis", etc). While each perspective has its own unique "narrative" on the crisis, the dominant themes typically proffered are:
An "epidemic of greed" by the big banks
Regulatory failure (of the big banks and other financial institutions)
Regulatory "capture" by the banking interests
"Easy money policy" by the Greenspan Fed in the wake of the 2000/2001 market crash and recession
An epidemic of mortgage fraud and greed by the homebuying public
CRA, loose lending policies and poor underwriting by the GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) and HUD/FHA
Back to the Gold Standard
By Vasko Kohlmayer - SilverBearCafe.com
Most Americans believe the massive federal budget deficit is a very serious problem that will create hardships for future generations," found a CBS News/New York Times poll earlier this year.
This finding is consistent with a number of other surveys which have been conducted in recent months. Poll after poll shows that the majority of Americans are deeply concerned about out-of-control spending, runaway budget deficits, and the ballooning national debt.
Gerald Celente on the Gary Null Show
Why The Fed Is Waiting To Announce QE3
By Graham Summers - SilverBearCafe.com
Having pumped the financial system with liquidity for over two years, Ben Bernanke has now decided to take his foot off the pedal temporarily. Indeed, the Fed is not only NOT launching QE 3 soon, but is going to let QE2 end.
Why is this?
It's really quite simple. QE2 primarily did two things:
Push the stock market higher
Gun oil and commodity prices through the roof
The Fed wants #1. The only problem is that #2 is making its money pumps even MORE unpopular with the US populace. Even mainstream financial media outlets like the Wall Street Journal have begun criticizing if not slamming the Fed's policies.
Geithner says overhaul of tax code must wait
By Kristina Cooke and Kim Dixon -
(Reuters) - A push to overhaul the U.S. corporate tax code will take a back seat to negotiations on the deficit and debt ceiling over the next two months, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.
Geithner said the Obama administration hopes to take up the issue of tax simplification before the presidential election in 2012 but he signaled the issue is on hold for now.
"I think realistically this fiscal debate we're having is going to dominate our preoccupation for the next couple of months," Geithner said in response to a question after remarks to the Harvard Club in New York.
Fearing The Bottom Will Fall Out If Interest Rates Rise
Bob Chapman - SilverBearCafe.com
The amount of money and people withdrawing from 401K's has been staggering and Wall Street and government do not like it one bit. There are those who have been fired, run out of benefits, and half to cash in part or all of their retirement. The villainous ones are those still employed, who have taken up to three loans, many of whom have bought gold and silver with the proceeds.
That said, Senator Herb Kohl, Senator Mike Enzi have introduced legislation to limit citizens to tapping into their 401K's, called "SEAL 401K Savings Accounts." The bill would reduce and limit the number of loans workers may take from 401K's and give participants more time to pay back loans after losing their jobs. In addition, employers would have the option to reduce the number of loans for their plans.
Consumer spending expected to slow down
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Despite persistent unease over their personal finances, consumers remain the backbone of the economy, and data to be released this week will show the state of their spending.
On Friday, the Commerce Department will report on consumer spending, personal income and inflation for April. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect consumer spending to slow down somewhat, rising 0.5% in April compared with a gain of 0.6% in March. See economic calendar.
"U.S. personal consumption spending has grown for nine consecutive months, and the uptrend likely extended to April if that month’s retail data is any guide," wrote analysts at CIBC World Markets in a research note.
The Great Job Divide
New figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
show growth of low-wage jobs
By Richard Florida - TheAtlantic.com
This week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Occupational Employment and Wages Statistics for 2010, which provides employment and wage estimates for 22 major occupational groups and nearly 800 occupations. The accompanying press release notes that retail salespersons and cashiers were the occupations with the highest employment, representing almost 6% of the US workforce. "In addition to retail salespersons and cashiers," the summary continues, "the largest occupations included general office clerks; combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food; registered nurses; and waiters and waitresses."
Those occupations, as the BLS summary blandly puts it, are "relatively low paying. Only registered nurses received an average wage that was above the US mean of $21.35 per hour ($44,410 annually). "Combined food preparation and serving workers, cashiers, and waiters and waitresses were the three lowest paying of the 10 largest occupations, and also among the lowest-paying occupations overall." The average wage for fast food preparers, cooks, and servers is less than $9.00 an hour.
U.S. middle class disappearing into abyss?
Recession Brought a Small-Business Boom
By Kent Bernhard Jr. - Portfolio.com
Here’s a counterintuitive take on the Great Recession for you. There are actually more small businesses now than there were in 2006, when the recession began.
That’s according to Dun & Bradstreet, which released a report on the state of small business this week. The trend follows a deep trough through the recession, but a steep climb as the economy has slowly recovered.
"Compared to 2007, there was a huge increase in the number of business failures in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In fact, the number of business failures in 2009 was almost twice that of the amount of failures in 2007," writes Byron Vielehr, president of global risk and analytics at D&B, in response to questions emailed by Portfolio.com. “However, 2009 and 2010 bore witness to the highest percentage of startups in more than a decade. The rate of new businesses had also been steadily climbing since 2006. As a result, the number of businesses in 2010 compared to 2007 is higher."
Americans take a gamble with the Mississippi floods This year's floods have brought more hardship along the Mississippi, but have efforts to control the river made matters worse?
By Suzanne Goldenberg - Guardian.co.uk
The Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg was one of the last gambling establishments operating on the Mississippi during these historic floods, and the management lined the drive with insistent signs. "Still open", they said, "Still happy". Another sign, an electric one, bragged about the new decor. Workers had stuck pink plastic flamingos on the 4ft sand wall. The river had swallowed up the lawn and trees and was lapping at the parking lot. But a few people were still placing bets inside.
After all, Americans have been taking their chances with the Mississippi for centuries.
Republicans suggest deal possible on healthcare
By Andy Sullivan
(Reuters) - Top congressional Republicans said on Sunday they would be open to a compromise on healthcare costs, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in a deal to get the United States' debt under control.
Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, said he would "absolutely" be willing to negotiate with Democrats, who have hammered his plan to scale back government-run health plans for the poor and the elderly.
Republicans suggest deal possible on healthcare
By Andy Sullivan
(Reuters) - Top congressional Republicans said on Sunday they would be open to a compromise on healthcare costs, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in a deal to get the United States' debt under control.
Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, said he would "absolutely" be willing to negotiate with Democrats, who have hammered his plan to scale back government-run health plans for the poor and the elderly.
The Facts About Social Security
Separating economic myths from economic truths
By Veronique de Rugy - Reason.com
Myth 1: There is no crisis. Social Security will never be insolvent.
Fact 1: Under the best-case scenario, the trustees report finds that the probability of Social Security never becoming insolvent is less than 2.5 percent.
The only scenario under which the Social Security trust fund will never go insolvent is based on projections which the Treasury Department itself considers to be extremely unlikely.
Veronique de Rugy: The Facts About Social Security
Government Orders You Tube To Censor Protest Videos
By Paul Joseph Watson - Infowars.com
In a frightening example of how the state is tightening its grip around the free Internet, it has emerged that You Tube is complying with thousands of requests from governments to censor and remove videos that show protests and other examples of citizens simply asserting their rights, while also deleting search terms by government mandate.
The latest example is You Tube’s compliance with a request from the British government to censor footage of the British Constitution Group’s Lawful Rebellion protest, during which they attempted to civilly arrest Judge Michael Peake at Birkenhead county court.
Peake was ruling on a case involving Roger Hayes, former member of UKIP, who has refused to pay council tax, both as a protest against the governmen's treasonous activities in sacrificing Britain to globalist interests and as a result of Hayes clearly proving that council tax is illegal.
Peaceful Republic or Police State?
World's first 100 watt equivalent LED replacement bulb
Darren Quick - GizMag.com
Currently the brightest options for those looking to ditch their incandescent light bulbs in favor of the longer life and more energy efficient LED variety are those equivalent to 60 watt incandescent bulbs, such as theGeoBulb II. Things got a little brighter last month when California-based Switch Lighting announced its 75 watt-equivalent LED bulb and now the company has gone one better with the announcement of what it claims is the world's first 100 watt-equivalent LED bulb.
The GeoBulb LED light bulb
By Darren Quick - GizMag.com
February 11, 2009 Not so long ago choosing a light bulb wasn't too difficult. Just grab one with the desired wattage in either pearl or clear with the correct fitting for your socket. The need for energy efficient lighting means that it's no longer that simple, and given the amount of ongoing research in the area, the range of light bulb options on the supermarket shelves is set to explode. Technologies competing to replace conventional incandescent bulbs include OLED, Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs, and of course LED bulbs. LED bulbs offer improved energy efficiency, produce brilliant light and offer long life and the latest to cross our desk is the GeoBulb II from California-based LED producer C. Crane.
Netanyahu Tells Obama
Israel Can't Return to 'Indefensible' 1967 Borders
By Jonathan Ferziger - Bloomberg.com
President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made little effort to disguise their differences over the borders of a future Palestinian state.
After a two-hour White House meeting yesterday, Netanyahu once again rejected Obama's call to use the boundaries of the West Bank and Gaza Strip from before the 1967 Middle East war as a starting point for negotiations with the Palestinians, calling those lines "indefensible."
"What I saw was an Israeli prime minister who was interested in paying back an American president for willfully giving a public speech on the eve of the meeting that all but ensured a significant difference of opinion," said Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. Mideast peace negotiator who is now a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington.
Iceland Volcano Shuts Island's Airspace
By Omar R. Valdimarsson - Bloomberg.com
A volcanic eruption under Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajokull, is abating after it forced Iceland’s main international airport to close, the second such disruption in 13 months to the island nation’s air traffic.
"It's likely that the eruption is dwindling," Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geologist at the Institute of Earth Sciences with the University of Iceland, told national broadcaster RUV. "What we've seen is that it has slowed. It went down to being similar as the eruption in 2004 and in Eyjafjallajokull last year."
"Great men, great nations, have not been boasters and buffoons, but perceivers of the terror of life, and have manned themselves to face it." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Authoritarian globalism, not terrorism, is the biggest threat America and the Western world faces. Terrorism is an invented distraction to keep the police and military guards occupied, and a government trick whose purpose is to scare the people into giving up their natural rights and accept the total government takeover of their lives and society.
When we read that nations like Libya and Iran are rogue regimes, which are regimes that pose a threat to the lawless international banking establishment, we should remember that America was a revolutionary nation and a rogue regime of its own day in the eyes of the financial tyrants. Back when America was a free and independent nation and not a mercenary nation for the bloodsucking global private central bankers it did not start large wars or slander other nations. But those days were over when the private Federal Reserve Bank was established in 1913. Soon after America became a puppet for the criminal internationalist bankers and oligarchs, and began to lose its soul.
Obama's Israel Bombshell Calls for Palestinian State on Pre-1967 Borders,
a First for a U.S. President
By JAY SOLOMON And CAROL E. LEE - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, seeking to get ahead of historic changes rolling through the Middle East, promised support for democratic uprisings in the Arab world and called for the first time for a Palestinian state based on Israel's pre-1967 borders.
President Obama acknowledges U.S. ties to the Middle East and how recent changes are shifting foreign policy in the region. Video courtesy of Fox News.
Mr. Obama, in a wide-ranging speech on the Mideast, stressed to a global audience - the speech was broadcast in English, Arabic and Farsi - that with the fall of governments in Tunisia and Egypt and the death of Osama bin Laden, the era of al Qaeda and Islamist militancy is giving way to an age of popular rule.
Obama Urges Israel and Palestinians
to Negotiate on Basis of 1967 Borders
By Matthew Cooper - TheAtlantic.com
Weighing in on the deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian efforts to forge a peace deal, President Obama urged both sides to negotiate on the basis of Israel's borders before the 1967 Six-Day War albeit with "mutually agreed" swaps of land.
"The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states," the president said. "The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state."
Israel calls on Obama to stick to peace terms
By Eli Lake - The Washington Times
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged PresidentObama on Thursday to reaffirm U.S. commitments to allow Israel to keep major settlements in the West Bank as part of any final peace deal with the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli leader made the request ahead of his White House visit Friday and an hour after Mr. Obama delivered his major speech on the Middle East in which he said Israel's 1967 border should be the basis for negotiating the borders of a Palestinian state.
After Mr. Obama’s speech, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called an emergency meeting of Palestinian leaders.
Netanyahu: 1967 borders can't be defended
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday rejected a key aspect of President Obama’s Middle East policy speech, saying that a return to his country’s 1967 borders would spell disaster for the Jewish state.
In a statement released late Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu called the 1967 lines "indefensible."
Obama sees door for U.S. influence in Middle East Speech castigates harshest leaders
By Dave Boyer-The Washington Times
President Obama sought Thursday to usher in a new U.S. relationship with the Middle East, promising economic aid to nations engaged in democratic reforms and calling out by name the region's most belligerent rulers.
Capitalizing on popular uprisings that began in Tunisia and swept through Egypt, Syria, Libya and elsewhere, Mr. Obama said the United States will use "all our influence" to persuade allies and enemies alike to respect human rights and open up their political systems.
Middle East Speech: A Tall Order for the President
By Aamer Madhani - TheAtlantic.com
With his long-awaited policy address on the Middle East on Thursday, President Obama is facing a difficult rhetorical assignment.
In the Arab world, his audience will be listening to hear how the president squares his backing of military action against Libya's Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi while taking a far less aggressive posture in response to crackdowns by the regimes in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen. Israelis and Palestinians wonder whether Obama will weigh in with thoughts on restarting peace talks. And Americans will be focusing on how Obama pivots from a tumultuous period in the Arab world to explaining his long-term vision for U.S. involvement in the region.
Obama Endorses 1967 Borders for Israel
By JAY SOLOMON - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama, seeking to place the U.S. ahead of the political tumult sweeping the Middle East, promised support and economic assistance for democratic reformers and for the first time called for the creation of a Palestinian state based on Israel's pre-1967 borders.
Mr. Obama made his comments in a wide-ranging speech on the Middle East Thursday, his most extensive since U.S.-supported governments in Tunisia and Egypt fell in January and Osama bin Laden was killed this month. The American leader stressed to a global audience that Washington firmly backs the push for democratic change, and said the era of al Qaeda and Islamic militancy is coming to a close.
In a Baghdad cafe, Obama's speech gets thumbs-down
By Salar Jaff and Ned Parker in Baghdad - LATimes.com
President Obama's speech on Mideast policy was greeted mostly with derision Thursday in Sahara, a Baghdad cafe where people drink coffee and smoke flavored tobacco in water pipes. Many in the audience mocked the U.S. president's words.
"America is like a theater. They all wear different faces, but eventually they are following the same scheme and policy," said Ahmed Qoraishi, 23, a university art student. "Don't tell me the 'Arab Spring' is due to his efforts. On the contrary, I can tell that, deep inside, the Americans prefer a dictator here or there if they take care of the American national interests."
Hitler, the Palestinians and the West A lesson from the 1930s
By Brad MacDonald - theTrumpet.com
When Adolf Hitler dispatched German troops to Austria and annexed the country in March 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain did nothing. Despite the illegal influx of thousands of German jackboots on Austrian soil, Chamberlain believed Hitler when he promised, following the annexation, that he would no longer disturb the peace.
Six months later, Hitler’s bristling army was ready to invade the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. When Britain and France objected, Hitler promised that peace would be assured if Nazi Germany were allowed to take over the Sudetenland. Once again, despite Hitler's policy of aggression in the Rhineland and Austria, Chamberlain fell for Hitler’s feigned peace overture. He was given the Sudetenland.
Obama hints at shift on Syria His speech indicates the U.S. no longer sees keeping Bashar Assad in power as necessary to Syrian stability.
By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
May 19, 2011, 5:23 p.m.
Reporting from Beirut— Tucked into President Obama's speech on Arab world policy Thursday were indications of a subtle but important shift regarding the repressive rule of President Bashar Assad inSyria, a linchpin state in the Middle East that has long been considered a bulwark of stability.
For years, diplomats and scholars worried that the departure of the Assad clan would plunge Syria into the kind of civil strife that engulfed neighboring Lebanon and Iraq or the former Yugoslavia. But increasingly they believe that the biggest factor in Syria's potential instability is the regime's attempts to exploit the nation's sectarian tensions, not the inherent divisions in the country.
U.S. to Be in Range of Iran's Nukes?
The Trumpet.com
Iran is planning to build a missile base in Venezuela, Die Welt wrote on May 13. Last November, the German daily stated that Iran and Venezuela had signed an agreement on October 19 to build the base. Now, citing "security insiders," it says the two nations have agreed on the location for the base - on the Peninsula de Paraguana - and have begun planning it.
It states that engineers from Khatam al-Anbia - a construction firm owned by Iran's Revolutionary Guards - visited the site in February, accompanied by Amir al-Hadschisadeh, head of the Guard’s air force.
According to its November report, the base will be manned by both Venezuelan and Iranian soldiers. Iran has permission to use the missiles in case of an emergency. Venezuela has permission to use the base for "national needs.
Is Merkel Gambling Away the European Idea? Angela Merkel stepped outside her usually diplomatic approach to the euro crisis this week, effectively accusing southern Europeans of being lazy. German commentators are at odds over whether Merkel was pandering to popular domestic opinion or simply voicing the truth.
By Kristen Allen - Spiegel.de
Uncharacteristically populist statements made by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday night about the European Union's heavily indebted southern nations have sparked widespread outrage in Germany, particularly among opposition politicians, who called them "anti-European," "cheap" and "absurd."
At a party event for her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the western city of Meschede, the chancellor effectively accused the Greeks, Spaniards and Portuguese of enjoying too much vacation and retiring young. In addition to getting their debts under control, people there should not "be able to retire earlier than in Germany" and ought to "exert themselves more or less equally," she said.
Keiser Report: Suicide Banking (E148)
America 2011
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
What kind of place is America in 2011? Sadly, it is one giant sea of conformity. If you traveled across the United States 40 or 50 years ago, you would encounter a vast array of cultures and you would meet a wonderful mix of people. But today America is slowly but surely becoming standardized. It seems like wherever you go you will find a Wal-Mart and a McDonald's. Thanks to Hollywood and the mass media, people all over the country dress the same and look the same and talk the same. Sure there are various subcultures out there, but even many of those subcultures are virtually the same on one coast as they are on the other. The things that gave flavor to our local communities are dying off in favor of greater conformity and greater profit. Today, most retail stores and most restaurants are corporate owned. Most small businesses that attempt to go up against the Wal-Marts, the Targets, the Burger Kings or the Home Depots of the world have already been stomped out of existence or are in the process of being stomped out of existence. Eventually, if we are not careful, corporate conformity is going to dominate everything from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Some may view this as "progress", but is this really what the American Dream is supposed to be all about? Is this really the "America" that we want to pass down to future generations?
Pakistan may give gold mining rights to Chinese
By Gurmukh Singh - NewKerala.com
As Pakistan turns to China after the killing of Osama bin Laden by US commandos May 2, Islamabad is likely to dump Canada's Barrick Gold Corp. and grant the mining licence for gold-and-copper Reko Diq project in Balochistan to the Chinese.
Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. , along with Chile's Antofagasta, has spent years in exploring the precious metal in the mine, according to a report from Islamabad Tuesday.
The Reko Diq mine holds vast deposits of gold and copper and a feasible study says it will take half a century to extract its reserves.
Gold outlook robust and positive for 2011: WGC
LONDON (Commodity Online): The outlook for global gold demand remains robust throughout 2011 against a background of another strong quarter, the geographic and sectoral diversity of demand and strong fundamentals, the World Gold Council said . According to the Gold Demand Trends report for Q1 2011, demand for gold in the rest of 2011 will be driven by a number of key factors:
- Prevailing global socio-economic conditions will continue to drive investment demand for gold. These include: continued uncertainty over the US economy and the dollar, ongoing European sovereign debt concerns, global inflationary pressures and continued tensions in the Middle East and North Africa.
Gold Ahead of Competition Now and Always
Pravda.ru
Gold at all times has been the most reliable way to maintain savings. Currently, due to currency exchange rate fluctuations and unstable political system, gold continues to enjoy significant demand. In mid-April of 2011 the price of a troy ounce (31.3 grams) of the best-known precious metal exceeded $1,500.
According to experts, this dynamics of quotations does not cause any surprise. Most of the investment portfolio managers find it necessary to have gold in their assets, which can significantly improve the performance of the risk-return profile. Sergey Zimnin, Director of FG "Kalita-Finance" noted that gold has this privileged position due to several reasons, and most of them boil down to" protective "properties of this asset.
Selling Gold at Fort Knox Emerges
as Next Big Question in Debate on Federal Debt Limit Congressman Paul Endorses the Idea,
Amid Budget Showdown Between Congress, Administration
By DAVID PIETRUSZA - New York Sun
NEW YORK - The next big question on the federal debt limit could be whether to start selling the government's holdings of gold at Fort Knox - and at least one presidential contender, Ron Paul, has told The New York Sun he thinks it would be a good move.
The question has been ricocheting around the policy circles today. An analyst at the Heritage Foundation, Ron Utt, told the Washington Post that the gold holdings of the government are "just sort of sitting there." He added: "Given the high price it is now, and the tremendous debt problem we now have, by all means, sell at the peak.
Why Ron Paul Is Pushing For a US Gold Sale
By Aaron Krowne - ml-implode.com
The New York Sun is reporting, as part of the debt ceiling debate, that Rep. Ron Paul (among others) is actually calling for a US gold sale to ameliorate the situation:
Dr. Paul told the Sun today that he reckoned the sale of gold reserves would be "a good and moral decision. An individual would have to do the same." The sentiment is echoed by another big name in the debate on monetary reform, Edwin Vieira Jr., who told the Sun he has little hope of the government moving to sound money and would prefer that it coin its gold holdings in pieces marked with their weight and use them to pay off debts, particularly individuals - who might be owed, say, tax refunds.
Mr. Vieira is a proponent of what he calls the "absolute separation between currency and debt." He considers specified weights of gold and silver as the only constitutional currency. "Redeemable currency," he says, "is an oxymoron." And given that America is in an era of fiat money with no plans on the government’s part to mount a reform, he says of the government: "They don't need the gold. They’ve just been sitting on it since Roosevelt stole it."
But wait a minute. Isn't "Ron Paul for a gold standard"?
Leading indicators fall for first time since June April gauge off 0.3% as jobless claims rise, supply times shorten
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The pace of economic growth may be "choppy" in the summer and fall, the Conference Board said Thursday as it reported that its index of leading economic indicators fell 0.3% in April, the first monthly decline since June.
The U.S. economy's "been growing moderately and delivering some new jobs," said Ken Goldstein, economist at the Conference Board, in a statement.
Energy expert: $100 oil here to stay
Dayton Business Journal - by DBJ Staff
A combination of factors, both geopolitical and economic, will keep the price of oil near $100 for the foreseeable future with the potential of dramatic upward spikes, University of Houston professor Michael Economides said Thursday at the Houston Energy Summit.
Economides, bestselling author of "The Color of Oil" and consultant to companies and governments on six continents, was the keynote speaker at the event at the Wortham Center, part of the Houston Business Journal’s four-day Celebrate Enterprise conference and forum.
Philadelphia Fed's factories index drops again
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Business activity among manufacturers in the Philadelphia area grew in May but at the slowest pace in eight months, according to a closely followed survey.
The Federal Reserve of Philadelphia on Thursday said its index of current activity sank to 3.9 in May from 18.5 in April, the lowest reading since October. Just two months ago, the index reached 43.4, the highest level since January 1984.
New Bill Seeks to Limit 401(k) Access
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Sometimes Congress means well, but only manages to make matters worse. A few politicians will hear of a problem and swiftly respond with new legislation that may help in some ways, but causes harm in others. This is the case with a new bill, a portion of which seeks to limit Americans' ability to tap into their 401(k) plans prematurely.
Not all provisions of this bill are bad. For example, one part of the bill seeks to allow 401(k) savers to make elective contributions in the months that follow a hardship withdrawal (currently, there's a six-month blackout period), which is probably fine. But here's the part that makes no sense: the bill would limit the number of outstanding 401(k) loans to three.
Control of IMF is at a crossroads Europe may lose its tight grip on the agency in the wake of the chief's departure.
By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
With Dominique Strauss-Kahn out as chief of the International Monetary Fund, some emerging economies are pushing to loosen the six-decade-long stranglehold that Europe has had on a key organization that works to secure global financial stability.
For now, the favorite to replace Strauss-Kahn, who resigned just hours before he was indicted on attempted rape and other charges, appears to be a fellow French citizen whose credentials and political acumen are held in high regard by many in the international finance community.
Europeans demand one of their own as next IMF leader; U.S. balks
By Don Melvin and Christopher S. Rugaber - AP - WashingtonTimes.com
BRUSSELS - European officials closed ranks Thursday to demand that the IMF's next leader be one of their own, someone with the political savvy to handle the continent’s relentless debt crisis, but the U.S. balked at offering its immediate support.
Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who has been widely praised for his leadership of the International Monetary Fund and its involvement in solving Europe’s woes, resigned Wednesday to devote "all his energy" to fighting sexual assault charges in New York.
Strauss-Kahn Resigns, Spurring Search for IMF Leader
By BOB DAVIS And SUDEEP REDDY - WSJ.com
Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund, which he is widely credited with revitalizing at a pivotal time, throwing into high gear a global race to replace him following charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel worker in New York.
The 62-year-old Mr. Strauss-Kahn, in a statement released by the IMF shortly after midnight Thursday in Washington, said was leaving to "protect the institution," which has been largely paralyzed since he was arrested on suspicion of attempted rape in New York on May 14. In a letter to the IMF's board, he continued to deny that the charges against him. "I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," he wrote.
Make Strauss-Kahn Succession Quick: Geithner
By Sandrine Rastello - Bloomberg.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner called for the quick appointment of a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the International Monetary Fund as European governments rallied to support French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
"We want to see an open process that leads to a prompt succession," Geithner said in a statement today. John Lipsky, the Washington-based IMF's acting managing director, "will provide able and experienced leadership to the fund at this critical time for the global economy," Geithner said.
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Welfare Is Corrupt Always and Forever
Mises Daily: by Gary Galles
After reports that millions of dollars in California cash welfare benefits given via debit cards were withdrawn at casinos, strip clubs, and other places "inconsistent with the intent" of the aid, states have been moving to restrict such usage. Now, leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have introduced a bill to ban such uses nationwide. As co-author Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), put it "This bill will hopefully put an end to egregious abuses that have happened in many states, not just California."
Unfortunately, preventing substantial diversions of funds from donors' intended purposes to others that recipients choose is impossible. Every government transfer program allows resources given for one purpose to have far different effects than intended. Examples include not only cash aid (e.g., you can easily gamble with cash withdrawn from an ATM outside a casino if you can't access one inside) but also food stamps and other in-kind transfer programs, municipal bond issues, lottery funds for education, humanitarian foreign aid, and more. In each case, earmarked expenditures replace dollars that would have been spent in the same areas, freeing them to be spent however recipients choose.
How the $8,000 Tax Credit Cost Home Buyers $15,000 Price declines have more than eclipsed savings, new numbers show. -- By JACK HOUGH - SmartMoney.com
The government's recent $8,000 cash incentive for first-time home buyers has proved even more costly for recipients than for taxpayers, according to data released Monday. Typical buyers have lost twice as much to price declines as they received from the program.
The median home value fell to about $170,000 in March from $185,000 a year earlier, according to Zillow.com. That means a buyer who closed on a house just before the tax-credit program expired in April 2010 collected $8,000 but has since lost $15,000 in value. Those who bought earlier in the program have done worse; the median price is down $20,000 from March 2009.
Insurers Pair Long-Term Care With Life to Entice Older Buyers
By Elizabeth Ody - Bloomberg.com
Pearl Neier, 85, said she decided against long-term-care insurance after hearing about the policies from AARP, the Washington-based group that lobbies for older Americans.
"It was much too high for me," said Neier, sitting in the sunny dining room of the VillageCare retirement home on West 46th Street, which overlooks the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York. Neier said her room and board is covered by Medicaid and Social Security.
The insurance industry, which has struggled to persuade skeptics like Neier that they need the policies, has turned to selling combination products that blend long-term-care with traditional life insurance. The policies generally are built using universal life, which has an investment component, and may pay out the death benefit early to help pay for care.
Get ready for Social Security, Medicare meltdowns Plan and prepare early to maximize benefits
By Robert Powell, MarketWatch
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Forget for the moment whether there’s the political will to tackle the financial problems affecting Social Security and Medicare as outlined in the respective trustees’ reports. There’s a more practical issue at hand, especially for those for whom Social Security and Medicare represent a part, big or small, of their retirement security plan.
Given that Medicare is expected to be exhausted in 2024 and Social Security’s reserves will be exhausted in 2036, what should current and future Social Security beneficiaries do to maximize or protect their benefits?
The Stealth Retirement Community Many older Americans are staying home and teaming up with their neighbors to get cheaper health care and other services.
By CATEY HILL - SmartMoney.com
Forget the Springfield Retirement Castle. With no desire to leave their homes, a growing number of older Americans are banding together to create retirement communities in their existing neighborhoods. Better yet, many are finding governments and non-profits willing to provide many of the same services retirement homes charge thousands for.
There's a name for these new pockets of gray: naturally-occurring retirement communities (or NORCs, as they're known among jargon-happy researchers). The definition is vague a report by the Congressional Research Service says they're "communities with a large proportion of older persons [typically 55 to 65 and up] residing within a specified geographic area," which could mean anything from a zip code to an apartment building.
What We've Done to the Mississippi River: An Explainer
By Alexis Madrigal - TheAtlantic.com
The lower reaches of the Mississippi River are being hit by record floods, as detailed on our In Focus photography blog. While there are thousands of news stories about what's happening, I found myself wanting basic knowledge about how the Mississippi works now. It's such a complex hybrid human-natural system with a deep and complex history that it's hard to know where to start.
While Humans vs. The Mississippi was most elegantly laid out in John McPhee's stunning story "Atchafalaya," we found ourselves wishing for a simpler tech explainer (or companion piece). How is a levee built? What's a revetment? What does the crucial Old River Control Structure look like? This explainer is intended to delve into these issues.
NOAA Predicts Above-Average 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season
By JON C. OGG - 24/7 Wall St.
If oil and insurance investors love predictions on events, hurricane season is one of those events that matters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, makes predictions about the path of hurricanes and it also makes a prediction during hurricane season for the number of named storms. NOAA has just released its forecast for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season and it is calling for an above-average hurricane season in 2011.
NOAA noted, “The Atlantic basin is expected to see an above-normal hurricane season this year. The six-month hurricane season begins on June 1, 2011 and NOAA sees 12 to 18 named storms this year with winds of 39 miles per hour or higher.
The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic
By Chris Hedges - Truthdig.com
The moral philosopher Cornel West, if Barack Obama’s ascent to power was a morality play, would be the voice of conscience. Rahm Emanuel, a cynical product of the Chicago political machine, would be Satan. Emanuel in the first scene of the play would dangle power, privilege, fame and money before Obama. West would warn Obama that the quality of a life is defined by its moral commitment, that his legacy will be determined by his willingness to defy the cruel assault by the corporate state and the financial elite against the poor and working men and women, and that justice must never be sacrificed on the altar of power.
Perhaps there was never much of a struggle in Obama's heart. Perhaps West only provided a moral veneer. Perhaps the dark heart of Emanuel was always the dark heart of Obama. Only Obama knows. But we know how the play ends. West is banished like honest Kent in "King Lear." Emanuel and immoral mediocrities from Lawrence Summers to Timothy Geithner to Robert Gates - think of Goneril and Regan in the Shakespearean tragedy - take power. We lose. And Obama becomes an obedient servant of the corporate elite in exchange for the hollow trappings of authority.
White House panic: Corsi book targeted 'Fight the Smears' 2.0 launched,
mocks No. 1 best-seller as delusional 'joke'
WND.com
Why is the White House in full defense mode against a book by a small publisher contending Barack Obama is not legally eligible to be president?
Today, the Obama re-election campaign launched an all-out attack on a brand new book critical of Obama,"Where's the Birth Certificate,"by bestselling author Jerome Corsi, Ph.D., calling it delusional, laughable and a "joke"... even as it climbed to No. 17 overall, No. 3 in non-fiction and No. 10 in the Kindle version at Amazon.com.
Veteran U.S. Diplomat: We Are Becoming the USSR
Posted by Mark Thompson - Time.com
Chas Freeman was President Nixon's interpreter during Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972. Now, nearly 40 years later, after an impressive diplomatic and defense career, he's interpreting China for the rest of us.
Last week he said:
The balance of prestige, if not yet the balance of power, between the United States and China has shifted...In some disturbing ways, Sino-American competition is beginning to parallel the contest between us and the Soviet Union in the Cold War. This time, however, the United States is in the fiscally precarious position of the USSR, while China plays the economically robust role we once did.
Napolitano: Bin Laden Items Show Commercial Aviation Still Targeted
By ALEXANDRA BERZON And PETER SANDERS - WSJ.com
LAS VEGAS - Items retrieved from Osama bin Laden's compound indicate terrorists continue to target commercial aviation, a situation that necessitates continued strict safety measures, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a travel-industry conference on Thursday.
Ms. Napolitano didn't detail the items found at the al Qaeda chief's Pakistani residence but indicated her agency needed to remain vigilant against an array of potential threats, including shoe bombs.
LIBYA: NATO warplanes hit ship in Tripoli port
By Patrick McDonnell, in Tripoli, Libya - LATimes.com
NATO warplanes on Thursday struck a ship berthed in Tripoli’s commercial port, said Libyan authorities, who took foreign journalists to a bridge in the harbor area where a vessel could be seen burning about a mile offshore.
A Libyan official accompanying the journalists said the ship, between two large cargo container vessels, was a civilian craft, possibly a yacht.
But a photograph of the burning ship taken with a telephoto lens suggested that it was a warship with a large main gun. Much of Libya’s navy was destroyed in the early days of the NATO-led bombing campaign against the regime of Moammar Kadafi.
Early Friday, Musa Ibrahim, the chief Libyan government spokesman, said it didn't matter what kind of vessel was hit.
Planets may be vastly more numerous than believed Researchers say that millions of Jupiter-sized planets are wandering in our galaxy far from any star. The findings suggest that there may be twice as many planets as stars in the Milky Way, perhaps several times as many.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times
The Milky Way galaxy may be filled with millions upon millions of Jupiter-sized planets that have escaped their solar systems and are wandering freely in space, researchers said Wednesday in a finding that seems certain to make astronomers rethink their ideas about planetary formation.
Scientists had previously thought that about 20% of stars had massive planets attached to them, but the new results reported in the journal Nature suggest that there are at least twice as many planets as stars, and perhaps several times as many.
Cold, Lonely Planets More Common Than Sun-Like Stars
By Christopher Dombrowski, Ars Technica
Seems like every week astronomers find a new exoplanet, one that’s the biggest or the smallest or the hottest or most habitable. However, this week astronomers are announcing a truly unique and new class of exoplanets: Jupiter sized planets that are in extremely large orbits or completely unbound from a host star altogether. And there appear to be a lot of them, as these planets seem to be more common than main sequence stars.
Finding a planet that is not associated with a star is no easy task. In the new search, a team of researchers used a technique called gravitational microlensing. As you look at a background field of stars, if an object passes between you and one of the stars, there will be a temporary brightening of that star. This occurs as the gravity of the object bends light around itself, which acts as a lens for light from the background star, hence “gravitational lensing.” Microlensing occurs when the foreground object is too small to create measurable distortion of the background star and only a brightening is observed. This makes it an ideal detector for small, dim objects.
Congress Proposes Bill to Allow Worldwide War
... Including INSIDE the U.S.
George Washington's Blog
Americans who have been paying attention are outraged that Bush lied us into Iraq by making up false claims about weapons of mass destruction and pretending that Saddam Hussein had a hand in 9/11.
Many are disgusted that Obama got us into a war in Libya without Congressional authorization.
But as the ACLU noted yesterday, Congress is going even further ... proposing handing permanent, world-wide war-making powers to the president - including the ability to make war within the United States:
A hugely important provision for Congress to authorize a new worldwide war has been tucked away inside the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was marked up by members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) last Wednesday that poured into Thursday morning (2:45 a.m. to be exact).
Spanish youth rally in Madrid echoes Egypt protests
BBC.co.uk
About 2,000 young people angry over high unemployment have spent the night camping in a famous square in Madrid as a political protest there grows.
A big canvas roof was stretched across Puerta del Sol square, protesters brought mattresses and sleeping bags and volunteers distributed food.
The nature of the peaceful protest, including Twitter messages to alert supporters, echoed the pro-democracy rallies that revolutionised Egypt.
The Madrid protests began on Sunday.
On the first evening, police dispersed the protesters, but on Tuesday they let them stay overnight.
Spain's 21.3% unemployment rate is the highest in the EU - a record 4.9 million are jobless, many of them young people.
Could Greece be the next Lehman Brothers?
Yes – and potentially even worse If Athens reneged on its debts it would shatter the markets' confidence in the eurozone project
By Larry Elliott - Guardian.co.uk
It was less than three years ago that the failure of Lehman Brothers sent tremors through the global financial system, threatening the existence of every major bank and triggering the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression. As Europe's policy elite met for fresh crisis talks today, the dark fear that haunted everyone around the table was this: if the bankruptcy of a middling-sized Wall Street investment bank with no retail customers could have such dire consequences, what would happen if the Greeks decide they have had enough and renege on their debts?
IMF tells Greece to stop dragging its heels over reform The International Monetary Fund has told Greece to step up its efforts to sort out its finances in the most stern warning yet from the bailed-out nation's rescuer.
By Emma Rowley - Telegraph.co.uk
The Washington-based lender is worried the country will not meet the deficit-cutting targets agreed as part of its €110bn (£97bn) IMF/EU aid package.
"The view that seems to be taking hold is that the government programme is not working," said Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF mission currently in Greece to measure the country's progress towards tax and spending goals.
Greek Restructuring Rejected by ECB Officials
in Clash With EU Politicians
By Marcus Bensasson and Sonia Sirletti - Bloomberg.com
European Central Bank officials ruled out a Greek debt restructuring, clashing with political leaders over a solution to the sovereign financial crisis.
"A Greek debt restructuring is not the appropriate way forward -- it would create a catastrophe" because it would damage the banking system, ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark said today in Lagonissi, Greece. Fellow board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said in Milan that "a solution for reducing debt but not paying for it will not work."
Treasury 10-Year Yields Rise From 2011 Low
as Fed Considers Exit Strategy
By Cordell Eddings and Daniel Kruger - Bloomberg.com
Treasuries fell, pushing the 10-year yield up for the first time in four days, as minutes of the Federal Reserve's meeting last month showed policy makers discussed a process for withdrawing record stimulus.
The difference between the yield on 10-year notes and inflation-indexed securities, a gauge of expectations for consumer prices over the life of the debt, widened after reaching the narrowest level in three months. Minutes of the Fed's meeting showed most policy makers favored an exit strategy of raising interest rates before selling assets.
Fed Favors Exit Strategy of Raising Rates
By Scott Lanman - Bloomberg.com
Federal Reserve policy makers began to coalesce last month on a strategy to reverse record monetary stimulus by first ending their reinvestment policy and later raising interest rates and selling assets.
Almost all officials agreed that the "first step toward normalization" should be ceasing reinvestment of principal payments on mortgage debt that began in August, the Federal Open Market Committee said in records of its April 26-27 session, released today in Washington. A majority preferred to sell the Fed's securities after raising short-term interest rates, and most wanted to put asset sales on a preannounced schedule while using federal-funds rate increases as an "active tool."
Stocks Climb After Fed Minutes
By STEVEN RUSSOLILLO - WSJ.com
U.S stocks accelerated following the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes, which showed central-bank officials are in no hurry to tighten monetary policy even as they held detailed exit-strategy talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90 points to 12569 and hit session highs as Caterpillar, Chevron and Exxon Mobil powered the blue-chip index in Wednesday afternoon trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 0.9% to 1342. Energy and materials stocks were the big gainers as oil prices jumped back above $100 a barrel. The S&P 500's energy sector was up 2.5%.
Treasurys Fall on Profit-Taking
By CYNTHIA LIN - WSJ.com $$
[free access - Google title for free article pass]
NEW YORK-With Treasurys prices near their highs of the year, market participants were booking profits, reversing some of the recent rally and sending Treasurys prices lower Wednesday.
U.S. government bonds also face stiff competition from a wave of corporate-bond issues, in addition to pressure from investors' cautious dip back into equity and commodities markets.
"We're starting to see people sell some issues with some apparent overseas selling overnight, especially front-end maturities," said Thomas di Galoma, managing director of government securities at Oppenheimer & Co., adding that he is hearing chatter among accounts to reallocate out of fixed income and back into equities.
8 Fed Exit Revelations from Its April Meeting Minutes
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
The Federal Open Market Committee Meeting in April was completely overshadowed by the first post-meeting presser by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. Of course, it didn't help that the meeting statement revealed absolutely nothing new. But today, the FOMC released its meeting minutes. They show some pretty interesting discussion surrounding the Fed's exit strategy.
Much of the first section of the minutes focused on how to "normalize" monetary policy. It explained what the governors are thinking in terms of exit execution, though it provided little insight on the timing. In fact, it explicitly said:
Participants noted that the Committee's decision to discuss the appropriate strategy for normalizing the stance of policy at the current meeting did not mean that the move toward such normalization would necessarily begin soon.
Bullard Says Fed Rates on Hold Until Late 2011
By Steve Matthews and Michael McKee - Bloomberg.com
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank may keep its monetary-policy unchanged until late this year, and that declining inflation expectations have curbed the need to begin withdrawing record stimulus.
"It does take some pressure off the Fed," Bullard, 50, said in an interview at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York. "I take it seriously that market indicators of inflation have come down. The data has been softer, and these global uncertainties have weighed on markets."
Richard Koo Explains Why An Unwind Of QE2,
With Nothing To Replace It,
Could Lead To The Biggest Depression Yet
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Over the past several days, quite a few readers have been asking us why we are so confident that QE3 (in some format: it does not and likely will not be in the form of the Large Scale Asset Purchases that defined QE1 and 2 - the Fed could easily disclose that it will henceforth sell Treasury puts, a topic discussed previously, or engage any of the other proposals from Vince Reinhart disclosed in June of 2003, or worse yet, do what the BOJ does and buy ETFs, REITs and other outright equities) will eventually be implemented by the Fed. Luckily, instead of engaging in a lengthy explanation of the logical, Nomura's Richard Koo comes to our rescue with his latest research piece. While we disagree with Koo on various interpretations of his about monetary theory (namely that the Fed is not in effect "printing" money and thus creating inflation - this is semantics and leads to a paradoxical binary outcome, whereby if there Fed was successful in boosting the economy, the economy would indeed be flooded with the nearly $2 trillion in excess reserves held with reserve banks.
A Higher Cost of Living and A Weaker Economy The Reality Euro zone implosion, more bailouts, and more money for more bailouts, doubts for Euro zone, likely economic austerity to come, Goldman Sachs sold the swaps to the Euro nations now seeking bailouts, weak housing market in US.
By Bob Chapman - TheInternationalForecaster.com
The problems in the euro zone continue to multiply. Greece, Portugal and Ireland are dominating the news at least in Europe, as America is mostly shut out by the controlled media. The events in the euro zone are every bit as important as those regarding US problems.
Old Second Bank under orders to raise capital
By: Steve Daniels - ChicagoBusiness.com
(Crain's) - Old Second National Bank, the largest deposit holder in far west suburban Kane County, has been hit with a consent order by federal bank regulators giving it roughly four months to boost and maintain capital levels.
Aurora-based Old Second, with $2.1 billion in assets, is one of the Chicago area’s largest troubled banks and is digging out of a pile of bad construction and land development loans. The May 16 consent order with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gives Old Second until Sept. 30 to boost its capital to levels higher than the normal thresholds demanded by regulators.
The order also directs the bank to obtain new appraisals for properties that are collateralizing certain troubled commercial real estate and development loans.
Trust in Banks Falls Back to Financial Crisis Lows
By Catherine New - DailyFinance.com
Americans' overall trust in the nation's financial system has dropped to 20%, a level that matches the lows recorded during the heart of the financial crisis in late 2008, according to the latest results from the Chicago Booth/Kellogg SchoolFinancial Trust Index. That represents a drop from the 26% trust level measured at the end of 2010.
Index co-founder and economist Luigi Zingales at the University of Chicago says he was surprised to see the sudden and dramatic dip, and suggests it may represent the psychological shock that followed the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which occurred just before the survey was taken. In 2010, trust had been slowly trending upward, according to the index, which Zingales created with Paola Sapienza, a finance professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Even so, the figures are still well below the overall level of trust from before the financial crisis, he notes.
Is Stagflation the Long Term Trend?
BY CHRISTOPHER LAIRD
With the US economy faltering or at best tepid, and prices rising, and high oil, we have similar conditions that led to stagflation in the US in the 1970s. We also have ongoing tension in the Middle East, which contributed significantly to US stagflation in the 1970s with the oil shock back then over Israel. The US also had a silver bubble in the 1970s with silver reaching $50 back then when the Bass brothers attempted to corner the silver market. That price would translate to $150 today according to our calculations adjusting for inflation back to 1980.
Gold producers optimistic bullion prices will rise
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Gold producers remain optimistic about the outlook of bullion prices.
According to a report by metals consultancy GFMS Ltd. and Societe Generale, gold miners cut their combined hedge position by almost 25 percent during the last three months of 2010.
Hedging programs allow producers to lock in current gold prices for future production, which guards against any potential price declines in the future. The strategy can backfire if spot metal prices rise above the hedged price. The buying back of outstanding hedge positions was a key element in gold's rally over the past decade.
Is George Soros bullish or bearish on gold?
CommodityOnline.com
Gold and silver have snapped their three day losing streak so far this morning and both are higher in all currencies. Sterling has fallen on this morning's very poor UK employment data. This in conjunction with yesterday's high inflation figure in the UK and negative data in the U.S. confirm the increasing threat of stagflation to western economies.
U.K. unemployment claims rose in April at the fastest pace since January 2010, showing the very fragile nature of the recent tentative economic recovery. Government spending cuts, austerity measures and accelerating inflation are clearly beginning to impact embattled consumers.
Ounces of gold, silver transferred during April rises
CommodityOnline.com
(Kitco News) -The amount of gold and silver transferred between accounts of London Bullion Market Association members rose sharply from March to April, according to data released by the organization Wednesday.
The LBMA releases clearing statistics each month showing the net volume of gold and silver transferred between accounts of members, which essentially provide a snapshot of the trading activity.
The amount of gold transferred between accounts of LBMA members rose 18.2% month on month to an average of 22.5 million ounces per day, the organization said.
Physical Gold Demand "Strong" Below $1500
BY BEN TRAYNOR - FinancailSense.com
Spain's "Hidden Debt" Adds to Eurozone Crisis
The price of gold rallied against all major currencies on Wednesday morning, hitting $1491 per ounce and rising 1.2% from yesterday's eight-day low as stock and commodity markets also gained.
Spot gold in Euros tracked the Dollar-price rise, continuing to hold inside 3% of December's all-time high as former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder accused current leader Angela Merkel of being "too hesitant" and "lacking leadership" in the Eurozone debt crisis.
Comex Gold, Silver end solidly higher
as Crude Oil scores sharp gains, US Dollar Index steady-weak
CommodityOnline.com
(Kitco News) - Comex gold and silver futures prices scored solid gains Wednesday as the precious metals took the lead from a sharply higher crude oil market. June gold last traded up $10.00 an ounce at $1,497.50. Spot gold last traded up $6.00 an ounce at $1,493.50. July Comex silver last traded up $1.749 at $35.24 an ounce.
Crude oil prices rallied sharply Wednesday, to lead most of the raw commodity sector, including the precious metals, higher. Nearby Nymex crude oil futures pushed back above the psychological resistance barrier of $100.00 a barrel and were sporting gains of nearly $4.00 on the day. A bullish weekly U.S. energy stocks report, severe flooding in the southern U.S. that has curtailed refinery production, as well as a big prairie fire in Canada oil-producing regions all combined to push crude oil prices sharply higher Wednesday. If crude prices can hold above $100.00 a barrel, then the commodity sector would see that as a bullish underlying factor due to inflation concerns.
