All Paper Money Will Go To Its Intrisic Value, Zero.
posted by Blogger at Marc Faber Blog - 6 hours ago
There’s no other way out but to print money. In the long run, all paper money will go exactly to its intrinsic value, which is zero. in a Seoul Forum, June 9 Related assets: Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF...


Watch this video,. Tomorrow the movie will be on cnbc Direct tv channel 355 at 3:00 pm
record it.






Fortunately, at least some members of Congress are waking up to the financial peril dead ahead. . . Recently, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire stated his fears that the United States is on a course for economic disaster. The overwhelming debt and exploding deficits will lead to “the financial meltdown of our nation,” Gregg said.


Jim Rogers Blog - 6 hours ago
Gold has been, historically, a good way to preserve wealth, but so have other things as well. I own gold. Gold is making all-time highs. It certainly has been a way to preserve wealth in the last decade. W...


Think US Debt Is High Now? Wait Until 2015


In The News Today Posted: Jun 09 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: June 9, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Filed under: In The News

Dear CIGAs,

The ratio spread is limited in time. The ratio spread of short gold shares and long gold futures will end when the spread and results thereof go negative.

Do you have any idea what $1200 means to gold producers at all levels? As the impact of gold at these levels filters through the production process, future earnings are truly golden.
$1200 means 1,000,000 mineable ounces is worth $1.2 billion less the cost of mining.
Even today the hedge fund sellers of future gold are finding it hard to cover the gold share shorts placed when paper gold was purchased.
What a way to chase your tail. Can you imagine if Egon is right and gold goes to $6000-7000?
Every 100,000 mineable ounces would have a value of $600,000,000 less the cost of production. To the earnings statement 1,000,000 ounces would be worth $6-7 billion.


This means major cuts to all social programs and unthinkable taxes......
There will be riots in the streets and crime will rise as people are forced to fight for survival...
If you are not prepared for what is coming, you will be part of it...
US Needs Austerity Too: Hedge Fund Strategist


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

When a bankrupt begins to cannibalize, the end is near.

Arizona Sells Supreme Court Building in $300 Million Bond Deal By Allison Bennett and Brendan A. McGrail

June 8 (Bloomberg) —

Arizona, which sold state prisons and offices to raise cash six months ago, plans to borrow $300 million by marketing its Supreme Court building and about a dozen more properties through leaseback bonds starting today.

Investors will hold ownership of the court building in Phoenix, the fifth-largest U.S. city, and the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Tucson for as much as 20 years, with the securities maturing serially from 2012 through 2029, according to offering documents. Lease payments will back the debt, known as certificates of participation.

Arizona, whose foreclosure rate last year was ranked second-highest after Nevada by RealtyTrac Inc., will use the sale to pay for three months of school aid. The state raised $709 million for education payments when it sold and then leased back nine properties to investors in January.

“From an investor point of view, this is great,” state Treasurer Dean Martin, 35, said in an interview. “The state has to have buildings to operate and we’re the largest employer in Arizona.”

Arizona’s last such sale was Jan. 14. Five-year securities were priced to yield 3.07 percent, 32 basis points above a Bloomberg Fair Market Value index of comparable certificates at the time. The debt traded June 4 at an average yield of 2.79 percent, according to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board data, 3 basis points above the index.

More…

Banking System Collapse:
Wake Up America Your Banks Are Dying

U.S. banks are being shut down by federal regulators at a staggering pace this year, and yet most Americans seem completely oblivious to it. In fact, federal officials have already shut down 81 U.S. banks this year, which is about double the number that were shut down at this time last year. So why aren't more people upset about this? Well, part of the reason is because the FDIC is doing it very, very quietly. The bank closings for each week are announced every Friday, which means that they pass through the news cycle over the weekend almost unnoticed. For example, banks in Nebraska, Mississippi and Illinois with total deposits of almost $2.3 billion were shut down by federal regulators on Friday. So did you hear about it before now? If not, why not? Shouldn't the fact that we are experiencing a banking system collapse be headline news? But most Americans are more than happy to remain blissfully ignorant of what is going on. In fact, most Americans seem far more interested in what is happening on American Idol or Dancing With The Stars. But when the American Dream starts dying for tens of millions of Americans as the economy collapses perhaps more people will start to care.

So just how bad is the banking system crisis?

Well, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair says that 775 banks (approximately ten percent of all banks in the United States) are now on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's list of "problem" banks.

So should we be alarmed by that?

Well, there were only 252 U.S. banks on the FDIC's problem list at the end of 2008.

There were 702 U.S. banks on the FDIC's problem list at the end of 2009.

Now there are 775.
Do you know if your bank is on the verge of failing?

You might want to check.

But even if all of our banks fail the FDIC has plenty of money to cover our federally-insured banking accounts, don't they?

Unfortunately, they do not.

The FDIC is backing nearly 8,000 U.S. banks that have a total of $13 trillion in assets with a deposit insurance fund that is pretty close to flat broke.

It was recently reported that the FDIC's deposit insurance fund now has negative 20.7 billion dollars in it, which actually represents a slight improvement from the end of 2009.

But the bank failures on Friday drained another $313.6 million from the FDIC’s deposit-insurance fund.

And the way things are trending, the banking crisis could get a whole lot worse?

Why?

Well, Americans are simply not doing a very good job of paying their bills.

During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans at U.S. banks that were at least three months past due increased for the 16th consecutive quarter.

16 quarters in a row.
Just let that sink in.

If that is not a trend, then what is?

Oh, but the U.S. government will never let the entire banking system fail, right?

Well, they won't let the "too big to fail" banks go under, we have seen that.

But the small and mid size banks?

They fall into the "not big enough to bail out" category.

And where in the world is the U.S. government going to get more money to bail anyone out?

The reality is that the U.S. government is now over 13 trillion dollars in debt.

To give you an idea of just how horrific that is, if you started spending a million dollars a day on the day that Christ was born, you still would not have spent a trillion dollars by now.

