Thursday, April 30, 2015

16 Signs That The Economy Has Stalled Out And The Next Economic Downturn Is Here




The past few years have been a period of relative stability for the U.S. economy.  A lot of people have been lulled into a false sense of security during that time.  These people have become convinced that our problems have been fixed.  But they haven’t been fixed at all.  In fact, our problems are far, far worse than they were just prior to the last financial crisis. Don’t let this next recession take you by surprise.


NSA Whistleblower: “We Are No Longer Afraid Of The Police State Happening. It’s Here”

from Washington’s Blog:
First Bill Binney – the high-level NSA executive who created the agency’s mass surveillance program for digital information, the 32-year NSA veteran widely who was the senior technical director within the agency and managed thousands of NSA employees – told Washington’s Blog that America has already become a police state.
Then Thomas Drake – one of the top NSA executives, and Senior Change Leader within the NSA – told us the same thing.
Now Kirk Wiebe – a 32-year NSA veteran who received the Director CIA’s Meritorious Unit Award and the NSA’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award – agrees (tweet via Jesselyn Radack, attorney for many national security whistleblowers, herself a Department of Justice whistleblower):
Read More @ WashingtonsBlog.com
image credit: tenthamendmentcenter.com


The "Scariest Spreadsheet In Fed Possession" Just Revealed A Very Scary Number For Q2 GDP






Guess Who Predicted The Failure Of QE

Yellen... AND Bernanke!


Monsanto Secretly Gave Money to Farmer Caught Contaminating Organic Farms with GMOs

by Christina Sarich, Natural Society:
Natural Society reported on organic farmer Steve Marsh’s dilemma with GMO cross pollination of his organic farms a while back, but some shocking news has recently bubbled to the surface about Monsanto’s involvement.
One of the secrets of monopolizing Monsanto is that it contributed big bucks to the defense of the Australian farmer whose GMO canola crop infected Steve Marsh’s organic fields. If you aren’t privy, a ruling by the Supreme Court of Western Australia had no sympathy for Steve Marsh’s plight, and sided in favor of Michael Baxter and Monsanto.
Read More @ NaturalSociety.com



ONLY an IDIOT...Would CONSENT to a CASHLESS SOCIETY...That's why I think it will happen in the U.S.... The FREE SHIT ARMY WILL EMBRACE IT WITH BOTH HANDS...

The War On Cash: Transparently Totalitarian

"The War on Cash is the attempt by governments to phase cash out of their economies. Governments hate cash because they hate the financial privacy cash makes possible. And they prefer that you keep your money in a bank to help prop up an unsound fractional reserve banking system." As Ron Paul warned, “The cashless society is the IRS’s dream: total knowledge of, and control over, the finances of every single American.”


"Purge" Night 4: Baltimore Tense As Police Clashes Erupt In Philadelphia - Live Feed










Inching Toward Conflict: US Navy To Escort Cargo Ships In Persian Gulf; Iran Refuses To Back Down

Moments ago there was yet another step up in the Persian Gulf naval escalation when CNN reported that the U.S. Navy will escort U.S.-flagged cargo ships through Strait of Hormuz in wake of Iran seizure this week, a US official says. Specifically, the Navy will henceforth accompany ships on concern that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard may seize them, CNN’s Jim Sciutto says in Twitter post, citing CNN’s Barbara Starr. It is unclear what happens if either the accompanied cargo ship, or the US Navy warship leaves international waters, and enters Iran territory, which as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is virtually assured: a strait which as the following US Naval update map has become as busy for US traffic as the 405 Freeway during rush hour.


This Is How Disastrous The Situation In The West Really Is

from KingWorldNews:
Here’s an astonishing statistic; more than 30pc of all government debt in the eurozone – around €2 trillion of securities in total – is trading on a negative interest rate.
With the advent of European Central Bank quantitative easing, what began four months ago when 10-year Swiss yields turned negative for the first time has snowballed into a veritable avalanche of negative rates across European government bond markets. In the hunt for apparently “safe assets”, investors have thrown caution to the wind, and collectively determined to pay governments for the privilege of lending to them.
Art Cashin continues @ KingWorldNews.com



First Blythe Masters, Now Goldman Investing In Bitcoin

First it was Blythe Masters (and the Fed). Now, the most important FDIC-insured hedge fund in the world, Goldman Sachs, adds its name to a growing list of Wall Street institutions exploring digital-currency technology’s potential to provide faster and cheaper financial transactions and payments.




Is Your State Racist?