The Future of Oil and the End of the Dollar
BY JERRY ROBINSON - FinancialSense.com
Today, I bring our discussion of peak oil and the coming breakdown of the petrodollar system to a close.
The threat posed by peak oil to the United States is real and will be devastating without immediate intervention. However, the threat posed by our second issue, the coming breakdown of the petrodollar system, is just as real and is probably more imminent. My basic thesis is that the U.S. is an empire in decline. In the past, it has made some brilliant moves that secured its place as the supreme economic, political, and military leader of the globe. But in its twilight years, America has fallen prey to the common trappings of empire: military overreach, an entitlement mindset, and currency depreciation.
Senate Bill Would Limit Savers Using 401(k)s as Rainy-Day Funds
By Margaret Collins - Blooomberg.com
Workers will be limited in tapping their 401(k) retirement plans for loans under legislation two senators introduced today that’s designed to counter the erosion of retirement assets.
"Because of the difficult economic times, more and more Americans are treating their retirement accounts as rainy day funds," Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, said in a statement today. "A 401(k) savings account should not be used as a piggy bank."
U.S. Real Estate Delinquencies Top 10% for First Time,
Morgan Stanley Says
By Sarah Mulholland - Bloomberg.com
Delinquencies on commercial mortgages packaged and sold as bonds surpassed 10 percent for the first time last month, according to Morgan Stanley.
Payments more than 30 days late jumped 26 basis points to 10.15 percent in April, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report yesterday. While the pace of increase has slowed since the middle of last year, that's partly because delinquencies are being offset as troubled loans are resolved. The rate of borrowers missing payments for the first time has been constant for the past four months, the analysts wrote.
"The bottom line is that loan performance is not yet exhibiting significant improvement," according to the analysts led by Richard Parkus in New York. "Many market participants have come to believe that credit deterioration is more or less over, and were caught off guard by April's rise."
U.S. Housing May Not Recover Until 2014: Survey
By Prashant Gopal - Bloomberg.com
More than half U.S. homeowners and renters say housing won't recover until at least 2014, reflecting a deepening pessimism about the real estate market, according to a survey by Trulia Inc. and RealtyTrac Inc.
The survey, taken in April, found that 54 percent of respondents don't expect a recovery for at least three years, up from 34 percent in November, the two real estate data companies said today. Those who see a turnaround by the end of next year fell to 15 percent from 27 percent.
College Conspiracy
College education is the largest scam in US history! inflation.us
The NIA Takes on Scam
Tuition Rates in a College Conspiracy Documentary
by Ben Norris - TopSecretWriters.com
The National Inflation Association is releasing an hour-long documentary that turns a skeptical eye on the trend of soaring college tuition rates.
The film, entitled "College Conspiracy" was released May 15 and explores the year-by-year trend of rising tuition. For the past decade, tuition inflation has gone unchecked, even during the worst financial crisis the nation has seen since the Great Depression.
Are You Worried About the Future of the U.S. Job Market?
BY KERRI SHANNON, Associate Editor, Money Morning
The U.S. job market has improved since the unemployment rate's 10.1% high in 2009, but the sluggish pace of economic recovery has kept many workers jobless and discouraged.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier this month that the country's unemployment rate in April rose to 9.0% from 8.8%. Employment in more than a dozen sectors hit four-year lows in April, and another 10 have gained little since hitting lows in the beginning of this year.
But it's not just a slow economic recovery that is leaving people unemployed. The U.S. job market is changing, as companies find ways to function with fewer workers and some shift operations overseas.
One Lawman With the Guts to Go After Wall Street
By Robert Scheer - Truthdig.com
The fix was in to let the Wall Street scoundrels off the hook for the enormous damage they caused in creating the Great Recession. All of the leading politicians and officials, federal and state, Republican and Democrat, were on board to complete the job of saving the banks while ignoring their victims ... until last week when the attorney general of New York refused to go along. Eric Schneiderman will probably fail, as did his predecessors in that job; the honest sheriff doesn't last long in a town that houses the Wall Street casino. But decent folks should be cheering him on. Despite a mountain of evidence of robo-signed mortgage contracts, deceitful mortgage-based securities and fraudulent foreclosures, the banks were going to be able to cut their potential losses to what was, for them, a minuscule amount.
Europe moves to protect claim to IMF top job
By DAVID McHUGH and GEIR MOULSON,
Associated Press - CNSNews.com
BERLIN (AP) - Europe is moving quickly to protect its traditional claim to the top job at the IMF ahead of the expected departure of current chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resisting a push from developing countries to appoint someone from another region.
Strauss-Kahn remains jailed in New York after his arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting a hotel maid, and his departure is expected to be only a matter of time.
Germany and other European countries are pre-emptively insisting a European should head the fund, the custom since World War II, given that the eurozone debt crisis is the fund's central issue. But many developing nations note that because of their increasing wealth and role in the global economy, they should have a chance to name the successor.
Birther Bombshell:
Corsi To Release Evidence Proving Obama Certificate
a Fraudulent Composite
Paul Joseph Watson - Infowars.com
During an interview with a Denver radio station this morning, author Jerome Corsi said he was about to release bombshell evidence that proved the alleged Obama birth certificate released last month was a composite of three different birth certificates from other individuals born at the same hospital.
"I'm going to be telling the entire world about this scandal over the next few weeks," Corsi said in a separate interview. "This is going to make Watergate look like a political sideshow by comparison."
As the video below explains, another aspect of the birth certificate pointing to forgery is the fact that the electronic PDF document released by the White House clearly shows evidence of 'kerning' – where parts of letters overlap each other for a pleasing visual effect – this is produced by modern computers and was not possible on 1960's typewriters.
Jerome Corsi: Obama Birth Certificate 100% Forged;
Hawaii Officials Forged It - 5/18/2011
EXCLUSIVE! SMOKING GUN!
100% Proof That The Long Form BC Is Fraudulent!
KERNING PROVES
Mr. Big Takes a Perp Walk
By Eugene Robinson
It's almost enough to give socialism a bad name.
We don't know whether Dominique Strauss-Kahn-who heads the International Monetary Fund and, until a few days ago, was likely to be the Socialist Party candidate for president of France-is guilty of the alleged sexual assault for which he was arrested. Like anyone, he is presumed innocent until court proceedings prove otherwise.
We do know, however, that at the time of the reported incident on Saturday, Strauss-Kahn was resident in a $3,000-a-night luxury suite at a posh Midtown Manhattan hotel. We also know that when he was taken into police custody hours later, aboard a Paris-bound jetliner that was moments from takeoff at John F. Kennedy International Airport, police found him comfortably ensconced in the first-class cabin.
In Japan Reactor Failings, Danger Signs for the U.S.
By HIROKO TABUCHI, KEITH BRADSHER
and MATTHEW L. WALD - NYTimes.com
TOKYO - Emergency vents that American officials have said would prevent devastating hydrogen explosions at nuclear plants in the United States were put to the test in Japan - and failed to work, according to experts and officials with the company that operates the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The failure of the vents calls into question the safety of similar nuclear power plants in the United States and Japan. After the venting failed at the Fukushima plant, the hydrogen gas fueled explosions that spewed radioactive materials into the atmosphere, reaching levels about 10 percent of estimated emissions at Chernobyl, according to Japan's nuclear regulatory agency.
Fukushima Reactors a Raging Nuclear Inferno
By Kurt Nimmo - Infowars.com
Professor Christopher Busby, who sits on the European Committee on Radiation Risks, told RT yesterday that the reactors at Fukushima are a raging nuclear inferno and he believes at least one of the reactors is now outside its containment structure and emitting vast amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
The Japanese newspaper Asahi reports today that data reveals meltdowns occurred at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors. Goshi Hosono, special adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, acknowledged the likelihood of meltdowns. "We have to assume that meltdowns have taken place," Hosono said at a news conference May 16.
Busby: Fukushima reactors a raging radioactive inferno
Drones Becoming Pervasive INSIDE America
GeorgeWashington's Blog
AP noted last year:
Unmanned aircraft have proved their usefulness and reliability in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now the pressure's on to allow them in the skies over the United States.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights for a range of pilotless planes to carry out civilian and law-enforcement functions but has been hesitant to act.
The Washington Post reported in January:
The operation outside Austin presaged what could prove to be one of the most far-reaching and potentially controversial uses of drones: as a new and relatively cheap surveillance tool in domestic law enforcement.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death - Updated for Modern America
By Ryan Dube - TopSecretWriters.com
Original Version - Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
Updated Version - Ryan Dube, May 23, 2011 - 236 years later.
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy ladies and gentlemen citizens of this great country.
But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those ladies and gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the Nation is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.
China and Russia Increasing the Speed of Military Modernization
by Diplomatic Courier - OilPrice.com
The Kremlin recently revealed that Moscow has pledged $640 billion in an effort to bring 80% of the Russian military establishment up to modern standards by 2020. Consequently, Vladimir Popovkin, deputy defense minister in charge of arms procurement, recently suggested to the media that the Russian defense ministry plans to buy around 600 airplanes and 1000 helicopters. He further stated that the Ministry was planning to fund the development of a "new liquid fuel heavy intercontinental ballistic missile to replace aging RS-18 Stilleto and RS-20 Satan". These missiles would be able to carry up to 10 warheads with solid fuel missiles each carrying a maximum of three warheads. It was further revealed that the Russian government plans to lend $24 billion to defense companies to help prepare for bigger contracts after 2015.
SALEH AGAIN AGREES TO STEP DOWN IN YEMEN
Truthdig.com
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is reportedly set to sign an agreement that would bring his 33-year rule to an end, making him yet another victim of the "Arab Spring" that began in Tunisia last December and raising questions about the future of al-Qaida in the Middle Eastern country. Experts say they won't believe Saleh is leaving until it happens, as he has already backed out of two previous deals at the last minute. The Obama administration supported Saleh through late March, then changed its tune after the increasingly violent leader proved unwilling to reform and unable to quell dissent. The U.S. has seen Yemen as a key ally in the fight against al-Qaida, though there is debate as to whether the extremist organization would fare better or worse under new leadership. -KDG
HAMAS CLERIC: THE JEWS WILL BE ANNIHILATED
& PALESTINE WILL BE CAPITAL OF NEW CALIPHATE
by Jonathon M. Seidl - TheBlaze.com
Just last week, Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa, the longtime secretary-general of the Arab League, told the Washington Post that Hamas isn't really a terror group. That might be harder to deny after he hears the audio below.
This is Hamas member and cleric Yunis Al-Astal reportedly declaring, "The [Jews] are brought in droves to Palestine so that the Palestinians – and the Islamic nation behind them – will have the honor of annihilating the evil of this gang." He also predicts that Palestine will become the capital of the new Islamic caliphate:
Obama: Two-state solution in Middle East 'more vital than ever'
By Daniel Strauss - TheHill.com
President Obama said it was "more vital than ever" for Israelis and Palestinians to restart the negotiating process on a two-state solution in light of recent events in the Middle East.
Obama's urging came after a private meeting Tuesday with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
In a joint statement with Abdullah, the two leads said they shared the view that "despite the many changes, or perhaps because of the many changes that have taken place in the region, it's more vital than ever that both Israelis and Palestinians find a way to get back to the table and begin negotiating a process whereby they can create two states that are living side by side in peace and security."
Dispatches From Cairo: We Are All Palestinian Now
By Lauren Unger-Geoffroy - Truthdig.com
Where do I start? The people have been whipped up into a frenzy in Cairo since last week - wave upon wave of breathless, conflict-adrenalin, motivated-action, reaction, all subjects overlapping in one will to solidarity.
On Friday and Saturday, in the wake of the sectarian violence in Imbebe, as expected some were caught up in the momentum of the conflict, but the majority reacted in a surge of "Muslims and Christians one hand!" and the cross and crescent symbol appeared again all over, online and in conversations and on TV.
White House:
Obama's Middle East speech comes at a time of 'opportunity'
By Sam Youngman - TheHill.com
President Obama's address on the Middle East Thursday will not focus on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It will also not focus on the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. Instead, after months of political upheaval and uprisings in the Middle East, President Obama will try to deliver a speech that assesses the sweeping changes the region has experienced, and discusses where the U.S. should go from here.
While the president will discuss both the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and bin Laden, Carney said Obama views the speech as "an opportunity to sort of step back and assess what we've all witnessed, the historic change we've seen and to talk about how he views it."
Ron Paul fears US will invade Pakistan next
By Jordan Fabian - TheHill.com
GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul is worried the U.S. could invade Pakistan after Osama bin Laden's death.
"I am absolutely afraid we will be in Pakistan trying to occupy that country," Paul, a congressman from Texas and a critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Paul acknowledged he has no solid evidence that the U.S. has plans to "invade" Pakistan, but described his observation as being based on American foreign policy over the past two or three decades, and its "unintended consequences."
GETTING OFF THE GLOBALIST CHESSBOARD: AN INTRODUCTION
By Stewart Rhodes and Brandon Smith - Neithercorp.us
To put it simply, America is nearing a checkmate scenario. Like the final torrid maneuvers of a rigged chess match, we have been pressed, manipulated, and attacked into the last remaining corner of the "grand global chessboard" left to us; centralized control of all social and economic power into the hands of an unworthy elite. If we continue playing the game by their rules, we will lose. There is no doubt. There have been many solutions presented to us in the past to combat this development, but nearly all of them function within the constraints of Federal politics. Working within the system has earned us no quarter, and frankly, no results. Our only recourse (and, frankly, the best recourse all along) is to STOP relying on the rules of their game, and to walk away from the chess board completely.
Mitch Daniels, Darling of "Fiscal Conservatives,"
Was Architect of the US Debt Crisis Mitch Daniels is billed as the "serious" GOP Presidential contender. Rarely mentioned is a key fact that should disqualify him from office: he was Bush's original budget director.
By Robert Parry - AlterNet.org
To hear Official Washington tell it, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is the new "serious" Republican presidential contender. He's praised as a "fiscal conservative" who isn't obsessed with the Right's divisive social agenda nor marred by the crazy "birther" conspiracy theories.
Mentioned only in passing is a key fact that -- in a saner world -- would disqualify him from holding any government office: Mitch Daniels was President George W. Bush's original budget director in 2001.
In other words, the "fiscal conservative" Daniels oversaw the federal budget as it was making its precipitous dive from a $236 billion surplus -- then on a trajectory to eliminate the entire federal debt in a decade -- to a $400 billion deficit by the time he left in June 2003.
Will The US Have A "Debt Crisis"?
Simon Johnson - Project-Syndicate.org
WASHINGTON, DC – John Boehner, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is leading the Republican Party’s charge on fiscal policy, arguing that his side needs to see “trillions of dollars” in spending cuts in order for Congress to approve an increase in the US government’s debt ceiling. But framing the issue this way creates a major problem for Boehner: it will directly, completely, and quickly antagonize one of the Republicans’ most important constituencies – the US corporate sector.
Those Complaining of QE Now Will Beg For It Later
BY JAMES J PUPLAVA CFP - FinancialSense.com Jim Puplava: Joining us next on the program is Dave Rosenberg. He’s Chief Economist and Strategist at Gluskin Sheff and Dave, you made a comment the other day about an article that was written by Bill Miller in The Financial Times discussing oil, commodities, and what we call the dollar debasement trade. At some point, it almost becomes counterproductive, meaning that as the dollar falls and if oil goes up high enough, it’s going to impact economic growth. And there’s some price to pay for that cheap money, the bad effects of inflation. Do you subscribe to that view? Dave Rosenberg: Well, I think there's quite a bit of truth to it. You know, we had the situation with the Feds' QE2 program that was ultimately aimed at bolstering risk assets like the equity market but at the same time, other correlated risk assets like commodities and particularly, things that we have to buy - necessities like food and fuels -have skyrocketed and as a result, we've had wages in real terms decline now for six months in a row. So it's almost like Newton's first law of motion, every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction and in some sense, these QE2 programs, these quantitative easing programs, while they may have ignited animal spirits in investors, have created other distortions as well that have perhaps done more harm than good for the real economy.
The Federal Reserve's Real Mandates
By Alex J. Pollock - American.com
The Federal Reserve has a 'triple mandate.' Grasping this allows us to understand why the Fed, while not doing so well at stabilizing prices or maximizing employment, has nonetheless gained ever greater power and status.
Congressman Ron Paul recently held hearings of his Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology to consider the role of the Federal Reserve, so it is not a bad time to reexamine the essential functions of the Fed.
Deflation May Win Out
BY RICHARD RUSSELL - FinancialSense.com
I’ve written about the over-production of merchandise and goods due to the entrance of China and Asia into world markets. These are all export-dependent countries, and they are out to sell their goods to the so-called developed nations. The ironic fact is that the world simply can’t use or digest all the goods that are being created. The net result is worldwidedeflationary pressures.
These deflationary pressures have been disguised by the Fed and the central banks of the world as they fight deflation by producing a sea of currencies. It's currency inflation (actually devaluing) matched against the pressure of deflation.
A Deeper Look At George Soros' Big Quarter Of Selling Gold
Joe Weisenthal - BusinessInsider.com
Yesterday we noted how George Soros took the axe to a huge position in his the SPDR Gold Trust, eliminating 99% of his position in Q1, according to his latest 13F.
But that ETF isn't the only way a fund manager can play through equities (remember, we have no idea what he's doing with derivatives etc.). There are also miners.
So let's take a quick look at Soros' various position in miners, and how that compares to the previous quarter:
When any market makes a big move, tremendous interest in that market appears. After greed and fear, the next most financially damaging emotion in the market is likely the human ego.
A number of major markets have made big or threatened to make big moves recently. The winds of change appear to be in the air with interest rates. Often there is what appears to be an initial "sea change" event. Unfortunately, most of the market action that follows a sea change move is not very predictable.
The most successful investors operate from a state of what I term, "mild confusion". When you are not really sure of the next move, your ego, greed, and fear are controlled. When you feel very sure you have the next move figured out, you are open to making suchmajor capital allocation errors.
Gold Coins Show Bull Market Unbowed in Commodities Decline
By Nicholas Larkin and Pham-Duy Nguyen - Bloomberg.com
Sales of gold coins are on track for the best month in a year amid the worst commodities rout since 2008, a sign that bullion's longest bull market in nine decades has further to run, if history is a guide.
The U.S. Mint sold 85,000 ounces of American Eagle coins since May 1 as the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials fell 9.9 percent. The last time sales reached that level, bullion rose 21 percent in the next year. Gold will advance 17 percent to a record $1,750 an ounce by Dec. 31 and keep gaining in 2012, the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 31 analysts, traders and investors shows.
Gold inches up despite Soros sale of Gold ETF
CommodityOnline.com
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Soros Fund Management LLC, the billionaire investor George Soro’s investment concern, has sold 99% of its holding in the bullion-based SPDR Gold Trust along with 100% shares in the iShares Gold Trust.
This is in addition to his stake sales in NovaGold Resources Inc. and Kinross Gold Corp, said a report in Bloomberg.
Soros is a world-renowned investor whose high-class wizardry and understanding of markets is matched only by his appetite for and manifestation of profits.
But the move by Soros has not spooked the markets.
Jim Rogers on why gold and silver prices crashed
LONDON (Commodity Online): Can investing in commodities insure your money during financial crisis? The recent plunge in several commodities led by gold, silver and crude oil have turned the futures trading market volatile across the globe. And people are beginning to doubt if commodities are the best bet to insulate their investment.
In the last few years, investors have parked funds in commodities as a safe diversification strategy. Experts say while commodities still continue to give good returns to investors, the unnatural surge in the prices of certain commodities should be always seen with caution and care.
Precious Metals May Fall Short-Term,
But Don't Be Fooled by the Pullback
by Adam Sharp - WealthWire.com
Silver is undergoing a rather nasty correction.
Yet it's still up more than 70% over last year, and 260% since late 2008 (chart below). Yesterday the metal fell 4.4%.
A V-shaped bullish reversal back toward all-time highs seems less likely, at least in the next few months.
Over the next year or so, though, I expect that silver will blow past those old highs. But it's very possible that we get a nice buying opportunity before then -- Prior to the unveiling of QE3, and acceptance of the fact by the market (late summer - late fall, possibly).
If we see higher interest rates in the U.S.
and Eurozone,
will gold and silver fall? Why should gold and silver react to interest rates?
By: Julian D. W. Phillips - GoldSeek.com
Before 1970, gold was money to all and sundry. Currencies were expressed in terms of their value against gold. In 1971 President Nixon and the I.M.F. sought to have gold cease to be a value definer of currencies and in particular of the dollar. From the late seventies currencies and their interest rates were separated from gold values. The gold price was forced down to emphasize this point and to focus the world's attention solely on paper currencies [in particular the dollar] as the world’s measure of value. Interest rates in a growing developed world reflected economic conditions within a nation and ignored their impact on exchange rates.
End of the Dollar Delusion
By Robert Morley - theTrumpet.com
The world’s biggest banks are sobering up to an inescapable reality. Should you?
What is the best gift someone could give you? Cash? Money is power. It fosters a sense of security. It opens doors and makes friends. It can enable a life of ease.
But what if one day all your money wasn't worth anything? What would you have then?
The world's biggest, most powerful banks may be gearing up for just that possibility.
For decades, central banks in Europe, North America and elsewhere have agreed on one thing: The dollar is as good as gold. This faith was built on America’s sporting the biggest, and one of the strongest, most dynamic and productive economies in the world. And even when the economy struggled, as Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker clearly illustrated, America would do what it took - even risk pushing the country further into recession - to protect the reputation and value of the dollar.
Three Reasons to Believe in $100 Oil
BY FRANK HOLMES - FinancialSense.com
After selling off nearly 14 percent the previous week, oil prices finished last week slightly higher at $99.65 per barrel. While the end result was a net positive, the volatility continued. Oil prices per barrel reached $104, then fell to around $96, before nesting just below $100.
As an investor, this volatility can be difficult to handle. Throw in the uncertainty of today’s geopolitical environment, and investors feel the need to downsize their positions in commodity investments, such as oil.
We think markets could remain volatile in the short-term, but here are three long-term indicators to support $100+ per barrel oil prices.
1) Long-Term U.S. Dollar Weakness
The U.S. dollar was up over 1 percent again last week and has increased nearly 4 percent since hitting a 52-week low on April 29. On a five-day rate of change, the dollar is up about 1 standard deviation.
Geithner urges IMF chief to resign Global finance leaders want no bad reflection on organization
By Bradley Klapper and Christopher S. Rugaber
Associated Press - WashingtonTimes.com
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Tuesday added his voice to a growing chorus of world financial leaders calling on Dominique Strauss-Kahn to step down as head of the International Monetary Fund.
With the controversial IMF director in a New York jail under a suicide watch for alleged sexual crimes, "he's obviously not in the position to run the IMF," and the IMF's executive board should designate an interim head, Mr. Geithner told a conference in New York.
Illinois Senator Kirk Wants Dominique Strauss-Kah
to Resign IMF Position
By Greg Farrell - Bloomberg.com
U.S. Senator Mark Kirk wants the U.S. executive director of the International Monetary Fund, Meg Lundsager, to seek the resignation of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the lawmaker’s spokeswoman said.
Kirk, an Illinois Republican who serves on a Senate appropriations subcommittee that has partial oversight of the IMF, is also seeking hearings on how the international fund has managed the European debt crisis, his spokeswoman, Kate Dickens, said today in an e-mail.
Kirk would like to see Lundsager "call for the immediate resignation of Mr. Strauss Kahn," who was charged with sexual assault and attempted rape by New York prosecutors, Dickens said.
Europeans wary of losing IMF chair after sex scandal
By VALENTINA POP
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) currently involved in the bailout of three eurozone countries, Germany and the European Commission have said the IMF leadership should stay in European hands despite the Strauss-Kahn scandal.
With the French chief of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on Monday (16 May) denied bail and transferred to a special prison for sex offenders, EU leaders the same day voiced concerns about about how to hold on to the stewardship of the institution, which has been in European hands since 1946.
Is another European empire collapsing before our eyes?
Wayne MADSEN (USA) - Strategic-Culture.org
The history of Europe is one of successive collapsed empires. Some, such as the Roman, Holy Roman, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires, simply overextended themselves and collapsed due to nationalist uprisings coupled with domestic political and economic inertia. Others, like the German Nazi, Soviet, Italian fascist, Napoleonic French, Spanish, and Portuguese empires collapsed as a result of their military aggression and incessant subterfuge from external forces.
Keiser Report 147
Is Another Major Mortgage Investigation Really Necessary?
by Halah Touryalai - Forbes.com
Another day, another bank investigation.
New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has launched an investigation into the way Bank of America, Goldman Sachsand Morgan Stanley packaged and sold mortgages to investors.
It's tough to keep up with the number of investigations and suits being filed against banks these days but Schneiderman's is notable because he’s one of the few major regulators to probe big banks' mortgage securitization practices since the SEC's record-breaking $550 million settlement with Goldman Sachs in July 2010.
Housing Market Still Plagued by Foreclosures,
Mortgage Woes, Tumbling Prices
[see video] Transcript - PBS.org JUDY WOODRUFF: There was fresh evidence today of weakness in the housing market and the overall economic recovery. New home construction was expected to rise, but it fell last month by more than 10 percent.
And new building permits dropped by 4 percent. The housing news followed other troubling data, including the continued foreclosure problems.
In the broader economy, factory output slowed in April, after the earthquake in Japan caused an auto parts shortage. And a day earlier, a national survey predicted that the economy will now grow by less than 3 percent this year.
Don't Look For Housing To Help The Economy, Says Shilling
by JOHN MAULDIN - Forbes.com
Everyone is curious about the state of housing in the US. My friend Gary Shilling recently did a lengthy issue on housing as it is today. I asked him to give us a shorter version for Outside the Box, and he graciously did. And you want to know what Gary thinks, because he is one of the guys who really got it right early, from subprime to the bubble and the price collapse, and has been right all along. No one is better. This very readable edition is full of charts and fast reasoning.
Still Home Sick
All may be well. That’s what many housing optimists proclaimed a year ago when prices appeared to have stabilized, indeed, started to recover from their collapse (Chart 1). As Insight readers are well aware, we emphatically disagreed. We pointed out that the earlier extremes in the housing market made rapid revival - or any revival for that matter - extremely difficult. In the earlier salad days, housing was propelled by low mortgage rates, lax or nonexistent underwriting standards, securitization of mortgages that passed seemingly creditworthy and highly-rated but really toxic assets on the unsuspecting buyers, laissez- faire regulation, and most of all, almost universal conviction that house.
Toll Brothers Call-Option Trading Climbs
on Bet Homebuilder Will Decline
By Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg.com
Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) call-option trading rose to the highest level since February following a bet that the largest U.S. builder of luxury homes will decline.
Almost 14,000 contracts on the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company changed hands as of 2:04 p.m. in New York, 22 times the full-day average during the past four weeks. A single investor sold 11,000 of the June $20 calls in a bet the shares will fall, said Patrick Mortimer, director of options trading at Pipeline Trading Systems LLC in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Toll Brothers rose 0.2 percent to $20.21.
Homebuilders Are Missing Out on the Economic Recovery
By DEREK KRAVITZ, AP Real Estate Writer - DailyFinance.com
WASHINGTON -- For homebuilders, it hardly feels like an economic recovery.
Nearly two years after the recession ended, the pace of construction is inching along at less than half the level considered healthy. Single-family home building, the bulk of the market, has dropped 11% in that time.
Builders are struggling to compete with waves of foreclosures that have forced down prices for previously occupied homes. The weakness is weighing on the economy: Though new homes represent a small portion of overall sales, they have an outsized effect on jobs.
The "Excess Supply of Housing" War: Is the 3.5 Million Estimate "Gold" (Man, No!);
or Can You Take the 1.2 Million Estimate to the (Deutsche) Bank?
By Tom Lawler - CalculatedRiskBlog.com
A few weeks ago Goldman Sachs’ analysts made headlines by arguing that the "excess" supply of housing, or actually the number of US housing units sitting vacant "above and beyond normal seasonal and frictional vacancies," was "about" 3.5 million. This week Deutsche Bank analysts estimated that at the end of 2010 there were about 1.2 million "excess" vacant housing units in the US. Both sets of analysts relied heavily on data "provided" by the US Bureau of the Census in deriving their "estimates." And, to the best of my knowledge, neither set of analysts was comprised of imbeciles. Yet jiminy cricket, those are pretty huge differences with massively different implications about the prospects for the housing markets and home prices over the next few years!!!!! And the major reasons for these differences? You guessed it, massively disparate sets of data from different areas of the Census Bureau on US housing!!!!
Has the Media Totally Forgotten About the Unemployed?
By Derek Thompson - TheAtlantic.com
On Capitol Hill, any trace of job-oriented stimulus has melted with the winter snow. Instead, the city's hot for deficit reduction, and the press has caught the fever.
Articles mentioning unemployment have plummeted nearly 70 percent since last summer, while articles mentioning the deficit have doubled over the same time, according to a National Journal report.
Thomas Drake: The Unclassified Documents
the Government Wants to Claim Were Classified The Secret Sharer
Is Thomas Drake an enemy of the state?
by Jane Mayer - The NewYorker.com
On June 13th, a fifty-four-year-old former government employee named Thomas Drake is scheduled to appear in a courtroom in Baltimore, where he will face some of the gravest charges that can be brought against an American citizen. A former senior executive at the National Security Agency, the government's electronic-espionage service, he is accused, in essence, of being an enemy of the state. According to a ten-count indictment delivered against him in April, 2010, Drake violated the Espionage Act-the 1917 statute that was used to convict Aldrich Ames, the C.I.A. officer who, in the eighties and nineties, sold U.S. intelligence to the K.G.B., enabling the Kremlin to assassinate informants. In 2007, the indictment says, Drake willfully retained top-secret defense documents that he had sworn an oath to protect, sneaking them out of the intelligence agency's headquarters, at Fort Meade, Maryland, and taking them home, for the purpose of "unauthorized disclosure." The aim of this scheme, the indictment says, was to leak government secrets to an unnamed newspaper reporter, who is identifiable as Siobhan Gorman, of the Baltimore Sun. Gorman wrote a prize-winning series of articles for the Sun about financial waste, bureaucratic dysfunction, and dubious legal practices in N.S.A. counterterrorism programs. Drake is also charged with obstructing justice and lying to federal law-enforcement agents. If he is convicted on all counts, he could receive a prison term of thirty-five years.
Gingrich Blasts House GOP's Medicare Plan Presidential Candidate Calls It 'Right-Wing Social Engineering,'
Agrees With Obama About Need for Insurance Mandate
By LAURA MECKLER - WSJ.com
White House hopeful Newt Gingrich called the House Republican plan for Medicare "right-wing social engineering," injecting a discordant GOP voice into the party's efforts to reshape both entitlements and the broader budget debate.
In the same interview Sunday, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Mr. Gingrich backed a requirement that all Americans buy health insurance, complicating a Republican line of attack on President Barack Obama's health law.
The former House speaker's decision to stick with his previous support for an individual mandate comes days after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney defended the health revamp he championed as governor, which includes a mandate.
Health Care Premiums on the Rise. Again.
By Quentin Fottrell - SmartMoney.com Despite the Obama administration's ambitious health care overhaul, insurance premiums are on the rise.
The May 2011 medical index by consulting firm Milliman Inc. says health care costs for a family of four will rise 7.3% in 2011 to $19,393 for those insured through work, with employee out-of-pocket expenses up 9.2% this year versus 6.6% last year. "Trends in health care spending still far exceed most other goods and services," it said.
Milliman’s researchers said that employees are paying around $8,000 of the total annual healthcare costs, higher than other areas of consumer spending, as employers offer health plans with higher deductibles, and co-insurance and co-payment limits to control costs and to encourage workers to use medical care more selectively. That includes $4,728 in an employee contribution and $3,280 in employee out-of-pocket costs.
The Real Social Security and Medicare Problem (and a Doable Fix)
By BRUCE BARTLET - NYTimes.com
On Friday, the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare systems issued their annual reports for 2011. Commentary on these reports always tends to dwell on the date when their trust funds become exhausted; in the case of Social Security it is 2036 and for Medicare it is 2024. But in truth, these figures are virtually devoid of meaning.
Benefits are not paid out of a trust fund filled with income-producing assets, like a private pension fund; benefits are paid out of tax revenues. The trust funds are merely accounting devices best thought of as budget authority. As the trust funds draw down their assets, general revenues - that is, tax revenues besides the payroll taxes earmarked for these programs - are injected into the trust funds to redeem bonds that had previously been placed t
Fighting the Mississippi ATCHAFALAYA
by John McPhee - The NewYorker.com
Three hundred miles up the Mississippi River from its mouth -many parishes above New Orleans and well north of Baton Rouge - a navigation lock in the Mississippi's right bank allows ships to drop out of the river. In evident defiance of nature, they descend as much as thirty-three feet, then go off to the west or south. This, to say the least, bespeaks a rare relationship between a river and adjacent terrain - any river, anywhere, let alone the third-ranking river on earth. The adjacent terrain is Cajun country, in a geographical sense the apex of the French Acadian world, which forms a triangle in southern Louisiana, with its base the Gulf Coast from the mouth of the Mississippi almost to Texas, its two sides converging up here near the lock - and including neither New Orleans nor Baton Rouge. The people of the local parishes (Pointe Coupee Parish, Avoyelles Parish) would call this the apex of Cajun country in every possible sense - no one more emphatically than the lockmaster, on whose face one day I noticed a spreading astonishment as he watched me remove from my pocket a red bandanna.
"You are a coonass with that red handkerchief," he said.here during years when revenue from the payroll tax exceeded costs.
US casino mogul says Wynn now 'Chinese company'
Breitbart.com
American casino mogul Steve Wynn said Tuesday that his US-based gaming firm has become a "Chinese company" as it held its first annual meeting in Macau, now the world's biggest gaming hub.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. was splitting its headquarters between Las Vegas and Macau, the billionaire executive said, with the company's revenue increasingly tied to soaring growth in the former Portuguese colony.
Macau posted $23.5 billion in gaming revenues last year, outpacing the Las Vegas strip by at least four-fold. Much of the eye-popping figure is tied to high-roller gamblers from mainland China flooding into the southern territory -- the only place in China that allows casino gambling.
EU dignitary questions China's reputation
ANDREW WILLIS
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - China must accept a "greater responsibility" for global stability, with the country's "reputation" and "influence" unlikely to be decided by economic factors alone, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has told Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Van Rompuy's remarks, released in an EU statement after a meeting between the two men in Beijing on Monday (16 May), come amid a tightening of Chinese state security following pro-democracy revolutions in north Africa and the Middle East.
China Developing Military Aviation
Pravda.ru
China is actively developing all kinds of military aviation. The other day the country has successfully tested a new type of bomber-missile PLA Navy, which carried out the successful launch of the new model of missiles H-6K (profoundly modernized version of the Soviet Tu-16). In the future we should expect the development of the strategic aviation of China.
China is also conducting the successful development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In this regard, foreign military experts fear that in terms of the military industry in the near future China will be able to catch up and eventually outrun the West. China does not intend to rely on foreign procurement because it puts it in danger of a great power dependence on foreign manufacturers.
China and Russia Increasing the Speed of Military Modernization
by Diplomatic Courier - OilPrice.com
The Kremlin recently revealed that Moscow has pledged $640 billion in an effort to bring 80% of the Russian military establishment up to modern standards by 2020. Consequently, Vladimir Popovkin, deputy defense minister in charge of arms procurement, recently suggested to the media that the Russian defense ministry plans to buy around 600 airplanes and 1000 helicopters. He further stated that the Ministry was planning to fund the development of a "new liquid fuel heavy intercontinental ballistic missile to replace aging RS-18 Stilleto and RS-20 Satan". These missiles would be able to carry up to 10 warheads with solid fuel missiles each carrying a maximum of three warheads. It was further revealed that the Russian government plans to lend $24 billion to defense companies to help prepare for bigger contracts after 2015.
Chinese to view sensitive U.S. sites
Lawmaker sees law violation
By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times
China's top military leader and a group of officers are set to visit sensitive U.S. military bases this week, in exchanges that defense and congressional officials say run counter to a 2000 law designed to limit such exchanges from bolstering Beijing's arms buildup.
Chinese Gen. Chen Bingde, the military chief of staff, arrived in Washington on Monday for the first high-level military exchange since Beijing cut off military ties early last year to protest U.S. arms sales toTaiwan.
One source of concern, according to defense officials, is Gen. Chen’s planned visit to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where the military conducts regular combat exercises, including one with cyberwarfare elements known as "Red Flag."
The Real Problem With Those Infamous Chinese Ghost Cities
By Joe Weisenthal - BusinessInsider.com
Bloomberg Television did a great little segment (via PragCap) about the infamous "ghost cities" of China. Those are those huge planned, mostly empty cities that Chanos likes to rail on.
The typical reaction seems to be: OMG, cities, where nobody is living!
But in reality, lots of real estate projects start with nobody in them, and then fill up over time. That's not that weird. Sure, these are city-size projects, but China is a big country undergoing bigger shifts
Gerald Celente on Jeff Rense 12 May 2011
more on total meltdowns at Fukushima -
China Syndrome in progress;
no way out - can't fix the problems.
Documents Illustrate Desperate Hours at Plant
[free access by Googling title]
By CHESTER DAWSON - WSJ.com
TOKYO - Thousands of pages of documents newly released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. paint a grim picture of the tension-filled atmosphere inside the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's control rooms during the minutes and hours following Japan's massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which set off a chain reaction leading to core meltdowns at three reactors.
The partially redacted data and photos - some of which depict frantically handwritten scribbles and schematics on a series of whiteboards inside the No. 1 and No. 2 reactor's control room - were retrieved April 30 from the plant but not released until late Monday. "It took us a while to prepare and piece together the materials due to the huge volume," company spokesman Hajime Motojuku said Tuesday.
Vital Truths Behind Debt Ceiling Debate - Compassion or Corruption?
by Matt Renner and Maya Schenwar, Truthout.com
Dear Truthout Community,
Today could very well go down in history as a turning point, as the US Treasury hits the debt ceiling, the US government’s legal borrowing limit.
There is a simple truth that is not discussed elsewhere in the media's budget sideshow: We're borrowing that money from rich Americans and corporations - instead of taxing them like we used to. As of January, over 42 percent of our debt was owned by people and institutions in the United States!
The rich and powerful in the US are perfectly happy with deficit spending - they love lending money instead of actually having to pay taxes. By conveniently avoiding this fact, the media discussion can be full of bombast and political posturing between the two parties, without ever getting to the truth.
Geithner takes steps to avoid default as US reaches $14.3T debt limit
By Peter Schroeder - TheHill.com
The U.S. government officially hit the federal debt limit Monday, forcing the Treasury Department to make moves to avoid a default and ratcheting up pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal to increase it.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner informed lawmakers in a Monday letter of specific steps he was taking to avoid a default.
The Treasury had known for weeks that May 16 would be the date on which the government would hit the limit, and the event is not expected to be of immediate economic consequence.
Ignore Geithner's debt ceiling scare tactics
By James Pethokoukis - Reuters.com
To employ the phrasing of Gov. Chris Christie, America hit the debt ceiling and didn’t vaporize. New borrowing has put the U.S. Treasury right up against its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit, but financial markets aren’t crashing over fear that this will lead to default.
So, given that non-reaction so far, just who is the Treasury Secretary kidding? This whole fear-fest over the U.S. debt ceiling is starting to resemble the bank bailout in 2008 when warnings of financial apocalypse shoved Congress into approving TARP. Here is how Timothy Geithner put it in a letter to Sen. Michael Bennet:
Failure to raise the debt limit would force the United States to default on these obligations. ... A default would inflict catastrophic, far-reaching damage on our nation’s economy, significantly reducing growth, and increasing unemployment. ... Default would not only increase borrowing costs for the federal government, but also for families, businesses and local governments. … Default would also have the perverse effect of increasing our government’s debt burden. ... It would increase rates on Treasury securities, which would increase the cost of paying interest on the national debt.
Raising the Roof on Debt
BY PETER D SCHIFF - FinancialSense.com
Today the U.S. government officially borrowed beyond its $14.29 trillion statutory debt limit. And even though the Obama administration has assured us that accounting gimmickry will allow the government to borrow for another few months, the breach has given seeming urgency to Congressional negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans are making a great show of acting tough by linking their "yes" votes with promises for future budget cuts (that could even slow the rate of debt increases at some uncertain point in the future). But as we go through the process, many novice observers may wonder why we have a debt ceiling at all when our government has never shown the slightest inclination to respect its prior self-imposed limits.
Treasury to tap pensions to help fund government
By Zachary A. Goldfarb - WashingtonPost.com
The Obama administration will begin to tap federal retiree programs to help fund operations after the government lost its ability Monday to borrow more money from the public, adding urgency to efforts in Washington to fashion a compromise over the debt.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has warned for months that the government would soon hit the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling — a legal limit on how much it can borrow. With that limit reached Monday, Geithner isundertaking special measures in an effort to postpone the day when he will no longer have enough funds to pay all of the government's bills.
Gerald Celente -- 'Gold standard won't save US'
Steve Forbes is championing a return to a gold standard in five years time. Will that help the slumping American economy though? Gerlad Celente of the Trends Research Institute says no. Forbes has flip-flopped on the issue before and his predictions regarding the price of oil never panned out. Today, it seems, like the only thing "good as gold" is the decline of the US dollar.
Debt and Taxes
By Megan McArdle - TheAtlantic.com
So, today we banged our head against the current debt ceiling for the first time. Think of the country like a tall person who has just moved into an unusually cheap and small basement apartment. The first bang is the most surprising, but it's not catastrophic. In fact, it's not likely that any particular head bump will be catastrophic. Nonetheless, taking up residence in that space is a catastrophe.
Strained analogies aside, Tyler Cowen has some good thoughts on this, particularly number 7:
Do we take market prices seriously? Since Treasury rates are still low, low, low, arguably we can infer that the market does not think the Republican stance is so catastrophic. Paul Krugman does not take a consistent position on the relevance of low rates. They are allowed to indicate that the U.S. government should spend more, but not allowed to indicate that we should diminish the blame to be leveled at Republicans. One cannot have it both ways.
Fundamentals of gold, silver remain very sound
CommodityOnline.com
Gold and silver are lower this morning as the recent bout of weakness continues. Equities in Asia were lower on economic growth and inflation concerns and European indices are also lower as Greek debt talks are in disarray after the weekend arrest IMF's Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
There are concerns that the IMF's chiefs' arrest may delay resolution of Europe's deepening debt crisis and Greek bonds have fallen again seeing the 10 year yield rise to 15.58% - close to the record highs seen last week.
Market correction, inflation, gold standard
Be Bullish On Inflation
BY CAPTAIN HOOK - FinancialSense.com
Easily the most vaunted question within financial circles at present is the inflation question – will it keep accelerating and will hyperinflation arrive eventually? For some, like Marc Faberand James Turk, the answer to this question is easy. Inflation all the way baby – with a dollar collapse and hyperinflation in the process. And as the lights come on for increasing numbers about what the Fed is up to, exporting it’s inflation to the world, this understanding will become an increasing self-fulfilling prophesy, which will surprise the heck out of just about everybody considering the still rampant denial regarding this most important issue. So, this is why one needs to be bullish on inflation, and remain bullish no matter how improbable all this seems, because this is no dream. No, it may appear surreal to most, especially in developed Western countries, but make no mistake about it – inflation and resulting price increases are just beginning to take off, where the trend should now begin to accelerate, shock, and awe.
The Markets are on a Knife Edge
by Mad Hedge Fund Trader - OilPrice.com
All global asset classes are within a hair's breadth of completely breaking down.
The S&P 500 sits perilously on its neckline. Just below here there are a ton of sell stops that could pare 5% off the index very rapidly. The more volatile and leading emerging market ETF (EEM) has already broken this key level. Look also at the euro, which has been marching in almost complete lockstep with stocks. It has crashed through the 50 day moving average, and has so far struggled unsuccessfully to recover it. The flip side of all of this is the (UUP), a dollar long against a basket of currencies, which appears to have entered new bull market territory.
Warning signs on market liquidity risks
By Eric Burroughs - Reuters.com
If the great commodity selloff of 2011 shows nothing else, it is that markets are undergoing serious structural changes that need to be followed closely. Our commodities analyst John Kemp has compared the oil plunge with the May 2010 flash crash in U.S. shares, and rightfully so. Four standard deviation moves in oil futures are not normal, even if Gaussian distributions underestimate the chance of such a move. The rise of high-speed electronic trading appears to be creating imbalances between buyers and sellers in nanoseconds that lead to outsized moves. It would probably be manageable if these problems were tied to smaller markets not so correlated with the rest of the world. But in this age of highly correlated global markets, these changes matter and need to be better understood — both by market participants and regulators.
Is the Entire Market Rigged?
BY CRIS SHERIDAN - FinancailSense.com Rigged Market
Def: An illegal act or practice in which a person or company causes a price to be more favorable to an investor than market forces really justify. Rigged markets exist in order to attract investors to a company or project, but it is often not sustainable and in any case dupes the investor. There are a variety of ways to create a rigged market.
Long before I started working full-time in the financial industry, I used to work for a friend’s orchard company selling apples at nearby farmers’ markets. One Saturday, while stationed in Old Town San Diego, a scholarly looking man in his 50s and I began conversation over a few fresh cut samples.
Who Owns U.S. Debt? You & Me, Mostly...
Nick Gillespie | Reason.com
Here's a chart compiled by the folks at Political Calculations that plots out to whom the federal debt is owed. It's a bit outdated, as it's based on figures from the end of last fiscal year. But the percentages are surely about the same even though the current total debt has hit the $14.3 trillion or so level. [see chart]
All told, it's looking like 70 percent of the debt is held by domestic suckers and by elements of our trusted and trustworthy government.
I don't know that that is a comforting thought. It might be if the cumulative total were much, much smaller. As it stands, it's all just appalling on any number of levels
Bob Chapman: The Financial Powers That Be
Are In A Trap of Their Own Making 1/2
Bob Chapman: The Financial Powers That Be
Are In A Trap of Their Own Making 2/2
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY – PART THREE
By James Quinn - The Burning Platform
The economic peril that we find ourselves confronted with, has been ninety-eight years in the making. The confluence of debt, demographics, delusion, and denial has left the country at the precipice of annihilation. There are two kinds of people in the world, those who control the money and those that are controlled by those who control the money. The last century has been marked by a methodical looting of the good (working middle class) by the bad (Federal Reserve & bankers) and supported by the ugly (Washington D.C. politicians). When historians pinpoint the year in which the Great American Empire began its downward spiral they will conclude that year to be 1913. In this dark year for the Republic, slimy politicians, at the behest of the biggest bankers in the country, created a private central bank that has since controlled the currency of the United States. This same Congress staked their claim as the most damaging group of politicians in US history by passing the personal income tax in the same year. These two acts unleashed the two headed monster of inflation and taxation on the American people.
European Sovereign Debt
by Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortal.com
An article yesterday by John Maudlin titled 'Kicking The Can To The End Of The Road' – reading time 6 minutes – discusses the Sovereign Debt issues of Greece and Ireland in particular. However, the article also discusses more general issues as well. Maudlin, whose recently published book ‘Endgame’ has received a lot of attention, says in this article that when asked what his biggest macro-economic worry is, he "quickly answer(s), the European Sovereign Debt crisis". For those of you who elect to read this article, and I suggest you ought to if you hold physical gold, silver, or resource or other equities, Maudlin uses acronyms extensively. 'ECB' means 'European Central Bank', and 'ESM' means the 'European Stability Mechanism'. The ESM was introduced in November, 2010. It is intended to protect ‘private sector creditors' who participate in EuroDebt to stand in line behind only the International Monetary Fund in the event of a EuroZone country default – at least that is my interpretation. It is planned the ESM will begin in June, 2013, which from what I have read means that 'Euro Group Support' for Eurozone members in financial difficult will stop, or is at least intended to stop, at that point.
Gerald Celente: Raping - part of IMF business
Strauss-Kahn arrest: IMF head detained at Rikers Island
-- BBC.co.uk
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been remanded in custody at New York's notorious Rikers Island jail on charges of sexual assault.
The judge said Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, was a flight risk. He was arrested on Saturday after boarding a plane and accused of trying to rape a hotel maid.