That is how big a trillion is.
But for this year alone it is being projected that the U.S. government will have a budget deficit of approximately 1.6 trillion dollars.


So, yes, pretty much wherever you turn we are facing a financial nightmare.
Senator: US Liquidity Crisis Coming in 2 Years—Unless…

All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from the defects in their constitution or confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation. - John Quincy Adams

Gold Rises to Record on Demand for Haven From European Crisis.


mainstream economic journalist Scott Burns that was surprisingly frank about the possibility of an economic collapse: The Future… as a Large, Sullen Stranger


Robert Barone: Forget PIIGS, US Debt is Out of Control


US government is killing its own economy


Long-Term Unemployed Now 46 Percent of Unemployed, Highest Percentage on Record


If rates are raised...we are screwed...
Increasingly Hawkish Fed Ponder Raising Rates


Secretive Bilderberg Club Said to Decide Fate of Euro


Greece to Sell Assets to Help Pay Down Deficit


Spain, Italy Sink from Contagion


Eurozone Jobless Rate Hits Record High


ECB Warns of More Bank Loan Losses


GM's Fast Turnaround Slams into the Euro Crisis


Jim Sinclair’s CommentaryFASB (Financial Accounting Standard Board), the gatekeepers of honest and transparent auditing, delivered the Equity Rally in April of 2009 to you by blessing total fabrication in accounting and will deliver the second phase of the economic financial disaster.BS is not going to float on artificial OTC derivative assets later in 2010 and 2011.

Banks in ‘Downward Spiral’ Buying Capital in CDOs (Update1) By Yalman Onaran and Jody ShennJune 8 (Bloomberg) —
U.S. banks are fighting to preserve the use of securities that help them appear better capitalized, even as their investments in each others’ notes perpetuate what one regulator calls a “downward spiral” of losses.The cross-ownership, largely unnoticed by bank supervisors who generally discourage the practice, was made possible by a Wall Street innovation like the ones that allowed subprime mortgages to flourish. Small lenders, such as Riverside National Bank of Florida, were able to sell trust-preferred securities, known as TruPS, because investment bankers packaged them with those issued by dozens of other financial institutions.Riverside, which started in a trailer in 1982, bought collateralized debt obligations made up of TruPS as it grew to 65 branches and $4.8 billion assets. When real estate soured and lenders racked up loan losses, Riverside and about 400 of its peers suspended interest payments on their TruPS, causing the CDOs to default or lose value and inflicting more harm on an industry suffering from the worst economy since the 1930s. “The industry was self-financing, using loopholes in rules,” said Joseph Mason, a professor of finance at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. “Regulators weren’t keeping track of ownership of the capital, which became more difficult to do with the use of CDOs. The losses fed on each other.” More…


Jim Sinclair’s CommentaryThis is as close to oops as you will ever hear from the Fed.I know for certainty that gold will trade at $1650 on or before Jan 14th, 2011, but Armstrong thinks higher and before the end of June 2011.

Bernanke: Recovery continues but ‘won’t feel terrific’ By Jennifer Liberto, senior writerJune 8, 2010: 9:48 AM ETWASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) —

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he expects a continuing economic recovery – “but it won’t feel terrific.”In an interview at a forum late Monday in Washington, Bernanke dodged a question about whether he fears a double-dip recession, saying “nobody knows with any certainty.”“But there seems to be a good bit of momentum in consumer spending and investment, so my best guess is that we’ll have a continued recovery,” Bernanke told veteran TV journalist Sam Donaldson. “The reason it won’t feel terrific is because it’s not going to be fast enough to put back 8 million people who lost their jobs within a few years. It’s going to take a while.”He warned the unemployment rate will remain high “for a while,” explaining, “that means that a lot of people are going to be under financial stress.”In an unusually wide-ranging interview with Donaldson at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, the Fed chairman spoke with a little more candor than usual, Bernanke said he couldn’t predict when the Fed would raise interest rates next. But he said it depends on the state of the economy, unemployment rates and inflation trends.More…


Billboard Puts Obama on $100 Tln Bill- CNS News


The Less the G-20 Does, the Better- Financial Post


Swiss Lower House Rejects US Demand for Tax Info- Wall Street Journal


Eurozone Nations Set Up $1 Trln Bailout Fund- Yahoo! News


US Stocks Test Price Floors Amid Big Sell-off- USA Today


Gold Futures Hit NY, London Record on Haven Demand- BusinessWeek

Laffer Warns of 2011 Collapse as Bush Tax Cuts End


Gold is a Great Safety Net if Things Go Wrong


UK: City Watchdog Fears Euro Disaster




In Brutal Job Market, More Than a Million Quit Looking
If you think the jobs situation has become pretty hopeless, you're not alone. Roughly 1.1 million workers have given up hope of finding employment.


Markets About to Turn Nasty; Buy Barbed Wire: Advisor




Gold's 'Real Move' to $7,000 Coming: Asset Manager

German Gov't Backs Decisive Cuts; US Urges Spending- Bloomberg

UK's Cameron: Either Cuts Now or Poverty Later- Daily Telegraph

Euro Fears Allow Bernanke to Keep On Printing- Wall Street Journal

Gold Holds Above US$1,210; New Euro-Gold Record- CNBC

Obamacare Law Helps IRS Tighten Noose on Small Biz- Detroit Free Press

Bailed-Out GM Starts Its Own Venture Capital Firm- USA Today

America's Jobless Picture Is Alarmingly Bleak- Financial Times

U.S.’s $13 Trillion Debt Poised to Overtake GDP: Chart of Day

Experts: Europe to Push US Back Into Recession

Complexity and Collapse: Empires on the Edge of Chaos

Disturbing Job Ads: 'The Unemployed Will Not Be Considered'

Central Bank Gold Holdings Expand at Fastest Pace Since 1964.