With the topic of racial division increasingly top of mind in America, The Washington Post reports a new study suggests that the rural Northeat and South are the most racist regions of America. The study, based on Goggle searches for race-related phrases, shows racist people in the U.S. appear to be clustered along the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia, through New York and all the way up to Vermont. West of Texas, no region falls into the "much more than average" category.



Remember...Banks and Governments rely on WeTheSheeplez to do Exactly the wrong thing at  Exactly the Wrong time...

No More Greater Fools: Retail Traders Are "Pretty Fully Invested" In Stocks, TD CEO Says

"Margin loans at high levels, client cash at low levels and account holders at the firm logging in frequently." Believe it or not, that is not a description of day traders in China, but rather of US retail investors who, according to TD Ameritrade's Fred Tomczyk, are all-in at the wrong time.


TWO More Dead Gray Whales Off Santa Cruz County Coast

[Ed. Note: Why is NO ONE in the mainstream mockingbird media in this country talking about Fukushima? Why is it now ILLEGAL in Japan to report the TRUTH about Fukushima? We’re in a LOT of trouble folks.]
by Calvin Men, Santa Cruz Sentinel:
Two gray whale carcasses washed up in Santa Cruz County this week, prompting Long Marine Lab officials to investigate their deaths.
The whales — one at the northern end of the county and the other at the southern end — were first reported Wednesday, but officials couldn’t conduct necropsies when they were reported because of the tide, said Terri Sigler, marine mammal stranding coordinator for Long Marine Lab.
A necropsy conducted Thursday on a 40-foot adult gray whale that washed ashore near Waddell Beach near Davenport couldn’t determine the cause of death, Sigler said. [Ed. Note: Check for RADIATION! ~ SGT]
Read More @ Santacruzsentinel.com




25 Years Of US Monetary Policy Explained (In 1 Cartoon)

While Bernanke claims that "Fed actions didn't favor Wall Street over Main Street," we suspect the following chart clarifies the effect of his and his predecessors actions on the average American...



Dow Tumbles Back Into The Red For 2015

Inconceivable...



Martin Armstrong Explains Why The Richest 1% Get Richer

The 99% need to wake up. It ain’t the 1%It is those who pretend to be on your side who deprive you of your real right to economic freedom.



When Will Apple Stop Screwing The US Economy?

Apple is the Ty Cobb of corporate America. Like Cobb, Apple has set some impressive records. Nine years, a trillion dollars in sales, and almost no taxes paid. Apple risks having a legacy of tainted success and isolation.




NY Fed Head Of Banking Supervision, And Person Who Handed Over Billions In AIG Profits To Goldman, Resigns

Just three questions here about Sarah Dahlgren's "resignation":
1. Why is she resigning now: is there a crackdown on just how corrupt the Goldman Sachs branch office at Liberty 33 truly is?
2. What will her salary at Goldman Sachs be once she joins the 200 West firm?
3. Which Goldman partner will replace her.




The Swiss National Bank Is Long $100 Billion In Stocks, Reports Record Loss

According to the latest SNB financial release, 18%, or CHF 95 ($102 billion) of the assets held on the SNB's balance sheet are, drumroll, foreign stocks!  In other words, the SNB holds 15% of Switzerland's GDP in equities!




Albert Edwards On What Happens Next: "More QE - Everywhere!"

"The Q1 US GDP data was a major disappointment to the market as business investment declined due to the intensifying US profits recession. Only the biggest inventory build in history stopped the economy subsiding into a recessionary quagmire. The US economy is struggling and the Fed will ultimately re-engage the QE spigot. Talk is growing that China will soon be doing the same as local authorities struggle to issue debt. But this week we want to focus on Japan, having just made my fist visit to that fine nation for over a decade! Japan, the third largest economy in the world, is also in trouble (see chart below) and will soon be increasing its off-the-scale QE programme to an out-of-this-world QE programme." - Albert Edwards




Did The Japanese Just Save The World Again?

Suddenly, and with no catalyst whatsoever, "someone" decided to sell JPY, buy EUR and USD and aggressively bid for US equities and European peripheral bonds... just as they headed for an ugly day... Paging GPIF?




We Are Witnessing A Fundamental Change In The Oil Sector

The world oil market is undergoing a fundamental structural change in response to expensive oil. Producers are trying to survive by limiting expenditures. While analysts have been focused on rig counts, deferred completions have emerged as the initial path to lower U.S. oil production. This unanticipated outcome suggests that others may follow. While everyone is waiting for higher oil prices and for things to return to normal, what we may be witnessing is the end of normal.



