YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS KIND OF STUFF UP...

Prep for Coming Inflation: Chief Investor


Gold is the 'Only Currency' Now


Greece Just Tip of Debt Crisis Iceberg: Roubini


Coming to a neighborhood near you soon...

Ay, ay, ay: Two Illinois lawmakers ask governor to deploy National Guard to help quell gun violence in Chicago.



Gary and Marie K. were the first of several readers to send us this piece that originated from Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Prepping for the worst



must-read piece over at Seeking Alpha: Current U.S. Dollar Currency Controls



GM is using our tax dollars to repay our tax dollars to get more of our tax dollars at a reduced interest rate. A nice deal if you can get it.



Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability. This U.S. Senate report begins: "The Congressional Oversight Panel's February oversight report, "Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability," expresses concern that a wave of commercial real estate loan losses over the next four years could jeopardize the stability of many banks, particularly community banks. Commercial real estate loans made over the last decade - including retail properties, office space, industrial facilities, hotels and apartments - totaling $1.4 trillion will require refinancing in 2011 through 2014."



Time to pay the piper...and it's going to hurt...ALOT

White House warns of the dangers of huge deficits



Whoopieee a new dept czar...this should be fun...

Debt panel says Obama will approve debt findings (before they're even made!)



Wealthy Flee Britain over New Tax Policies- Daily Mail



Thanks obama

US Stocks Set to Fall on Deepening Unemployment- Bloomberg



States Bristle as Investors Wager on Defaults- Wall Street Journal



Brazil Rates Set to Surge- BusinessWeek



Barrick Gold Earnings Rise 143% in Q1- UK Telegraph



Off Wall St., Worries about Financial Bill- NY Times



WE ARE FREAKING DOOMED...IT WON"T BE LONG NOW...remember...

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER...



Unemployment challenges Obama's rhetoric



Your city is next...

Pennsylvania city considers bankruptcy



More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship. (And here is some commentary by Lew Rockwell.)



Ignored Story of the Week: Balance Sheets are Getting Ready to Eat some TSHTF Sandwiches



Jim Sinclair’s Commentary


It is coming here in the US. The EU is the straw man.


Banks Bet Against U.S. Cities, States


First Posted: 04-27-10 01:53 PM Updated: 04-27-10 03:01 PM


Amidst growing pessimism about the financial condition of U.S. cities and states, investors are increasingly buying financial instruments that essentially allow them to short sell – or bet against – cities and states, says a Wall Street Journal report.
Offered by banks like JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup, the so-called municipal credit default swaps can be used by investors to bet that insurance contracts protecting holders of municipal bonds will default.
Some states say the derivatives not only scare away potential buyers of municipal bonds by creating a perception of risk, but ultimately drive up states’ borrowing costs. Others contend that the instruments are traded too thinly to affect municipal bond markets or a state’s credit rating.
The California treasurer is just one of a number of state treasurers that have launched a probe into the sale of these derivatives and the sale of municipal bonds by big Wall Street firms that might reveal "speculative abuse of CDS in the muni market," says one regulator.
More…




Jim Sinclair’s Commentar


Mark my words. This is the beginning of the end.


States Bristle as Investors Make Wagers on Defaults By IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN APRIL 27, 2010


As U.S. cities and towns wrestle with financial problems, investors are finding a new way to profit on their misery: by buying derivatives that essentially bet municipalities will default.
These so-called credit default swaps are basically insurance contracts that have long been available to protect holders of corporate bonds against default. They became available a few years ago for municipal debt, allowing investors to short sell—or bet against—countless cities, towns and bridges, and more than a dozen states, including California, Michigan and New York.
The derivatives are still thinly traded, but their existence has the potential to make investors skittish about the issuers of the bonds that underlie them. That has been the case for issuers ranging from Greece to Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis. When the price of this insurance goes up, nervous investors have sold off securities issued by these entities.
The proliferation of the derivatives is angering treasurers around the country, who say the derivatives are sending a negative message and possibly driving up their costs of borrowing at a time when they need all the help they can get. California planned to send out letters as soon as this week to big Wall Street firms that sell its bonds, seeking in-depth information about their roles in selling derivatives.
"Firms that are underwriting our bond sales are then telling the purchasers maybe they need to buy a CDS reflecting some risk," California Treasurer Bill Lockyer said in an interview. "They are speaking with two tongues, and we want to find out whether that impacts us in an adverse way."
More…



Quote of the day...

"If you haven't prepared, after reading everything I have posted here for your benefit, then you are beyond help..."