The Great Wobble (The Mogambo Guru)

Making Ends Meet in the Great Depression

Bernanke: Important Concerns Remain About the Economy

Late Slide: Stocks Fall Last Hour, Dow Down 115

Dollar Surges to Four-Year High Against the Euro

Euro Sinks to Four-Year Low as Hungary Fears Being the Next Greece

Banks Profit From Near-Zero Interest Rates

The Central Banker's Dilemma


Markets About to Turn Nasty; Buy Barbed Wire: Advisor



Gold Sales to Europe Jump on Crisis



China, India Greedy for Gold



North Korean Envoy Says War Could Erupt Soon



How a Bursting Housing Bubble in China Could Slam the U.S.



China Freaks Out The World By Announcing Restrictions On Export Of Metals Crucial For National Defense



Hungary warning heightens sovereign-debt fear; Default concern rises as new government says predecessor lied about finances



Jim Rogers on Currencies and Inflation



Dear Jim, (Jim Sinclair http://www.jsmineset.com/)
They have not figured out that you cannot spend your way out of a deficit situation without destroying the whole world currency system. The Western world is playing bailout follow the leader off a cliff and no one dared to ask what if the whole premise of a bailout is wrong. Worse yet, they are exacerbating the situation by increasing debt! All Western nations are in lockstep, walking off the cliff in succession!
So to encourage those naught savers to spend, they are going to print money so fast that it will lose value eventually on a day to day basis. They must think (erroneously) printing will encourage spending that will fuel demand. The world is already broke when net liabilities are greater than net assets. A depression is in order to correct the debt, but the politicians will print money as you have said time and again. It is and always has been a currency event. The people who got us into this mess cannot extract us from this 1.14 quadrillion OTC mountain of garbage crap paper. It’s like people arguing on the Titanic about who is gonna bail water with a 5 gallon bucket. Gold protects oneself from incompetence such as this. Simply put, there is just not enough gold to go around at the present price, possibly at any price!
I refuse to read any more of this mainstream crap as that is what it is!
Best, CIGA BT


Gold's Record-Breaking May Madness


No. European Nations Preparing to Slaughter the PIIGS



Student Loans: Another Debt Crisis Brewing



Four-Day School Week Due to Budget Cuts Gains Popularity. (Meanwhile we read: Amid budget crunch, Utah considers making 12th grade optional.)



Economy Adds 431K Jobs, But Few in Private Sector



Weak Employment Report Drags Oil Down Near $72



Europe Launches Credit Rating Offensive



G-20 Finance Officials Begin Global Economy Talks

Why U.S. debt matters to you


Hyperflation In The United States
posted by Blogger at Marc Faber Blog - 45 minutes ago
“I am 100 percent sure that the United States will go into hyperinflation. The problem with government debt growing so much is that when the time will come and the Fed should increase interest rates, they ...




There Will Be Inflation.
posted by Blogger at Jim Rogers Blog - 51 minutes ago
Well, there will be inflation. First, you have to have inflation before you can have hyperinflation. I mean, we have inflation now. If you go to the shop, whether it’s groceries, or education or insurance ...

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
A crisis anywhere is a crisis everywhere in this Global economy. Wherever a financial problem occurs gold finds willing and eager buyers. This is why the hedgies and the dirty tricksters will not take the day this time.
Nothing has been fixed. All that has happened in the West is "Extend and Pretend" with the money bunnies of F-TV acting as the great pretenders.
Kicking the can of problems down the road has finally run into a dead end. OTC derivatives continue to grow as they destroy all things financial in their unholy demonic path.
The West’s financial system is broken. Like Humpty Dumpty, all the kings men cannot put it back together again, nor do they really seem to care.
The answer to the last question is "QE to Infinity" as it requires NO economic foundation to create money out of thin air.

Three Signs That Europe’s Enormous Bailout Has Already Failed Vincent Fernando, CFA Jun. 2, 2010, 9:22 AM
An enormous show of strength from both the Eurozone and IMF may have stemmed the previous Eurozone credit rout, but it seems that its effects are fading.
1) Yesterday credit default swap spreads exploded higher for Europe’s periphery ‘PIIGS’ economies, approaching the dangerous record highs pre-Eurozone bailout.
Those spreads continued to expand today, reflecting even higher default risk.

2) Moreover, the Wall Street Journal reports today that ECB overnight deposits have hit a record high. Usually banks just park a few hundred million euros with the Central Bank using this facility, since they get subpar interest on their capital. They have now chosen to place 316.4 billion euros in ECB deposits, as perceived counterparty risk (the risk between banks) is soaring.
3) The euro is now breaking below $1.22.

More…

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The predatory beast of the OTC weapon of mass financial destruction, the CDS, is now consuming its next meal.
One by one the fiat currency system is unraveling while others are making trillions in the process.
Gold is the ONLY answer. If you do not own it you perish. If you trade it odds suggest you will not be fully positioned on payday.

Sovereign Credit-Default Swaps Surge on Hungarian Debt Crisis By Kate Haywood
June 4 (Bloomberg) — Credit-default swaps on sovereign bonds surged to a record on speculation Europe’s debt crisis is worsening after Hungary said it’s in a “very grave situation” because a previous government lied about the economy.
The cost of insuring against losses on Hungarian sovereign debt rose 63 basis points to 371, according to CMA DataVision at 3:30 p.m. in London, after earlier reaching 416 basis points. Swaps on France, Austria, Belgium and Germany also rose, sending the Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of contracts on 15 governments as high as a record 174.4 basis points.
Hungary’s bonds fell after a spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orban said talk of a default is “not an exaggeration” because a previous administration “manipulated” figures. The country was bailed out with a 20 billion-euro ($24 billion) aid package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund in 2008.
“The comments out of Hungary have really spooked the market,” said Rajeev Shah, a credit strategist at BNP Paribas SA in London. “Investors are interpreting it as bad sign for trying to tackle Europe’s debt crisis.”
The euro dropped below $1.21 for the first time since April 2006, stocks tumbled and the cost of insuring against corporate default rose on speculation Hungary will weaken the EU’s willingness to rescue the region’s indebted nations.
Credit markets were also roiled after data showed U.S. employers hired fewer workers in May than forecast, signaling slowing economic growth.
More…

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Up until now the friends of power have been buying the broken banks with major guarantees from the FDIC. It is a risk-less deal because the guarantee is so high.
Either this entity is a roaring disaster without salvageable value or the game of getting the inside gang richer is over for some reason.