He faces seven charges and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, who had been seen as a favourite in France's 2012 presidential elections, denies the charges.
His lawyer expressed disappointment at bail being denied, but said his client would be exonerated.
"This battle has just begun," defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman told the court.
Oil Price Drop offering No Relief for Motorists
as Gas Prices Remain Unchanged
by Dian L. Chu - OilPrice.com
The Reuters Jefferies CRB Index is down 8% so far in May with almost every single commodity in the index registering red. Even the ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle East and North Africa has not been able to shield the ever bullish crude oil from the commodity rout. Both Nymex WTI and ICE Brent suffered heavy losses.
In the two weeks ending Friday, May 13, Brent dropped about 10% to close at $113.83 a barrel on ICE, while WTI plunged 12% to $99.65 a barrel at Nymex, and RBOB gasolne futures for June also lost 8% to around $3.0766 a gallon.
Should Mortgage Servicing Data Be a Public Utility?
By Alex Ulam - NatinoalMortgageNews.com
Why do some mortgage servicers appear to be modifying a great many more loans than others? How many loans are getting principal reduced, rather than interest rate reductions? How many loans in a given neighborhood are more than 30 days late?
Answering such questions may be critical to craft effective policy responses to the housing crisis. But it's hard to get definitive answers, because data on mortgage performance is incomplete and often expensive.
Most of the detailed information on mortgage performance is gathered by two companies, CoreLogic Inc. and Lender Processing Services Inc., and sold in various forms to regulators for sums that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for a particular data set.
The Grim State of Home Building
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Want to see what a bottom looks like in a chart? Look no further than the market for new home building. The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo calculates a Housing Market Index, which provides a measure of how conductive the economy is to new home construction. As you can probably guess, it's not a great time to be a home builder. In fact, it's been an awful market since the boom peaked in 2005: [see chart]
Rarely can you see the bottom of a trough so clear in a chart, but there it is. In mid-2005, the index was above 70. Since September 2007, it has only risen above 20 once -- and that was only because the home buyer credit was expiring so some Americans were scrambling to beat the deadline.
While Home Prices May Be Falling,
Insurance Premiums Are on the Rise
By CHAD TERHUNE And ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS - WSJ.com
Already plagued by stubbornly low home prices, homeowners soon may be facing another blow: rising insurance premiums.
After five years of relatively stable premiums, some of the country's biggest insurers have raised rates—or say they plan to. Premiums vary by state, but last year, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. says it increased homeowners rates 7.3% on average and, this year, has raised them in 18 states, including a few by more than 7%. By contrast, it cut rates in just two states.
Many seeing homes more as liabilities Some consumers no longer put mortgages first
on the must-pay list
By YLAN Q. MUI and DINA ELBOGHDADY, Washington Post - (Houston)Chron.com
WASHINGTON - A significant number of Americans are now willing to lose their houses to save the stuff that's in them.
That kitchen-table calculus opens a window into the deep-seated changes in consumer psyche wrought by the financial crisis.
Traditionally, home loans have perched at the top of the payment hierarchy as families have strived to keep a roof over their heads. But as Americans unload more than $100 billion in debt left over from the economic boom, many households face a daunting question: What to pay off first?
Six Million Foreclosures By 2014?
HousingDoom.com
Since the start of 2005 to the end of 2010, three million seven-hundred thousand American families have been kicked out onto the street. At an average of 2.3 people per household that's 8.5 million Americans who have been directly, physically, affected by the popping of the US Housing Bubble, so far.
I estimate that by the time the "dust" settles on they myriad of personal tragedies that resulted from the misguided policies of the Clinton and more importantly the Bush era, to "promote" (i.e. subsidize) home ownership, six million American families will have been "de-housed", that's 14 million personal tragedies.
The festering foreclosure mess
Minnesota housing woes signal need for foreclosure reforms.
StarTribune.com
May's grim headlines have confirmed what Minnesota property owners already sensed: The state's housing market remains in a tailspin even as economy slowly recovers.
Sales prices have sunk to new lows, according to a May 8 story by Star Tribune reporter Jim Buchta. The outlook isn't likely to improve any time soon, with distressed properties dominating the market and a backlog of them still working their way through the system. In April, more than half of all sales in the metro were foreclosures. Nationally, about a third of homes sold were foreclosures, leading many experts to predict a "double dip" housing hit that could threaten a fragile economy.
Car Prices Quietly Spike As Japanese Model Shortages Grow
ByDouglas McIntyre - DailyFinance.com
Car prices have risen quickly and quietly in the last few weeks, and it's not just due to increases announced by auto manufacturers to offset higher material costs. According to auto industry research firmEdmunds, the average amount that buyers are paying for cars or light trucks is up $350 since Japan's earthquake and tsunami in March. The data is based on prices paid in the first week in May.
Rand Paul: Universal Health Care Is "Slavery"
by: Lawrence Davidson, To the Point Analyses - Truthout.com
At a 11 May 2011 hearing held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, a short debate over healthcare delivery took place between Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Sanders, who is chair of the subcommittee, is one of the Senate's few independents and is a socialist at heart. Paul, who is an MD (an ophthalmologist), is a "Tea Party" Republican and a libertarian at heart.
The subcommittee meeting was held to investigate the use of emergency rooms as primary care centers by the poor and uninsured. Many people in the United States, who find themselves without access to proper health care facilities, end up using hospital emergency rooms for their everyday health needs. This turns out to be very expensive. It creates a financial hardship for the hospitals which must either supply uncompensated services or turn sick folks away. If such patients could be redirected to less expensive facilities it could result in savings of $6 and 40 billion a year according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Sanders, who has taken the position that access to health care is a "fundamental right," believes the answer to this problem is to expand the use of government subsidized community health centers, which would cost much less in the long run and supply just the sort of broad spectrum primary care people need. Indeed, a program in his own state of Vermont has demonstrated that he is correct.
Second Amendment Rights not Assured Despite Court Victories The Heller and McDonald cases may have established an individual right to bear arms but that doesn't mean there won't be efforts to subvert that right by gun control advocates.
by Mike McDaniel - PajamasMedia.com
In any attempt to create the socialist/Marxist administrative state, what kind of "fundamental change" would be necessary? The goal, of course, must be to greatly increase the power of the centralized state and simultaneously to greatly decrease the power - the rights - of the individual. Individuals capable of compelling the state to recognize their rights, to hinder or subvert the designs of the state in any way, cannot be tolerated. In any such attempt, paramount must be the reduction and eventual elimination of the Second Amendment. Near-ultimate or ultimate state power cannot be attained and held if the people can resist with force of arms. But how can this be accomplished in the face of Supreme Court decisions affirming and incorporating the Second Amendment as a fundamental right?
Me Oh My, On the Bayou
By Reid Collins - The American Spectator.org
So, they've opened the floodgates and some 25,000 Cajuns must now bear the brunt of what the Mississippi had in store for Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The Morganza spillway is now throwing the pent-up waters of Ol' Man River into the little-known Atchafalaya River Basin -- a waterway that parallels the Mississippi on the big river's west and finally spews into the Gulf.
The Foreign Policy Elite and Bureaucracy
Starts Parting Ways with Obama
By Barry Rubin - PajamasMedia.com
Perhaps the most important policymaking development of the last month has been President Barack Obama’s increasingly visible loss of a lot of the foreign policy elite, including considerable segments of the State and Defense departments. Why this is happening is one of the most interested—and highly neglected—stories of this period.
Consider the factors involved:
–Most of the foreign policy elite is liberal and for this reason they were enthusiastic about Obama and contemptuous of his predecessor, George W. Bush. You already know a lot of this story. Obama combined several irresistible qualities for them including being apparently polished, cosmopolitan, and "smart."
Of special importance, Bush had embarrassed them in front of the foreigners they dealt with. They were ashamed of his policies. If America was unpopular, they were unpopular. That’s why the idea that Obama would make foreigners love America again was of such huge importance for them.
But now Obama is embarrassing them because while Bush was disliked as a reckless cowboy, now Obama is seen as something just as bad: a naïve amateur.
Can Conservatives Be Libertarians?
Mises Daily: by Gerard N. Casey
....Russell Kirk believes that, apart from their common detestation of collectivism and governments that go beyond their competence, conservatives and libertarians have little or nothing in common. The problem with libertarians, according to Kirk, is their "fanatic attachment ... to the notion of personal freedom as the whole end of the civil social order, and indeed of human existence." Their pathological concern with freedom leads them to adopt an attitude of tolerance to all sorts of views and opinions, a tolerance that leads, in the end, to their own proscription! In Kirk's view, "It is consummate folly to tolerate every variety of opinion, on every topic, out of devotion to an abstract 'liberty,'" because "opinion soon finds its expression in action, and the fanatics whom we tolerated will not tolerate us when they have power."
What libertarians dread most of all, it appears, is obedience to the dictates of custom. They are intolerant of any authority and in morals such intolerance can lead to perversity; in the end, "there is no great gulf fixed between libertarianism and libertinism." As if this isn't enough, libertarians also suffer from a kind of metaphysical madness inasmuch as, despite their doctrines being repeatedly rejected both logically and practically, they still persist in putting them forward. If stupidity consists in the repetition of the unworkable, like a fly repeatedly banging its head against the window pane, then libertarians must be incredibly stupid.
Meanwhile, the Disaster at Fukushima Continues One of the Japanese nuclear reactors experienced a total meltdown, but we're only finding out two months after the accident -- By Alexis Madrigal - TheAtlantic.com
The No. 1 nuclear reactor at Fukushima Daiichi melted down in the first day after the massive quake and tsunami cut power to the plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company admitted Sunday.
As Nature News' Geoff Brumfiel reports, workers went into the unit recently "to recalibrate some of the sensors on the reactor." Much to their surprise and dismay, they found that the core experienced a total meltdown. The zirconium alloy tubes that hold the uranium fuel pellets during normal operation all warped and the uranium is now lying at the bottom of the pressure vessel, or possibly even outside of it in the basement below or outside the concrete containment building. With all the fuel piled up at the bottom, there is some danger that the nuclear reaction could have restarted. As of now, engineers on the scene aren't sure what happened.
Perfidious Pakistan
By Jed Babbin - The American Spectator.org
Last weekend, Pakistan's parliament threatened to cut off NATO's ability to move military supplies through their nation into Afghanistan if U.S. drone attacks on Pakistani targets weren't stopped. The resolution, passed unanimously in an unusual in-camera joint session, threatens to interrupt a critical supply line, putting U.S. and NATO troops at risk.
According to news reports, the special session of parliament was called to debate "the situation arising from unilateral U.S. action in Abbottabad." The Pakistanis declared that continuation of the U.S. drone attacks was "unacceptable" and resolved that, "Such drone attacks must stop forthwith, failing which the government will be constrained to consider taking necessary steps including withdrawal of [the] transit facility allowed to NATO."
Gaddafis named as international criminal court suspects Chief prosecutor requests crimes against humanity arrest warrants for Libyan leader, son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi
By Julian Borger, diplomatic editor - Guardian.co.uk
Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, were accused of crimes against humanity by the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court, who called for their arrest for orchestrating a campaign of mass murder against Libyan pro-democracy protesters.
Saif Gaddafi's indictment for committing atrocities against civilians will profoundly embarrass the wealthy and influential circle of friends he cultivated over eight years studying at the London School of Economics and living a playboy's life in Hampstead.
Palestinians storm into Israel 15 reported killed during unprecedented demonstration
By Shaun Waterman-The Washington Times
Thousands of Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces on three hostile borders Sunday in an unprecedented wave of protests marking an annual ritual against the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.
Israeli soldiers opened fire, leaving at least 15 dead and many more injured, as rioting Palestinians poured across the borders with Syria,Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
Israeli officials said 13 troops were wounded and blamed Syria and Iranfor orchestrating the clashes.
The protests mark the first time that the demonstrations, which have swept the Arab world this year, have been directed at Israel.
Hamas-Fatah to Form Unity Government
Israel Angered, US Shocked
by: Richard Silverstein, Truthout
The last few weeks have brought some of the biggest news in some time, and shocked many long-term observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas, Fatah and the new Egyptian government have pulled off a coup and negotiated in total secrecy an agreement that would reconcile the two previously warring factions in a unity government.
The plan is startling for a number of reasons. First, because the Palestinians have been unable to agree on anything for the past five years. Nor have they ever been able to keep much of a secret over anything that has divided them. Second, because this new Egyptian government was able to accomplish in a few weeks what the Mubarak regime had failed at for several years. Third, because the U.S. was caught completely flat-footed, having no idea this was coming. Fourth, because the unity government pulled the rug out from under the ballyhooed Netanyahu peace plan to be unfurled before a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on May 24th.
The Chinese Dragon Sweeps Through Latin America Time to stand up and take notice —
English and Spanish speakers alike.
by Jaime Daremblum - PajamasMedia.com
Any U.S. policymakers who doubt the strategic and economic significance of Latin America should spend a few minutes chatting with their counterparts in Beijing.
Over the past decade, China has been on a wild spending spree throughout the Western Hemisphere — targeting Brazilian iron ore, Chilean copper, Peruvian zinc, Argentine soybeans, Venezuelan and Ecuadoran oil, Uruguayan meat, Bolivian lithium, and other economic resources. The Chinese have flooded the region with both investment and cheap labor (about which more later). They are funding construction of a hydroelectric plant for Ecuador, a satellite for Bolivia, and much else. Beijing already built a satellite for Venezuela, which launched in 2008, and a national soccer stadium for Costa Rica, which opened this year. In March 2010, the China National Offshore Oil Company announced that it was purchasing 50 percent of the Argentine firm Bridas, and Bridas subsequently bought a $7.1 billion stake in the Argentina-based Pan American Energy. In October, another Chinese energy giant, Sinopec, agreed to invest over $7 billion in the Brazilian operations of Repsol, a Spanish company.
Obama Says U.S. Default May 'Unravel' Global Finances
By Roger Runningen and James Rowley - Bloomberg.com
President Barack Obama said failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by early August might disrupt the global financial system and plunge the nation into another recession.
If investors "around the world thought the full faith and credit of the U.S. was not being backed up, if they thought we might renege on our IOUs, it could unravel the entire financial system," Obama said on a segment taped for today's "Face the Nation" program on CBS. "We could have a worse recession than we’ve already had.
Geithner Says Damage From Debt Default May Be 'Irrevocable'
Ian Katz and Daniel Enoch - WashingtonPost.com
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said a default arising from failing to raise the debt limit could cause "irrevocable damage" to the economy, risk a "double-dip" recession and increase unemployment.
"Default would not only increase borrowing costs for the federal government, but also for families, businesses and local governments -- reducing investment and job creation throughout the economy," Geithner said in a letter dated yesterday to Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat.
Geithner to Bennet: U.S. debt default would be 'catastrophic'
Denver Business Journal - by Mark Harden
Failure by Congress to raise the national debt ceiling would lead to a "catastrophic" default, scaring off investors and ruining the nation's economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado in a letter.
"Failure to raise the debt limit would force the United States to default on [its] obligations, such as payments to our servicemembers, citizens, investors, and businesses," said Geithner's letter, sent Friday and released Saturday. "This would be an unprecedented event in American history. A default would inflict catastrophic, far-reaching damage on our nation's economy, significantly reducing growth, and increasing unemployment."
Geithner Emerges as Obama's Indispensable Man
By Albert R. Hunt - Bloomberg.com
If, two years ago, reports of Timothy Geithner possibly leaving reached the White House, some advisers would have seized on them as an opportunity; President Barack Obama's Treasury secretary got off to a very rocky start, and was considered a short-termer.
Today, if rumblings that he's thinking about stepping down made their way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., there would be near panic. Geithner is as close to an indispensable figure as there is in the Obama administration.
More on Debt Ceiling Charade
CalculatedRiskblog.com
First, even though the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling on Monday, there are games that Treasury can play - so Congress has until August 2nd. And there might even be some more tricks that can delay the date further - like promising to pay defensecontractors sometime in the future. But some day in the not too distant future Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling - or suffer the consequences that Geithner describes.
Bernanke Double Talk Creates Opportunity
BY JOHN BROWNE - FinancialSense.com
When Fed Chairmen speak, the public is supposed to listen; and, historically, they have. Yet, Chairman Bernanke's remarks at his historic first press conference were met by a tidal wave of skepticism. Although many of the mainstream outlets, especially those lucky enough to be granted question slots, characterized his performance as "serious" and "masterful," most rank-and-file Americans were left with a very different impression.
Any casual glance at the broad internet coverage of the event shows that the public is deeply skeptical of Mr. Bernanke and the actions he is taking. If that skepticism runs more than skin-deep, it could herald a fundamental change in American politics and a restoration of sound finance in America. Already politicians seem to be taking notice.
The End of Bernanke's "End Game"
Mises Daily: by William L. Anderson
In a recent screed masquerading as the thoughtsof a Nobel prize winner in economics, Paul Krugman excoriates those who speak of
fear: fear of a debt crisis, of runaway inflation, of a disastrous plunge in the dollar. Scare stories are very much on politicians' minds.
As Krugman explains, such worries are irrational and certainly untrue:
None of these scare stories reflect anything that is actually happening, or is likely to happen. And while the threats are imaginary, fear of these imaginary threats has real consequences: an absence of any action to deal with the real crisis, the suffering now being experienced by millions of jobless Americans and their families.
In other words, there is no real inflation, and to even broach the subject is proof that one hates the poor and jobless.
Why Bill Gross is Wrong...In the Short Term
BY CHRIS PUPLAVA - FinancialSense.com
Bill Gross of Pimco made major news last month when it was learned that they—the world’s largest bond manager—were shorting US debt in its flagship Total Return Fund. Of course, it’s not hard to understand why they'd be shorting U.S. Treasuries - one merely has to look at the government’s indebtedness and lack of political willpower to reach such an obvious investment conclusion. However, it is likely Gross will be early on his call as the possible exceptions he provides for why US debt may rally appear to be gaining steam. Leading Economic Indicators Signaling Growth Relapse
Reuters interviewed Gross last Friday and when asked what would change his mind in regards to government debt he said the following (emphasis added):
Shanghai Gold Exchange cuts silver margins, volumes soar
Reporting by Ruby Lian and David Stanway; Additional reporting by Carrie Ho in SINGAPORE; Editing by Himani Sarkar - ShareNet.co.za
SHANGHAI, May 13 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) will cut silver margin requirements to 18 percent from 19 percent from May 13 settlements if there is no sharp movement in prices, it said on Friday.
News of the margin decrease helped push the SGE silver forward contract up by 2.4 percent to close at 7,845 yuan ($1,207) per kilogram.
Trading volumes for the contract have surged. According to data from the SGE, volumes rose 3,043 percent from the start of the year to 2,256,280 kg on Friday.
"I think the lowering of the cost of trading could have helped in bringing silver investors back into the market today," said Ong Yi Ling, analyst with Phillip Futures.
Commodities try to stabilize after recent plunge,
but dollar's rebound weighs
By Tom Petruno - LATimes.com
Silver closed higher and gold closed lower on Friday as prices of commodities in general diverged, despite another jump in the dollar that typically would be expected to batter all or most raw materials.
Capping another wild trading week, near-term silver futures in New York added 22 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $35.01 an ounce. After plunging 27% the previous week as sellers swarmed, silver's net loss this week was just 27 cents, or 0.8%. It bounced after falling as low as $32.30 on Thursday.
Gold fell $13.20, or 0.9%, to $1,493.40 an ounce on Friday, but was up a net $2.20 for the week.
Silver - Time to Buy
BY PURU SAXENA - FinancialSense.com
Only two weeks ago, the price of silver was rapidly appreciating in a parabolic advance. Back then, sentiment towards the white metal was extremely bullish and its price was approximately 78% above its 200-day moving average. Furthermore, on the 25th of April, silver registered a key reversal whereby its price tested the all-time high recorded in 1980 but failed to hold on to its intra-day gains.
You will recall that after observing all of the above conditions, we sent out an alert advisinginvestors and speculators to take some money off the table. As it turns out, our caution was warranted and what has recently transpired can only be described as a rout in the silver market.
Gold demand strong; predicted prices around $2000
DubaiChronicle.com
Gold temporarily succeeded to recover some of the losses from the sizeable sell-off in early May, but fell back late Friday to end the week unchanged.
Bearish sentiment constrained gold to a weekly low of around $1479 on Thursday. However, the metal found good support at its 15-week uptrend line and rebounded, temporarily at least, back above $1500.
Central Bank Demand to Constrain Supplies of Gold
Julian D. W. Phillips - SilverBearCafe.com
The Chinese mining sector is currently producing 340 tonnes a year and rising. No doubt there is every encouragement from the State for this figure to rise. We believe that no matter how high it rises, little if any of that supply will reach the world's 'open' market in London. Even global gold production is not likely to rise significantly from the current level of around 2,500 tonnes. Therein lies a development that, in itself, will change global gold market dynamics.
U.S. should sell assets like gold to get out of debt, economists say
By Joel Achenbach - WashingtonPost.com
With the United States poised to slam into its debt limit Monday, conservative economists are eyeballing all that gold in Fort Knox. There's about 147 million ounces of gold parked in the legendary vault. Gold is selling at nearly $1,500 an ounce. That's many billions of dollars in bullion.
"Its just sort of sitting there," said Ron Utt, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. "Given the high price it is now, and the tremendous debt problem we now have, by all means, sell at the peak."
Federal worker pensions emerge as target in debt-reduction talks
By Lori Montgomery - WashingtonPost.com
The generous pension system enjoyed by millions of federal workers from clerks to senators and judges has emerged as a key target in negotiations between Vice President Biden and congressional leaders looking to restrain the growing national debt.
Republicans have proposed saving more than $120 billion over the next decade by requiring the civilian workforce to contribute more toward retirement - a plan that would effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees. President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission has also endorsed the idea, calling the federal system "out of line" with the private sector.
50 Things Every American Should Know
About The Collapse Of The Economy
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Right now, we are witnessing a truly historic collapse of the economy, and yet most Americans do not understand what is going on. One of the biggest reasons why the American people do not understand what is happening to the economy is because our politicians and the mainstream media are not telling the truth. Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke keep repeating the phrase "economic recovery" over and over, and this is really confusing for most Americans because things sure don't seem to be getting much better where they live. There are millions upon millions of Americans that are sitting at home on their couches right now wondering why they lost their jobs and why nobody will hire them. Millions of others are wondering why the only jobs they can get are jobs that a high school student could do. Families all across America are wondering why it seems like their wages never go up but the price of food and the price of gas continue to skyrocket. We are facing some very serious long-term economic problems in this country, and we need to educate the American people about why the collapse of the economy is happening. If the American people don't understand why they are losing their jobs, why they are losing their homes and why they are drowning in debt then they are going to keep on doing all of the same things that they have been doing. They will also keep sending the same idiot politicians back to Washington to represent us.
Rising Food and Gas Costs Push Consumer Price Index Higher
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP - DailyFinance.com
WASHINGTON -- Consumers paid more for gas and food in April, pushing inflation to its highest level in two and a half years. But so far this month, inflationary pressures have begun to ease.
The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in April, the Labor Department said. In the past 12 months, prices have risen 3.2%. That's the biggest 12-month gain since October 2008.
Excluding volatile food and energy, prices ticked up 0.2% and have risen only 1.3% this year. That's double the gain posted six months ago, but still below the level the Federal Reserve considers a healthy pace of inflation.
Good News on Gas Prices: A Sharp Drop Is Just Ahead
ByCharles Wallace - DailyFinance.com
With security concerns in the Middle East receding and the bubble in commodities deflating, oil prices are headed sharply lower. Motorists will finally have something to cheer about: Gas prices should be about 25 cents a gallon cheaper in the next few days.
"My sense is we're going sharply lower in prices," says Tom Kloza, chief analyst of the Oil Price Information Service. "I'm not sure if it will be six days or 16 days, but six weeks from today, I suspect it will be $3.25 to $3.75 a gallon across the country."
I'm Not Defaulting On My Mortgage, I'm Recouping My Losses
HousingDoom.com
My house is in foreclosure right now. We stopped paying in March, 2010. We will live in it until we’re ordered to leave. Right now I’m actively defending the foreclosure to make sure it doesn't happen quickly.
It's our way of recouping some of the losses we've suffered from buying at the tip-top of the market (June, 2006 was when I bought, with encouragement from everyone — realtors, bankers, the government, they all were cheering me on).
Strategic Default: Inconceivable Assumptions Suddenly Conceivable
BY TIM ROOD - MortgageNewsDaily.com
Until recently it was generally believed that only a small fraction of Americans would willingly choose to skip their monthly mortgage payment, aka "strategically default", when they found themselves stuck in a negative equity situation.
The logic driving this belief was based on the notion that borrowers wouldn't want to damage their credit profile or deal with the social stigma surrounding a public foreclosure. The assumption that most underwater borrowers will continue making their monthly payments (absent a life event) is factored into the analytics of risk managers, buyers and sellers of mortgage related assets, servicing managers, and regulators across the country.
Zimbabwe Says Days Of The US Dollar Are Numbered,
Pushes For Gold-Backed Local Currency
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Topping off a weekend of surreal news is the announcement from the Central Bank of Zimbabwe that the country is now evaluating introducing a gold-backed Zimbabwean dollar, and, in keeping with the Salvador Dali feel to the past 48 hours, that the "days of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency are numbered." Yes. Zimbabwe, the same place that two years ago sported a brand new crisp Z$100 trillion bill. What is just as odd is that this news comes less than a week after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized US economic policies, saying that the paper currency created by the American government is taking a heavy toll on the global economy. While Zimbabwe, which now transacts almost exclusively in foreign currencies such as the USD and the South African Rand, is actively considering ways to return its own currency into circulation, the man who has up to now served as an inspiration and a role model to Ben Bernanke, Gideon Gono, said the country should consider adopting a gold-backed currency.
FDIC Chair Sheila Bair Warns Senate Committee
about "Millions of Infected Foreclosures"
By Martin Andelman - ml-implode.com
Of all of the Washington D.C. "players" that I’ve come to know over the last few years, there is no one that I have vacillated about more than FDIC Chair Sheila Bair. There have been times when I found myself smitten by her common sense and consumer oriented bent, and others when I wanted to accuse her of being buried halfway up Geithner's butt as a result of him stopping abruptly while walking the halls of the Treasury building.
Well, perhaps it’s because Sheila is now a short-timer and will be retiring from her post at the FDIC this July, that she is now feeling a little more comfortable telling the truth, even if that means disagreeing with Walsh at the OCC or even Bernanke at the Fed.
Federal worker pensions emerge as target in debt-reduction talks
By Lori Montgomery - WashingtonPost.com
The generous pension system enjoyed by millions of federal workers from clerks to senators and judges has emerged as a key target in negotiations between Vice President Biden and congressional leaders looking to restrain the growing national debt.
Republicans have proposed saving more than $120 billion over the next decade by requiring the civilian workforce to contribute more toward retirement — a plan that would effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees. President Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission has also endorsed the idea, calling the federal system “out of line” with the private sector.
A trail of stalled or abandoned HUD projects
By Debbie Cenziper and Jonathan Mummolo - WashingtonPost.com
The federal government's largest housing construction program for the poor has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on stalled or abandoned projects and routinely failed to crack down on derelict developers or the local housing agencies that funded them.
Nationwide, nearly 700 projects awarded $400 million have been idling for years, a Washington Post investigation found. Some have languished for a decade or longer even as much of the country struggles with record-high foreclosures and a dramatic loss of affordable housing.
Growing number of consumers pay credit card debt before mortgage
By Ylan Q. Mui and Dina ElBoghdady, WashingtonPost.com
A significant number of Americans are now willing to lose their house to save the stuff that's in it.
That kitchen-table calculus provides a window into the deep-seated changes in consumer psyche wrought by the financial crisis. Traditionally, home loans have perched at the top of the payment hierarchy as families have strived to ensure that a roof stayed over their heads. But as Americans unload more than $100 billion in debt leftover from the economic boom, many households face a daunting question: What to pay off first.
Medicare funds will be depleted in 13 years, report says
By N.C. Aizenman - WashingtonPost.com
The sluggish economic recovery has only worsened the already bleak financial outlook of both Medicare and Social Security, according to an annual forecast released Friday by the Obama administration.
The report offers fuel to President Obama’s Republican critics and increases pressure on leaders of both parties to agree on a long-term plan to preserve the nation’s principal safety net for the elderly.
Medicare's Finances: Now Even More Broken
Peter Suderman - Reason.com
Medicare's finances are in even worse shape than previously thought, according to an annual report released by its Trustees today. The hospital fund is now slated to run out of coin in 2024, rather than 2029. Politico reports that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner explained that the new numbers are a result of "technical changes in the economic assumptions underlying the projections." Translation: The economy still looks as ugly as the home of one of the Garbage Pail Kids, and that, in turn, means the Medicare's finances, which rely on the economy for their health, are more broken - and more broke - than Washington's fiscal minders previously thought.
Medicare Funds to Run Out in 2024 Without Fix,
Faster Than U.S. Estimated
By Drew Armstrong and Brian Faler - Bloomberg.com
Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, and the Social Security trust for the disabled and retirees are running out of money sooner than the government had projected.
While Medicare won't have sufficient funds to pay full benefits starting in 2024, five years earlier than last year's estimate, Social Security's cash to pay full benefits runs short in 2036, a year sooner than the 2010 projection, the U.S. government said today in an annual report.
Eight facts and three thoughts about Social Security
By Ezra Klein - WashingtonPost.com
Earlier, I criticized Alan Simpson for not knowing — and, more to the point, being actively hostile to — accurate demographic data about Social Security, but perhaps it’d be more useful to run through some of the numbers I find it helpful to keep in mind while writing about the issue:
Over the next 75 years, Social Security’s shortfall is equal to about 0.7 percent of GDP. Source(PDF).
For the average 65-year-old retiring in 2010, Social Security replaced about 40 percent of working-age earnings. That "replacement rate" is scheduled to fall to 31 percent in the coming decades. Source.
Social Security's replacement rate puts it 26th among 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations for workers with average earnings. Source.
Without Social Security, 45 percent of seniors would be under the poverty line. With Social Security, 10 percent of seniors are under the poverty line.
Social Security changes off table; problems remain
By Stephen Ohlemacher-Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Congress is putting off changes to Social Security, but the massive retirement and disability program still faces long-term financial problems from an aging population and an economy that has been slow to rebound.
Those problems are getting new attention Friday as the trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare release their annual reports on the programs’ finances.
Medicare is in worse shape than Social Security because it is also being hit by rising health care costs. But both programs will become insolvent in the coming decades, unless Congress acts, according to the trustees.
Social Security deficits now 'permanent'
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Social Security will run a permanent yearly deficit when looking at the program’s tax revenues compared to what it must pay out in benefits, the program’s trustees said Friday in a report that found both the outlook for Social Security and Medicare, the two major federal social safety-net programs, have worsened over the last year.
Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is now slated to run out of money in 2024, or five years earlier than last year’s projection, while Social Security’s trust fund will be exhausted by 2036, a year earlier than the prior projection.
La. spillway opens; towns await floodwater
By Mary Foster and Melinda Deslatte - WashingtonTimes.com
MORGANZA, La. (AP) — Over the next few days, water spewing through a MississippiRiver floodgate will crawl through the swamps of Louisiana’s Cajun country, chasing people and animals to higher ground while leaving much of the land under 10 to 20 feet of brown muck.
The floodgate was opened Saturday for the first time in nearly four decades, the water shooting out like a cataract and spraying 6 feet into the air. Fish jumped or were hurled through the white froth, and what was dry land soon turned into a raging channel.
The water will flow 20 miles south into the Atchafalaya Basin, and from there it will roll on to Morgan City, an oil-and-seafood hub of 12,000 people.
As Mississippi River water creeps closer, residents warned: Get out
The Morganza floodgate was opened Saturday for the first time in nearly four decades, shooting out like a waterfall, spraying 6 feet into the air. Fish jumped or were hurled through the white froth, and what was dry land soon turned into a raging channel.
From the Associated Press - LATimes.com
KROTZ SPRINGS, La.— Deputies warned people Sunday to get out as Mississippi River water gushing from a floodgate for the first time in four decades crept ever closer to communities in Louisiana Cajun country, slowly filling a river basin like a giant bathtub.
Most residents heeded the warnings and headed for higher ground, even in places where there hasn't been so much as a trickle, hopeful that the flooding engineered to protect New Orleans and Baton Rouge would be merciful to their way of life.
Dividing And Conquering America At The New Madrid Fault The Plan to Divide and Conquer America At the New Madrid Fault;
And How We Can Remain Free From the Crisis Engineers
by Nicholas West and Zen Gardner - Before It's News
The Powers-That-Be seem to be ramping-up efforts to drive a stake right into America's heart(land). Natural disasters are on the rise, and an increasing amount of evidence is leading to the conclusion that these natural disasters might not be completely natural.
Some already have speculated that we are entering a time of weather and earthquake wars, as the incidence of mega disasters has risen across the world. Is government experimentation simply going awry, or is it being orchestrated on purpose? Are they hiding behind or even amplifying current natural earth changes such as the strong solar cycle and the on-going magnetic pole shift to accomplish some furtive plot?
The Coming Euro Crack-Up A currency divided against itself cannot stand.
BY IRWIN M. STELZER - The WeeklyStandard.com
A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of the disintegration of the eurozone. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcize this spectre: German chancellor and French president, the Brussels eurocracy and the bonus-laden bankers. Let the ruling classes tremble. The debtors have nothing to lose but their burdens.
So Karl Marx might have written were he watching unfolding events in the eurozone. In a sense, it is like watching a slow-motion train wreck.
Tens of thousands march in Spain to protest
against austerity measures, banks, politicians
By Associated Press - WashingtonPost.com
MADRID - Tens of thousands of students, social groups and unemployed Spaniards rallied in more than 50 cities on Sunday to protest against government austerity measures and the role banks and political parties have played in the financial crisis.
The events were organized by two activist groups under the banner of "We aren't merchandise in the hands of politicians and bank.
Blackwater's founder builds secret army for UAR
Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater's Founder
By MARK MAZZETTI and EMILY B. HAGER - NYTimes.com
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Late one night last November, a plane carrying dozens of Colombian men touched down in this glittering seaside capital. Whisked through customs by an Emirati intelligence officer, the group boarded an unmarked bus and drove roughly 20 miles to a windswept military complex in the desert sand.
The Colombians had entered the United Arab Emirates posing as construction workers. In fact, they were soldiers for a secret American-led mercenary army being built by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder ofBlackwater Worldwide, with $529 million from the oil-soaked sheikdom.
Two Other Reactors Suffer Serious Damage
By MITSURU OBE - WSJ.com
TOKYO—Substantial damage to the fuel cores at two additional reactors of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has taken place, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, further complicating the already daunting task of bringing them to a safe shutdown while avoiding the release of high levels of radioactivity. The revelation followed an acknowledgment on Thursday that a similar meltdown of the core took place at unit No. 1.
U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell resigning The former Senate majority leader, who helped seal a peace deal in Northern Ireland, spent two years trying to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
By Paul Richter and Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times
May 13, 2011, 5:35 p.m.
Reporting from Washington— Former Sen. George J. Mitchell is resigning as the Obamaadministration's special envoy for Middle East peace after a two-year effort failed to advance Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, White House officials said.
Mitchell, acclaimed for his success in sealing a peace deal in Northern Ireland, began this mission optimistically but recently came to the conclusion that serious negotiations were a distant prospect and there was no need for him to continue, associates said. He had not visited the region since December.
ARABS MARCH ON ISRAEL
By John Hinderaker - PowerLineBlog.com
Today was the "Nakba" (or "catastrophe") Day, when Palestinians and other Arabs mourn Israel's victory in the 1948 war. The catastrophe, of course, was that Israel won. Nakba Day is an annual event, but today the Arabs tried a new strategy. Demonstrators marched on Israel from all directions, in a coordinated assault:
Mobilized by calls on Facebook, thousands of Arab protesters marched on Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, sparking clashes that left at least 15 people dead in an annual Palestinian mourning ritual marking the anniversary of Israel's birth.
Deadly violence in Israel, Syria and Lebanon
as Palestinians mark Nakba
Roula Hajjar in Beirut - LATimes.com
Bloody face-offs between Israeli Defense Forces and hundreds of protesters on the 63rd commemoration of the Nakba, which marks the displacement of Palestinians with the creation of Israel in 1948, has left at least eight people dead and dozens wounded, according to Reuters, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV (link in Persian) and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Demonstrations erupted along Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon, as well as in Israel and the Palestinian territories.Palestinian refugees from the Yarmuk camp in Damascus as well as several other camps clashed with the Israeli military in Majdal Shams, near the disputed Golan Heights.
Israeli border clashes kill 15 on Palestinian protest day Israeli soldiers open fire on throngs of Palestinian refugees and protesters as they attempt to cross Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in bitter remembrance of the Palestinians' displacement with the founding of Israel.
By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Jerusalem -Israeli soldiers opened fire Sunday on throngs of Palestinian refugees and protesters as they attempted to cross Israel's tightly secured borders with Syria, Lebanon and theGaza Strip, killing as many as 15 people and wounding scores of others, officials said.
The border clashes took place on what Palestinians call Nakba Day, the Arabic word for "catastrophe," which commemorates Israel's 1948 founding and the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians, many of whom now live in Lebanon and Syria. The day included mostly peaceful demonstrations in the West Bank but also violent clashes between police and rock-throwing youths around Jerusalem.
Silver bull market is far from over, could reach $250
Peter Krauth
BALTIMORE, USA (Commodity Online): Silver prices may have fallen sharply and several high-profile investors, such as George Soros, John Burbank and Eric Sprott have taken profits of the table and selling. But this isn't the end of the silver bull market,according to global commodities expert Peter Krauth, who recommended silver to investors way back when it was selling for $19.40 last August, the silver bull market has a long way to run before it tops out.
In fact, Krauth has gone on record saying that silver prices could reach as high as $250 per ounce before the silver bull finally stops running. That's a far cry from today’s silver prices. And it could mean major gains are in store for those who know how to play the silver bull in coming weeks, Krauth said.
Metals shake off weakness as dollar falls
By Claudia Assis and Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Precious metals pared their losses Thursday, with gold ending higher and silver trimming its slide as the U.S. dollar turned lower against other major currencies.
Silver for July delivery SIN11 -0.03% retreated 72 cents to $34.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal had tumbled 7.7% in the previous session.
Gold for June delivery GCM11 -0.17% added $5.40, or 0.4%, to end at $1,506.80 an ounce.
The Hunt Brothers – and More Again on Silver
Published by Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortal.com
First, a May 10 article titled 'Silver rally of 1980's and how Hunt ultimately went bankrupt' – reading time 4 minutes – summarizes the story of the Hunt Brothers attempt to 'corner' the silver market in 1979 – 1980. Interesting reading if you do not know the story, and if you don't, I suggest you read this article. In the end the author thinks the reason for last week's approximate 30% drop in the silver price was based on Comex's margin increases, but that the reasoning behind the Comex's decisions last week are different that the reasoning behind the Comex's moves in 1979 – 1980 that ultimately led to Bunker Hunt declaring bankruptcy in 1988. The author expects the price of silver to increase after the 'summer doldrums', but thinks that "there will be a time in the next few months when silver will be a bargain".
Jim Rogers Interview with RTAmerica 10 May 201
Market Sentiment Reaching Extreme Levels for Gold & SP500
BY CHRIS VERMEULEN - FinancialSense.com
This week we are seeing fear across the board from traders and investors as they dump their long positions in stocks and commodities. Just in the past two trading sessions alone we have seen extreme overbought conditions and extreme oversold conditions which generally mean another big move is brewing…
Fear (panic selling) has very distinct characteristics when looking at the intraday charts and we are seeing those price and volume patterns forming now. When waves of buying and panic selling start to take place back to back, I start to prepare for a trading setup which should form within a couple of trading sessions.
Dollar reverses earlier advance vs. euro Currencies follow commodities, stocks as clues for risk appetite
By William L. Watts and Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - The U.S. dollar turned lower Thursday, after hitting its highest level against the euro in more than six weeks, as commodities strengthened, turning equities higher and reducing the greenback’s appeal against riskier assets.
The euro's recovery against the dollar was "perhaps not too surprising given that oil has turned positive on the day," said analysts at Action Economics.
The dollar index DXY +0.16% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, slipped to 75.199, after rising as high as 75.645, compared with 75.259 late Wednesday.
What a Hamburger Can Teach Us About the Coming Dollar Collapse
BY JERRY ROBINSON - FinancialSense.com
Today, the world is consuming more than 86 million barrels of oil each day. And with each barrel of oil sold, more demand for U.S. dollars is created. What kind of effect do you think that this consistent demand for the U.S. dollar has on the U.S. economy? Based upon the benefits I have described in my last piece, we can probably agree that the effect is much more positive than negative.
How does this juicy hamburger explain how the U.S. Dollar will collapse?
To better understand the power of the petrodollar system and how it greatly benefits the U.S., I often use an illustration.
Let's say that you own a hamburger stand in your city. If you had the choice, would you want only people in your city to know about your burgers? Or would you prefer that the entire state know about your amazing burgers?
Europe's Financial Crisis - a World Changer!
By Brad MacDonald - TheTrumpet.com
It is easy to overlook the financial crisis rocking Europe. To let it be eclipsed by other seemingly more pressing crises, such as the devastating weather striking the United States, the food crisis and the rocketing price of oil, the quake and nuclear crisis in Japan, or the violent and transformative uprisings that have swept through North Africa and the Middle East.
This would be a mistake.
Ultimately, Europe’s financial crisis will revolutionize Europe - and even the world!
It was almost exactly 12 months ago that Greece - laden with debt, its economy seizing - accepted a €110 billion bailout from the European Union. Led by EU heavyweight Germany, Greece’s European counterparts hoped the bailout would help Athens pay its bills, kick-start the economy and restore investor confidence in Greece. Most importantly, Europe’s leaders hoped to prevent the crisis from spreading to other heavily indebted eurozone economies. Within months, those hopes were dashed. Since May 2010, both Ireland and Portugal have been given bailouts, while other countries, including Spain, remain precarious.
With the Dollar in Turmoil, Two Debates on Gold Captivate Manhattan A Billionaire Likens America's Fiat Money
To Double-Ply Toilet Paper
By DAVID PIETRUSZA - NYSun.com
NEW YORK — The double-header may be an endangered species in baseball, but a double-header of a different sort last night swept Manhattan, where nearly 1,000 people swarmed into an auditorium on the Upper West Side to hear luminaries debate the question of the gold standard and across town a packed auditorium heard a billionaire investor liken fiat paper currencies, including America’s, to toilet paper.
For the gold standard in the packed debate were one of the city’s most celebrated journalists, James Grant of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, and a former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Reagan, David Stockman. Against were a member of GMO's asset allocation team, Edward Chancellor, and Richard Sylla, a professor of economics at New York University.
Dollar in graver danger than the euro
By Axel Merk - FT.com - $$
[for free access, copy & paste title into Google search]
Imagine a country that spends and prints trillions to patch up any problem.
Now imagine another country where there is no central Treasury, meaning that bail-outs are less easy, and which has a central bank that has mopped up liquidity over the past year, rather than engage in quantitative easing.
Why does it surprise anyone that the latter, the eurozone, has a stronger currency than the former, the US? Because of peripheral countries’ debt refinancing issues? And the potential for contagion? These are real and serious issues, but in our assessment, they should be primarily priced into the spreads of eurozone bonds, not the euro itself.
Inflation should not be a problem for US, Canada;
Gold prices to rise
Dundee's Murenbeeld - CommodityOnline.com
New York (Kitco News) - Gold should reach an average price of $1,675 an ounce by the end of 2012, inflation should not be a problem for the U.S. and Canada, but will be persistent in China, according to a leading Canadian economist.
Martin Murenbeeld, chief economist for DundeeWealth Economics, said his firm sees an average price of gold at $1,515 in 2011, rising to the $1,675 level by the end of 2012. Dundee's projections are based on a model that uses different scenarios. In one scenario, he said, Dundee examines all the forces that will be negative to gold.
Macro Confusion: Inflation, Commodities, and the Fed
Mises Daily: by Kel Kelly
A recent discussion regarding commodity prices on CNBC consisted virtually of sentence-by-sentence errors with respect to macroeconomic theory. Most of the misstatements involve either accidentally or intentionally — I don't know which — attributing economic and financial market events to various incorrect or misleading cause-and-effect scenarios, when the real explanation is simply the government's creation of money and credit.
Regrettably, these errors are not restricted to the CNBC commentators and guests in the segment in question, but in fact are characteristic of economic misunderstanding generally. Therefore, I offer the following as a step-by-step clarification of these issues, so that readers can gain a clearer understanding of both the truth and the misconceptions.
Will Firms Soon Pass on Inflation to Consumers?
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
One of the most controversial questions in economics right now is whether or not we're in for a high rate of inflation in the U.S. The Federal Reserve took unprecedented measures to provide monetary stimulus over the past couple of years. It says that it can reduce monetary supply effectively to avoid high inflation, but some critics remain unconvinced.
Those interested in this question likely pay some attention to the government reports that come out each month on inflation. There are two major metrics: the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index. In theory, the two should be connected. If prices are rising for producers, eventually they'll have to pass that inflation on to consumers. If they don't, then eventually their costs will overtake their revenue.
Keiser Report: Top Down Tyranny (E146)
Treasury Auctions To Take US Over Debt Ceiling On Monday
By Jeffrey Sparshott and Jeff Bater, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Treasury Department auctioned $56 billion in new debt Tuesday and Wednesday, enough to take the U.S. over its federal debt ceiling when the three- and 10-year notes settle on Monday.
Treasury officials last month flagged May 16 as the day the government would hit the $14.294 trillion debt limit.
The U.S. is selling $72 billion in new debt over three days this week. The Treasury auctioned $32 billion in three-year notes Tuesday and $24 billion in 10-year notes Wednesday, and will sell $16 billion in 30-year bonds Thursday. All of the auctions will settle Monday.
Hedge funds prepare for end of QE2
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
LAS VEGAS (MarketWatch) - Some of the world’s top hedge-fund managers said Wednesday that they’re preparing for the end of the Federal Reserve’s latest round of government bond purchases, known as QE2.
Lee Ainslie, head of Maverick Capital, said risk isn't being properly priced in the stock market, partly because of QE2.
"It will be interesting to see what happens when QE2 disappears - to have such a big, active participant withdraw," Ainslie said during the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference in Las Vegas.
"We're more focused on how that will impact individual stocks," he said.
Why Growth is Dead Time to Prepare for the Coming Rout
BY CHRIS MARTENSON PHD - FinancialSense.com
Time to Prepare for the Coming Rout
The end of the second round of quantitative easing (QE II) is going to be a complete disaster for the paper markets -- specifically commodities, stocks, and then finally bonds, in that order, with losses of 20% to 50% by the end of October. The only thing that will arrest the plunge will be QE III, although we should remain alert to the likelihood that it will be named something else in an attempt to obscure what it really is. Perhaps it will be known as the "Muni Asset Trust Term Liquidity Facility" or the "American Prime Purchase Program," but whatever it is called, it will involve hundreds of billions of thin-air dollars being printed and dumped into the financial system.
Fed will have to act sooner, top forecasters say Girard, Sharif think inflation is sneaking up on Bernanke
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy is operating far below its potential, but the huge output gap doesn't mean that inflation is contained, according to two top economic forecasters, who believe the Federal Reserve will be forced to tighten monetary policy sooner rather than later.
Despite the headwinds from high gas prices and the earthquake-related supply kinks, "the economy is on solid footing," said Michelle Girard, senior economist for RBS Securities. "The Fed is not yet behind the curve," added her colleague, Omair Sharif. "I'm surprised they are as sanguine as they are about inflation. Core inflation is moving up pretty sharply this quarter."
WHAT CROSS-COUNTRY EVIDENCE
TELLS US ABOUT THE FEDERAL DEBT
by John Hinderaker - PowerlineBlog.com
Earlier today, the Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee released a report titled Spending Cuts And Economic Growth: What Does The Cross- Country Empirical Evidence Show? The report represents a significant contribution to the debate now raging over the federal debt crisis. Among other things, it analyzes the experience of countries that are ahead of the U.S. on the debt curve to see what has worked and what hasn't.
