Julian Assange Arrest By British Police Delayed By Technicality

China to Implement Price Controls

Posted: Dec 02 2010     By: Jim Sinclair      Post Edited: December 2, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Filed under: General Editorial
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The article below is absolutely correct from an economic standpoint. Politically, however, China runs a much different show than Westerners are used to.
I suggest it will take longer for shortages to show up in China than elsewhere.
Consider for a moment that they execute (as in “kill”) OTC derivative bank employees who have broken a bank. The bank president usually meets the same fate as well.
Adulterate baby’s milk in China and you meet your maker. In China nothing really has really changed – it just looks different.

China readies price controls to tackle food inflation
BEIJING: China will unveil food price controls and crack down on speculation in agricultural commodities to contain inflationary pressure that its central bank governor highlighted as a risk on Tuesday.
With consumer prices rising at their fastest pace in more than two years, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top planning agency, is preparing a “one-two punch” of actions to rein in food costs, official media reported.
Such direct intervention would mark an escalation of the government’s efforts to tame inflation and underline its worries over the rapid run-up in food prices.
Possible steps include price controls, subsidies for shoppers, a crackdown on hoarding and price gouging as well as a system whereby mayors are made responsible for a basket of food items, the China Securities Journal reported.
More….

Lots of fake gold shows up in Hong Kong

“Careful People”, says The Trend in Home Prices

Posted: Dec 02 2010     By: Eric De Groot      Post Edited: December 2, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Filed under: General Editorial
The trend in home prices, already bolstered by currency devaluation across the globe, is saying – “careful people.” Any material deficit reduction program, such as elimination of the mortgage tax deduction, whether spun as ethically right or wrong, will bring down the pain not felt since the Great Depression. The cycle bottom for real estate is not due until 2032.
As Martin Armstrong suggested, the 30-year mortgage was created to restore the real estate market in the Great Depression. The price of this innovation, which homeowners view as the norm today, was leverage. It took roughly 80 years for homeowners (Americans) to realize the inherent risks (price) of increased leverage.
U.S. Median Home Price (MHP):

Mortgage tax break in the crosshairs
By Tami Luhby, senior writer
December 2, 2010: 8:06 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Don’t even think of touching the mortgage interest tax deduction in the midst of a fragile housing market.
That was the immediate response of the housing industry, which has come out with guns blazing against the presidential deficit commission’s proposal to overhaul the coveted tax provision.
More….

The “More or Less Than Expected" Does Not Alter the Cycles

Posted: Dec 02 2010     By: Eric De Groot      Post Edited: December 2, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Filed under: General Editorial
Let the media play the “more or less than expected” game with daily fluctuations in the stock market.  Today’s average weekly jobless and continuing claims fall within the cycle trends.
Average Weekly Initial Claims State Unemployment (AWIC) And YOY Change:

Average Continuing Claims State Unemployment (ACC) And YOY Change:

The trend line breaks in announced layoffs suggest that the pressure is building for a 2011-2012 turn.
Challenger, Grey, and Christmas Announced Layoffs (ALO) And YOY Change:

Jobless claims rise more than expected

Initial claims for unemployment aid rose by 20,000
WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking jobless benefits jumped sharply last week, after two straight weeks of declines, showing the labor market remains under pressure.
The increase undermines hopes that unemployment claims, after falling four times in the previous five weeks, were on a sustained downward trend. That would signal layoffs were slowing and hiring was picking up. Instead, claims remain stuck at an elevated level.
“Those looking for an imminent spurt of job creation are, for yet another week, likely to be disappointed,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak, in a note to clients.
More….

 

Philly Fed's Plosser: If Deflation Accelerates May Need More QE

 

Art Cashin On Corriente's "Enormous China Bubble"

 

Fed Trying to Make It Harder for Homeowners to Fight Mortgage Fraud by Gutting Truth In Lending Laws

 

Kroger Stock Plunges After CEO Discloses Recovery "Slower And Weaker"; Americans "Cautious" In Buying Food

 

SEC Kills Whistleblower Initiative Claiming Its Billion Dollar Budget Is Insufficient