FDIC Finds No Buyer For Failed Arcola Homestead Savings of Illinois By Bill Zielinski on June 4th, 2010
June 4, 2010 – Arcola Homestead Savings Bank, Arcola, IL became the 80th banking failure of 2010 after the bank was closed by the Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation. Illinois has now had 12 banking failures this year, trailing only Florida with 13 banking failures.
The FDIC, appointed as receiver for the failed bank, could find no willing buyer for the bank. Accordingly, depositors will be paid off with checks from the FDIC that will be mailed on Monday. When the FDIC is unable to find a buyer for a failed bank, depositors with funds in excess of FDIC insurance limits face the potential loss of all funds in excess of insured deposit limits. Future recoveries of depositor losses will depend on the amount of proceeds from the final disposition of the bank’s assets. In the case of Arcola Homestead, the FDIC said that there did not appear to be any uninsured funds.
Another potential nightmare for depositors of Arcola Savings arises from the fact that customers will have no access to their funds until they receive FDIC payout checks which will be mailed on Monday. When a bank fails and is purchased by another institution, it is generally a nonevent for most customers. The biggest thing that customers of purchased failed banks will notice is that the name of their bank will change when it reopens on Monday. In the case of Arcola Homestead, the FDIC could find no buyer, and the banking operations of Arcola were terminated. The closing of Arcola was classified as a “payout” and depositors have no access to their funds until they receive their payout check from the FDIC.
Arcola Homestead was a very small bank with only $17 million in total assets and $18.1 million in total deposits. The FDIC estimates that the cost of closing Arcola Savings will amount to $3.2 million. Arcola is the 80th banking failure of 2010 and the 12th banking failure in Illinois this year.
Customers of Arcola Homestead Savings Bank who may have questions about the bank’s failure can contact the FDIC toll free at 1-800-238-8209.
More…

Euro Zone Faces Zero Growth, US Facing Trouble: Roubini
"Greece was just the tip of the iceberg...And the Americans too will run into the wall at some point if the carry on the way they are," he said in the interview published in German.

















What is money?





To quote Murray Rothbard:
"...Money is a commodity. Learning this simple lesson is one of the world's most important tasks. So often have people talked about money as something much more or less than this. Money is not an abstract unit of account, divorceable from a concrete good; it is not a useless token only good for exchanging; it is not a "claim on society"; it is not a guarantee of a fixed price level. It is simply a commodity. It differs from other commodities in being demanded mainly as a medium of exchange. But aside from this, it is a commodity--and, like all commodities, it has an existing stock, it faces demands by people to buy and hold it, etc. Like all commodities, its "price"--in terms of other goods--is determined by the interaction of its total supply, or stock, and the total demand by people to buy and hold it. (People "buy" money by selling their goods and services for it, just as they "sell" money when they buy goods and services.)"

















Another Worry: What Happens When Stimulus Ends? The stimulus CANNOT END or the game will be over...The ONLY way stimulus can end, is when jobs and manufacturing starts producing things the rest of the world wants to buy...





FACT...The stimulus CANNOT STOP or the house of cards implodes...





FACT...33 States are BANKRUPT.FACT...1,141 TRILLION DOLLARS worth of DERIVATIVES need to be unwound...(impossible)they are ticking time bombs...designed to destroy ALL currencies and ALL countries...





FACT... The U.S.A. is NOT repeat NOT IMMUNED...





FACT... WE ARE FREAKING DOOMED...Prepare and start reading about Weimar Germany and Zimbabwe HYPERINFLATION...





FACT...You are warned...





That is all...

















depressionary box

















For Some Homeowners in Foreclosure, a Rent-Free Approach. Trent's comment: "This attitude is astonishing and disappointing. The attitude that 'the banks are crooks', and thus its okay to behave similarly is frightening."

















Federal debt tops $13 trillion mark. (And that doesn't include the massive future obligations like government pensions)

















Why a 'new euro' could be the saviour of the European dream.

















This story is the Chinese giving obama the finger...





The Chinese will do what the Chinese want to do and when the Chinese want to do it...Period






China ready to say goodbye to dollar
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:09:55 GMT
Font size :
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China
The head of China's Central Bank has declared that the country is ready to end pegging its currency in dollars, but said that any changes would be gradual. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, described the decision as a "temporary" response to the global financial crisis, but gave no timescale for any change in policy. "If we are to exit from irregular policies and return to ordinary economic policies, we must be extremely prudent about our choice of timing," Zhou said. "This also includes the [yuan] exchange rate policy." His comments come as the US administration accuses China of artificially keeping the value of the country's yuan low. "China and its currency policies are impeding the rebalancing [of the global economy] that's necessary," President Obama had told Bloomberg last month. "My goal over the course of the next year is for China to recognize that it is also in their interest to allow their currency to appreciate because, frankly, they have got a potentially overheating economy," Obama said.

















Iran to Dump 45 Billion Euros for Gold Bullion and Dollars

















Chronic Joblessness Bites Deep

“The worst thing in the world next to anarchy is government.” - Henry Ward Beecher


“They Con the World” A hilarious look at how militant Islamists are practicing “taqiyya”
this video was just too good to pass up!
After all, in the struggle against global jihad, we all need a good laugh now and then.


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

We cannot do without John William’s shadowstats.com, a by subscription service.

- May Nonfarm Payrolls Rose 20,000 Net of 411,000 Temporary Census Hires and Fell by 31,000 after Revisions and Birth-Death Model Shenanigans - (Actual unemployment in the U.S. is 21.7% and growing.)