The staff report should be studied in full, but here are a few highlights. First, a summary of the conclusions:
The federal debt held by the public has doubled, in nominal terms, in less than four years. It now stands at over 62 percent of GDP, the highest level since 1951. What costs does this place on our economy? With our fragile economy still suffering high unemployment, can we risk attempting to slow the accumulation of more debt by reducing government spending? This paper examines these questions by surveying the available literature and empirical evidence regarding the economic effects of government debt and spending reductions on economic growth.
Gerald Celente Predicts Ron Paul Can Win In 2012
Cuomo And Geithner Skated
Investors.com
Subprime Scandal: The left is unhappy that no high-profile bankers have gone to jail in the financial crisis. But the real culprits were - and still are - in Washington. They've gotten off scot-free.
A growing chorus is complaining that federal prosecutors have dragged their feet in the aftermath of the mortgage mess. Despite a raft of referrals against financial giants alleging securities fraud and "predatory lending," no senior bank executives have been charged or imprisoned.
The media elite demand to know why it is that almost three years after the meltdown, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, ex-AIG CEO Hank Greenberg and other Wall Street honchos aren't rotting behind bars.
Why Don't We Hear About Soros' Ties
to Over 30 Major News Organizations?
By Dan Gainor - FOXNews.com
When liberal investor George Soros gave $1.8 million to National Public Radio , it became part of the firestorm of controversy that jeopardized NPR’s federal funding. But that gift only hints at the widespread influence the controversial billionaire has on the mainstream media. Soros, who spent $27 million trying to defeat President Bush in 2004, has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets – including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC.
Prominent journalists like ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and former Washington Post editor and now Vice President Len Downie serve on boards of operations that take Soros cash. This despite the Society of Professional Journalists' ethical code stating: "avoid all conflicts real or perceived."
IRS TO TAX THE PURCHASE OF POLITICAL POWE
THROUGH NONPROFITS
- ARK - Truthdig.com Clandestine political financiers such as David H. Koch, who along with his brother Charles has bankrolled the tea party movement, may soon be hit with "gift taxes" for each donation to nonprofit political advocacy groups. The Internal Revenue Service has been able to tax such contributions since 1982, but it has rarely happened, The New York Times reports. The groups - so-called 501(c)(4) nonprofits - are forbidden to act for primarily political purposes.
The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling opened the way for a virtually endless flood of corporate campaign funds. While the active role that IRS officials have now decided to play is welcome, it can only address a small portion of the nation's profound campaign finance problem. Billionaire George Soros, a leading donor to progressive causes, may also be affected by the IRS decision. —ARK
The New York Times:
These groups have been drawing more and more criticism, from President Obama as well as others, as they have proliferated and funneled vast sums of money in support of campaigns and causes, without having to publicly disclose their donors. During the midterm cycle, for example, groups like Crossroads GPS, which has ties to the Republican strategist Karl Rove, and Americans for Prosperity, backed by Mr. Koch and his brother Charles, were heavily involved in politicking, spurring campaign finance watchdogs to complain that they were largely unregulated and flouting election and nonprofit laws
Sons of Blackwater Open Corporate Spying Shop
By Spencer Ackerman - Wired.com
Veterans from the most infamous private security firm on Earth and one of the military's most controversial datamining operations are teaming up to provide the Fortune 500 with their own private spies.
Take one part Blackwater, and another part Able Danger, the military data-mining op that claimed to have identified members of al-Qaida living in the United States before 9/11. Put 'em together, and you've got a new company called Jellyfish.
Jellyfish is about corporate-information dominance. It swears it’s leaving all the spy-world baggage behind. No guns, no governments digging through private records of its citizens.
"Our organization is not going to be controversial," pledges Keith Mahoney, the Jellyfish CEO, a former Navy officer and senior executive with Blackwater’s intelligence arm, Total Intelligence Solutions. Try not to make a joke about corporate mercenaries.
DoJ Heat Could Bring Down Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Blankfein
StreetInsider.com
Shares of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) were under heavy pressure Thursday after banking analyst Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities told clients to sell the stock amid concerns of a Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation.
Now speculation is mounting about the fate of CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
Banking regulators and Senate Democrats
warn against repeal of financial reform law
By Jim Puzzanghera - LATimes.com
Key banking regulators and Senate Democrats warned against Republican efforts to repeal all or some provisions of the Wall Street reform law enacted last year, saying the country couldn't afford to return to a system that failed to stop the financial crisis.
"It would be very harmful to repeal it,'' Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. "There were some very highly important and constructive improvements in the law."
Roth IRAs: Safety in Numbers?
By Megan McArdle - TheAtlantic.com
Last month, I discussed why I'm not as excited about Roth IRAs as many people who write about consumer finance: I don't believe that the government is ultimately going to be able to keep it's hands off a pretty big pot of money. Getting a tax break now in your 401(k) or traditional IRA is guaranteed; getting a tax break in the future is not.
Jennifer Kowal, a law professor at Loyola, disagreed:
Washington might be tempted to look for additional revenue in 401(k)s and IRAs, which make up 40% of the stock market's trillions in value, but it's extremely unlikely that Congress will go after Roth IRAs. This would obviously be unfair to those who made the choice to lock up their money under the promise that future earnings would be tax free.
The Incredible Shrinking Recovery
By Peter Ferrara - The American Spectator.org
There was President Obama at a recent fundraiser telling his star-struck enablers, look at me, after just two and a half years, I got the economy growing again. He didn't tell them that the pitiful 1.7% annualized real growth rate in the first quarter compares to 7.1% annualized real growth at the same point in President Reagan's recovery.
Over the first 7 quarters of the Reagan recovery, the economy boomed at a real growth rate of 7.1%. Over the first 7 quarters of the Obama recovery, the economy stumbled along at a real growth rate of 2.8%, less than half as much, less than 40% as much actually.
Subprime Debacle 2.0
GuruFocus.com
By now, most agree that the real estate crisis that precipitated the credit crunch and current economic malaise resulted from two things: Improper lending standards and unrealistic expectations. Sadly, in the midst of the worst economic downturn and, of course, just before an election year, it looks as if the government is going back to its old, and by now disproven, playbook: subprime lending.
"The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires banks to make loans in all the areas they serve, not just the wealthy ones... At the Justice Dept., a new 20-person unit dedicated to fair lending issues received a record number of discrimination referrals from regulators in 2010 and has dozens of open cases, according to a recent agency report. Potential penalties can reach into the millions of dollars. "We are using every tool in our arsenal to combat lending discrimination," Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Div., told a conference of community development advocates in Washington in April."
Will the Courts Wreck Health Care?
By E.J. Dionne, Jr. - Truthdig.com
As if our political system was not having enough trouble already, we now confront the possibility that a highly partisan judiciary will undo a modest health care reform that is a first step toward resolving a slew of other difficulties.
As you watch the suits against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act work their way through the courts, consider that what you are really seeing is a great republic tying itself into as many knots as possible to avoid facing up to a challenge that every other wealthy capitalist democracy in the world has met.
Yes, all the others have decided that it’s both more just and more efficient for all its citizens to have health insurance. Countries do this in different ways. Some rely primarily on government, others on a mix of private and public resources. But given the costs of health care, even the most conservative governments have concluded that the public sector has to play a large role in its provision.
Mitt Romney acknowledges his healthcare dilemma He says the healthcare law he promoted as Massachusetts governor — a model for President Obama's overhaul — has become a liability for him as he seeks the Republican presidential nomination. But he won't disown or apologize for it.
By Paul West, Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
Reporting from Ann Arbor, Mich. - Tackling an issue that poses a serious threat to his presidential ambitions, Mitt Romney acknowledged Thursday that the landmark healthcare law he promoted and signed as Massachusetts governor had become a liability for him.
"I hear some laughter in the room," Romney remarked after he said that he had regarded his Massachusetts plan as a political asset in his 2008 presidential run.
"That's not the case now," he added. "It's gone from being seen as an asset to being a liability, politically."
CreditKarma: Hawaii's April credit card debt averaged $7,400
Pacific Business News
Hawaii residents lowered their credit card debt by an average of $266 in April, according to consumer credit advocate CreditKarma.com.
Hawaii residents' average credit card debt was $7,400 last month, down from March's average debt of $7,666 and April 2010’s average of $9,105.
The Endless Sufferings of Cairo, Illinois
Mises Daily: by Dave Albin
Recently, the US Army Corps of Engineers decided to blow up an earthen levee on the Mississippi River to attempt to save the town of Cairo, Illinois, from flooding. In doing so, the Corps spared the town of nearly 3,000 — while flooding 200 square miles of farmland just in time to either prevent planting new crops or harvesting crops already there, and destroying as many as 100 homes. Perhaps even more difficult to comprehend than this disregard for private property (several farmers and the State of Missouri had waged a legal war to stop the detonation, and apparently had lost) is the fact that this choice had to be made in the first place.
Why was this town, surrounded by levees to keep the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers out, in need of state intervention to be saved? The history of Cairo is not only fascinating, but it tells the tale of abundant state intervention and its long-term intended and unintended effects.
The Patriot Act Is at War with the Constitution
By Bruce Fein - CampaignForLiberty.com
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Campaign for Liberty about the USA Patriot Act. Provoked largely by the gruesome abominations of 9/11, the legislation was born of fear and uncertainty from abroad. Fear, however, is the fount of tyranny. James Madison, father of the Constitution, warned centuries ago in opposing the tyrannical Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798: "Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions against danger real or pretended from abroad." At the constitutional convention of 1787, Madison similarly recognized the inclination of government to wave a banner of foreign danger to excuse the destaruction of domestic liberties: "The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people."
Bruce Fein - Recapping "Patriot Act:
Dispelling the Myths" - 05/11/11
Fukushima's first reactor melts down completely
Pravd.ru
The fuel rods of the first reactor of Japan's troubled Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant have melted down completely. The total meltdown took place because the rods were not covered with water fully.
To all appearance, the melted mass is currently resting on the bottom of the reactor, under the water. The mass is being cooled, TEPCO officials said Thursday.
TEPCO acknowledged the total meltdown of nuclear fuel in one of the three damaged reactors of Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. The biggest danger now is the possibility of hydrogen explosion inside the reactor. However, both the operation of the nuclear plant and experts evaluate the danger as insignificant.
The Alex Jones Show:
The Globalist are Conquering Us Via Mexico! 1/2
The Alex Jones Show:
The Globalist are Conquering Us Via Mexico! 1/2
Nato air strikes hit Gaddafi compound in Tripoli again Attack comes a few hours after Libyan leader makes his first public appearance since death of son
By Martin Chulov Tripoli - Guardian.co.uk
Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli has been hit by Nato rockets again, a few hours after the veteran autocrat appeared in public for the first time in almost two weeks.
Gaddafi was shown on state television in a traditional brown robe addressing tribal leaders, whom he empowered to speak on behalf of a nation he has ruled with absolute power for almost 42 years.
The labyrinthine complex in the heart of the capital was struck at around 3am with five bombs and rockets that appeared to target military installations and bunkers.
SYRIA: In Damascus, dreams of a revolution amid fears of defeat
-- A special correspondent in Damascus - LATimes.com
She is a young Syrian who works as a schoolteacher and is one of those here who still has high hopes that the wave of anti-government protests that have rocked Syria for the last two months will succeed and overthrow the system.
"There will be a long hot summer culminating in the victory of the revolution," says the woman as she puffs on a cigarette, her eyes glued to the TV screen. "Before the fall, we will be able to walk our streets again and see the change that we're fighting for with our own eyes."
Meet the System That Will Collapse the U.S. Dollar (Part 1)
BY JERRY ROBINSON - FinancialSense.com
Over the last few articles, I have explained the reality of peak oil. However, this is just one factor of America’s looming energy crisis. Another major component that is vital to understand is something known as the breakdown of the Petrodollar system. Today, I will begin explaining exactly what this system and why you should understand it.
In the early 1970’s, the international gold standard had collapsed, and America was beginning to live far beyond its means. And despite facing unemployment and inflation, America displayed few signs of the kind of fiscal discipline that could prevent future complications. But just like today, fixing the root of the problem was not the concern of Washington. Instead, the primary concern of those governing America was how to maintain its position of economic dominance on the global stage. In order to ensure continued hegemonic power and thereby preserve an increasing demand for the dollar, Washington needed a plan. That plan came in the form of the petrodollar system.
Keiser Report: Economic Euthanasia (E145)
Bullish on gold and silver; dollar is doomed.
America Is Rapidly Bleeding Wealth And Jobs: 28 Statistics About The Gutting Of The U.S. Economy
That Will Blow Your Mind
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Red alert! Over 40 billion dollars of America's national wealth is being shipped out of the country every single month. Our economy is being gutted and we are bleeding wealth and we are bleeding jobs. This is a distress call. Is anyone listening? Thousands of our factories and millions of our jobs are being shipped overseas. Over the past decade over 6 trillion dollars have been transferred into the hands of foreigners. Our national government is so broke that they constantly have to go and beg those foreigners to lend us back some of that money in order to finance our exploding debt. The number of good jobs continues to decline and there are millions upon millions of my countrymen that are unemployed. Can anybody help us? Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
A Recession is Coming But Not Yet
BY JEFF RUBIN - FinancialSense.com
There will be many dress rehearsals in commodity markets before the next global recession. An example is last week’s dramatic and broad-based sell off that took oil prices for over a $10/barrel tumble. And there is no doubt that despite the scarcity of the resource, the price of oil will crash the next time the global economy sewers.
But is that time already upon us? If the monetary authorities in China and India continue to hike interest rates at the pace they have set recently, the next global recession may not be that far off. After all, these economies are today’s global economic growth engines. But when push comes to shove, the political masters of those central banks may soon temper their enthusiasm so they can battle inflation.
Special Report on World Corruption
By David Smith, Economywatch - OilPrice.com
Iraq and Afghanistan sit near the top of a list of the world’s most corrupt nations despite years of occupation by Anglo-American forces and more than $1 trillion of US taxpayers’ money having been spent on the two nations since 2001.
The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from the Berlin-based watchdog rated Somalia, with a score of 1.1 out of 10, as the world’s most corrupt nation, closely followed by Afghanistan and Myanmar with scores of 1.4, and Iraq on 1.5. The least corrupt were New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark, on 9.3 (See table attached).
"Unstable governments with a history of conflict dominate the bottom rungs of the list," said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.
How Perpetual War Became U.S. Ideology Since the last realist president, George H.W. Bush, left office, two groups - neoconservatives and liberal interventionists - have overtaken American foreign policy
By James Joyner - TheAtlantic.com
The United States has found itself in a seemingly endless series of wars over the past two decades. Despite frequent opposition by the party not controlling the presidency and often that of the American public, the foreign policy elite operates on a consensus that routinely leads to the use of military power to solve international crises.
Ideological Domination
Neoconservatives of both parties urge war to spread American ideals, seeing it as the duty of a great nation. Liberal interventionists see individuals, not states, as the key global actor and have deemed a Responsibility to Protect those in danger from their own governments, particularly when an international consensus to intervene can be forged. Traditional Realists, meanwhile, initially reject most interventions but are frequently drawn in by arguments that the national interest will be put at risk if the situation spirals out of control.
The dollar: Not so dead yet, after all Finally, the dollar is getting a bounce. But will it last?
By Tom Petruno - LATimes.com
The battered greenback rallied against a host of other currencies on Wednesday, reacting in part to renewed fears that Greece’s debt woes could trigger a new financial crisis in Europe.
The euro slid to $1.420, a six-week low and down 1.4% from $1.441 on Tuesday.
The DXY index (charted below), which measures the dollar’s value against the euro and five other major currencies, rose 0.9% to 75.31, its highest level since April 18. The index has rebounded 3.3% since reaching a 33-month low on April 29.
Schenker Sees Gold, Silver Rising on Central Bank Buying
[video embedding disabled by Bloomberg]
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics, talks about the outlook for gold and silver prices. Schenker also discusses industrial metals. He speaks with Matt Miller and Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart."
Forbes Predicts U.S. Gold Standard Within 5 Years
by Paul Dykewicz - Forbes.com
A return to the gold standard by the United States within the next five years now seems likely, because that move would help the nation solve a variety of economic, fiscal, and monetary ills, Steve Forbes predicted during an exclusive interview this week with HUMAN EVENTS.
"What seems astonishing today could become conventional wisdom in a short period of time," Forbes said.
Such a move would help to stabilize the value of the dollar, restore confidence among foreign investors in U.S. government bonds, and discourage reckless federal spending, the media mogul and former presidential candidate said. The United States used gold as the basis for valuing the U.S. dollar successfully for roughly 180 years before President Richard Nixon embarked upon an experiment to end the practice in the 1970s that has contributed to a number of woes that the country is suffering from now, Forbes added.
Is the Commodities Bull Market Over?
By Alice Briggs - Economywatch - OilPrice.com
No sooner had we breathlessly reported April’s record highs for gold and silver, at over $1,500 and close to $50 per troy ounce respectively, than commodities stage a ‘flash crash’, startling investors and traders alike. Last week silver slumped to below $35 and even gold lost 3.6%.??
The oil benchmark, Brent Crude, recorded its biggest ever one-day fall, dropping further to?$105.15 a barrel and other commodities including copper, sugar, cotton and cocoa were dragged down in their wake. Oil’s sell-off may have been prompted by Thursday’s poor economic data from Europe and the US, together with evidence of monetary tightening in emerging economies, hurting speculators who had hoped to benefit from rising inflation and a weaker dollar.
Hedge Fund Gurus Split on Gold’s Future Following the 'smart' money can be tough
By Tom Taulli, InvestorPlace Writer
It takes a long time to analyze an investment. So why not copy the picks from the world’s best money managers? In fact, this is fairly easy to do since the Securities and Exchange Commission mandated the disclosure of portfolios of big hedge fund operators.
But what happens if two renowned investors are in disagreement? That’s a tough call. You might have to do your own analysis, right?
Let’s take an example: gold. Over the past few years, several top money managers have been long on the precious metal, and it has made them even richer.
BOB CHAPMAN - 9/MAY/2011 -
HONG KONG TAKING OVER FROM COMEX (1/3)
BOB CHAPMAN - 9/MAY/2011 -
HONG KONG TAKING OVER FROM COMEX (2/3)
BOB CHAPMAN - 9/MAY/2011 -
HONG KONG TAKING OVER FROM COMEX (3/3)
"The years from 1929 to 1933 were, for America, a succession of breaking idols and abandoned faiths, some of them the notions of willful children, some deeply ingrained in the character of the nation ... By agreement with the Government, Banks placed an artificial value upon certain securities they held. Those who did not know of the agreement assumed that the values were actual." Gilbert Vivian Seldes, The Years of the Locust: America 1929-1932, Little, Brown, and Co (1933)
A determined bear raid on silver took it down hard. I was grateful that I had taken profits and fully hedged my positions into Friday close because I was concerned about another sneak attack by the trapped princes of paper.
What next? I think the metals are correlated with equities here, despite the shenanigans. So we will have to see if this will continue or just resume as the important June delivery period draws closer.
Silver is investor's litmus test now
By Jared Levy
Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you probably know that silver has had a major correction over the past week. The precious metal plummeted about 30% from a high of almost $50 an ounce to less than $35 yesterday. This six-day drop is one of the largest since 1983.
Silver has given back just about all of its gains for the past month and some traders are thinking it might be time to get long. But before you run and buy silver, there are a couple things to consider.
Forces That Move Silver
The U.S. Dollar
Oil Drops Below $100 as U.S. Supplies Surge
By Mark Shen - Bloomberg.com
Oil fell below $100 a barrel in New York and gasoline tumbled the most in more than two years after an Energy Department report showed that U.S. supplies surged and fuel demand slipped.
Crude dropped 5.5 percent after the department said stockpiles jumped 3.78 million barrels to 370.3 million last week. Gasoline inventories unexpectedly increased 1.28 million barrels to 205.8 million, the first gain in 12 weeks. Total fuel consumption declined 0.9 percent to 18.2 million barrels a day, the lowest level since June 2009.
Atlanta the No. 3 gas guzzler America's Biggest (And Least) Gas-Guzzling Cities
By Christopher Helman, Forbes.com
High gasoline prices are sure something to complain about. Nationwide the current average price is $3.98 per gallon. That’s up more than a buck from a year ago, and within spitting distance of the record $4.11 average set in 2008.
Faced with the prospect of spending $60 to fill up the tank, it’s little surprise that AAA says it’s getting a lot more calls from motorists who have run out of gas. Yet despite soaring prices, demand for gasoline has stayed strong, down just 2% from a year ago to 382 million gallons–or $1.5 billion–per day.
The People vs. Goldman Sachs A Senate committee has laid out the evidence.
Now the Justice Department should bring criminal charges
By MATT TAIBBI - RollingStone.com
MAY 11, 2011 9:30 AM ET
They weren't murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers, in a few blinks of an eye. But then they went one step further. They came to Washington, took an oath before Congress, and lied about it.
Thanks to an extraordinary investigative effort by a Senate subcommittee that unilaterally decided to take up the burden the criminal justice system has repeatedly refused to shoulder, we now know exactly what Goldman Sachs executives like Lloyd Blankfein and Daniel Sparks lied about. We know exactly how they and other top Goldman executives, including David Viniar and Thomas Montag, defrauded their clients. America has been waiting for a case to bring against Wall Street. Here it is, and the evidence has been gift-wrapped and left at the doorstep of federal prosecutors, evidence that doesn't leave much doubt: Goldman Sachs should stand trial.
FDIC's Bair Says U.S. Money Funds 'Highly Unstable in a Crisis'
By Christopher Condon - Bloomberg.com
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair called money-market mutual funds "destabilizing" to the financial system and said investors would be served just as well if share prices floated.
"Money-market funds are maintaining a fiction of a stable" net-asset value, as shown by the September 2008 failure of the $62.5 billion Reserve Primary Fund, Bair said yesterday at a round-table meeting of fund-company executives and regulators arranged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington. "That is skewing investment dollars into a structure that is highly unstable in a crisis"
April Budget Deficit Totaled $40.49 Billion
By JEFF BATER - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—U.S. government revenue grew in April, but its budget deficit kept widening on mounting interest payments and entitlement spending.
The U.S. spent $40.49 billion more than it collected last month, a Treasury Department report said Wednesday.
The monthly deficit was smaller than April 2010's shortfall of $82.69 billion. Tax refunds last month fell while non-withheld tax receipts climbed.
Still, the deficit was the 31st monthly shortfall in a row. With nine months of fiscal 2011 elapsed, the government has spent $869.90 billion more than it has collected—higher than $799.68 billion for the same period a year earlier.
Bank of the Carolinas loss grows
The Business Journal - by Matt Evans
Bank of the Carolinas lost $3.4 million in the first quarter, up from $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $462,000 in the first quarter of last year, according to its earnings announcement.
The higher loss was due to a higher provision for loan losses, up from $916,000 a year ago to $2.3 million in the most recent quarter. The Mocksville-based Bank of the Carolinas (NASDAQ: BCAR) noted that the provision was down from $3.6 million in the fourth quarter.
Rajaratnam Guilty on All Counts in U.S. Insider-Trading Case
By David Glovin, Patricia Hurtado and Bob Van Voris - Bloomberg.com
Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge-fund tycoon and Galleon Group LLC co-founder at the center of a U.S. insider-trading crackdown, was found guilty of all 14 counts against him in the largest illegal stock-tipping case in a generation.
A jury of eight women and four men in Manhattan returned its verdict today after hearing evidence that Rajaratnam, 53, engaged in a seven-year conspiracy to trade on inside information from corporate executives, bankers, consultants, traders and directors of public companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) He gained $63.8 million, prosecutors said.
Immigration and Healthcare Will Shape Election 2012
by Tony Lee - HumanEvents.com
With the country in debt and its economy in shambles, President Obama and Democrats decided to pass health care reform legislation known as ObamaCare, which would enable the federal government to force people to buy insurance, which essentially greases the slippery slope to a further encroachment of liberties.
And in an area where the federal government has a duty to act -- namely enforcing immigration laws that are on the books -- the Obama Administration has looked the other way on issues concerning border security particularly along the Southern border. This prompted Arizona to pass S.B. 1070 to essentially try to enforce the immigration laws that the federal government would not.
Senate Democrats: So, Who's Up For A $2 Trillion Tax Hike?
By Email Guy Benson - TownHall.com
en. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) on Tuesday presented a budget proposal to Senate Democrats that calls for an even balance - 50 percent to 50 percent - of spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the deficit.
The emerging consensus on Capitol Hill is there should be at least $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years. To meet that goal, Congress would have to increase tax revenues by $2 trillion over the next decade with an equal amount of spending cuts.
Reid said Sen. Conrad presented to the caucus a 50-50 split when asked about the preferred ratio of spending cuts to tax increases.
House conservatives demand deficit be cut in half by next year
By Erik Wasson - TheHill.com
House conservatives want to cut the budget deficit in half next year and reduce spending by as much as $381 billion.
Leaders in the Republican Study Committee are circulating a letter to their 176 House members seeking support for a concrete set of demands that must be met in return for raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
The three demands include cutting the deficit in half, placing a ceiling on spending equal to 18 percent of gross domestic product and approval of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
Peter Schiff on RT America 10 May 2011
Home Sellers Become U.S. Lenders of Last Resort
for Credit-Damaged Buyers
By Prashant Gopal - Bloomberg.com
Sue and Douglas Reed knew no bank would give them a mortgage -- not with a bankruptcy and two foreclosures fresh in their credit history.
They turned to Hilarie Walters, whose childhood home on 15 acres (6 hectares) in Marshall, Michigan, had been on the market since 2009. The unemployed single mother of twins agreed in December to sell the property to the Reeds for $105,000. She also consented to a risky payment plan that in effect makes her the couple’s mortgage lender.
Will Ken Cuccinelli's Health-Care Challenge Be Sidelined? After Tuesday's proceedings in federal appeals court,
the case of the Virginia attorney general may be poised to fall
By Garrett Epps - TheAtlantic.com
RICHMOND, Va. -- Ken Cuccinelli brought his crusade against the federal health-care statute to Jefferson Davis's old office building Tuesday. The venerable Lewis F. Powell Jr. Courthouse in Richmond, Va., was not only the Confederate president's headquarters but also the place where a federal grand jury later indicted Davis for treason. That history made it a fitting venue for arguments that echo the state's rights and nullification ideology that spawned the Confederacy.
The argument in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is but one more skirmish in a long civil war that will almost certainly be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court early next year. Nonetheless, the combination of a panel of three Democratic appointees* and an extremely poor argument by the Commonwealth now raise the specter that when the foes of the Affordable Care Act gather for the decisive battle, Ken Cuccinelli, the littlest rebel, may be out of action.
44 Million Could Lose Medicaid Coverage Under GOP Plan
BY: BETTY ANN BOWSER - PBS News Hour
A new study released Tuesday by two nonpartisan organizations added new fuel to the debate over debt and spending when the report found that debt reduction proposals by House Republicans lawmakers could leave up to 44 million more low-income and disabled Americans without health insurance. Currently, about 45 million Americans are uninsured.
The analysis was done by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and researchers at the Urban Institute.
FEMA MISTAKE THREATENS TO PUT DISASTER SURVIVORS UNDERWATER AGAIN
--ARK - Truthdig.com
Thousands of Americans devastated by natural disasters in the last few years are being asked to return a total of more than $22 million in federal relief money accidentally given to them by FEMA. The organization is required by law to retrieve the funds, but many recipients are unable to pay.
SEC Is Pressed on Firms' Disclosures of Cyberattacks
By VICTORIA MCGRANE AND SIOBHAN GORMAN - WSJ.com
A group of U.S. lawmakers wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to push companies to disclose when they have fallen victim to cyberattacks.
Three weeks after Sony Corp. was forced to shut down its PlayStation network by hackers who stole users' information, the group, whichincludes Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, on Wednesday sent a letter to the SEC asking it to issue guidance stating that companies must report when they have suffered a major network attack and disclose details on intellectual property or trade secrets that hackers may have stolen.
Facebook Security Flaw Exposed User Accounts
By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER - WSJ.com
A security vulnerability on Facebook Inc. for years gave advertisers and other third parties a way to access users' accounts and personal information, according to security firm Symantec Corp.
But Facebook said Tuesday it had fixed the problem and found no evidence of the issue resulting in private information being leaked.
The issue, which Symantec described as accidental, centers on Facebook applications, the third-party programs that allow users to play games, shop and do other tasks on the Facebook website. In some cases, those applications shared with advertisers and analytics companies so-called access tokens, which act like spare keys (originally intended for the apps) to access or post information on a user's account, including reading wall posts, accessing a friend's profile, posting to a user's wall and mining personal information.
Robots Retrieve Books
in University of Chicago's New, Futuristic Library
By Angela Watercutter - Wired.com
If Google Books was a physical place instead of a web service, it would probably look a lot like the University of Chicago’s new library
The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, opening next week, is designed to accommodate the way people study and research today — online. The structure’s large spaces are made for computer work and have no traditional bookshelves.
Instead, the library boasts a massive underground storage area holding 3.5 million volumes on 50-foot-high shelves. The collection is managed by robotic systems that help create an environment where scholars can scour the web for hours for academic papers and still get a hard-to-find volume from the stacks.
The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library: How It Works
Delta states prepare for the worst of Mississippi River flooding Forecasters predict record-breaking river crests in Mississippi and Tennessee over the next few weeks. In Louisiana, the flood crest is expected to move slowly downstream toward New Orleans. The swollen river has already forced thousands of people along the route to seek higher ground.
By Michael Muskal - LATimes.com
The swollen Mississippi River carried its dangers of flooding and damage toward the Delta on Wednesday morning as residents in three states including Louisiana prepared for weeks of battling the river’s growing energy.
The river crested just inches below its record stage of 48.7 feet in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday. But, by Wednesday morning, the river had passed its record in Natchez, Miss., reaching 58 feet and growing, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters predict the river will crest in Natchez on May 21 at about 64 feet.
IRS gift tax move could hit new anonymous groups
By Ben Smith - Politico.com
The Internal Revenue Service appears to have begun to enforce a tax on gifts to the non-profit organizations that were a key vehicle for anonymous politics in the last five years and had promised to play a large role in the presidential cycle, a move which could reshape the place of money in politics in 2012.
"It appears that the IRS Estate and Gift Tax team has also started paying attention to 501(c)(4) organizations," a Los Angeles tax lawyer who has followed the issue closely, Ofer Lion, wrote in a memo to clients today.
Gifts to other political organizations are not taxable under federal law, and lawyers informally say many donors do not typically pay the gift tax -- which may run as high as 35%, mirroring income tax rates -- for contributions to 501(c)4s.
Clarence Thomas and the First Amendment Justice Thomas: making waves in First Amendment jurisprudence
By DAVID L. HUDSON JR. - FirstAmendmentCenter.com
Justice Clarence Thomas continues to strike his own jurisprudential path on the U.S. Supreme Court – whether it be his oft-noticed reticence at oral argument or his penchant for overruling precedent.
The Court’s ultimate originalist believes strongly in applying the original views of the Founding Fathers in interpreting the Constitution. In First Amendment law, Thomas has taken bold stances that distance him from his colleagues. Usually, in separate concurring opinions, he explains why he would overrule a leading First Amendment decision or why the Court has gone astray.
The Triumph of Technology over Government Planning
Mises Daily: by Edward Wayne Younkins
[Excerpted from Capitalism and Commerce: Conceptual Foundations of Free Enterprise (2002). Thanks to David Schatz.]
The egalitarian belief that people must be identical throughout society is wrong. Those life forms that are most alike are the lowest life forms. Man, the highest form of life, displays the most diversity and the widest individual differences. A legitimate political and economic system must be firmly based on human nature. A society of free and responsible individuals includes a diversity of tastes, values, desires, and visions of happiness.
People should have the maximum chance to select their own way of life (within the constraints of resource scarcity) according to each person's structure of desires, and without value judgments regarding the decisions made by each individual, as long as the individual does not encroach on the freedom of others to make their own life choices.
Pending Patent Bill Puts 'Global Harmonization'
Above American Innovation
by James R. Edwards, Jr. - HumanEvents.com
Congress is about to give multinational corporations such as IBM an even more outsized advantage over small businesses, independent inventors, and American innovators.
Hoping to rush legislation through while the public focuses elsewhere, mega-business's water carriers are urging potentially disruptive colleagues to "trust us" on the patent bill speeding across Capitol Hill.
Conservative activists and many Tea Partiers have read every word about Washington’s budget standoff, taxpayer dollars going to abortionists at Planned Parenthood, and Obama's involving America militarily in Libya's internal affairs. But who’s heard a word about "patent reform"?
Spying on U.S Citizens --
Uncle Sam turns his multi-billion dollar espionage network
on U.S Citizens Massive spike in domestic spy operations, over 12,000 "special ops" personnel deployed daily, 100s of thousands of secret surveillance requests rubber stamped by crooked judges, secret illegal spy operations conducted in over 75 countries and over $11 billion spent annually to cover it all up. And this is only the tip of the iceberg that the feds were willing to declassify through various Freedom of Information Requests. Much more still remains classified in the interest of National Security.
By Alexander Higgins, Contributing Writer - Activist Post
A series of previously classified documents obtained by The Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy reveals that spy operation against U.S citizens here in the homeland have spiked massively over the last year and so has the government’s cost to cover up their plethora of illegal activities.
But first a little background to explain how America has arrived to this point in the first place.
The Geography of Hate America's racist groups concentrate in certain regions -- and their presence correlates with religion, McCain votes, and poverty
By Richard Florida - TheAtlantic.com
With the death of Osama bin Laden, many believe that Al Quaeda was dealt a mortal blow. Time will tell, but as we learned from the Oklahoma City bombing and Nidal Malik Hasan's rampage at Fort Hood, we have much to fear from our own home grown extremists. And not just from "lone nuts" acting on their own.
Since 2000, the number of organized hate groups -- from white nationalists, neo-Nazis and racist skinheads to border vigilantes and black separatist organizations -- has climbed by more than 50 percent, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Their rise has been fueled by growing anxiety over jobs, immigration, racial and ethnic diversity, the election of Barack Obama as America's first black president, and the lingering economic crisis. Most of them merely espouse violent theories; some of them are stock-piling weapons and actively planning attacks.
Are You Addicted To Bad News?
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Are you addicted to bad news? Do you have an addiction to "gloom and doom"? Well, if so, then 2011 has been a banner year for you so far. There are plenty of websites out there that do nothing but track the latest doom. Some people actually seem to enjoy it when a new disaster strikes. But we shouldn't rejoice over bad news. Millions of people are deeply hurting around the world because of all of the horrible things that have happened so far this year. Tens of millions more are going to be deeply suffering soon as our world becomes increasingly unstable. It is important to tell the truth about what is going on in our world because we sure aren't getting it from the mainstream media, but we should never get to the point where we are totally addicted to the news cycle and are "hungry" for another piece of bad news to report. Our world is falling apart and that is a very sad thing. There are going to be come incredibly sad times to come. But that doesn't mean we have to be depressed. It is when things are the darkest that the greatest heroes are needed. Instead of cursing the darkness, let us all decide to be lights in the darkness.
The US Government: A Deliberate Intention to Deceive
Marti Oakley, Contributing Writer - Activist Post
Conspiracy theories: We learned how to construct them based on our governments historical and expert use of them.
I believe I first became aware of the unthinkable knowledge our own government would lie to us, when Kennedy was assassinated. And yes, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.
Until I actually attempted to read the Warren Commissions report on the presidents murder, I had believed totally the story that the government had prepared for the public; a lone gunman with ties to Russia (blah, blah, blah). It was when I got to the portion of the report that detailed Arlen Specter's "magic bullet" theory things began falling apart for me.
Zbigniew Brzezinski is... "Deeply Troubled"
Israel's New Neighbor Egypt:
Radical Nationalist President; Islamist-Dominated Parliament
By Barry Rubin - Gloria Center
Amr Moussa, probably Egypt's next president, has given a comprehensive picture of his views, a foretaste of the likely policies of someone about to become the Arab world's most powerful person. One thing he said is particularly important and shocking. Read on.
Moussa, former Egyptian foreign minister (1991-2001) and head of the Arab League until his resignation takes effect on May 15, is a figure from the Egyptian establishment and the old regime. But which aspect of the old regime: that of the centrist Husni Mubarak, the moderate Anwar al-Sadat, or the radical Arab nationalist Gamal Abd al Nasser?
Moussa is the last Nasserist. He knows that the next president must also be a populist to survive. So he will bash Israel, the United States, and the Egyptian upper class. The hope is that he will be pragmatic enough to restrict his demagoguery to rhetoric.
OBAMA READIES ANOTHER APPEAL TO MUSLIM WORLD
By KDG - Truthdig.com
In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, President Obama will address the Muslim world to herald the democratic movements that have swept the Middle East and North Africa in recent months and warn against religious extremism. Obama may deliver the speech next week from Washington, setting it apart from the widely lauded performance he gave at Cairo University in 2009 (with the hospitality of then-President Hosni Mubarak). Because the president is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu May 20, there is speculation that Obama will also discuss Israel’s relationship with Palestine.
Investors are concerned about the possibility of state default, especially for states like California, Michigan, and Illinois, just as they are concerned about possible defaults for European periphery countries like Greece, Ireland, and Portugal.
The largest states pull roughly the same economic punch as the largest European countries.
California’s economy is larger than Spain and approximately 90% the size of Italy. Michigan, despite its recent industrial decline, still has an economy larger than Greece, Portugal, or Ireland taken separately.
US states are in a dollar currency union, just like Eurozone members are in a euro one.
In addition, there are many economic, legal, and political linkages between states just as there are similar, but weaker, linkages among European countries.
Reinhart and Rogoff’s (2008, 2009) comprehensive work gives us timely reminders that Eurozone countries like Greece, Spain, Austria, and Greece have defaulted before in the 1930s and 1940s, just as some US states have.
Jim Rogers: 'US the largest debtor nation in history'
Greece concerns help propel Gold, Silver higher
(Kitco News) - Comex gold futures are climbing for the third session in a row Tuesday, as Euro-zone sovereign debt worries have taken center stage once again. On Monday, Standard & Poor's cut Greece's credit rating and investors worry that the government will be unable to meet current refinancing needs with its current bailout package.
These worries have supported both gold and silver as the precious metals arena builds solid footing after last week's sharp price pullback. Metals traders will be watching currency movements and euro-zone related headlines closely Tuesday for direction. Traders are favoring risk aversion plays, which is bullish for the gold and the U.S. dollar in the short-term, following last week's wave of commodity liquidation.
Marc Faber Gold Silver Fed Inflation Dollar USD Euro Economy
Richard Russell Didn't Like All The "Gloating"
About The Silver Crash
By Joe Weisenthal - BusinessInsider.com
Newsletter writer and general doomsayer was not happy last week.
He didn't like all the gloating over the Bin Laden death, and he didn't like all the gloating about silver (via KingWorldNews):
Then there was the incredible cheering and gloating about the fall of silver. The media and various experts were laughing and giving the "high sign" in reaction to the 30% decline in silver. The only regret seemed to be that gold didn't sink 30% along with silver. And I wondered why all the cheering over silver's decline. My conclusion was that actually very few people were "in" silver and when silver rocketed up to near 50 dollars an ounce, most investors' reactions was "sour grapes." And they grumbled, "Who were those damn buffoons who made a killing in silver over the period of only a few months?
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts
Bouncing Blythe, Sagging Dollars
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
A nice bounce, but now follow through is everything, for both the metals and the equity markets.
Short term market movements are indeed highly correlated to changes in liquidity if they are present, as even a casual observers knows.
And I would hope that most by now realize that the 'efficient markets hypothesis' is a dead duck, a propaganda piece put forward by the banksters and their demimonde.
This is the theory that the exchanges are naturally fair and neutral parties, perfectly capable of self-regulating themselves so that a level playing field exists for all participants, big and small, insider or not, without any need for regulatory oversight from an official public body. And that participants do not use extra-legal means to gain advantages, paricularly over the non-professional investor.
Jim Rogers on The Kudlow Report 09_05_11
Adrian Day on Gold & Gold Companies
By Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortal.com
I think an interview with Adrian Day by Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report titled ‘Adrian Day: Gold Prices Due for a Correction‘ – reading time 6 minutes – is worth your time and careful thought if you are an investor in physical gold, or in gold exploration, producer, or royalties companies. Adrian Day is the founder of Adrian Day Asset Management, where he specializes in global diversification and gold equities for individual and institutional investors. His most recent book, ‘Investing in Resources: How to Profit for the Outsized Potential and Avoid the Risks’ is available at Amazon.com. There is a Kindle version, which I am just beginning to read. I will write a book review in an upcoming e-mail, but I can tell you that at first blush the index looks very interesting to me, and the book appears to be written in an articulate and easy to read style.
Leading Indicator Suggests
The Consumer Can't Support The Recovery
By Doug Short - DShort.com
On Thursday of this week, we'll get the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report for April from the Census Bureau. Shortly thereafter I'll post my revised retail sales charts. Meanwhile, I've updated my Consumer Metrics Institute (CMI) charts through the latest data. The CMI Daily Growth Index has been setting new historic lows on virtually a daily basis over the past four weeks. Since the consumeraccounts for about 70% of the U.S economy, the Institute's April 28 commentary on First Quarter 2011 GDP offers some insight on the discrepancy between government's measure of the economy and the CMI findings.
USA and China -- Tough Love
Perception of U.S. China Relations
Depends on Policy Needs of the day
Bill Gross on Deficits and the Fed
By Megan McArdle - TheAtlantic.com
This month's column is about Bill Gross, who heads Pimco, the world's largest bond fund. We spent a couple of hours talking about his portfolio, and why he's bearish on Treasury bonds. When this news came out, a lot of commentators seemed to think that this meant that he was predicting a high likelihood of imminent default, but that isn't the case. What he's worried about in the near term is the low yields, bred of Fed intervention and the global "flight to quality".
Pimco’s Gross Raises Bet
Against U.S. Government-Related Debt Amid Rally
By Wes Goodman - Bloomberg.com
Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., increased his bet against U.S. government debt in April just as Treasuries had their biggest rally in eight months.
Pimco’s $240.7 billion Total Return Fund had minus 4 percent of its assets in government and related debt, versus negative 3 percent in March. Cash and equivalents, the largest component, rose to 37 percent of holdings from 31 percent. Mortgage bonds declined to 24 percent from 28 percent, the Newport Beach, California-based company said on its website.
Gerald Celente: The Fed, Public Enemy No. 1,
"Osama" Bin Bernanke 1/3
Gerald Celente: The Fed, Public Enemy No. 1,
"Osama" Bin Bernanke 2/3
Gerald Celente: The Fed, Public Enemy No. 1,
"Osama" Bin Bernanke 3/3
Small Business Doing Better, but Feeling Worse
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Small businesses are worried about the future. How worried are they? According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (.pdf), they reported that sales in April were, on average, the best since December 2007 -- when the recession technically began. But their sentiment still declined. Other factors, especially rising prices, make their prospects look bleak.
Let's start with that sentiment. It declined just a bit in April, according to the NFIB. The firm says that this was really more of an aftershock following last March's plummet in confidence. You can see this from the chart.
Small Businesses Temper Hope For Strong Recovery
BY DOUG SHORT - FinancialSense.com
The latest issue of the NFIB Small Business Economic Trends is out today (see report). In recent months the closely watched Small Business Optimism Index had been trying to break above recessionary levels. The March report was a disappointing setback, and the April report, released this morning, again moved in the wrong direction.
Here is the opening paragraph (bolded text in the original):
The month of April marked a second consecutive month of decline in small-business optimism; NFIB's index dropped to 91.2 in April — a much smaller dip than the previous month, but still another sign of the nation's anemic economic recovery. While reports of net jobs created by small firms stayed positive, the numbers posted did not match the surprising gains cited in last week's Labor Department report. This suggests that the bulk of new hiring is happening in larger firms and the smaller counterparts on Main Street - the ones traditionally responsible for leading the country out of recessions, are still struggling to hire.
America faces massive unemployment
Boeing Is Pro-Growth, Not Anti-Union Washington's actions have assaulted the capitalist principles that have sustained America's competitiveness since it became the world's largest economy nearly 140 years ago.
By JIM MCNERNEY - WSJ.com
Deep into the recent recession, Boeing decided to invest more than $1 billion in a new factory in South Carolina. Surging global demand for our innovative, new 787 Dreamliner exceeded what we could build on one production line and we needed to open another.
This was good news for Boeing and for the economy. The new jetliner assembly plant would be the first one built in the U.S. in 40 years. It would create new American jobs at a time when most employers are hunkered down. It would expand the domestic footprint of the nation's leading exporter and make it more competitive against emerging plane makers from China, Russia and elsewhere. And it would bring hope to a state burdened by double-digit unemployment - with the construction phase alone estimated to create more than 9,000 total jobs.
U.S. Postal Service reports $2.2 billion loss
By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. Postal Service continues to hemorrhage money, with a loss of $2.2 billion in the most recent quarter.
The national mail service said Tuesday that it expects to have a cash shortfall and reach its statutory borrowing limit by the time its fiscal year ends in September. That means the agency could be forced to default on some of its payments to the federal government.
Patrick Donahoe, the Postmaster General, said the service is still seeking changes to federal laws that would allow it to change its business model and potentially save enough money to avoid a default.
Default America: Deflation vs Inflation
$6.5 Trillion Lost, One House at a Time
By Charles Hugh Smith - OfTwoMinds.com
The $6.5 trillion lost in the bursting of the housing bubble is not a "paper loss," it is tragically real. Is anyone surprised that housing continues to slide? According to this report, Home Market Takes a Tumble: Turnaround More Distant After 3% Drop, Steepest Quarterly Decline Since 2008, housing has declined in value for 57 straight months, almost 5 years.
Since the housing bubble topped in most areas in 2006, and it's now 2011, that makes sense: 2006 + 5 = 2011. American homeowners have lost $6.5 trillion in equity in those 57 months. Here is the data from the Fed Flow of Funds household balance sheet:
Homeowner's equity:
2006: $12.8 trillion
2011: $6.3 trillion Net decline: $6.5 trillion
That is a big number, and the analysis I presented in The Housing Bubble Broke the Middle Class (April 27, 2011) suggested that this $6.5 trillion was roughly half of the middle class's total net assets.
Foreclosures crush home prices
By Les Christie - Money.CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Home prices continued to plummet during the first three months of 2011, falling 4.6% from a year earlier.
The U.S. median price, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), dropped to $158,700 for a single family house. Condo prices fell even harder -- 10.4% to $152,900.
The median home price has now slumped 30% from its 2006 high of $227,100, and prices have fallen nearly 7% so far this year.
"We're seeing prices dropping faster than they did in 2010," said Pat Newport, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "That's troubling. Falling home prices precipitated the recession and are slowing the recovery."
Don't Buy A House In 2011
Before You Read These 20 Wacky Statistics
About The U.S. Real Estate Crisis
By TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Unless you have been asleep or hiding under a rock for the past five years, you already know that we are experiencing the worst real estate crisis that the U.S. has ever seen. Home prices in the United States have fallen 33 percent from the peak of the housing bubble, which is more than they fell during the Great Depression. Those that decided to buy a house in 2005 or 2006 are really hurting right now. Just think about it. Could you imagine paying off a $400,000 mortgage on a home that is now only worth $250,000? Millions of Americans are now living through that kind of financial hell. Sadly, most analysts expect U.S. home prices to go down even further. Despite the "best efforts" of those running our economy, unemployment is still rampant. The number of middle class jobs continues to decline year after year, but it takes at least a middle class income to buy a decent home. In addition, financial institutions have really tightened up lending standards and have made it much more difficult to get home loans. Back during the wild days of the housing bubble, the family cat could get a zero-down mortgage, but today the pendulum has swung very far in the other direction and now it is really, really tough to get a home loan. Meanwhile, the number of foreclosures and distressed properties continues to soar. So with a ton of homes on the market and not a lot of buyers the power is firmly in the hands of those looking to buy a house.
Peter Schiff - Housing Market Will Fall For Many More Years
Real CoreLogic House Price Index,
and Price-to-Rent Ratio, back to 1999 Levels
by CalculatedRisk
Nominal House Prices
The first graph shows the quarterly Case-Shiller National Index (through Q4 2010), and the monthly Case-Shiller Composite 20 (through February release) and CoreLogicHouse Price Indexes (through March release) in nominal terms (as reported).