One Heckuva Bull Market

The current equities bull run seems unstoppable. No amount of geopolitical concerns, Greek default fears, rate hikes, US dollar strength, crude oil price volatility, Russian sanctions or whatever else you can think of can put a dent on it. Perhaps we should take a step back and try to understand what is driving this strength. OK, we know that central banks continue to spike the punchbowl, but what is the actual transmission mechanism that directs all this liquidity into equities – as opposed to commodities for instance, which continue to struggle?




Billionaire Hypocrisy: George Soros May Owe $7 Billion In Taxes

George Soros may owe some $6.7 billion in taxes Bloomberg says, noting that despite the billionaire's call to increase taxes on the wealthy, his fund has employed a loophole that allowed for the deferral of taxes on management fees the reinvestment of which has generated billions in returns.




Nasdaq Loses 5000 As Good Data Spooks Liquidity Addicts

"I felt a great disturbance in the Farce, as if millions of fast-money voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."



Bunds & Bullion Bloodbath'd

Well that escalated quickly...




When The Herd Turns


The ultimate hubris of central banks was their supreme belief in their own powers to direct the herd. As long as the herd was stampeding in one direction, the central banks could imagine that their shouted orders were directing the herd. But once the herd turns, the futility of those orders will be revealed.



Gold Dumped, Dollar Pumped As Algos Focus On Claims, Ignore Spending

Because what really matters is not spending or incomes for the average American (which both missed dismally), the market appears convinced that the 2nd lowest jobless claims print in history is what matters and the "rate hike is coming" trade is on. Bond yields are higher, dollar is jumping, and gold (and silver) and dumping...



Greece "Scrambles"To Make Full Monthly Pension Payments: "Still Missing Several Hundred Million Euros"

Greece was forced to delay pension payments by 8 hours on Tuesday while Athens scrambled to find cash. Although the government claims there was a "technical glitch," officials with knowledge of the matter offered a far more elegant explanation: there wasn't enough money.


British Doctors Now Asking Elderly If They’re Ready to Die

by Joshua Krause, Activist Post:
Ever since the Affordable Care Act was passed, Americans have been asking themselves if our healthcare will ever resemble the UK’s socialized medical system. Some have greeted it with praise, while others have been concerned that our healthcare could turn to death panels to cut costs. Now the UK’s National Health Service has given us another unfortunate condition to look forward to. They recently told all doctors to ask every patient over 75 if they would like to establish a “do not resuscitate” order for future emergencies. In some cases, the doctors are ordering their nurses to cold-call every elderly patient, and everyone with a long-term condition, to see if they have “thought about resuscitation.”
Could you imagine how awkward it would be to receive such a phone call? To be called right out of the blue and gently asked if you’re ready to die. As one health analyst put it ‘It will give some older people the impression that no-one wants to bother with them. It looks as though they’re being told: ‘You’re old, how do you want to die because you’re in the way’.
Read More @ ActivistPost.com


Homeland Security Chief Admits He Doesn’t Understand 4th Amendment

by Steve Watson, Infowars:
During a hearing Homeland Security head Jeh Johnson admitted Wednesday that he doesn’t know or understand the laws covered by the Fourth Amendment.
Johnson was appearing at a Senate gathering on the government’s surveillance capabilities and authority, specifically regarding obtaining records from telephone companies without a warrant.
When Kentucky Senator Rand Paul began grilling Johnson, asking him whether those practices are lawful under the Fourth Amendment, which covers searches and seizures, Johnson effectively pleaded ignorance. When Paul asked Johnson if he believes the Fourth Amendment “applies to third party records,” Johnson said that it is “beyond my competence as secretary of homeland security” to answer the question.
Read More @ Infowars.com


Sunset is Coming for NSA Dragnet

by Philippe Gastonne, The Daily Bell:
Senate Republicans have launched the opening salvo in a battle over government surveillance powers, introducing a bill to preserve intact the National Security Agency’s authority to store and search domestic telephone records…
Legal authority for the program, contained in Section 215 of the Patriot Act, is set to expire June 1. That has set off a race between lawmakers who want to preserve the government’s surveillance powers and those who want to rein them in. – Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2015
The program described in this article is one of the less-intrusive dragnets Edward Snowden exposed, but it is nonetheless unacceptable. Supposedly, it does not give the government the content of phone calls, only the “metadata” such as date, time, location, number dialed, length of call, etc. Collected and studied over time, this information can paint a surprisingly comprehensive picture of a citizen’s life. That is why the NSA wants it, after all.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com



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