May Household-Survey Employment Fell by 35,000 Irrespective of Census Hires - Unemployment Rates Were Artificially Low Due to Census Effects: 9.7% (U.3), 16.9% (U.6), 21.7% (SGS) -

M3 Signal for Double-Dip Downturn Intensifies

http://www.shadowstats.com/


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

First confusion, followed by loss of confidence. The result next is anger

You must agree that the US sheeple are confused today.

This formula will be repeated many times before New Year’s Day.

Greek Debtor Sets Himself On Fire Inside Athens Bank Gus Lubin Jun. 3, 2010, 7:42 PM
Think the Greeks have settled down and swallowed the austerity pill?
Not with daily walkouts, soccer riots, populist reverence of a hunger-striking mayor, and a growing communist movement. And now a Greek debtor went to a bank, doused himself on gasoline, and set himself on fire!

Kathimerini:

A Thessaloniki man believed to be severely in debt entered a branch of Piraeus Bank in the city center yesterday afternoon, doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire.

Bank staff managed to remove the 55-year-old man from the premises and onto the street where firefighters extinguished his blazing clothes. The firemen then entered the bank branch and doused a small fire that had started inside. It appears that there had been no customers inside the bank at the time.

The man was transferred to the city’s Ippokrateio hospital for medical attention though witnesses said he bore no evidence of burns.

Staff at the bank told police that the man had an account at the bank and is believed to have large debts.
More…


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Main Street is flushed, but every other insolvency will be bailed out.

Screw the little guys, they are too small to matter.

CHART OF THE DAY: The Scariest Job Chart Ever Just Got Even Scarier Joe Weisenthal Jun. 4, 2010, 9:45 AM

We’ve dubbed this chart the "Scariest Job Chart Ever," as it shows how the decline in employment is WAY uglier than in past recessions.

Calculated Risk has updated it with the latest numbers from this morning, and now it looks even scarier.
Why?
Check out the two red lines at the bottom. The solid one includes Census hiring, while the dotted line doesn’t include it.

What’s clear is that while we still have a rebound including Census hiring, we’re already flattening out on the dotted line. This is a shape not seen on the other lines. suggesting that the fall is extremely deep, and the recovery is shallow.
More…


Reader Jonathan C. highlighted this article: Bond New Issues Shut as Bank Default Swaps Rise. Jonathan's comments: "Since the current GDP growth is dependent on non-sustainable government spending , the only hope for real economic expansion must be the private sector. However, as this article shows, corporations are unable to fund their businesses through bonds and with the increased volatility in the equity markets they will also have trouble increasing capital through equity sales. In terms of small businesses that don't have the option of public equity sales, a bank lending freeze all but guarantees a contraction in the small business sector which constitutes around 50% of U.S. employment and 80% of new job growth."


JP Morgan Cazenove: UK must sell bailed-out banks to save AAA rating.


Three more banks bite the dust.


Gold Is an Inflation-Proof Deflation Hedge


Tell me this in 18 months...
10 Companies Back From the Brink



Signs Point to Administration Plan to Lock Up 13 Million Acres of Federal Land


Already in America...

Wheat rust: 'cereal killer' in Kenya

"We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom:
the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box."
Congressman Larry McDonald


U.S. Inflation to Approach Zimbabwe Level, Faber Says.



Germans know what hyperinflation will do to you...Protect yourself today before it's too late...

Germans are Voting with Their Pocketbook
June 3, 2010 – Icelanders voted in a referendum to address their debt problem. Germans have a problem too, but they are voting with their pocketbook. They are dumping the euro and buying physical gold, the demand for which is soaring in Germany.
The problem Germans face is a broken promise. Despite all the rhetoric and assurances that it would be a prudent and wise monetary authority, the European Central Bank is not managing the euro in the judicious way the Bundesbank managed the Deutschemark. Most importantly, in stark contrast to the steadfast independence from government influence that marked Bundesbank decisions, it is now clear that the ECB is controlled by EU politicians.
After repeated promises not to buy government bonds, the ECB recently announced that they would buy government bonds, obviously bowing to pressure from political leaders. Germans of course know from hard-learned experience the consequences of this foolhardy policy – the currency is debased. It loses purchasing power, which lowers the demand for the currency, which in turn means more lost purchasing power. It is a vicious circle, and the euro is now caught in the middle.
The ECB put the euro into this maelstrom and is itself now being inexorably pulled down into it. According to Der Spiegel: “The ECB already has about €25 billion of Greece’s mountain of debt on its books, and it is adding another €2 billion a day, on average.” There is no exit for the ECB from this paper that no one else wants. In the words of Der Spiegel: “The truth is that good money is being paid for bad debt.”
As a consequence, Germans are taking the advice of George Bernard Shaw to heart: “You have to choose between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the Government. And, with due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the Capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold.” Given the dubious outlook for the euro, it is good advice.





U.S. Mint's May gold coin sales reach most since 1999


Greece Urged to Give Up Euro


Gold at $2,500 Looks More Likely Than Ever


US Debt Soars to 90% of the GDP. (Gee, this sounds a lot like the national debt described in Greece...)

Gold Sales to Europe Jump on Crisis, Perth Mint Says- Bloomberg

US Bankruptcy Filings Near 5-Yr High- Reuters

States Shrink Benefits to Bridge $1 Tln Gap- Bloomberg

Moody's: Feds Won't Soon Remove US Bank Support- Sydney Morning Herald

New Banks Allow Members to Pay with Time, Not Cash- Yahoo! News

Laid-off Workers Retrain - But Remain Jobless- USA Today

Warning Signs of Full Spectrum Collapse are Everywhere


G20 to Talk about Averting Armageddon - Again- CNBC


Interview: Jim Rogers on Currencies and Inflation


Buffett Expects "Terrible Problem" for Muni Debt- Bloomberg


Gold Sales to Europe Jump on Greek Debt Crisis, Perth Mint Says


S. Africa's Krugerrand Output Jumps to 25-Yr High- Bloomberg


A Big Red Flag


Down, Not Out (The Mogambo Guru)


Central Bank Can't Keep the Kiwi Dollar Down- Bloomberg


Federal Debt Hits Record $13 Trillion- Washington Times


This article is written to distract you...Keep your eye on Greece and don't pay any attention to what is happening in your own back yard...33 U.S. States are BANKRUPT, but they don't want you to know, that they are about to explode...
Greece to Sell State Assets to Pay Down Deficit- NY Times



The Difference This Time The Hedgies And Dirty Tricksters Return Posted: Jun 03 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: June 3, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Filed under: General Editorial
Dear Jim,
Gold traded inversely to the dollar last week (directionally, but not tick for tick). Now the weak euro is a drag on the gold price.
Why are we now seeing this type of behavior and when can we expect gold to resume its appreciation?
Thanks, CIGA Brian S.