In nominal terms, the National index is back to Q1 2003 levels, the Composite 20 index is slightly above the May 2009 lows (and close to June 2003 levels), and the CoreLogic index is back to January 2003.
Distressed House Sales using Sacramento data
by CalculatedRisk
The percent of distressed sales in Sacramento declined in April compared to March, because of a seasonal pickup in conventional sales, but this is the highest percentage of distressed sales for the month of April, since the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® started breaking out REOs in May 2008, and short sales in June 2009.
This should be no surprise after Fannie and Freddie announced record REO sales in Q1. And we should see a high level of REO sales all year (putting pressure on house prices).
Housing and the Price of Gas
By Clive Crook - TheAtlantic.com
A stylised fact of US political polling is that, national security aside, the price of gas drives presidential approval ratings. Could house prices might be even more important? If they were, it would be hard to prove statistically, since there are no previous episodes of nationally falling house prices. Which is worse for confidence: gas at say $5 a gallon, or another five figures wiped off your net worth? Perhaps the White House should be more worried about what happens to house prices between now and November 2012 than about what happens to the price of oil.
No respite from housing recession in the first quarter, says Zillow.
The figures are just awful:
Big Banks Leaving Abandoned, Foreclosed Homes in Ohio
by Asraa Mustufa - ColorLines.com
National People’s Action released a report on Monday that shows the extent of foreclosures in Ohio, one of the states hit hardest by the national housing crisis. The three-city study projects that about one in every 10 homes in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus have received a foreclosure filing since the onset of the national financial crisis in 2007, and that black homeowners were hit especially hard. The homes that banks took have also sat unsold, further depressing the neighborhoods’ economic outlook.
The rate of foreclosures reported in the study area is equal to more than one home falling into foreclosure for every city block, on average, across the three cities since the beginning of 2009. Roughly half of these foreclosure filings were made by the country’s largest banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America Wells Fargo, Citibank and US Bank.
Millions of New Yorkers At Risk of Being Kicked Out of Their Homes
by Taylor Leake - Change.org
Paying the rent each month is a reality for many Americans, especially young people and those who can't afford to purchase a home. Many cities and states have laws that help protect renters - laws like guaranteed lease renewal, and not allowing a landlord to raise rent by absurdly high amounts from year to year.
But what happens when we remove these basic protections? On any given year, your landlord could simply decide to kick you out or double your rent without explanation or reason. Families would be displaced, while rents would sky-rocket. If something isn't done, that is the reality millions of New Yorkers will face when rent laws for all rent-regulated apartments expire on June 15, 2011.
Homeless Middle Class
New breed of Americans going hungry
By Christie Garton, Special for USA TODAY
The recession may officially be over, but Sonia Cruz of Issaquah, Wash., a suburb of Seattle, still finds herself having to say "no" to many things.
No to the kids' request to go to the movies with friends. No to $1 Redbox movies. And definitely no to those trips to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream.
"There's no way we can afford that anymore," she says.
Cutting back became a necessity for many American families during and after the recession. But what the Cruz family and a growing number of other once-thriving middle-class families didn't expect was to find themselves qualifying for - and needing - the support of federally funded food assistance programs.
What Is The Best Place To Live In The United States
To Prepare For The Coming Economic Collapse?
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
What is the best place to live in the United States? I get asked that question all the time. My answer can be summed up in two words: it depends. The truth is that the answer is going to be different for each person. All of us have different goals and different needs. If you have a very strong network of family and friends where you live right now, you might want to think twice before moving hundreds or thousands of miles away. If you have a great job where you live right now, you might want to hold on to it. You should not just assume that you are going to be able to pick up and move to another part of the country and be able to get a similar job right away. The United States is in the midst of a very serious economic declineright now, and wherever you live you are going to have to provide for your family. Just because you move somewhere new does not mean that you are going to leave your problems behind. In fact, you might find that they moved right along with you. With all that being said, the reality is that there are some places in the U.S. that are going to be much more desirable than others when the economy totally falls apart. For example, during a total economic collapse it will not be good to be living in a large city or in a densely populated area. Just think about what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. If the entire nation is going through something like that, you don't want to have hundreds of thousands of close neighbors at that point. So when thinking about where you want to be when everything falls apart, population density should be a major factor. But there are other factors as well and no area of the United States is perfect.
Presbyterians Expected to Clear Way for Gay Clergy
Associated Press - WSJ.com
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is poised to abolish a celibacy requirement for gay and lesbian clergy, after decades of debate that has divided the denomination and split Protestants world-wide.
The church adopted the new policy at its national assembly last year, but needed approval from the majority of its 173 presbyteries, or regional church bodies. The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, based in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., is expected to cast the key vote in favor of the change Tuesday night.
Microsoft to Buy Skype for $8.5 Billion
ByThe Associated Press - DailyFinance.com
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy the popular Internet telephone service Skype SA for $8.5 billion in the biggest deal in the software maker's 36-year history.
Buying Skype would give Microsoft a potentially valuable communications tool as it tries to become a bigger force on the Internet and in the increasingly important smartphone market.
Microsoft's Acquiring Skype: 3 Reasons Why
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Skype lovers might be a little unhappy today: Microsoft is gobbling up the popular voice and video chat service. It is not yet clear whether or not this will be a good or bad thing for current Skype users. But the$8.5 billion acquisition might seem a curious one for Microsoft. What does a company best-known for its operating system want with online communications technology?
Business Videoconferencing Capability
The biggest synergy for this deal could be through Microsoft's Office suite. With a little additional development, Microsoft could now quickly and easily roll out a great videoconferencing experience. They could bundle something like a "Microsoft Meeting" in their Office Professional suite. Any companies, no matter how large or small, could quickly and easily utilize videoconferencing across the world, while referring to Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, or Word documents.
LEAVING ARIZONA: TUCSON GROUP PUSHES SECESSION
By KDJ - Truthdig.com
Organizers in Tucson and surrounding Pima County have launched a petition drive that would put their plan to secede from Arizona on the ballot in 2012, a movement born out of liberal disgust with the conservatism of Phoenix and other northern neighbors. The plan is undoubtedly a long shot, and the creation of a “Baja Arizona” would be the first successful split since West Virginia branched off during the Civil War. But at the very least, the “Start Our State” movement sends a signal to the country that not all Arizonans support measures like the immigrant-targeting SB 1070 or the escapades of Maricopa Country Sheriff Joe Arpaio. —KDG
Huffington Post Politics:
Partisan tensions have long been a fact of life between left-leaning Pima County and a Phoenix-based political establishment that has produced such conservative giants as Barry Goldwater and John McCain.
But the rift was heightened during the past two years as Republican Governor Jan Brewer and her allies in control of the statehouse pursued a political agenda Democrats saw as extreme, including a crackdown on illegal immigration and proposals, ultimately unsuccessful, to nullify some federal laws.
Vermont Takes the Single-Payer Plunge
By Peter Suderman - Reason.com
Oh, Vermont, you’re so crazy. According to the Internet, (which, granted, may or may not be telling the truth in the strict sense) you once passed a law banning tying giraffes to telephone poles. You also gave America Sen. Bernie "Please-Call-Me-a-Successful-(Democratic)-Socialist!" Sanders, who, in December of 2009, tried to attach a 700-page single-payer health care bill to ObamaCare.
That didn't take, but Vermont’s politicians aren't giving up on the dream, or the crazy. The state's legislators are now in the process of making it the first state in the nation to experiment with single-payer health care. In broad strokes, the plan is for the state to eventually fold everyone into a system in which all health care payments go through the government, which will transform itself, Megatron-style, into the state's one and only insurer and health care pay-master. One system, one government, one payer: Hence, single payer.
Sen. Charles Schumer Proposes to Expand Amtrak's
Already Amazingly Effective "No-Ride List" to Even More People
By Nick Gillespie - Reason.com
You've got to kind of love Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). When he isn't threatening government regulation of the breakfast cereal industry, trying to ban Four Loko and Joose, working to ban knock-offs in the fashion industry, wanting to tax overseas call centers, attempting to censor video games, pressuring smart phone makers to droptotally legal apps that list DUI checkpoints...what was I talking about again?
Oh yeah, Schumer's latest crusade: Reducing Amtrak's passenger pool even more than the national passenger rail carrrier has managed to do in 40 years of money-losing operation:
A senator on Sunday called for a "no-ride list" for Amtrak trains after intelligence gleaned from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound pointed to potential attacks on the nation's train system.
KOCH BUYS RIGHT TO PICK FSU FACULTY
KDG - Truthdig.com
Billionaire Charles Koch pledged $1.5 million to Florida State University's economics department three years ago with the stipulation that his staff would screen the faculty hired for a program on "political economy and free enterprise." The St. Petersburg Times has cried foul, and rightfully so. We're talking about a public university here. Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch continue to leverage wealth from Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company in America, to wage war on government regulation, public benefits and labor rights. —KDG
St. Petersburg Times:
Traditionally, university donors have little official input into choosing the person who fills a chair they’ve funded. The power of university faculty and officials to choose professors without outside interference is considered a hallmark of academic freedom.
Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it’s not happy with the faculty’s choice or if the hires don't meet "objectives" set by Koch during annual evaluations.
Mississippi now taking toll on Delta homes, crops, casinos Cleanup begins in Memphis, where tourists make the most of newest attraction - msnbc.com news services
VICKSBURG, Miss. - The Mississippi crest rolled past Memphis on Tuesday, going easy on much of the city, yet downriver in the mostly poor, fertile Delta region, floodwaters washed away crops, damaged hundreds of homes and closed casinos.
In Vicksburg, home of a pivotal Civil War battle, the river was forecast to peak slightly above the record level set during the flood of 1927. Some places were already several feet underwater and the river wasn't expected to peak here until May 19.
Wearing rubber boots and watching fish swim up and down his street, William Jefferson stood on a high spot in his neighborhood. He said hasn't had a hot meal since water started coming into his house a few days ago.
Wikileaks Reveals U.S. Tax Dollar
Fund Child Sex Slavery in Afghanistan
by Amanda Kloer - Change.org
The now infamous Wikileaks recently released a cable from Afghanistan revealing U.S. government contractor DynCorp threw a party for Afghan security recruits featuring trafficked boys as the entertainment. Bacha bazi is the Afghan tradition of "boy play" where young boys are dressed up in women's clothing, forced to dance for leering men, and then sold for sex to the highest bidder. Apparently this is the sort of "entertainment" funded by your tax dollars when DynCorp is in charge of security in Afghanistan.
Elusive ex-commando to replace bin Laden? Terror suspect Ilyas Kashmiri has been linked to several recent plots, U.S. officials say
By Michael Isikoff - MSNBC.com
A Pakistani former commando who has been linked to multiple terror plots - including a series of planned "Mumbai style" attacks in European cities last summer - has emerged as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden as leader of al-Qaida, according to U.S. officials.
Although Ilyas Kashmiri is barely known to the American public, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies have increasingly focused on him in recent years. The CIA has targeted him in drone attacks in northwest Pakistan and federal prosecutors have indicted him in a major terrorism case involving a Chicago businessman who goes on trial next week.
Your Taxes Fund Anti-Muslim Hatred
By Chris Hedges - Truthdig.com
News personalities, politicians, self-appointed experts on the Muslim world, and law enforcement and intelligence officials, as well as the Christian right, have successfully demonized Muslims in the United States since the attacks of 2001. It is acceptable to say things openly about Muslims that could never be said about any other ethnic group. And as the economy continues to unravel, as we face the possibility of revenge attacks by Islamic extremists, perhaps on American soil, the plight of Muslims is beginning to mirror that of targeted ethnic minority groups on the eve of the war in the former Yugoslavia, or Jews in the dying days of the Weimar Republic.
White House Insider: Obama Hesitated Panetta Issued Order to Kill Osama Bin Laden
socyberty.com
Note:This update comes some 24 hours after our longtime Washington D.C. Insider first outlined shocking details of an Obama administration having been "overruled" by senior military and intelligence officials leading up to the successful attack against terrorist Osama Bin Laden. What follows is further clarification of Insider’s insights surrounding that event.
Q: You stated that President Obama was "overruled" by military/intelligence officials regarding the decision to send in military specialists into the Osama Bin Laden compound. Was that accurate?
A: I was told – in these exact terms, "we overruled him." (Obama) I have since followed up and received further details on exactly what that meant, as well as the specifics of how Leon Panetta worked around the president's "persistent hesitation to act." There appears NOT to have been an outright overruling of any specific position by President Obama, simply because there was no specific position from the president to do so. President Obama was, in this case, as in all others, working as an absentee president.
Got Bin Laden (Allegedly) and USA "Freaks Out" on Fear, False Alarms, and 911 style forfeiture of Liberties
By Jack Blood, Deadline Live - ActivistPost.com
So much for the John Wayne, or even Bruce Wayne style, "Cowboy Up" tough American settler myth/street smart caped crusader myth. Post Osama America suffers deja vu all over again as Government Officials, and bureaucracies fan the flames of fear, and discuss further potential clamp downs on transportation, and public events in a way that could even make George Bush blush.
Actually there is a famous antic-dote about John Wayne which if true does embody the former image of feral American life. It seems that the US Govt contacted Mr Wayne at some point during the "Cold War" to warn him of a Communist plot intercepted from the former USSR, to assassinated him; and with him the image of the rugged, No BS, Kill-em-all-and-let-God-sort-em-out American. The American Gov't offered to place John Wayne under their immediate protection. Wayne's reply? No Thanks. "Me and the Boys are fully armed here. Tell them Ruskies to bring it on! We're ready, locked and loaded."
Too Much Fear?
Package Threat Forces Evacuation Of Dallas DART Station
Passengers Alert Authorities
To Man Asking For Help Carrying Package
By Andrea Lucia, CBS 11 News
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The Mockingbird DART station and the surrounding area, including the Angelika Theater, were evacuated Saturday after a police dog alerted authorities to a passenger onboard with two suspicious packages, a spokesman said.
Riders traveling through downtown stations reportedly expressed alarm after a man asked them for help carrying a duffel bag and a large box.
Bomb technicians with the Dallas Police Department determined the packages were not a threat about two hours after the evacuation, said DART spokesman Morgan Lyons.
Is US Dollar's Recovery Tied to Death of Bin Laden?
By: John Melloy - CNBC.com
Concern about mounting budget deficits on the state and federal level, along with the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies, sent the U.S. dollar reeling earlier this year to near a post-gold reserve low.
Then on May 2, a Navy Seal team killed Osama Bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, responsible for the 9/11 tragedy on American soil.
That day, the dollar index, which measures the currency versus a basket of six others, would bottom and is now nearly 3 percent higher. Coincidence? Many traders say, "I think not."
"The fact that we killed this guy and did it so efficiently was a wake up call to people who had forgotten that this is the dominant military in the world," said Steve Cortes, founder of Veracruz research and a 'Fast Money' trader.
War on Terror is a Reichstag Fire False Flag Operation
SARTRE, Contributing Writer - Activist Post
By now, you are probably worn out from all the speculation about the actual events in Pakistan that claim the death of the public enemy No 1. No photos of a dead Osama bin Laden, burial at sea, instant DNA results and changing versions with every new news report gets old quickly. The claim that a treasure chest of intelligence was secured during the raid, conflicts with killing the main man who knows where all the buried are buried. Capturing him alive for interrogation would maximize the intelligence quest, if that were the real goal.
If any significance should be assigned to this account, now is the time to re-evaluate the entire nature of the War on Terror that has destroyed America more in the last ten years than any attack on home soil.
Egypt: Situation Deteriorating Badly and Rapidly
By Barry Rubin - PajamasMedia.com
In the wake of bloody Muslim attacks on Egyptian Christians, the New York Times informs us:
"By lifting the heavy hand of the Mubarak police state, the revolution unleashed long-suppressed sectarian animosities that have burst out with increasing ferocity…."
No kidding! Did you think a single Egyptian Christian didn’t know this in February? Why didn't the media report or the U.S. government understand that this was absolutely inevitable and predictable? But the only mentions of Christians were to claim that they were really enthusiastic about the revolution.
NATO chief: No stalemate in Libya
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) -- NATO's secretary-general told CNN on Monday that Moammar Gadhafi and his regime "have no future," but refused to predict how long the Libyan leader could hold on.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen denied that the situation in Libya had devolved into a "stalemate," insisting that NATO was "making progress" and had "taken out" a substantial part of Gadhafi's military capability.
"I'm not going to guess about a timeline. I want a solution sooner rather than later," Rasmussen said.
"It's hard to imagine an end to the violence as long as Gadhafi remains in power," he said, stressing that a political solution was required.
Syria: Why Are Western Governments
Protecting Their Worst Enemy…
While Trashing Their Friends
By Barry Rubin - PajamasMedia.com
Here’s an unavoidable question: Why is it that when a relatively moderate Middle East state is threatened by demonstrations - Egypt and Tunisia - the Obama Administration calls for their instant departure while when it is a radical, anti-American, terrorist-supporting state - Iran and Syria - it refuses to act at all.
However you explain that paradox it nonetheless, undeniably, exists. And it is totally contrary to the U.S. national interests. Some people think that this sabotage is deliberate; others, like myself, think it is being caused by incompetence, ignorance, and an ideology totally out of touch with reality.
Anwar Al-Awlaki: 9/11 Was An 'Accident' [VIDEO]
By IBTimes Staff Reporter
Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born radical cleric who was reportedly targeted this week by an American drone missile, called the September 11, 2001 attacks "an accident" just two days after they occurred.
Al-Awalaki spoke on camera to a local television station on September 13.
"The mosque has been shut down, since the day of the accident," he said.
Al-Awlaki, who was born in New Mexico, was the Imam at the Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Virginia, which had been vandalized at the time.
'The UK Will Need a Bailout Soon': Jim Rogers
By: Matthew West - CNBC.com
Britain isn't cutting its structural deficit by enough or doing it quickly enough and may need a bailout from its European partners, investor Jim Rogers told CNBC.
But UK-based analysts disputed this view, saying the austerity measures were enough.
Rogers said the UK coalition government needed to go further in order to avoid financial catastrophe.
"They [the government] are not doing it. They are saying they are doing it but they are not. They are saving £1 billion ($1.6 billion) here or there but they are not doing what they really need to and I’m not sure the government would survive the kind of pain that is really required," he said.
The Unwisdom of Elites
By PAUL KRUGMAN
The past three years have been a disaster for most Western economies. The United States has mass long-term unemployment for the first time since the 1930s. Meanwhile, Europe’s single currency is coming apart at the seams. How did it all go so wrong?
Well, what I've been hearing with growing frequency from members of the policy elite - self-appointed wise men, officials, and pundits in good standing - is the claim that it’s mostly the public’s fault. The idea is that we got into this mess because voters wanted something for nothing, and weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate's foolishness.
Yuan-Dollar relationship and impact on precious metals
By Jeb Handwerger - CommodityOnline.com
In early January of 2011, a top secret candlelight dinner was held at the White House. There was no fanfare and meager publicity. Present were the industrial, military and governmental heads of both China and the United States. Our government had just digested the failures of Lehman Brothers, AIG and other corporate icons by creating massive bailouts and running up trillion dollar budgetary deficits. China was also concerned about inflation and soaring prices due to the intentional debasement of the U.S. currency (UUP) by the Federal Reserve. Both sides reached a modus vivendi, so they could mutually profit from these agreements. Please see my article on the "Chinamese Twins" back from January 2011 to understand these past few weeks.
What Will the Global Gold Market Look Like
If China Overtakes the U.S.?
BY JULIAN PHILLIPS - FinanacialSense.com Global demand
With the clear move of currencies away from providing definable values for goods and services it is becoming increasingly likely that there will be a rise in global retail demand for gold with the objective of protecting wealth, alongside a rising demand from global central banks adding to their reserves of gold. The various currency crises affecting both sides of the Atlantic are reinforcing a trend set in 2007 [When French the Finance Minister suggested that the euro be sold to push its exchange rate down to protect its exports] where from the U.S. to China and virtually all national currencies in between, now use their exchange rates solely as a currency to benefit its trade positions and not for the assessment of the value of goods and services. This left a large gap in the monetary system which has to be filled. On the retail as well as the official front, demand is showing that gold is filling that gap. This trend is unlikely to change as the restoration of stable values to currencies is a thing of the past.
U.S., China Pledge to Address Currency, Financial Issues
By Rebecca Christie and Belinda Cao - Bloomberg.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan pledged today to tackle currency, financial services and trade conflicts between the world’s two biggest economies.
At the start of the two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Geithner said China has been making progress "towards a more flexible exchange rate" and weaning its economy off a dependence on exports. He also called for China to overhaul its financial system and said the U.S. will work to improve its fiscal outlook.
Goldman Sees Commodities Recovery
as Week-Long Rout Wipes Out $99 Billion
By Maria Kolesnikova and Yi Tian - Bloomberg.com
The commodities rout that knocked off $99 billion of market value last week is driving out speculators and leading Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which forecast the plunge, to predict a possible recovery.
The combination of slower growth in U.S. service industries and fewer German manufacturing orders helped drive the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 commodities down 11 percent in five days, the most since December 2008, and erased all the gains since mid-March. Wheat, zinc and gold rebounded at the end of the week as U.S. payrolls exceeded economists' forecasts, reducing concern that demand will weaken.
Don't Turn Out the Lights on Commodities Just Yet
BY FRANK HOLMES - FinanacialSense.com
The prices for many commodities suffered the worst week in recent memory last week. Oil prices dipped below $100 per barrel, gold fell below $1,500 an ounce and silver gave back much of the past month’s gains by falling to the $35 an ounce level. The prices for other commodities such as sugar, tin, nickel, aluminum, lead and copper also pulled back.
Immediately, headlines on websites such as Marketwatch, Bloomberg and SmartMoney read "Has the Commodity Bubble Popped?" and "Imploding Commodities Complex."
Is this the end? Has the great bull run for commodities come to an end?
In our opinion, not likely.
Oil, silver and gold bounce back
By Ken Sweet - Money.CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors poured back into commodities Monday, with silver and oil leading the way higher after getting hammered last week.
Crude oil futures for June delivery rose 5.5%, to $102.55 a barrel Monday. Prices are rebounding from a plunge of nearly 15% last week -- their biggest weekly drop since late 2008.
Euro Erases Gain Versus Dollar as Greece's Credit Rating Lowered
By Allison Bennett and Lucy Meakin - Bloomberg.com
The euro erased its gain versus the dollar and fell below $1.43 for the first time in more than two weeks as Standard & Poor's reduction in Greece’s credit rating renewed concern the region's debt crisis is worsening.
The 17-nation currency rose earlier as a report showed exports in Germany, Europe's largest economy, jumped in March, bolstering the case for higher interest rates in the euro region. The pound depreciated after the Confederation of British Industry lowered its economic growth predictions and a report showed house prices unexpectedly fell.
'Accumulate as much silver as you can'
By Tehmaas S. Gorimaar - CommodityOnline.com
To simply follow the silver price without trying to understand the extreme stress in the global paper currency system today would be folly.
Since August 15, 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window, the world has been floating on a sea of fiat currencies, supported only by its one reserve currency, the U.S. dollar, which is nothing more than an I.O.U.
During the days of the true gold standard, a country was required to disgorge its gold reserves if it ran consistent trade deficits. Of course, these days, in the absence of the gold standard, countries have been at liberty to print as much currency as they deem fit.
A Policy Driven Silver Crash
BY CLIF DROKE - FinanacialSense.com
Silver has once again stolen the investment market spotlight. Margin requirements for silver trading rose 84 percent last week, which prompted a major sell-off. Silver posted its worst four-day drop since 1980 and was down more than 25% after the CME Group raised the costs for investors to trade the metal four consecutive times within a week.
The impact of these rather drastic increases in margin requirements was decidedly negative on trader psychology. Last weekend when the latest margin increase was announced, one analyst observed, "Many commodities traders in the US cannot trade on the weekend, and when Chicago opens many will instantly be hit with margin calls because of the immediate rise in margin requirements." The selling pressure was immediately felt on Monday, May 2, at the commencement of trading with selling pressure spilling over into the subsequent trading sessions.
Silver to witness renewed upside soon:
Pan American Metals
FLORIDA, USA (Commodity Online): Silver futures prices which dropped 34% last week from a 30-year high of $49.845 and after several investors lost their money, it appears silver is set on the recovery path this week. Silver has rebounded, and already gained 4.5% with July contract at Nymex rising to $36.875 while the metal for immediate delivery rose 3.3% to $36.82 an ounce. Analysts are of the view that despite the recent slump in prices of the white metal, silver is expected to rise in the medium to long term.
Silver, the best bet to fight monetary turmoil
By Alain Grey
There is a long list of investors out there who have traditionally invested their hard-earned money in the stock market and mutual funds. This most likely leads to bankruptcy if not affected by ongoing economic crisis.
Metals such as gold and silver are very good investment options during these trying times of economic climate. Observing the stability of market, you'll come to think that no matter how stable it may seem in the outside, it can crash down without any warning.
Gold climbs,
refocus on bullish fundamentals
CommodityOnline.com
(Kitco News) - Comex gold futures shrugged off last week's price plunge and are climbing higher Monday morning for the second session in a row. Gold traders returned their focus to bullish underlying fundamentals for the yellow metal, which includes volatility and uncertainty in the Middle East, rising inflation levels in parts of the world, and continuing concern over the sovereign debt crisis in the Euro-zone.
Response to Volatility in Silver Takes Hold
By WILLIAM NEUMAN and GRAHAM BOWLEY - NYTimes.com
On April 25, half a dozen officials from the CME Group, which runs many of the nation’s commodities exchanges, met via videophone to discuss the eye-popping rise in the price of silver, which had doubled in just six months to about $47 a troy ounce.
They didn’t realize it, but they were about to take the first step toward popping a bubble in global commodities prices.
Worried about the speculative run-up and the increased volatility of the silver market, the officials concluded that it was time to raise the amount of money that buyers and sellers had to put down as collateral to guarantee their trades. The first increase in so-called margin requirements took hold the next day, effectively making it more expensive for speculators and other kinds of traders to play in the market.
Big Oil CEOs to face lawmakers
By Charles Riley
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The oil execs are coming to Washington.
And that means the long-running battle between Democrats, Republicans and oil companies over tax breaks will intensify on Thursday when industry leaders face questions from the Senate Finance Committee.
At issue: Legislation that would cut $4 billion in oil and gas subsidies.
Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) CEO John Watson will attend Thursday's hearing, a company spokesman confirmed. And theNational Journal reported ConocoPhillips (COP, Fortune 500) CEO Jim Mulva will join as well.
Representatives of three other oil giants -- ExxonMobil (XOM, Fortune 500), Shell (RDSA) and BP (BP) -- did not return calls seeking comment.
As Oil Drops below $100
Motorists Wonder When Gas Prices Will Fall
Written by Economywatch - OilPrice.com
Who says miracles can't happen? After four straight days of steady decline, crude oil prices finally plummeted by nearly 9 percent on Thursday to US$99.80 a barrel – the first time it has been under US$100 a barrel for nearly two months.
But don't start filling up your fuel tanks yet. Although the price of crude oil has been dropping in recent days, the cost of fuel at your petrol station remains impervious to these changes. In fact, the average pump price for regular gasoline has actually increased in the past couple of days for a number of US cities.
F.D.I.C. Chairwoman to Leave in July
By ERIC DASH
Sheila C. Bair, one of the top banking regulators during the financial crisis, said on Monday that she was planning to step down as chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on July 8.
Ms. Bair presided over the agency during perhaps its most challenging period, sounding early alarms over the nation’s worsening mortgage problems during the housing boom. She helped orchestrate the rescues and seizures of hundreds of troubled banks when the markets collapsed. She has also been a fierce advocate of a controversial federal loan modification program, and a prominent voice on the need to rein in too-big-to-fail banks.
Employment: A dirty little secret and more graphs
by CalculatedRisk
First, anyone who adds (or subtracts) the Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) birth/deathmodel numbers from the headline SA payroll employment is clueless. Someone sent me this "analysis" today: "... you exclude the 62K from McDonalds hirings, and 175K from the Birth Death Adjustment, and end up with.... +7K jobs". That is complete nonsense. The key issue with the birth/death model is it misses turning points; otherwise it is an important part of the monthly estimate.
Second, I was reminded of a "dirty little secret" when I read Paul Krugman's columnthis morning. Krugman wrote about how the "D.C. economic discourse is saturated with fear" of "invisible monsters", but that no one seems to care about the very real plight of the millions of unemployed.
Why Are Corporate Profits High While Jobs and Wages Stagnate?
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
Economists tell us that the nation is in recovery; many Americans might disagree. Corporations have been doing relatively well, as profits have returned and GDP has begun steadily rising. Yet we haven't seen hiring bump up very much -- the national unemployment rate is 9%. We also aren't seeing wages rise much. Instead, much of the additional output is being produced by the current set of workers, which means thatproductivity is soaring. Why aren't corporations instead hiring more people or compensating workers them more fairly for their higher productivity?
This was one of many good questions I received while appearing on C-SPAN's Washington Journal on Saturday Morning (clip below). A caller from Philadelphia, PA wondered why he's working harder, but the corporate profits aren't being passed down to him. His experience is not at all uncommon. Productivity has risen, but wages have not. Companies also remain slow to hire, which would reduce the burden on overworked employees.
The rise of the permanently temporary worker Temp jobs are in and permanent ones are out, for now. And it doesn't look like there's a surefire route to go from one to the other, posing serious risks to worker morale and corporate growth.
By Elizabeth G. Olson, contributor - CNNMoney.com
FORTUNE -- It's a glass half full/half empty situation. Well, maybe American employers just stole half a glass from their workers. The rise in temporary worker hires may be a smart business move, insulating employers in a volatile economy, or it could be creating a permanent wedge of cheaper, benefit-less workers that eventually supplants a big chunk of the full-time workforce.
It all depends on how you interpret a sliver of data on temporary hiring from the U.S. Department of Labor, which tracks job placements by temp agencies but not temp hiring by individual companies. The department also doesn't keep tabs on how often companies downgrade positions from permanent to temporary status.
More Couples Arguing About Money, Sneaking Purchases
By: Christina Cheddar Berk - CNBC.com
Couples are bickering more about household finances than they did a year ago, according to a recent study.
And it's possible the threat of an argument is prompting some of these couples to sneak purchases, sock money away in a secret bank account, or keep a credit card account hidden from their spouse or significant other, according to the study of 2,020 consumers, which was conducted by American Express.
Most couples - some 61 percent - admit that discussions about the household budget are turning into arguments. That's significantly higher than what the survey said a year ago, when 45 percent of people admitted this.
Healthcare reform 'sound and fury' represents quite a lot The healthcare reform law has yet to go into full effect,
but it's already changed the healthcare industry's internal debate. -- By Lisa Suennen, contributor - Fortune.CNN.com
This last week I attended Health Evolution Partners' Leadership Summit in Laguna Niguel. If you have to leave home for work, Laguna Niguel is the place you want to go. I had a moment during the closing dinner where, on the lawn just beyond my ocean cliff-side table, there were six little bunnies hopping around and in the water behind them dolphins were swimming. You would have sworn this was a Disney production, except everyone at my dinner table worked in the healthcare industry.
Anyway, the conference kicked off with a panel of health insurance executives representing some of the largest companies in that field (Aetna, United Healthcare, Humana). Jeff Margolis, CEO of Trizetto, which makes its money selling IT systems to these guys, was the moderator. One of his initial questions was: "Do health plans need to repudiate their heritage and do things differently [to survive]?"
Healthcare law showdowns loom in appeals courts
Within the next few weeks, lawyers from 27 states will urge three U.S. appeals courts to strike down President Obama's healthcare law.
By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
Reporting from Washington- President Obama's healthcare law faces a series of challenges in three appeals courts starting Tuesday as Republican lawyers from 27 states will urge the courts to strike down the law as unconstitutional.
In a sign of the high stakes and the partisan divide, one case will feature a rare courtroom clash between the Obama administration's top appellate lawyer and his counterpart from the George W. Bush administration.
Housing crash is getting worse: report Commentary: But all this bearish news makes me bullish
By Brett Arends, MarketWatch
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — If you thought the housing crisis was bad, think again.
It’s worse.
New data just out from Zillow, the real-estate information company, show house prices are falling at their fastest rate since the Lehman collapse.
Average home prices are down 8% from a year ago, 3% over the quarter, and are falling at about 1% every month, according to Zillow.
Home Prices Plunge Again in Worst Quarterly Decline Since 2008
ByDawn Kawamoto - DailyFinance.com
If you're looking to score a great deal on that cute little home, it turns out you may want to wait a little longer to buy -- like until next year: U.S. home values dropped 3% in the first quarter, their sharpest quarter-over-quarter decline since the dark days of late 2008, according to the Zillow Home Value Index report released Monday.
Based on those results, as well as increases in foreclosures and underwater mortgages, Zillow revised its forecast for when U.S. home values will bottom out. The real estate tracking service now expects home values won't begin to recover until 2012 -- at the earliest -- instead of later this year.
In Fine Print, Banks Require Struggling Homeowners to Waive Rights
by Paul Kiel - 247WallSt.com
A few months ago, Bank of America offered Sergio Cortez of Staten Island, N.Y., the help he desperately needed to stay in his home: a break on his mortgage. Like millions of others, he was facing foreclosure. But there was a catch buried in the fine print. Cortez had to waive any possibility of ever suing the bank for anything relating to the loan.
Cortez isn't alone. While regulators have banned the practice, some banks and others who handle mortgages have still been forcing homeowners into a corner: You want a chance at saving your home? Then you'll have to waive your rights.
"It's just unfair," said Jane Azia, director of consumer protection for the New York State Banking Department. "It puts borrowers in a very vulnerable situation."
Why the housing market is caught in a liquidity trap
By Nin-Hai Tseng - Fortune.CNN.com
FORTUNE – In textbook economics, lower interest rates typically spur higher investments. Money is cheap. So the assumption is that people, banks and companies will spend more, therefore helping the economy grow.
But that doesn't always work. Sometimes cutting the rate of interest, even to zero, won't necessarily pull an economy out of a recession. British economist John Maynard Keynes called this the liquidity trap -- when virtually everyone becomes so risk averse that banks would rather sit on their cash than offer credit. And even if banks start lending more, people wouldn't want the credit anyway.
'Underwater' Homeowners Rise to 28 Percent: Zillow
By John Gittelsohn - Bloomberg.com
More than 28 percent of U.S. homeowners owed more than their properties were worth in the first quarter as values fell the most since 2008, Zillow Inc. said today.
Homeowners with negative equity increased from 22 percent a year earlier as home prices slumped 8.2 percent over the past 12 months, the Seattle-based company said. About 27 percent of homes with mortgages were "underwater" in the fourth quarter, according to Zillow, which runs a website with property-value estimates and real-estate listings.
Floodwaters Spill Into Memphis Levees Hold as the Swollen Mississippi Nears Record Height,
but Some Neighborhoods Are Inundated
By CAMERON MCWHIRTER in Memphis
and MIKE ESTERL in Atlanta - WSJ.com
The swollen Mississippi River rose to its highest level in nearly 75 years near Memphis, Tenn., Monday, inundating low-lying neighborhoods and acres of farmland and pushing up wholesale gasoline prices as fuel terminals along the waterway closed.
Authorities warned residents in about 1,350 homes across Shelby County to move to higher ground, and more than 380 people took refuge in four area shelters amid a deluge fed by runoff from melting snow and heavy spring rains. The river was expected to crest at a height of 48 feet late Monday or early Tuesday, just shy of the city's record of 48.7 feet set in 1937. The river's typical depth this time of year is 28 feet to 30 feet.
Why Apple is going to be worth $2 trillion With earnings growing 90%, it’s not unreasonable
By James Altucher
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — I did a video the other day where I made a big mistake. I said Apple was going to be the world’s first trillion dollar company. When I was walking home late that night some homeless guy yelled at me from the gutter, "Hey, loser, why stop there? Why not say Apple is going to be the world’s first $2 trillion company?"
And that sounds about right.
Apple AAPL -0.02% will be the world’s first $2 trillion company. Right now, the market values Apple at $323 billion.
Christian Church Burnings Are Happening All Over The World And The U.S. Media Is Deadly Silent About It
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Did you know that hundreds of church burnings have taken place all over the globe so far in 2011? For a large percentage of those of you that are reading this article, this is the first that you have heard of it. And do you want to know why? News stories about church burnings and the persecution of Christians around the world are not "politically correct" enough to get into the mainstream media most of the time. Have you ever noticed that an overwhelming percentage of news stories about Christianity in the mainstream media are negative? There seems to be an unspoken rule that you should never report on anything that would portray the Christian faith in a positive light - even if it is reporting on how churches are being mercilessly burned to the ground. Others fear that reporting on church burnings would somehow justify the endless wars in the Middle East. But the truth is that many of the regimes that the U.S. government has put in place or is propping up are actively involved in the persecution of Christians. Whatever religion you belong to, and whatever your political philosophy is, we should all be able to agree that church burnings are evil. If you cannot agree that there is something wrong with burning churches to the ground then something is wrong.
Coastal Bank, Cocoa Beach, Florida
BankImplode.com
Coastal Bank, Cocoa Beach, Florida, became the 40th ailing bank to be closed in 2011. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $13.4 million.
Coastal Bank, Cocoa Beach, Florida, was closed today by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Premier American Bank, National Association, Miami, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of Coastal Bank.
Gold prices seen rising next week: Kitco Gold Survey
By Debbie Carlson - CommodityOnline.com
After a sharp fall in gold prices this week, precious metals market watchers are looking for the metal to rise slightly next week, but caution abounds.
In the inaugural Kitco News Gold Survey, 27 out of 35 participants responded. Fifteen of those 27 see prices up, while eight see prices down and four see prices sideways or unchanged. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders and technical chart analysts.
Guess who's buying gold? The Institutional Gold Rush
by Peter Schiff
I have worked on Wall Street my entire life, and one thing I've learned is that large institutional investors, like pension funds and endowments, rarely veer from the herd. They manage too much of other people's money to stick their necks out alone – if their investments go bad, at least they can point to everyone else who fared just as poorly.
For this reason, these funds are often lagging in their perception of crucial market changes – changes such as a doomed currency. While many of us are buying precious metals to hedge against the collapse of the dollar, gold and silver have been taboo investments on Wall Street for years. Fund managers are taught that gold is a "barbarous relic" – much better to stick with government bonds and blue-chip stocks. That's what everyone else is doing.
Metals Outlook: Gold, Silver could stabilize this week
By Debbie Carlson
(Kitco News) - After a sharp drop in prices this week, the outlook is hazy for precious metals price direction, but some analysts believe the metals could see the slide ending next week, at least for gold. Silver could still see some losses, but given the violence and volatility of that market, most market watchers remained wary of forecasting the next move for the metal.
June gold futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $1,491.60 an ounce, down 4.1% on the week. July silver futures settled at $35.287 an ounce, down 27.4% on the week.
10 Secret Warning Signs of Inflation The Ten Secret Warning Signs of Inflation
by Louis Woodhill - LewRockwell.com
During his press conference last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that one of the Fed’s big concerns was that inflation was too low. He revealed that the Fed bases this contention on an index of "core inflation," which excludes food and energy costs.
"Core inflation" is mainly of interest to Americans who don't eat and don't drive. Others will be more concerned with broader inflation measures, such as the CPI-U. However, over the years, the government has modified the CPI-U to reduce the reported rate of inflation. Economist John Williams has noted that if the CPI-U were calculated the same way that it was calculated in 1980, the year-over-year inflation rate reported for March 2011 would have been 10.20% rather than the "official" 2.68% number.
Double-dip recession is now undeniable Commentary: Housing prices are falling, and so is the dollar
By Michael Pento
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (MarketWatch) — The evidence of a double-dipping housing market and economy are becoming undeniable, even to those who cling perilously to the notion that government intervention has been a salve instead of a poison.
The main evidence presented on the part of the "permabulls" of a healing economy is that corporate earnings have been good. However, S&P 500 earnings from multinational corporations have been significantly boosted by a U.S. dollar DXY +0.97% that has lost nearly 15% of its value in the past 12 months. So earnings look great, but they don’t buy you very much, while small-cap domestic businesses suffer under the scourges of inflation and slow growth.
Eurozone core meet in secret, but Greek exit from euro a 'fantasy' The meeting will cover 'difficult issues' for creditors
By LEIGH PHILLIPS
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Core Eurozone finance ministers are holding a secret meeting in Luxembourg to discuss "difficult issues", including Greece's ongoing troubles, but attendees will not be talking about a possible Greek exit from the eurozone.
The European Commission and the finance ministers of Germany, France, the Netherlands are in the Grand Duchy for a private chat about the "outstanding eurozone creditor issues with regard to the continuing problems in Greece," a source familiar with the discussions told EUobserver.
The Greek Debt Crisis Escalates: Is Greece Threatening To Leave The Euro?
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Is the Greek debt crisis about to explode out of control? According to Der Spiegel, the government of Greece is considering leaving the Euro and reestablishing its own currency. If that happened, it would throw global financial markets into chaos and it might mean the end of the euro as a pan-European currency. But the Greek government has to do something about all of these debts. At this point Greece is literally drowning in debt. The yield on 10-year Greek bonds has now reached an astounding 15.51%. There is no way that is sustainable even for the short-term. Greece is rapidly going bankrupt. Even with absolutely brutal austerity measures in place, the debt just continues to explode. There are protests against the government almost daily and Greece is in a state of chaos. Unfortunately, because Greece is part of the euro they can't just start printing lots of money as a way to get out of this crisis. Now there are persistent rumors that Greece really is thinking about leaving the euro, and that could potentially mean big trouble for the world financial system.
EU Seeks Collateral for More Greek Aid;
Trichet Reiterates Restructuring "Not on the Agenda",
Market Reiterates "Trichet is a Pompous Fool"
By Mike Shedlock
Once again ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet thinks he can tell the market what is going to happen. And once again the bond market says Trichet is a stubborn, arrogant fool.
Trichet Says No Greek Debt Restructuring
Please consider Trichet: Restructuring of Greek debt is "not on the agenda"
Greek debt restructuring, anticipated by markets, is "not on the agenda," insisted Thursday the president of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet in Helsinki. Greece has adopted a plan of budget cuts, said Jean-Claude Trichet. "The important thing is to fill point," he added, saying that it is the only way for this country to regain its "credibility" in the markets.
Athens Mulls Plans for New Currency Greece Considers Exit from Euro Zone
By Christian Reiermann - Spiegel.de
The debt crisis in Greece has taken on a dramatic new twist. Sources with information about the government's actions have informed SPIEGEL ONLINE that Athens is considering withdrawing from the euro zone. The common currency area's finance ministers and representatives of the European Commission are holding a secret crisis meeting in Luxembourg on Friday night.
Greece's economic problems are massive, with protests against the government being held almost daily. Now Prime Minister George Papandreou apparently feels he has no other option: SPIEGEL ONLINE has obtained information from German government sources knowledgeable of the situation in Athens indicating that Papandreou's government is considering abandoning the euro and reintroducing its own currency
Portuguese bail-out expected to push country into recession
The IMF will provide €26 billion in loans,
the rest comes from the European side
By HONOR MAHONY
Portugal's €78 billion EU-IMF bailout is expected to push the country into a two-year recession, outgoing finance minister Teixeira dos Santos has said.
The deal will mean "deep reforms and profound changes for our country" said dos Santos, including an overhaul of the public sector and the selling of state-owned stakes in important companies.
He also admitted that it is likely to cause the Portuguese economy to contract by 2 percent both this year and next, while unemployment is expected to rise to 13 percent in 2013, from the current 11 percent.
We won't pay off our debt...
Fine Gael Minister admits Ireland plans to restructure
€250bn borrowings as economist warns Ireland is bankrupt
By JOHN LEE - DailyMail.co.uk
Ireland will never repay the €250bn it has borrowed from the EU and IMF, senior government insiders have admitted – but we will not default until our EU partners agree we have no choice.
A senior minister last night told the Irish Mail on Sunday that the Cabinet expects our crippling debts to be 'restructured' within three years.
However, Fine Gael is pinning its hopes on the EU being forced by outside events, such as the collapse of the Greek economy, into a realisation that Ireland cannot hope to pay off the debt mountain accumulated by our rogue banks.
Beyond the Headlines: Understanding the Debt Ceiling
Treasury suggests $2 trillion debt cap raise
By Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai
(Reuters) - The Treasury has told lawmakers a roughly $2 trillion rise in the legal limit on federal debt would be needed to ensure the government can keep borrowing through the 2012 presidential election, sources with knowledge of the discussions said.
Obama administration officials have repeatedly said that it is up to Congress to decide by how much the $14.3 trillion debt limit should be raised.
But when lawmakers asked how much of an increase would be needed to meet the government's obligations into early 2013, Treasury officials floated the $2 trillion working figure, Senate and administration sources told Reuters.
Ron Paul: Audit the Fed!
The Obama Misery Index
James Pethokoukis - Reuters.com
The Misery Index (inflation plus unemployment) through March was 11.48 percent (2.68 percent, 8.8 percent). By comparison, it was 10.52 percent in 1992 when Bill Clinton handily beat George Bush. (It was nearly 21 percent in 1980 when Ronald Reagan crushed Jimmy Carter.) In fact, it has not been double digits for an entire year since Bush I’s first term. This goes along way in explaining why trust in Obama’s handling of the economy has collapsed. And a new Gallup Poll finds that Americans prefer the GOP budget approach to that of Democrats by 48 percent to 36 percent.
U.S. will press China to hasten yuan's rise
By IAN TALLEY - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON - U.S. officials will press China to allow the value of its currency, the yuan, rise more quickly, amid signs that Beijing may be deciding to move at a faster clip in part to fight inflation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan, meeting here this week, will discuss the yuan, trade, and other economic issues. Other U.S. and Chinese officials will address sensitive strategic concerns such as human rights, North Korea's nuclear aspirations and Iran sanctions. Their meetings mark the third round of talks dubbed the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an effort to increase contact between the two governments on a range of topics.
Geithner Blocked IMF Deal to Haircut Irish Debt
NakedCapitalism.com
Was the US Treasury Secretary’s deep sixing of a plan by the seldom-charitable IMF to give the Irish some debt relief Versailles redux? By that I mean the Treaty of Versailles, the agreement at the end of World War I devised by the victors to dismember the German economy. Bear with me as I tease out this conceit.
When most people think of the punitive deal, which most see as the cause of economic and social dislocation in Germany that fueled the rise of the Nazis, they focus on the unrealistic reparation payments without looking at the specific provisions intended to strip Germany of assets and productive capacity. As John Maynard Kenyes, a member of the British Treasury department who quit the negotiations in disgust to write The Economic Consequences of the Peace, the treaty seized, along with coal-rich Alsace Lorriane, but any assets held by German nationals in these territories were expropriated. In addition:
Gerald Celente:
The Fed, Public Enemy No. 1, "Osama" Bin Bernanke 1/3
Gerald Celente:
The Fed, Public Enemy No. 1, "Osama" Bin Bernanke 2/3
Gerald Celente:
The Fed, Public Enemy No. 1, "Osama" Bin Bernanke 3/3
Obama's prosperity pledge not squaring with reality
By Perry Bacon Jr. and Michael A. Fletcher - WashingtonPost.com
As Barack Obama neared the Democratic presidential nomination in March 2008, he delivered an address dubbed "Renewing the American Economy." The financial meltdown was still on the horizon, but he pointedly noted that most Americans were in the midst of a long economic slide that he said he would reverse if he were elected.
"For many Americans, the economy has effectively been in recession for the past seven years," he said in the speech, delivered at Cooper Union in Lower Manhattan. He added, "Americans are working harder for less."
Barack Obama's Plan To Tax Americans
For The Number Of Miles That They Drive
Is Part Of The Radical Green Agenda
Being Shoved Down The Throats Of The Entire World
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Do you know what a trial balloon is? It is when politicians will float an idea in the media to see what the reaction of the public will be. Well, right now one trial balloon that is being floated is the idea that we should tax Americans for the number of miles that they drive. This proposal showed up in a draft bill that was being circulated within the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget. You can view a copy of this draft bill here. Of course the Obama administration is denying that this proposal will be in the final draft of the legislation. The Obama administration is stressing that this was just "a draft" of the bill. But this is what happens very often with trial balloons. They are put out there and the politicians will say things like "this is being studied" or "this isn't a serious proposal yet" and then one day we all wake up and it is suddenly being implemented. The fact that there is even draft legislation that would tax Americans based on the number of miles that they drive should be incredibly sobering for all of us. If the global warming alarmists have their way, there are going to be lots of these kinds of taxes in our future.
