We The Sheeplez- The Coming Economic Collapse.."A Nation Of Sheep Ruled By Wolves" Thomas Jefferson

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Things That Make You Go Hmmm - Such As A "Common Currency"

A gold standard, abandoned mostly due to a shortfall in the amount of the metal required to back the monetary system? A common bloc designed to simplify trade and commerce? Macro-economic reform of the union from the centre? Voluntary adoption by England who was not part of the union? Ah, well almost. Anyway, my point is this: In the mid-700s it probably seemed inconceivable that Europe would be united under a common ruler, much less a common currency and, by the mid-800s, it probably seemed equally inconceivable that such a union could split asunder - but such is the nature of unions (and currency blocs for that matter). As the individual members undergo the individual stresses associated with running individual and idiosyncratic economies under a common banner, it is inevitable that there will be periods when maintaining the status quo becomes impossible. It was true of Europe in 800 - it holds true today.

Doug Casey: “Its Getting Late in the Day to Diversify Politcally, Capital Controls Are Coming”

from Tekoa Da Silva’s Bull Market Thinking:

Yesterday I had the great treat of speaking again with Casey Research Chairman, Doug Casey. It was a thoughtful and intellectually challenging conversation as they always seem to be.
The two items we spoke about during the interview were the newly passed NDAA Bill in the United States and the similarly written Argentinian Defense Bill, passed Dec. 27th, 2011.
Starting out Doug said that, “All over the world now governments are becoming more authoritarian and more repressive. I hate to use the analogy of a swinging pendulum…but starting in the early 80′s, all the world’s states starting liberalizing…The whole world in many ways become more free…Now, with this crisis, it seems to be going back in the opposite direction, where it’s becoming more repressive.”
Read More @ BullMarketThinking.com

Part 1

Part 2

Bipartisan Bird of Prey

Loan Creation, Or Lack Thereof Illustrates True Nature of The Economic Recovery

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 27 minutes ago

Loans, as measured against total bank credit, continues to contract or deteriorate across all sectors except treasury & agency (public) debt and a slight up tick in business and commercial loans. Real estate loans as a percentage of total bank credit has fallen to 37%. This is 500 basis points off the high established in 2009.11. This decline has been fueled by a sharp reduction in residential... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

There’s LITERALLY No Difference Between Obama and Romney, Just Ask John McCain

The Dollar Vigilante: “The State is just a large criminal organization” [SGTreport Exclusive]

When War Games Go Live. Preparing to Attack Iran. “Simulating World War III”

by Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch.ca:

With ongoing war games on both sides, armed hostilities between the US-Israel led coalition and Iran are, according to Israeli military analysts, “dangerously close”.
There has been a massive deployment of troops which have been dispatched to the Middle East, not to mention the redeployment of US and allied troops previously stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Nine thousand US troops have been dispatched to Israel to participate in what is described by the Israeli press as the largest joint air defense war exercise in Israeli history.
The drill, called “Austere Challenge 12,” is scheduled to take place within the next few weeks. Its stated purpose “is to test multiple Israeli and US air defense systems, especially the “Arrow” system, which the country specifically developed with help from the US to intercept Iranian missiles.”
In the course of December, Iran conducted its own war games with a major ten days naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, (December 24, 2011- January 2, 2012).
Missile defense and naval war games are being conducted simultaneously. While Israel and the US are preparing to launch major naval exercises in the Persian Gulf, Tehran has announced that it plans to conduct major naval exercises in February.
Read More @ GlobalResearch.ca

6 Month Gold Lease Rate Plunges to Bull Market Low – Price Spike Imminent?

from SilverDoctors.com:

In September and December, plunging gold lease rates foresaw big smashes in gold and silver. While gold’s 1 month and 3 month lease rates have yet to turn down again, the 12 month and particularly 6 month lease rates have suddenly fallen straight off a cliff.
Gold’s 6 month lease rate has plunged Friday from +0.2% to -0.6%, a massive and unprecedented drop, bring the 6 month rate to its lowest of the entire gold bull market!!
Certainly an imminent debt default of a Euro member such as Greece or Italy could be big enough to cause a movement of this magnitude, likewise an imminent default of a major exchange such as the LBMA or COMEX would be enough to cause a plunge in rates of this order.
Read More @ SilverDoctors.com

Dutch central bank admits 90% of its gold is abroad

Iran and Russia drop dollar for their own currencies in bilateral trade

Financial Repression by Alasdair Macleod, GoldMoney.com:

This phrase has suddenly started appearing in economic research, and will probably do so more frequently in the coming months. Its origin is a Bank for International Settlements working paper co-authored by Carmen Reinhart and Belen Sbrancia, economists well enough known to merit attention. So what is it all about?
Financial repression includes directed lending to governments by captive funds such as pension and insurance funds, artificial caps on interest rates, restrictions on capital flows and a generally tighter connection between government and banks. Some or all of these devices have been used in the past to reduce the level of government debt to GDP, particularly in the two decades after the Second World War. Many countries reduced the level of their outstanding debt by a significant amount over a 10 to 20 year timeframe through these techniques, assisted by moderate levels of inflation.
Two of the alternatives to financial repression listed in the paper are clearly unpalatable: default, and “a burst of high inflation”. Two further alternatives are either impractical or politically unattractive: economic growth, which is slipping away further into the future, and austerity plans involving years of unpopular policies with the risk of a deflationary depression. For these reasons, financial repression seems the default option to Reinhart and Sbrancia.
Read More @ GoldMoney.com