Dear Brian,
Your question reflects, I am sure, what people are worrying about.
The cold hard fact is that the hedgies, driven by momentum algorithms, have reduced their position, continue to sell or have gone short gold. This week the hedgies made a pass at gold shares, from major to junior, increasing or re-establishing their short position.
The community still follows those that call tops. So far each top call has failed to do anything but take people out of their position.
There are three factors to think about right now:
The euro is seeking it lows again from which intervention has come, and from which intervention must continue to come right here and now.
The cash price of gold, which had fallen away from the delivery month future, is now moving back. This indicates the physical market is firming.
The Libor rate continues to rise which indicates that the euro zone rescue package has no shock and awe in it at all.
The hedgies, the new masters of the universe, feel certain that they can run any market, anywhere at any time. That assumption could come to a screeching halt now because a crisis anywhere is a crisis everywhere.
The hedgies are running the gold price based on algorithms and the community is having conniptions based on seasonality.
Gold will trade at $1650 and better. These reactions are normal to markets and we have seen them together a thousand times or more.
Your degree of concern is unfounded. The risk in this trade is to the hedgies, not to us.
The expectation of a sell off going into June is challenged by the fact that a crisis anywhere in a global market economy is a now crisis everywhere. This concept is backed by the firming cash physical to cash contract price of gold and the action of Libor. Let’s not forget four failed interventions now in the euro and the absolute necessity that right now, this minute, the euro intervention must occur again.
I do not believe those that understand gold’s insurance character should try to trade every wiggle in price. Please review my recent communication to you the day this started:
Return Of The Hedgies And Dirty Tricksters
Dear Comrades In Golden Arms,
The hedgies and dirty tricksters are back.
Frustration goes both ways. The price of gold has been a disappointment to the gold bears. The action in the HUI (AMEX Gold Bug Index) has posed a threat to the short on gold share hedgies and dirty tricksters.
This morning’s pop up on the euro was accepted by this mangy group as the forth entry of emergency money into the currency market in the form of intervention. That message was taken by this group as confirmation to hold the euro at $1.2150 Gold’s failure to hold the highs of this morning has been taken by the discouraged gold and gold share shorts as courage to try one more time.
Discouragement goes both ways. The gold share longs have felt it for a long time. The gold share shorts cannot be too happy either.
So in rolled the short of gold, gold share hedgies and dirty tricksters to re-establish closed short positions and add to old ones.
This time it will be different.
Different because the short of gold and gold share hedgies are fighting key dates of the long term cycle now.
Different because MOPE (Management of Perspective Economics) is not having the desired effect on business activity.
Different because every weak member of the euro will be lambasted by the rating agencies, the IMF and the CDS tool.
Different because California, larger than any of the weak euro members, is heading for bankruptcy.
Different because the US dollar claims strength by basking in the euro problems, not because it has fundamental value for price.
The wind is not at the back of the short of gold, gold shares hedgies and dirty tricksters. $1650 is certainly coming. About that there is no question in my mind. More so, the short of gold shares and dirty tricksters no longer live in the dark, but are rather public figures to management and major shareholders of their respective issues they have offended for the past few years.
Their jitney (trans-border false flag brokers) partners do not hide their identity.
There is a balance in all things and retribution will be dealt out by us, not them.
Respectfully, Jim



In The News Today Posted: Jun 03 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: June 3, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Filed under: In The News
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
CIGA Green Hornet says this should speed things along.
Congress pulls back state aid package, leaving a $2-billion hole in California budget House Democrats kill a $24-billion fund to help cash-strapped states cover costs. States are lobbying hard to have it restored, warning of further devastating cuts to healthcare and social services. By Richard Simon and Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times June 3, 2010
With the federal deficit a growing political liability, lawmakers in Congress are backing off plans to send more aid to financially strapped states, putting in jeopardy billions of dollars that California and others were counting on to balance their budgets.
The potential loss of funds is a significant setback for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers, who may not see nearly $2 billion in federal assistance that they intended to use to help bring California out of the red.
The money was to be California’s share of $24 billion in proposed assistance, mostly to cover healthcare spending, spread among all states. Budget experts say that is enough to wipe out about one-fourth of the combined state budget shortfalls.
In California and elsewhere, officials thought the funds were a sure thing. The money was one of the few elements of Schwarzenegger’s budget plan on which there was bipartisan agreement. But House Democratic leaders last week stripped the money out of legislation amid election-season jitters.
"This is a serious problem," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, a Sacramento-based nonprofit. "The fear of deficits seems to be overtaking Washington. They are not realizing the bigger threat is the economy could slide back into recession as a result of state and local budget cuts."
More…


Will happen here soon...
Greek Unions in 24-Hr Strike against Austerity- Bloomberg



Iran said to be selling euros to buy dollars and goldSubmitted by cpowell on Wed, 2010-06-02 12:59. Section: Daily Dispatches
By Michael Wei and Simon RabinovitchReutersWednesday, June 2, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE65111120100602?type=marketsNews
The Iranian central bank has announced that it will sell 45 billion euros from its foreign exchange reserves to buy dollars and gold, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, citing unspecified Iranian media reports.