Obama administration floats draft plan to tax cars by the mile
By Pete Kasperowicz - TheHill,com
The Obama administration has floated a transportation authorization bill that would require the study and implementation of a plan to tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive.
The plan is a part of the administration's Transportation Opportunities Act, anundated draft of which was obtained this week by Transportation Weekly.
The White House, however, said the bill is only an early draft that was not formally circulated within the administration.
Economy at a Crossroads
by Portfolio.com Editors
One day before economists get the latest check of the nation’s employment situation, they’re mulling over indications that worker productivity slowed to an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter, down from 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, on rising labor costs.
That shows a still-shaky jobs picture, and one that’s unlikely to firm up anytime soon. "I think we're in a situation where the markets and the Fed have been too optimistic," Bob Andres, chief investment strategist and economist at Merion Wealth Partners in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, told Reuters, adding that while he doesn't think the economy is going to fall off a cliff, the road to real recovery "is going to take a long time, and people ought to get back into that mode."
The data comes as initial filings for weekly jobless claims rose 43,000, the highest since mid-August, according to the Labor Department.
THOUSANDS OF MINNESOTANS RALLY AGAINST LIBERALISM
by John - PowerLineBlog.com
I didn't make it over to the State Capitol in St. Paul today, but thousands of Minnesotans did, to rally against increased taxes and spending. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:
The annual springtime ritual on the Minnesota State Capitol lawn known as the tax cut rally morphed a bit Saturday into a budget-cutting rally, as well.
"A lot of people in Washington need to hear your voices loud and clear," U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., told thousands of people spread out across the green on a sun-splashed afternoon. "It is not that Americans are taxed too little. It's the United States government spends too much.
Thousands rally against taxes, spending at State Capitol
by: BOB VON STERNBERG , Star Tribune
Tax cut rally in St. Paul targets state and federal spending levels as well as the taxes that fund government programs.
The annual springtime ritual on the Minnesota State Capitol lawn known as the tax cut rally morphed a bit Saturday into a budget-cutting rally, as well.
"A lot of people in Washington need to hear your voices loud and clear," U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., told thousands of people spread out across the green on a sun-splashed afternoon. "It is not that Americans are taxed too little. It's the United States government spends too much."
Members of the crowd -- self-identified Republicans, Tea Partiers, libertarians and conservatives -- roared in approval.
Foreclosures rise in March
By CINDY KIBBE -New Hampshire Business Review
CONCORD - Foreclosures in New Hampshire rose by more than 20 percent in March, according to figures from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
Some 543 foreclosed deeds were reported in March - a full 90 percent higher than the 286 reported in February, as well as 21 percent higher than the 449 recorded in March 2010.
As concerning as the numbers are, they are most likely artificially inflated due to the lifting of the temporary moratorium on foreclosures by large lenders.
Federal Regulators Sue Arizona Over Union Law
By MELANIE TROTTMAN - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON -- The National Labor Relations Board filed suit against the state of Arizona Friday, challenging the legality of a state constitutional amendment that requires workers to hold a secret-ballot election to decide whether to unionize a company.
The agency argues that the state cannot override a federal law that gives workers the option of the so-called card-check method of organizing, in which workers sign cards indicating their interest in forming a union. Labor groups favor the method, while many employers oppose it.
House Releases 'Do Not Track' Bill
By STEVE STECKLOW And JULIA ANGWIN
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A draft House bill with bipartisan support would prohibit companies from tracking children on the Internet without parental consent, restrict online marketing to minors and require an "Eraser Button" that would allow parents to eliminate kids' personal information already online.
The draft of the "Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011" - released by Rep. Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican - would go well beyond existing federal law. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 only requires websites aimed at children under 13 to obtain parental permission before collecting personal information such as kids' names or email addresses. The new legislation, among other things, would prohibit companies from using or providing to third parties personal information of kids under 18 for "targeted marketing purposes."
Twentysomethings should weigh health insurance options Graduates under age 26 can go (or stay) on their parents' plan, buy an individual policy or be covered by their employer. A little homework will help decide which plan is right.
By Kathy M. Kristof - LATimes.com
Jay Carey, 23, had the option of going back on his parents' health insurance plan when he left his last job to become a freelance graphics designer.
But that didn't mean he should have.
His family, and its health insurer, were based in Chicago. That meant a long commute for the Los Angeles-based Carey to see a plan physician. Besides, his dad, who probably would have to pay more for "family" coverage if Carey were to boomerang back onto the policy, wasn't wild about the idea.
"It seemed like it would be a lot easier for me to get my own plan," Carey said.
Restaurants Lift Prices as Inflation Hawks See Fed Lagging the Curve
By Anna-Louise Jackson and Anthony Feld - Bloomberg.com
Dining out will cost more this year as U.S. restaurants take advantage of the nearly two-year long expansion to boost prices on food and drinks.
Higher-priced menus reflect growing confidence by eateries that consumers can afford to pay more to eat out. Restaurants are emboldened in part by the success of U.S. airlines, which have raised fares almost 10 percent since a year ago, according toDean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital in New York.
Twisters Pummel Poultry Industry
By RYAN DEZEMBER - WSJ.com
SIMCOE, Ala. - Poultry breeder Terry Smith's hilltop chicken houses lie in ruins. Thousands of birds are dead. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment has been lost.
When a tornado met the metal buildings, "it was an explosion," Mr. Smith recalled.
Similar scenes played out across northern Alabama last week as the most destructive storms in decades swept across the Southeast. In addition to a death toll that stood at 329 people Friday and left thousands homeless, Alabama's nearly $3 billion-a-year poultry business, the largest segment of an agricultural industry that dominates the state, was dealt a crippling blow.
5/3/2011 -- Global earthquake and volcano overview --
New Madrid strangely SILENT
Mississippi River Swells Close to Record in Tennessee, Prompts Evacuations
By Brian K. Sullivan - Bloomberg.com
The Mississippi, the nation's largest river system, is nearing a record level in Memphis as its rising waters force widespread evacuations, slow waterborne commerce and threaten riverside oil refineries.
The Memphis river gauge was at 47.12 feet (14.4 meters) at 2 p.m. local time, according to theNational Weather Service. The record at Memphis is 48.7 feet set in 1937.
The Mississippi drains 41 percent of the continental U.S. and is the third-largest watershed in the world, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. It is a major delivery system for commodities and petroleum products and the land along its banks grow wheat, soybeans and other crops. Flooding across the south has killed at least two people, driven thousands from their homes and closed a 23-mile stretch of Interstate 40 in Arkansas.
The Worst Mississippi River Flood Ever?
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Please pray for those living along the Mississippi River. They are going to need it. The tornadoes that just ripped through the southeast U.S. are being called one of the worst natural disasters in American history, and now the flooding along the Mississippi River may top the damage done by those tornadoes. In fact, some are now projecting that this will be the worst Mississippi River flood ever recorded since the United States became a nation. You don't believe that? Well, Bob Anderson, an Army Corps of Engineers spokesman based in Vicksburg, Mississippi says that there has "never been a flood of this magnitude on the upper Mississippi". And you know what they say - "never" is a really, really long time. Hopefully everyone in the region has really good flood insurance. The flood that this is being compared to is the great 1937 Mississippi River flood. That flood was so nightmarish that it changed the whole way that the U.S. government approaches floods, but now this flood is surpassing the record levels set back in 1937 in many areas. This truly is a historic flood.
More people being told to evacuate parts of Memphis
as city waits as the river rises
By Associated Press - WashingtonPost.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Tourists gathered along Beale Street and gawkers snapped photos of the rising Mississippi, even as more residents were told Sunday to flee their homes and the river’s crest edged toward the city, threatening to soak greater pockets of the city.
Officials went door-to-door, warning about 240 people to get out before the river reaches its expected peak Tuesday. In all, residents in more than 1,300 homes have been told to go, and some 370 people were staying in shelters.
5/5/2011 -- Dutchsinse makes NBC News --
KSDK Leisa Zigman -- St. Louis, MO
5/5/2011 -- my viewers = the BEST! Dutchsinse -
HAARP Ring and Scalar Ray VIDEO GAME
Pakistan-U.S. Rift Widens TV Station, Newspaper Name Man They Say
Is CIA Station Chief in Islamabad
By SIOBHAN GORMAN And MATTHEW ROSENBERG - WSJ.com
Pakistani media aired the name of a man they said is the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief, prompting questions about whether the Pakistani government tried to out a CIA operative in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The CIA declined to comment. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency didn't respond to a request for comment.
Tensions, which have been building between the two countries for months, exploded after the bin Laden strike, which sharply embarrassed the Pakistani government. In another source of strain, the U.S. is pressing the Pakistanis for access to bin Laden's three wives, who are being held in Pakistani custody. The Pakistani government isn't complying with the request, a U.S. official said.
Pakistan Warns U.S. Against Raids
By TOM WRIGHT And MATTHEW ROSENBERG - WSJ.com
Pakistan's army chief and a top diplomat warned against a repeat of this week's U.S. raid against Osama bin Laden, strongly suggesting American forces could next time face military resistance and see its intelligence cooperation with Pakistan sharply curtailed - a development that would threaten the Afghan war effort and global counter-terrorism operations.
Salman Bashir, the country's foreign secretary, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that a repeat of Monday's raid could lead to "terrible consequences." Pakistani and U.S. officials have said Pakistan was not told about the attack that killed bin Laden until after the fact, which has led to Pakistani protests that their sovereignty was violated.
U.S. TRIES TO ASSASSINATE U.S. CITIZEN ANWAR AL-AWLAKI
BY GLENN GREENWALD - Salon.com
That Barack Obama has continued the essence of the Bush/Cheney Terrorism architecture was once a provocative proposition but is now so self-evident that few dispute it (watch here as arch-neoconservative David Frum -- Richard Perle's co-author for the supreme 2004 neocon treatise -- waxes admiringly about Obama's Terrorism and foreign policies in the Muslim world and specifically its "continuity" with Bush/Cheney). But one policy where Obama has gone further than Bush/Cheney in terms of unfettered executive authority and radical war powers is the attempt to target American citizens for assassination without a whiff of due process. As The New York Times put it last April:
It is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing, officials said. A former senior legal official in the administration of George W. Bush said he did not know of any American who was approved for targeted killing under the former president. . . .
Iran helping Syrian regime crack down on protesters, say diplomats Claim comes as four women shot dead by security forces in first use of violence against an all-female demonstration
By Simon Tisdall and foreign staff in Damascus - Guardian.co.uk
Iran is playing an increasingly active role in helping the Syrian regime crack down on pro-democracy protesters, according to western diplomatic sources in Damascus.
The claim came as Syrian security forces backed by tanks intensified operations to suppress anti-regime unrest in three new flashpoint towns on Sunday and it was confirmed that four women had been shot dead in the first use of force against an all-female demonstration.
Drone Targets Yemeni Cleric
By MARGARET COKER, ADAM ENTOUS and JULIAN E. BARNES - WSJ.com
The U.S. launched a drone strike in Yemen on Thursday aimed at killing Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric suspected of orchestrating terrorist attacks in the U.S, but he evaded the missile, Yemeni and U.S. officials said.
The attack came days after a U.S. Navy SEALs team killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan. Had Thursday's strike succeeded, the U.S. would have killed two of the most-wanted terrorists in a week.
The massacre you've been ignoring
BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT - Salon.com
While the U.S. media has been focused on Libya, the president's birth certificate and Osama bin Laden, a dramatic and brutal showdown has been unfolding between the government of Syria and opposition protesters.
An estimated 500 to 600 civilians have been killed in the 50-day uprising, and forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime have repeatedly opened fire on protesters. Part of the reason for the lack of American media coverage is that Western reporters were expelled from the country early on, and most are now covering the situation from neighboring Lebanon.
Parabolic Moves are Only Temporary for Silver and Gold
BY CHRIS VERMEULEN - FinancialSense.com
The past few weeks we have been seeing the US Dollar slide to new lows at an increasing rate. The strong devaluation of the dollar has sent precious metals like silver and gold rocketing higher out of control.
During the past 6 weeks both silver and gold have been rising in a parabolic formation. Meaning, the price is going straight up with strong volume as everyone gets greedy and buys into the commodities at the same time. Most of you who follow my work already know that if the general public is piling into an investment rocketing prices higher, you better start focusing on tightening your protective stops and or taking some profits off the table before the price collapses.
Collusion by Fed officials and Commodity Exchange heads
has its intended effect
By Dan Norcini
I find it amazing how effectively these people can coordinate their policies with the heads of the commodity exchanges and their pals at the big banks who are perennial shorts in the markets and have now managed to pluck the money out of hundreds of thousands of commodity trading accounts enriching the big banks (government sponsored hedge funds) in the process. Nothing like a freely operating financial system where the playing field is completely level and no one has an advantage over the next guy!
By their continued hiking of silver margins, the exchange effectively removed the liquidity in the silver market that the smaller specs have been providing. That left the market vulnerable to severe drops in price as these specs exited due to financial constraints which then removed a source of potential bids under the market as the CFTC commitments report has shown the small specs to be good buyers in the silver market. Even the bigger hedge funds are impacted by such a sharp hike in margins as their losses in silver then precipitate even more losses across other assorted commodity markets due to the cascading effect of mounting paper losses and margin calls and the need to raise cash.
US regulator probes reasons for silver slump
by Rob Mackinlay - CityWire.co.uk
A spike in the cost of owning silver futures is widely blamed for theslump in the silver price but the US regulator, which is already investigating allegations of manipulation in the silver futures market, is taking a closer look at what happened.
Bart Chilton, one of five commissioners appointed to oversee the regulator – the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) – told Citywire: 'Anytime we see anomalies or significant volatility, we take care to look at trading. Certainly this is the case in precious metals recently.' Silver hit a peak of $49.831 per ounce on April 25 but was trading today at $38.7 per ounce.
If It Is Time To Sell Gold
Then Why Are Central Banks Hoarding Gold Like Crazy?
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Has the time to sell gold now arrived? Before you start dumping all of your gold, you might want to check out what central banks all over the globe have been doing. There is some serious hoarding of gold that is going on. For most of the past two decades, central banks have been net sellers of gold, but now many of them are gobbling up gold as fast as they can. So why would they be doing this if gold was not a good investment? Yes, we did see gold, silver and oil all take a very serious tumble today. That is what happens sometimes - global financial markets are so unstable at this point that even a piece of relatively minor news can set off a bit of a panic in one direction or another. But the long-term trend for gold has been up, up, up and it look like the central banks around the world continue to expect the price of gold to soar over the long-term.
The central bank of Mexico gobbled up almost 100 tons of gold during February and March alone.
So how much is 100 tons of gold?
Doug Casey on Gold
Published by Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortalBlog.com
On April 29 Karen Roche of The Gold Report interviewed Doug Casey of Casey Research. I think the interview, titled ‘
Doug Casey: Precious Metals vs. the USD‘, ought to be read by all equity investors and by holders of physical gold or those thinking of buying physical gold – reading time 5 minutes.
I must admit to having a certain hesitation in recommending this interview so strongly. That hesitation has to do with the fact that I developed as early as late 2005 pretty much the same views as those espoused by Casey in this interview, and it is those views that led me to develop the Stock Research Portal website. Casey’s views as expressed in the interview are pretty straight-forward. As I read the interview I interpret him to say he:
thinks there is no necessary short-term co-relation between the performance of a given economy and a given stock or bond market, but that over a very long period of time there ought to be. This conforms with my view, and I have said recently in a number of these e-mails that I currently see a dichotomy between the current performance and prospective performance of the U.S. economy, and the current performance of the U.S. equity markets;
Central Banks Expand Gold Reserves With $6 Billion in Purchases
By Nicholas Larkin - Bloomberg.com
Mexico, Russia and Thailand added gold now valued at about $6 billion to their reserves in February and March as prices advanced to a record, the dollar weakened and Treasuries lost investors money.
Mexico bought 93.3 metric tons since January, increasing holdings from about 6.9 tons, according to data from theInternational Monetary Fund, and the nation’s central bank later said it purchased 100 tons in recent months. Russia increased reserves 18.8 tons to 811.1 tons in March and Thailand expanded assets 9.3 tons to 108.9 tons in the same month, the data show.
Gold is Up, But Still a Ways Off Its True Peak
By Addison Wiggin - TheDailyReckoning.com
05/04/11 Baltimore, Maryland – Gold has shown more resilience this week. At last check, it's still higher than it's been anytime up until... hmm, let’s check the chart... two weeks ago.
Still, the known big buyers and sellers of the yellow metal are making for an interesting trading environment currently.
The gold price is being pulled down, for example, by news that George Soros is cleaning out some of his considerable position.
The trade hasn't shown up in a 13-F filing - because that will be issued later this month - but The Wall Street Journal claims "the Soros fund has sold much of its gold and silver investments over the past month or so," according to "someone close to the firm."
QE3 and the Silver Entry Point
BY JOHN RUBINO - FinancialSense.com
With QE2 scheduled to wind down this summer and millions of American voters still unemployed, it was clear that the Fed was itching to keep the monetary spigot open. But how would that be possible with oil, food, and precious metals at or near historic highs and the dollar at multi-year lows? Clearly, something would have to happen to justify QE3.
Now we know what. On April 27 the Fed confirms that QE2 will end pretty soon, and one week later a slew of bad economic numbers just happen to hit the headlines. First-time jobless claims, productivity, consumer confidence all suddenly appear to contradict the idea that a sustainable recovery is underway. Stocks tank, oil falls, and gold and silver retrace their post-Bernanke press conference parabolic spikes. The economy is suddenly looking double-dipish.
An Interesting Theory on Silver for Volatile Times in Desperate Economic Conditions
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
Here is an interesting theory on the recent silver run up and correction which someone pointed out to me this evening from a chatboard.
I do not know if his theory is valid of course, and the author allows as much, as more data is required. I doubt even the COT report this Friday will be of use. I like to follow Harvey Organ and Dan Norcini on these matters and will look forward to their weekend commentary.
But what this person is saying is essentially the 'gut read' I had while watching the tape, off and on in recent days.
If the market was correcting because longs were selling out and walking away, why did the CME have to do a 4th and 5th margin increase to make it more difficult to hold long positions? If something is burning of its own accord, why keep pouring gasoline on it, over and over?
Today's Silver Scandal
Janet Tavakoli - TSF
Under-30 silver traders weren't alive to see the billionaire Hunt Brothers bankrupted by silver trades, and those under-45 years old probably never read about it. The Hunts’ silver debacle occurred after the "soybean caper," but before the CFTC fined them $500,000 in a July 1981 out of court settlement for blatant violation of commodities laws in their attempt to corner beans. The Hunts had borrowed money to buy silver and leveraged themselves in silver futures in an attempt to corner the market.
On March 14, 1980, the CFTC staff reported to their commissioners that the Hunt Brothers could handle their short-term losses as silver prices fell, because "they bought at low prices." The CFTC was right about the low purchase prices (around $15 on average), but it was wrong when it thought the Hunt brothers could handle the losses.
Simultaneously, then Treasury Secretary Paul Volcker instituted a new directive to U.S. banks as part of his anti-inflation policy. It was a "special restraint" on lending to speculators with holdings in commodities or precious metals. The banks knew better than to mess with Volcker, and they immediately closed the lending spigot to speculators in gold and silver.
Silver – Today's Thoughts
Published by Ian R. Campbell - StockResearchPortalBlog.com
Given its price drop over the past three days, I thought silver was worthwhile revisiting again today. Yesterday (Wednesday, May 4), the price of physical silver dropped for the third straight day, closing at U.S.$39.40 per ounce. By my calculation, this was down 18% from last Friday's close.
I last wrote about silver on April 26, the day Fed Chair Bernanke held a Press Conference where he reconfirmed that he thinks current non-durable U.S. inflation is ‘transitory’, and where he didn’t completely rule out a Quantitative Easing #3 sometime after June. A number of things have happened since April 26 that may be directly and indirectly affecting the silver price. These include:
the fact of the Bernanke Press Conference, the markets digestion of it over the ensuing day or two, and a subsequent market ‘return to acceptance’ that I have come in these last many months to think typical of how the financial markets are behaving;
Why Long-Term Silver Bulls Are in Good Shape
By Addison Wiggin - TheDailyReckoning.com
05/04/11 Baltimore, Maryland – Following record highs set Friday gold, silver and a host of other metals are taking a dive this morning. From Friday’s record close, gold is down $63 to $1,514.
Silver is down over $10… nearly 20%.
More than a third of silver’s tumble came yesterday when it gave back $3.50 an ounce, to $41 and change. Yesterday was the worst one-day drubbing since the grey metal’s epic fall from $50 in 1980.
Silver’s given back a couple more bucks this morning…
The correction coincides with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s third move in a week to increase margin requirements for traders.
"The heightened requirement is to ensure all trading parties are adequately capitalized for any price change," explains our resident pit trader Alan Knuckman, "The ones that get forced out by the new greater deposit mandates are typically on the wrong side of the market and hoping things change to make up losses."
China's "To-Do" List: Amass Gold, Create World Currency
BY RICHARD RUSSELL - FinancialSense.com
I don't think people understand the Chinese psychology. China has been denigrated, despised and "spat on" for decades. Strange, but I believe you can see the Caucasian attitude towards the Chinese in the price of Chinese food in Chinese restaurants. I remember years ago when Chinese chefs complained that their food was unappreciated and sold too cheaply compared with other cuisines. When you dine at a typical Chinese restaurant you expect to pay $13 to $15 for a dinner. But when you go to a French restaurant you are prepared to spend $25 or more for a dinner. Why? Is French cuisine really any better than the best Hong Kong cuisine?
When you take your clothes to a Chinese laundry you expect to receive bargain prices for laundering or dry cleaning. Why? Well, because it's Chinese.
What Would Happen If China Sells U.S. Treasurys? [see video]
RealClearMarkets.com
Neither the dollar nor the U.S. economy would collapse if China were to dump Treasury securities, since the Fed owns more of them, and also because the Chinese need to sock dollars somewhere, according to Fundmastery blogger Kurt Brouwer.
G. Edward Griffin The Collectivist Conspiracy
Whitney’s Muni-Mayhem Prediction - Who's Right?
BY DAVID KOTOK - FinancialSense.com
"Whitney Doubles Down" was the headline in Bloomberg BRIEF: Municipal Market. Meredith has dug her heels into the concrete with her December 2010 infamous forecast of "50 to 100 sizable defaults" that "will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars." She gave the interview in December and answered "next year" when she was asked about timing.
We are going to dig in our heels on the other side. We do not expect nor do we forecast that defaults on Munis in 2011 will reach anywhere near $100 billion. When we use the termdefault, we mean the non-payment of an interest or principal amount due on a bond issue. We are not talking about technical defaults where a bond covenant may have been breached and subsequently cured. We are talking only about money payments.
Bernanke warns that regulators must avoid burdensome rules
when enacting financial reform
By Jim Puzzanghera - LATimes.com
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that regulators need to avoid "ineffective or burdensome rules" as they implement the sweeping financial reform law passed last year.
In a speech at a Fed conference in Chicago on Thursday, Bernanke said broad new oversight of the financial system required under the law is already underway. As Fed chief, Bernanke is part of the new Financial Stability Oversight Council, which regularly convenes top government regulators to monitor the economy for signs of risk.
But he warned against regulators going overboard in reaction to the severe financial crisis that struck in 2008 and "stifling reasonable risk-taking and innovation in financial markets."
'Globalist threat more dangerous than Bin Laden'
RT's Kevin Owen talks to Anthony Wile, founder and chief editor of political website thedailybell.com, who does not think the death of Osama Bin Laden has brought any change to the safety of the world. Wile believes that the US is using the conflicts in the Arab world to consolidate power and weaken those nation states that have been 'resistant to globalist governance'.
Dear Liberals: It's Your Fed's Paper Money
That's Thwarting Full Employment
By Ralph Benko - Forbes/com
Last week, the Roosevelt Institute took notice of a massing conservative attack on the Progressives’ Achilles heel: the Fed’s paper dollar system. The Roosevelt’s Mike Konczal wrote, "Conservatives are organizing against a full employment mandate and rallying around the gold standard wing of their party, and I believe it is time progressives and liberals start to play offense."
Konczal is half right and half wrong. But he is more astute than most. Conservatives are rallying around the gold standard wing of their party. But not against a full employment mandate.
U.S. Will Push China to Let Yuan Strengthen at Faster Pace
By Flavia Krause-Jackson and Ian Katz - Bloomberg.com
U.S. officials will press their Chinese counterparts at a meeting next week to let the yuan strengthen more rapidly, a Treasury Department official said.
"We are going to press China to let its exchange rate adjust at a faster pace to correct its still-substantial undervaluation," David Loevinger, the Treasury’s senior coordinator for China, told reporters in Washington today. "China continues to intervene massively in foreign-exchange markets to constrain the appreciation of its currency."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with Chinese officials including Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo on May 9 and 10 in Washington. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and China Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan will also participate, Loevinger said.
The IMF’s Switch in Time
Joseph E. Stiglitz - ProjectSyndicate.com
NEW YORK – The annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund was notable in marking the Fund’s effort to distance itself from its own long-standing tenets on capital controls and labor-market flexibility. It appears that a new IMF has gradually, and cautiously, emerged under the leadership of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Slightly more than 13 years earlier, at the IMF’s Hong Kong meeting in 1997, the Fund had attempted to amend its charter in order to gain more leeway to push countries towards capital-market liberalization. The timing could not have been worse: the East Asia crisis was just brewing – a crisis that was largely the result of capital-market liberalization in a region that, given its high savings rate, had no need for it.
World Food Prices Rise to Near-Record Hig
as Inflation Speeds Up, UN Says
By Rudy Ruitenberg - Bloomberg.com
World food prices rose to near a record in April as grain costs advanced, adding pressure to inflation that is accelerating from Beijing to Brasilia and spurring central banks to raise interest rates.
An index of 55 commodities rose to 232.1 points from 231 points in March, the United Nations’ Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report on its website today. The gauge climbed to an all-time high of 237.2 in February before dropping 2.6 percent in March.
JPMorgan Is Making Big Profits From Food Stamps!
Jan 14, 2010
Consumers, Rejoice: Clothing and Food Prices Should Fall Soon
ByDouglas McIntyre - DailyFinance.com
Over the past year, the prices of many commodities have risen at record paces to record highs, but recently, those prices have begun to plunge, and consumers should begin to see the beneficial effects of those declines fairly soon. Oil continues to be an high-priced exception, but the typical American shopper is probably going to see some relief when shopping for groceries and clothing.
Most recent headlines about falling commodities prices have focused on gold and silver. Silver prices have dropped below $40 nearly as quickly as they jumped toward $50. Butcorn pricesfell 2.9% on Monday and another 1.5% on Tuesday. Corn now trades at $7.16. A jump in the value of the dollar deserves part of the credit. In early April, corn traded at $7.72. Because a large amount of corn is used to feed cattle, the price of beef is likely to tick down as well.
Lord Monckton: Carbon Tax Scheme,
The Transfer/Thieft of Wealth from Middle Class to Elitist 1/2
Lord Monckton: Carbon Tax Scheme,
The Transfer/Thieft of Wealth from Middle Class to Elitist 1/2
The Double Dip's Official: Home Prices Fall to New Low
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
National home prices are officially on the hunt for a new bottom. After beginning to decline again this summer, once the home buyer credit expired, home prices hit a new post-bubble low in April, according to housing industry consulting firm Clear Capital. It reports that national home prices now sit 0.7% below their March 2009 low. Over the past nine months, they're down 11.5%.
Here's the chart from Clear Capital showing the descent of national home prices:
Seeking debt accord, GOP backs off Medicare revamp As talks begin between Biden and congressional leaders over how to shrink the federal deficit, Republican leaders acknowledge that their plan to privatize Medicare isn't moving forward any time soon.
By Lisa Mascaro and Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
Reporting from Washington - Congressional leaders and theObama administration began steering around a risky confrontation over the federal budget, as Republicansconceded that their plan to eventually privatize Medicare was not politically possible any time soon.
The shift came as talks opened Thursday between Vice President Joe Biden and congressional leaders over how to shrink the deficit.
"I have not taken Medicare off the table, but the president has," Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader, who represented House Republicans at the meeting with Biden, told reporters afterward. "The reality is this president has excoriated our budget plan and the Medicare proposal."
Bill Would Allow States to Use Unemployment Funds for Other Purposes
By Sara Murray and Corey Boles - WSJ.com
House Republicans unveiled a bill on Thursday that would give state governments greater leeway in how they spend federal funds earmarked for benefits for long-term unemployed people.
The legislation, introduced by House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.), would enable states to use the funds for other purposes including investing in job creation programs, repaying money already owed to the federal government through the program, providing tax breaks for employers, or continuing to pay jobless benefits to long-term unemployed people.
Consumer Confidence in U.S. Falls
as Fuel Costs Squeeze Household Budgets
By Bob Willis - Bloomberg.com
Consumer confidence dropped last week to the lowest level in more than a month as rising fuel costs squeezed American household budgets.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index decreased to minus 46.2 in the week ended May 1, the lowest level since the end of March, from minus 45.1 the prior period. Another report showed claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly surged last week, raising the risk the improvement in the jobs market has stalled.
Stocks dropped and Treasury securities rose on concern that rising expenses, including the highest gasoline prices in almost three years, may prompt companies and households to cut back on spending. The reports bolster the arguments of Federal Reserve policy makers like Chairman Ben S. Bernanke who've said job growth is too slow to remove record monetary stimulus.
Oil drops below $100 on concerns about demand;
percentage drop is biggest since April 2009
By Associated Press, WashingtonPost.com
NEW YORK - Oil plunged nearly 9 percent to settle below $100 per barrel. Investors who had ridden a months-long rally fled the market Thursday because of concerns about weakening demand for fuel in the U.S.
The decline of $9.44 per barrel, or 8.6 percent, brings the week's loss for oil to $14.13, or 12.4 percent. Other commodities like silver and cotton have plunged as well.
Gerald Celente on Adam vs The Man RT TV 03 May 2011
Elections... as of now, it looks like Obama; and more...
Unemployment report for April will be key
to gauging status of economic recovery
By Neil Irwin - WashingtonPost.com
With the U.S. economic recovery starting to show cracks, Friday’s monthly unemployment report will be a key test of whether the slowed growth is causing companies to pull back on hiring - a sign that it could be time to hit the panic button.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment insurance benefits spiked to 474,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, the highest total since August and up from 431,000 the previous week. The Labor Department has attributed the rise to temporary factors, such as layoffs in New York state tied to spring break, a new benefit program in Oregon, and temporary shutdowns at auto plants.
Without Jobs, U.S. Consumers Have No Strength
By Kathleen Madigan - WSJ.com
Jobs are to U.S. consumers what hair was to Samson.
A surge in jobless claims Thursday adds more urgency to the already important payroll number, due out Friday. The median forecast is that April payrolls grew by a modest 185,000 jobs. The month-long rise in claims creates an asymmetric risk: the number could more likely disappoint rather than delight.
Most forecasts had expected U.S. labor markets to improve, perhaps even accelerate, in 2011. Stronger job markets, along with a tax cut, would help consumer spending power by creating a virtuous cycle of demand and job growth.
New claims for unemployment benefits jump 43,000
The Associated Press - USAToday.com
WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits surged last week to the highest level in eight months, a troubling sign a day ahead of the government's report on April employment.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the 43,000 spike in applications to a seasonally adjusted 474,000 last week was largely the result of unusual factors, including a high number of school systems in New Yorkthat closed for spring break.
Still, it marked the third increase in four weeks. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose for the fourth straight week to 431,250.
Keiser Report: Bin Laden Bounce (E144)
All Eyes on the Mississippi River
As water flows backward
By Lauren Lee - FOX 13 News
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Mississippi River continues to rise, so much so that its tributaries are starting to flow backwards. At Tom Lee Park, preps for Memphis in May continue knowing that the worst is still yet to come.
It's a site not often seen; the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek are flowing backwards. The swelling river cannot take on much more water.
Gene Rench with the National Weather Service said all eyes are on the Mississippi. The tributaries flowing backwards are a big problem for the adjacent communities.
"Right now the Mississippi river is in the process of going through what we call an epic flood, meaning it's more than historic, it's more than a 100 year flood, it's more like a 500 year flood," he said. "We could flood many homes, businesses, close down factories, people could drown."
Commando Black Hawk Downed by Air Vortex,
Not Mechanics in Bin Laden Raid
By Tony Capaccio - Bloomberg.com
A United Technologies Corp. (UTX) Black Hawk helicopter taking U.S. Navy SEALs to Osama Bin Laden’s hideout was downed by an air vortex caused by unexpectedly warm air and the effect of a high wall surrounding the compound, not mechanical failure or gunfire, according to U.S. officials and a lawmaker.
The Army pilot from the service’s most elite aviation unit executed a hard but controlled landing -- clipping a corner wall -- after the chopper lost lift. The 12 heavily armed SEALs exited the aircraft unharmed.
Senior government officials briefing reporters by telephone on May 1, the day bin Laden was killed, gave conflicting accounts, first saying the chopper experienced a mechanical “malfunction” and then backtracking without an explanation.
Air Force witchcraft Political correctness casts a spell on the armed forces
Editorial by The Washington Times
The U.S. military's success in Pakistan this week proved the importance of maintaining a team focused on accomplishing dangerous missions. Others on the left prefer to look upon the armed forces as a playground to experiment with fringe ideas. Take the Air Force Academy which reportedly held a ceremony on Tuesday to dedicate a pile of rocks in the academy's "worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions."
This is a space cadets can use to perform rituals if they happen to be witches, warlocks and tree-worshipers. Overlooking the visitor center, the stone circle is designed for the benefit of a handful of those claiming to be Wiccans or Druids.
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. - President John F. Kennedy
Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest.
- President George W. Bush.
Momentous events that have changed American history have had at their core leadership that transcended party, administration and even time. President Kennedy's vision for the moon landing, like PresidentBush's vision for the hunt for Osama bin Laden, set in motion events that changed the world.
It would take one giant leap for mankind to pretend President Nixon was the driving force behind the Apollo missions. He deserves credit, of course, for following Kennedy's vision, just as President Obama deserves credit for following Mr. Bush's vision, but it would be the step of a truly small man to ignore the real visionaries.
Paul Craig Roberts: Osama bin Laden's Useful Death 1/2
Paul Craig Roberts: Osama bin Laden's Useful Death 2/2
Death of Bin Laden Doesn't Move Middle East
By Isobel Coleman - Blooomberg.com
In the U.S., Osama bin Laden's killing by Navy Seals has brought celebrations and feelings of victory and justice. But the al-Qaeda leader's demise likely holds more media impact than real-life significance. While he remains an important symbol to some, his global relevance diminished long before his death.
In the Middle East, news of bin Laden's end came mostly with a whimper. The reaction has largely been ambivalence and even indifference. Yes, there are groups mourning and honoring him: Hamas's prime minister, Ismail Haniya, condemned the "assassination" and prayed bin Laden's soul would rest in peace, and an ex-Hezbollah chief, Sheikh Sobhi al-Tufayli, was quoted as mourning the al-Qaeda leader's demise. Others in the region, as elsewhere, have questioned whether his death is real.
Washington Post: Old Arab Order Pro-bin Laden!
British Government: Hamas-Fatah Merger is Great!
By Barry Rubin
It is amazing what nonsense appears in the mass media. Consider the following paragraph from a Washington Poststory:
"A decade ago, the Middle East might have responded to the killing of Osama bin Laden with fury at the United States. But with the region convulsed by mostly peaceful popular revolutions, the response to his death has been muted, another signal that the old Arab order is being swept away."
So what does this say? Ten years ago, there would have been fury in the Middle East about bin Laden's killing but now, with the democracy movement, that's no longer true.
ISRAEL, U.S. MANEUVER AFTER PALESTINIANS GET TOGETHER
PZS - Truthdig.com
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has condemned the recent reunification of Palestinian leadership, met Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to forestall attempts by Palestinians to win national recognition in the U.N.
Sarkozy previously indicated support for the recognition of Palestine.
After the meeting, Netanyahu said that Hamas, which just patched things up with rival Palestinian leadership organization Fatah, needed to clarify that it was not maneuvering to achieve the destruction of Israel.
Palestinians end four-year rift at Cairo ceremony
By Marwa Awad
(Reuters) - Palestinian leaders formally ended a four-year rift between the secular Fatah and Islamist Hamas groups at a ceremony in Egypt Wednesday, a reconciliation they see as crucial to their drive for an independent state.
Israel, which in 1967 captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the Palestinians seek statehood, decried the deal as a blow to prospects for peace.
"We announce to Palestinians that we turn forever the black page of division," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's leader, said in his opening address.
Ground attack looms in Libya - next step on NATO war list?
Hamas throws challenge to Israel, Arabs on peace
(Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Wednesday challenged Israel to peace, offering to work with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt on a new strategy to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
But Meshaal, addressing a meeting in Cairo to announce a reconciliation agreement between his Islamist group and its secular Fatah rival, said he did not believe Israel was ready for peace with any Palestinians.
"We have given peace since Madrid till now 20 years, and I say we are ready to agree among us Palestinians and with Arab support to give an additional chance," Meshaal said, referring to the 1991 international Middle East peace conference that launched Israeli-Arab peace talks.
Israeli PM urges clarity from Hamas
(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday in Paris called on Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to clarify its position toward Israel before peace talks with Palestinians can resume.
Speaking to journalists after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Netanyahu accused Hamas of wanting a Palestinian state to pursue its aim of destroying Israel rather than living side-by-side in peace.
"The idea is not to establish a Palestinian state to continue the conflict as Hamas wants. The idea is to establish a Palestinian state to end the conflict," Netanyahu said.
Libyan rebels fear Gadhafi is preparing mustard gas
By Ashish Kumar Sen-The Washington Times
Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s troops in and around the rebel-held western Libyan city of Misrata have been issued gas masks, a sign that the regime may be preparing to use chemical weapons, rebels told The Washington Times on Wednesday.
The regime is thought to have about 9 tons of poisonous mustard gas at a secret desert location near Col. Gadhafi’s hometown, Sirte, multiple sources in Libya said.
Meanwhile, in New York, a special prosecutor for the International Criminal Court appeared before the U.N. Security Council to describe what he called "evidence" of "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilians by Col. Gadhafi’s forces.
Yemen-based al Awlaki may succeed Osama
Indo-Asian News Service
A Yemen-based Anwar al Awlaki is tipped to succeed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was killed earlier this week in Pakistan by US Navy SEALs in a commando strike, a media report said. US-born cleric al Awlaki is dubbed the bin Laden of internet because he uses the web to spread his evil gospel.
The 40-year-old called for a Mumbai-style massacre during a sting operation carried out by The Sun.
He has already engineered a string of attempted outrages here and in the US, The Sun reported.
Al Awlaki allegedly brainwashed 21-year-old student Roshonara Choudhry into stabbing labour MP Stephen Timms over his support for the war in Iraq. He also allegedly urged British Airways computer worker Rajib Karim, 31 - now in jail - to assist in a plot to blow up an airliner in a Lockerbie-style attack.
Webster Tarpley:
Next False Flag Terror Op will be Blamed on Pakistan's ISI 1/2
Webster Tarpley:
Next False Flag Terror Op will be Blamed on Pakistan's ISI 2/2
Evidence at bin Laden's home raises nuclear concerns Pakistani government links suspected
By Eli Lake - The Washington Times
Intelligence analysts are sifting through phone numbers and email addresses found at Osama bin Laden’s compound to determine potential links to Pakistani government and military officials while U.S. officials and analysts raise concerns about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear materials.
According to three U.S. intelligence officials, the race is on to identify what President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, has called bin Laden's "support system" inside Pakistan. These sources sought anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.
Who is Anwar al-Awlaki? This radical Islamic preacher - dubbed America's new "terrorist No. 1" - has been tied to the Fort Hood shooter, the "Underwear Bomber," and now the Times Square plot
POSTED ON MAY 24, 2010 - TheWeek.com
Anwar al-Awlaki, the extremist Muslim cleric who corresponded with Maj. Nidal Hasan prior to the Fort Hood shootings and whose teachings may have inspired both the "Underwear Bomber" and Time Square suspect Faisal Shahzad, calls for the killing of American civiliansand soldiers in a newly released video. In the video, al-Awlaki praises Hasan, calling his Fort Hood shooting spree a heroic and wonderful act. (Watch a CBS report about al-Awlaki's threats.) President Obama has recently approved the targeted assassination of Al-Awlaki, who is believed to be plotting against the U.S. from a hideout in Yemen. Here, a backgrounder on the man that Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) says is "terrorist No. 1 in terms of threat against us":
Imam in the cross hairs Civil libertarians want to stop the U.S. from assassinating American Imam Anwar al-Awlaki. Why is he a marked man?
POSTED ON OCTOBER 29, 2010 - TheWeek.com
Who is Anwar al-Awlaki?
"Terrorist No. 1 in terms of threat against us," in the words of Rep. Jane Harman, an intelligence expert. The sermons of the charismatic, Internet-savvy imam have been found in the possession of nearly every Islamist radical who has attacked Western targets in recent years, including the London subway bombers and Zachary Chesser, an American who recently confessed to helping Somali terrorists. Al-Awlaki may even have been involved in the 9/11 attacks (see below). The Obama administration has targeted him for assassination, to the dismay of civil-liberties advocates, who note that he is an American citizen who has never been charged with terrorism crimes. Al-Awlaki’s father and the American Civil Liberties Union have sued the government, arguing it can't impose a death sentence on a U.S. citizen without trying him first.
Anwar al-Awlaki added to a CIA list of targets for capture or killing
EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda Leader Dined at the Pentagon
Just Months After 9/11
By Catherine Herridge - FOXNews.com
Anwar Al-Awlaki may be the first American on the CIA's kill or capture list, but he was also a lunch guest of military brass at the Pentagon within months of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Fox News has learned.
Documents exclusively obtained by Fox News, including an FBI interview conducted after the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009, state that Awlaki was taken to the Pentagon as part of the military’s outreach to the Muslim community in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
The incident was flagged by a current Defense Department employee who came forward and told investigators she helped arrange the meeting after she saw Awlaki speak in Alexandria, Va.
Pentagon Dinner Guest al-Awlaki Slated to Replace Osama
Kurt Nimmo - infowars.com
Yemen-based Anwar al-Awlaki is scheduled to replace the late Osama bin Laden, according to news reports.
As Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann notes above, al-Awlaki is the new face of terror in a war designed to last forever.
"Anwar al-Awlaki, affiliated with a Yemen-based faction of al-Qaida, is being mentioned in national media reports as a potential successor to Osama bin Laden, who was killed last week in Pakistan," reports a Carlsbad, New Mexico newspaper. The Muslim cleric was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Webster Tarpley: Anwar Al-Awlaki
The CIA Lacky - Alex Jones Tv
Hmong American Federal Credit Union of St. Paul, Minnesota
BankImplode.com - May 4, 2011 – 6:04 pm
Hmong American Federal Credit Union of St. Paul, Minnesota, was placed into conservatorship by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) today.
The credit union remains open and operating, although services have moved to a new location. While continuing normal member services, NCUA will work to resolve issues affecting the institution's safety and soundness.
Valued Members Federal Credit Union of Jackson, Mississippi
BankImplode.com - May 4, 2011 – 6:01 pm
Valued Members Federal Credit Union of Jackson, Mississippi, was placed into conservatorship by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) today.
Valued Members Federal Credit Union remains open and operating. While continuing normal member services, NCUA will work to resolve issues affecting the Valued Members Federal Credit Union's safety and soundness.
Utah Central Credit Union, Salt Lake City, Utah
BankImplode.com - April 29, 2011 – 5:41 pm
Utah Central Credit Union, Salt Lake City, Utah, was closed today and it's members will now be served by Chartway Federal Credit Union .
The Utah Department of Financial Institutions today appointed the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as the liquidating agent for Utah Central Credit Union of Salt Lake City. Chartway Federal Credit Union of Virginia Beach, Virginia, immediately purchased and assumed Utah Central Credit Union's assets, liabilities and members.
Update on Debt Ceiling Charade
by CalculatedRisk The WSJ has an update on the charade:
GOP, White House Talk Deal on Debt
GOP leaders and the White House are discussing a deal that would enact strict deficit targets and some spending cuts ... The deal would defer contentious decisions about Medicare, Medicaid and taxes until after the 2012 elections.
Targets that would aim to bring the deficit below 3% of gross domesticproduct by 2015 ...
I find this amusing. First the current CBO projection shows the deficit at 3% of GDP in 2015 - so this is a big yawn, plus a future congress can change the rules. Of course the 3% includes the expiration of the tax cuts at the end of 2012, but that just means another battle after the election. (Note: the tax cuts were really "tax shifts" since they shifted the burden to future taxpayers).
Why Central Bankers Prefer a Long Depression
By Kris Sayce - DailyReckoning.com.au
"The problem of leverage, the sheer volume of debt in the economy, is still very large and this poses massive macro-economic challenges. I think these macro-economic challenges will last many years."
So says Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King.
Meanwhile, in Happyville, Eric Johnston informs readers of The Age:
"Westpac has delivered a seven per cent increase in first-half cash profit to $3.17 billion as charges for bad debts fell away sharply in a further sign the worst of the financial crisis is behind the banking sector."
He's right. It is behind the banking sector. Close behind. And catching up fast. We have an urge to say “Behind you", pantomime style!
It's not often we agree with central bankers. But on this occasion we'll agree with Mr. King.
Of course, you need to take his comments in context. Because he also said:
"The economic consequences of high-level indebtedness now would become more severe if rates were to rise."
Keiser Report: Meets Schiff Report 3.0 (E143)
Officials Defend Fed's Stance on Inflation
By JON HILSENRATH - WSJ.com
Two Federal Reserve officials defended the central bank's stance on inflation, arguing that food and energy price increases are likely to slow on their own and if the Fed were to try to hasten that it might do more harm than good.
"We are seeing a temporary bulge in inflation before we return to an underlying level of about 1.25 to 1.5% annually," said John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in his first public comments since being named to the post in March.
With his comments, Mr. Williams placed himself firmly in the camp of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who believes that recent inflation increases will prove transitory and thus that the Fed can keep interest rates near zero. The Fed's policy, Mr. Williams said, wasn't the main factor driving commodities prices higher.
Gold moves pit Soros against Paulson Soros reportedly sells, while Paulson & Co. sees much higher prices -- By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Soros Fund Management, one of the biggest hedge-fund firms in the world, sold much of its gold and silver investments over the past month because there’s less chance of deflation, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Nevertheless, gold could climb as high as $4,000 an ounce over the next three to five years, according to John Paulson, head of hedge-fund giant Paulson & Co., speaking to investors during a Tuesday meeting at New York Public Library, the Journal also said.
Is gold about to go vertical? Commentary: Compared to past bubbles, gold should move higher -- By Brett Arends, MarketWatch
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Gold is in a bubble. Anyone will tell you that. They've been saying it since gold was about, oh, $500 an ounce.
But it’s a funny kind of a bubble. It's the only one I've encountered where so few people seem to own the asset in question.
During the dot-com bubble, you met lots of people with tech stocks. Taxi drivers told you what dot-coms they owned.
During the housing bubble you met normal, ordinary people who were trading up to expensive homes using adjustable-rate mortgages, buying new condos off plan to flip, and cashing out their fictional "equity" through a refinance mortgage.
But who actually owns gold? I keep hearing about the gold bubble, but every time I ask people if they own any themselves, they say, "no, no, of course not, it's a bubble."
The War on Gold (and Silver) Last Friday, three luminaries of the precious metals sector stayed in Munich: Bill Murphy, James Turk and Egon von Greyerz. Reason enough for me to travel to the capital of Bavaria in order to conduct some interviews with them.