Is Europe heading for a meltdown? Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor, summed it up best: "Dealing with a banking crisis was difficult enough," he said the other week, "but at least there were public-sector balance sheets on to which the problems could be moved. Once you move into sovereign debt, there is no answer; there's no backstop."


Roubini: World at Risk of Double Dip Recession for Years. (A hat tip to Brett G. for the link). Brett's comment on article: "Wouldn’t that be called a Depression'?"


Gold Rises to Two-Week High on Demand for Alternative to Euro


General Strike Looms as Spain's Credit Rating Falls


Greece Urged to Give Up Euro


Most Over-Valued Region in San Francisco Gets Taste of Commercial Real Estate Bust

Return Of The Hedgies And Dirty Tricksters Posted: Jun 01 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: June 1, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Filed under: General Editorial

Dear CIGAs,
The hedgies and dirty tricksters are back.
Frustration goes both ways. The price of gold has been a disappointment to the gold bears. The action in the HUI (AMEX Gold Bug Index) has posed a threat to the short on gold share hedgies and dirty tricksters.
This morning’s pop up on the euro was accepted by this mangy group as the forth entry of emergency money into the currency market in the form of intervention. That message was taken by this group as confirmation to hold the euro at $1.2150 Gold’s failure to hold the highs of this morning has been taken by the discouraged gold and gold share shorts as courage to try one more time.
Discouragement goes both ways. The gold share longs have felt it for a long time. The gold share shorts cannot be too happy either.
So in rolled the short of gold, gold share hedgies and dirty tricksters to re-establish closed short positions and add to old ones.
This time it will be different.
Different because the short of gold and gold share hedgies are fighting key dates of the long term cycle now.
Different because MOPE (Management of Perspective Economics) is not having the desired effect on business activity.
Different because every weak member of the euro will be lambasted by the rating agencies, the IMF and the CDS tool.
Different because California, larger than any of the weak euro members, is heading for bankruptcy.
Different because the US dollar claims strength by basking in the euro problems, not because it has fundamental value for price.
The wind is not at the back of the short of gold, gold shares hedgies and dirty tricksters. $1650 is certainly coming. About that there is no question in my mind. More so, the short of gold shares and dirty tricksters no longer live in the dark, but are rather public figures to management and major shareholders of their respective issues they have offended for the past few years.
Their jitney (trans-border false flag brokers) partners do not hide their identity.
There is a balance in all things and retribution will be dealt out by us, not them.
Respectfully, Jim



In The News Today Posted: Jun 01 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: June 1, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Filed under: In The News
Dear CIGAs,
David Rosenberg is correct. Let the hedgies and currency intervention play their game.
There is no question in my mind that they are totally wrong and gold will trade at $1650 and beyond.

Gold $2,500 Looks More Likely Than Ever – DailyFinance By DAN BURROWS Posted 4:42 PM 06/01/10 Investing
Gold added another $11.30 Tuesday to hit $1,226 an ounce, and although the yellow metal is still well off its nominal all-time high of about $1,240 set just a few weeks ago, you don’t have to be a member of the build-a-bunker-in-Montana crowd to believe gold could hit $2,500 an ounce in the next couple of years.
David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Canada’s Gluskin Sheff, tends to be pretty bearish, but he’s also about as dispassionate and data-driven a guy as you can find. In other words, he’s hardly some kooky gold bug. And if past relationships among data sets hold up, gold fever is just getting started, Rosenberg says.
"There is no doubt that when benchmarked against the CPI, money supply and GDP, gold can easily double from here," Rosenberg told clients in a Tuesday report. "Demand is always difficult to forecast, especially for jewelry, but we do know that central banks have very deep pockets and bought more gold last year (425 tons) than at any other time since 1964."
A Simple Matter of Supply and Demand
Which brings us to the issue of stagnant supply, and that too favors a sustained bull market in gold, Rosenberg says. Global mined production of the ductile metal hasn’t increased in a decade — and has actually declined outright in five of the past eight years. Furthermore, almost all the gold that’s easy to dig up — and therefore cheaper to get at — has been unearthed. Gold companies in South Africa have to drill as much as 2.3 miles to get to new deposits. Meanwhile, all Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has to do to create currency "is press a button," Rosenberg says.
"What makes gold different is that, unlike paper money backed by the good word of the government, it has withstood the test of time for thousands of years," Rosenberg writes. "It is not the liability of any government. It has an inelastic supply curve. How many times is gold mentioned in the Old Testament? Try 391 times. How many times is paper currency mentioned from Noah, to Abraham, to Moses? None. Nada. Efes. Gornisht. Nihil. Rien. Nichts. Niente."
More…


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Confusion precedes total loss of confidence which is followed by extreme anger.
The short of gold and gold shares are in for a shock.

Steve Wynn Takes on Washington, Vegas & EBITDA Published: Friday, 28 May 2010 9:34 AM ET By: Jane Wells
Steve Wynn says Americans are afraid. He’s just angry.
“Washington is unpredictable these days,” declares the CEO of Wynn Resorts [WYNN 81.53 -2.35 (-2.8%) ]. “No one has any idea what’s next…the uncertainty of the business climate in America is frightening, frightening to everybody, and it’s delaying the recovery.” (Catch more Steve Wynn’s views in the videos below and on CNBC throughout the day).
Wynn spoke to CNBC in Las Vegas from the new Encore Beach Club opening for the Memorial Day weekend. He created the $69 million pool club and bar area after tearing down a brand new $13 million entrance to the Encore which looked out on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Turns out the view wasn’t good. Across the street are a slew of half finished developments which stalled in the downturn. Wynn didn’t want his guests to see that. “There were going to be 10,000 rooms across the street and they all went bust.” So he changed the whole front of the resort to close it off and create a sensual adults-only escape.
Pool clubs like the one he’s built are the hottest new trend in Vegas. “This generation…they have a different attitude,” Wynn says. “Instead of sitting and watching something, they want to be a part of it…they’re very hedonistic and sensual.”
More…


Soaring costs force Canada to reassess health model.