By Lars Schall
"An Evening with Bill Murphy" – that was the motto of an event of the Munich-based "Deutsche Edelmetall Gesellschaft" (German Precious Metals Society), which took place on Friday evening in the "Wappensaal" (hall of emblems) of the world-famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich in front of 200 interested listeners.
Before that, I met Bill Murphy, chairman of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, GATA, James Turk, founder of GoldMoney, and Egon von Greyerz, Managing Partner of Matterhorn Asset MGMT, in a hotel in Munich.
BILL MURPHY: "The notion that America has a free press is false"
'USD sinking like OBL to ocean bottom'
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Comex Raises Silver Margins for 4th Time
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
CME Raises Silver Margin Requirements for the 4th Time
I'm trying to remember how many times the Fed raised stock margin requirement during the tech bubble, or mortgage down payment minimums and bank reserve requirements in the last credit bubble.
The spin machine and demand dampening campaigns are well underway in an attempt to rescue the pampered princes of Wall Street and the City of London from yet another overleveraged paper asset scheme gone wrong, wobbling the Anglo-American banking system.
Does Gold Have Higher to Climb?
By Daniel Indiviglio - TheAtlantic.com
You've probably heard about gold. It's been doing pretty well over the past several years. Since November 2008, its price has soared 87%. Over the last decade, its price is up 441%. To put that into perspective, over the same period, the S&P500 stock index is up just 14%. Is it a bubble? Lots of skeptics say so. Anytime an asset's annual return averages above 40% for an extended period, it's hard to see it as anything other than a temporary phenomenon bound to change direction before long. Those kinds of gains aren't sustainable. Just ask tech stocks and houses, right?
Wrong, says Brett Arends at MarketWatch. He charts the gold rally and compares it to the asset price jumps during the tech and housing bubbles. The picture is compelling, and appears to imply that, if there is a gold bubble, and it has a similar trajectory to the other two bubbles, then it will climb much higher -- soon and quickly. Here it is:
Mexico, Russia, Thailand Add $6 Billion of Gold to Reserves, IMF Data Show -- By Nicholas Larkin - Bloomberg.com
Mexico, Russia and Thailand added gold now valued at about $6 billion to their reserves in February and March as prices advanced to a record, the dollar weakened and Treasuries lost investors money.
Mexico bought 93.3 metric tons since January, adding to holdings of about 6.9 tons, according to International Monetary Fund data. Russia increased its reserves by 18.8 tons to 811.1 tons in March and Thailand expanded assets by 9.3 tons to 108.9 tons in the same month, the data show.
Gold vs. Silver and Other Commodities
BY STEVE SAVILLE - GreenFaucet.com
There's an old saying to the effect that the public will believe almost any bullish story as long as the price is rising. For example, as a result of the spectacular rise in the prices of tech and internet shares during the late 1990s, the investing public came to believe that traditional valuation metrics did not apply to these shares and that technology-driven increases in productivity would cause seemingly-crazy valuations to become even crazier over the decade ahead. For another example, when the oil price went parabolic during the final few months of 2007 and the first six months of 2008, the public got caught-up in the idea that the world was running out of oil even though the spectacular price rise was accompanied by an increase in oil supply relative to commercial demand. For a third example, one of the bullish stories that has recently been embraced in response to silver's massive price advance is that silver is all but guaranteed to make additional large price gains relative to gold because the world's aboveground silver supply is less than the world's aboveground gold supply.
Silver: Strong fundamentals to beat transient speculation
By Rakesh Neelakandan
Silver futures dropped for a third day on Comex as the exchange hiked margin money requirements. The drop is seen as the worst run for the commodity since January.
July silver contract on Comex dropped as much as 5% to touch $40.465 per ounce, subsequent to losing 7.6% Tuesday and 5.2 % on Monday.
CME Group - the owners of the Comex - announced this week that minimum amount of cash to be deposited for borrowing silver for trading would climb to $16,200 per contract at the close of business from Tuesday. Prior to that, the margin was at $14,513, according to a Bloomberg report.
Wide-Left in Wisconsin
By J.T. Young - The American Spectator.org
In their recall attempt of a state judge, Wisconsin liberals aimed, fired, … and missed. State Supreme Court Justice Prosser was supposed to be the left's first major reclamation project following last November's conservative resurgence. Instead of being the "shot heard across the country," it didn't even resonate across the state. It well reminds that liberals remain "more bang than bullet" in most of America.
Wisconsin has become the center of America's political crosswinds. Last November, Republicans took control of the federal congressional delegation, defeated an incumbent Senate Democrat, won the governorship, and gained majorities in both state houses. Flush from these victories, Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled state legislature moved to make good on their campaign promises to get Wisconsin's finances in order.
Unions refocus political activity
By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - Feeling under siege in more than a dozen states, some of the nation's largest labor groups are focusing their political activity to challenge state laws that sharply curb union rights or to oust the legislators who crafted them.
That could hurt congressional Democrats who rely heavily on organized labor for campaign money and get-out-the vote efforts. Democrats received 93% of the money union-affiliated political action committees donated to federal candidates in last year's midterm elections, according to data collected by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Pew study finds a nation divided and doctrinaire
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen - WashingtonPost.com
Across the political spectrum, from right to left and in the middle, Americans have become more doctrinaire and ideological in their political views, according to a major new study by the Pew Research Center.
"Staunch Conservatives" and "Solid Liberals," two groups identified in the study with strong allegiance to the Republican and Democratic parties, are more ideologically consistent internally while sharing almost nothing in common with one another on major political issues. Those findings are emblematic of the deep polarization that now shapes American politics.
Fed's Rosengren Says Job Growth Too Slow to Remove Stimulus
By Joshua Zumbrun and Sara Eisen - Bloomberg.com
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said the economy isn't growing fast enough to achieve the central bank’s goals of full employment and stable prices, and that "nothing’s off the table" if the outlook deteriorates.
"I'd like to see growth that's strong enough to generate jobs at a faster rate than 200,000" a month, Rosengren said in an interview with Bloomberg Television to air tomorrow. For interest rates to rise, "we'd have to see much more job growth than we’ve seen to date."
Survey: Most Americans Underestimate Retirement Healthcare Costs
ByRon Dicker - DailyFinance.com
This is the new retirement plan: Work out, eat right and hope that you can keep healthcare costs to a minimum.
Americans are so freaked out at the prospect of going broke to pay medical bills that the majority of them are making lifestyle changes now,according to the Sun Life Financial (SLF) "Flying Blind" surveyreleased Wednesday. A whopping 53% reported dieting and exercising more, quitting smoking or reducing stress in order to reduce medical costs later. And it's not just the 40 to 50 crowd -- thirty-somethings are also taking action.
Tax hikes on the way for Connecticut residents
By Tami Luhby
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Connecticut residents: Get ready to pay more taxes!
Governor Dannel Malloy on Wednesday signed a $40.1 billion budget that raises taxes on sales, income, cigarettes and corporations.
The two-year plan, which also cuts spending, depends on state employees agreeing to $2 billion in concessions between now and 2013. The governor said he could send out more than 4,000 layoff notices to the state's roughly 50,000workers soon if a deal isn't reached.
Americans Still Don't Like Small Cars Both Ford and GM claim Americans are rushing to buy their new small cars, but history suggests the trend won't last
The Analyst - TheAtlantic.com
Environmentalists and auto gurus have a maxim: When gas prices go up, car sizes should go down. The statistics I've seen tell another story: Americans don't like small cars as much as the media wants us to.
Last week, Ford reported its best first-quarter earnings in over a decade. The company claims that "higher fuel prices [are] causing a shift in U.S. segmentation toward small cars," like the Ford Focus. Cross-town rival General Motors also reported that "consumers are beginning to trade in larger vehicles for smaller, more fuel efficient ones."
Americans Still Don't Like Small Cars Both Ford and GM claim Americans are rushing to buy their new small cars, but history suggests the trend won't last
The Analyst - TheAtlantic.com
Environmentalists and auto gurus have a maxim: When gas prices go up, car sizes should go down. The statistics I've seen tell another story: Americans don't like small cars as much as the media wants us to.
Last week, Ford reported its best first-quarter earnings in over a decade. The company claims that "higher fuel prices [are] causing a shift in U.S. segmentation toward small cars," like the Ford Focus. Cross-town rival General Motors also reported that "consumers are beginning to trade in larger vehicles for smaller, more fuel efficient ones."
BREAKTHROUGH - 3D transistors for computer chips... Intel, Seeking Edge on Rivals, Rethinks Its Building Blocks
By DON CLARK - WSJ.com
Intel Corp. showed off what it called the most radical shift in semiconductor technology in more than fifty years, a design that could produce more powerful chips for gadgets without taxing their batteries.
The company plans to change a key part of each chip into a vertical, fin-like structure, a similar principle to the way high-rise buildings pack more office space in a city. The parts being changed - transistors - are the building block of nearly all electronic products; today's microchips can contain billions of the tiny switching elements.
Intel Debuts First 3-D Transistor for New 'Ivy Bridge' Chip
By Mike Isaac - Wired.com
Intel has announced the world's first 3-D microprocessor transistor for mass production.
It's a major breakthrough for the semiconductor industry, which has been trying for years to get the microscopic semiconductor structures that make up computer chips into the third dimension.
"This transition to 3-D devices will help us continue Moore’s Law," said Intel senior fellow Mark Bohr at the news conference Wednesday. "Clearly you can pack more things into a small space if you go vertical with 3-D."
The Tri-Gate 3-D transistors will be put onto a new line of Intel chips. Dubbed "Ivy Bridge," the chips are the world’s first mass-produced 22-nanometer microprocessors, which means they also contain the smallest semiconductors yet available on a production chip.
Tech from Plextronics Could Replace Lightbulbs, 'Do Away With iPads'
By Karen A. Frenkel - Bloomberg.com
In 1990, Richard McCullough was pondering a new way to make conductive polymers so that they would transfer more electricity in electronic applications. McCullough, then a chemistry professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, knew this type of linked molecule was hard to manufacture cheaply on a commercial scale. He thought joining the ends of a chain to form a collapsible loop might solve both problems.
After a decade of federally funded research, McCullough proved his hypothesis. "We figured out a way to connect a polymer head to tail," he says. "That allowed the structure to be flat so electrons could run up and down it, like water in a hose." If a hose is straight, lots of water flows through. When twisted, the stream thins. "Through synthesis we straightened out our polymer to make it very conductive," McCullough explains.
What It Looks Like When Hackers Sell Your Credit Card Online
By Kevin Poulsen - Wired. com
With the number of people exposed in breaches at Sony now topping 100 million, it’s natural to wonder what happens next if your data winds up in the hands of for-profit cybercriminals. The answer is, it probably gets sold for less than the price of first-person-shooter.
Sony this week announced a second breach of its systems, this one targeting Sony Online Entertainment, the company’s game development and distribution arm. Sony uncovered the hack while investigating last month’s intrusion into the PlayStation Network that compromised personal information on 77 million users, included the encrypted credit card data belonging to 12 million of them. The new attack adds another 24.6 million users, with 20,000 credit card and bank account numbers.
Portugal Agrees on $116 Billion Bailout With Wider Deficits
By Joao Lima - Bloomberg.com
May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Portugal reached an agreement with officials preparing its European Union-led bailout that will provide as much as 78 billion euros ($116 billion) in aid and allow more time to reduce the country’s budget deficit.
The three-year plan set goals for a budget deficit of 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this year, 4.5 percent in 2012 and 3 percent in 2013, Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in Lisbon today. The government in March targeted a deficit of 4.6 percent this year, 3 percent in 2012 and 2 percent in 2013.
"The government was able to obtain a good agreement," Socrates said in comments broadcast live from his official residence. "Naturally there are no programs of financial assistance that are not demanding and that do not imply a lot of work. That does not exist."
Obama's Ground Zero hypocrisy The left cheers Barack after jeering George
Editorial by By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Unconscionable. Politicizing. A slap in the face. Those were the kinds of phrases the left deployed against President George W. Bush to suggest he was exploiting the memory of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. These same voices are now giddy with delight at the prospect of PresidentObama's "mission accomplished" visit to Ground Zero on Thursday. Such hypocrisy is par for the course.
Under other circumstances the planned wreath-laying would invite less controversy. Honoring those who fell on 9/11 days after Osama bin Laden's demise is fitting. Given the care Mr. Obama ordered be givenbin Laden’s remains, it would be unseemly if the killer received more respect than his victims. Yet liberal Democrats have poisoned the well over the past decade, lending Mr. Obama's actions the appearance of opportunistic political theater - particularly given the approach of the 2012 campaign season.
Senators misled by likely fake bin Laden photos
By: CNN’s Dana Bash and Ted Barrett
Washington (CNN) – Several senators said Wednesday they had seen a photograph of Osama bin Laden after he was shot, describing it to reporters and using it to help form their opinion on whether or not President Obama should release pictures of the dead terrorist.
Now, on a day when fake photographs of a dead bin Laden are flying around the internet, those senators say they cannot be sure whether what they saw and talked to reporters about was real.
Pakistan reacts angrily to tone of U.S. questions
By the CNN Wire Staff
Washington (CNN) -- The United States is pressing Pakistani authorities for answers about how Osama bin Laden could have lived close to a major military base near Pakistan's capital without the government knowing, two senior U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The al Qaeda leader was living in a walled compound in Abbottabad, about 50 km (31 miles) north of Islamabad, when he was gunned down by American commandos in a pre-dawn raid Monday. The killing has left Pakistani officials facing sharp questions from Washington -- and in some cases, from their own people -- and exacerbated an already rocky relationship between the two nations.
Was the Decision to Kill Bin Laden Moral?
A Fork in the Road: Where the U.S. Goes From Here
By William Pfaff - Truthdig.com
Killing Osama bin Laden leaves the United States facing two doors that open two ways into the future. The choice made could determine the eventual place the U.S. occupies in contemporary history.
One door - less likely to be chosen, I fear - leads toward greater international and national security, and lessened conflict in the Middle East and Asia. Taking it, the U.S. government would make known that, having settled its account with the terrorist movement that attacked New York and Washington a decade ago, it now will remove American forces from Afghanistan, and from Iraq as well - as promised by Barack Obama during his presidential campaign in 2008.
SARKOZY MAY RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
KDG - Truthdig.com
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will consider recognizing Palestine as a state if the stalled peace process with Israel doesn’t bear fruit. The two warring Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, reached a landmark agreement Wednesday that will attempt to create a unified government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas not to support the deal, but Abbas defied him. Abbas plans to declare Palestine an independent state in September, and may have a strong ally in France. —KDG
Al-Jazeera:
"If the peace process is still dead in September, France will face up to its responsibilities on the central question of recognition of a Palestinian state," Sarkozy said in an interview with L’Express published on Wednesday.
"The idea that there is still plenty of time is dangerous. Things have to be brought to a conclusion" before a UN gathering in September, he added.
Inside the Palestinian Unity Deal
By Matthew RJ Brodsky - The American Spectator.org
Last week's agreement between Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government in the Palestinian Authority (PA) came as a shock to many Middle East observers -- including those who have long advocated their political reconciliation. The two factions have been at each other's throats for years and the last agreement proved to be of limited durability, culminating in Hamas's coup in Gaza in 2007. Although there have been several attempts to form a unity government and break the Palestinian political stalemate, those efforts have failed. Why it succeeded now reveals much about how the PA views the peace process and should have far-reaching implications for U.S. policy.
Abbas Patches Rift With Hamas in Bid for Palestinian Statehood
By Jonathan Ferziger and Saud Abu Ramadan - Bloomberg.com
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is trying to reunite the West Bank and Gaza Strip by reconciling with the Islamic Hamas group, is seeking to persuade skeptics that their accord won’t derail the movement toward statehood.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately dismissed the agreement Abbas concluded in Cairo yesterday with Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal, calling it a victory for terrorism. Abbas said Palestinian reconciliation is critical to his statehood ambitions by closing the rift between West Bankers and Gazans.
BAHRAIN: Medical staff face prosecution, alleged torture after aiding anti-government protesters
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Cairo - LATimes.com
Nearly 50 doctors, nurses and other medical staff have been detained in Bahrain in connection with treating anti-government protesters, human-rights officials said Wednesday.
Those detained included 24 doctors and 23 nurses and paramedics, according to Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
"All of them were held somewhere nobody knows - we think they are in a military base," Rajab said. "Reports we are receiving say that almost all of them were tortured."
Fareeda Dallal, a medical professional married to a doctor who also was detained, appeared on Al Jazeera satellite network Tuesday with a black eye to say she had been harassed by her captors and forced to dance for them.
Libya: Col Gaddafi's forces adopt tactics of mass terror Col Gaddafi's forces have adopted tactics of mass terror to force the Libyan opposition into submission, senior British military sources have revealed.
By Thomas Harding - Telegraph.co.uk
His forces are going to extreme lengths to attack civilians after their conventional army with its tanks and artillery has suffered substantial losses from Nato air attacks with a third being destroyed.
The RAF and Royal Navy alone have destroyed at least 250 tanks and artillery and Nato air attacks have destroyed a third of Libya's armour.
Defence sources have disclosed that while Gaddafi was unlikely to use any outlawed chemical weapons he could resort to making lethal concoctions from industrial substances.
Usama and Us
U.S. Is on Alert for Hastened Plots Zawahiri, bin Laden's Second-in-Command, Struggles to Keep Group Relevant Amid Popular Uprisings
By KEITH JOHNSON And ADAM ENTOUS - WSJ.com
U.S. intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden's second-in-command and other al Qaeda leaders may try to accelerate plots in the works to prove the terror network is still potent following its leader's death, officials said.
Ayman al-Zawahiri is widely considered even more radical than bin Laden, but he is struggling to keep al Qaeda relevant at a time of popular uprisings inspired by others throughout the Arab world.
Syria Protests Spread Amid Widespread Detentions
By NOUR MALAS - WSJ.com
ABU DHABI - Syria's widespread and deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters has emboldened a new set of voices, including students in Syria's two largest cities who are protesting the crackdown itself.
Scores from Aleppo University were detained by security forces Tuesday and Wednesday after more than 1,000 students marched through streets around the northern city's university. Activists said the protesters were demanding Syria's military lift its ten-day siege on the southern city of Deraa, where Syria's protests started seven weeks ago, that has left its residents cut off from electricity, food and water.
Pakistan and Osama bin Laden: How the West was conned The ISI and its covert support of Islamist terrorism must be confronted -- By Praveen Swami - Telegraph.co.uk
In December 1979, at the end of a meeting in which Pakistan decided to embark on a United States-backed, Saudi Arabia-funded secret war that could well have ended in its annihilation by the Soviet Union, the military dictator who ruled Pakistan offered his spymaster a Zen-like maxim. "The water in Afghanistan," Gen Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq told Lt Gen Akhtar Abdul Rehman Khan, the director general of the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), "must boil at the right temperature."
Ever since 9/11, the ISI has been seeking to keep the jihad insideAfghanistan and Pakistan warm, nurturing allies it gave birth to in the years after that meeting, while also joining the West's war against terror – the source of billions of dollars in aid and military patronage.
After Bin Laden: what next for al-Qaida and global jihad? Do the various Islamist groups in Pakistan and al-Qaida affiliates around the world pose a real threat to the west, and what strategic direction will they now take?
BY Jason Burke - Guardian.co.uk
North of Osama bin Laden's last hiding place is the town of Muzaffarabad, prime recruiting and training territory for groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT, the army of the pure) who have waged jihad for almost two decades against the Indian state in disputed Kashmir.
South and west are the lowlands where groups such as Jaish-e-Muhammad (Militia of Muhammad) have training bases and the semi-autonomous tribal areas, described by one MI6 officer as the "Grand Central Station" of international militancy. This is where PakistaniTaliban, Uzbek and other central Asian outfits, the networks led by the warlord and cleric Jalaluddin Haqqani, several Arab groups including Algerians, Libyans and Egyptians, and others are all to be found. Here are European volunteers too.
Laden to Rest: Killing old enemy to fan flames of new wars?
Mishandling bin Laden's Body There is no real risk that the photographs will inflame Muslim or Arab sensibilities any more than the photographs of Saddam Hussein did. -- By ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ - WSJ.com
The president's decision to withhold photographs of the dead Osama bin Laden is only the last in a series of terrible mistakes in the handling of his body. Although there should be no doubt that bin Laden is actually dead, there are grave doubts as to the circumstances surrounding his death. Was he shot in cold blood? Was he shot in the back or in the front? Were his hands raised in surrender? Was he actively resisting?
Many of these doubts could have been resolved if bin Laden's body had been subjected to the usual investigatory techniques routinely employed in homicide cases. His body should have been subjected to an autopsy, to forensic testing by an experienced medical examiner, to extensive photographing of entrance and exit wounds, to paraffin testing for gun-powder residue, and to other such forensic examination.
Can The Federal Reserve Print to Prosperity?
Forbes.com
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that U.S. interest rates will stay near zero for an "extended period" of time last week. This doesn't come as a surprise to most market observers. The Fed Funds rate has been near zero since December 2008. The low rate policy is meant to spur the economy as we continue to recover from the financial crisis.
But while the Fed's money powers are enormous, it has been rendered far less influential on the economy as a whole than in recent recoveries. Why?
Wall Street Loves Weak Dollar and Weaker Fed
by Louis Navellier - NASDAQ.com
Since early 2009 (when the U.S. stock bull market began), the U.S. dollar has collapsed. The Brazilian real is up 56%, from 41 cents to 64 cents. The Canadian dollar is up 35%, from 78 cents to $1.05. The Swiss franc has also risen 35%, from 85 cents to $1.15. The New Zealand dollar is up 60%, from 50 cents to 80 cents, while the Australian dollar has risen the most, 70%, from 64 cents to $1.09, reaching a 29-year high. Even the relatively weak euro and British pound have risen by 16% and 20%, respectively, since early 2009.
The Dollar: It's Payback Time!
BY AXEL G MERK - FinancialSense.com
It's payback time for Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed). In some ways, this should neither surprise, nor scare anyone. Unfortunately, however, it might do both.
In any open market, information is absorbed rather quickly into asset prices, including exchange rates. Indeed, exchange rates may be the best pricing source to assess the impact of the relentless involvement of policy makers' "print and spend" mentality in the markets. When trillions are spent, markets are likely to move. However, an unintended consequence has been that a broad range of assets are now moving more and more in tandem, giving investors fewer options to diversify. Investors should be mindful of this development, as markets do not always go up: where do you hide when the mood turns sour? In fact, why bother buying stocks, thereby taking on corporate risk, when ultimately the reason stocks are moving may have little to do with managerial skill. The U.S. dollar, one might argue, says it all. Be aware, though: there is no such thing anymore as a safe asset, and a diversified approach may be needed for something as mundane as cash. Investors these days may want to consider managing the U.S. dollar risk of their U.S. investments.
Financial Totalitarianism
By Demitri Orlov - FinancialSense.com
A particularly annoying question I am often asked and have come to hate is: "How do I invest my money for it to survive financial, political and commercial collapse?" The short answer is: "Nohow. Money will not survive collapse; not yours, not anyone else's." But that answer is not acceptable, because accepting it would require a profound loss of faith - faith in money, a profound Götterdämmerung for a civilization based on the worship of money. People want continue to believe all sorts of things: that they can own land (i.e., shares in the Earth), or that they can do good through philanthrophic spending and charity, or that the world with which they have grown up and have lived their lives can collapse all around them, but that if they are informed and prepared, they can survive with all of their middle-class trappings intact. I am told that there is good money to be made in telling them such things.
Richard Russell: A Gold Tsunami Is Coming
By Prieur du Plessis - SilverBearCafe.com
I do not always agree with 86-year old Richard Russell, author of the Dow Theory Letters, but there is no disputing that he has been on the money with his gold recommendations ever since the low of $250, 10 years ago. He believes a final explosive phase the yellow metal is approaching - a viewpoint I concur with. The paragraphs below are an excerpt from a recent report.
"We're moving nearer and nearer to the edge of the hurricane. I can feel it in my bones. Every newspaper now carries an ad for gold. The ironic clincher was this ad below that I clipped from a weekly newspaper.
"That's another fine mess you’ve gotten me into." Early cinema comedian Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy fame
A mess by all accounts - and seemingly getting messier.
As we have been saying for some time, U.S. economic growth is stuck in the slow lane. Very slow lane. There are few signs of any significant lane changing ahead.
We have seen a serious slide in the American standard of living over the past three years, since the beginning of the recession. The slide can be measured in many ways. Food stamps recipients have increased by 48 percent and the cost of the program ballooned by 80 percent. Medicaid recipients are up 17 percent and program costs are up 36 percent. Welfare recipients are up 18 percent, and program costs up 24 percent. That isn't the kind of growth that’s good for any economy!
Elizabeth Warren's war heats up... The war over consumer financial protection intensifies A series of bills aimed at watering down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be up for vote this week. What's a consumer agency that can't protect?
by Abigail Field, contributor
FORTUNE -- An obscure but extremely important political war is being fought in Washington right now over the design and power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the new agency created in the wake of the financial meltdown to protect consumers and help prevent another financial crisis.
Either the banks will win or the American people will win. It's impossible for both stakeholders to declare victory.
What happens if Congress blows the debt ceiling?
By Jeanne Sahadi - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Some Republican lawmakers are challenging Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's warnings about the grave consequences of not raising the country's debt ceiling.
Geithner has said the country would risk default if Congress doesn't raise the country's legal borrowing limit by July 8.
Just pay the interest on the debt to bondholders -- that'll prevent default, Geithner's critics say.
Indeed, the Treasury Department takes in about $177 billion a month on average. And interest on public debt only costs $19 billion.
Geithner Extends Debt-Ceiling Deadline to Aug. 2
With Extraordinary Steps
By Ian Katz and Vincent Del Giudice - Bloomberg.com
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. will have three weeks more than previously seen before hitting its borrowing limit, giving the White House and Congress more time for a deal to raise the debt ceiling.
The U.S. can borrow until Aug. 2 after reaching the $14.29 trillion limit because of "stronger-than-expected tax receipts" and by taking "extraordinary measures" such as suspending the sale of bonds to finance state and local infrastructure projects, Geithner said in a letter to congressional leaders yesterday. He previously said the deadline would be July 8. Without such measures, the legal limit will be reached May 16, he said.
U.S. Treasury to take 'extraordinary measures' to avoid debt limit Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urges congressional leaders to take action because finance juggling efforts starting this week will stave off a potential government default only until about Aug. 2.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington - The federal government will start using "extraordinary measures" this week to juggle its finances to avoid hitting the nation's debt limit this month, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told congressional leaders.
The $14.3-trillion debt ceiling is on track to be reached May 16. And because Congress apparently won't act before then, the Treasury will take steps to avoid defaulting on its payments, Geithner said Monday.
The Caine Mutiny (Part 2) Treasuries On A Collision Course With Inflation...
By William H. Gross - Pimco.com
Low policy rates and the increasing negative real yields that they engender as inflation accelerates represent an immediate threat to investment portfolios.
Bond prices don't necessarily have to go down for savers to get skunked during a process of "debt liquidation."
PIMCO advocates a renewed vigilance, stressing bond market "safe spread" alternatives available globally, including developing/emerging market debt at higher yields denominated in non-dollar currencies.
The Gross household is a robe-wearing household – at least on the distaff side. Sue has a closet full of them, all white, and is thrilled each and every Christmas with a new white one under the tree. Go figure. I on the other hand am a little more casual about nighttime attire, a habit I picked up or at least observed during my Navy years in the South China Sea. But I am getting ahead of myself. Back in 1969, yours truly was a lowly ensign whose responsibility among other things was to substitute for the captain when he was sleeping. Vietnam era captains couldn’t be at the helm 24/7 so during relatively calm hours, the benchwarmers got a chance to quarterback the ship. Such was the case on a warm September evening, making 20 knots on our way home to San Diego in the middle of the vast and totally empty Pacific Ocean, 2,000 miles west of Honolulu. I was standing the dreaded "mid-watch" – midnight to 4:00 am – and under instructions to wake the captain if anything "unusual" took place; FATchance, aside from the occasional mermaid or sea monster sightings, and no one ever woke the captain up for that.
First Chicago Bank & Trust edges closer to failure
By Becky Yerak - Chicago Tribune.com
First Chicago Bank & Trust is running out of time.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is soon likely to begin looking for a healthy buyer to take over the Chicago-based bank unless it arranges a capital infusion quickly, according to industry sources. First Chicago has been trying to raise at least $50 million.
First-quarter financial results filed with regulators recently show that the $959.3 million-asset bank lost another $10.1 million in the period ending March 31, and saw most of its capital ratios shrink to about half their levels since the end of the year.
Portugal reaches bailout deal with European Union
By Tom Petruno - LATimes.com
Portugal agreed to a deal with the European Union for a three-year bailout loan worth $115 billion, the country’s caretaker government said Tuesday.
The agreement, which also will include financing from the International Monetary Fund, will make Portugal the third debt-strapped European country to take a bailout from the rest of the continent, after Greece one year ago and Ireland in November.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates said on April 6 that Portugal would enter talks with the EU and IMF for financial help after investors demanded ever-higher interest rates to fund the country’s bonds.
Ben Bernanke's Lone Positive Legacy: A Return To The Gold Standard
By Bill FrezzA - Forbes.com
I'll make two predictions with utter confidence. The first is that one day Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be ridden out of town on a rail, joining Arthur Burns in that special circle of hell reserved for monetary debauchers. The second is that in the aftermath of our pending inflationary disaster we will see the gold standard return.
The Federal Reserve long ago lost control of inflation, now ravaging several sectors of our economy. This is obvious to every economist not a member of Bernanke’s Greek chorus, singing lyrics provided by the gnomes in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their modern re-interpretation of the dance of the seven veils uses statistical "adjustments" instead of scarves, but these keep the evidence of inflation as hidden as Salome’s charms. My favorite fudge has to be the "hedonic quality adjustment." What are you going to believe, the government’s regression coefficient estimates or your own lying eyes?
Gold, Gresham's Law & the Dong
By Ben Traynor - TheDailyReckoning.com
05/03/11 What happens when people actively shun their official currency…?
Governments are often tempted to live beyond their means. Today, that means national debts and quantitative easing. But a few hundred years ago, it meant debasing coinage.
Silver and gold coins would be ‘clipped’ – with a tiny quantity of their metal shaved off the edge every time they passed through government hands – or they would be minted with a lower precious metal content than their face value stated. This would enable the monetary authorities to produce more coins for the same amount of bullion, increasing the government’s spending power in the marketplace.
Is A Healthy Correction Overdue in Gold And Silver?
BY JEB HANDWERGER - FinancialSense.com
When one begins trading it is important to realize that it is like any other business and your goods are your stocks. There is a basic rule that one must learn and never forget when buying and selling merchandise. You must be prepared to accumulate your products when there is a panic and sell them when there is euphoria. One has to sell when the product is in demand and the investment public becomes aggressive and buy when it is out of favor and the public shows little to no interest. In August of 2010 and January of 2011 precious metals both gold and silver presented excellent buying opportunities.
Silver Slumps on Higher Margins;
Gold Drops on Report of Soros Fund Sales
By Kim Kyoungwha - Bloomberg.com
Silver futures dropped for a third day, set for the worst run since January, as an increase in margin requirements on the Comex drove investors away. Gold fell after a report that Soros Fund Management LLC may have cut holdings.
Silver for July delivery in New York slumped as much as 5 percent to $40.465 per ounce, after losing 7.6 percent yesterday and 5.2 percent on May 2. The metal was at $41.13 at 11:08 a.m. in Singapore, taking losses over the three days to 15 percent. Immediate-delivery gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,532.78 an ounce, also lower for a third session.
The Silver Bull Market Will Zig-Zag to $100 and Beyond
BY PAUL MLADJENOVIC - FinancialSense.com
The silver market has been very interesting lately but what really rankles me is the various commentaries that have popped up from across the financial media world. It seems that as soon as silver gets near $50 all of a sudden the silver bears come out of the woodwork and even some usually bullish observers are leap-frogging over to the silver bear camp. What are silver investors and speculators to do?
Raising the Margin Requirements
By Chuck Butler - TheDailyReckoning.com
05/03/11 St. Louis, Missouri – Well... There sure are a bunch of different opinions about what the effects of Bin Laden's death will be... Yesterday, it sure seemed as though it was a good thing to happen to the dollar, right about the time the dollar was about to head to doomsville... especially against gold and silver... I guess all those people selling their metals yesterday thought that by killing our #1 enemy the geopolitical problems of the world just went away... I'm afraid and sorry to say that the geopolitical problems of the world are not going away; and if anything, I would think that they are now heightened… We could see a spark of retaliation... I mean, didn't we get very upset when we saw "them" dancing in the streets after 9/11?
OK... So... Silver really got sent to the woodshed yesterday after having to go out, find its own switch, and then get whipped with it! (Used to happen to me on the farm!) You see, silver saw its margin requirement raised, which was really a blow to the metal. The commodities exchange announced yesterday that they were raising the minimum amount of cash that must be deposited when borrowing from brokers to trade futures, from $14,513 to $16,200...
The Four Horsemen Behind America's Oil Wars
By Dean Henderson - SilverBearCafe.com
While Americans are robbed at the gas pump, Exxon Mobil will this week report a 60% increase in its quarterly net profits to a cool $10 billion. Royal Dutch/Shell will report a 30% increase.
In 1975 British writer Anthony Sampson penned The Seven Sisters, bestowing a collective name on a shadowy oil cartel, which throughout its history has sought to eliminate competitors and control the world's oil resource. Sampson's "Seven Sisters" name came from independent Italian oil man Enrico Mattei.
Getting Even With Big Oil: Taking on ExxonMobil
Written by Robert Rapier - OilPrice.com
It is no secret that consumers are suffering from very high gasoline prices. And as a result of these high prices, ExxonMobil just reported a first-quarter profit of $10.7 billion — 69 percent higher than a year ago. The national level of disgust and anger is approaching record levels as we watch the loss of our hard-earned dollars become Big Oil’s gain. The question is, what are we going to do about it?
White House out of gas on remedies for pump price
By Joseph Curl-The Washington Times
President Obama hasn’t a clue what to do about high gas prices. Not a clue.
For proof, just look at what happened in one single day last week. The White House opened by angrily haranguing oil companies for making a profit; then the brain trust in the Oval Office blamed “speculators” for pushing up the price of oil; then the president demanded that Congress do away with $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks; and finally, at day’s end, Mr. Obama begged world producers to increase crude output.
Bernanke's bet on jobs and inflation
By Robert J. Samuelson - WashingtonPost.com
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke glided smoothly through his first regular news conference the other day - an event both remarkable and unremarkable. It was remarkable for symbolizing the Fed's ongoing transformation from a citadel of secrecy into an agency that tries to explain itself to the public. "The original attitude . . . was that it was no one's business what they did - and if you wanted to figure it out, do so yourself," says economistAllan Meltzer, author of a history of the Fed. Until now, there had been no news conferences, a legacy of the tight-lipped past.
What was unremarkable is that reporters' questions focused on an old issue: How much can the Fed reduce unemployment without stoking inflation? Bernanke’s bet is: a lot. He’s embraced super-easy credit to cut the appalling 8.8 percent jobless rate; that’s 13.5 million people, nearly half out of work for six months or more. Since late 2008, the Fed has heldshort-term interest rates near zero. To cut long-term rates, the Fed is buying gobs of Treasury bonds and mortgage securities: $1.725 trillion from late 2008 to March 2010; an additional $600 billion from last November through June. These purchases are known as QE1 and QE2, for "quantitative easing."
Pastor Lindsey Williams - Global Elite Report - 04-27-2011
The uncomfortable truth about the housing market Without easy credit, we see the real state of the market – we don't need clever financing, we need more houses
By Peter Antonioni - Guardian.co.uk
The latest Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures on house purchases tell an interesting tale, but not the one to which headlines wish to draw our attention.
It's been widely reported that cash purchases now make up 40% of transactions, a dramatic rise from the 18.7% that cash purchases made up in June 2005. Shady oligarchs buying up their latest des res with untraceable cash – that was the story most commentators have gone with.
Foreclosures Trapped by a Lack of Lawyers
By NICK TIMIRAOS - WSJ.com
Moves by banks to ditch law firms snared in the "robo-signing" mess are spreading delays and confusion to borrowers, while angering judges grappling with thousands of foreclosure cases now trapped in limbo.
The trouble began when U.S. banks and government-owned mortgage giants lost confidence in some law firms that handled a huge volume of foreclosures. After controversy erupted last fall over the shoddy review of loan documents known as robo-signing, banks dropped some law firms.
The Coming Doctor Shortage
TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
The United States is going to experience an absolutely devastating doctor shortage in the coming years. Even now it can be difficult to see a doctor in many areas, and if you are fortunate enough to see one you will probably pay through the nose. Medical bills have gotten absolutely insane in this country. Many Americans have gone to the hospital for a few hours, perhaps got to see a doctor for half an hour, and ended up being billed thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, it is not the doctors that are getting rich from these nightmarish medical bills. Rather, "the system" is set up so that "the middle men" are the ones raking in most of the cash. In fact, thousands upon thousands of doctors are being chased out of the profession because being a doctor just isn't worth the trouble anymore. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, we were already going to be facing a shortage of more than 150,000doctors over the next 15 years even before Obamacare was passed. Obamacare is just going to make the doctor shortage even worse. In fact, one poll found that 40 percent of all U.S. doctors plan to get out of the profession over the next 3 years. Of course not all of those disgruntled doctors will end up leaving the profession, but even if 10 percent of them quit it is going to create a medical crisis of unprecedented magnitude in this country.
New report confirms Arctic melt accelerating
By Karl Ritter - AP - WashingtonTimes.com
STOCKHOLM - Arctic ice is melting faster than expected and could raise the average global sea level by as much as five feet this century, an authoritative new report suggests.
The study by the international Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, or AMAP, is one of the most comprehensive updates on climate change in the Arctic, and builds on a similar
The full report will be delivered to foreign ministers of the eight Arctic nations next week, but an executive summary including the key findings was obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
31 Interesting Questions
EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
In a world where nobody seems to be telling the truth anymore we are often left with more questions than answers. Instead of just telling us the facts, everything seems to be about getting "the spin" right these days. For example, the Osama Bin Laden "death story" has already been changed by the White House multiple times. Fake Osama Bin Laden death photos (like the one above) have been flying all over the Internet. Massive amounts of radiation continues to pour out of the Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan and yet all the authorities continue to insist that it is nothing to worry about. The global economy is teetering on the brink of disaster and yet it is being called "an economic recovery". The U.S. government has essentially already reached the debt ceiling and yet now Timothy Geithner is claiming that it won't be a problem until August. The world is becoming a more bizarre place with each passing week, and the lies just keep on getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
Debate flares anew on harsh interrogation
By Bill Gertz-The Washington Times
The successful operation against Osama bin Laden has rekindled debate over the use of harsh interrogation techniques during the Bush administration, as a key intelligence leader acknowledged their role in a TV interview Tuesday.
CIA Director Leon E. Panetta said some threads of intelligence among the multiple origins came through the use of harsh interrogation.
"Clearly, some of it came from detainees and the interrogation of detainees, but we also had information from other sources as well," Mr. Panetta said on NBC News.
Taliban's Muted Response Draws Attention
By DION NISSENBAUM And HABIB KHAN TOTAKHIL - WSJ.com
KABUL - When news of Osama bin Laden's demise ricocheted around the world, there was conspicuous silence from a crucial voice: Afghanistan's Taliban, his erstwhile host and protector.
While Islamist groups in Gaza and Egypt quickly came out to praise al Qaeda's founder and condemn his killing, the Taliban's top leadership kept quiet, summoning key commanders to their sanctuaries in Pakistan for urgent consultations.
Tuesday night, after nearly two days of unusual silence, the Taliban's well-oiled media machine finally issued a short statement saying there was no credible evidence from those close to bin Laden to prove he was dead. Conspicuously absent was praise for the Saudi fugitive and condemnation of the U.S.
Osama bin Laden's final moments: America changes its story The US has backtracked on claims that Osama bin Laden died in a firefight and used his wife as a human shield
By Ewen MacAskill in Washington - Guardian.co.uk
The account of what happened in Osama bin Laden's final hideaway was succinct and clear when Barack Obama delivered it on Sunday, but it has become more confused in the days since, with conflicting and inaccurate accounts from the White House.
Bin Laden, according to a briefing on Monday, used his wife as a human shield and she was killed. By Tuesday, the White House reversed that: she had not been used as a human shield and she was not dead. The other point of discrepancy was the initial briefings that stated Bin Laden resisted and was killed in a "firefight", which suggests he had been armed. The White House insisted he had resisted, without saying how, but said he had no gun.
Osama Bin Laden dead:
White House backtracks on how bin Laden died The White House admitted last night that its initial account of the way Osama bin Laden died at the hands of US forces had been riddled with errors
By Gordon Rayner, and Toby Harnden in Washington - Telegraph.co.uk
Claims that the al-Qaeda leader had died while firing an automatic weapon at commandos were withdrawn, with President Barack Obama’s spokesman admitting "he was unarmed". A dramatic description of bin Laden using his wife as a "human shield" and forcing her to sacrifice her life also proved to be false. The woman was still alive and was taken into custody with several of the terrorist’s children.
In an embarrassing climb-down, Barack Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, admitted that the previous version of events - which came mostly from the chief US counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan - had been put out "with great haste".
Bollywood vs. Bin Laden - Why radical Islam fears pop culture
Hawk Jensen & Paul Detrick - Reason.com
Even before Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers, his brand of anti-modern, anti-pleasure Islam was under attack by Bollywood, India's pop culture juggernaut that boasts a global audience of 3 billion people.
As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia explains, Bollywood movies and videos appeal to young men and women in Muslim and Arab countries because they dramatize the sorts of tensions between traditional and modern ways of living. "Who should decide who one should marry - is it the parents or is it the boy and girls themselves?" asks the Indian-born and raised Dalmia. "In the West, in Hollywood movies, it's not even an issue. But it's a huge issue in that part of the world and all of Bollywood movies deal with that one central question."
Bollywood vs. Bin Laden:
Why radical Islam fears pop culture
Why the celebrations?
by ROBERT HAMBURGER
A man has been killed by the United States, his body dumped at sea. This was done in both your name and my name. That we deemed we wanted Bin Laden dead, so be it. I understand people’s joy in him no longer being alive. I question the celebrations – in front of the White House, at Ground Zero, in the ninth inning of the Phillies game… The president got a standing ovation at last night’s Bi-Partisan Congressional Dinner for ordering the execution of another man.
Celebrating Osama bin Laden's killing is wrong
By George Pitcher - Telegraph.co.uk
We have to be very careful about our response to the killing of Osama bin Laden. The West was appalled and deeply offended by the street celebrations in Tehran and elsewhere after 9/11, but how do rednecks in Washington DC chanting "USA! USA!" after the shooting of Osama and other members of his household compare with that? And what’s this talk of "justice" having been done? I thought justice in the West was being arraigned for trial and judged on evidence. This was summary execution and, while it may have been necessary or forced by circumstance, it’s hardly grounds for rejoicing.
Obama approval rating bumps by 9 percent after Bin Laden's death
By Tony Pierce - LATimes.com
How valuable is killing Osama bin Laden to an American president's approval rating? According to a recent poll, only about 9%.
A Pew/Washington Post poll conducted Monday in the wake of the death of the world's most sought-after terrorist found that 56% of those asked say they approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president while 38% disapprove. In April only 47% approved while 45% disapproved.
Osama bin Laden killing sparks calls for early Afghanistan withdrawal Debate within Obama administration over whether to speed up pullout of US troops, set to start this summer
By Ewen MacAskill in Washington, Julian Borger, Jon Boone in Kabul and Nicholas Watt - Guardian.co.uk
The killing of Osama bin Laden has opened up divisions inside Barack Obama's administration over whether the withdrawal of US troops inAfghanistan, which is scheduled to begin this summer, should be bigger and faster than planned.
Politicians, soldiers and analysts from the US to Afghanistan have debated whether the removal of the al-Qaida leader will shorten the war and open the way for reconciliation with the Taliban.
Osama bin Laden's burial at sea upsets relatives of Sept. 11 victims In New York, two mothers and a sister of Sept. 11 victims say the U.S. was too hasty in burying Bin Laden at sea. They say Americans deserved to see the body.
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from New York— Rosaleen Tallon kissed her three children good night and went to sleep feeling at peace. The terrorist responsible for the death of her brother, New York firefighter Sean Patrick Tallon, was dead. Her two boys and her little girl had been assured that the "bad man" behind the attacks that claimed their uncle was gone.
But when Tallon awoke Monday to the news that Osama bin Laden had been buried at sea, she was stunned. That was one corpse she would like to have seen for herself, Tallon said, her fiery words underscoring the change this suburban science teacher has undergone in the last decade.
Bin Laden's sea burial fuels conspiracy theories The U.S. faces a quandary in proving the Al Qaeda's leader death without inflaming his supporters, and may release photos of his body. Skeptics include the mother of a Sept. 11 victim.
By Matea Gold, Eryn Brown and David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles— Within hours of the raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani compound, the CIAhad used 21st century technology to get "a virtually 100% DNAmatch" on the dead man. But something out of another century may come back to haunt Washington: the Al Qaedaleader's burial at sea.
Conspiracy theorists on both the left and right were quick to insist that Bin Laden was either still alive or had been dead for years, pouncing on the government's decision to slide the body of the world's most wanted man off a board into the Arabian Sea.
Terrorism concerns prompt security measures Homeland Security Department cautions that Al Qaeda could retaliate after the death of Osama bin Laden. But an attempt might not be made immediately.
By Richard A. Serrano and Brian Bennett, Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
Reporting from Washington— An hour after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden was dead, a midnight bulletin flashed across the country to state and local law enforcement officials, warning them that a suddenly leaderlessAl Qaeda would probably "retaliate" and "continue to pursue attacks" against the United States.
The caution from the Homeland Security Department in Washington escalated Monday as national security officials, terrorism experts and the White House agreed that future strikes could likely be triggered from a new power struggle inside Al Qaeda or by some lone wolf or "micro-terrorist"plotting in the U.S. to personally even the score for Bin Laden's death.
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 1/7
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 2/7
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 3/7
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 4/7
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 5/7
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 6/7
Insider Dr. Steve Pieczenik:
Bin Laden, The Oswald Like Patsy Died 10 Years Ago! 7/7
Osama bin Laden dead – but no body.
Now for an explosion of conspiracy theories
By Damian Thompson - Telegraph.co.uk
No body. No photograph or DNA evidence – at least, not yet. [Update: The White House now says there was a DNA match between the body and tissue taken from bin Laden's dead sister's brain.] Conspiracy theorists are an ingenious bunch, but at the moment the White House is making this ridiculously easy for them. Gideon Rachman says he gives it 24 hours before conspiracy theories about Osama bin Laden begin circulating, but they are already flowing vigorously. The Taliban says he’s still alive, for example.
The Islamic world is amazingly receptive to what I call "counterknowledge". Let's start by reminding ourselves that most people in Muslim countries have their doubts about 9/11, and millions them believe unquestioningly that it was plotted by the CIA. One of the most important features of what sociologists call the cultic milieu is that political and religious extremists happily exchange conspiracy theories, irrespective of their origin. We’ve seen this in the popularity of the far-Right Russian Protocols of the Elders of Zion in the Arab world. We’ve also seen young, Left-wing disciples of Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore happily draw on 9/11 "truther" theories constructed in the American fascist underground.
Not everyone believes bin Laden really is dead
By ROBERT BURNS and CALVIN WOODWARD;
Zarar Khan in Abbottabad, Pakistan; Malcolm Ritter in New York; and Lolita C. Baldor, Ben Feller, Matt Apuzzo and Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed to this report.
Associated Press - AirForceTimes.com
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Knowing there would be disbelievers, the U.S. says it used convincing means to confirm Osama bin Laden's identity during and after the firefight that killed him. But the mystique that surrounded the terrorist chieftain in life is persisting in death.
Was it really him? How do we know? Where are the pictures?
Already, those questions are spreading in Pakistan and surely beyond. In the absence of photos and with his body given up to the sea, many people don't believe bin Laden - the Great Emir to some, the fabled escape artist of the Tora Bora mountains to foe and friend alike - is really dead.