Euro Hits New 4-Year Low Against Dollar


The US Economic Collapse Top 20 Countdown


Spain Races to Halt Bank Crisis as Euro Slides


401(k) as Dangerous as the Dollar


You really need to watch/read this...

Does it sound like good times are just around the corner?

A speech by economist Marc Faber, titled Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall, where he talks about what will be the next entity like AIG to fall. At minute 54, he says to buy a house in the middle of nowhere" to avoid the various forms of social unrest he believes is coming. He also recommends, of course, that you buy physical gold as a hedge against inflation. It sounds like he's now in accord with economist and investing guru Barton Biggs, who has also recommended buying retreat property: “Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food,” Mr. Biggs writes. “It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson. Even in America and Europe there could be moments of riot and rebellion when law and order temporarily completely breaks down.”

TIPPER GORE FINALLY HAD ENOUGH OF LIVING WITH A WORLD CLASS IDIOT...

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
"The time is very soon. Currency traders and holders will have to decide which is the greater bankruptcy, the dollar or the euro."
Jim Sinclair 5-31-2010



The Looming Financial Holocaust - is closer than we thought.... Clive Maund


Mainstream Media Incompetent About U.S. Inflation

NIA finds it disturbing that mainstream media outlets continue to give credibility to imbeciles like Dave Ramsey. Ramsey recently described gold as being "dumb", "speculative", "volatile", and one of the "weirdest" investments. Ramsey compared investing into gold to investing into diamonds and called its value an "illusion". He said that Real Estate is a much better hedge against inflation.

Ramsey recommends to his viewers that they purchase certificates of deposit (CDs) and tells them that once they save up enough money they should buy rental properties because, "People always need housing." It's a shame that prominent figures in the mainstream media today are giving such dangerous investment advice that will cause their viewers to see the purchasing power of their savings wiped out. The mainstream media needs to catch up with the times and realize the devastating effects inflation has had and will continue to have on our economy.

20 years ago, senior citizens were able to purchase CDs and live off of the interest they collected. With just $200,000 in a CD, seniors would earn $17,000 per year in interest income. Combined with social security, they had plenty of money to live comfortably. Today, $200,000 in a CD would only earn $600 per year in interest income and $600 today only has the purchasing power of $150 compared to 1990. This means seniors are now earning 99% less interest income on their savings compared to 20 years ago. NIA believes CDs are a "dumb" investment, because the real rate of price inflation in the U.S. today is already north of 5%. Those who own CDs paying 0.3% interest, are seeing a dramatic decline in their purchasing power.

Gold is the most stable asset the world has ever seen. While on the surface, U.S. dollars appear to be a "safe haven" because they have a number on them that always stays the same, U.S. dollars are actually the riskiest asset you can possibly own when you have a Federal Reserve that has expanded its monetary base by 135% since September of 2008. What volatility in gold prices actually show you is just how unstable the U.S. dollar is.

Gold is the best possible hedge against inflation because it is the most liquid asset in the world. If you own gold, it is possible to exchange it for any fiat currency instantaneously. Gold is easy to transport, easily dividable, very durable, fungible (one piece is equivalent to another - which is why diamonds can't be used as money), difficult to counterfeit, easily recognizable, expensive to produce (it can't be printed), with a value that's easy to determine at any time. These are all of the qualities that make a good inflation hedge.

Real Estate is not a good hedge against inflation because it's an asset that is very difficult to sell. In today's market it usually takes at least 12 to 18 months to sell a house and the transaction involves inspections, mortgage approvals, contracts, brokers commissions, etc. Considering the large shadow inventory of homes that will soon hit the market and cause a second wave of mortgage defaults, it will be many years until Real Estate is a good investment. By then, the median U.S. home will cost less than 1,000 ounces of silver.

Being a landlord with rental properties will not be a good business to be in during the upcoming U.S. hyperinflationary depression. In Weimar Germany during the years 1912-1913 before hyperinflation occurred, the average household spent 30.2% of their monthly expenditures on rent. By the third quarter of 1923, rents fell to just 0.2% of the average household's monthly expenditures. At the height of hyperinflation in Weimar Germany, households were spending 91.6% of their monthly expenditures on food, making it impossible for landlords to raise rents in any meaningful way. With a piece of fruit costing more than a month's rent, landlords saw their real rental income evaporate.

Unfortunately, the majority of Americans don't think for themselves. They get suckered into believing the financial advice of Ramsey and other morons who spew the same nonsense. Ramsey, who should have been chastised for being so wrong about the U.S. economy for so many years, is now quoted in the media more often than ever and was rewarded by FOX Business with his own television show. The media's agenda is not to prepare Americans for the currency crisis ahead, but to help maintain the dollar bubble for a little bit longer.

Please continue to spread the word about NIA by telling your friends and family to subscribe for free at: http://inflation.us


Does this sound like we are in a recovery?
Owners Stop Paying Mortgages, and Stop Fretting


Some Homeowners Just Stop Paying Mortgages- MSNBC


Remember I told you about this months ago?
Bankruptcy talk spreads among California muni officials


Is the World Broke? Entitlements, Spending May Spell Doom


Euro crisis is tip of the iceberg; What we see is scary enough, but the hidden part is something virtually every nation will have to navigate around during the next couple of decades



Gold And The Budget Deficit Howard Katz


Some good news!
Eighth state says guns beyond feds' control; Alaska governor signs Firearms Freedom Act into law


They are doing this because they know the Euro and Dollar are going to be worthless...Do you?
NZ & Russia Begin Free Trade Deal Discussion- New Zealand Herad


Total US Bank Failures up to 78- USA Today


They mean everyone but aren't allowed to say it...
As Stimulus Money Vanishes, So Do Jobs for Youth- CNBC


NZ Gov't Urges Easier Access For Foreign Investors- New Zealand Herald


Chinese Supercomputer Challenge US Dominance- Economic Times