Osama bin Laden’s Second Death
by Paul Craig Roberts
Trends Research Institute - LewRockwell.com
If today were April 1 and not May 2, we could dismiss as an April fool’s joke this morning’s headline that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight in Pakistan and quickly buried at sea. As it is, we must take it as more evidence that the US government has unlimited belief in the gullibility of Americans.
Think about it. What are the chances that a person allegedly suffering from kidney disease and requiring dialysis and, in addition, afflicted with diabetes and low blood pressure, survived in mountain hideaways for a decade? If bin Laden was able to acquire dialysis equipment and medical care that his condition required, would not the shipment of dialysis equipment point to his location? Why did it take ten years to find him?
On the Second Death of Osama bin Laden
By Kawther Salam - Europa and Palestine News
According to historians, during the last year of the reign of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, General Horemhab went on an expedition against the Hittites to far away Syria. The Egyptian army was defeated, putting General Horemhab in an awkward position and his head in peril. The general solved the problem by sending emissaries back to Egypt proclaiming his victory. When he arrived back home with the remains of his army, they were celebrated as heroes. When the truth about the defeat eventually arrived in Egypt, the Pharaoh had died and the political situation changed, and the truth about the defeat became inconsequential and Horemhab later became Pharaoh of Egypt.
Wayne Madsen: Bin Laden Death,
Looks Like Staged Terror to Escalate U.S. Into Nuclear War 1/2
Wayne Madsen: Bin Laden Death,
Looks Like Staged Terror to Escalate U.S. Into Nuclear War 2/2
Why bin Laden’s Ghost Is Smiling
by Eric Margolis - LewRockwell.com
The assassination of Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces in Abbotabad, Pakistan will likely assure Barack Obama’s victory in the 2012 presidential race. Republican hawks will have a hard time pressing their claims that Obama is "soft on terrorism."
Details about the killing of bin Laden remain obscure. The mission, a joint operation between CIA and Special Forces, appeared to have been mounted from a US-controlled air base in Pakistan – without the advance knowledge of Pakistan’s government. US sources say Osama was shot twice in the head; his son was also killed.
Musharraf: Bin Laden mission violated Pakistan
By Ashish Kumar Sen - The Washington Times
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Monday accused the U.S. of violating his country’s sovereignty by sending in special forces to kill Osama bin Laden.
"American troops coming across the border and taking action in one of our towns, that is Abbottabad, is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan. It is a violation of our sovereignty," Mr. Musharraf told CNN-IBN, an Indian news channel.
He added that it would have been "far better if Pakistani Special Services Group had operated and conducted the mission. To that extent, the modality of handling it and executing the operation is not correct."
Al Qaida: 'We will avenge' Osama's death
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF - AP - KATU.com
CAIRO (AP) - A top al-Qaida ideologue vowed revenge Monday for the killing of Osama Bin Laden by U.S. forces, in the first jihadist admission of the militant leader's death.
The prominent commentator, going by the online name "Assad al-Jihad2," posted on extremist websites a long eulogy for bin Laden and said the Islamic holy war against the West was far from over.
"Woe to his enemies. By God, we will avenge the killing of the Sheik of Islam," he wrote. "Those who wish that jihad has ended or weakened, I tell them: Let us wait a little bit."
Obama Gets Osama!! -
Special Report by Adrian Salbuchi, 2nd May 2011
Is one hand washing the other? Are Obama and Osama two sides of the same coin? Is the Global Power Elite setting the stage for a horrible False Flag attack that will dwarf 9/11???
U.S. Warns of Anti-American Violence After Bin Laden
By Matthew Lee, - CNSNews.com
Washington (AP) - The State Department early Monday put U.S. embassies on alert and warned of the heightened possibility for anti-American violence after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by American forces in Pakistan.
In a worldwide travel alert released shortly after President Barack Obama late Sunday announced bin Laden's death in a U.S. military operation, the department said there was an "enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counterterrorism activity in Pakistan."
Osama bin Laden: the long hunt
The al-Qaida leader evaded intelligence agencies for years, until a complex trail led to a garrison town outside Islamabad
By Jason Burke - guardian.co.uk
Mohammed Umr remembered when he last heard from the sheikh. He was crouched in a cave high in the Tora Bora mountains in eastern Afghanistan in December 2001. Huge bombs dropped by American B-52s shook the ground around him. A thousand feet below, Afghans loyal to the Northern Alliance and squads of US and British special forces were climbing the steep lower slopes.
On the radio, the young Afghan heard Osama bin Laden's distinctive voice. "He told us that a great struggle had started and that we were going to retreat so as better to fight another time," Umr told the Guardian in an interview in Kabul in August 2008. "I left with a hundred others. The sheikh stayed behind. I do not know where he went."
Exclusive: 'Bin Laden Dead' Hoax Exposed
Did Pakistan know Osama bin Laden was there?
By Nahal Toosi and Zarar Khan - AP - TheDailytimes.com
ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan - The death of Osama bin Laden in a fortress-like compound on the outskirts of a Pakistani city that is home to three army regiments and thousands of soldiers raises questions over whether Pakistani security forces knew the whereabouts of the world's most wanted man.
The al-Qaida chief was living in a house in Abbottabad that a U.S. administration official said was "custom built to hide someone of significance." The city around 60 miles from the capital Islamabad is a far cry from the remote mountain caves along the Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal border where most intelligence assessments had put bin Laden in recent years.
Ex-ISI Chief Hamid Gul:
CIA "Choreographing" Osama Assassination Hoax
Stocks rise after bin Laden death, strong earnings President Barack Obama announced late Sunday night that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed after a firefight in Pakistan. World markets remained relatively stable.
Crains New York Business
(AP) - Stocks are rising modestly following the death of Osama bin Laden and several strong earnings reports.
President Barack Obama said late Sunday that bin Laden, the al-Qaida chief who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, had been killed by American forces in Pakistan. That helped raise investors' confidence Monday.
'Zero transparency in Bin Laden killing -
media needs to raise questions'
Bin Laden Hid in Pakistan City Full of Military
By Nahal Toosi and Zarar Khan - CNSNews.com
Abbottabad, Pakistan (AP) - The death of Osama bin Laden in a fortress-like compound on the outskirts of a Pakistani city that is home to three army regiments and thousands of soldiers raises questions over whether Pakistani security forces knew the whereabouts of the world's most wanted man.
The al-Qaida chief was living in a house in Abbottabad that a U.S. administration official said was "custom built to hide someone of significance." The city around 60 miles from the capital Islamabad is a far cry from the remote mountain caves along the Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal border where most intelligence assessments had put bin Laden in recent years.
Bin & Gone: Osama dead, terror threat still alive
Detective Work on Courier Led to Breakthrough on Bin Laden
By MARK MAZZETTI and HELENE COOPER - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON - After years of dead ends and promising leads gone cold, the big break came last August.
A trusted courier of Osama bin Laden's whom American spies had been hunting for years was finally located in a compound 35 miles north of the Pakistani capital, close to one of the hubs of American counterterrorism operations. The property was so secure, so large, that American officials guessed it was built to hide someone far more important than a mere courier.
What followed was eight months of painstaking intelligence work, culminating in a helicopter assault by American military and intelligence operatives that ended in the death of Bin Laden on Sunday and concluded one of history's most extensive and frustrating manhunts.
Hillary Clinton: Bin Laden's Death Doesn't End War on Terror
By Matthew Lee - CNSNews.com
Washington (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is not the end of the war on terrorism and warned the network's members that the United States would be relentless in its pursuit of them.
Clinton said bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. forces in Pakistan nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks proved the United States was committed to tracking down the perpetrators of extremist violence and bringing them to justice.
Chris Hedges Speaks on Osama bin Laden's Death
Truthdig.com
I know that because of this announcement, that reportedly Osama bin Laden was killed, Bob wanted me to say a few words about it ... about al-Qaida. I spent a year of my life covering al-Qaida for The New York Times. It was the work in which I, and other investigative reporters, won the Pulitzer Prize. And I spent seven years of my life in the Middle East. I was the Middle East bureau chief for The New York Times. I'm an Arabic speaker. And when someone came over and told Jean and me the news, my stomach sank. I'm not in any way naïve about what al-Qaida is. It's an organization that terrifies me. I know it intimately.
But I'm also intimately familiar with the collective humiliation that we have imposed on the Muslim world. The expansion of military occupation that took place throughout, in particular the Arab world, following 9/11 - and that this presence of American imperial bases, dotted, not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Doha - is one that has done more to engender hatred and acts of terror than anything ever orchestrated by Osama bin Laden.
After Osama
Dharmajoint.blogspot.com
Osama bin Laden, according to CNN, has been killed in a firefight with US forces in Pakistan and his body has been recovered.
Almost a decade ago, bin Laden, in hopes of, according to some reports, inspiring a jihad and bleeding US financial strength, inter alia, directed the attacks on the Twin Towers and Washington D.C.
Now, only his ghost remains. The jihad he hoped to inspire has thus far been thankfully quashed, but the US has been bleeding financially for that decade.
What next?
War, Counterror Act Like Sand in Economic Gears
By Kathleen Madigan - WSJ.com
One death does not change anything.
The news Sunday night that U.S. forces had killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden does not mean the war on terrorism is over. If anything, security will be heightened in coming weeks in fears of retaliation.
Bin Laden's death may satisfy many people’s sense of justice or vengeance. But it won’t end the need to devote finite U.S. resources that could be put to better, more productive uses. Security measures that we now take for granted act like sand in the gears of daily business activity. They create friction that slows economic growth.
Most importantly, war is not a productive economic endeavor.
With Silver Soaring, Attics Give Up Small Fortunes
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD - NYTimes.com
Finally, that great-aunt's tarnished tea service can be put to use - no polishing needed.
As investors send prices soaring for not only gold, but now also silver, consumers have been unearthing ancient stashes of silverware, teapots and jewelry from long-discarded beaus, and trading them in at pawn shops or selling them on eBay for cash. More and more cash, in fact, as weeks go by.
"We're seeing an increase of people coming in from all walks of life because they hear the news - gold prices are at record highs, silver prices are at record highs, so they're basically grabbing what they have in their home and coming in to pawn, or sell, the items," said Yigal Adato, an owner of CashCo Pawn in San Diego.
Bankers, Treasury Bubbles, and the Painful Consequenes Compromises and moneyed footsteps, money created out of air will now all be spent, Treasury market bubble, a full default for no Greece, no more Euros to spend on bank problems, an end to contrived wars, the pressure and influence of bankers and other elitists.
By Bob Chapman - TheInternationalForecaster.com
We keep searching Congress for leadership and all we see and hear is compromises and moneyed footsteps leading back to their controllers on Wall Street and in banking. We find few willing to stand up to the military industrial complex or the moneyed powers that control our country. Spending restraint is very difficult to find.
U.S. to Take 'Extraordinary' Steps as It Nears Debt Ceiling
By Jeffrey Sparshott - WSJ.com
The U.S. this week will start taking "extraordinary" steps to extend the federal government’s authority to borrow funds as it nears the national debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Monday.
Geithner early last month told lawmakers that the U.S. would hit the debt ceiling by May 16 and could default as soon as July 8.
"Because it appears that Congress will not act by May 16, it will be necessary for the Treasury to begin implementing these extraordinary measures this week," Geithner said in letters to House and Senate leaders.
Never Ending Money Printing
By Greg Hunter's USAWatchdog.com
The Federal Reserve held its first press conference in its 97 year history last week. In my mind, it did this because it recognizes the deep financial trouble the U.S. is in. It wants to put a positive spin on the mess it largely created and/or allowed to happen. After all, it was Tim Geithner who was the head of the New York Fed during the go-go years of the mid 2000’s. He was supposed to regulate the big Wall Street banks. You see how well that worked out - the entire system melted down and Geithner got a promotion to Treasury Secretary.
I'll give my interpretation of a few of the important points the Fed was trying to get out to the public. Overall, the Fed wants people to keep their confidence in a system where money is loaned into existence. Yes, that’s right. Every time you swipe your credit card, you are not borrowing money but creating it. The banks love this because there is virtually no cost to them, and you have to pay back the money with interest just for the privilege of going into debt. Can you see why the Fed wants to keep this confidence game going?
End The Fed Is Gaining Traction...
Rep. Justin Amash on Freedom Watch
Banks Buying Most Treasuries in Nine Months
in Signal of Slowing Recovery
By Daniel Kruger and Sapna Maheshwari - Bloomberg.com
U.S. banks are buying U.S. government securities at the fastest pace in nine months as lenders retreat to the safety of Treasuries with the economy expanding slower than forecast and loan demand dormant.
Commercial banks bought $65 billion of U.S. debt in the past seven weeks, as their total holdings reached $1.68 trillion, Federal Reserve data show. The purchases were the most since $79.1 billion in the period ended July 21, just before the recovery began to falter and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled policy makers would conduct a second round of bond purchases to spur growth.
FED Speak Vs. FED Spin --
The Dylan Ratigan Show Apr 27 2011
Much rides on bipartisan 'Gang of Six' plan
By WESLEY P. HESTER | Richmond Times-Dispatch
The moment of truth is approaching for the "Gang of Six," and it will likely prove a defining one for Virginia's freshman senator.
Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., founded the bipartisan deficit-reduction "gang" months ago with Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
Through months of private meetings in Warner's office - and one at his Alexandria home over grilled steaks - the goal has been clear: slash federal deficits by $4 trillion over 10 years.
As soon as this week, the much-anticipated legislative package could be rolled out, according to Warner aide Kevin Hall, who said there are still "a handful of issues they're working on - some big, some small."
The Libyan War, American Power
and the Decline of the Petrodollar System
by Peter Dale Scott - Global Research - LewRockwell.com
Confusion in Washington and in NATO
With respect to Libya’s upheaval itself, opinions in Washington range from that of John McCain, who has allegedly called on NATO to provide “every apparent means of assistance, minus ground troops,” in overthrowing Gaddafi,1 to Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, who has expressed deep concern about even passing out arms to a group of fighters we do not know well.2
We have seen the same confusion throughout the Middle East. In Egypt a coalition of non-governmental elements helped prepare for the nonviolent revolution in that country, while former US Ambassador Frank Wisner, Jr., flew to Egypt to persuade Mubarak to cling to power. Meanwhile in countries that used to be of major interest to the US, like Jordan and Yemen, it is hard to discern any coherent American policy at all.
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS - PART TWO
By Jim Quinn - TheBurningPlatform.com
It is not easy to destroy the greatest empire in the history of mankind. The 20th Century was the American Century, but as with all empires, the combination of hubris, monetary debasement, imperial overreach and delusional overconfidence have set in motion the inevitable downfall of the American Empire. The policies, decisions, beliefs, and institutions implemented over decades have led the country to the threshold of financial disaster. Based on my observations, a catastrophic combination of demographics, fiat currency debasement, titanic levels of debt, smothering taxation, power in the hands of the few and Wall Street greed have led us to peak Empire. It will be downhill from here as we experience collapse, revolution and ultimately, retribution for the guilty and presumed guilty. I have already addressed the Baby Boomer generation's contribution to our current plight, to the delight and accolades of Boomers across the land in For a Few Dollars More - Part One. The Boomers were a victim of their size and the timing of their arrival on the scene of empire collapse. Their delusions of debt based wealth and me first attitude could not have been satiated without the creation of the Federal Reserve and the institution of the personal income tax in 1913.
Excessive Leverage Helped Cause the Great Depression
and the Current Crisis ...
And Government Responds by Encouraging MORE Leverage
Washington's Blog
It is well known that excessive leverage was one of the primary causes of the Great Depression. Specifically, many people bought stocks on margin, and when stock prices dropped, they were wiped out and their lenders got hit hard.
Banks also used leverage in the Roaring Twenties, but things have only gotten worse since then. As David Miles - Monetary Policy Committee Member of the Bank of England - noted this week:
Between 1880 and 1960 bank leverage was - on average - about half the level of recent decades. Bank leverage has been on an upwards trend for 100 years; the average growth of the economy has shown no obvious trend.
Keiser Report: Fleeing Dollar Flood & Fraud (E141)
Half of Americans Think We're in a Depression: Poll
By Mike Whitney - HawaiiNewsDaily.com
On Thursday, Gallup reported that "More than half of Americans say the U.S. economy is in a recession or a depression despite official data that show a moderate recovery... The April 20-23 Gallup survey of 1,013 U.S. adults found that only 27 percent said the economy is growing. Twenty-nine percent said the economy is in a depression and 26 percent said it is in a recession, with another 16 percent saying it is "slowing down," Gallup said." (Reuters)
Fifty-three percent of Americans believe we are in a depression or a recession a full 5 years after the housing bubble burst (2006) and 3 years after Lehman Brothers collapsed. (2008) Gallup's findings jibe with other surveys that indicate growing desperation among the public. For example, Globescan found that a large number of Americans have given up on free market capitalism altogether, while other polls show dwindling confidence in government institutions, the Federal Reserve, the Congress, the judicial system and the media.
Gerald Celente on Jeff Rense Radio 27 Apr 2011
Banks should pay for foreclosures
Peter Dreier - PressTV
The epidemic of foreclosures that began in 2008 has been devastating America's families, communities and the state economy.
Nowhere is this more true than in California, where one in five U.S. foreclosures has taken place. Since 2008, more than 1.2 million Californians have lost their homes, and the number is expected to exceed 2 million by the end of next year. More than a third of California homeowners with a mortgage already owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Governor gets Fla. to block fed health overhaul
MSNBC.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott is getting a bill that would prohibit Floridians from being required to purchase health insurance.
The Republican-controlled Senate on Monday voted 30-7 for the measure previously approved by the House.
It would put Florida in direct conflict with the federal health care overhaul that will require most people eventually to have insurance coverage.
'WI immigrant workers' union to rally on May Day'
PressTV.ir
The immigrant workers' union in Madison, Wisconsin, has organized a protest rally in the city where workers from different nationalities particularly of Hispanic descent will hold a demonstration on Labor Day, says Norman Stockwell, the host of WORT Radio, in Madison.
Immigrant workers have seized the opportunity in the country on May 1 in order to voice their concerns about "discrimination, issues of unequal rights in the workplace," Stockwell told Press TV's U.S. Desk in a Sunday interview.
Rense & Celente - Fascism arrived while we watched TV
Obama's long form birth certificate scrutinized & more
Record wildlife die-offs reported in Northern Rockies
By Laura Zuckerman - Reuters.com - MSNBC.com
SALMON, Idaho - A record number of big-game animals perished this winter in parts of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming from a harsh season of unusually heavy snows and sustained cold in the Northern Rockies, state wildlife managers say.
"Elk, deer and moose -- those animals are having a pretty tough time," said Wyoming Game and Fish biologist Doug Brimeyer.
Snow and frigid temperatures in pockets of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming arrived earlier and lingered longer than usual, extending the time that wildlife were forced to forage on low reserves for scarce food, leading more of them to starve.
No, a Little Radiation Is NOT Good For You
Washington's Blog
Government scientists and media shills are now "reexamining" old studies that show that radioactive substances like plutonium cause cancer and arguing that exposure to low doses of radiation is good for us (a theory called "hormesis").
It is not just bubbleheads like Ann Coulter and pro-nuclear hacks like Lawrence Solomon are saying it as well. In virtually every discussion on the risk of nuclear radiation, someone post comments arguing that a little radiation makes us healthier.
Washington Times report
Newly released Obama birth certificate forensic forgery
By Alfred Lambremont Webre - Examiner.com
In an exclusive April 29, 2011 interview on ExopoliticsTV with Alfred Lambremont Webre, Robert Stanley, weekly correspondent for the Washington Times investigative radio, states that the purported birth certificate released by U.S. President Barack H. Obama on April 27, 2011 is a forensic forgery. In the interview, Mr. Stanley's statement is accompanied by an on-camera demonstration of various forgeries within the nine overlaid digital layers of the birth certificate document as released on the White House website.
Earlier on April 29, 2011, Mr. Stanley reported the breaking news regarding the forensic fraud in Mr. Obama's newly released birth certificate on Washington Times investigative radio's America's Morning News while being interviewed by reporters John McCaslin and Amy Holmes, also a commentator for CNN.
New FBI Documents Provide Details
on Government's Surveillance Spyware
Commentary by Jennifer Lynch - Electronic Frontier Foundation
EFF recently received documents from the FBI that reveal details about the depth of the agency's electronic surveillance capabilities and call into question the FBI's controversial effort to push Congress to expand the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) for greater access to communications data. The documents we received were sent to us in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request we filed back in 2007 after Wired reported on evidence that the FBI was able to use “secret spyware” to track the source of e-mailed bomb threats against a Washington state high school. The documents discuss a tool called a "web bug" or a "Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier" (CIPAV),1 which seems to have been in use since at least 2001.
Julian Assange: Facebook most appalling US spy machine
PressTV.ir
There have often been reports accusing Google, Yahoo and Facebook of working for U.S. intelligence. timesofindia.com
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange now holds similar views. timesofindia.com
Focusing particularly on Facebook, he calls it the "most appalling spy machine that has ever been invented." thenextweb.com
Deer, Beer and The Origin of Civilization
WhiteTail.com
Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/ gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: Liberals - Conservatives
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Al Qaeda leader Bin Laden dead: U.S. officials
WASHINGTON | Sun May 1, 2011 10:54pm EDT
Steve Holland -
(Reuters) - Osama bin Laden is dead and his body has been recovered by U.S. authorities, U.S. officials said on Sunday night.
President Barack Obama was to make the announcement shortly that after searching in vain for bin Laden since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist is dead.
It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, having fulfilled the goal once voiced by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, to bring to justice the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Friday Bank Closing Report April 29, 2011
By Jeff Harding, DailyCapitalist.com
There have been 5 bank closings since my last report (April 15, 2011).
• Community Central Bank, Mount Clemens, MI
• The Park Avenue Bank, Valdosta, GA
• First Choice Community Bank, Dallas, GA
• Cortez Community Bank, Brooksville, FL
• First National Bank of Central Florida, Winter Park, FL
There were 157 bank closings last year. So far we have had 39 bank closings in 2011.
Unofficial Problem Bank list increases to 984 Institutions
by CalculatedRisk
Here is the unofficial problem bank list for Apr 29, 2011.
The FDIC got back to closing banks this and released its enforcement actions for March 2011, which contributed to many changes to the Unofficial Problem Bank List. In total, there were six removals and 14 additions this week. After these changes, the list includes 984 institutions with assets of $422.1 billion, compared to 976 institutions with assets of $422.2 billion last week.
IMF Says Next U.S. President Will Be The Last
Submitted by John Rolls - MarketOracle.co.uk
The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.
Brett Arends, MarketWatch For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the "Age of America" will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China.
And it’s a lot closer than you may think.
According to the latest IMF official forecasts, China’s economy will surpass that of America in real terms in 2016 — just five years from now.
Put that in your calendar.
It provides a painful context for the budget wrangling taking place in Washington right now. It raises enormous questions about what the international security system is going to look like in just a handful of years. And it casts a deepening cloud over both the U.S. dollar and the giant Treasury market, which have been propped up for decades by their privileged status as the liabilities of the world’s hegemonic power.
An Unstable Economy Wobbling Atop Unsound Money
By Joel Bowman - DailyReckoning.com
04/30/11 Buenos Aires, Argentina – It's a clumsy old thing, that all-knowing, all-seeing government. No matter how hard it (says it) tries to "fix" the problems of the world, to the extent that the state intervenes, things only seem to get worse.
Let's start with the economy…
This week we heard from Chairman Bernanke about how his "on sound footing" recovery (somehow, remarkably, standing atop unsound money) is beginning to falter. The recovery, says he, is now "moderate," requiring the Fed to maintain their historically low interest rates for "an extended period." More unsound money, in other words… designed to build a surer foundation on which to erect that ever-illusive recovery.
So, are investors actually buying the Chairman's newspeak? At the very moment The Bernank was busy proclaiming his commitment to a "strong dollar policy," the dollar index hit a brand new, post-2008 recession low. Strange, no?
Precious Metals vs. the USD "Like it or not, you're going to be forced to be a speculator."
BY DOUG CASEY - FinanacialSense.com The Gold Report: When the average investor turns on the news, even on financial channels, they hear that the U.S. economy is in the best shape it's been in for three or four years. While the experts say the recovery is slower than anticipated, they expect its slow recovery will equate to a long, slow growth cycle similar to that after World War II. You have a contrary view. Doug Casey: The only things that are doing well are the stock and bond markets. But the markets and the economy are totally different things – except, over a very long period of time, there's no necessary correlation between the economy doing well and the market doing well. My view is that the market is as high as it is right now – with the Dow over 12,000 – solely and entirely because the Federal Reserve has created trillions of dollars, as other central banks around the world have created trillions of their currency units. Those currency units have to go somewhere, and a lot of them have gone into the stock market.
Dollar Index Has Its Biggest Monthly Drop
Since September; Franc Rallies
By Allison Bennett - Bloomberg.com
The Dollar Index had its biggest monthly decrease since September as a slowing U.S. economy encouraged the Federal Reserve to maintain stimulus.
The Swiss franc and Australian dollar rallied to records against the greenback amid signs of accelerating inflation. The euro had a fifth monthly gain on speculation the European Central Bank will increase borrowing costs further while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said this week he was unsure when U.S. monetary stimulus will end.
Gold at record highs! Dollar at 3-year lows! Don't panic
By Hibah Yousuf
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Gold and silver prices are surging and the U.S. dollar is slumping. While that's not great for consumers, investors are loving the dynamic.
"The Fed has made it crystal clear that it is not going to do anything to stop the dollar from falling," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading, adding that central bank's unwavering message gives investors the green light to keep adding high-yielding assets to their portfolio.
Parallels to the 1970s Suggest Parabolic Move in Gold Ahead
BY CHRIS PUPLAVA - FinancialSense.com
The news this week has been dominated by the Fed’s historic press conference and the subsequent moves in metals and the dollar. Fed Chairman Bernanke pretty much gave a green light to USD bears and precious metal bulls in once again advancing the illusion that rising commodity prices are in no way related to our weakening currency but purely a byproduct of a strong global economy. When the world’s most powerful monetary authority shows such little regard for dealing truthfully with current realities on the ground, is it any wonder the USD continues to plummet as gold and silver climb even higher?
Eight reasons why Gold is going up
By Rakesh Neelakandan
Gold is up by 7.6% for the year till date and for the year of 2010, gold ended higher by 30% that saw a decade of gold rally (on an annual basis) culminating in another one. Let us see the eight factors driving up the gold prices:
1. Near-zero interest rates in US
On last Wednesday when Federal Reserve decided to keep the interest rates in a range of zero to 0.25%, gold prices rose higher. The said interest rate range has been maintained since December 2008.
As long as the US keeps interest rates low, the demand for gold would be robust and so would be its prices, analysts say.
2. Weak dollar
Weak dollar gives buyers the necessary appetite for gold. On last Friday, the Comex Gold jumped $25.2 or 1.7%, to touch $1556.4 on weak dollar. This was the fifth consecutive monthly decline of dollar.
Analysts expect the slump to continue in the future. Gold prices always go opposite to the US dollar vectors.
Yes, gold and silver are bubbles but made of steel
By Stephen Corey - CommodityOnline.com
With the prices of precious metals seemingly skyrocketing since 2001, one can easily make the mistake of seeing this as a bubble; however, it is quite the opposite. It is common to read the news and see misleading articles talking about the "gold and silver bubbles", yet most of these news articles are heavily backed by the financial industry.
Most investors with less experience and knowledge don't know that the financial industry is against people buying physical gold and silver bullion and coins. Why? When people buy actual physical precious metals, this involves taking ones money out of financial institutions; thereby, no fees or interest can be earned on this money.
Gold-Buying Central Banks May Signal Bullion
Extending Record Price Rally
By Pham-Duy Nguyen - Bloomberg.com
Central banks that were net sellers of gold a decade ago are buying the precious metal to reduce their reliance on the dollar as a reserve currency, signaling demand that may extend a record rally in prices.
As developing countries accelerate purchases, gold may reach $2,000 an ounce this year, compared with a record of $1,569.80 today in New York, said Robert McEwen, the chief executive officer of producer U.S. Gold Corp. Euro Pacific Capital’s Michael Pento, who correctly predicted gold’s highs for the past two years, forecasts a 2011 high of $1,600.
The "Greatest Trade Ever:" Three Reasons That Silver Prices Still Have Room to Run
BY PETER KRAUTH, Contributing Editor, Money Morning
Silver is better than gold.
In fact, it's poised to be the "Greatest Trade Ever."
I know that's a big statement. I'm certain that it grabbed your attention. Perhaps you're even considering arguments that would shoot it down.
But I know what I'm saying. And here's the proof.
You can look at silver prices and see that as an investment, silver has been a better performer than gold over the past 10 years. What's more, silver is actually gaining momentum.
And here's the best part: I see three specific – and very powerful – catalysts that should propel silver priceshigher and enable this "other" precious metal to further outdistance gold in the months and years to come.
The Worst Trade of All Time
Written by Mad Hedge Fund Trader - OilPrice.com
One of the great asset management blunders of all time has to be the EC’s decision to sell its gold reserves in the wake of the launch of the Euro in 1998. The decision led to the fairly rapid sale of 3,800 tons of the yellow metal at an average price of $280/ounce, reaping about $56 billion, according to the Financial Times.
Today with gold at $1,500/ounce, the stash would be $300 billion. On top of this, the Swiss National Bank is poorer by $70 billion, after offloading 1,550 tons of the barbaric relic. The large scale, indiscriminate selling depressed gold prices in the early part of this decade. It is a classic example of what happens when bureaucrats take over the money management business, ditching the best performing investment on the eve of a long term bull market. The funds raised were largely placed in poorly performing national Eurobonds.
Uptrend in precious metals likely to continue next week
By Debbie Carlson - CommodityOnline.com
(Kitco News) - The strong upward trend in gold and silver seen this week is likely to spill over into next week’s trade as the markets remain concerned about inflation.
Gold prices hit record highs and silver came close to reaching $50 an ounce in the nearby contract as a weaker dollar gave commodities across the board a boost.
Silver Rally Can't Stop to Breathe
By: Dr Jeff Lewis - MarketOracle.co.uk
Investors don't know what to do with commodities. Traders are asking, "is it too late?" and "have we gone too high?" The question, of course, isn't easy to answer, but the simple reality is that there won’t be too high of prices until the dollar becomes too low.
In light of recent events around the world, the Fed has remained incredibly lax in its policy to push interest rates and the dollar to zero. Most every central bank has tightened, is expected to tighten, or must tighten (think China) to keep their currencies from plunging to zero.
Open Letter From Ted Butler to Custodian of SLV Silver ETF
JESSE'S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
Ted Butler raises an interesting point about the large short interest in SLV.
I think his faith in the custodians, the ETF, and in the past, the CFTC and SEC, to do the right thing is probably misplaced.
The shorts are impaled, and their schemes are unraveling across a broad set of dollar denominated assets. This is not the time when I would expect honest disclosures, but even more coverups, deceptions, distractions, and misdirections.
The Ponzi scheme that is the US financial system is going down, slowly but surely. It will find its level, but where that is, no one can say. It's downfall will come with hysteria and disbelief, and denial to the very end.
Commodities Beat Financial Assets in Longest Streak Since 1997
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen - Bloomberg.com
Commodities beat stocks, bonds and the dollar for a fifth straight month, the longest stretch in at least 14 years, as demand for raw materials increases with expanding economies and Federal Reserve promises to boost growth.
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Total Return Index of 24 commodities climbed 4.4 percent in April, after reaching the highest level since October 2008. The MSCI All-Country World Index of equities advanced 3.9 percent, the most since December, and the U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge against six counterparts, fell 3.9 percent, touching a 33-month low. Bonds of all types returned 0.9 percent on average, based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Broad Market Index.
Inflation Hawks and the Modern State
by Karl Smith - ModeledBehavior.com
Even among folks that I respect there seems to be this weird fear that the US government is going to attempt to inflate away its debts. There are a couple of problems with this from my perspective.
First, its actually not that easy from a technical point of view. A significant portion of the US debt is in very short term securities, like 90 days. If I remember correctly the bulk of foreign holdings is in securities with a maturity of less than a year. This is because they are using Treasuries as a liquidity vehicle and under those circumstances you want the shortest maturity possible.
So what happens with this massive inflation? It simply drives up the interest rate of Treasuries. You get to screw investors for 90 days and then much of the jig is up.
Here Comes Stagflation!
By: Sy Harding - MarketOracle.co.uk
It’s official. The U.S. economic recovery is stumbling again, as indicated by Thursday’s report that GDP growth plunged to only 1.8% in the 1st quarter (from 3.1% growth in the previous quarter). And spiking oil, food, and other commodity prices have inflation on the rise.
Don't lose sight of how we got here.
Exactly a year ago the recovery from 'The Great Recession' of 2007 – 2009 also stalled significantly as the government's stimulus efforts, including rebates to homebuyers and cash-for-clunkers programs, expired. Economic reports from the housing industry, auto sales, and consumer spending were the leading indicators that the recovery had stalled, which was then confirmed when the 2nd quarter GDP report was released and showed economic growth had slowed from 3.7% in the 1st quarter to only 1.7% in the 2nd quarter.
Debt ceiling fight is here
By Charles Riley
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- When lawmakers return to Washington on Monday, the debate over raising the nation's debt ceiling will kick into hyperdrive.
That's because Congress is now staring down a series of deadlines to raise the country's legal borrowing limit. First up: May 16, Treasury's latest estimate as to when U.S. debt will hit the country's $14.294 trillion ceiling.
That's only two weeks away. If Congress doesn't act, the Treasury would employ a range ofextraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations.
The Sphinx Speaks!
Mises Daily: by Robert P. Murphy
The big financial news this week was the Federal Reserve's first press conference. The financial press and bloggers have already parsed Bernanke's every last syllable, but I'll make some observations that I haven't seen elsewhere. Why Do We Care What "The Bernank" Has to Say?
At one level, it's absurd that the entire world is hanging on the words of Ben Bernanke. He hasbeen wrong at literally every major point in the housing bubble and then crisis. So why should we care about his predictions concerning the economy or his recommendations for how to end the slump?
Bernanke Falls Flat
By: John Browne - MarketOraqcle.co.uk
Despite loud huzzahs from a variety of boosters who proclaimed that Chairman Bernanke spoke with gravitas and wisdom at the first ever Federal Reserve press conference, the wider investing public clearly saw the performance as unconvincing. During and immediately after the proceedings the prices of gold and silver rose strongly to new highs as the U.S. dollar plummeted. The affair seemed to solidify the understanding that Bernanke and his cohorts have no intention whatsoever to reverse the current trend of inflation and a weakening dollar.
Fed Launches the Most Fraudulent Market Manipulating Scheme Yet
By: Dr Jeff Lewis - MarketOracle.co.uk
The Federal Reserve is up to its fraudulent games. In this latest round of open market operations, the Federal Reserve is not only engaging in manipulation of the credit default swap market, but also paying off its allies in the ultimate scam of creating low-risk, high returns for hedge fund managers.
Recently, it was found that the Federal Reserve has been issuing put options on US Treasuries, essentially underwriting Treasury debt, and telling the market that there is no risk in buying US Treasuries.
Fraud is Cheap
To persuade the market that US Treasury securities are worth owning, the Federal Reserve need not spend the trillions it spent to push the price of US Treasuries up and yields down. In fact, the best fraud is in making mincemeat of what should be efficient markets: the risk pricing markets.
The Global Economy’s Corporate Crime Wave
Jeffrey D. Sachs - ProjectSyndicate.com
NEW YORK – The world is drowning in corporate fraud, and the problems are probably greatest in rich countries – those with supposedly "good governance." Poor-country governments probably accept more bribes and commit more offenses, but it is rich countries that host the global companies that carry out the largest offenses. Money talks, and it is corrupting politics and markets all over the world.
Hardly a day passes without a new story of malfeasance. Every Wall Street firm has paid significant fines during the past decade for phony accounting, insider trading, securities fraud, Ponzi schemes, or outright embezzlement by CEOs. A massive insider-trading ring is currently on trial in New York, and has implicated some leading financial-industry figures. And it follows a series of fines paid by America’s biggest investment banks to settle charges of various securities violations.
Spend It Like You Stole It
By Bill Bonner - DailyReckoning.com
04/29/11 Baltimore, Maryland – QE2 is ending in June. But globally, QE3 has already begun. As usual, Japan is the pacesetter. As temperatures rose at its Fukushima reactor so did Japan’s monetary base – at the rate of 100% per week! What happens to all this new, hot money? No one knows, exactly. But today, at The Daily Reckoning, we have advice for everyone – central planners, politicians, and householders, too: if you have money, pretend you robbed a bank.
From the point of view of a modern economist, nothing stimulates better than a bank robbery. The money leaves the cold embrace of a bank vault; soon every pimp and bartender has his pockets full. Hot money gets around.
The Fed Terminates QE, We Lower our GDP Forecast
BY ASHA BANGALORE - FinanacialSense.com
If you have been following our commentaries in recent months, you know that we have been putting a lot of emphasis on monetary financial institution (MFI) credit as a cyclical determinant of domestic demand for goods and services. To refresh your memory, we define MFI credit as the sum of the credit extended by the Federal Reserve, the commercial banking system, the savings and loan system and the credit union system. MFI credit is akin to what the Austrian school of economics would call created credit. That is, MFI credit is credit figuratively created "out of thin air." The Austrians (and we) make a distinction betweencreated credit and transfer credit. In the latter credit concept, spending power is transferred from the grantor of this credit to the recipient of the credit. Transfer credit, then, is funded by the grantor by postponing some spending that the grantor otherwise would have engaged in. Thus, an increase in transfercredit generally does not result in a net increase in total spending in the economy. Rather, it results in a change in the distribution of spending. Because created credit is funded "out of thin air," an increase in it generally does result in a net increase in total spending in the economy.
Adios, Jared Bernstein: Obama Brain Trust Almost Purged
By Tim Cavanaugh - Reason.com
Alone, unknown, unloved goes Jared Bernstein, Vice President Joe Biden's economic advisor. Bernstein, a central figure in the Obama economic team, left direct government employment yesterday to assume a senior fellowship at a think tank.
History little noted nor long remembered the undistinguished Bernstein's undistinguished tenure:
Speaking at a 2009 University of Delaware conference, Bernstein described his ambition to create a "virtuous cycle" in defiance of the "great recession." In the absence of fiscal stimulus, Bernstein said, "the recession could have morphed into a depression." (What morphing, a term popularized in digital movie effects, meant in this context went unexplained.)
Goolsbee on the Slowdown in U.S. Economic Growth
Bernanke Concern Over S&P Rating
By: Bloomberg - MarketOracle.co.uk
Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, spoke to Bloomberg TV's Hans Nichols about today's report showing the U.S. economy slowed more than forecast in Q1. Goolsbee said about the S&P's judgment about the U.S.'s triple A rating was "a data point" and he also said that 2011 and 2011 are "still looking fairly positive" for economic growth. Goolsbee appeared on Bloomberg Television's "Bottom Line."
Goolsbee on the slowdown in U.S. growth:
"It was an expected slowdown. The biggest driver was a reduction in government spending at the federal level, a big negative from defense spending. You saw Bernanke say yesterday and you see the private forecasters say they believe that to be transitory slowdown. Nobody likes a growth slowdown. We've got to have faster growth, but 2011 and 2012 are still looking fairly positive."
Why the Feds are Powerless Against an Economic Downturn
By Bill Bonner - DailyReckoning.com
04/29/11 Baltimore, Maryland – Okay, President Obama is a real, native-born citizen.
Whew! That's cleared up.
But we never could figure out what the fuss was about. It didn't make any difference to us where he was born. After all, you don't have to be born in the USA to mess up an economy. Plenty of foreigners have done it. Plenty of Americans too.
Yes, dear reader, Mr. Market is an equal-opportunity disaster-maker. Men, women, Black, White… Jew or Gentile… it doesn't matter. As you sow, so shall ye reap – no matter who you are.
Here's the AP report on the latest US "growth" figures:
WASHINGTON (AP) – The economy slowed sharply in the first three months of the year. High gas prices cut into consumer spending, bad weather delayed construction projects and the federal government slashed defense spending by the most in six years.
THE TRILLION-DOLLAR PUBLIC BENEFITS GAP WIDENS
ARK - TruthDig.com
State governments are looking at a cumulative shortfall of at least $1.26 trillion needed to pay for pension and retirement health care services, The Pew Center on the States reported in a study published last week.
Read 24/7 Wall Street’s take on the report and a breakdown on 10 states where pensions are in jeopardy. —ARK
The Pew Center on the States:
In the midst of the Great Recession and severe investment declines, the gap between the promises states made for employees’ retirement benefits and the money they set aside to pay for them grew to at least $1.26 trillion in fiscal year 2009, resulting in a 26 percent increase in one year.
Why Unions Oppose Pay Incentives
Mises Daily: by F.A. Harper
[The Writings of F.A. Harper, Vol. 2 (1961)]
When visiting Sweden recently to study the impact of their advancing socialism, I was surprised to find an almost universal acceptance of the principle of paying workers on a piecework basis. And I recall that early in World War II, a political leader of the United States was severely criticized by our Russian allies because he opposed bonuses to individuals for extra output in the war plants.
These anomalies were brought to mind recently by the assertion in an issue of the AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Report (Vol. 2, No. 12) that unions in the United States "ordinarily are opposed to wage incentive plans."
Number of the Week: Millions Set to Lose Unemployment Benefits
By Mark Whitehouse - WSJ.com
5.5 million: Americans unemployed and not receiving benefits
The job market may be on the mend, but that’s not much consolation to millions of Americans facing a frightening deadline: the end of their unemployment benefits.
The country’s unemployment rolls are shrinking fast, after expanding sharply last year as the government extended benefits to ease the pain of a deep economic slump. As of mid-March, about 8.5 million people were receiving some kind of unemployment payments, down from 11.5 million a year earlier, according to the Labor Department.
Bubbleproof Stooge: After 5 Years,
Realtors® Still Pushing $Million Lemons
By Tim Cavanaugh - Reason.com
How much of the turmoil in the real estate market could have been avoided if prices hadjust been allowed to fall in a HAMPless, TARPless, FHB-tax-creditless alt.universe? A fable, before I head out for Sunday afternoon looky-loos:
The great artist Drew Friedman comes across a piece of history: a March 1962 check in the amount of $1.38, made out to RCA Record Club by one Joe DeRita, better known as "Curly Joe," the sixth and final Stooge.
Normal people may ask what records Curly Joe was buying – and was he paying the regular club prices or a special introductory offer?
Others may wonder how much that $1.38 would come to in today’s Monopoly money ($9.84).
Why Do Environmentalists Hate Capitalism?
Written by Ed Dolan - OilPrice.com
It has been twenty years now since first glasnost and then the collapse of the USSR lifted the curtain on the appalling environmental record of Soviet socialism. Over that same 20 years, the burgeoning economy of socialist China has overtaken the United States as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses. Still, it remains common to hear capitalism singled out as the greatest environmental threat to our planet, and socialism as its salvation.
A forceful statement of the environmentalist case against capitalism can be found in the Belem Ecosocialist Declaration, the product of a conference held in Paris in 2007. That document sets out a simple chain of cause and effect: Capitalism requires profit, profit requires growth, and growth means environmental destruction. Here are some excerpts:
Treasured Landscapes: An Act…to steal land from the states
by Marti Oakley - ppjg
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a for-profit federal corporation, issued a memo laying out its plans to seize 10 million additional acres across the Western states including, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, California, and Utah. The federal government already claims ownership or control of 84% of Utah and at least 68% of Nevada. The document clearly lays out the propaganda to be used in this land theft, referring to the theft as saving national treasures, pristine areas, treasured landscapes, etc.. Sounds really peachy until you get to the part about mining and natural resources, to be stolen at the same time.
Shed a Tear: The Age of Broadband Caps Begins Monday
By Ryan Singel - Wired.com
Come Monday, AT&T will begin restricting more than 16 million broadband users based on the amount of data they use in a month. The No. 2 carrier’s entry into the broadband-cap club means that a majority of U.S. broadband users will now be subject to limits on how much they can do online or risk extra charges as ugly as video store late fees.
AT&T’s new limits - 150 GB for DSL subscribers and 250 GB for UVerse users (a mix of fiber and DSL) — come as users are increasingly turning to online video such as Hulu and Netflix on-demand streaming service instead of paying for cable.
Superman threatens to renounce US citizenship Conservative commentators and bloggers react with disgust to the DC Comics superhero's decision
By David Batty - Guardian.co.uk
After years of declaring he stood for "truth, justice and the American way," Superman has provoked the ire of rightwingers by threatening to renounce his US citizenship.
In the latest issue of Action Comics, which went on sale on Wednesday, the Man of Steel decides to take the step after he intervenes in a protest against the Iranian government.
After the Islamic regime brands his non-violent protest as an act of war taken on behalf of the US president, the DC comic hero says he will renounce his citizenship before the United Nations.
"I'm tired of having my actions construed as instruments of US policy," he says.
Although Superman never actually renounces his citizenship in the story, conservative commentators reacted with disgust.
New Tension Roils Israel
By JOSHUA MITNICK, MATT BRADLEY and JAY SOLOMON - WSJ.com
Israel froze $88 million in Palestinian funds Sunday, elevating tensions over an Egyptian initiative to broker a power-sharing agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and raising new concerns about the prospects for peace in the region.
Meanwhile, Egypt's foreign minister urged a visiting U.S. congressman to press Congress and the Obama administration to recognize a Palestinian state. The move follows the Muslim Brotherhood's announcement Saturday that it will increase the number of seats for which the Islamist organization plans to field candidates in Egypt's parliamentary elections scheduled for September.
Gadhafi Strikes Port After Kin Killed Mobs Protest Assault on Compound,
as Government Forces Shell Misrata
By RICHARD BOUDREAUX - WSJ.com
TRIPOLI, Libya - Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces shelled the besieged city of Misrata on Sunday, pressing a deadly offensive to dislodge rebels in the wake of North Atlantic Treaty Organization airstrikes that Libyan officials said killed a son and three grandchildren of the leader.
Mobs protesting Saturday night's NATO assault on a Gadhafi family compound vandalized the British and Italian embassies, the U.S. consulate and a United Nations office in Tripoli early Sunday. The U.N. withdrew its 12 Tripoli-based international staffers from Libya. Britain, whose embassy buildings were badly burned, ordered the expulsion of Libya's ambassador to London.
In Syria's rebel city 'they will shoot anything that moves' Deraa is the centre of the revolt against the Assad regime. Here, a resident of a village on its outskirts describes life under siege
Resident to Lauren Williams in Beirut - Guardian.co.uk
There was shooting again last night. It has become routine. We haven't slept more than two hours at a time since the shooting began. It stops and then starts again. There is maybe one hour break between shooting.
We are like hostages in our homes. We are surrounded by tanks.
Yesterday we heard another three were killed. They were trying to go out to support the martyrs from Deraa, and the army shot them. They were only young; 18, 19, 22. There were more injured as well – 16 more from here but I don't know how many more nearby, because we can't communicate.
U.K., Italian Embassies in Tripoli Attacke
After NATO Assault on Qaddafi
By Timothy R. Homan and Nadeem Hamid - Bloomberg.com
The British and Italian embassies in Tripoli and offices of the United Nations came under attack after Libya said an allied airstrike killed Muammar Qaddafi’s youngest son, Saif al-Arab, and three grandchildren.
Crowds today assaulted the two embassies, according to government officials in London and Rome. The UN is evacuating its international staff from the Libyan capital, the Associated Press said, citing the New York-based international body. The U.K. has since given Libyan Ambassador Omar Jelban 24 hours to leave Britain.
Fears in China as another human rights lawyer disappears Li Fangping went missing on Friday,
the day that Chinese authorities released fellow lawyer Teng Biao
By Tania Branigan in Beijing - Guardian.co.uk
Campaigners have warned that Chinese human rights lawyers remain under intense pressure, following the disappearance of another high-profile legal figure.
Li Fangping went missing on Friday after ringing his wife to say state security agents were waiting for him – just as lawyer Teng Biao returned home after a two-month disappearance. The US had singled out Teng's treatment and that of other missing lawyers in human rights talks the previous day. "The Chinese authorities are resorting to an old trick, the revolving-door approach – one in, one out – to create the impression that things are improving," said Renee Xia of the Chinese Human Rights' Defenders network.
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